Chapter 476: Human Nature
Chapter 476: Human Nature
But now, seeing that someone had died, they could no longer refuse to believe it.Especially when a woman covered her mouth and screamed in recognition of that head:
"This... isn't this Tang Junjie?!"
That made them even more convinced.
At that moment, Yu Xiaobo went over to Zombie Tyrannosaurus to ask about the situation on the ground.
After Zombie Tyrannosaurus gave a brief explanation, he pointed at the key hanging from the Armored Man's neck about ten meters away.
After understanding, Yu Xiaobo returned to the classmates he and a few others had gathered and announced loudly, "We've already found nine keys to get out! The last one is hanging on that guy's neck! Get it, and we can leave this place!!!"
"Brothers, let's rush him together!"
Yu Xiaobo roared, but then he himself didn't move. The old classmates behind him, and the people those old classmates had brought, also stood completely still.
Yu Xiaobo turned his head and asked, "Why aren't you guys going?"
One of the men said, "Xiaobo, you said the iron gate is electrified, and there are no other exits to leave this place, but you haven't completely circled the entire estate either, right? So, what if there are other ways to leave here?"
Another man chimed in, "Yeah, and the whole thing about gathering ten keys to leave here is just the word of those few strangers, isn't it?"
A girl said, "I think we should gather all the classmates and the people we brought, and discuss it together. There's strength in numbers. That's the real solution."
Seeing this, the ones who reacted most strongly were the few Explorers.
Zombie Tyrannosaurus sneered with utter disdain, "Kaitou Kid's Older Brother, you miscalculated. You thought just us five, plus these few people in the know, could easily take the key back from the Hunter. Well, look at this now. Others simply won't step up."
Kaitou Kid's Older Brother remained silent.
Zombie Tyrannosaurus continued, "This is basic human nature."
"You've been thinking about this whole thing far too simply from start to finish."
What is human nature?
To put it bluntly, it's self-interest.
Just like the current situation.
Seeing a fully armed person up ahead.
Not to mention those who aren't Explorers—they don't have a compelling reason to rush forward and snatch the key.
Even the five of them, who *do* have a compelling reason, haven't moved a muscle either, have they?
Everyone's waiting for someone else to be the first to go, to be the one to stick their neck out.
They hide behind, ready to reap the benefits.
One has to admit, it's cunning. But unfortunately, everyone present is that kind of cunning person.
"Should we go gather at the main gate first, or do something else?"
"Forget it, let's go gather at the main gate first. Looks like Xiaobo was right, this place really is a bit dangerous. Even Tang Junjie is dead."
"This is insane! What's going on with Gu Bei? Is there really a psycho hosting this kind of murder game here?! Could it even be live-streamed? I've heard there are lots of these sick live-streaming videos on the dark web."
This was said by a man. He was just talking casually, but he himself didn't expect to have guessed about seventy or eighty percent correctly.
Then, the people Yu Xiaobo and the others had found all withdrew, all retreating towards the main gate.
Huo Xiaoxiao, supporting her younger sister Huo Yunyun, also followed these people, walking towards the estate's main gate.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaobo could only follow as well.
As for Jiang Ran, he looked at the five isolated individuals.
Then he too followed the large group of twenty or thirty people.
And just like that, only the Hunter—the Armored Man—and the five Explorers remained here.
...
At the estate's main gate.
Ah Jie sat dejectedly beside his still-unconscious girlfriend.
Despite some simple first aid to stop the bleeding, blood was still slowly seeping from the wound as time passed.
Besides that, his girlfriend's breathing was growing increasingly faint.
Finally, he saw Jiang Ran and the others who had gone out to find people returning.
"Because you guys were too slow finding people, Zombie Tyrannosaurus went to look for the keys himself."
Ah Jie looked at them and said.
Vice Monitor Yu Xiaobo stepped out from the crowd, "I know. We ran into him on the way."
Ah Jie was stunned for a moment, then he grew very agitated, practically spitting as he spoke, "Since you ran into him, he must have told you the location of the keys, right? You coming here now... does that mean you've already gathered all ten keys?!"
"Uh... there's good news. We didn't just run into him; we also ran into a few others playing the game with him. They've already found nine keys."
Vice Monitor Yu Xiaobo somewhat couldn't bear to look at Ah Jie's increasingly bright eyes.
"But the bad news is, the last key is hanging around the neck of what they call the Hunter. That Hunter is currently in a standoff with them right now."
His heart was pounding fiercely. His arms and legs were also trembling violently.
Ah Jie quickly processed the information he'd just heard, then asked in confusion, "If you're only missing the last key to leave this place, why did you come back now? Why not help them get the last key?"
Yu Xiaobo stammered, "Uh, uh, uh..."
A man in the crowd answered for him, "Ah Jie, you don't know. That so-called Hunter is wearing armor and has an axe and a bow and arrows. Who dares to go up?"
"And what those people said might not even be true, about finding ten keys to leave here. They might just be tricking us into going to our deaths. Like Tang Junjie, for example. We don't even know why he was killed by that guy."
A woman added, "Right. So we're planning to gather here and discuss it together. There's no need to take the risk."
Another man said, "To be honest, with so many of us, if we're really trapped here for this long, someone will definitely come looking for us!"
A woman said, "Exactly! I told my boyfriend this morning where I was going today. If I'm not back by tonight and he can't reach me after work, he'll definitely call the police to look for me!"
One voice after another, one statement after another.
Listening to this, Ah Jie let out a heart-wrenching roar, "But my girlfriend won't last until then!!!"
The twenty or thirty people present had seen Ah Jie's girlfriend as soon as they arrived.
Now, their attention was even more focused on her.
Ah Jie's girlfriend's skin was extremely pale, especially her lips, which should have been rosy, were now the white of a corpse.
If they kept dragging this out, she would probably really die.
"Ah Jie, don't panic! Let's split up right now and look for any other exits! Such a big estate, surely not every place is electrified?"
This man with rather long hair had been on good terms with Ah Jie in high school.
Naturally, he stepped forward now to offer help.
He appealed to the people in the crowd.
Quite a few people split off to the left and right, moving along the estate's high walls, searching for other entrances or exits.
As for the others, they just stood where they were, unmoving.
After all, whether Ah Jie's girlfriend lived or died, what did it have to do with them?
The attitude of those who remained motionless in place, expressing their indifference, was already very clear.
But actually, many of those who went along the high walls to search for exits were also just going through the motions, not putting in much real effort to look.
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