Chapter 440: Single-Use Item
"Whether there is or isn't doesn't matter," Xu Huo said calmly. He understood that whether it was the ticket players or the players who came with the Kong siblings, their most likely fate was to be silenced. And as for the protected Dr. Deng, when it truly came down to the critical moment, he too could be abandoned.
"Doesn't matter?" Wan Yunrong found it hard to believe. "If there are still people working for the Kong siblings among us, aren't the rest of us in great danger?"
"We still have to act together. If someone turns against us at the last moment, we might end up dead."
"What I mean by 'doesn't matter' is that we don't need to waste energy on internal conflict right now," Xu Huo said. "We're all staying together, so we can keep an eye on each other. Do you have any evidence to conduct a self-check?"
Wan Yunrong was at a loss for words. Not to mention the others, she hadn't even seen through Ge Pan's problems.
"What about Zhu Rumin and Mao Wei? What's their story?" Miao Yu asked.
At the very least, these three were collaborators. Ge Pan had already admitted to working for the Kong siblings, and Mao Wei and Zhu Rumin were also ticket players who had infiltrated to help others. That was indisputable.
"Ge Pan and Mao Wei let Zhu Rumin go," Xu Huo said. "Mao Wei is already dead. Zhu Rumin's whereabouts are unknown—she might have already reunited with the Kong siblings. There's also Qiu Xiangdong."
When he mentioned Qiu Xiangdong, his gaze fell on Ge Pan. Ge Pan said, "I don't know Qiu Xiangdong."
"One more question," Xu Huo continued. "Is that player with the vacuum cleaner really dead?"
Ge Pan stared fixedly at him. "What do you think?"
Xu Huo gave a slight nod. "This person is useless. Keeping him alive is too dangerous."
This meant he was to be killed. The others had no objections, but Ge Pan wasn't about to wait for death. His body swayed, and an old-fashioned projector appeared before him:
"Irreversible rewind!"
The projector emitted a "clunk-clunk" reversing sound, but unfortunately, before it could even complete a quarter turn, it seemed to get stuck, wobbling in place.
The moment the projector appeared, all the players' first reaction was to retreat and be on guard. At the same time, Xu Huo, Wu Xiaonan, and Miao Yu attacked the projector from a distance, but they failed to destroy it.
Assuming the item's level was not low, everyone chose to move even farther away. But after waiting for a while, it was still repeatedly jamming in place. Chu Yuan walked over and kicked the projector. "Is this thing of yours broken?"
Unexpectedly, with that one kick, the projector shattered into pieces.
Ge Pan stared wide-eyed at the scene, ignoring the fact that his tongue was still pierced, and struggled violently. "How is that possible... my item!"
Miao Yu put away his dagger. "Looks like it's a single-use item."
"Single-use items usually have a very powerful effect—they're the best high-level items low-level players can get. How did this one not work?" Gan Qing couldn't help but say.
"It's a space-type item! Who among you is holding a space-type item!" Ge Pan's eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets. This was his trump card, his escape tool, but he never expected it to end like this. He couldn't accept it!
"A space-type item?" Wu Xiaonan looked around. "If it's the same type of space item, its level should be high. Is it one of ours?"
The range that time-space items could cover wasn't necessarily fixed, so it couldn't be determined that the item that destroyed the projector belonged to one of the players present.
Xu Huo instead looked at Wu Xiaonan. "Was it you?"
Wu Xiaonan shook his head. "You don't think the 'containing a B-level player' I mentioned refers to a space-type item, do you?"
"No, I don't have such an item."
"Forget it, let's not dwell on whose item it was," Wan Yunrong said. "Don't forget, there are two B-level players here. Is it strange for them to have space-type items?"
That was true enough. The players didn't continue the topic. Xu Huo retracted the kite string, and Ge Pan flew to his feet. The crimson sword pierced his neck, and as blood sprayed out, the game notification arrived.
Xu Huo took out a few of Ge Pan's items. "These seem to be the only ones that can be put to use. As for the rest, we'll talk about them after we get out alive?"
"I have no objections," Wu Xiaonan said first.
Although Xu Huo had been acting calmly and unassumingly, the information Chu Yuan had revealed was enough to show his strength. It was already generous of him to share the items. As for the potions and white notes, those were minor details.
Among Ge Pan's items, the best was the one he had used earlier: "Director's Authority." It allowed the user to shout "cut" and reset the scene. The reset time could be set anywhere between the previous ten minutes to five minutes, depending on how the user operated it.
The effect of this item was to make people lose a very short period of memory, which could have an unexpected impact on predicting a person's actions, words, and behavior patterns.
"This item is very useful. Maybe we can use it to find out the Kong siblings' trump cards," Chu Yuan said.
"The only downside is that the person holding this item can't appear in the scene before the reset. One of us will have to hide," Miao Yu said. "Who should take this item?"
"Give it to Gan Qing. He's injured," Wan Yunrong said. "Even if he joins in, he won't be much help."
"No!" Wu Xiaonan and Chu Yuan objected in unison.
"You don't trust me?" Gan Qing's face darkened. "Are you starting to doubt me again at a time like this?"
"It's not that I don't trust you," Chu Yuan scratched his head. "I just think this item needs to be used by someone truly clever. What if you don't hide well or pick the wrong moment? Wouldn't that waste an opportunity?"
"I feel the same way," Wu Xiaonan nodded.
To act according to the situation, Gan Qing was clearly not the right person.
"I think Xu Zhi is fine," Miao Yu said. "He was the first to suspect Ge Pan, and he can avoid certain trait effects, making him less susceptible. If the Kong siblings have such abilities, he'd be better at saving the situation."
Most people had no objections, so Wan Yunrong naturally couldn't say much.
They divided up Ge Pan's important items, disposed of his body, and then headed to the first underground floor—the floor with the room containing the subject board.
It wasn't yet dawn, so the lights weren't on. But operating in the dark was clearly more advantageous for them, so they needed to remove the lights first.
"Don't destroy the lights directly. Find the circuit and cut it," Xu Huo instructed.
The lights in the Deep Blue Laboratory had no external switches. Finding the circuit took some time, and it took some effort to pry open the metal panels.
"Why go through all this trouble?" Chu Yuan asked, puzzled. "Wouldn't it be easier to just smash the lights? Besides, the metal panels can't be repaired once damaged. Other players will easily find this place."
"Try not to damage the lab's equipment," Xu Huo said without much explanation.
Next came the personnel assignment. Wu Xiaonan volunteered to deal with Kong Hui. Xu Huo's initial task was to assist from the sidelines. The main issue was how to arrange the others.
(Chapter End)