Chapter 97: Time to Show Sincerity
"Nonsense!" Shen Yi said. "What's the point of Xu Huo fabricating an attacker?"
"Of course there is a point." Lin Pei sneered at them. "Wu Qiuyi misremembering a position was originally a trivial matter, but now you're making a big deal out of it and demanding an explanation, isn't this just using that as an excuse?"
"Besides, when Xu Huo answered the riddle earlier, he must have gotten something good from Master Nisei, right? Those were obtained through our cooperation, and they should have been split equally. But now, you clearly have no intention of taking them out..."
"Whoosh!" The black gemstone watch, magnifying glass, and injection were all tossed onto the seat. The group looked up and saw Xu Huo calmly leaning against the doorframe, leisurely lighting a cigarette for himself. He blew out a puff of smoke and looked at them through the haze.
"If you want them that badly, Lin Pei, I don't mind giving them all to you."
Lin Pei's expression stiffened slightly. He slowly suppressed his emotions, his gaze turning cold and hard.
"Whether we use a prop to break open the gate or go find the door mechanism, we have to make sure there are no aberrations nearby. Two are already locked up, and the remaining one shouldn't be a problem. But the aberration that was supposed to be at the east gate hasn't shown up."
"Since no other ground cages have been found, the most convenient method is to lure it out. At least there's still one aberration waiting for us to kill. Arguing won't help."
No one could do without anyone else.
"But this matter has to be settled!" Gu Yu said. "I agree with luring out and killing the aberration, but what if someone stabs us in the back while we're fighting?"
"We're not afraid of dying in an aberration's mouth, but we'd be wronged if we died at the hands of our own kind." Shen Yi also said.
"Right! Right!" Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong'an quickly chimed in. They had little courage and little ability, but a strong will to survive.
"Then what do you want to do?" Wu Qiuyi asked with reddened eyes.
"Show us your traits." Gu Yu immediately said. "Earlier, a few of us more or less revealed our traits and props. You two have been hiding yours tightly. If you have nothing to hide, let's be open and honest. Whoever dares not speak plainly is the one who did the dirty work."
"Even if what Xu Huo said is true, it could still be you." Lin Pei swept his gaze over the three of them, Gu Yu included.
"We can prove ourselves." The Shen siblings immediately stated.
With the conversation pushed to this point, if Wu Qiuyi and Lin Pei refused, it would only make them look guilty.
"I agree." Wu Qiuyi spoke first. "The aberration at the east gate is hard to deal with. Knowing everyone's traits and props in advance will also make cooperation easier."
"But I can only give a general direction of my trait. I can't tell you my profession. I can give a brief demonstration."
"No problem." Gu Yu agreed readily. "Who goes first?"
"I'll go." Ke Liang said first. "My trait is related to jumping ability. My record is twelve meters. Do I need to demonstrate?"
"Of course." Gu Yu's eyes widened. Ke Liang immediately got off the bus and jumped straight up from a standstill. He didn't seem to use much force, but he easily exceeded the height of the bus and landed lightly and silently.
"I can imitate animal calls, especially bird songs." Wu Qiuyi immediately imitated the sounds of three different birds on the spot.
Next was Lin Pei. "I'm good at tracking. I can pick out the footprints of the same person from hundreds or thousands of them."
He paused. "I don't need to demonstrate that on the spot, do I?"
Gu Yu curled her lip. "Let me go. You all know I'm a celebrity. There's nothing to hide about my profession—it's just a celebrity. As for my trait, of course it's related to youth and beauty."
Several people in the car turned to stare at her. Gu Yu's face fell. "What? Got a problem?"
"You're very good at fighting." Shen Xin said quietly. Before entering the dungeon, Gu Yu had single-handedly suppressed both of them.
"Elite education." Gu Yu smiled. "Horseback riding, marksmanship, and self-defense—I've been learning since elementary school."
"Is that so?" Lin Pei suddenly interjected. "Did you learn archery too?"
Gu Yu glanced at Xu Huo first. Seeing him unmoved, she said, "Stop wasting your breath trying to sow discord. When Xu Huo was attacked, I was too far away, and I got back to the bus before you did. The people on the bus can vouch for me."
Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong'an nodded beside her. Counting back three minutes from the time the bus picked up Xu Huo, Gu Yu was already on board by then.
"Looks like we're suspects too." Shen Yi interlocked his fingers and cracked his knuckles. "I used to be a zookeeper, so my trait is related to that—I have a good affinity with animals."
"Me too." Shen Xin followed.
"Your professions and traits are the same?" Gu Yu looked at them strangely.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Shen Yi asked.
Gu Yu shook her head and looked at Xu Huo.
"I have strong leg strength and am good at running." he said. "Running for an hour or two casually is no problem."
"Comparable to a marathon runner." Shen Yi commented.
Finally, it was Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong'an's turn. Wang Chaoqing's trait was his shadow, which had no combat ability except for peeping through a network. Nian Hong'an was a security guard, and his trait was linked to his job scope—he could remember the face of anyone he had seen once.
Going through this round, no one's trait seemed to be related to archery. But traits were traits, and props were different.
However, since things had come to this point, forcing the issue would inevitably escalate the conflict, so both sides had to temporarily set aside their prejudices.
Several flashlights served as headlights. The bus slowed down and drove through the darkness, carrying a group of players each harboring their own thoughts.
One person drove while the others took turns resting.
"Who do you think it is?" In the back seat, Gu Yu took out her phone and typed a line.
Xu Huo shook his head slightly. It was hard to say.
Without specifying professions, the scope of traits was too broad. Take his "tireless legs" for example—who would associate that with a passerby?
"Do you think Shen Yi and Shen Xin are suspicious?" Gu Yu asked again.
Xu Huo gave her a puzzled look.
"As far as I know, no two players currently have identical traits." Gu Yu typed quickly. "Professions might overlap, but people are different. You should be able to see that traits are tied to a person's habits and personality. There are no identical people, so naturally there are no identical traits. Experts in Jing City have also confirmed this."
"Are they lying because they feel guilty?"
Xu Huo didn't think so. If they were truly guilty, they could have easily made up a trait. For example, Gu Yu was skilled in marksmanship—she could have just used that as her trait instead of going to the trouble.
One advantage of traits was that certain aspects and abilities had blurred boundaries. As an ordinary person, Xu Huo couldn't finish a marathon in one go, but a professional athlete could. Imitating bird calls and identifying footprints were things that specialized talents could do. While people with such exceptional abilities were few, it was still possible.
Therefore, these traits could be real or fake.
But whether they were real or fake wasn't too important.
Concealment could be due to various reasons.
"What are you doing?" Gu Yu slapped Wang Chaoqing's hand away as he reached for the potion.
Everyone sleeping in the car opened their eyes.