Chapter 56: Hidden Details |
Yan Yu was caught off guard by the Hunter's sudden attack. She jolted, nearly hurling her throwing knife, but before the blade could even leave her hand, the Hunter had already been reduced to a lifeless corpse.
It was another false alarm. It had been a long time since she felt so much like a jumpy rookie. Truthfully, she had always considered herself a high-tier expert among the Players in Paradise.
Every time she cleared a Script, she earned a rating of B-grade or higher. During her second E-grade solo Script, she had even achieved a prestigious S-grade.
But it was only today, after witnessing Bai Mu in action, that she truly understood the meaning of the phrase 'there is always a higher mountain.'
As expected, the Players in Paradise were full of hidden talents. Seeing the Hunter lying pitifully in a muddy puddle, a wave of profound relief washed over her, and she let out an inexplicable chuckle.
'I should just comfortably let myself be carried,' she thought.
Bai Mu did not notice Yan Yu's inner musings. After eliminating the Hunter, he crouched down to carefully examine its corpse.
The Evacuation Point was less than two hundred meters away. It was so close that walking there would take less than a minute.
But were they really just going to clear the Script like this?
Joy radiated from their faces, and they could not stop grinning.
They had survived once again. By clearing a D-grade Script, even with just a basic rating, they would receive a substantial amount of Points and a generous reward of Community Time.
A comfortable life back in the community where they could sleep peacefully was beckoning to them. For the two brothers, there was nothing more worth celebrating.
"Brother, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry to the Evacuation Point!" Great Northern Wilderness exclaimed, his face flush with excitement.
Bai Mu furrowed his brows, shifting his gaze toward the helicopter hovering in the sky.
He sensed that the Mutants in this area still had an unexplored backstory, which highly likely pointed to another hidden Side Quest.
However, this potential Side Quest left far too little time for the Players. Even after navigating the cornfield so smoothly, he only had eight minutes left to figure it out. Would other Players even stand a chance of completing such a Side Quest?
Or perhaps this was a Side Quest meant exclusively for high-level Players? A task that required either holding out until the evacuation timer ended, or relying on flashy equipment and extravagant skills to swing through the air like Spider-Man, arriving at the finish line in a flash just to secure an opportunity to attempt it?
Bai Mu pondered as he stood up.
Regardless of the possibilities, completing the Main Quest was the absolute priority. He had no desire to trigger an increase in the Script's difficulty; such consequences were completely unknown and uncontrollable.
Within the boundaries of a D-grade Script, sticking to the primary objective would never be the wrong choice.
"Let's go," Bai Mu declared, stepping forward.
His harvest from this Script had been quite bountiful. He had completed two Side Quests, obtained a new title, acquired a replenishable recovery item, and even secured an admission ticket to an Adventure Script. On top of that, the final Script settlement would reward him with Points to spend in the Script Shop. He had already profited immensely.
One had to know when to be content; being excessively greedy often led to ruin.
The four of them walked toward the military helicopter, the previously tense atmosphere finally easing.
However, in the brief window of time before they officially cleared the Script, Bai Mu never stopped thinking and observing.
Paradise's Script designs were rarely arbitrary or abrupt. For example, the system would never teleport monsters directly onto a necessary path without any logical reason, merely for the sake of obstructing the Players.
The shackles and bullet wounds on the Mutants were clearly man-made. They must have been captured by the military at some point. Were they being transported for research?
Did an accident occur, allowing the Mutants to escape?
It was highly likely. This would also explain why there were so many Witches lurking in the cornfield—they had originally been captured from the city and transported here by the military.
But why did the military's transport operation fail?
If the military had successfully captured so many Mutants alive, how could they have lacked the capability to securely transport them, ultimately allowing them to escape?
Several possibilities surfaced in Bai Mu's mind.
He excelled at analyzing tangible details. This was the ingrained instinct of a doomsday survivor; he constantly had to judge whether a location might hide valuable supplies, or whether strange tracks had been left behind by a Mutant with unique abilities.
The accuracy of these judgments was directly tied to his survival, so he had long ago mastered the art of reconstructing the truth from minuscule details.
He scanned the area around the river and the corn processing plant. Near the riverbank, he spotted an iron boat docked by the shore. The vessel was situated a short distance away from the helicopter, devoid of any lighting or signs of human activity.
However, the boat appeared completely intact. It looked like a transport ship, and upon its deck, he could clearly see shipping containers.
Turning his attention to the walls of the corn processing plant, he found scattered bullet holes. Brass casings lay half-buried in the muddy water below. A gunfight had occurred here, though not a large-scale one.
Bai Mu could perfectly visualize the scene. There had likely been only one or two armed individuals firing their weapons in this area. Their hands had been incredibly unsteady, causing the bullets to spray wildly.
This indicated that the shooter had been in a state of extreme panic. Unable to calm down or control their aim, were they desperately fighting off a Mutant that had been relentlessly pursuing them?
Bai Mu tried searching for the shooter's footprints, but found none. At least three days must have passed since the shots were fired; the driving wind and rain had completely washed away any tracks, making it impossible to determine where the person had fled or if they had been killed by the Mutants.
Nevertheless, based on the current evidence, it was safe to deduce that the shooter had been a member of the military personnel responsible for transporting the Mutants.
Bai Mu felt as though he had vaguely grasped a crucial thread of information. By this time, the group had arrived directly beneath the helicopter, and the familiar chime of Paradise rang in their ears.
[We are safe. For now.]
The helicopter's searchlight swept across the surrounding rooftops, casting a brilliant glow over the area. Even beneath the gloomy, rain-filled sky, it was as bright as day. The relentless drizzle caught in the beam of light shimmered like millions of falling silver needles.
The helicopter's loudspeaker crackled to life from above, the pilot's tone thick with unmistakable surprise.
"Survivor?!!!"
"YES! YES!"
Great Northern Wilderness waved enthusiastically. He knew that, mechanically speaking, they had already cleared the Script. This was nothing more than a final cinematic cutscene. Once they played along with this final sequence, the four of them would be transported back to the Community.
"Brother Bai, let's add each other as friends when the team settlement pops up," Great Northern Wilderness said, clapping Bai Mu on the shoulder. "We make a great team. If the opportunity arises, we definitely need to run another Script together."
"Sounds good," Bai Mu replied, though his eyes remained locked on his Main Quest panel.
The quest had not yet been marked as complete. The pilot broadcasted another string of English. It wasn't anything complicated; he was merely instructing them to stay exactly where they were while he contacted a rescue boat to pick them up.
[Please await the rescue boat, then proceed to the Evacuation Point.]
More than that, the helicopter dropped a supply crate from the sky, urging them to protect themselves while they waited for the imminent rescue.
The crate was packed to the brim with ammunition, firearms, and grenades, along with First Aid Kits and Painkillers for recovery.
The First Aid Kits were exceptionally useful, boasting a massive 80% healing capacity that could essentially top off a Player's Health within five seconds of use. It seemed like a grace period specifically designed to patch up Players who had barely scraped through the level.
However, these were strictly narrative items; they could not be taken out of the Script.
Paradise had already notified them that they were safe, which meant they truly were out of danger. As long as they stayed within the immediate vicinity of the helicopter, they would successfully clear the Script.
But as Bai Mu stared at the open supply crate, all the disparate clues suddenly clicked together in his mind.
"The shackles, the transport ship, the uninterrupted countdown, the supply crate..."
"Traverse the farm, reach the Evacuation Point..."
A multitude of clues wove together in his brain. He was running out of time; only five minutes remained on the clock.
He finally unearthed the glaring anomaly hidden within the details, coming to a sudden, startling realization.
Waiting for the military's rescue boat would indeed clear the Script, but that was merely the standard ending. In reality, there had to be a hidden clear condition!
Without warning, Bai Mu snatched up the firearms, ammunition, and medical supplies from the crate. He bolted out of the searchlight's beam, sprinting at full speed toward the abandoned transport ship docked by the shore.
He was taking a massive gamble. The very moment he took action, a new system prompt chimed in his ears.
[Second Evacuation Point Marked: The Abandoned Transport Ship.]
[Main Quest (Optional): Evacuate the Script via the Abandoned Transport Ship.]