Chapter 103: Hard to Distinguish True From False

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Hard to Distinguish True From FalseThe gas station in Fenbei Town wasn’t large, and there wasn’t an abundance of stored fuel. After accounting for the fuel used by the bus earlier and for setting traps, there wasn’t much gasoline left. Even if there were an explosion, the players could retreat safely. This was also why they had previously considered blowing up the gas station.

To increase the lethality, Lin Pei and Ke Liang had gathered a considerable amount of broken glass, furniture frames, and other items earlier and piled them into a small mountain inside the gas station. The bell string designed to attract the alien was placed on top, connected to a rope that extended 30 meters outside the gas station.

The fuel valve had already been shut off, and Ke Liang and the others were in the rest room next to the gas station.

Wu Qiuyi was laid on the only bed covered with a white cloth. Shen Yi and his sister, Shen Xin, stood a bit further away, Lin Pei sat by the bed, with Ke Liang standing behind him. Both were looking at the person on the bed, their expressions filled with sorrow.

Xu Huo pushed the door open and entered. Shen Yi immediately stood up and asked, "How are the fish traps?"

"Only the trap closest to us was opened; the other two are untouched," Gu Yu spoke first, then looked towards Lin Pei, "Where were you just now?"

Lin Pei turned to look at them, his face enveloped in enormous grief, yet he didn’t speak right away.

"He was unconscious from his injuries. When I got there, he was still lying on the ground," Ke Liang explained on his behalf. "As for Wang Chaoqing, we didn’t find him."

Xu Huo turned his head to glance inside the gas station and said, "You mentioned earlier that he was conscious when you left."

"The house collapsed right after you left. Not only was I knocked out by the debris, but my leg was also broken," Lin Pei said as he pulled up his trouser leg to reveal his severely swollen right calf, which had been crudely treated.

"What a coincidence," Gu Yu strode over to inspect it.

"I’m the one who bandaged his leg; am I not clear about it?" Ke Liang raised his hand to stop her.

Gu Yu pushed his hand away, "Who knows if you’re in cahoots?"

Ke Liang’s face turned ugly, but Lin Pei, who had been informed of the suspicion beforehand, said, "It’s reasonable for them to doubt me since I was absent at the time, and only one alien out of three managed to escape from the traps."

Gu Yu snorted coldly and after a real inspection of his leg, she took a step back and nodded to Xu Huo with a frown.

Xu Huo didn’t say anything for a moment, while Lin Pei said with an unflappable face, "It’s not like I would break my own leg. What could I possibly gain by doing this in a town that uses aliens as security guards, especially now that we can’t even get out?"

"I think it’s most likely just an accident," Shen Yi tried to mediate, "We’re all partners who have been through life and death together. Let’s not suspect each other without evidence."

"But only one trap was sabotaged, and there has been a sneak attack before. It’s hard to be sure," Shen Xin looked around and said, "Wang Chaoqing, isn’t he the one who ran off without a trace? Probably feeling guilty."

"He’s right here," Xu Huo suddenly spoke, turned around, and stepped out quickly. He walked to a standing cabinet inside the gas station, pulled open the cabinet door, and dragged out the hiding person.

The others who followed out were surprised to see the person he pulled out, "Wang Chaoqing! What’s he doing here?!"

"So you were hiding in the gas station!" Ke Liang rushed up in a few strides, lifted the man, and was about to hit him. "Was it you who let the alien out?"

Wang Chaoqing was scared out of his wits, defending himself with his hands while shouting, "It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me. I don’t know anything; I just found a place to hide. I don’t know what happened!"

"You...!" Ke Liang was about to continue but Xu Huo put a hand out to stop him, "What use is forcing him to confess?"

Ke Liang’s brows knit tightly, and his scarred face took on a threatening look, "If we don’t ask, how will we know it wasn’t him? You can suspect Lin Pei, so why not him?"

"Aren’t we in this damned place because of him? He’d be happy if more of us died so he could take our items!"

"If we die at the hands of the alien, where will he get the items from?" Xu Huo paused before counter questioning, "Are you looking to avenge Wu Qiuyi or just looking for a scapegoat?"

Ke Liang slowly unclenched his fist. He dropped Wang Chaoqing to the ground and stepped back, saying, "You’re the one who suspected someone of tampering with the traps. I try to interrogate Wang Chaoqing, and you stop me. What are you trying to do?"

Xu Huo didn’t directly answer his question, but instead said, "What if there are people in this town besides us?"

Ke Liang paused for a moment, then said, "Impossible, we’ve searched everywhere in this town."

"And going back to the previous points, you first suspected Wu Qiuyi of deliberately giving the wrong answer for the riddle clock, then believed that someone among us attacked you. Now that I’ve accepted your point, the traps might really have been sabotaged, and Lin Pei can prove his innocence. Now it’s Wang Chaoqing’s turn, and you suddenly say there might be other people?"

He abruptly laughed, then frowned and stared at him, "Is what you’re saying true or false?"

"I went off track earlier," Xu Huo rubbed his brow and explained, "Since the other party didn’t show up, that’s why I suspected the people in the same car as me, but if it was deliberate, allowing us to suspect each other while figuring out how to open the traps to release the alien, that would make sense."

"That does sound right," Gu Yu walked over, musing, "To be honest, it’s strange that Wu Qiuyi got the color of the floral wreath wrong. Memory blurs are common, but she was so sure she hadn’t made a mistake. It’s quite possible that someone secretly switched the wreaths."

"Wait, wait a minute," Shen Yi interjected, "I’m getting confused by your conversation. Wu Qiuyi only mentioned the wreath thing to us. Assuming there really is an outsider, how would they have known?"

"And why would he release only one alien? If he wanted players to die, he should release all three, right?"

The room fell silent, Shen Xin’s face turned pale, "What if the other two aliens have been released as well?"

"No way!" Shen Yi exclaimed first, "What do we do now?"

"Don’t panic, this doesn’t make any sense!" Lin Pei exclaimed, then looked at Xu Huo, "If there were other people in town with the means to open the traps, we wouldn’t have had the chance to seal them."

"Whether Wu Qiuyi got the color of the wreath wrong, or the alien escaped from the trap, both might just be coincidences. Besides these, is there any other evidence pointing to an outsider, or do we have an Inside Ghost among us?"

Just as Gu Yu was about to speak, she was cut off by Lin Pei, "I know you want to talk about the sneak attack, but besides Xu Huo himself, who saw it?"

"No one saw it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen," said Shen Xin.

"Yes, not being witnessed doesn’t mean it didn’t occur. But don’t forget, whether suspecting an outsider or an Inside Ghost, it’s all based on the premise of his supposed sneak attack. If that incident didn’t take place, would you suspect me or Wang Chaoqing just because an alien escaped?" Lin Pei asked forcefully.

"Reason? He must have a reason for doing this," Gu Yu said, "What you’re saying is just your speculation, not fact."

"Make us turn against each other, that gives him the chance to strike," Lin Pei said with a cold laugh, "Isn’t deception among players quite normal?"