novelraw Chapter 432: Hopscotch
Chapter 432: Hopscotch
Chu Yuan immediately stopped wiping the blood, turned around, and started running. As he ran, he said, "Why are these people trying to kill us? They aren't dungeon players... Could they be lying!"
"That doesn't make sense either. If they are players, what's the point of deliberately separating from us? Could it be that the other half of the laboratory doesn't play the Humans Catch Ghosts game?"
That wasn't strange. The players who came with Dr. Deng should know some inside information. Even if there are train ticket players among them, they most likely wouldn't care about the game's outcome or whether the dungeon is cleared.
If the Ghostly Shadow is wandering throughout the entire laboratory, then whether they are train ticket players or not, there's a risk of being attacked. It's just that this group of players has a higher level, so the Ghostly Shadow hasn't succeeded yet.
"Eh?" Chu Yuan suddenly acted as if he had an epiphany, "You said just now we didn't see the Ghostly Shadow behind the Glass Window. Could it be because tonight, there's a 'ghost' among the players on Dr. Deng's side, and the reason they're killing us is also because of the Humans Catch Ghosts game?"
Xu Huo turned his head to look at him, "Do you think those players would care about winning or losing the game?"
"Right," Chu Yuan scratched his head, "They probably don't even plan to clear the dungeon. Coming for us is eighty percent to silence us. This laboratory definitely has secrets that can't be spoken."
His expression became somewhat excited, "Something that can attract so many players must be a good thing. Shouldn't we go look for it too?"
Xu Huo certainly intended to go. However, he didn't trust Chu Yuan. After a pause, he asked, "Do you have a way to avoid being hunted by the other players? It's possible those who want to kill us aren't just Dr. Deng's people."
Chu Yuan wasn't stupid either and immediately guessed the meaning behind his words, "You mean among the players who came with us, there are also people from Dr. Deng's side?"It's hard to say if they are Dr. Deng's people, but they might be related to players like the Kong siblings.
"At the very least, we need to be prepared for that possibility," Xu Huo said, "We are currently trapped in the laboratory. It would be easy for them to make a move against us, given the difference in player levels."
"We can't trust the other players either... If we're lucky, maybe we can hide until the game ends."
Judging from the earlier confrontation, those two players might be C-rank. The explosion might not kill them, and even if they are seriously injured, the difference isn't huge, because there are still the two B-rank players, the Kong siblings.
Of course, not everything Dr. Deng said was necessarily true, but the other side already has eight players. The possibility of allies being mixed in among the train ticket players is also high. In this situation, their position is very difficult.
Chu Yuan thought with a hesitant expression, "I have a way to avoid them, but my item can only hide one person."
Xu Huo's gaze at him in the darkness changed slightly.
"But the laboratory is so big. It won't be easy for them to find us," Chu Yuan said optimistically, "Besides, there's still that Ghostly Shadow here. There's no reason it would only target us and not them. The Dungeon Boss should treat everyone equally."
The sharpness in Xu Huo's eyes faded, "Actually, there's another way. That is to end the dungeon early. Participating in the game and catching the ghost—we just need to catch the ghost."
"But the Ghostly Shadow is elusive. Where would we go to catch it?" Chu Yuan said, "We can't find the ghost through the glass either."
It was because of Gan Qing and the others that they speculated they could spot which player had the Ghostly Shadow attached by looking through the Glass Window. Later, they found this method didn't work. Grabbing a player also couldn't identify the 'ghost's' identity. There's simply no way to know which 'ghost' the Ghostly Shadow will appear on.
Furthermore, even if we find the Ghostly Shadow, how do we catch it? If it's just an item, the one controlling the Ghostly Shadow should be the real ghost. Where do we find this person?
"Going to look for the Ghostly Shadow will definitely mean running into other players again," Chu Yuan looked at him, "Next time, it won't be so easy to escape."
"Mutual destruction is also a good method," Xu Huo said as he took out a bucket of specially treated alcohol and placed it in a corner. He tapped a small hole in the container, and the smell of alcohol immediately wafted out, quickly filling the corridor.
"You're not thinking of blowing up the Deep Blue Laboratory, are you?" Chu Yuan said in shock, "It's all water outside!"
"Don't you have an oxygen-supplied Protective Suit?" Xu Huo said dismissively, "Put it on in advance."
Seeing he wasn't joking, Chu Yuan hurriedly changed into his Protective Suit and said, "Aren't you afraid of sinking this laboratory?"
"The laboratory's material is special; it won't sink. If we choose the right spot, water might not even get in," Xu Huo was clear. Even the Glass Windows downstairs that offer an underwater view are very sturdy and durable; otherwise, they couldn't withstand water pressure and attacks from mutated fish. Destroying them wouldn't be that easy.
But this wasn't a bad method to make the other players wary.
There was an explosion just now. All players will know there's someone here who's good with fire. Dr. Deng might not worry about flooding the laboratory, but wouldn't he worry about them destroying whatever it is they're looking for?
At the same time, it can also test whether the Ghostly Shadow is a Special Item born from the laboratory or a method of the hidden boss.
Although the Ghostly Shadow is elusive, it seems to cherish this laboratory very much. In the eastern half's underground first and second floors, apart from the Staff Members' dormitories, there aren't even overturned chairs. The corpses were also moved to the underground third floor to cultivate plants. To some extent, it's very organized and clean.
Whether we can blow out something good needs to be tested.
The alcohol he brought is limited and can't all be placed on this floor. The best location is the expanded area on the periphery of the underground third floor. That area only has an outer shell; the interior hasn't been fully reinforced yet.
But Dr. Deng and the others might still be on the underground third floor, so we can't go down for now.
After pouring out two more buckets of alcohol, Xu Huo noticed someone was coming up from downstairs.
The duration of the Sound-Muffling Figurine hasn't expired yet. For the other party to come this quickly, they must be heading towards the sound of the explosion.
He patted Chu Yuan, signaling him to leave quickly.
The two of them ran in the direction opposite the elevator. Just after rounding two corners, numbered grid squares suddenly appeared on the two branching paths ahead.
Xu Huo instinctively stopped and turned to go back, but looking at the ground, the path they had just come from also now had numbered grids. Furthermore, he and Chu Yuan were now standing on grids marked with the numbers "3" and "4" respectively.
"Another item?" Chu Yuan urged Xu Huo, "Fly up quickly!"
Xu Huo grabbed the piano wire, but his feet couldn't leave the ground. He tried moving to the grids on either side. Only after two attempts did he successfully reach "5". However, when he tried to move out of "5" again, it took several more attempts to succeed. Moreover, each time he moved, he could only increase the grid number one by one; he couldn't jump.
"A new game, playing with grids?" He looked up towards the corner ahead, "Can't tell someone like you is quite fond of children's games."
"Who?" Chu Yuan hadn't noticed anyone at all. Hearing this, he followed Xu Huo's line of sight.
No one came out from around the corridor corner, and no one spoke. Xu Huo also couldn't be bothered to engage in psychological warfare with him and directly called out his identity, "Mao Wei."