Chapter 2688: Confident and Prepared

After these words were spoken, both of them fell silent.

They had all heard of the Suitcase Man’s deeds. Although everything in Circus City was disguised under laughter and joy, each person wearing a puppet suit, those piles of human bones in the warehouse, and the human skins used to make realistic dolls...

All of it indicated that the Suitcase Man was a madman capable of turning his delusions into reality.

The conversation turned back to how they could get out.

Yan Jiayu agreed with Xu Huo’s idea. She and a few other players had scouted many areas of the Circus City during the Carnival activities. They had not witnessed any battle dolls entering or leaving the instance. As for the entrance and exit of the instance... to be honest, being stuck inside the puppet suit prevented them from using any props, so they weren’t sure if the instance would connect to the game upon opening.

However, she had observed many battle dolls going in and out of the castle.

Actually, from the perspective of Circus City, it makes more sense for the instance’s entrance and exit to be in the castle. First, not many puppets go in and out of the castle, making it absolutely secure. Second, if the battle dolls can regularly open and close the instance in Circus City, it wouldn’t completely prevent puppets from escaping.

"How exactly did you enter this instance?" Xu Huo asked. Without deliberately stepping into an instance, the chance of leaving clues was low.

Yan Jiayu chuckled, "I entered myself, thinking it was a fun instance. Who knew it was a Super Dungeon?"

Xu Huo was momentarily at a loss for words. After a pause, he said, "Then you can only exit by maintaining the state of a prop."

Passing the level was absolutely out of the question.

"A few of us have analyzed it. The Suitcase Man’s instance shouldn’t disconnect from the game after opening. It should rely on special instruments or hide in a peculiar space, with the former being more likely."

"The instance has changed location several times recently. It’s unlikely to always find a space unrelated to the game, but if it’s a Super Instrument, it can be used wherever and whenever needed."

Yan Jiayu was confident in her judgment, which was also the main reason she and several other players attempted to enter the castle.

"To catch a thief, first capture the king. Take down the small boss inside the castle, and you’ll surely find a way out!"

Yan Jiayu seemed carefree at first glance, but she was actually perceptive and clever. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have treated the instance like a playground. Aside from her good attitude, the key factor was her strength.

"Have you seen the Suitcase Man after entering the instance?" Xu Huo continued, "Is there a regular schedule to his returns to the instance?"

"Given that Qi Congming mentioned not changing locations in two months, it’s likely that since arriving at Zone 039, the Suitcase Man hasn’t returned. Before this, none of us saw the Suitcase Man. After inquiring with other puppets, some could say a few words, but they weren’t clear on the Suitcase Man’s routine. I even tied up a few battle dolls, but they contained no data records, so I’m unsure when the Suitcase Man will return or what he usually does," Yan Jiayu said regretfully. "If only I could take the opportunity to dig a little deeper into his background."

Her emotions came quickly and left just as fast, "Circus City is more dangerous at night. You should hide at the transit station and wait until dawn to act. I’ll go inform Big Beard and the others. We’ll meet fifteen minutes after the first morning bell, at the puppet wall located to the south of the castle."

After saying this, she tidied up her kangaroo suit, brushing off the dust that gathered on its fur, and then swaggered out.

Confirming there was no danger around, a kangaroo began sprinting along the street.

Xu Huo watched as she hopped away, disappearing in just a few leaps, clearly familiar with the surroundings.

Even though trapped within a prop, her condition was much better than he’d anticipated, indicating she knew what she was doing.

Xu Huo didn’t plan to stay hidden until daylight. After leaving the transit station, he returned near the Carnival grounds, where the performers that ran out due to the Girl in the Painting had returned. Without the Carnival parade, the other puppets returned to their original positions, bringing life back to the small venue.

As he walked, he found that the instance props he encountered could be roughly categorized into three types. One type only operated within their designated areas; they might behave differently once the instance officially opens, but in night mode, they don’t leave their areas and don’t seal them off either.

The second type can move freely between areas. These instance props are smaller in scale and easy to move, like the Magician and the Invisible Man he encountered earlier. They usually don’t pursue a single target obsessively and are easily distracted by nearby puppets.

The behavior patterns of these two instance props are relatively fixed, with simple, habitual props and abilities, making them easy to deal with once you understand their ways.

The last type comprises the performers of the Carnival Troupe.

Their activity range is very broad, covering almost the entire Circus City. From their behavior patterns, they seem more like intelligent people, able to adapt to the situation and deliberately select attack targets... The difference between them and the previous two types of instance props is about the same as the difference between the Girl in the Painting and Mr. Dong.

The Girl in the Painting has an open mind, closer to human characteristics, with independent thinking. Mr. Dong can also think to some extent, but his thought process is relatively singular. His hobby of raising spiders makes him appear more human, yet most of his behavior is actually quite mechanical.

Most instance props in Circus City are like this.

Special props with thinking abilities are rarely seen in other instances, but in Circus City, they constitute the main force of combat. They have autonomy, actively attacking and being quite powerful. Even advanced items and Super Instruments have very limited constraints on them.

Moreover, this is a Super Dungeon venue, where ordinary energy weapons and spatial artifacts have limited effectiveness. One could say that unless another Super Player comes, it’s difficult for anyone to escape from here.

Additionally, many props in the instance are not connected to metal, so destroying raw materials to destroy them is not feasible. While the Time Force is effective, these active props with thinking abilities do not age quickly like humans, making temporary movement restriction only an emergency measure.

Thinking about the Night Tour Dungeon in the previous zone, Xu Huo slightly lowered his head. If it were high-dimensional space power, decomposing these props wouldn’t be difficult.

Of course, wanting the Night Tour Dungeon to move here isn’t possible, and the Suitcase Man certainly preselected the environment when choosing a location for the instance venue. He wouldn’t risk going to a slightly better-developed zone, so it’s clear he wouldn’t take chances.

Despite currently being unable to solve these issues, the pressure brought by the Super Player and Super Dungeon isn’t as stifling as when he was in the dark without any knowledge. There’s still power that can contend against the Super Player and Super Dungeon, and it doesn’t require the Rank-A Wormhole Points.

A group of battle dolls piloting aircraft flew out from the direction of the city center, each carrying a large box labeled "Celebration Supplies" behind it.

Xu Huo paused slightly, then turned and followed after them.