Chapter 18: Cooperation
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Do you hate your parents?
Zheng Luozhu had never seriously thought about this question. Because he knew that once he started thinking, he wouldn’t be able to stop. This question would be like an endless swamp, engulfing him and his entire soul.
[10, 9, 8, 7…]
The countdown was almost over.
His vision started to blur, his heart rate suddenly accelerated. Zheng Luozhu’s lips moved slightly, and with a breath that only he could hear, he slowly uttered a single syllable.
Tang Lin stood below, seeing Zheng Luozhu’s lip movements, confirming that he said a monosyllabic word, but couldn’t discern what exactly he said.
Fan Peiyang’s answer next was low and clear——
“No regrets.”
Tang Lin didn’t know what the new question was, so he could only observe closely. Several seconds later, seeing that Zheng Luozhu and Fan Peiyang were both unharmed, he breathed a brief sigh of relief.
But greater confusion followed.
The Sphinx was just the prologue, the real deadly question-and-answer had just begun. And it was obvious that Zheng Luozhu and Fan Peiyang both answered correctly. However, the problem arose here. One said a monosyllable, the other said three words, and he could confirm that Zheng Luozhu’s response was definitely not a closed-mouth sound. How could it be the same answer?
Different answers, yet both are correct. There is only one explanation – the question that each person hears is starting to differ.
More challengers on the square continued to fall, those still answering the questions had increasingly solemn expressions. And those who didn’t hear the question, without exception, all had serious and tense expressions, as if facing a great enemy.
The chaos continued, but the confusion and bewilderment were gone. Even the slowest person understood that a tremendously brutal attack was descending upon them. Not being hit now didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen later.
[If you had a button in front of you, and pressing it would bring your parents back to life. Perhaps they would be the same as before, or perhaps they would cry and beg for your forgiveness. Everything is unknown, and the opportunity to verify this unknown is in your hands. Would you press it…
Please answer within 55 seconds. If you can’t answer or answer incorrectly, the Sphinx will devour you.]
Ah, this damn question.
Zheng Luozhu looked up at the ceiling of the Underground City and suddenly had a wild idea. What if he just rammed his head into it? Would it create a big hole and allow him to jump to the second level?
If he didn’t answer the question, he would die. But if he answered, he would have to face an even deadlier next question. This was really fucking frustrating.
“…Zhuzi…”
Someone seemed to be calling his name.
Zheng Luozhu looked around in confusion for a while before locking eyes with Tang Lin under the house.
“Yeah?” He gave a vague grunt, unsure if Tang Lin had actually called him.
“What kind of question is it?” Tang Lin didn’t waste any time and went straight to the point. It was impossible to get through to Fan Peiyang, who was completely focused on answering questions. At least Zheng Luozhu seemed to have a distracted look, indicating a possible breakthrough.
What kind of question?
Zheng Luozhu smiled bitterly. “It’s the kind you least want to face and definitely don’t want to answer.”
“Understood,” Tang Lin replied shortly. “You just focus on answering, leave the rest to me.”
Zheng Luozhu was taken aback. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll find a way to make the stationery user stop,” Tang Ling surveyed the square, his eyes gradually growing colder as a storm approached. “If it really is a stationery.”
Facing the hidden secrets and fears in their hearts—this attack was based on that.
What people often find hardest to see is themselves. Many times, they selectively disguise and forget their own hearts, only the subconscious remains loyal to those most genuine emotions and thoughts.
But how many people can accurately capture and make firm judgments?
There was no room for any illusions. Once they started answering, there were only two possible outcomes: answering wrong and dying or suffering a mental breakdown.
This stationery was almost invincible.
But did such stationery really exist? Could it accurately probe a person’s hidden emotions and extract them as standard answers? And could it simultaneously attack so many different people?
In just a few seconds, Tang Ling had already considered all the possible analyses.
If it wasn’t stationery, all efforts would be in vain.
If it was, even if there was only a tiny probability, he had to find a way to stop it.
However, the attacker couldn’t be identified because there was no place of calm in the square. The Sphinx’s questioning was like a meticulously calculated net, evenly covering one-third of the people there. So the only thing Tang Lin could do was to use some method to force the attacker to stop.
A method…
Tang Ling lowered his gaze, thinking quickly.
A method that didn’t require knowledge of a specific target but could still stop the attack…
“If you have the guts, come out and stop hiding behind and taking cheap shots—”
A roar erupted from the crowd nearby. Someone with an uncontrollable temper had directly launched a collective attack of the stationery.
In an instant, debris flew around the dilapidated house.
Tang Lin turned against the wind to avoid squinting his eyes. But in that split second when he turned around, he had a sudden realization.
The sandstorm quickly passed.
The angry man, gasping for breath, seemed unable to brew a second one in a short time.
The small-scale sand and dust did not disturb the person behind the scenes.
Fan Peiyang and Zheng Luozhu on the roof continued to concentrate and answer the questions with all their might.
Tang Lin immediately set off, quickly circling the square from the outside, and then headed straight for the gear iron device.
A woman stood in front of the device, apparently not encountering the Sphinx’s challenges. She looked at him approaching and warned, “If you also want to listen to a scream concert, continue forward.”
She smiled lightly, with a hint of charm. Her voice was gentle and pleasant, like two souls releasing screams, a fleeting paradise, and a moment of hell.
Tang Lin got straight to the point, “I need your help.”
The woman asked curiously, “Help with what?”
“If screaming is your permanent stationery,” Tang Lin said, “help stop this attack.”
The woman was surprised, “Do you think I can?”
Tang Lin: “Your screams can cause devastating disruption to the ‘concentration’ of the stationery user.”
Woman: “You want to use my screams to interrupt the attacker’s control over the stationery?”
Tang Lin nodded.
The woman didn’t feel optimistic: “You don’t even know where he is hiding, and my screams won’t be able to destroy the entire square.”
Tang Lin had already considered this issue: “There are only a little over a thousand people here, divided into zones and directions. If those who pass the screaming assessment stand still, it won’t take many rounds to get everyone through.”
The woman was skeptical: “Do you really think this method will work? Maybe this isn’t even a stationery attack, but the final selection before entering the level.”
“There’s a one in a million chance, and I’m willing to try.” Tang Lin’s tone is calm but unwavering.
The woman was puzzled: “But you haven’t been attacked.”
Tang Lin looked at her intently: “I still have friends.”
His voice was as cold as ice, but beneath that thin layer of ice was molten lava.
The woman sensed it sensitively but still hesitated to speak. “Why should I save your ‘friend’?”
Unexpectedly, Tang Lin shook his head directly. “There’s no reason. You can refuse completely, but please give me an answer quickly. Time is limited, I still need to find a second plan.”
The woman fell silent for a while before sighing in frustration. “You really don’t know how to coax a woman.”
“Thank you, Tang Lin.” he replied.
“You’re welcome, Nan Ge,” she responded.
……
In the center of the square, near the subway entrance, at 11:30 PM.
“Still not working?” Dai Xiaoliang asked his subordinate who had just rushed over.
The subordinate frowned and said, “I tried several stationery items, but they didn’t work.”
Dai Xiaoliang sighed heavily, worry evident on his square face.
He was in charge of the “Huanxiang Society – Underground City Branch,” and their task today was to lead the team members through the first challenge level. But things weren’t going well; even before the challenge started, they were already losing troops.
“We don’t know the exact location of the attacker, so any stationery items are useless,” Zhou Yunhui chimed in while squatting nearby. He seemed carefree, but several people stood respectfully beside him.
He was the leader of one of the Five Major Forces, the Sky Lantern, in the Undergound City.
He Lu from the Iron Blood Camp was also present, standing straight in front of the subway entrance, sturdy and tall like a poplar tree in the desert.
He was serious and seldom smiled, speaking with utmost seriousness, “With such a wide range of damage, it doesn’t seem like stationery. At this point, we can only stay calm and minimize casualties.”
“Stay calm?” Cui Zhan, the leader of the Ten Societies, leaned against the copper gate of the subway entrance, smoking a cigarette. He flicked the ashes and smiled mockingly, saying, “Then why don’t you come over and try answering the questions yourself?”
Mocking and teasing didn’t require a response, or rather, Zhou Yunhui doesn’t have time to wait for He Lu’s response. He took another puff of smoke, lowers his gaze, and murmured in response to the new question he just heard: “I’ve thought about it.”
The four major forces, who usually don’t get along, were forced to come together and form a “Temporary Emergency Cooperation” due to the ongoing attack.
When there were no enemies, they compete against each other, but when there was an external threat, it’s best to join forces.
There were no permanent enemies, only permanent interests, and this applied everywhere.
“Still haven’t found the donuts?” He Lu asked Zhou Yunhui, whose subordinates were responsible for contacting the Fifth Force.
Zhou Yunhui looked at He Lu with a complicated expression and said, “Those word sound so strange coming from you.”
“If they still haven’t found them, their suspicion increases.” Dai Xiaoliang’s face darkened.
“I don’t think so.” Zhou Yunhui tilted his head and looked at the two leaders of the “Friendly Group.” “They have always been elusive, so it would be suspicious if they showed up at this time.”
“Hey, what do you two wanna do——”
A commotion was heard not far away.
Zhou Yunhui stood up and looked in that direction with the other three team leaders. They saw a man and a woman forcefully pushing through the crowd towards the subway entrance, now within the range of the four major forces, attracting the disapproval of their members.
When they notice the commotion, the woman shouted from a distance, “We have a way to stop the attack——”
Her voice is piercing, reminding the four leaders of the fear they felt when they were under the control of the Mandela Grass scream.
They exchange glances and reach a consensus.
“Let them come over,” He Lu speaks on behalf of the other team leaders.
The members, confused, follow the command and quickly cleared a path.
The man and woman arrived in front of the four leaders. It’s clear that the woman was that only woman left in the square, while the man was a new face, tall with fair skin and a cold, handsome look in his eyes.
Cui Zhan recognized the newcomer and had no choice but to engage in a new round of questioning. However, the new question made him extremely frustrated, and he can’t help but angrily kick the subway door.
The first sound that Tang Lin heard as he approaches was this.
Before coming here, he had first met with Nightwalker and identified the leaders of the four major forces. The person kicking the door right now was the person with the strongest combat power in the Underground City, according to Wang Zhengming himself.
Tang Lin trusted him to a certain extent, considering that even during the ongoing question-and-answer session, he can still divert his attention to this unexpected guest and the raging fury directed at the door.
The first thing Tang Lin said when he approached was this. He faced them and repeated his words: “We have a way to stop the attack.”
Zhou Yunhui snorted disdainfully.
Dai Xiaoliang and He Lu scrutinized him cautiously.
“100% certain?” He Lu asked.
“One in ten thousand,” Tang Lin replies.
Just as He Lu was about to frown, Tang Lin added, “But if this is a deliberate attack using stationery, my method has a 100% success rate.”
Zhou Yunhui’s interest started to pique. “Tell us more.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have time,” Tang Lin said coldly. “If you’re really curious, I can start with your Sky Lantern.”
Nan Ge, who had been quiet all along, finally found some comfort in this moment.
Tang Lin wasn’t incapable of charming women, but he simply couldn’t be bothered to charm anyone, a rare quality of hardcore gender equality.
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