The most relaxed people present were Cheng Shuili and Wanyi.
Cheng Shuili had long since made up her mind that she would definitely go back inside to take a look. As for Wanyi, she didn't bother using her brain at all; since Cheng Shuili was here, wasn't it enough to just follow her?
Why use her brain?
Isn't using one's brain an insult to the boss?
A few more people stood up and left one after another.
In the end, only seven people remained.
They were: Cheng Shuili, Wanyi, Wang Lu, Yang Yunsheng, a fat man, a skinny monkey, and a man wearing a dark blue down jacket.
Cheng Shuili remembered that his name seemed to be Zhang Yueying.
"Since we have all decided to go in and take a look, let's discuss how to ensure our safety."
After a moment of silence, Yang Yunsheng was the first to speak.
Actually, he wanted to head toward the finish line, but he had a feeling that following Cheng Shuili wouldn't be wrong. Caught in a dilemma, he could only stay here and see what happened.
"Is it really safe as long as we don't talk? What about footsteps, clashing sounds, or weird noises like something falling near our feet? Don't those count?"
Cheng Shuili looked over. The person speaking was a fat man, fair-skinned with large earlobes, looking quite prosperous.
He was certainly being thoughtful.
Yang Yunsheng had the same suspicion. Everything Cheng Shuili said was ultimately just speculation. Even if it was logical, what if she was wrong?
He cherished his life the most, so he naturally wouldn't bet it by following these people.
"Why not just test it? Find an empty water bottle and roll it in to see if the monster attacks."
Cheng Shuili spread her hands. She only had a dagger and a wooden club on her; everything else was in the Abyss Ring, and she certainly couldn't take things out in front of so many people.
Wanyi was a bit confused about where the lunch she had made for her was, but even if she was curious, she wouldn't be so tactless as to ask right now.
Just because Cheng Shuili didn't have one didn't mean these people didn't. Several of them were carrying backpacks, so it would be too fake to say they didn't have bottled water.
But in moments where collective needs required individual contributions, no one was usually willing to be the selfless one.
Yang Yunsheng was determined to be Cheng Shuili's lackey, and he also felt this method was indeed sound. As long as it was confirmed that the monster only reacted to spoken words, they could keep their mouths shut and go in to explore.
In such a vast space, the information they could obtain would certainly be significant.
It was absolutely necessary!
How could such a major matter be stalled by the trivial issue of not finding a water bottle?
He scanned the crowd and finally set his sights on a skinny guy who was shorter and thinner than him.
Yang Yunsheng walked straight over, draped his arm over the guy's shoulder, and said bluntly, "You definitely brought water, right? We need a bottle now, understand? It doesn't matter if you haven't finished it; just pour it out or into someone else's bottle."
Yang Yunsheng used a very assertive tone, as if he would resort to force if the guy didn't hand over the bottle.
The skinny guy clearly couldn't withstand this pressure. Trembling, he opened the zipper of his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water that had frozen into a block of ice.
Yang Yunsheng had forgotten about the weather conditions. Seeing the solid ice inside, he realized it couldn't be poured out and suddenly didn't know what to do.
Zhang Yueying, who had long found him unpleasant, bumped into him with his shoulder. He snatched the water bottle from Yang Yunsheng's hand and mocked, "Can't you just cut a big hole and take the ice out? You don't know how to deal with frozen water?"
Zhang Yueying didn't bump Yang Yunsheng for any reason other than simply disliking how he bullied the weak and wanting to stand up for someone.
However, he didn't realize that he had also defaulted to using the skinny guy's water bottle.
Yang Yunsheng said nothing but silently noted the incident in his heart.
Cheng Shuili stood beside Wanyi, quietly watching their actions.
Zhang Yueying took a folding knife from his pocket and nimbly cut a hole in the water bottle.
He threw the ice inside onto the ground, held his breath, stood outside the boundary line, and threw the punctured water bottle inside with force.
The sound of the bottle rolling was exceptionally piercing in the dead silence.
The decibels of the plastic rubbing against the ground definitely exceeded the volume of Qi Yue's voice earlier!
Cheng Shuili also instinctively held her breath, her fingers subconsciously gripping the dagger at her waist.
Everyone's gaze was fixed tightly on the water bottle.
Three seconds. Five seconds.
Ten seconds passed, and nothing happened.
"It seems only human voices trigger it," Cheng Shuili breathed a sigh of relief, instinctively lowering her voice to a whisper.
A flash of disappointment crossed Yang Yunsheng's face. If the monster reacted to all sounds, he could have just turned and headed for the finish line.
But reality was disappointing; he still had to face this danger.
Noticing Cheng Shuili, who had no expression on her face, Yang Yunsheng piled on a smile again: "Sister Cheng is truly wise! Shall we go in now?"
Wang Lu, clutching her still-aching abdomen, glared at Yang Yunsheng: "Sycophant." Her voice was also very low, but clear enough for everyone to hear.
She targeted Yang Yunsheng for no special reason other than finding him annoying.
Cheng Shuili ignored their petty friction and scanned the remaining six people.
Wanyi stood by her side; she was the only one she could trust.
Although Wang Lu's face was pale, her expression was stubborn. She was a total patient, and her stomach would likely hurt for a long time.
Yang Yunsheng still wore a hypocritical smile; he was absolutely untrustworthy.
The fat man was nervously rubbing his hands, the skinny guy was still trembling while clutching his backpack, and Zhang Yueying was observing his surroundings with vigilance.
These three were each more troublesome than the last, all harboring their own secret agendas.
She didn't want to work with these people.
"Let's split up."
Cheng Shuili settled the discussion with one sentence.
"Split up?"
The fat man was puzzled. In his view, more people meant more help, just like Wang Lu, who was saved by Cheng Shuili; if Cheng Shuili hadn't been there, she would definitely be dead by now!
"Do we have to split up?"
"Can't we stay together? It's safer to move as a group. If you find something else, Sister Cheng, you could save us in time, right?"
Cheng Shuili shook her head. Not wanting to work with them was one thing, and the second reason was...
"Can you guarantee you won't cough or sneeze? The longer we stay inside, the more dangerous it becomes. We need to get the most information in the shortest time."
The fat man was stunned, and the others fell silent.
They hadn't thought about it before, but now that Cheng Shuili mentioned it, the others all felt their throats and noses getting itchy.
The more they thought about it, the less confident they felt. They couldn't stop themselves from wanting to retreat, but since they had already reached this point, what else could they do but go in?
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