2221 Side Story: Fantasy Journey 62
It had to be said that a mob mentality indeed led to lower intelligence.
In a group, most people would give up on thinking deeper and just follow what other people did.
A small portion could still think for themselves, while most would still hesitate, and only a very few would react in a quick and logical way.
At that moment, the hundreds of people who had swarmed the first floor saw that the mall lights had basically gone out and instead were replaced with a lot of green lights. Only a few thought of ‘safety first,’ and slipped out.
After all, there were plenty of other shops in Gotham that they could enter tonight; there was no need to waste time in a strange place.
Not only that, many people shouted, “D*mn it, why aren’t the lights on?”
“Somebody turn on the lights.”
“Where’s my new phone? Who stole my new phone?”
Nobody looked down on them for shouting like idiots. Most people were thinking the same thing.
Luke, on the other hand, quietly disappeared into the darkness.
The Boogeyman’s Elementary Concealment was perfect for night combat. Coupled with the nanosuit’s shielding measures, Luke could avoid detection even by monitoring equipment.
A hoarse and sharp voice rang out over the mall’s speakers. “Welcome to today’s arcade.”
Many people raised their heads and looked around, but even more people were still clamoring and concerned about the new items they had ‘bought.’
Amidst the noise, nobody noticed the metal roller shutters of the mall coming down.
As for anyone who wanted to break in after that, they were driven away by some criminals wearing black hoods and rifles.
After all, the people of Gotham were too familiar with rifles; even more with the effect of being shot by one.
It wasn’t a problem for two people to be pierced by the same bullet at this close a range. If hundreds of rifle bullets were fired, dozens of people would die.
These weren’t pistol bullets; some victims of pistol bullets could still be saved.
However, a person could be crippled by a rifle bullet, and if they weren’t treated immediately, it would be fatal.
Nobody in Gotham would come out on the streets tonight to give first aid.
The people in the mall didn’t know that they had become turtles in a cage, and continued making a fuss.
Suddenly, multiple TV screens in the mall lit up.
A thin and dour-looking middle-aged man in a green suit appeared.
He smiled lightly. “Now, I’ll announce the rules of the game. Whoever finds the trophies which I’ve placed inside this building within an hour can leave from here. The rest will be blown up along with this building.”
The noise died down quite a bit, but there were still a lot of people cursing this guy.
The man in the green suit chuckled. “Next, I’ll give you a riddle every minute. The answer is where a trophy is.”
More people quieted down, but it was still noisy.
Only then did the man in the green suit lean in close to the screen, until his face was a little distorted. “Let me tell you a piece of good news: There are 200 trophies. You have a good chance of staying alive!”
Some of the calmer people subconsciously looked around. They felt that there were people everywhere on the first floor, and it didn’t look like there were only 200 of them.
In other words, it would be impossible for everyone to get a trophy?
But there were very few people who could think rationally in this situation. Many of them simply snorted and continued to take what they were interested in.
Leave? There were hallways everywhere in this mall. Just find one and get out. That was what most people thought.
Suddenly, someone screamed, “The Riddler! He’s the Riddler!”
It was a gut-wrenching scream, and the person sounded like he was about to collapse.
At this shout, many people recalled the ‘legend’ of a certain terrifying b*stard, and their faces turned varying shades of color.
On the TV screens, the man in the green suit smiled in satisfaction. “Congratulations, you got it right. You’re slightly smarter than the other idiots. Unfortunately, this isn’t a riddle, so you don’t get a trophy.”
This time, almost nobody cursed him. Instead, more people whispered to each other and asked about the Riddler.
When they heard the ‘horror stories’ that had grown bigger with every retelling, and after many people around them confirmed that the Riddler was a supervillain, almost everyone was terrified.
Few looters here were ruthless and bloodthirsty. Most of them were ordinary citizens.
They were naturally terrified of the supervillains of Gotham.
Even if they had never been tortured by supervillains while growing up in Gotham, they definitely knew family and friends who had.
Even if only a small number of people had been killed by the Riddler, supervillains never took human lives seriously. If he said that the mall would blow up later, it would.
Many people didn’t even bother to guess the d*mn riddle as they simply ran to various exits.
Then… gunshots rang out at the entrance.
Several young men who had tried to destroy the metal roller shutters collapsed in front of them.
The Riddler smiled. “Sorry, anyone who disrupts the guessing game automatically loses the qualification to play, so there’s no need for them to live. Oh, by the way, if the building exits are forcibly destroyed, the explosion will be automatically triggered. So, watch the people around you. Don’t let them blow up everyone beforehand.”
Everybody looked at each other, and some of the more cowardly ones started to cry. “No, I don’t want to die yet.”
“Mom, I want to go home.”
“D*mn it, I haven’t played with my new game console yet. How can I die here?”
Just like that, the game stumbled back onto the ‘right track.’ Unknown to everyone, however, an invisible figure moved quietly through the building and destroyed the bombs that were scattered around.
The bombs still looked the same on the surface. Even the time was still ticking down normally, but the explosive materials inside had been replaced with mud.
Luke’s ability to store and release items in his inventory was a cheat. He could switch items remotely without leaving any traces.
The cleanup only took five minutes.
At that moment, the Riddler was repeating the riddle for the third time. “It only takes a moment to form, but it can last forever. It can bring the dead back to life, and it can make your eyes water.”
The person who got the answer was the man in the Spiderman mask, Cold.
When he thought of the answer, he cried out, “I got it.”
Then, he saw a bunch of people turn around and glare at him.
Looking at the rods, steel pipes, knives, chargers and other lethal weapons that these people were holding, he hurriedly gave the answer. “It’s a memory, a memory.”
