Players, Please Board the Train

When the clock chimed the hour, Xu Huo immediately looked at the decibel meter in the corner - 72.

”You don’t need to worry, Mutants won’t appear.” Wu Qiuyi laughed at his tense posture. ”Every few hours, a clock somewhere in town chimes, usually over 60 decibels, but it never attracts Mutants.”

The two stepped out onto the street, and indeed everything outside was calm.

Wu Qiuyi stepped onto the tracks. ”Let’s catch up to the bus first. These tracks lead to the town’s east gate, and it won’t come back until at least tomorrow. If you don’t want to spend the night here, we should hurry.”

After walking along the tracks for a few steps, Xu Huo suddenly turned back, picked up a doll from the ground, and hurled it at the bell above the clock shop door.

The doll’s crying and the bell rang simultaneously, definitely exceeding 60 decibels.

”Are you insane?!” Wu Qiuyi desperately lowered her voice while grabbing Xu Huo’s shoulder. ”Are you trying to get me killed!”

Xu Huo removed her hand. ”Calm down. The Mutants didn’t appear.”

Wu Qiuyi froze for a moment. They stood in the open street with clear visibility - Mutants could be seen approaching from any direction, yet none had appeared.

Xu Huo stepped over the scattered toys and walked back. Wu Qiuyi looked utterly confused and bewildered, but after a moment’s hesitation, she chose to follow him.Returning to the clock shop, Xu Huo walked up to the chiming clock and raised his voice: ”I want to answer the riddle.”

”Pleasant puzzle time, pleasant puzzle solver, pleasant clock inspection. Please state your answer.”

”Please repeat the question one more time.”

”Today’s question is: How many clocks did the clock master who adored timepieces make in his lifetime?”

Instead of answering, Xu Huo waited a moment before saying, ”I didn’t hear clearly just now. Repeat the question again.”

”If I can’t answer, will I be punished?”

”Pleasant puzzle time. The game rules set by Clock Master Nise absolutely do not allow any puzzle enthusiast to be harmed.”

”If I answer wrong, will I be punished?”

”Pleasant puzzle time. The game rules set by Clock Master Nise absolutely do not allow any puzzle enthusiast to be harmed. But please note, puzzle solver, wrong answers cannot exceed three times.”

”If I need to use the restroom outside midway and come back to solve the puzzle, is that allowed?”

”Distracted puzzle solvers will lose their puzzle opportunity at the clock shop.”

”If I stay in the clock shop the whole time, can I answer the riddle tomorrow?”

”Pleasant puzzle time. The game rules set by Clock Master Nise absolutely do not allow any puzzle enthusiast to be harmed. But please note, puzzle solver, wrong answers cannot exceed three times. First attempt begins now.”

”137 clocks.”

”Beep! Wrong answer.”

”1 clock.”

”Beep! Wrong answer.”

”Nise himself lost count.”

”Beep! Wrong answer.”

Wu Qiuyi beside him stared daggers at Xu Huo, gritting her teeth as she said, ”Could you be serious for once!”

”Pleasant answering time has ended. Unfortunately, the puzzle solver did not provide the correct answer.”

”Please don’t be sad, puzzle solver. The pleasant clock is willing to gift you a chocolate bar and a candy free of charge. Please keep trying.”

Then, the metal base beneath the clock slowly opened, spitting out a chocolate bar and a lollipop.

Xu Huo casually picked them up, checked the expiration date, tore open the wrapper, broke off a piece for Wu Qiuyi, and said quietly, ”Not expired. Ten-year shelf life chocolate - not sure if it’s edible. Want to try?”

Wu Qiuyi’s expression was complicated, but her body was honest. She swallowed hard, took it, and shoved it into her mouth, chewing with rapturous delight. As she chewed, tears streamed down her face: ”If we’d known earlier... they wouldn’t have had to die...”

”Answering time is over. Keep your voice down.” Xu Huo held the doorbell as he stepped out first.

The two ran along the tracks, catching up to the bus after more than ten minutes.

Seeing Wu Qiuyi return safely, Lin Pei and Ke Liang both sighed in relief. But Wu Qiuyi was far more excited than them. ”There’s food! There’s food in this town! We found chocolate and candy!”

Everyone in the bus practically turned green with hunger. Gu Yu, who was already dizzy and lightheaded, smelled the sweetness on her breath and immediately grabbed her hand. ”Give me a piece!”

”He found it,” Wu Qiuyi pointed at Xu Huo.

All eyes turned to him. Xu Huo said, ”There’s enough for everyone.”

The remaining chocolate was enough for each person to have a piece, which he distributed to Lin Pei and the others. At this point, Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an looked at the lollipop still in his hand. ”Big brother, could you share a little with us?”

Xu Huo smiled and patted both their shoulders. ”You just got here. Going hungry for two days won’t hurt. If we can find more food later, you’ll be safe. If not, you’ll remain reserve rations.”

Their knees went weak as tears streamed down their faces. ”Brother, we were really wrong. Please don’t say such terrifying things.”

”As payment for tricking me into this dungeon.”

”What did you say?” Gu Yu turned her head, staring at Xu Huo. ”Where did you enter the dungeon from?”

”A villa.”

”Was it a Haunted House where people died?” When he nodded, Gu Yu walked over and kicked Wang Chaoqing. ”Well, well! So you’re the peeping Toms!”

”We siblings were tricked too!” Shen Xin said angrily. ”That post was made by you!”

The chocolate suddenly tasted less sweet in Lin Pei and Ke Liang’s mouths. They too had been lured by that post and stepped into a trap. But at this point, regret was useless. The worst off was Wu Qiuyi, who had entered the dungeon searching for someone. She found them, only to watch them get eaten by Mutants right before her eyes.

Wu Qiuyi’s eyes bloodshot, she shoved Gu Yu aside and pinned Nian and Wang to the ground, beating them.

”If it weren’t for you, my boyfriend wouldn’t have been so distracted by hunger that he accidentally hit a bell!”

”If it weren’t for you, Xiao Heng wouldn’t have starved to death!”

”If it weren’t for you, Brother Liu wouldn’t have tried to create an escape opportunity for us by rushing the town gate and getting torn apart by Mutants!”

”If it weren’t for you! If it weren’t for you!”

Even in her rage, she had to keep her voice low, her hoarse voice seeming to seep blood.

Xu Huo glanced at the two kneeling figures with tear-streaked, bloody faces and pulled her back. ”The people you knew might not have been tricked by them. They probably haven’t known about this dungeon for long.”

Nian and Wang, beaten until their faces were covered in blood, too afraid to cry out, quickly said, ”We only started tricking players after we noticed people disappearing in the Haunted House and leaving items behind! The people who came before we made that post really had nothing to do with us!”

Ke Liang touched the scar on his face. ”So I was the first one to fall for it.”

Shen Xin helped Wu Qiuyi up. ”Don’t waste energy on these kinds of people. The bus is almost at the east gate. Save your strength to find the exit.”