Chapter 65 [Ability: Hypnosis (Evolvable)]

Chapter 65 [Ability: Hypnosis (Evolvable)]

Seeing their situation, the two rogue players could no longer pretend, sighing in resignation.

They really didn't want to deal with the officials.

"Sorry, we didn't want to cooperate with the special operations, so when we heard your introductions, we decided not to join you today and even planned to leave tonight."

The two rubbed their eyes bruised by Dong Zhi, "Who knew you'd launch a surprise attack..."

Dong Zhi unapologetically said, "Sorry, but why did you cause the disturbance?"

Qiu Yi nodded, "Exactly."

"How else to divert the NPCs?" one of them said, "We planned to exit through the mall's back door emergency exit, where a group of NPCs were stationed. It's impossible to get around them, so we had to distract them from the start."

Dong Zhi simply stated, "Then you never considered what would happen to us mixed in with the NPCs if they went into a frenzy, right?"

The man self-righteously replied, "That's your problem, not ours."

"Indeed, too bad your plan fell short and we caught you," Lin Shu wheeled over, "You better not drag us down with you..."

Before she could finish, the NPCs' voices gradually calmed down.

"There's no plant invasion!"

An angry man exclaimed, "Someone is playing tricks on us, deliberately causing chaos!"

Another person said, "Excuse me," and turned on several ultra-bright flashlights from the home appliances section, illuminating the whole mall as bright as day.

All the chaotic NPCs calmed down, realizing that indeed no plants had crept in.

"Who just fooled us around? With the apocalypse outside and so many dead, you still play such jokes, not funny at all!"

The man was furious, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, trying to find a guilty expression.

Fu Changxun's sixth sense rang out, he whispered to Qiu Yi, "Quick, call Song Zhenpeng back, gather everyone together, we might be exposed."

Meanwhile, Dong Zhi pressed the two rogue players to the ground.

But it was clearly too late.

Suddenly, a woman shouted, "Over there!"

"It's them! I saw that guy outside using someone else to block the plants, and the 'plant invasion' alarm was his voice too! Absolutely no mistake!"

The middle-aged woman pointed at one of the rogue players, who had been pinned down by Dong Zhi. Just seconds earlier, their faces were visible, leading to their immediate recognition.

The NPCs instantly turned their gaze towards them, burning with suspicion. The leading man questioned, "Why are you hiding them?"

"They're all in it together!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, and the NPCs, inflamed with anger, surged forward with various knives and tools.

The players: "......"

Great, now everyone was in the same boat, forced to escape together.

"Run—"

Qiu Yi kicked over a shelf, temporarily blocking the NPCs, and then hoisted an elderly person onto his back to flee.

Another elderly person was carried by Song Zhenpeng. At that moment, the players' coordination reached a staggering 90%, with all the vulnerable being protected by the adults.

Even the two rogue players ended up escorting Lu Zhao Di and Lu Tian Qian.

Of course, Dong Zhi once again had someone hanging off both his front and back.

[Truly Chinese, never abandoning any teammate, especially the children must survive!]

[Tears in my eyes.]

[My eyes are filled with meteors, woefully, the elderly can't watch this.]

[Join me in singing: Ready—Unity is strength...]

[Wow, why did the live chat suddenly turn so positive? Isn't this the ruthless Battle Royale, where it's easy to scheme and betray?]

[If only every Battle Royale could be like this in the future, but I know it's just a fantasy.]

The only unexpected turn was with Lin Shu, who tried to move her wheelchair but got stuck.

Chen Lu Lu had already run a few steps but then suddenly turned back: "What about your wheelchair?"

Lin Shu: "It's fine, I can manage."

She pressed a button on the wheelchair, and a compartment popped out.

Inside the compartment was a folding cane. Lin Shu stood up using it, while Lin Ze cleverly folded the wheelchair and carried it.

Lu Lu was dumbfounded, exclaiming in awe.

However, Lin Shu, being disabled, found it inconvenient to walk with a cane.

Her right leg still ached, and pain involuntarily showed on her face.

Seeing this, Lu Lu frowned disapprovingly, snatched the cane away from Lin Shu, and handed it to Lin Ze. Then, she hoisted Lin Shu up by her knees in a princess carry!

Lin Shu looked terrified: "You—"

“Let's go!”

Lu Lu balanced her load and started running.

Ex-military medic Chen Lu Lu was known in the army not for her medical skills, but for her brute strength.

Back in the day, when soldiers were injured or sick and couldn't move, she would carry them straight to the medical room. This assertive act left a deep impression on the young soldiers.

Of course, Lin Shu was unaware of these facts and was still in shock from being princess carried by a woman who seemed younger than her, almost dislocating her jaw in surprise.

Although players generally had stronger physical attributes than NPCs, escorting families...

Or rather, guiding a group of the old, weak, sick, and young, inevitably slowed them down.

Fu Changxun, lying on Dong Zhi's back, occasionally looked back, and each time, an NPC behind them would trip and fall.

No one noticed that his eyes were always tinged with red, gradually diffusing and, in the blink of an eye, shedding tears of blood.

He knew frequent use of his abilities was harmful, but with the NPCs closing in, he had no choice but to resort to desperate measures, distorting their vision. The ground that appeared flat to the NPCs was actually strewn with objects, causing them to trip and fall when they stepped on them.

Dong Zhi's breathing suddenly grew heavier, and he said sternly, "A-Xun, are you using your abilities again?"

"You can tell…?" Fu Changxun laughed lightly, "I'm fine, really."

But there was a hint of fatigue in his voice.

Dong Zhi didn’t respond but tightened his grip on Fu's calf and quickened his pace.

As they ran into the underground parking lot through the emergency exit, he abruptly stopped and turned around.

The NPCs were still in pursuit, but the deformed metal doors on either side of Dong Zhi suddenly began to move towards the center, closing completely in three seconds.

Thus, their vision was cleanly obstructed.

Hearing the noise, the players stopped and looked at the impregnable iron door.

"They won't be able to open it," Dong Zhi said. "I've used my ability to move it here and jam it into the door frame. It’s too thick, unopenable without specialized equipment."

Sure enough, the NPCs' roars and curses could be heard from the other side, but they were powerless.

The players immediately sat down on the ground to catch their breath.

They were safe.

At least for the moment.

Lu Lu placed the flushed Lin Shu back on her wheelchair, while Dong Zhi also set down the two people he was carrying.

Xiao Xiao immediately handed him a towel, "Dong Ge, wipe your sweat. Ah, brother, why do you look so pale?"

Concerned, she looked at Fu Changxun, who shook his head at her, "It's okay, just a bit of motion sickness… or maybe from riding on Dong Ge's back. I'll be fine after a rest."

Xiao Xiao, puzzled, said, "Really? I've never heard of that."

After a few minutes of rest, Fu Changxun stood up and began to explore the underground parking lot.

His fatigue stemmed from the overuse of his abilities, not from running, so resting didn't really help.

But after just a few steps, he suddenly noticed a change in his personal panel.

Fu Changxun carefully made sure the live stream was off – he had turned it off before using his ability on Dong Zhi's back – and then opened his panel to see something different:

[Ability: Hypnosis (Evolvable)]

His ability had changed! From a small-scale 'perception alteration' to 'hypnosis'!

Even those not well-versed in psychology know that hypnosis is a powerful but daunting skill, often used by psychologists to treat patients. Fu Changxun had also tried it before.

Unfortunately, his hypnosis had never been truly successful, achieving only psychological suggestions at best.

That was sufficient for a psychologist, but almost useless in the game.

Now, however, it was different. Fu Changxun could feel that he could alter people's thoughts about things, even their perception of the world.

Take Xiao Xiao for example, she doesn't like broccoli, but if Fu Changxun hypnotizes her into thinking she likes it, then she would willingly eat broccoli.

A perfect solution for picky children, indeed a household necessity (not really).

"Abilities really can evolve. Could the trigger for evolution be the excessive use of abilities?"

Fu Changxun seemed to be onto something but wasn't entirely sure, hesitating.

Lost in thought, he walked a few steps, then suddenly stepped on something. Lifting his foot, his pupils instantly constricted.

On the ground lay a horribly mutilated corpse. Judging by the state of decomposition, it had been dead for about four or five days, probably killed on the first day of the plant mutation.

The body was in a running posture. From the wounds, it seemed the victim was trying to reach their car to escape but was impaled through the chest by a thick plant tendril from behind. The person struggled for a few meters before succumbing to blood loss.

The direction of the outstretched hand pointed to a seven-seater van, likely the victim's vehicle.

Muttering an apology, Fu Changxun retrieved the car keys from the disfigured corpse, tried them in the lock, and confirmed it was indeed for this vehicle.

A small van with a seating capacity of seven.

They had a mode of transport now, thanks to this unknown deceased gentleman.

But there were fifteen of them. Even if the children squeezed in, they could at most fit ten.

"What now?"

There were no more bodies around, nor any keys dropped in a panic.

The parking lot was full of cars, but without keys, they couldn’t start any of them.

After only half a minute of thought, Fu Changxun approached the two rogue players, seriously demanding, "Hand over your car keys. This is a robbery."

Everyone: "??"