Chapter 90: Can't Just Trust Strangers
"Whether it's people who were originally in the town or players who came later, since we can't find anyone, let's set it aside for now." He interrupted the group. "Let's figure out how to get that black metal out first."
"To cut the metal, do any of you have suitable items?"
"I do have a short sword," Shen Yi said. "But there's no way it can cut through the kind of metal on the town's outer walls."
"Look on the bright side, maybe the black metal can." Gu Yu crossed her arms. "That's still secondary, though. The main issue is the noise—tearing down a house isn't that easy."
"Answer the puzzles," Xu Huo said. "Not all puzzles are dangerous. Some of them, like the clock shop puzzle, have an absolute safe time for answering."
"Compared to taking direct action, the risk of attracting the xenomorphs is at least reduced by a third."
"But if we pick the wrong puzzle, wouldn't that actually lure the xenomorphs out? A place can only hold two people at most. How are two people supposed to deal with a xenomorph?" Shen Yi voiced his doubts. "Besides, xenomorphs can't see and easily make noise. If one is wandering around outside, won't it attract more xenomorphs?"
"Players have been attacked by xenomorphs before. Have any of you seen xenomorphs roaming the town?" Xu Huo asked.
"No, I haven't." Wu Qiuyi thought carefully. "The xenomorphs come and go unpredictably. I've never actually crossed paths with them."
"After the xenomorph appeared yesterday, there seemed to be a chime sound after a while." Lin Pei recalled carefully, then looked at Xu Huo. "That sound lured the xenomorph away."
"I remember that too. Last time a xenomorph showed up, there was also an electronic sound not long after." Ke Liang, who was driving up front, said.
"So that means a xenomorph will be lured back into the cage after a certain amount of time." Gu Yu lightly clapped her hands. "Great! As long as we can hold out through that period, we can avoid the risk of attracting other xenomorphs and not have to fight them head-on!"
"Then the next step is to find the puzzles." Wu Qiuyi turned to Xu Huo. "Do you have any leads?"
"Toy stores, clothing stores, stationery shops—places like that would be best," Xu Huo said. "As for why, Master Nicer's original intention in creating the puzzles was to entertain children. Places where children frequently visit are safer than personal residences or office spaces."
"How do you know that?" Gu Yu's gaze was suspicious—not of the truth of the claim, but of its accuracy.
"You've seen some children's books in the town mayor's office building," Lin Pei explained. "Those might have belonged to Master Nicer's child."
"No wonder. I always felt this Decibel Town was like a fairy tale town." Shen Xin looked as if a light bulb had gone off.
Wu Qiuyi seemed to still have doubts, but Xu Huo cut in before she could speak. "There are too many uncertain factors. We'll only know after trying."
Wu Qiuyi opened her mouth as if to speak, but ultimately swallowed her words.
The bus couldn't turn back. To save time, they decided to first determine the xenomorphs' positions along the route.
"I'll get off first this time," Wu Qiuyi said.
"I'll go with you," Lin Pei volunteered. "The best approach is to have someone nearby to help. If things go wrong, they can lure the xenomorph away."
"You two get off first, and I'll follow," Ke Liang said.
"Who's driving next?"
"I will, I will!" Nian Hong'an quickly said. "I'm a very skilled driver. There won't be any problems!"
"I can drive too." Wang Chaoqing quickly chimed in.
There was no way the others would trust those two to drive. Shen Yi and Shen Xin immediately said they could stay on the bus.
Gu Yu pulled out a handgun. "If anything happens, I'll kill them immediately."
"I want to rest for a while," Xu Huo said.
And so it was settled. Wu Qiuyi and Lin Pei got off first, followed by Ke Liang.
"I'll keep watch on the roof," Shen Yi said. "If a xenomorph comes, I'll give an immediate warning."
"Be careful, big brother." Shen Xin gave a word of caution before standing near the door, ready to assist him at any moment.
Now only people Xu Huo had met before remained on the bus. He sat in the passenger seat and carefully asked about the exact times and locations of everyone's return.
"Nothing special. It went exactly as planned," Nian Hong'an replied.
"You suspect the person who attacked you is one of us, don't you?" Gu Yu said bluntly. "If you have any thoughts, say them. We can confront each other face to face."
The others on the bus all turned their gazes toward Xu Huo.
"It's definitely not us," Shen Xin said. "We have no reason to attack you. We don't even know you. What good would killing you do?"
"Besides, you seem like a smart person. We're still counting on your help."
"In the three days you've been in town, have you gotten off the bus?" Xu Huo asked.
"Of course we have. To find food." Gu Yu raised an eyebrow. "But if you're asking whether we're familiar with the town's layout, I can tell you I'm not."
"Even though I've been to the town mayor's office building, I never paid attention to the sand table, and I don't know where Master Nicer lives."
"I can vouch for that," Shen Xin said. "My brother, Gu Yu, and I only went to the back kitchens of some shops. Since the residential areas are a bit far from the main street, we were afraid of running into xenomorphs, so we never entered any houses."
"Brother, do you think there's a traitor on the bus?" Wang Chaoqing asked mysteriously.
"A traitor?" Xu Huo shook his head. "There's no real alliance between players. Where would a traitor come from?"
*
In a residential building some distance from the main street, Wu Qiuyi and Lin Pei waited quietly for Ke Liang to get into position. Suddenly, Lin Pei spoke softly. "Qiuyi, do you believe what Xu Huo said?"
Wu Qiuyi looked at him in surprise. "What are you referring to?"
Lin Pei's expression turned cold. "When he said someone attacked him, he was actually implying that the other players on the bus were the ones who ambushed him."
Wu Qiuyi's face darkened. "Could there really be someone else hiding?"
"That possibility is very slim." Lin Pei shook his head. "We've been in town for several days and haven't encountered any other incidents besides the xenomorphs. He gets attacked as soon as he arrives—do you think that's possible?"
"Is there any need for the others to do that? What's the point of killing each other?" Lin Pei said. "We've been getting along fine until now."
"And don't you think he knows too much about the town?"
"The key to the puzzles, the cages where the xenomorphs hide, the black metal in Master Nicer's residence... We've been inside Master Nicer's place too."
"Even so, that doesn't prove he's deliberately stirring up conflict. It wouldn't benefit him either." Wu Qiuyi frowned in thought for a few seconds. "We were the ones who assumed the puzzles were unsafe and didn't dare touch anything in town. I can tell he's a meticulous person, and he didn't hide the clues he found from us."
"But you have a point. After entering this instance, I learned one lesson: you can't just trust strangers. Let's talk it over with Ke Liang later. When we go to Master Nicer's place tomorrow, we'll keep an eye on whether what he said is true."
Lin Pei nodded and said nothing more.
Just then, Ke Liang in the distance signaled to them. Wu Qiuyi grabbed a pebble she had prepared earlier and threw it at a toy at the fork in the street!