Chapter 105 The Unique Key

Chapter 105: Chapter 105 The Unique KeyXu Huo dodged the Flying Arrow, and when he climbed higher again, Lin Pei’s figure had already disappeared into the building. He didn’t follow, but turned back and said to Wang Chaoqing, "If you can climb network cables, can you climb electric ones?"

Wang Chaoqing looked somewhat bewildered, "Maybe..."

"Go find Lin Pei, see where he’s settled down." Xu Huo put away his tools and went to help Gu Yu, but she slapped his hand away.

"But don’t I need to take hostages?" Wang Chaoqing asked professionally, "Four against two, it’s quite inconvenient without me."

Xu Huo twisted his neck, "What do you think?"

Watching Shen Yi and Ke Liang approaching, Wang Chaoqing sheepishly released his hold and walked over to a clock nearby, placing his hand on it. Following that, something black and gauzy like silk burrowed into the clock from his hand.

On the other side, Shen Yi embraced Shen Xin, warily watching Xu Huo, "What exactly do you want to do?"

"To avoid some unnecessary trouble," Xu Huo said, "to clarify things in the shortest time possible."

Is that your method?" Gu Yu spoke with anger, "Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?"

Xu Huo frowned slightly but did not answer, while Ke Liang said, "You don’t trust us, you don’t trust anyone."

"Mutual understanding, I nearly lost my life at Master Niese’s residence." He took a pocket watch from his pocket and dangled it in the air, gently swaying it.

Gu Yu let out a cold laugh, "Who do you think I am? Killing people just because of a few words from Lin Pei?"

"After all, we’ve been through life and death together, and you attack us without even saying a word."

"If we were to truly fight with you, what would you have done?"

"Lin Pei’s words can’t move you, so you think mine will?" Xu Huo spoke without emotion, calmly, "I just want to resolve the trouble with Lin Pei. Instead of wasting time and energy on arguing and proving, we might as well think about what comes after."

"You..." Gu Yu was so infuriated by his indifferent demeanor, it was as if everything was under his control, completely disdainful of explaining himself to them.

But having Lin Pei in the team was indeed a trouble, whether his targeting Xu Huo today was successful or not, there was no guarantee that he wouldn’t go after the others later.

On second thought, taking quick and decisive action might not be such a bad idea.

Holding back her anger, she then said, "In the game, you can’t get far without trusting your team. If you treat everyone as an enemy, sooner or later, everyone will become your enemy."

"You’re right," Xu Huo agreed sincerely.

Gu Yu stomped on the doll on the ground angrily, making it emit a shrill chicken-like noise over and over again.

"Calm down! Calm down!" Shen Xin said hurriedly, "What if Lin Pei has released the other Aliens?"

Gu Yu’s throat hurt, her fists itched, and she gritted her teeth, "I want to hit someone!"

What else could the others say? Xu Huo’s method might not have taken them into consideration, but it reduced potential danger, and they benefited from it as well.

"Is this the artifact Lin Pei was talking about?" Shen Yi was attracted by the pocket watch in Xu Huo’s hand, and he couldn’t help asking, "What exactly is this artifact that made him strike at you time and again?"

"I’m not sure either," Xu Huo said with a slight smile, "This is just a pocket watch I picked up at random, there are many more at Master Niese’s residence."

"My guess is," he explained, "that all the players are strangers with no grudges, and he’s not doing this to stop others from leaving the instance."

"Killing other players to get their artifacts mainly yields props and potions; whether it’s a prop or a potion, this item must be very precious for Lin Pei to take the risk of not being able to leave the instance to get it."

"Or..."

"Or he has found a way out but is missing a key item." Shen Xin immediately said, "Perhaps the gate mechanism to open the door is hidden in a locked place, and he needs this key!"

"That’s one way to put it," Xu Huo said. "Releasing the Alien and inciting infighting could both trap us in the instance. His willingness to do so means at worst, he already knows how to leave, which is why he’s so brazen."

Shen Yi’s face changed slightly, "If he knows how to get out and he’s gone, locking the door behind him, what do we do? Can your Sword cut through the main gate?"

"Don’t have too much hope for my props," Xu Huo said. "We don’t know how thick the walls are, props have their limits."

He said this and nodded with his chin toward Wang Chaoqing, "Didn’t you send him to track Lin Pei? Finding the person might also lead us to clues."

Gu Yu and the others turned their heads and stared at the sleazy young man with glasses, their eyes drowning in mistrust.

Wang Chaoqing felt a bit scared and swallowed hard, "Um, I want to ask, if I can’t find the person, will I be beaten up?"

Gu Yu let out a "ha" and cracked her knuckles ominously, scaring him into quickly turning away.

"If your Sword is useless, then what he knows might be the only way out, I’m worried he might destroy the door and cut off our only exit," Ke Liang said with unease. "We just had a falling out with him, he’ll definitely do that to eliminate any future threats."

"Does he really know a way out?" Shen Yi asked anxiously, clutching his hair. "Shouldn’t we look for something that opens the door in Master Niese’s residence? That way, at least we have half a chance."

He spoke urgently, "He might be at Master Niese’s place right now; if we hurry, we can still catch him!"

"This is just my speculation," Xu Huo said. "We’ve been inside Master Niese’s residence many times already. Without a specific target, we don’t even know what to look for."

"And going now won’t catch anyone."

"So Lin Pei hasn’t found anything either, does that mean he doesn’t know at all what to look for?" Shen Xin’s eyes twinkled with hope, "That means we’re not completely without hope, right?"

"There’s another possibility, maybe Lin Pei is just a clod thinking an NPC’s prop is special and desperately wants to get it, regardless," Gu Yu said, grinding her foot on the rag doll beneath. "If he knew how to get out, would he still be here starving?"

"If he doesn’t go to Master Niese’s residence tonight, it’s more likely what you said." Xu Huo nodded.

Gu Yu snorted and deliberately turned away, not looking at him, adding, "Let’s not be so pessimistic. Even if Lin Pei has run away, there’s still another door, right? We can just go our separate ways if needed."

The several of them looked at each other, "That’s the only way to think about it."

Meanwhile, at Master Niese’s residence.

Lin Pei, with a flashlight in hand, frantically rummaged through the house. Various objects clattered onto the carpet as he searched, muttering to himself:

"A special time, a special key to open the door, hidden only where Master Niese might find it; a unique shape, a unique location, the sole key to leave the town..."

He repeated these cryptic phrases several times, kicking aside the chaos on the floor. Staggering back, Lin Pei leaned on the table with red-rimmed eyes and glared hatefully at the clock on the wall, "It must be Xu Huo, he must have found the prop, taken the key that opens the door, the only key!"