Chapter 82 The Clock Shop in the Small Town

Chapter 82: Chapter 82 The Clock Shop in the Small TownLin Pei immediately distanced himself from him, "Are you a Cannibal Player?!"

Not to mention the people in the car, even Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an, who had entered with them, were frightened. The two jumped up and hid behind Lin Pei, and Ke Liang and Wu Qiuyi also stood up.

Xu Huo observed the reactions of these people, lowered his collar to reveal a corner of the black numbers on his back, and chuckled, "It’s merely a last resort. It’s better than starving to death when there’s truly nothing else to eat."

"We are human beings; even if we starve, we won’t resort to cannibalism." Lin Pei said sternly, "If you have that in mind, please get off the bus."

Xu Huo sat down near them, looking at him, "You said there were eight of you when you got on the bus, one died of hunger, and four died for other reasons, now there are only three of you left. How can you prove that you haven’t eaten anyone?"

"A normal person can survive for seven days on just water; an Evolver would last even longer, but it’s unpredictable—eight days, or maybe ten?"

Though Evolvers have stronger physical abilities than ordinary people, they need to consume more energy to maintain normal bodily functions, and Cannibal Players even more so."

"Did you really not eat anyone? Then where are the bodies of those who died?"

As he spoke, his smile grew thicker, "You claim you arrived here five and two days ago, respectively, but who knows if that’s true? Maybe you’re just deceiving those who came later, making us drop our guard."

"You’re talking nonsense!" Gu Yu snapped, standing up by gripping the seat, "If I had eaten someone, would I be starving like this?"

"That remains to be seen." Xu Huo reined in his smile, "It’s not just Cannibal Players who resort to cannibalism."

Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an no longer hid behind Lin Pei; they slowly moved to another area without people and distanced themselves from everyone else.

The old bus continued to move slowly. Shen Xin walked up to the driver, Shen Yi, keeping his distance from Lin Pei and the other two, while Gu Yu sat alone in the rear seats, fumbling for something below.

"You’re really something." Wu Qiuyi’s voice was husky, as if she hadn’t spoken for a long time, "Just a few words, and you’ve destroyed the trust we had built."

Lin Pei’s group had been on the bus earlier and had already figured out the taboos of Fenbei Town. Gu Yu’s group also avoided death traps with their help, and a certain level of trust had been established through cooperation. If there was distrust, it was from them towards the later-arriving Xu Huo’s group, but Xu Huo managed to sow doubt among them first.

"You wanted to know where the bodies of the dead have gone, right?" Wu Qiuyi jumped out of the bus, gesturing for Xu Huo to follow.

Xu Huo didn’t hesitate and followed her out.

"The bus isn’t going fast; we can catch up." Wu Qiuyi stopped Lin Pei, who wanted to follow, "No more than two people are allowed in the public area."

Lin Pei looked at her worriedly, "Then be careful."

The bus drove off slowly, and Xu Huo entered a watch shop across the street with Wu Qiuyi.

She pinched the bell on the door, signaling him to enter first.

Xu Huo walked in and saw her slowly close the door, holding the doorknob. Not a sound came from the door latch, lock, or bell when the door closed.

Not only that, all the cabinets and walls of this clock shop were filled with clocks and watches. All of them were ticking, yet there was no sound of mechanical movement.

Xu Huo stepped over a small doll on the floor and walked up to a stand-alone display cabinet.

The glass front of the display case had been shattered, and dark bloodstains were smeared across the fragments on the floor. Two steps forward, the bloodstains abruptly became more extensive, and there were drag marks on the ground, trailing into the room at the back. Through the gap in the door, one could see a segment of a male limb and some pieces of internal organs.

Xu Huo pushed the door open slightly, and among these, there were several palm and footprints in the blood that didn’t look like they belonged to a normal human being.

He walked over, scrutinized the footprints and palm prints on the ground, and asked Wu Qiuyi in a lowered voice, "Have you ever seen an Alien species before?"

"I have, it’s the same as the Aliens on the preliminary examination train, with the appearance of humans but each one of them a man-eating maniac," Wu Qiuyi’s eyes were dyed red by the dried bloodstains on the ground, and she said through clenched teeth, "You see, this is left by the Aliens. If we ate human flesh to fill our stomachs, this... hand wouldn’t remain here!"

Xu Huo paid no attention to the anger in her tone, but hovered his own palm over the print on the ground, "Do you see?"

"This isn’t a regular palm print. The Aliens on the preliminary examination train looked deformed, but they were about the same size as humans. Their limbs, fingers, and toes seemed longer than normal because they were too skinny. The footprints and palm prints here are bigger than those of an adult male, at least..."

"At least what?" Wu Qiuyi instinctively pressed.

Xu Huo patted his clothes and stood up, "At least it indicates that the Aliens in Fenbei Town are more ferocious than those on the preliminary examination train. Under no circumstances should the players be attacked and killed without any chance to fight back."

"That Alien was particularly fast," Wu Qiuyi said, "I was at the doorway at the time. Looking back, I had just enough time to catch a glimpse of its shadow. When I chased over, the room was empty, so it must have dragged the body back to eat... after I left."

She still couldn’t figure out why to this point.

"Did your companion break the display case and draw the Alien here?" Xu Huo asked.

"I’m not sure, the glass suddenly shattered," Wu Qiuyi said with a subdued voice, "Those Aliens are like ghosts, seemingly able to appear at any place at any time. As long as there is a sound, they’ll immediately make their appearance."

"That’s not hard to explain," Xu Huo bent down and scrutinized the gap behind the overturned picture frame inside the display case, while saying, "The town mayor Niese has a talent for mechanics. There must be a precise sound sensor or vibration sensor underneath this town; otherwise, it’s impossible to determine whether there are three people in a public space simultaneously."

"Since the town has employed Security Guards to maintain order, there must be special devices that notify the Security Guards when something happens. It’s likely that the Aliens were already placed in areas with activity. As soon as there is a loud sound, they will immediately take action."

After confirming there were no other devices under the picture frame, he reached out to take it.

"Don’t touch...!" Wu Qiuyi unconsciously tried to stop him, but Xu Huo had already picked it up. She said with a slight annoyance, "This town is full of traps; it would be best if you don’t carelessly move things!"

Xu Huo pulled the paper from the front of the picture frame. It had a riddle written on it:

"In his lifetime, how many clocks did the master clockmaker make?"

Wu Qiuyi had already seen the note before, "There’s this kind of nonsensical question everywhere in the town."

"It’s a riddle," Xu Huo tore off the note and pocketed it.

"You call this a riddle?" Wu Qiuyi’s face showed a mocking expression.

Putting the photo back in the display case, Xu Huo walked out.

Wu Qiuyi ran ahead to the door, grasping the doorknob first. She gave him a cautionary look before gently opening the door. Just as the two were about to leave, a clock hanging by the door suddenly chimed, "It’s twelve o’clock, twelve o’clock, lunchtime has arrived, let us enjoy lunch while we solve riddles."

"Today’s question is, how many clocks did the master clockmaker, who adored clocks, make in his lifetime?"