It has to be said that collective unconsciousness is indeed a very realistic "halo of reduced intelligence".
When in a group, most people will give up deeper thinking and just do what others do.
Among the few people who can still think, most will still be hesitant, and only a very small number can make a quick and reasonable response.
At this moment, hundreds of people who rushed into the ground floor of the shopping mall found that the lights were basically off, but there were many green lights on. Few people thought of "safety first" and slipped away.
After all, from a practical point of view, there are plenty of shopping malls and stores to enter in Gotham City tonight, so there is no need to waste time in a weird place.
Not only that, many people shouted: "Damn it, why is the light not on?"
"Someone turn on the light."
"Where's my new phone? Who stole my new phone?"
These shouts sound like idiots under normal circumstances, but no one despises them, and most people think similarly to these words.
Luke quietly disappeared into the darkness.
The Night Devil's primary stealth is a perfect skill for night combat. Combined with the shielding measures of the nano inner armor, it can even avoid technological detection.
Then, a hoarse, sharp, and uncomfortable voice rang out from the loudspeaker of the mall: "Welcome everyone to today's guessing game."
Many people looked up and around, but even more people were still clamoring, concerned about the new home appliances they had "snapped up".
Amid the hustle and bustle, no one noticed that the mall's metal shutter door, which had been opened, suddenly dropped down again.
As for the subsequent people who wanted to rush in, they were driven away by several black-masked gangsters who appeared outside the door with rifles.
After all, people in Gotham City are very familiar with guns, especially the effects of shooting at people.
It would be no problem for the gangsters to shoot through two people at close range with their rifles. With hundreds of rounds fired, at least dozens of people would die.
This is not a pistol bullet, if you are hit you can still be rescued.
If a rifle bullet hits a limb, it will cause disability; if it hits the body, it will be fatal without immediate first aid.
And in Gotham City tonight, absolutely no one will come to the streets to provide first aid.
The people in the mall didn't realize that they had become trapped in a cage and continued to make a noise.
Suddenly, multiple TV screens in the mall lit up.
A middle-aged man in a green suit with a thin and gloomy face appeared above.
He smiled and said, "Now I'm announcing the rules of the game. Anyone who finds the trophy I placed in the building within an hour can leave here. The rest of you will be blown up along with this building."
The noisy voices below quieted down a lot, but there were still many people cursing this guy.
The man in the green suit chuckled and said, "Next, I will give you a riddle every minute. The answer will be the location of the trophy."
The crowd quieted down a bit again, but was still noisy.
The man in the green suit then leaned closer to the screen, his face distorted: "I have some good news to tell you. There are 200 trophies. You have a great chance of surviving!"
The few calmer people subconsciously looked around and felt that the ground floor was so densely packed with people that it didn't look like there were only 200 people.
In other words, it is impossible for most people to find that trophy
But only a few people can maintain some normal thinking ability. Many people simply sneer and continue to take things that interest them in the mall.
Go out? There are passages everywhere in this shopping mall, so just find one and go out. This is what most people think.
Suddenly, someone screamed, "The Riddler! He's the Riddler!"
The scream was heart-wrenching, and it sounded like the feeling of "the whole person is about to collapse".
The content of the shouting reminded many people of the legend of a terrible villain, and some had faces that were pale, black, and blue.
On the TV screen, the man in the green suit smiled with satisfaction: "Congratulations, you got the answer right. You are a little smarter than the other idiots. Unfortunately, this is not my riddle, so you cannot get the trophy."
After pausing for a moment with the crooked cane in his hand, the Riddler coughed and said, "Attention, here comes the first riddle: I cannot be bought, but I can be easily stolen by your glance. I am worthless to one person, but priceless to two people. What am I?"
This time, almost no one cursed him, but more people whispered and asked others what the Riddle Man was.
After hearing that "horror story" that had been spread through countless layers of rumors, and with many people around him confirming that the Riddler was a super villain, almost everyone became terrified.
Few of those who rush in to "buy" are cruel and bloodthirsty; most of them are just ordinary citizens.
They have a natural fear of Gotham City's super villains.
Growing up in Gotham, they themselves have never been abused by super villains, but they always have real-life examples from their relatives and friends.
Even though the people killed by the Riddler were only a small number, the super villain would never take human life seriously. If he said he would blow up the shopping mall building, he would definitely do so.
Many people didn't even bother to guess the damn riddle and just ran straight to the exits.
Then... gunshots rang out at the gate.
Several young men who tried to break down the metal rolling door collapsed in front of it.
The Riddler laughed. "Sorry, anyone who breaks the guessing game will automatically lose the game, so there's no need to stay alive. Oh, and by the way, once the exit of the building is forcibly destroyed, the explosion will automatically occur. So, keep an eye on the people around you and don't let them blow everyone up in advance."
The people present looked at each other, and many of the timid ones began to cry: "No, I don't want to die yet."
"Mom, I want to go home."
"Damn it, I haven't even played my new game console yet, how can I die here?"
Just like that, the Riddler's game stumbles onto the "right track", but unbeknownst to him and the crowd of guessers, a transparent shadow is quietly moving through the building, destroying the explosives scattered throughout the building.
The explosives he handled did not appear to be abnormal on the outside; even the countdown was still ticking normally, but the explosive material inside had been replaced with mud.
Luke's current ability to operate the storage space's expansion and contraction is a cheat in this way, and he can replace items remotely in seconds without leaving any trace.
The cleanup process only takes five minutes.
At this moment, the riddler has entered the third round of guessing, but the only answer he has guessed is the first one: "It only takes a moment to form, but it can last a lifetime. I can resurrect the dead and bring tears to your eyes."
The answer is Cold, the sultry guy wearing a Spider-Man mask among the group of otakus. (Cold, made by the book friend Dan Ding)
When he thought of the answer, he exclaimed, "I figured it out."
Then I noticed a bunch of people around turned their heads and looked at me eagerly.
Looking at the sticks, steel pipes, knives, chargers and other weapons raised in the hands of these people, he quickly gave the answer: "It's memory, it's memory."