The Midnight Owl

Chapter 28: Accident

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This is the terminal building. There are passengers checking in at almost every counter. If you want to recognize the people who are involved in the same crowd as they are, unless the other party is swearing like they did yesterday, it's stupid. , otherwise impossible.

But now, the people who checked in for the boarding pass at counter 9 all looked and behaved as usual, and they were dressed in ordinary clothes, and they looked no different from other passengers.

"Are you sure they're not NPCs?" Xu Wang didn't doubt Wu Sheng, but in terms of looking at people, he needed emotional intelligence rather than IQ, which is not what Wu is good at.

"Of course," Wu Sheng didn't hesitate at all, "Look carefully, they are very different from the others."

Xu Wang frowned and widened his eyes even harder. Not only him, but Kuang Jinxin and Qian Ai also leaned over and stretched their necks to observe together.

After a long time, the other party has completed the boarding pass and turned around to prepare for the security check.

Qian Ai couldn't help but say, "There's no difference..."

Kuang Jinxin: "I can't tell."

Xu Wang looked at Wu Sheng, hoping that he would listen to the voices of the masses.

As a result, classmate Wu had a sad face of "Why do you always make me speak so clearly?"

"Eyes," he said, "look at the eyes, only the four of them have dark circles under their eyes."

Xu Wang: "..."

Kuang Jinxin: "Angkor..."

Qian Ai: "My name is Brother Sheng!"

Wu Sheng: "It's no big deal, I'm just a little more careful."

Xu Wang: "If you two continue to worship so blindly, then Chang'e will fly to the moon first, okay?"

That being said, Xu Wang had to admit that Wu Sheng's feature point was captured too accurately.

Looking down at the glass table top, the four of them are not baby pandas, even though they have slept for twelve hours, there is still a faint tiredness under their eyes. Active during the day and rest at night, this is a human physiological law, no matter how much sleep during the day, it is difficult to completely make up for the lack of night.

With the iconic feature of "dark circles", looking at the vast sea of people, it is like wearing a "filter", all the idle people are blurred, and only the "colleagues" with dark circles are left more and more clear. .

In the next ten minutes, they discovered two other teams. Like the previous team, they also acted extremely low-key. If they didn't distinguish carefully, it was difficult to recognize the difference between them and other passengers.

"We're the stupidest at this point," Qian Ai said, "there's not a single one who is running rampant, they're all ghosts."

"It's all old teams." Xu Wang guessed. The new team that just came up from 1/23, it is impossible to have this kind of vigilance. How to look at it, these teams should be tall, handsome, thin and white with experience in this level, and 80% of them have failed in a certain level. Just finished the first level again and came here again.

They have already handed in the papers, and there will be no real intersection with these teams who are just about to get on the plane.

but-

Xu Wang suddenly thought, how many people stared at them like this last night

Maybe not just last night.

Kuang Jinxin just said that he always felt that someone was staring at us. Yes, they can stare at others like that, and those who have already handed in like them but haven't made it to the next level, can stare at them the same way.

The peeping eyes are all equally sneaky, the only difference is whether there is malicious intent hidden in them.

"It's obvious that everyone is a victim of being sucked in," Kuang Jinxin muttered to himself as if he couldn't figure it out, "Why do I look at them and don't feel friendly at all, but feel scared..."

"It's not that the four bastards made trouble yesterday," Qian Ai was angry when she thought about it, "I don't see any team looking like a good person now."

"It's not all their fault," Wu Sheng hit the nail on the head, "it's the existence of a competitive relationship that leads to the inevitable outcome."

Xu Wang agreed: "If only one team can pass the test in each subsequent level, and the team that failed to pass the pass has to retreat, then any two teams have the possibility to meet and compete, which will fundamentally cut off making friends. the way."

"That can also be a fair competition." Kuang Jinxin still felt uncomfortable.

"If the first level is not blocked and each team can see each other, then there is still a possibility, because mutual information is equal, which is more conducive to the initial negotiation," Xu Wang patted his head and explained patiently, "But now The situation is that the first level deliberately makes each team have the established impression that each team is shielded from each other. When a team with this kind of thinking inertia enters the second level, as long as there is an old team in the second level, it will be sent to the second level. Such a new team starts, because the information is already asymmetric at this time, and the old team has an absolute advantage, so it is naturally impossible for him to jump out and say a fair competition."

"Then the abused team will gain a lot of wisdom, and then abuse the new team," Qian Ai sighed. "This is a vicious circle of hatred."

Xu Wang quietly looked at the hurried passengers outside the fence, and said, "'Owl' deliberately designed the level like this."

Qian Ai felt chills all over: "Can we stop using the term 'anthropomorphic'? It's as if this ghost place has thoughts and life."

"You don't need to have life, just have logic." Wu Sheng raised his finger and lightly clasped the desktop, and said slowly, "If malice is the logic of this world, then all level settings, environments, and clearance conditions are based on this logic, and you will be involved in The people in it, the behavioral patterns are bound to lead to this logical result."

Qian Ai blinked and looked at Xu Wang.

Xu Wang patted him on the shoulder: "That is to say, this world is full of malice."

Qian Ai glanced at Wu Sheng apologetically, then faced Xu Wang, saying from the bottom of his heart, "I like your explanation."

The four of them sat in the cafe for less than an hour, and they couldn't sit still. I should have taken advantage of this rare "post-delivery era" to catch up on sleep, but I had no choice but to sleep too much during the day, and now I feel like a full power bank.

No way, the four simply walked around the airport, only to find one good thing and one bad thing.

The good thing is that the things in the store are real, unlike the coffee that is ordered but not delivered. Whether it is a convenience store, a bakery, cosmetics or various brand stores, as long as the goods can be sold immediately, the things inside It's basically all genuine.

Then there is the bad thing, these things also have to be paid, and the requirements of each store are very clear, only cash. In fact, you can swipe your phone, and they can't do it - there is no mobile phone signal or wifi at all.

The four of them searched their pockets, only Qian Ai took the wallet. He took out 100 yuan, spent 10 yuan on a keychain, and spent 40 yuan on a large bag of biscuits. The clerk asked him for 50 yuan, all of which were the latest version of RMB, and he didn't find any that circulated in the world. what's the difference.

Buying this thing is not a liking or a whim, but Wu Sheng's suggestion - if you can pay real money in the "owl" and get something, can this thing actually be used, or even brought back to reality

In fact, they are all things in reality, souvenirs, bags, clothes, snacks, cakes, and even the brands are the same as in reality, even if they can really bring back reality, they are useless. For example, you buy a LV here, and then go back and say that I am in the "Owl" generation gap. The price is the same as the airport, and the ghost can understand it.

But Wu Sheng insisted on testing it.

"Finding out all the operating rules of this world is the cornerstone of defeating it." - Student Wu's reasons are too good, Xu Wang, Qian Ai, and Kuang Jinxin can only listen to you.

As soon as the four of them left the store, they opened the biscuits and divided them. About two or three minutes before and after, the four young men did nothing, just stood in front of the store and chewed biscuits, eating earnestly and attentively, as if they all went back to preschool in an instant, snacks are the whole world.

When the last piece was left, the four finally stopped, and Qian Ai put the individually packaged biscuit in his pocket, and made up a happy "Owl Family" with the previous keychain and change.

Whether these things can be brought back to reality, they don't know yet, but at least in "Owl", the cookies really bring them heat and satiety.

"If the food here is really edible," Kuang Jinxin thought suddenly, "Is it possible to take a plane? Maybe you can go directly to Shandong from here!"

"You're stupid," Qian Ai patted his head. "Even if you can go, it will cost the same ticket price, and our things are all in the hotel. You're going to get out of the house!"

"That's right." Kuang Jinxin scratched his head embarrassedly, swearing that the next time he speaks, he must think about it first.

Wu Sheng suddenly said, "Not stupid."

Kuang Jinxin and Qian Ai looked at him together with puzzled eyes.

Wu Sheng explained two more words: "Not stupid at all."

The six eyes were facing each other for a few seconds, and the four eyes turned to Xu Wang.

Xu Wang spread his hands, imitating Wu Sheng's tone, and his slightly upward tone was full of squeaks: "Finding out all the operating rules of this world is the cornerstone of defeating it. We don't have to fly, but we also need to find out the situation."

Kuang Jinxin and Qian Ai understood.

Moreover, although Wu Sheng was standing next to him, his mouth didn't move at all, they still gave birth to the illusion that "Wu Sheng was dubbing Xu Wang in ventriloquism" - Xu Wang's understanding of Wu Sheng was thorough and his imitation was vivid. It is soul level.

Just when the four of them were about to go to the airline counter to ask about the situation, a person suddenly ran out of the restaurant opposite, knocked over the passengers who were about to enter the restaurant, and ran wildly to the east.

Just after running for more than ten meters, a waiter ran out of the restaurant, chasing and shouting: "Robbery-"

The four of them froze for a moment, looked at each other in dismay, whether to act bravely or stand by, this is the question.

Their stupor was only for a very short moment, but at that moment, a gloomy voice resounded in the entire terminal—

[Owl: Baby, it is not desirable to get something for nothing.]

They recognized that voice as the reminder sound that would always be in their ears to tease them, but now, the voice has changed from the lively and naughty voice of the past, as cold as a knife, but there is still a hint of weird banter in the tone, which makes people fall behind. The back is cold, and it hurts to cut people's ears.

The man who was running not far away suddenly fell to the ground with an "ah-", his whole body twitched violently, as if he was suffering great pain, and rolled on the ground screaming.

The four of them saw their scalps go numb, but the traveling passengers didn't see it. Those who should be walking in a hurry are still in a hurry, and those who should be swaying leisurely are still swaying, as if there is no robber who is in pain.

The waiter finally caught up to him. As the only person around who responded to the robber, she bent down and stretched out her hand.

What happened next shocked the four of them.

Just as the waiter's fingertips touched the robber's shoulder, the robber suddenly disappeared, leaving only a neat stack of hundred-yuan bills on the ground.

The waiter's hand didn't even pause, and picked up the banknotes directly, as if that's what she was going to do.

The four of them watched the waiter calmly walk back to the restaurant with the banknotes, and suddenly became confused. Maybe the moment she picked up the money, like the passengers around her, she didn't see the robber at all, she just ran for the money, because... She knew that the robber would disappear.

"The one who robbed...is he a real person?" Kuang Jinxin asked loudly, in fact, it was already a little unclear.

"It should be," Wu Sheng said, "otherwise the owl won't speak."

"But the owl's words have never been made public." Qian Ai pointed out the problem, knowing that from entering this world, all the prompts from that voice appeared in each person's ear individually.

"Kill the chickens to warn the monkeys," Xu Wang said, "in order to give all those who may have such thoughts the most intuitive warning."

"Okay, it succeeded." Anyway, Qian Ai has given up all criminal thoughts now, but he is still quite critical, "Who let it go to Shaanxi today and Shandong tomorrow, it's really like our money is blown by the wind!"

"Will he die?" Kuang Jinxin asked suddenly.

"No." Xu Wang heard it really, "What the owl said is not advisable, if the result of nothing is dead, then in order to maximize the warning, it can directly say that it will kill, the deterrent effect is stronger, there is no need to pay Be polite."

Kuang Jinxin breathed a sigh of relief, but still had lingering fears.

The appearance of that person just now, even if he didn't die, he was half dead in pain.

Although this episode has caused a lot of shock to the four of them, it is useless to stand here, and the way to go is still to go.

After a while, they went to the airline counter.

They wanted to ask about the route to Shandong, but every airline counter gave the answer like a training class - sorry, we don't sell air tickets here.

Whether there is a flight route is secondary, there is no place to sell tickets in the huge terminal building. They wanted to go to the check-in counter and try to swipe their arms or ID cards—Qian Ai took it with him, to be precise, all his belongings were in his wallet—but just as they walked near the counter, they were stopped by the ground staff before they could wait in line. , there is no reason, it is not close.

There is the same treatment at the security checkpoint, and there is no possibility of getting in.

It seems that overnight, all functional passages were closed to them, and the entire airport became a pure leisure area.

After tossing until four in the morning, the four of them gave up completely and returned to the coffee shop.

With nothing else to do, Xu Wang looked at his mates, and after deliberation, he finally mentioned something he had been thinking about: "I think since I'm the captain, it's still necessary to do something about the public purse..."

The so-called public purse means that everyone puts out the same amount of money and puts it together. Food, lodging, and travel are all taken out from here, so that you don’t ask me to buy tomorrow, and it’s unclear in the end, or it’s so troublesome every time AA. For example, when he came to Shaanxi this time, Wu Sheng helped him to book the air ticket for him and Kuang Jinxin. He wanted to give Wu Sheng money, but he was afraid that he would not treat anyone as a friend. .

This is not a matter of pretense. In fact, if the identities are exchanged, Xu Wang will not care that Wu Sheng has not paid back the money, but once or twice can be done. They can't be so vague when they see that they will travel together for a long time.

People always say that talking about money hurts feelings, but Xu Wang has been struggling in society in the past few years, and he understands a truth - talking about money first does not hurt feelings at all, and even helps to maintain feelings, and then settle accounts, it will be fatal.

Having said that, "money" is still a sensitive issue after all, and Xu Wang is ready to meet the incomprehension or opposition of his companions.

And the companions did object.

Qian Ai was the first to raise his hand.

Xu Wang is very democratic: "Please speak."

"Why are you the captain?"

"… "

Although the focus of his teammates was different from what he imagined, Xu Wang quickly calmed down and tilted his head innocently: "I thought we had reached a consensus on this issue."

Qian Ai was not dissatisfied, but looked dazed. After receiving the response, he became even more confused, and subconsciously looked at Kuang Jinxin.

The latter also shook his head blankly.

Qian Ai looked at Xu Wang again: "Well, there are four people in total, and the two of them are not impressed. Are you sure you have reached a consensus?"

"Alright, alright," said Xu, who had failed to find a fish in troubled waters, and spread his hands out of words. "Then choose now. After all, this is a team battle. We must have a captain, otherwise there will be no leader, which will affect the efficiency..." One raised his hand, "I'm running."

From mobilization to self-recommendation, Qian Ai was impressed by a series of operations. In such a comparison, he was ruthlessly crushed from rhetoric to routines, and the competition was abandoned, but when it comes to captain, he has another candidate in his heart...

Wu Sheng received Qian Ai's supportive gaze and responded in a timely manner: "I choose Xu Wang."

Xu Wang had already determined that there would be a "fierce competition", but he was unexpectedly given a big gift, and looked at Wu Sheng in surprise.

Qian Ai was also shocked, but not happy, but suspected that he had hallucinations: "Squad leader, you were not like this before, don't you have to be a cadre when you are honored?"

"I was young at that time, too naive," Wu Sheng waved his hand, sighed faintly, raised his eyes 45 degrees, like a wise man who has gone through vicissitudes of life, looking back on the past, "Now that I have grown up, I am more peaceful and objective..."

"Interrupt," Qian Ai coughed lightly, "Can you just say the main point?"

Wu Sheng looked back reluctantly and shrugged: "I admit that my brain is indeed better than Xu Wang, but throughout the past and present, the role of brain power is generally relatively low-key, often serving as a military advisor, not a leader..."

"Water Margin, Wu Yong is the smartest, but Song Jiang leads the team..."

"In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang is the smartest, and Zhou Yu is not bad, but one follows Liu Bei and the other assists Sun Ce..."

"So," Wu Sheng raised his eyes, swept his eyes lightly over the three teammates, and finally landed on Xu Wang's face, "Captain never judges heroes by intelligence, but needs to know people, use people, and be good at playing with people's hearts. Not even close."

Seeing the rare sincere modesty on Wu Sheng's face, Xu Wang just wanted to slap him to death: "Can you simply say that you support me as captain..."

The road is tortuous, but fortunately the ending is bright.

Xu Wang was successfully elected, and immediately continued the previous issue: "I think so, this matter is a protracted war, and we will definitely fight side by side in the future. The money is paid for 'class fees', and public expenditures are taken from here, which saves trouble and helps the sustainable development of our team."

Qian Ai was the first to raise his hand again, but unlike last time, this time he supported it: "Agree."

"Money" is actually a very difficult thing to talk about, but it's clear to talk about it as openly as Xu Wang.

"Agree!" Kuang Jinxin raised his hand second.

Wu Sheng nodded: "No opinion."

"Then take 5,000 for one person first. Airfare is too expensive." Xu Wang thought about it, "Xiao Kuang hasn't graduated yet, so if you have it, you can take less. If you don't have it, it's fine. I'll give you your share first..." I'm afraid situation Jin Xin has a psychological burden, and Xu Wang added with a smile, "I borrowed it, I have to pay it back."

"No," Kuang Jinxin said quickly, "I'm enough for five thousand!"

Xu Wang looked at him suspiciously: "Don't go bankrupt."

"Brother Xu—" Kuang Jinxin wasn't too happy that Xu Wang treated him as a child, but what he said was really not convincing, "I can ask my family for it if it's not enough!"

Xu Wang was both angry and funny: "The family asked what you did with the money, what did you say?"

"Traveling," Kuang Jinxin replied in a smooth manner, "When my family asked me why I ended my internship early two days ago, I said I wanted to see the outside world, so I came out for a walk."

"And then they agreed?"

"Well, my grandmother is very happy. She told me many times that I can see more of the world while I'm young, and tell her if I don't have enough money."

"… "

Xu Wang was speechless, and he couldn't tell for a while whether the parents were doting on this child, or whether they thought he was stupid and sweet, and had never seen the world, so he had to let it out and run into the wall, and he would be in all kinds of pits in society. Growing up in pits.

"Okay." If the children are rich, he will not insist on it. They are all partners. No matter how old they are, they should be treated with equal respect. Sometimes excessive special treatment is not conducive to unity. However, as the captain, he still patted the child's shoulder hard, "Anyway, don't push yourself hard, and tell the brothers if you have any difficulties, the four of us are now comrades in a minefield, and we have already suffered so much, so we are not afraid of suffering again. point."

Kuang Jin Xinle made a sound, but his eyes were a little sore. He had to nod his head desperately to let the heat dissipate faster: "Yeah!"

At five in the morning, back to reality.

The last piece of biscuit and keychain in Qian Ai's pocket disappeared, but the change he was looking for was still there.

They didn't feel hungry all of a sudden. The satiety brought by the biscuits brought back reality just like Xu Wang's injury in the ice field.

As a result, two more things were added to the "Owl's Operational Logic" summarized by Wu Junshi-

(1) Fake consumption of fake goods, real money to spend, can be used inside the owl, outside the owl, the energy of food can be continued, and the money can be converted into cash.

(2) Equivalent exchange √; gain for nothing—×.

They didn't make up for sleep that day, but rushed to the airport non-stop.

The exact location of the new coordinates is in Dongying, Shandong, and there is no direct flight from Yulin to Dongying, so you must transfer at Xianyang Airport.

It doesn't matter. The flight at 13:05 has an hour and a half of transit time in Xianyang, and it takes only four and a half hours to arrive at Dongying Shengli Airport at 17:30. It's not too much of a tossing flight, and when they arrive in Dongying, they still have It took more than six hours to settle down, which was very relaxed.

When boarding the plane, the four of them thought so optimistically.

Then the plane arrived at Xianyang Airport smoothly. The sky suddenly changed, and the rain poured, accompanied by short-term strong winds and thunderstorms.

The four of them sat in the waiting room, watching the rain pouring down like a waterfall outside the glass, and layers of psychological shadows appeared.

"It's fortunate that I got off the plane," Qian Ai said to all his partners. "It's on the plane, I can suffocate."

The horror on the red-eye flight, they really don't want to brush it in reality at all.

In addition to evoking the sad memories of the friends, the rainstorm also seriously disrupted the normal order of the airport, and all flights were grounded. When will it resume? It depends on the rain.

wait.

The four of them waited from two o'clock to three o'clock, three o'clock to five o'clock, and five o'clock to late night.

"Shit," Qian Ai looked at the approaching time on the phone, "Wouldn't you just go in here?"

"Will it scare them if I wait for the vortex to open?" Kuang Jinxin was referring to the passengers who were waiting anxiously like them.

Xu Wang added to his brain: "It may have been frightening at the time, but I will lose my memory later."

"The important thing is the distance," Wu Sheng said. "The straight-line distance between here and Dongying is nearly 1,000 kilometers. Unless we can get on a plane or other faster means of transportation, it is impossible to reach the coordinate point before five o'clock. , not to mention breaking through the customs and handing in the papers."

Qian Ai knew that he was a layman, but he couldn't help it, and still wanted to pull his teammates back: "Can you guys think about it first, in case the flight flies when we go in, we won't be able to go very far in it, and the ticket back I have to buy again..."

"No," Wu Sheng didn't care, "The plane can be canceled or changed before or after takeoff."

Qian Ai looked up in despair.

Xu Wang understood the pain of his teammates. He handed the disposable water cup that had just received warm water to Wu Sheng and helped explain: "That's someone else's ticket, not ours."

Wu Sheng held the water cup and raised his eyebrows in confusion.

Since the establishment of the public wallet, Xu Wang, who has shouldered the financial responsibility, has handled the entire flight booking, and has the most say in it—

"We bought a special ticket that cannot be refunded or changed, also called Happy Fly."

Wu Sheng drank the warm water and nodded sincerely, "Good name."

In the end, God did not receive Qian Ai's prayers. Zero o'clock arrived as scheduled, and the rainstorm did not stop. In the noisy rain, there was a clear owl call.

The dome of the waiting hall was dyed with a purple halo. Except for them who deliberately searched up, down, left and right, no passengers noticed.

However, two minutes later, all the passengers saw in horror - they took off like a fish tornado, without a whirlpool.

After a dizzy feeling of weightlessness, the four landed, but not on the ground, but on the deck of a retro sailboat.

Apart from them, there was no one else on the boat.

Outside the ship, there is a vast ocean, and the calm sea is shimmering with blue light in the sun.