The night passed peacefully, and there was no occurrence of someone calling them in the middle of the night as the old man had mentioned.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Xu Huo and they were about to leave, but unexpectedly, the path outside was suddenly shrouded in dense fog. Beyond two or three meters, nothing could be seen. Under such conditions, walking in felt akin to being blind.

"Why don’t you stay a few more days?" the old man suggested, "Wait for the fog to clear a bit before leaving."

Xu Huo looked worried, "How long will this fog last?"

"If we’re lucky, two or three days. If not, it could last over half a month," the old man also appeared troubled. "It’s hard to hunt when the fog is thick, and wild vegetables are hard to find. Fortunately, we have some stock at home."

She then looked at Xu Huo, "I’ll go ask the neighbors to borrow some food supplies."

Thinking it wouldn’t be right to eat and stay for free, Xu Huo not only paid but also volunteered to help move the supplies.

To his surprise, there were people here growing vegetables. Many plants in the grove were edible and grew fast, so they didn’t lack vegetables. Meat was a bit more troublesome, as there were only some hard-to-catch small animals in the woods. Still, every household had dried some meat.

Buying wasn’t easy, but the old man managed to borrow a few strips.

After visiting a few households, they borrowed enough food for the next few days. On the way back, two people suddenly emerged from the dense fog, and their props flew out of their hands, heading straight for Xu Huo and the old man!

The old man didn’t react quickly enough and didn’t realize the danger approaching. Xu Huo, however, shielded her and used a Rank-C Defense Prop to fend off the attack.

The protective barrier was easily shattered, and Xu Huo was forcibly pushed back by the force, taking several steps back until hitting a tree behind him, where the barrier completely broke, but he wasn’t injured.

"Wait! These are people!" Two daggers that could track enemies stopped in front of him, hovered for a moment, then withdrew.

The two players who had rushed out quickly approached, sized up the old man’s appearance, scrutinized Xu Huo, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, hastily explaining the situation.

They had been walking in the woods for two days, feeling as if a shadow was following them the whole time. Yet, every time they attacked, it turned out to be merely trees or vines. With limited visibility, their senses were also restricted. They remained on high alert and were startled from time to time, leaving them exhausted after two days.

Unexpectedly, the fog grew thicker last night. After a few more steps, people became invisible. The two would sleep back-to-back to avoid getting separated, worried that if they did, they might never find each other again. Even if someone called out, they wouldn’t dare to respond easily.

"Just now, a third person appeared in the woods." The man introduced himself as "Yin Yang Master." "At first, I used a prop to test, but there was no response. I thought I was seeing things again, but unexpectedly, someone called us this time."

"Called you?" Xu Huo hesitated for a moment, looking at the old man, "Could it be the ’Hidden Friend’?"

The old man didn’t want to linger on this topic and urged them to hurry back.

The two players naturally followed, asking as they walked, "Friend, are you also here to do the instance? Haven’t encountered you before?"

"As for the shadow, I’ve encountered it, but similar to your situation, it’s always just shadows of plants," Xu Huo paused and said, "I’m not a dungeon player, just here traveling... The Hidden Friend actually has an instance. What’s the level?"

"Yin Yang Master" and his companion "Bubble Bean" exchanged glances, both somewhat skeptical, but they didn’t express it directly and instead proposed borrowing a place to stay at the old man’s house, offering to provide enough food in return.

"My home is full," the old man told them to ask around other households. In the end, the two chose the nearest household to the old man’s, offered money and food, and while the others didn’t exactly welcome them warmly, they didn’t refuse either.

However, before they parted, Xu Huo rationally analyzed the call they heard, "Maybe it’s a player from your same instance. Such thick fog makes it normal for players to team up."

In a normal instance, it would be reasonable, but this instance had already clarified to every player that only one person could clear it. Teaming up? Wouldn’t that just turn them into the target of the "Hidden Friend"? A bunch of people staying together, who knows which one would become the "Hidden Friend"?

"What you say makes sense. The shadow, though it followed us, didn’t attack us." Firecracker Bean nodded.

"This isn’t your real name, is it?" The old man had already entered the house, but Xu Huo asked another question, "What does the Bubble Bean look like?"

The player called "Bubble Bean" answered him inexplicably, "A type of bean plant only three inches tall, with round fruits that pop with a crackling sound when stepped on, and then emit bubbles."

Xu Huo nodded and took the things inside.

Yin Yang Master and Bubble Bean exchanged a look and also went into the wooden house, closing the door behind them.

This instance has 39 players, and now counting Xu Huo, only four have been accounted for. Considering the old man mentioned that the inhabitants of this forest are spread out, it’s likely that players have gone to other settlements.

The first part of their description is probably true. They, like Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting yesterday, kept seeing shadows, but the latter part is false. Someone indeed pursued them, but it wasn’t a ghostly shadow; it was another player, who had stopped once they engaged and hadn’t come closer.

The instance allows one winner, but with a time limit, meaning that even if they fail to clear it, players can still leave the area, and with life and death not so urgent, players teaming up is reasonable.

Is this a strategy to "find a friend"?

It’s unclear if anyone among them is fulfilling the role of the "Hidden Friend."

Survival instinct compels those living here to habitually remain silent. In such foggy weather, every household speaks softly, and amid silence, any peculiar noise becomes particularly conspicuous.

Xu Huo, while moving wood behind the wooden house, heard someone calling him.

"Old Xu..." The voice mistily came from the fog’s depths. He looked up, ignoring it, embraced the wood, and walked back. When bypassing the house’s side, two players next door opened the window, their faces blurry but their voices clear, "Did you hear that?"

Xu Huo paused, raised an eyebrow, "Hear what?"

Bubble Bean, who had spoken, gave a dry laugh, "Nothing."

Xu Huo returned to the house as usual.

Obviously, the two who came were in cahoots with the one hiding in the grove. He had just informed them his surname was Xu, and immediately a third person came calling his name.

Xu Huo was contemplating if he should go out to take a look when he suddenly noticed the person in the grove change direction and head further away. He frowned slightly but ultimately decided not to follow.

If that player was fulfilling the role of the "Hidden Friend," following would play into their hands, whether the process was voluntary or not, it would complete the instance’s requirement.

Originally, he thought the person would return after an unsuccessful attempt, but unexplainably two hours passed with no movement around the wooden house, and the current participant count on the instance’s information panel dropped to 38.