Chapter 1696: Randomly Selecting Lucky Audience Members
"Just now I wanted to say it, but you wouldn't let me. Now you want to hear it, but I won't say it!" The sticker doll had quite a temper, twisting its chubby body as it sat on the ground, its painted mouth no longer moving.
"One thing after another," the shirt woman said. "Then just throw it out..."
"No, no!" The sticker doll jumped up immediately and quickly said, "Alright then, listen carefully."
"My little friend and I have a simple request. You only need to hand over two B-grade items, four C-grade items, plus one million white notes, and you can reach your destination without any trouble."
"Of course, to show our sincerity in this robbery, we will randomly select a few lucky passengers to demonstrate our strength, so none of you will feel cheated."
"As for the specific time... let's set it for half an hour before lights out!"
"Oh dear! The time has already passed. I wonder if any lucky passengers have been chosen!"
"Those two died at seven-thirty," the buzz cut player immediately said.
"You only want six items and one million white notes?" the upward bun player couldn't help asking. "Is that for everyone together, or does each carriage have to pay?"
"Of course each carriage has to pay, otherwise wouldn't we be at a loss hijacking the train?" The sticker doll twisted its not-so-flexible neck to look at him. "But our request isn't unreasonable. Each carriage has at least ten players, so everyone only needs to chip in a little."
"And if we don't?" the scarred brow player said. "What can you do if we refuse?"
The sticker doll paused as if thinking, then said, "The tremor rain's coverage doesn't reach the station, so no one will get off for the next two days. It's almost lights out. If you haven't handed over the goods before the lights go out, then during the coming night, my little friend and I will randomly select a lucky carriage to have an intimate encounter with the xenomorphs."
"Friendly tip: from one in the morning to three in the morning, the train will pass through a xenomorph gathering area."
After saying this, the sticker doll tore open its own belly, signaling them to put the items and white notes inside.
"Only ten minutes left," the buzz cut player reminded everyone.
The hijackers were clearly very familiar with the places this train would pass through. The claim that no one would get off for two days and that there would be a full two hours passing through a xenomorph gathering area wasn't necessarily false. So now they had only two choices: one was to hand over what the hijackers demanded, hoping to get through these two days peacefully; the other was to refuse to cooperate and see if tonight their carriage would become the "lucky carriage."
Six items and one million white notes weren't much, especially split among a dozen people, but obviously no one wanted to take the loss, so everyone remained silent for the next while.
"I'd like to see if they can actually blow up the carriage!" the upward bun player said angrily. "Even if they could, their own people are on the train too. Aren't they afraid of capsizing in a ditch?"
That could only comfort themselves. If the hijackers wanted to pick a carriage to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, they certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to sacrifice their own people.
"Isn't there a better way?" the shirt woman said. "Instead of passively waiting for them to make a move, why don't we find the hijackers ourselves?"
"What if there are no hijackers in our carriage?" the scarred brow player said. "Mutual suspicion will only lead to a vicious cycle."
"It's not about killing anyone. Everyone can analyze rationally, and we should be able to understand each other." The shirt woman player was determined to root them out, and her words carried a hint that anyone who disagreed must have a guilty conscience. "Actually, I think it's not that hard to find the hijackers among us. I already have a suspect in mind. I wonder what you all think."
There were now eleven people in the carriage.
Xu Huo, the shirt woman, the scarred brow man, the borrowing fire woman player and her new boyfriend the buzz cut, the upward bun, the hat player who got on with Xu Huo and two other male players—one missing his right little finger, the other with a black spot on his face—plus two older male players guarding the front carriage door, one calling himself Brother Yang, the other calling himself Big Ear.
The dead strong man and the vest woman had already been thrown into the transition car.
The shirt woman looked around at everyone, her gaze finally landing on the upward bun. She deliberately asked, "What do you think?"
"Hey, you're still suspecting me?" The upward bun looked wronged. "Didn't I just clear things up? That female player never even drank my wine! And didn't he drink it too? He's fine!"
"It's hard to kill someone you can't reach, but it's very easy to let someone go when you could have killed them," the shirt woman said. "Killing one and sparing one—what's so strange about that? And your excuse of being careless is too flimsy. Careless people don't become advanced players."
As everyone's suspicion grew, the upward bun immediately shouted, "It's definitely not me!"
Just as he spoke, the lights in the carriage suddenly went out, plunging everyone into darkness.
"Don't anyone move!" the shirt woman's voice rang out in the dark. "Whoever makes a move now is an accomplice of the hijackers!"
In fact, the players were only on guard against each other. Evolvers who could see in the dark could make out the things in the carriage, just not as clearly as during the day, while those who couldn't see in the dark had prepared night vision goggles in advance. Everyone was in a similar situation.
"No one's going to move," the borrowing fire woman player sneered. "But you, jumping up and down, it's like you're afraid we won't start fighting."
The shirt woman glanced at her. "Don't provoke me. I don't want to argue with anyone. It's just for everyone's safety. Or are you saying you'd rather hand over the items and white notes?"
Everyone fell silent, then turned their gazes to the sticker doll in the middle of the carriage.
It was still standing there with its belly torn open, as if waiting to be fed, but its eyes had lost their sparkle, making it look like an ordinary inflatable balloon.
The hat player picked up a nut from the table and tossed it inside.
The sticker doll instantly activated. It shook its belly, then said, "I'm sorry, but what you put in wasn't an item, so it doesn't count."
"We can't gather what you want right away. Can you give us some more time?" Xu Huo, who had finished covering the three windows and returned to his small compartment, spoke in a negotiating tone.
The buzz cut beside him reacted faster than the sticker doll. Startled, he said, "When did you get back!"
Xu Huo, wearing his night vision goggles, quietly asked the sticker doll again, "Is it okay if we do it tomorrow during the day?"
The others hadn't expected him to use a stalling tactic, and they all waited to see what would happen.
Unexpectedly, the sticker doll actually responded to him. "Oh dear, how can you be like this? Wouldn't it be better to finish early and wrap things up early?"
"But considering our shared ride on this train, I can generously give you one night's extension. Just one night, though."
(Chapter End)