# Chapter 82: The Clock Shop in the Town
Lin Pei immediately distanced himself from him. "Are you a cannibal player?!"
Not just the people on the bus, but even Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong'an, who had come in with him, were terrified. The two jumped up and hid behind Lin Pei, while Ke Liang and Wu Qiuyi also stood up.
Xu Huo observed everyone's reactions, pulled down his collar to reveal a corner of the black number on his back, and said with a smile, "It's only a last resort. When there's really nothing to eat, it's better than starving to death."
"We are human beings. Even if we starve to death, we won't eat people." Lin Pei said in a deep voice. "If that's what you're planning, then please get off the bus."
Xu Huo sat down nearby and looked at him. "You said there were eight people when you got on the bus. One starved to death, four died from other causes, and now there are only three of you left. How can you prove that none of you ate anyone?"
"A normal person can survive for seven days on water alone. Evolvers can last longer, but it's hard to say—eight days? Ten days?"
"Although evolvers have stronger physical abilities than ordinary people, maintaining normal bodily functions requires more energy intake, and cannibal players need even more."
"Did you really not eat anyone? Where are the bodies of the dead?"
His smile grew wider. "You say you arrived five days ago and two days ago. Who knows if that's true? Maybe you're just tricking those who come later, making us let our guard down."
"You're talking nonsense!" Gu Yu grabbed the seat and stood up. "Do you think I could be this starved if I'd eaten people?"
"That's hard to say." Xu Huo's smile faded. "It's not just cannibal players who eat people."
Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong'an no longer hid behind Lin Pei either. They slowly walked to another empty seat, distancing themselves from everyone.
The dilapidated bus continued moving slowly. Shen Xin walked over to Shen Yi, who was driving, keeping his distance from Lin Pei's group. Gu Yu sat alone in a back seat, her hand groping for something underneath.
"You're really something." Wu Qiuyi's voice was hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken for a long time. "A few words from you, and you've destroyed the trust we built."
Lin Pei's group had been on the bus first and had already figured out the taboos of Decibel Town. Gu Yu's group, who arrived later, had also avoided deadly traps with their help. There was a certain foundation of trust from their cooperation. If anyone should have been distrusted, it should have been Xu Huo's group who arrived last. No one expected Xu Huo to make them suspect each other first.
"Don't you want to know where the bodies of the dead went?" Wu Qiuyi pulled open the door and jumped off, signaling Xu Huo to follow.
Xu Huo followed without a second word.
"The bus isn't fast. We can catch up." Wu Qiuyi stopped Lin Pei, who was about to follow. "Public areas don't allow three people to move together."
Lin Pei looked at her with concern. "Be careful."
The bus slowly drove away, and Xu Huo followed Wu Qiuyi into a clock shop across the street.
She pinched the bell on the door, signaling him to enter first.
Xu Huo went in and watched her pull the door handle, slowly closing the door. When the latch clicked, neither the lock nor the bell made a single sound.
Not only that, but the display cabinets and walls of this clock shop were filled with clocks. All the clocks were moving, but there was no sound of mechanical ticking.
Xu Huo avoided the small dolls on the floor and walked to a separately placed display cabinet.
The front window of this display cabinet was broken. The glass fragments on the floor were stained with dark, dried blood. Taking two steps forward, the bloodstains suddenly spread into a large patch. There were also drag marks on the floor, extending all the way to the back restroom. Through the gap in the door, he could see a section of a male limb and some internal organ fragments.
Xu Huo pushed the door open a little more. Besides these, there were several palm prints and footprints in the blood that didn't look like they belonged to a normal person.
He walked over, carefully examined the footprints and palm prints on the floor, and lowered his voice to ask Wu Qiuyi, "Have you ever seen xenomorphs?"
"I have. They're the same as the xenomorphs on the preliminary train—they have human appearances, but every one of them is a man-eating maniac." Wu Qiuyi's eyes were stained red by the dried blood on the floor. She gritted her teeth and said, "You see this, right? This was left by a xenomorph. If we had eaten people to fill our stomachs, this... hand wouldn't be here!"
Xu Huo didn't pay attention to the anger in her tone. Instead, he hovered his palm over the palm print on the floor. "Do you see this?"
"This isn't an ordinary palm print. The xenomorphs on the preliminary train looked very deformed, but their size was similar to humans. The reason their limbs, fingers, and toes appeared longer than normal was because they were too thin. The footprints and palm prints here are larger than those of an adult male. At least..."
"At least what?" Wu Qiuyi subconsciously pressed.
Xu Huo patted his clothes and stood up. "At least it shows that the xenomorphs in Decibel Town are more ferocious than those on the preliminary train. Under any circumstances, players shouldn't be attacked and killed without any chance to fight back."
"That xenomorph was extremely fast." Wu Qiuyi said. "I was at the door at the time. When I turned around, I only caught a glimpse of its shadow. When I chased over here, there was no one in this restroom. It was only after I left that it dragged the body back to eat..."
Even now, she couldn't figure out why.
"Did your companion break the display cabinet and attract the xenomorph?" Xu Huo asked.
"I'm not sure. The glass suddenly shattered." Wu Qiuyi's voice was somewhat dejected. "Those xenomorphs are like ghosts. They can appear anywhere at any time. As long as there's sound, they'll show up immediately."
"That's not hard to explain." Xu Huo bent down and carefully examined the gap between the overturned photo frames in the display cabinet, while saying, "The town mayor, Nicet, is very talented in mechanics. There must be fine sound sensors or vibration sensors beneath this town. Otherwise, there's no way to determine whether three people appear simultaneously in a public area."
"Since the town has hired security guards to maintain order, there must be special devices that notify the guards when an incident occurs. Perhaps the xenomorphs were already released into areas with human activity. Once the sound gets too loud, they'll act immediately."
Confirming that there was no other device under the photo frame, he reached out to pick it up.
"Don't move...!" Wu Qiuyi instinctively tried to stop him, but Xu Huo had already picked it up. She said with slight anger, "This town is full of traps everywhere! You'd better not move things around casually!"
Xu Huo pulled open the note stuck to the front of the photo frame. On it was a riddle:
"In the clock master's lifetime, how many clocks did he make?"
Wu Qiuyi had already seen this note. "This town is full of all kinds of random questions like this."
"This is a riddle." Xu Huo tore off the note and stuffed it into his pocket.
"This counts as a riddle?" Wu Qiuyi's face showed contempt.
Putting the photo back in the display cabinet, Xu Huo walked out.
Wu Qiuyi rushed ahead of him and grabbed the door handle. She gave him a warning look before gently opening the door. Just as the two were about to go out, a wall clock by the door suddenly chimed: "Twelve o'clock! Twelve o'clock! Happy lunchtime has arrived. Let's enjoy our lunch while solving riddles."
"Today's question is: In the clock master's lifetime, who loved clocks so dearly, how many clocks did he make?"