Just as the Pandarens were busy fighting against the Ooopa Loopa in the North and South of Demopolis, Shi Zuo and Luo Bo were currently fighting their own battle. A battle that could potentially change the course of the raid instance…or so they hoped.
The Pandawan couple had been searching the depths of Demopolis for items, inscriptions or possibly legendary relics they could salvage for the fight. But instead of those, Luo Bo had accidentally found a passage as they had been scavenging through boxes and crates in the lowest bas.e.m.e.nt hoping for that special inscription or some form of weapon of mass destruction.
Even though the Pandamonium App should have listed all the items they had in the online inventory, Luo Bo had quickly discovered that inside the raid instance there were actually secret stashes with items not listed.
This had led her to believe that the armoury itself might be a sort of mini game and a way for the Pandarens/Pandawans to earn some points if they were not actively fighting. And given that they had deployed most of the Pandarens, and the Pandawans were technically their last line of defence, Shi Zuo and Luo Bo decided to use the downtime to find a potential trove of hidden treasures within the armoury.
It was to their surprise that after they had moved one of the larger crates away that it had unveiled a crack in the walls from which one blast of cold air emanated from. She was able to go through the crack easily, but Shi Zuo wasn't as thin. His girlfriend had to pull him in after he had held his breath.
Apart from the area they got through, the couple ended up in a tunnel where there was no light. Fortunately, with their half-masks night vision mode, they managed to see that the caves were supported with several iron pillars and a few flashing light bulbs. Not what they expected from a revitalised military base but hey, what's a military base without any hidden secret or ghostly portion of it?
The duo also noticed that the Pandamonium App lacked a map in regards to this area, and two way communication from the bas.e.m.e.nt to the surface became patchy at best. Shi Zuo sent a text message to the group, hoping his phone's sporadic signal would be sufficient to inform the rest that they were in a secret area. (Eventually, they received a surprising response from Xiong Da stating, 'Good job, please continue'.)
They assumed the surface operations were too busy for the rest to give a damn about why two Pandawans had gone missing. However, the Rabbit Pandawan had her senses tingling that this place could potentially hold one of the secrets that might allow them to win the battle against the Ooofpa Loopas.
True enough, as they walked further into the cave, they subsequently breached an opening and there was a guardian figure sitting right at the centre. With their presence being felt in the opening, the shadow stared back at them.
Soon, the Pandawan couple found themselves trapped in a duelling ring surrounded by fire and they were finally able to notice the figure. It was none other than Panda Captain Hei and clearing his throat, there was Panda Captain Bai who appeared behind the duo to block their escape.
"You finally found us." Hei said as he stood up and Shi Zuo noticed that he was not wearing his standard SWAT vest. Instead, he was wearing a Japanese Samurai Armour with a two handed Katana or an Odachi (also known in the western setting as a longsword). Meanwhile, Bai was in full Chinese Armour with a spear with a blade at that top, which the Pandawans' identified as the Guan Dao, held by the infamous Lord Guan Yu.
"Shit, did we just trigger some sort of secret duel? Do we have to win against you guys to get a special item? Does that mean there are actually NPCs in the instance, and we just have to find them or is it you guys hiding around?" Luo Bo asked a barrage of questions.
"Maybe they will come to aid us if we beat up them very badly?" Shi Zuo theorised, even though he had a hard time believing it.
"You know how to spoil someone's fun. We've been waiting here since the start and now you even take our explanation away." Bai sighed as he pointed his Guan Dao towards the back. "To cut to the chase, it's pretty much what you deduced. Finding us has improved your chances to survive this raid. That is, if you can win against us. If you do, you'll obtain something that will be able to turn the tide in the defence of your city."
"Ehhhhh, we have to fight again?" Luo Bo dragged her voice as if she knew that it would be tiring to have a fight against Hei and Bai. When she saw the armour they wore, the Rabbit Pandawan instantly assumed it would not be an easygoing fight. "Can we postpone it or something? We promise to come back and duel you guys after the boss fight!"
"Do you honestly expect us to just give you the keys and access to the one possible thing that could cut short your war against the Ooofpa Loopa?" Hei questioned and Luo Bo fervently nodded her head, hoping the NPCs would agree.
"Fine, if you did not suggest it, we would be fighting the hell out of your lives right now. However, there is something we want to do aside from fighting. And it is indeed the easier option." Hei revealed and came over to whisper with his brother, Bai.
The two giggled like a bunch of naughty rascals and eyed Luo Bo who could suddenly feel the chills going up to her spine when she saw their gaze. Even Shi Zuo slowly inched himself forward to protect his girlfriend from any possible… attempt on soliciting Luo Bo.
The Pandas chuckled and waved their hands in laughter, rejecting any s.e.x.u.a.l notion as if it was a joke between them. "It was boring having to wait so long, so let's play a game of dice. If you win, we'll let you have access to the stuff hidden behind the door. If you lose…"
"The chances of winning a dice game is rigged, don't think that we know what you think -" before Shi Zuo could argue back, Luo Bo immediately shouted, "We accept!"
"What? Are you crazy?! Playing a game of dice with them is worse than fighting both of them head on!" Shi Zuo wanted to retract the statement but the two Panda NPCs were already chuckling.
"Don't worry, Pandawan Shi Zuo. It is indeed a very simple game of dice. If you win, you get to go through." Hei said it once more but Shi Zuo wanted to know the consequences more than the win condition. Yet, they were not willing to reveal it and instead, moved on ahead to the dice game immediately.
Instantly two large cube dice appeared in front of them and with Hei and Bai simultaneously swiping them in different directions, the dice began to spin furiously at the middle of the duelling ring.
"All you have to do is to throw your axe and shoot your arrow at the respective dice. As long as you get exactly 10, we'll let you pass." Bai explained.
"If you get a 12, we'll even throw in a bonus," Hei added.
"And in case you fail, or worse, roll 2… Hehehe! Just remember it was you who agreed to play the game." Bai and Hei finished in unison with a wide grin.
"How many tries do we have?" Shi Zuo asked and the NPCs started to discuss before Hei threw his palm out. Shi Zuo was squinting his hand to count the number of fingers on him.
"Hahaha, it's six, my dear. Pandas have five fingers and a thumb." Luo Bo beat Shi Zuo's back and laughed at her boyfriend's attempt to figure it out.
"That's awfully a lot of tries." Shi Zuo thought to himself but he felt it was too easy and instead, he requested if he could have more. However, Luo Bo knocked his head and told him not to be greedy.
"Besides, I have confidence in hitting my shot but… It's another issue for you." Luo Bo teased her boyfriend as she took her bow out and stared at the dice suddenly spinning furiously with the draw sound of her weapon.
