Chapter 448: Abandon the Target
The speed of the props wasn't slow, but there were simply too many corpses. In ten minutes, the dropped items had piled up into a heap. Chu Yuan even picked out two inconspicuous props from the pile.
They weren't particularly valuable props.
Generally, after a player dies, the props in their item slot are reclaimed by the game. Props that were taken out and used but not put back are left behind on the spot, while props carried on the body remain with the corpse. However, given that the Bolen Clan sends people every instance, the props left on the bodies are usually not very good.
"Let's rest for a while." Gan Qing, who was seriously injured, was the first to feel tired.
Qiu Xiangdong frowned slightly, his gaze shifting between Xu Huo and Chu Yuan. Seeing both of them sit down with weary expressions, he turned to look at Wu Xiaonan. "How are you feeling?"
"Try having a hole punched through your chest and see how you feel?" Wu Xiaonan's mental state seemed pretty good.
At that moment, Chu Yuan flexed his numb and sore hand, furrowing his brow as he asked Qiu Xiangdong, "It won't take too long to recover, will it?"
"Don't worry, you'll know in a bit." Qiu Xiangdong pointed at Wu Xiaonan again. "Isn't she fine now?"
Chu Yuan didn't say anything more, instead asking Xu Huo with a questioning look.
Xu Huo was also rubbing his wrist. "How about we take turns from now on, so we don't all get too exhausted and fail to respond in case of any sudden situation."
The others naturally had no objections. Dr. Deng voluntarily walked over to the pile of items cleared from the corpses, put on gloves, took out a magnifying glass, and carefully examined them.
Qiu Xiangdong came up behind him. "What does the potion look like?"
Dr. Deng shook his head. "No one knows that. Perhaps Professor Wu used another method to store the potion. In my opinion, the likelihood of it being hidden inside the corpses is very small."
"Are there any androids among these corpses?" Xu Huo said. "They'd be hard to spot mixed in with the bodies, but we can't rule out that possibility."
So Dr. Deng voluntarily went to sift through the corpse pile. This kind of identification was much simpler—androids don't rot.
Unexpectedly, after searching for a while, they really did find two "disabled" androids. Dr. Deng seemed to know a bit about mechanics and quickly disassembled them, but still found nothing.
"This is way too slow," Qiu Xiangdong said. "Besides, we can't completely rule out the possibility of it being hidden in the corpses. Even if it's slim, we have to try to know for sure."
"Better than doing nothing."
Chu Yuan and Gan Qing didn't respond. Xu Huo and Dr. Deng also looked away.
"Even if it were there, which it probably isn't, would it still be usable?" Chu Yuan sat on the ground, stretching his limbs. "I think we should change our approach and look for another breakthrough."
"Do you have another idea?" Qiu Xiangdong asked.
Chu Yuan shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't ask me. I don't know."
"What are your thoughts?" Qiu Xiangdong directly asked Xu Huo and Dr. Deng, since Chu Yuan clearly had no ideas.
"Didn't you buy a metal detector?" Xu Huo looked at Chu Yuan. "Take it out and use it. Let's find the androids first."
"I bought that for finding ores. It probably won't work on robots, right?" Chu Yuan hesitated.
"It will work," Dr. Deng interjected, adjusting his glasses. "Androids have special ores embedded inside them. An instrument specifically designed to find ores should be usable."
"Fine." Chu Yuan brought out the instrument and handed it directly to Qiu Xiangdong. "I'll trouble you with this."
Qiu Xiangdong stared at him expressionlessly.
"Don't look at me like that. It's your prop that's got me unable to even stand up right now." Chu Yuan sat back down, lazily adding, "I don't care about any potion. If it comes down to it, we can just make a fake one. Those people upstairs have never seen the real thing anyway."
"That's actually a good idea," Gan Qing said. "We're just buying time anyway."
Xu Huo's gaze swept between these people. After a moment, he said, "I think we still need to find the potion. A fake potion might not fool the Kong siblings. They might have known what the potion looks like all along."
"Besides, this kind of potion must be very precious. If we can get our hands on it, it won't be a wasted trip. We could even trade it with the Kong siblings for something else."
"Xu Zhi is right," Wu Xiaonan said, grimacing as she stood up and walked over to pick up the collection bag. "We've come all this way and been so badly injured. We can't go back empty-handed."
"Searching through the corpses is too much work. Let's find the androids first," Xu Huo said. "If the potion happens to be in one of the androids, we won't have to sift through the bodies."
Wu Xiaonan looked at Qiu Xiangdong, who nodded and took the detection instrument.
"By the way, did you kill Chang Chengyong?" Xu Huo asked, feigning casualness.
Qiu Xiangdong turned his head. "Does it even matter now?"
"Just pure curiosity," Xu Huo said. "Zhu Rumin is probably dead by now. Wan Yunrong, who became a ghost last night, is also dead. There's still one ghost left."
"By tonight, almost everyone left will turn into ghosts. Could the potion be tied to this game? For example, successfully clearing the instance might reward you with this potion."
Qiu Xiangdong searched for androids as he spoke. "If that were the case, the Bolen Clan should have gotten the potion long ago."
Dr. Deng also looked at him with confusion. "That seems unlikely."
The S-grade potion had never appeared in the game system. Besides, why would Stellar Corporation give an S-grade potion to ordinary players?
Xu Huo sighed. "So many players before us couldn't find the potion. It seems we'll have a hard time finding it too."
The thoughts of everyone present were more or less the same, so they didn't say much more.
Qiu Xiangdong worked quickly. After searching this floor, he found three more androids. He brought them back for Dr. Deng to inspect, but again, there was no result.
"Let's stop looking. I say we just use a fake," Chu Yuan said.
Xu Huo also seemed somewhat tempted. Qiu Xiangdong and Wu Xiaonan exchanged a glance, and the latter said, "Think it over. There are still three days left. There's no guarantee the Kong siblings won't come down. What do we do if they see through us?"
"I think we should seal the elevator," Xu Huo said. "Seal it so they can't come down. The lab won't be easily destroyed either. We can hold out for two or three days."
"We should have done this a long time ago." Chu Yuan's stamina had recovered. He flexed his limbs and said, "I'll move the corpses."
Compared to easily movable objects like tables and cabinets, the ready-made corpses were much more convenient to use and less susceptible to prop effects.
The group worked together to raise the elevator to the second floor, completely filling the elevator shaft and blocking the entrance as well.
After finishing this, Xu Huo said, "Let's go check the west half of the lab again. It's too dusty here to stay for long."
The few of them crossed the corridor and entered the other half of the lab. Once inside, they naturally discovered the bodies of Zhu Rumin and Zhao Bi.
"What the hell? Wasn't Zhu Rumin a ghost? Why did she suffocate to death?"
(Chapter End)