Chapter 160
Upon learning that the hunting game was cancelled, Xu Shaohuai's first reaction was suspicion. Although the explanation given by the organizer sounds reasonable at first glance, it does not make sense if you think about it carefully.
The hunting ground is an isolated island on the high seas, and this game has been played countless times before. Its predecessor was a place for capitalists to entertain themselves. A large number of slaves were thrown onto the dangerous deserted island to reclaim land and build it. They cut down trees to build a fence to enclose a safe area, and then captured wild animals from other places and threw them into the fence, artificially creating a hunting ground.
Due to the limitations of scientific and technological development, it is no exaggeration to say that the original wall was built with blood. Strange environments, unknown creatures, highly poisonous plants, etc., are all explored bit by bit at the cost of human lives.
When those people got tired of hunting wild animals, they began to throw slaves and death row prisoners onto the island. Those people became emaciated and covered with scars due to hunger and torture. They had difficulty running in shackles. Behind them was a demon holding a butcher knife, and there was darkness ahead. They could not see any hope and were only struggling subconsciously. Later, they began to get tired of this negative killing game, and at the same time they began to value their lives and were unwilling to take risks, so the prototype of the hunting ground appeared.
They released wild beasts and humans onto the island, leaving only extremely limited supplies for survival. They forced these humans to deal with the wild beasts while guarding against their own kind, while they stood by and watched the fighting.
From the very beginning, this was not a formal competition. The people behind the scenes only wanted to see a bloody and exciting game, but they didn't care about the life and death of the contestants at all. It doesn’t matter if the venue is destroyed, the game can still be carried out. No matter what accidents happen, it will not threaten their safety.
So now it was cancelled without any warning, and Xu Shaohuai had no choice but to doubt it. And it's not just him, people from other teams have similar ideas. However, they are all people who are used to big scenes. Although they are confused, they will not show it too obviously.
Just a few minutes after the notice was issued, the armed team on the cruise ship began to expel people from the deck and asked everyone to return indoors. They could stay in their rooms or in various entertainment facilities, but were prohibited from staying on the deck.
It was already afternoon, the sun was beginning to set, and the sky was tinged with a light orange hue.
Xu Shaohuai originally suggested going to a Western restaurant, having dinner and then thinking about the rest later. Yang Xinyao and the others had no objections, but Jing Ling, who always talked casually, had other ideas.
"I remember the introduction manual mentioned that there is an open-air area on the fifth floor where we can barbecue. Anyway, the last game has been cancelled, so we don't have to worry about anything. It's a good time to relax. I couldn't perform well due to the previous conditions and time constraints, so I'll let you taste my cooking skills."
Hearing him say this, Xu Shaohuai didn't think much about it. The final hunting trip was cancelled, and it seemed that their mission could not be completed, but in fact it was not necessarily the case, because a similar situation had never happened before, and the final outcome was still unknown.
Although he had doubts about the explanation given by the organizer behind the scenes, it was also true that he felt relieved. Although theoretically they have a great advantage and a high chance of winning, no one can be sure whether there will be other unexpected changes in the end. Yang Xinyao could calculate, but because of Jing Ling's existence, she was greatly restricted.
Anyway, there will be many opportunities in the future, so just treat this time as a run-in exercise. After you gain experience, the next time will definitely be smoother than now. As for him and Song Xiuyuan, both were injured, but as long as they were still alive and had no missing limbs, it was all worth it.
The group walked through the corridor and came to the open-air area. Barbecue grills and other items were already available, so they just had to ask the waiter to prepare the ingredients.
Jing Ling looked around casually, but in fact he was observing the cameras around him. Finally, he found a half-blind spot in the surveillance, a corner where his face could not be seen from any camera. He walked over first, and Xu Shaohuai had no objection, so he followed him directly.
Although Jing Ling said that he wanted everyone to have a taste of his cooking skills, it was impossible for him to do it all by himself. Yang Xinyao was about to go and help, but she heard Jing Ling say, "Captain, just help me. I'll ask the waiter to get the playing cards. You and Dahe can play first."
Yang Xinyao didn't think much about it, just thinking that he was always considerate, so she smiled and said, "Then I'll leave it to you and the captain!"
Soon the playing cards were delivered, along with the wine and food. Bai Ningxi and the others started playing playing cards in the corner. They played Landlord, a very popular game in China.
After Jing Ling took a look, he withdrew his gaze and started working on the barbecue grill. Just as I was brushing the skewers with barbecue sauce, I felt there was someone next to me. It was Xu Shaohuai who sat down next to me and helped pass various things with very skillful movements.
From the surveillance perspective, both of them lowered their heads slightly, and their facial expressions could not be seen. Judging from their actions alone, it seemed like they were really concentrating on preparing the barbecue, but in fact they were having a conversation.
"What's the problem?" Xu Shaohuai asked in a low voice.
At first, when Jing Ling suggested having an open-air barbecue, he had no doubts, because it was normal for people to want to relax when the death warrant pressing on their heads suddenly disappeared. But when Jing Ling refused Yang Xinyao and asked him for help instead, he knew there was a problem, because he knew Jing Ling's character, and he never liked to trouble others, no matter big or small, as long as he could solve it himself.
Sure enough, Jing Ling's answer confirmed his guess.
"What do you think about the sudden cancellation of the hunting trip?"
Hearing this, Xu Shaohuai was a little surprised. He felt there was a problem because he had rich experience, but he didn't expect Jing Ling to have noticed it too. Was it because of intuition?
"Why do you think there is a problem?" he asked instead of answering.
Jing Ling said calmly, "I heard what the people from the island said to the guide when we were on the deck."
He said it lightly, but Xu Shaohuai was extremely surprised. Even though they already knew that Jing Ling's hearing was much better than that of ordinary people, they were still so far away at the time that if they were not sure that they couldn't hear him, they would not have dared to speak directly. Unexpectedly, Jing Ling heard it anyway.
"The wind was blowing towards us from that direction." In other words, the wind brought the sound to his ears.
Although there were not many people around, Xu Shaohuai lowered his voice and asked, "What did you hear?"
Jing Ling brushed another layer of oil on the skewers, and it seemed that he accidentally applied too much oil, so some of it dripped into the charcoal fire under the grill. The flames suddenly rose up, making a slight sound, and his voice was mixed in, "The virus leaked, and there was a problem in the laboratory. The guide should know the inside story. Just from this sentence, he roughly knew what happened and hurried to report to the higher-ups."
Even someone as calm as Xu Shaohuai couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise when he heard this, but he quickly calmed down. In addition, they were in a blind spot in the surveillance camera and had their heads down, so they would not be noticed.
"Virus?! What virus?!" Even though he was very restrained, his tone couldn't hide his surprise. It’s not his fault. Not only him, but even if other people heard it, they would have the same reaction as him. Because they have been to the hunting ground many times, although it is undeniable that it is dangerous, they all know the source of the danger, and most of them can be attributed to their own kind and wild beasts. Of course there are others, but viruses are definitely not included!
No, that's not right!
Xu Shaohuai suddenly realized that he had overlooked a very important point! It is only natural that there are staff arranged by the organizers behind the game in the hunting ground. Otherwise, the adjustment and maintenance of the monitoring equipment on the island cannot be carried out. We can't send people over every time the game is about to start, right? But the person who just came from the island was dressed like a laboratory worker, and although he wore a long coat, it did not completely cover it! If he was just an ordinary staff member, there would be no need to hide his tracks like this!
Damn it!
He suddenly remembered something he had overlooked in the previous games. Although most of the deaths could be traced, there were always a few people who died inexplicably and even their bodies could not be found. This is the case when some team members are still alive. If everyone died, no one would care about their bodies! At that time, they subconsciously thought that the bodies would be handled the same way as on the cruise ship, thrown into the sea or fed to wild animals.
But considering the current situation, did those corpses really end up in the mouths of fish and wild animals?
Xu Shaohuai suddenly became unsure.
He thought a lot, but in the end he suddenly became discouraged.
Jing Ling noticed his mood change and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xu Shaohuai sighed and replied, "Even if you heard it, it's useless. We can't intervene in this matter. Aside from the fact that the cruise ship will return tomorrow morning, and we can't even get close to the island, even if we can go to the island, or even get in touch with the laboratory, we can't do anything because we know nothing about the virus they mentioned. If we're unlucky, we might not be able to come back."
Jing Ling continued in a nonchalant tone, "I know, I'm just curious. Do you think I'm too lucky? As soon as I arrived, this game that had lasted for many years suddenly ended due to an accident."
"You are the luckiest person I have ever met, no doubt about it!" Xu Shaohuai exclaimed.
He still didn't understand enough, so he was easily diverted by the word "luck". By the time he realized it, everything was over.
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