Chapter 97 Time to Show Sincerity

Chapter 97: Chapter 97 Time to Show Sincerity"Bullshit!" Shen Yi said, "What’s the point of Xu Huo fabricating an attacker?"

"Of course there’s a point." Lin Pei looked at them mockingly, "Qiu Yi misremembering the location was just a small mistake, but now you’re blowing it up, demanding an explanation. Isn’t it just to take advantage of this situation?"

"And just now, Xu Huo must have gotten something good from Master Niese for answering the riddle; those were obtained through our cooperation and should have been shared equally, but now, you have no intention of sharing them..."

"Whoosh!" A black gemstone watch, a magnifying glass, and a syringe were all thrown onto the seat; everyone looked up to see Xu Huo leaning calmly by the door, leisurely lighting a cigarette, taking a puff, and then looking at them through the smoke.

"If you want them that badly, Lin Pei, I don’t mind giving them all to you."

Lin Pei’s expression stiffened slightly, and he slowly contained his emotions, his eyes growing cold and hard.

"Whether we break through the gate with props or find the gate switch, we must make sure there are no Aliens nearby. We’ve taken down two, and dealing with another one won’t be a problem, but the Alien that should have been at the east gate didn’t show up."

"If we don’t find any other traps, the easiest way is to lure it out. At least one more Alien is waiting for us to hunt, and arguing here won’t help."

No one can do without the others.

"But we must clear this up!" Gu Yu said, "I agree with luring and killing the Alien, but what if someone tries to backstab us when we act?"

"We’re not afraid of dying at the mouths of Aliens; we’re afraid of dying at the hands of our own kind. That would be truly unfair," Shen Yi also said.

"Right! Right!" Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an quickly expressed their agreement; they were the ones with less courage and ability but stronger survival instincts.

"What do you guys want to do?" Wu Qiuyi asked with red eyes.

"Show us your abilities," Gu Yu immediately said. "Some of us have shown our abilities and props to some extent. You two have been tight-lipped. If you don’t have a guilty conscience, let’s be open and honest. Whoever doesn’t dare to reveal themselves is the one who’s playing dirty."

"It could still be you guys, even if what Xu Huo said is true," Lin Pei swept his gaze over Gu Yu and the others.

"We can prove ourselves," Shen Xin and her brother immediately stated.

The conversation had reached this point; if Wu Qiuyi and Lin Pei disagreed, it would seem like they had something to hide.

"I agree," Wu Qiuyi said first, "The Alien at the east gate is difficult to handle. If we know everyone’s abilities and props in advance, it will make it easier to coordinate."

"However, I can only tell you the general direction of my ability, not my profession. I can give a small demonstration."

"No problem," Gu Yu agreed readily, "Who’s going to start?"

"I’ll go," Ke Liang was the first to speak up. "My ability is related to jumping. My highest record is twelve meters. Do I need to demonstrate?"

"Of course," said Gu Yu with wide eyes, and Ke Liang immediately got off the bus, jumped on the spot, and effortlessly cleared the height of the bus, landing silently.

"I can imitate the sounds of animals, especially birds." Wu Qiuyi demonstrated three different bird calls on the spot.

Next was Lin Pei, "I excel at tracking, able to pick out the footsteps of one person among hundreds or even thousands."

He paused, "You don’t need me to give you a demonstration on the spot, do you?"

Gu Yu curled her lips, "Let me tell you, you all know I’m a celebrity, and there’s nothing worth hiding about my profession—it’s celebrity. As for my ability, it obviously has to do with youth and beauty."

A few people in the car turned to stare at her, and Gu Yu pulled a face, "What? Is that not okay?"

"You’re good at fighting," Shen Xin said softly. Before they entered the instance, she alone had overpowered the two siblings.

"Elite education," Gu Yu smiled, "Equestrianism, marksmanship, and self-defense, I’ve been learning them since I was little."

"Really?" Lin Pei suddenly asked, "Then did you ever learn archery?"

Gu Yu first glanced at Xu Huo, and seeing that he was unfazed, she said, "There’s no use trying to stir up trouble. I was too far away when Xu Huo was attacked, and I got back to the car earlier than you. The people in the car can testify for me."

Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an nodded from the side. According to the time when the car picked up Xu Huo and counting back three minutes, Gu Yu was already on the bus by then.

"It seems we are also suspects now," said Shen Yi, with his arms crossed and fingers interlocked, cracking his knuckles, "I used to be a zookeeper, so my trait is related to that, having more affinity with animals."

"Me too," Shen Xin followed up.

"You all have the same professional traits?" Gu Yu looked at them curiously.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Shen Yi asked.

Gu Yu shook her head and looked towards Xu Huo.

"I have strong legs, good at running," he said. "Casually running for an hour or two is no problem for me."

"You could keep up with marathon runners then," Shen Yi commented.

Finally, there were Wang Chaoqing and Nian Hong’an. Wang Chaoqing’s trait was his shadow, which aside from snooping through the internet wires, had no combat capability. Nian Hong’an was a security guard, and his trait was linked to his line of work; he could remember the face of anyone he had seen once.

After going around the group, it seemed that no one’s trait could be directly linked with using a bow, but while traits are one thing, tools are another.

However, at this stage, forcing the issue would only intensify the conflict, and both sides could only put aside their prejudices for the time being.

A few flashlights acted as headlights, and the bus drove slowly, carrying a load of players each with their own thoughts, traveling through the darkness.

One person drove while the others took turns resting.

"Who do you think it is?" On the back seat, Gu Yu took out her phone and typed out a line of text.

Xu Huo shook his head slightly, it was hard to say.

Without explicit disclosure of professions, the scope of traits targeted was too broad. Take his "Tireless Legs" for example, who would associate it with Passerby A?

"Do you think there’s something off about Shen Yi and Shen Xin?" Gu Yu asked again.

Xu Huo gave her a puzzled look.

"As far as I know, currently, no two players have identical traits," Gu Yu typed quickly. "Professions might overlap, but people are different. You can see that too, traits are linked to a person’s habits and personality. There are no identical people, so of course, no identical traits. This is something the experts in Jing City also agree on."

"Are they lying because they’re guilty?"

Xu Huo didn’t think so. If they were truly guilty, they could simply fabricate any trait, like Gu Yu, who was skilled in gunnery—she could easily take that as her trait, no need for redundancy.

One advantage of traits is that they blur the boundaries of certain capabilities and abilities. As an ordinary person, Xu Huo wouldn’t be able to run a marathon in one go, but a professional athlete could. Imitating bird calls, identifying footprints—these were special skills that only talented individuals could achieve. Such exceptionally talented individuals were fewer in number, yet the possibility existed.

Therefore, these traits could either be true or false.

But the truthfulness was not all that important.

Concealment could stem from various reasons.

"What are you doing?" Gu Yu slapped away Wang Chaoqing’s hand as it reached for the potion.

Everyone who was sleeping in the bus opened their eyes.