What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C43.1

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Chp43. part1

Once the Masked Man approached, it would be impossible to transfer the pedometer.

Ning Ge subtly shifted half a step forward, continuing to pretend to shake with one hand while discreetly reaching behind her with the other. Pei Han understood her intention and covertly slipped her pedometer into her hand.

Her mind raced.

The current situation was that the number of Little Red Flowers in the carriage was divided into three tiers:

The first tier comprised the vast majority of people, each holding only the two Little Red Flowers everyone had received in the first two rounds, with no extras.

The second tier consisted of six individuals who had obtained an additional Little Red Flower.

The third tier included Ning Ge, Pei Han, and Owen, who had each acquired three extra Little Red Flowers so far.

These three tiers perfectly occupied the top three positions.

If a fourth tier were to emerge, the majority of people in the carriage, including Teacher Wu, would surely die.

If Ning Ge failed to obtain a Little Red Flower this round while Pei Han and Owen succeeded, the three of them would split into two tiers: Pei Han and Owen with four extra flowers each, and Ning Ge with three extra flowers. In that scenario, Teacher Wu and the others would be doomed.

Therefore, the three of them had to stick together and maintain the same number of extra Little Red Flowers.

One strategy was for Ning Ge to let Pei Han and Owen skip this round’s pedometer shaking, abandoning her own Little Red Flower along with theirs and focusing instead on controlling the situation.

Whether through violence or other means, they would ensure that the six players who would normally receive an extra Little Red Flower absolutely did not get one, leaving all three Little Red Flowers for the newcomers.

But this approach had a problem.

The round had already been going on for a long time, and Pei Han’s hand speed was so fast. Even with the time lost during the pedometer exchange earlier, he should have shaken it quite a bit by now.

Ning Ge glanced at the pedometer that had returned to her hand.

Indeed, he had already helped shake it over 800 times, meaning their pedometers also showed this number.

This was right on the borderline.

After so many rounds, everyone was exhausted, and their scores had been steadily declining. Few could still reach 800 at this point.

The three fastest shakers in the carriage were among the six who would normally get an extra Little Red Flower. It was hard to say if other newcomers could surpass this number.

Even if they knocked out those six, the others might not be able to beat Ning Ge’s group’s current pedometer counts.

So the safest option was still for Ning Ge and her group to continue taking the Little Red Flowers.

This time, however, Ning Ge would have to do it herself.

With her decision made, Ning Ge started shaking the pedometer frantically.

Soon, her arm began to ache.

The Masked Man really did approach, weaving through the crowd until he stopped just two or three steps away from Ning Ge, staring intently at their group.

He looked like a proctor leaning in to check someone’s work.

Ning Ge no longer feared his gaze. Ignoring him, she continued shaking her pedometer while scanning her surroundings.

With Pei Han’s 800 steps as a baseline, few people posed a real threat to her. As she mentally reviewed everyone’s scores from the previous rounds, she identified the Man in Denim Jacket as her most likely rival.

His arms were exceptionally thick, radiating raw strength. Despite shaking his pedometer furiously for so many rounds, his pace hadn’t slowed; instead, his score had surged, nearly catching up to Owen.

Suddenly, Pei Han moved.

He cut through the crowd directly in front of the Masked Man, positioning himself behind the Man in Denim Jacket. With his free hand, he patted the man’s shoulder. “Stop shaking. Take a break.”

The Man in Denim Jacket turned around, startled.

Pei Han seized his wrist.

Ning Ge knew Pei Han hadn’t snatched the pedometer outright because the Masked Man had warned, “During the competition, the pedometer must remain in your own hands.”

She wasn’t sure what the penalty would be for dropping the pedometer or having it snatched away.

The pedometer remained in the Man in Denim Jacket’s hand, but he was no longer able to shake it.

He struggled a few times, but Pei Han’s iron-like grip held firm. Enraged, he swung his free hand in a wild punch toward Pei Han.

Pei Han merely tilted his head slightly, avoiding the blow.

At such close range, the Man in Denim Jacket had no idea how he’d dodged. He froze for a moment before foolishly throwing another punch.

Pei Han smiled and evaded it again.

The two men, locked in a hand-to-hand struggle while still holding hands, looked both absurd and comical.

Just then, someone lunged forward.

It was Teacher Wu.

Teacher Wu understood perfectly: his own life, and the lives of everyone in the carriage who hadn’t earned a Little Red Flower, all hinged on that tiny pedometer clutched in the Man in Denim Jacket’s hand.

He tackled the man like a rugby player, wrapping his arms around his waist and pinning him and his pedometer to the floor.

Pei Han released his grip and stepped back, instructing, “Don’t snatch it. Just keep him from shaking it.”

The Man in the Denim Jacket, pinned to the floor, panicked and threw a punch at Teacher Wu.

Teacher Wu didn’t dodge. Instead, he remained on top of the man and shouted up at Pei Han, “I know! Don’t worry about us! Keep shaking it!”

Though the man was thin and usually gentle, he suddenly unleashed a burst of energy, pinning the burly Man in a denim jacket so firmly he couldn’t get up.

The two wrestled on the floor in a tangled heap.

Once Ning Ge and her group gained the upper hand and the situation became clear, some people in the carriage calculated their Little Red Flowers, understood the situation, and stopped shaking their Step Counters entirely.

At this point, they began shouting: “Count the flowers! Don’t let him shake the Step Counter!” “If he doesn’t get the flowers, we’ll live!” “Let’s all stop shaking! Let the three of them win!”

More people rushed forward.

Teacher Wu, who had been trying to persuade and explain, had given up on talking. He focused all his energy on pinning the Man in Denim Jacket and his Step Counter.

Several people jumped on to help hold down the man.

Overwhelmed by the assault, the Man in Denim Jacket roared in confusion: “Are you crazy?! Why are you all pinning me down?!”

To this day, he still didn’t understand what was happening.

The Masked Men stood by, watching the chaotic brawl with cold detachment, unmoving.

Ning Ge, single-mindedly, shook the Step Counter with all her might until the very last second.

The timer finally stopped.

The Masked Men came to tally the steps.

The Man in Denim Jacket, having been completely unable to shake the Step Counter in the final moments, had less than 700 steps.

Pei Han secretly moved the pedometer while distracted, still managing to take over 1,200 steps. Owen narrowly secured first place by a margin of just a few dozen steps.

Ning Ge herself added over 300 steps, and with Pei Han’s help of 800, her total reached 1,135.

Together, the three of them finally obtained the last Little Red Flower.

The Masked Man tallied the number of flowers each person had and announced the results.

Ning Ge, Pei Han, and Owen tied for first place with six flowers each. The other six individuals collectively earned three flowers, tying for second place, while the remaining participants all received two flowers, tying for third.

The strategy had succeeded; no one had to leave the train.

A cheer erupted in the carriage.

The Masked Man, having gained nothing, mechanically collected the pedometers and stepped off the train.

The train remained stationary. From the adjacent carriage came waves of agonized screams and wails.

Behind Ning Ge and her companions was the carriage that had recently been ravaged by tentacles. Now, those people no longer had to fear the tentacles.

A group of tall Masked Men boarded the train and began dragging people one by one to the doorway, tossing them into the darkness.

Before long, the entire carriage was nearly emptied, leaving only three or four people—presumably the winners of the pedometer challenge.

Their last battle, fought under the threat of tentacles, had been a chaotic affair. Suspicion ran rampant, and many had developed deep-seated animosity toward each other. This time, with the Step Counter, reaching any kind of agreement was utterly impossible.

Another row of wheat fell.

The carriage door closed again, and the train resumed its journey. The announcement declared the next station: “Wangjili.”

Ning Ge, Pei Han, and Owen looked up simultaneously at the display screen above.

Sure enough, after the station announcement, only two dots appeared, arranged horizontally in the row above—the Braille for the number three.

The countdown continued.

Ning Ge walked to the connecting door between carriages, waiting for it to open. Suddenly, she turned back to Teacher Wu. “We’re going to the back of the train. Do you want to come?”

Teacher Wu, who had been sitting in his seat, froze for a moment. He looked up at Ning Ge and then slowly rose to his feet.

“Let’s go,” he said.

He followed Ning Ge and the others, entering the next carriage as the door slid open.

The door hissed shut behind them.

Without someone like Teacher Wu to organize everyone in the previous carriage, will they make it through the next station safely?

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