Chapter 88: – What else can we do?

The most relaxed people present were Cheng Shuili and Wan Yi.

Cheng Shuili had already made up her mind to go in again for a look; Wan Yi simply didn't think at all—since Cheng Shuili was here, she could just follow her, right?

What's the point of thinking?

Isn't using your brain basically an insult to the boss?

Then a few more people stood up and left one after another.

In the end, only seven people remained here.

They were Cheng Shuili, Wan Yi, Wang Lu, Yang Yunsheng, plus a fat guy, a skinny monkey, and a man wearing a dark blue down jacket.

Cheng Shuili remembered that his name seemed to be Zhang Yueying.

"We've all decided to go in and have a look, so let's discuss how to ensure safety."

After a moment of silence, Yang Yunsheng was the first to speak.

Actually, he also wanted to go to the Endpoint, but he felt that following Cheng Shuili should be safe; he was torn for a moment, so he could only stay here and see what happens.

"Is it really safe just not to speak? What about footsteps, collisions, or some mysterious sound of something dropping at your feet—doesn't that count?"

Cheng Shuili looked over; the speaker was a fat guy, fair-skinned, with big earlobes, looking blessed.

That was quite considerate.

Yang Yunsheng also had this doubt; what Cheng Shuili said were just guesses, and even if they seemed logical, what if they were wrong?

He cherished his life the most, so he naturally wouldn't risk his life following these people.

"Why not just try it? Find an empty water bottle, roll it in, and see if the monster attacks."

Cheng Shuili spread her hands; she only had a dagger and a wooden stick on her, everything else was in the Abyssal Ring—she certainly couldn't pull anything out in front of so many people.

Wan Yi wondered where the lunchbox she'd made for her was, but even if curious, she wouldn't be so oblivious as to ask now.

Cheng Shuili not having it doesn't mean these people don't either—several of them were carrying packs, so saying there's no bottled water is obviously false.

But at a moment when the group needs personal contribution, usually nobody wants to be the selfless one.

Yang Yunsheng aspired to be Cheng Shuili's lackey, and besides, he thought this method was indeed good—if they confirmed the monster only reacted to speaking, they could keep their mouths shut and go in to explore.

In such a large space, the information obtainable would certainly be plentiful.

It's definitely necessary!

How could such a major matter get stuck over something as trivial as not finding a water bottle?

He scanned the crowd and finally picked on a skinny monkey who was even shorter and thinner than him.

Yang Yunsheng walked straight over, slung his arm around the skinny monkey's shoulder, and bluntly said, "You definitely brought water, right? You need to hand over the bottle now—got it? Even if you haven't finished it, it's fine; you can pour it out or into someone else's bottle."

Yang Yunsheng spoke in a very firm tone, as if he'd resort to force if the skinny monkey didn't hand over the water bottle.

The skinny monkey clearly couldn't withstand this pressure; nervous and unable to utter a word, he trembled as he unzipped his front backpack and took out a bottle of mineral water frozen solid into ice.

Yang Yunsheng forgot about the weather; seeing the ice frozen solid inside, he only knew it wouldn't pour out, and suddenly he didn't know what to do.

Zhang Yueying, who had long taken a dislike to him, bumped him with his shoulder, snatched the water bottle from Yang Yunsheng's hand, and jeered, "Just cut a big hole to get the ice out—won't that work? Once it's frozen, it won't?"

Zhang Yueying's bump at Yang Yunsheng wasn't for anything else; he simply couldn't stand seeing this person bully the weak and stepped forward to vent his anger.

But he didn't realize he had also implicitly accepted using the skinny monkey's water bottle.

Yang Yunsheng said nothing, merely silently noting the incident in his heart.

Cheng Shuili stood beside Wan Yi, quietly watching the few people's actions.

Zhang Yueying pulled a folding knife from his pocket and swiftly slit open a hole in the water bottle.

He then took out the ice inside and casually tossed it to the ground, then held his breath, stood outside the dividing line, and forcefully threw the bottle with its broken opening inside.

The sound of the bottle rolling was especially piercing in the dead‑silent environment.

The friction sound of plastic against the ground absolutely exceeded the volume of Qi Yue's earlier speech!

Cheng Shuili also unconsciously held her breath, her fingers instinctively gripping the dagger at her waist.

Everyone's eyes were fixed tightly on the water bottle.

Three seconds. Five seconds.

Ten seconds passed, and nothing happened.

"Looks like only human voices trigger it." Cheng Shuili breathed a sigh of relief and unconsciously lowered her voice to a whisper.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Yang Yunsheng's face—if the monster reacted to any sound, he could just turn and head for the Endpoint.

But reality was regrettable; he still had to face this danger.

Noticing Cheng Shuili's expressionless face nearby, Yang Yunsheng put on a smile again: "Sister Cheng, you truly predicted things like a god! Shall we go in now?"

Wang Lu pressed her still‑aching abdomen, glared at Yang Yunsheng, and said, "Sycophant." Her voice was equally low but loud enough for everyone to hear.

She had no special reason to target Yang Yunsheng; she simply disliked him.

Cheng Shuili ignored their petty squabble, her gaze sweeping over the remaining six people.

Wan Yi stood beside her, the only person she could trust.

Although Wang Lu's face was pale, her expression was stubborn; she was completely an invalid, her stomach likely to hurt for a while.

Yang Yunsheng still wore a false smile; he was absolutely untrustworthy.

The fat guy nervously rubbed his hands, the skinny monkey clung to his backpack still shaken, and Zhang Yueying watched the surroundings warily.

These three were each more troublesome than the last, each harboring their own little schemes.

She didn't want to cooperate with these people.

"We'd better act separately."

Cheng Shuili's single sentence set the topic for the ensuing discussion.

"Still split up?"

The fat guy was a bit puzzled; in his view, more people meant more helpers—just like Wang Lu, whose life Cheng Shuili had saved, would surely be dead now if Cheng Shuili hadn't been there then!

Do we have to split up?

Let's not split up, okay? Acting together is safer; if Cheng Shuili you discover something again, we can rescue you right away, right?

Cheng Shuili shook her head; she didn't want to act together with these people—one reason being..., two being...

Can you guarantee you won't cough or sneeze at all? The longer you stay inside, the more dangerous it gets. We need to gather as much information as possible in the shortest time.

Pangzi was left speechless by the question, and the remaining few people also fell silent.

It's impossible not to think about this; once Cheng Shuili brings it up, the remaining few people all feel their throats and noses getting itchy.

The more they thought, the less confidence they had; they couldn't help wanting to back out, but having come this far, what else could they do if they didn't go in?