Chapter 988: Don't You People Have Common Sense?
Chapter 988: Don't You People Have Common Sense?
When they reached the disembarkation point, all three of them were soaked again, dripping with water. In the one or two minutes they had to get close to Zao Peng, their semi-dry clothes were completely soaked by the splashes of water she created. Amidst the splashes, her thrown shoes, short knives, hysterical crying, cursing, and begging were mixed in.
No matter what they had experienced before, witnessing another member of their kind experience a mental breakdown still put pressure on them, especially after all their evolutionary abilities had been stripped away.
Amidst her piercing screams, the group silently approached the shore, tactfully avoiding looking back. Led by the round-faced man's pedal boat, the three boats stopped in succession beside a wooden platform made of planks extending from the shore into the lake. Once they stepped onto it, the pocket dimension would come to an end.
Philibert checked his watch. "It's already the 56th minute. It seems we have to mortgage another 30 minutes." He turned to Lin Sanjiu and said, "Give him one minute. That way, I'll return the boat at 67 minutes, and you return it at 77 minutes, alright?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded—her attention had been scattered on the way there, and now she was the last one.
"Then I'll return the boat now," the round-faced man hurriedly shouted, as if afraid someone would snatch it from him. "Um... you guys keep an eye on the time."
After finishing his words, he turned around and was about to speak towards the disembarkation point when Zao Peng suddenly burst into loud laughter from behind, her voice hoarse and unpleasant, like another person. "In consideration of us being in the same group, answer me one question before you leave!"
The round-faced man paused, couldn't help but glance back at her.
"How did your ability, [Judging a Person by Their Actions], suggest that you deal with Philibert?" Zao Peng's every word made it sound like her throat was bleeding from the pain. "You sometimes grovel before people, sometimes act superior, sometimes are straightforward... I have to admit, I'm really impressed with how convenient [Judging a Person by Their Actions] is. But I noticed that you always avoid Philibert and have very little interaction with him. Tell me, what attitude does your ability recommend to benefit the most from Philibert?"
Even though they were separated by two boats, Lin Sanjiu could tell that the round-faced man's face turned purple-red in an instant.
Without even looking at Philibert, he angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"What's wrong? Weren't you always understanding and supportive of me in private?" Zao Peng jeered coldly. "I admit, although I know about your ability, I couldn't help but feel a sense of recognition towards you... Hey! You over there! Are you also under the mistaken impression that he's a good person?"
Lin Sanjiu didn't answer—Zao Peng's intentions were too obvious, and she didn't want to waste any more time on it. She only shouted at the round-faced man, "Go return the boat!"
"Returning the boat!" Without waiting for Zao Peng to say anything else, he shouted three words.
"Okay," the slow and deliberate voice came from the loudspeaker, "I see your boat. However, there are some procedures you need to complete. Come to this window now."
For a moment, all eyes focused on the round-faced man. Struggling, he dragged his soaked body onto the wooden platform and hurriedly rushed toward the disembarkation point, leaving behind a trail of wet footprints. He stopped at the window of a small house and immediately a low, indistinct voice emanated from the dim window—strangely, the loudspeaker remained silent. Whatever the pocket dimension said, it was clearly meant for the round-faced man alone.
Even though Lin Sanjiu focused all her attention on her ears, she still couldn't hear anything—just as the voice in the window fell silent, the round-faced man suddenly let out a short, sharp sound, as if startled like a chicken.
"What's going on?" Philibert asked, raising his voice.
The round-faced man didn't turn his head, as if he hadn't heard anything. He just lowered his voice and spoke hurriedly and softly into the window, deep in thought.
Even Zao Peng quieted down; the group held their breath, listening intently, but they couldn't hear anything. The breeze rustled through the branches, and the waves crashed against the shore, obscuring all sound.
"Hey!" Philibert shouted angrily—however, the round-faced man continued to ignore him, fully focused on the faint voice coming from the pocket dimension, as if he couldn't afford to miss a single word.
...Clearly, something was wrong.
Lin Sanjiu frowned slowly, scanning the surface of the lake.
What did she miss?
What could she have missed?
They had found the good boats, and they had brought the boats to the disembarkation point. With another 30 minutes mortgaged using Potential Growth Value, they had enough time for everyone to return the boats. As the pocket dimension was nearing its end, what... what other traps could there be?
The same anxiety was clearly burning within Philibert; within half a minute, he had angrily yelled "speak!" several times—but the round-faced man still paid no attention to him, leaning forward and listening carefully to the voice from the pocket dimension, apparently ignoring their presence.
Zao Peng suddenly giggled nervously. Her laughter contained a glimmer of hope, which undoubtedly made people even more agitated.
When the window stopped speaking, the round-faced man stood silently in front of it, tapping his fingers against the edge of the window, lost in thought. From Lin Sanjiu's angle, she could barely make out a narrow side of his face; the expression on his profile made her heart beat faster, and her palms gradually became sweaty.
She needed to take action—she needed to do something, otherwise...
Without waiting for her thoughts to settle, that increasing sense of urgency and heaviness completely took over. She didn't have time to think carefully, and under the rapidly mounting pressure, she suddenly shouted the only words she could think of right now, "I'll renew the lease!"
The round-faced man was clearly taken aback, his shoulders trembling. He quickly turned and glanced around; it seemed like he made up his mind immediately and turned back.
As the pocket dimension itself had said, it was particularly sensitive to opportunities to make "money," and the loudspeaker responded immediately, "Understood, I'll take all the Potential Growth Value you have generated so far."
Philibert looked at Lin Sanjiu with confusion—although he was puzzled, he wasn't slow to react. He immediately shouted, "I'll renew the lease too! Take my Potential Growth Value!"
However, for some reason this time, the loudspeaker from the pocket dimension didn't respond to him immediately. The round-faced man stood in front of the window, still showing them his back, speaking in a low voice, and they couldn't hear what he was saying. Three or two seconds later, Philibert's face started turning pale.
Even though he didn't know why the pocket dimension didn't answer him, he realized it wasn't a good sign.
"Hey, I said I want to renew the lease! Didn't you hear me?" he shouted, his voice trembling.
"Just wait a moment," came the calm reply from the loudspeaker.
"Can I leave now?" the round-faced man hastily asked into the window. In his desperation, his voice was slightly louder, allowing the others to finally hear what he said.
"You can go. The exit is behind the house, just stand within the red circle on the ground... Welcome to come again next time."
The round-faced man turned as if granted amnesty, about to take a step, but suddenly remembered something. His gaze shifted to the distant lake—Lin Sanjiu knew exactly what he was looking at because she had thrown all her belongings into the water at almost the same spot.
However, just as the round-faced man hesitated to open his mouth, Philibert suddenly burst out of the boat like an animal coming out of a cave. He leaned out and shouted, "I want to return the boat! I'm going up now!" His target was obvious—"What have you done, you little worm?"
The round-faced man was clearly startled, and whatever he was about to say vanished instantly. He quickened his pace, turning around and heading towards the back of the small house. Philibert was red with anger and continued to shout, "Stop!" repeatedly. It wasn't until the loudspeaker spoke again that he stopped.
"No, you have to wait for another 9 minutes and 49 seconds before you can disembark and return the boat."
Philibert seemed to be waiting for the loudspeaker to continue, but it remained silent. In the midst of the silence, Lin Sanjiu's heart started to race higher. She had relied on her intuition to renew the lease in advance, and although she didn't understand the reason, it seemed like she had narrowly escaped a disaster.
What did she miss?
Zao Peng seemed to be quite satisfied with the situation and burst into a laughter that sounded like crying.
"Wait,"
Suddenly, Zao Peng's laughter reminded Lin Sanjiu of something she had said and she hurriedly asked, "You only said that no one has renewed the lease for a fourth time, but you didn't say it's not allowed. If all six of us want to return the boats, then the 90 minutes obtained through mortgaging won't be enough. Can we renew the lease for a fourth time?"
"You can."
"What is the collateral?"
"Your lives. Someone asked about it before, but no one has actually used their lives as collateral..."
Clearly, this was the ultimate and final collateral—"I'll renew the lease!" Lin Sanjiu shouted these words with an urgency she didn't quite understand herself. With that, she renewed the lease for the fourth time. From her ability items to Potential Growth Value and even her life, she had mortgaged everything, exchanging it for a total of 120 minutes.
Philibert looked at her with eyes that seemed to see a madwoman. After two seconds, he suddenly reacted, "I-I should renew the lease too... Should I use my life as collateral for the third time?"
"Yes."
"Why?" Philibert, in his excitement, almost slipped out of the boat. "Shouldn't I be able to use Potential Growth Value for one more time?"
"That was originally possible, but your teammate just came to return the boat," the loudspeaker said slowly, "so you don't have any Potential Growth Value left now."
In shock, it took Philibert quite a while before he spoke, "H-How... How does it have anything to do with my Potential Growth Value?"
"Why do you keep asking strange questions? Don't you have any common sense?" the loudspeaker responded matter-of-factly. "The evolutionary abilities and Special Items you handed over are just collateral. I made it clear from the beginning that these boats were for you to rent. Don't you rent things without paying rent?"