Chapter 529: 2.3 Main·Pinokangni (200)

Xing suddenly turned around, but there was no trace of the fireworks behind her; only a map that had been slipped into her palm at some unknown time. On this Glowing Stone Ship, five locations were marked with flowers.

"There are still so many bombs… don't collect foreshadowing at a time like this! I can't handle it alone—first I'll make a group and tell everyone."

Xing quickly set up the group, shared the bomb situation with the members, and didn't expect Huohuo to be in the group as well.

But it actually saved effort, so she introduced herself.

"Alright, down to business! Aren't you all surprised? Huohuo's buttons were clearly all retrieved… why did the bomb countdown still start?"

"Actually, this is all thanks to our brave hounds! Thanks to their painstaking effort gathering the buttons, Huohuo was able to press them one by one—she really went to great lengths… one hundred thousand buttons, pressed for a full forty-eight system hours!"

Sanyue Qi: "……"

Dan Heng: "……"

Botou Ou finally couldn't take it anymore: "What's your problem???"

Xing was also somewhat speechless: "What's the point of having this patience…?"

"Thanks for the praise! In any case, the bombs Huohuo planted on her cruise ship are hidden inside 999 dolls—those with keen eyes will surely find where the real bombs are—good luck!"

——

Original God.

"How many?!" Kaveh's eyes nearly popped out.

"999 dolls… if nothing unexpected happens, this ship could already be written off." Tighnari's ears twitched sharply, his brows furrowed as he analyzed: "With this number, we should first evacuate the crowd—if the five bombs detonated simultaneously…"

There might not even be ashes left.

The key is that, at this time, everyone aboard this ship is no ordinary person—basically either rich or noble—and any incident would have a major impact, let alone a cluster of incidents happening together.

"Evacuate the crowd, but have you considered what if Huohuo is hiding among them and slips away in the chaos? Like someone guilty of heinous crimes, are you sure she won't pose a safety risk to others in Pinokangni?" Alhaitham asked lightly.

"That also makes sense……"

"At a time like this, we need to find Feicui." Cyno, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

"Feicui? Why look for her?"

Cyno explained earnestly: "Because she is 'Preservation'—when 'Preserve' exists, it will protect those around her."

Kaveh: "……"

Collei: "……"

Tighnari's ears had already drooped, his toes dug into the ground embarrassedly as he glanced away.

Alhaitham stared at him expressionlessly: "……At a time like this, you're actually capable of this level of punny association; in a sense, your way of thinking truly qualifies as a 'miracle'."

"How so, not funny?" Cyno asked seriously.

Alhaitham let out a soft sigh: "If it were funny, then maybe it's not just you who has a problem—I do too."

——

Xing quickly found the first bomb—it was a "Captain" doll.

"Finally, you're here, Little Grey Hair! I'm the captain of this place, currently posing as a bomb!"

Xing eyed her suspiciously: "Little Grey Hair? Are you big or small?"

"I'm about to explode, and you still care about that?" The Captain doll, clearly more agitated than Xing, began shaking its head and swaying: "Alright, since you found me, it's my turn to fulfill the mission. I'll count down from five, then explode!"

"Five—four—one!!"

"What about two?" Xing countered.

"Is that important? I'm not even a real bomb!" The doll quickly switched to Huohuo's tone: "Aren't you surprised? Unexpected? Panicked? No? Really?"

Huohuo's tone suddenly dropped, then in the next second turned gritty: "Well, too bad. You really ought to learn how to win a girl's favor."

The doll fell completely silent; Xing took it apart and found it was merely a toy containing a speaker.

Besides, Black Swan and Botou Ou made progress on their end, together searching over three hundred dolls, but unfortunately none contained a bomb.

——

Harry Potter.

"Why is it that everyone else found over a hundred or two hundred, but Xing only found one?" Ron curled his lips, dissatisfied with Xing's "dragging feet" behavior.

"No, I think it's kind of strange—probability-wise, with five bombs hidden among 999 dolls, you'd expect to find one every 200 on average, yet we've searched over three hundred, even four hundred dolls and still haven't found a single bomb…… Don't you find that odd?"

Hermione caught the subtext in Harry's words: "You mean…… there might be no bombs in these dolls?"

"Hey hey, that kind of thinking is dangerous!" Ron nearby hurried to interject: "What if it's just bad luck? You happened to find a doll holding a bomb, and if you stop now—" Ron curled his lips, hand on his throat making a "slash neck" gesture, "…then we're all done for?"

"I think it's impossible to find all the bombs—time's too short, and Huohuo herself is on the ship; what is she trying to do by causing this? Doesn't she fear being blown up herself?"

Hermione really couldn't fathom Miss Huohuo's mindset—what kind of person would risk their own life for such a dangerous act? Not caring about others' lives is bad enough, but not even caring about her own……

——

"After everyone's efforts, the bombs are now down to 172, yet still no trace of them has been found."

While chatting in the group, Huohuo unsolicitedly sent the coordinates of the last doll containing a bomb.

Xing followed the bomb's coordinates and, to her surprise, saw Liuying by the poolside, nervously staring at the Huohuo doll soaking in the water.

"... Ah, you've come!"

Xing rolled up her sleeves: "Huohuo, take this stick!"

"Don't come over, this bomb is dangerous! Besides… I'm really Liuying!" Liuying hurriedly explained, having received a message from an unknown sender about half an hour ago and rushing here immediately. The bomb before her seemed special, as if locked by some inexplicable force of fate……

Liuying ultimately reached a sorrowful conclusion: "Besides the creator, probably no one can stop it."