Chapter 166

Xie Xubai rarely mocks others. Rather than being sarcastic, he prefers to persuade people with physical methods and solve problems decisively from the root.

But that doesn't mean he won't use his mouth.

If anyone displeases him, a single slap of his beautiful, thin lips can be deadly, piercing to the core.

"..."

The cloaked man's expression changed repeatedly, clearly provoked.

Strangely, after staring silently at Xie Xubai for a few seconds, he quickly calmed down.

Tilting his head, he scanned Xie Xubai from head to toe, seemingly admiring his ability to bend and stretch. A soft laugh escaped his throat: "Sharp-tongued."

Although faint and fleeting, in a subtle moment, Xie Xubai did indeed strangely detect a hint of agreement in the cloaked man's ambiguous laughter.

They harbored intense, twisted malice and murderous intent towards him, yet they also genuinely identified with him.

Who exactly is he/she?

Xie Xubai's calm and aloof gaze swept over the cloaked man, pressing him relentlessly, like a cheetah with its muscles taut to the extreme, not giving up any opportunity to strike a fatal blow.

The cloaked figure, however, became elegant and composed, smiling smugly as he met Xie Xubai's icy killing intent.

He then raised his finger, fulfilling his earlier promise.

In the blink of an eye, the frozen chemical plant resumed "operation".

To a normal person, this is a rather bizarre and shocking scene.

The heated, rising airflow quickly reversed course, and the thick black smoke, billowing under the moonlight, roared back into the factory. The raging fire gradually subsided without any disturbance, and the charred metal casing slowly regained its bright, silvery sheen.

No preparation is needed, and there are no obstacles whatsoever.

Xie Xubai is not yet able to freely enter and exit the river of time and space, but he can control the flow of time in a certain area. However, for the cloaked man, it is as easy as eating and drinking.

Is he hiding his true abilities?

Xie Xubai's heart sank slightly as he re-examined the enemy before him.

Without a doubt, the ability to reverse time must be divine power, but why would gods need to deal with him in secret?

This kind of control is more like the Demon King's manipulation of his own domain—if you can't knock down a towering tree, isn't it easy to break the chopsticks in your hand?

But it doesn't seem to be restricted by region. Could it be a henchman sent by the system?

Xie Xubai had a vague intuition that the other party's identity was probably not so simple, and that they most likely knew each other in previous reincarnations.

"If you don't take the game seriously, you'll definitely regret it later." The cloaked figure's voice rang out, carrying the child's gleeful and schadenfreude, which was particularly chilling in the cold and desolate night.

Xie Xubai turned his head, his gaze quickly sweeping over them before finally landing on the semi-transparent projection directly in front of him.

As time rewinds, the victims projected also undergo corresponding changes.

Flames and poisonous smoke dissipated from their bodies, and their burned skin was restored to normal.

The group got up from the ground, their faces streaked with tears of fear.

The tear stains quickly disappeared, and they retreated without realizing it. As they squeezed back to the doorway, the crowd caused a verbal argument, with several people pushing and shoving each other before parting ways and retreating back to the exit of the emergency exit.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the footage of the victims being trapped in the escape tunnel was rewound exceptionally slowly.

The fire was so fierce that many people were still unable to react in time, even though safety drills had been conducted during training.

Some people struggled helplessly in the sea of ​​fire, toxic smoke filled their mouths, and they fell to the ground, coughing and choking in pain, covering their mouths, and reaching out to the surging crowd for help; others wanted to save people, but their palms were burned by the twisted high temperature, and they changed their minds instantly, saying sorry in a trembling voice, and hurriedly leaving while covering their hands.

Some people realized that disaster was imminent, and in order to be the first to escape, they impatiently pushed and shoved others.

He even went so far as to physically pull his colleague who was blocking his way to the ground, so that he could take the opportunity to squeeze in, revealing his sinister and ruthless nature.

The myriad aspects of human nature during a disaster are magnified infinitely in this moment's projection.

Finally, everyone went through the open door and returned to their respective work areas.

During the night shift, many people forced themselves to go to work, wearing simple protective clothing, yawning, with dark circles under their eyes, looking listless.

Competition is fierce in large factories, with a constant stream of workers applying for internships. Some may arrive in the morning and leave by the afternoon.

When I see someone I know, they will occasionally say hello.

But most people didn't even look up, indifferently shifting their gaze and continuing with their work.

The weather has turned cooler recently, but most chemical products are not heat-resistant, so the central air conditioning is still set very low.

The white mist blew in, causing frost to form on the glass mask.

Human relationships seemed frozen by the cold air conditioning; under the stark white electronic lights, the neatly arranged faces appeared exceptionally mechanical and numb.

"A simple question-and-answer game," the cloaked figure said with interest. "In what you just saw, who is the real culprit behind this arson?"

Arson?

Was the fire just now deliberately set on fire?

Xie Xubai was deeply surprised.

He initially thought it was a mysterious person killing people for fun, creating this horrific disaster, but it seems to have nothing to do with him.

Without showing any sign of distress, Xie Xubai raised his head expressionlessly and said sarcastically, "Isn't the culprit standing right in front of me?"

The cloaked man said leisurely, "Is this your answer?"

"Let me make this clear first, you only have one chance to answer. If your answer doesn't satisfy me, the price will be that the fire will continue as scheduled. Half a second later, all the gasoline tanks exploded, and those who didn't manage to escape were engulfed in flames, either dying or being maimed. The toxic smoke spread to the surrounding area in the massive shockwave, and nearby residents who couldn't afford to move would successively contract expensive lung diseases within two years. Among those affected, infants and young children with low immunity would be the first to suffer."

Xie Xubai: "..."

He lifted his eyelids, a faint glimmer flashing in his calm eyes.

Xie Xubai's emotional changes always seemed to greatly please the cloaked man.

"I'll ask you one more time."

With a subtle rise in her voice and a friendly smile, she asked, "Are you sure I'm the one who caused this fire?"

Xie Xubai ignored his pretentious attitude and simply asked, "If I answer your question correctly and win this so-called quiz game, what reward will I get?"

The cloaked figure chuckled leisurely: "Isn't catching the culprit and saving the people you care about before the disaster strikes a reward?"

Xie Xubai's face remained calm.

But those who know him well know that if he's quiet, he's definitely brainstorming. He's either racking his brains to find loopholes and exploits, or plotting how to overturn the game.

"...If I hadn't come to find you tonight, this would have been the next testing ground for players, the Flame Tongue Purgatory."

His warning gaze swept across Xie Xubai's neck: "Every game has rules that must be followed. Don't be greedy."

The second half of the sentence was uttered slowly, with clear pronunciation and emphasis, making it sound meaningful.

Xie Xubai met its gaze without saying a word. After a while, he looked away and calmly asked the conditions: "Can I go in to search for clues about the fire?"

Cloaked figure: "No."

"Is this the only place I can stand?"

"We can only stand here."

"Can I use my mental power?"

"Each copy to be generated has anti-interference power applied by the system. How much your mental power can penetrate and how many people's thoughts you can read depends entirely on your ability."

The statement was packed with information, and Xie Xubai's eyes flashed: "The system was about to generate a copy, but you intercepted it halfway through. Could it be that you and the system are—"

Before the words "hostile relationship" could be uttered, the cloaked figure coldly cut him off with a single sentence: "Five minutes. If you cannot provide a correct answer within five minutes, it will be considered a waiver of your right to answer."

Xie Xubai, who had been itching to make a move, finally calmed down a bit.

This was a matter of great importance. He unleashed his consciousness without reservation, and unsurprisingly, it was blocked when it touched the cloaked figure.

Xie Xubai then focused his attention on the factory workers, closed his eyes, and listened carefully to their thoughts.

Countless irritable, sluggish, and weary complaints rang out.

I'm so tired.

The protective suit is so stuffy.

[Just for the sake of my salary, I'll endure it for one more day... Just for the sake of my salary, I'll endure it for one more day...]

[Surviving shift work again this week?! Are they trying to kill us?!]

[That idiot team leader is wandering around again, rushing us, rushing us, rushing us all! It's not like it's your factory!]

I applied for jobs online last night but didn't get any responses. I guess I shouldn't stay here forever...

Xie Xubai's consciousness raced against time, navigating through a jumble of thoughts to find the possible culprit.

Many people harbored resentment and wanted to kill someone.

But most of those thoughts, driven by a sharp desire for revenge, are just fleeting ideas, like pebbles thrown into the ocean, quickly disappearing amidst the overwhelming workload.

If someone is truly planning arson, even if they appear calm on the surface, they will involuntarily simulate the details of the act due to tension or the impending brutality of the crime.

Xie Xubai did not hear such thoughts.

Time passed by, second by second.

The cloaked figure retrieved a palm-sized hourglass from somewhere. Fine sand accumulated in a small pile at the bottom, and there wasn't much sand left on top.

Xie Xubai's spirit floated above the workshop, looking at the busy yet peaceful crowd, his brows furrowed.

Was it due to his incompetence that he overlooked the crucial inner voice? Or was the cloaked figure deceiving him, and there was no real culprit at all?

calm.

Don't let yourself be influenced.

Don't rush.

Xie Xubai decisively immersed his consciousness into his brain, searching through every detail of his memory as quickly as possible.

When a fire breaks out, people tend to run in the opposite direction.

Judging from the images shown in front of the mysterious figure, the trapped people should be stuck in the escape route.

There are requirements for the construction of escape routes: they must be wide, close to the equipment or operating positions, easy for people to gather and reach, and equipped with emergency lighting.

Due to the special nature of chemical plants, in addition to traditional escape routes, other escape methods should be set up when the plant is first built, such as polyethylene escape pipes, which are generally laid in a curved manner along the plant area's passages and open spaces.

This chemical plant is quite large, and its products are sold to major manufacturers in the city. Xie Xubai visited it twice recently when he was promoting the law.

He had rushed over just now, and as he jumped safely into the air, he looked down and caught a glimpse of the general outline of the entire factory.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Xie Xubai, like a thunderbolt shattering the gloomy clouds.

He knew where the fire had started.

Xie Xubai immediately focused his consciousness, emphasizing the voices of the workers in that area.

[Why should I clean up when X's stupid, stingy boss doesn't want to hire a cleaner?]

I'm so sleepy, I want to go to sleep.

[I'll have to deal with another safety inspection in a few days. All this old equipment is just going to be ignored... This lousy factory is bound to cause trouble sooner or later! Forget it, I'd better shut up and not cause myself any trouble. I need to get away with this as soon as I get the chance.]

Just then, a voice filled with surprise and uncertainty suddenly emerged, as loud as thunder.

Who closed the inlet and outlet valves of the absorption tank?

The honest and naive young man thought to himself, but then roared out in a fit of rage, "It'll cause overpressure!"

The people around him were startled, not understanding what had happened, and looked at him strangely. The next second, their expressions changed drastically.

The huge stainless steel absorption tank emitted a sharp, whistling buzzing sound, the valves shook violently, and the sheet metal glowed red-hot at a visible speed.

With such a scene, how could the people working here not realize what was about to happen?

The experienced technician immediately rushed over and tried to stop the device by pulling the control lever, but due to the machine's aging, it malfunctioned when pulled down and got stuck, wasting a few tenths of a second of critical time!

One of them was standing on the stair railing and hurriedly running down. In his haste, he didn't notice and fell off the steel railing, screaming in pain.

He scrambled to his feet, but the explosion of the absorption tank was already piercing his ears. There was no time to run; despair filled his eyes.

In a flash, he suddenly remembered something and mumbled vaguely, "It's the team leader..."

Because he was the team leader, no one questioned or checked the correctness of the other party's operation.

The team leader, who rushed over upon hearing the commotion, turned deathly pale and ran away without looking back.

With a deafening "boom," the explosion was followed by a raging inferno that instantly engulfed the entire workshop, drowning out the screams of countless workers!

Xie Xubai suddenly opened his eyes.

The cloaked man pointed his finger downwards, freezing the time in the chemical plant once again.

In the deathly silence where you could hear a pin drop, he held an hourglass with only a drop of sand left in his palm and asked Xie Xubai with a smile, "See, what a simple question-and-answer game, wasn't I telling you?"