Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 1199: Instance Entrance

Chapter 1199: Chapter 1199: Instance Entrance

While eating, Liang Shuang bought a copy of the "Maze Guide" from the restaurant staff, saying, "There are plenty of guides like this for Card City. They may not be entirely accurate, but who knows? Some of the information might actually be reliable. Besides, it’s cheap, so there’s no harm in buying one to check it out."

Xu Huo, ever pragmatic, bought a different one from somewhere else.

After the maze leveled up, no definitive guide had been released yet, and the details of the maze hadn’t spread across the streets and alleys. These kinds of rumors only provided non-critical information, such as the general layout of the maze.

Things like the types of plants making up the maze walls, the traits of mutant plants, how to defend against them, and their weaknesses—these tidbits were still useful, as attacks from mutant plants were a significant feature of maze instances.

There was also some common knowledge known to nearly everyone—hidden doors on the maze walls that could lead to safety or danger, and things like that.

But nothing more specific was shared.

Xu Huo initially wanted to buy a previous instance guide but was told they had mostly been recalled and destroyed: In the age of cloud storage, trash data clogged the information channels, making it public enemy number one. Thus, under government directives, most of the old instance information was recycled. At the very least, merchants openly selling guides in the streets wouldn’t have preserved it.

Liang Shuang looked a bit uneasy. "I actually have an old instance guide. I just feared it might mislead you, and frankly, I didn’t think it was of much use, so I didn’t mention it."

While talking, he placed a miniature projector on the table. "Here’s the guide."

Xu Huo thanked him, took the projector, stood up, and said, "The guide mentions a relatively high probability of the Thrilling Sphere Castle Instance Entrance appearing about an hour’s distance from here. Let’s go try our luck there."

Without hesitation, Liang Shuang summoned an aircraft.

Ovoid-shaped aircraft glided smoothly and silently through the air. They could self-program their trajectory based on the destination, offering maximum safety. Passengers, freed of the need to operate them, also found their minds liberated; they treated the aircraft like sightseeing buses.

From mid-air, parts of the cityscape came into view. Xu Huo spotted the center of the city where a giant card slowly emerged above a tall building. Golden patterns flickered on the black card face until, after a few seconds, they settled into the shape of a crown.

"This counts as Card City’s iconic feature. No one who’s been here ever forgets that massive playing card," Liang Shuang commented.

The vehicle soon reached its destination. As Liang Shuang opened the door, Xu Huo suddenly asked, "Can car doors count as instance entrances?"

Liang Shuang immediately withdrew his outstretched hand and switched to using a sensor to open the door.

"This shouldn’t have anything to do with the method of opening the door. As long as you pass through it, it’s opened, isn’t it?" Xu Huo smiled faintly, stepped out of the vehicle, and spoke.

Liang Shuang froze for a moment, then followed with a chuckle, "That joke wasn’t funny at all! I almost thought I’d stepped into a maze for real. Right now, forget doors—if I saw a window, I’d probably hesitate to open it too."

Just as they were talking, an enormous spherical glass ball, twice their height, brushed past them. There was only enough time to catch a glimpse of two distorted faces twisted in terror within the sphere before it was already 200 meters away.

"Adventure Sphere Fortress offers you an extraordinary thrill! Are you two gentlemen interested in taking up the challenge?" A staff member arrived before them in a single-person aircraft. Following the hospitality protocol, they played a rotating projection and said, "Here, we offer 360-degree panoramic heartbeat pods, rainbow pods prioritizing heart safety, semi-enclosed pods simulating real terrain, and ultra-safe cage pods. You’re free to choose! All pods are priced equally and come with low, medium, and high tiers for both speed and altitude, allowing guests to fully experience extreme challenges in guaranteed safety!"

Liang Shuang glanced at the highest-tier trajectory setup and quipped, "This thing’s trajectory ups and downs make a heart monitor line look tame. Sitting in one would throw you around so much you’d end up nauseous even without any prior heart issues."

"Rest assured, our pods boast the latest medical sensing technology. They can immediately detect guests’ physical conditions and, in case of emergencies, take charge of rescue and hospital transport without human intervention. The process is tightly streamlined and highly efficient. However, to date, Adventure Sphere Fortress has never had to send a single guest to the hospital," the staff enthusiastically explained, adding pressure with a warm smile and intense gaze.

Liang Shuang checked the prices and declared he wasn’t in the market for thrills.

Xu Huo picked a heartbeat pod and pointed to the spot opposite him after stepping inside.

Liang Shuang forced a smile. "Uh... So, I’m a little afraid of heights."

"Overcome it." Xu Huo, unperturbed, replied, "After all, as a player, high-altitude falls are pretty much unavoidable."

Liang Shuang hesitated for a long time, and finally climbed into the heartbeat pod. As soon as the door closed, even before he’d gotten seated, the pod shot diagonally into the sky with a burst of acceleration.

Clearly nervous, Liang Shuang gripped the nearby handle, buckled his seatbelt at record-breaking speed, and stubbornly refused to look down, fixing his gaze at the sky instead.

Xu Huo had chosen mid-tier mode, and the pod began to bob rapidly up and down. Even with the pod’s unique protections, the occupants were still tossed along with the motion, left spinning with the feeling of weightlessness.

Liang Shuang reacted swiftly, lowering the mode settings, and said to Xu Huo, "Let’s take it slow... take it slow..."

Xu Huo was purely indulging his curiosity and left the pod’s movement settings alone for the time being. Instead, he brought out a telescope to observe the pods on the ground.

The sprawling attraction covered a significant area. Thanks to advanced technology, virtually anywhere could serve as a pod landing zone. Thus, guests were constantly boarding and alighting pods across the plaza. Most players visiting weren’t just here for fun—many were seeking instance entrances.

Scanning the pods rapidly, Xu Huo soon noticed an empty glass ball descending from the sky. Just a second before the door opened, there had been a person inside.

Others disappeared even as they prepared to enter a pod, but the staff and visitors seemed utterly indifferent to these occurrences. Occasionally, cheers would arise—some idlers were even betting on the players going in and out of pods.

As the pod slowed down, Xu Huo surveyed roughly one-third of the grounds and discovered four pods where people vanished upon opening the door. According to the guide, these were relatively high-probability scenarios.

"Let’s head down," Liang Shuang suggested. "I think observing from the ground would give us a better look."

Xu Huo glanced at him with a faint smile but didn’t argue and landed as suggested.

Stepping out of the pod, Liang Shuang let out a big sigh of relief, just about to say something when suddenly, a nearby pod descended. From it staggered a person who collapsed to the ground and vomited profusely.