Chapter 171
Chapter 171
Inside the metal cabin baking under the intense heat, Jiang Li and the other two all began showing varying degrees of oxygen deprivation.
The metal cabin had no ventilation ducts. It was nothing more than a square iron box.
With no oxygen coming in, breathing became harder and harder for the three of them.
Liang Chen slumped weakly against Zhao Siyao’s shoulder.
Her mind had gone foggy, and she gulped in the low-oxygen air through her mouth and nose.
The three girls’ Health Points began dropping faster again.
“Jiang… Jiang Li… what do we do…” Liang Chen was dizzy and parched.
She opened her bottle of mineral water and downed half of it in one go.
Zhao Siyao was not doing much better.
Her head lolled against the wall of the metal cabin. She looked like she was on the verge of passing out.
Through the haze clouding her mind, Jiang Li looked toward the cabin door.
Right now, her head was filled with the image of those two burly men in work uniforms using all their strength to force the passenger cabin door shut.
The cabin door… had looked very heavy.
One person probably could not move it alone.
And then there was the Ferris Wheel Rules. Rule Four was false.
[For your safety, please do not open the passenger cabin door.]
They had to find a way to open the passenger cabin door.
Could it be that the door was precisely so heavy that the Ferris Wheel Rules had stated that “3 to 4 people must ride in each cabin”?
Just as Jiang Li’s head spun dizzily, a new prompt sounded from the broadcast.
[Attention, all players. Attention, all players!]
[Oxygen masks are now being issued. Please use them promptly~~]
As soon as the announcement ended, three oxygen masks dropped from above and appeared in front of them.
Liang Chen could not hold back anymore.
She grabbed an oxygen mask, slipped it through the opening of her Thermal Protective Suit, fitted it over her mouth and nose, and began breathing in great gulps.
Jiang Li and Zhao Siyao also put on their oxygen masks one after another.
The three of them had only just recovered a little when the people of the Ghost Face Organization delivered more bad news through the broadcast.
[The oxygen supply is only enough for one person to last the entire ride~~]
[Please allocate it wisely!]
Less than a second after the broadcast prompt ended, three silver daggers fell to the floor with a crisp clang.
At the sound, all three of them turned at the same time to look at the daggers on the floor.
What those daggers meant was self-evident.
The people of the Ghost Face Organization wanted to see them kill each other over the oxygen.
If Jiang Li had not been with Liang Chen and Zhao Siyao, but had instead been randomly grouped with strangers, then this crisis would probably have become extremely difficult to handle.
Liang Chen was anxious. “What do we do? There isn’t enough oxygen for all three of us.”
Zhao Siyao asked as well, “Does someone have to die…?”
Jiang Li thought back to the false rule she had been puzzling over earlier. After a moment of silence, she voiced her guess.
“The premise behind ‘the oxygen is only enough for one person’ is that this metal cabin is a sealed environment with no new oxygen coming in.
“Do you still remember the safety rules posted for the Ferris wheel attraction? The rule saying not to open the cabin door is false!
“As long as we find the correct way to open the cabin door, we won’t have to worry about ‘not enough oxygen’ anymore.
“So for now, the three of us can share the oxygen until we find ‘the method to open the cabin door’ together.”
Just as Jiang Li was analyzing the situation, terrified screams from men and women rang out from several neighboring metal cabins.
When the broadcast had announced which passenger cabins had received Thermal Protective Suit earlier, neither of the cabins on either side of Jiang Li’s had been among them.
Since they hadn’t obtained the Thermal Protective Suit from the first stage, they had no choice but to endure the scorching heat.
On top of that, the lack of oxygen made it very easy for people to lose control of their emotions.
Judging by the sounds around them, something had probably gone wrong in the cabins on both sides.
They were being led around by the nose by the Ghost Face Organization.
The Ghost Face Organization’s scheme… had succeeded.
Most likely, the people from the Ghost Face Organization were hiding behind the surveillance cameras right now, gloating as they enjoyed this spectacle of the law of the jungle-survival of the fittest.
“Listen to me.” Jiang Li looked seriously at Liang Chen and Zhao Siyao.
“Not one of the three of us can let anything happen to us!
“I’m guessing the door to this cabin can’t be moved by one person alone.
“According to the third rule, each cabin must hold three to four people.
“It’s very possible that at least three people’s strength is required to complete the operation of ‘opening the cabin door from inside the metal compartment’!
“If we really get to the point of killing each other, we’ll be cutting off our own way out.”
“But…” Zhao Siyao said timidly, “we’re on a Ferris wheel, more than a hundred meters in the air. Opening the cabin door is dangerous too.”
“Da Yao, are you dumb? As long as we crack the door open a little, oxygen can get in! It’s not like anyone said we had to open the whole door.” Liang Chen poked her on the head.
Zhao Siyao gave an “oh,” then obediently shut her mouth, her face flushed.
At the same time, a notebook suddenly slipped out of the backpack on Zhao Siyao’s knees with a soft thud.
“What’s this?” Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Liang Chen picked up the notebook.
Before Liang Chen could get a clear look, Zhao Siyao snatched the notebook back in a panic.
“N-nothing. Just normal class notes.” Zhao Siyao’s face turned even redder.
“All right, there’s no time to waste. Let’s hurry and see if there’s any kind of switch on the cabin door,” Jiang Li instructed the two of them.
Just as the three of them, wearing their oxygen masks, gathered around the part of the metal compartment that looked as if it had a door seam and began examining it closely-
A few sparks pierced through the top of the metal compartment and fell to the floor.
“Careful.”
Jiang Li was leaning close to the metal compartment, knocking and tapping against the door.
Behind her, Liang Chen swiftly reached out and blocked the area above Jiang Li’s shoulder.
Several crimson sparks fell and were caught by Liang Chen.
Liang Chen hissed sharply from the pain.
The part of the Thermal Protective Suit covering her hand had actually been burned through by that thing!
At Liang Chen’s warning, all three of them backed away at the same time and looked up at the roof.
Only then did everyone notice the Aberration at work in the metal ceiling.
The metal roof looked as if it were “dripping water,” except what dripped down, one after another, were balls of flame.
After these fireballs landed on the floor, they slowly gathered together.
In the end, that scorching mass of flame grew larger and larger.
Once it had accumulated to the size of an overstuffed backpack, the fireball began rolling back and forth across the metal floor.
Jiang Li and the other two carefully climbed onto the seats, keeping vigilant watch over the direction the fireball rolled.
The fireball rolled around for more than half a minute.
Perhaps because it couldn’t hit anyone and found that boring, the fireball sulkily rolled back to the center of the floor.
Under the three of their gazes, the firelight covering the fireball gradually scattered and faded away.
Then, on the metal floor-
A curled-up Little Girl slowly stretched out her limbs and, right in front of them, let out a lazy stretch.
“Mmm-ahh~ That feels so good! I can finally come out and play again~”