God-Tier Get Rich System – CH154

Chapter 154: The Secret of the Hats

In just half an hour, eight people had died.

Among the remaining tourists, those still unaware of the death condition sat motionless, but holding the same posture for so long was nothing short of torture.

As every second dragged by, the atmosphere inside the bus grew tighter and tighter.

“Die then, I can’t take it anymore!”

One player suddenly shouted and stood up.

The mood inside the bus shifted again. Someone broke down in tears.

“Ah!”

The crying player was reaped by death’s scythe.

Cheng Wenwen quickly tilted her head back, forcing back the tears that were about to fall.

Fang Menglei stared into the void, carefully analyzing the difference between the players who had died and those who moved around freely.

Could it be the hats?

The AC was on, and some players sitting by the windows had lowered the curtains to block the sunlight. Normally, there was no reason to keep wearing hats inside the bus.

Xu Huazhang hadn’t pulled down his curtain, so wearing a hat when buying snacks seemed normal. That female player had dared to walk around in the aisle precisely because she knew she wouldn’t trigger the death condition—and she was also wearing a hat!

So, the key must be the hats!

But wait… among the dead, some had worn hats, and some hadn’t. There were even players who never wore hats at all yet were still alive…

Fang Menglei racked her brain but couldn’t figure it out. Every conclusion she reached was quickly overturned by herself. Her thoughts tangled into knots.

“Observe carefully, observe carefully…”

She forced herself to calm down, chewing on those four words over and over in her mind. Clearing away the messy thoughts, her eyes swept across all the relaxed players again, starting her analysis from scratch.

Whatever the hats were, they were definitely one of the keys. Otherwise, Xu Huazhang and that female player wouldn’t both be wearing them. Perhaps something else was needed to “unlock” the hat’s secret.

Her thoughts grew sharper.

The bus sped through a forest of concrete buildings. Sunlight and shadows of skyscrapers flickered across the cabin. Occasionally, sunlight bounced off a glass wall across the street, reflecting into the bus and sweeping silently across the passengers.

Suddenly, inspiration struck Fang Menglei like lightning!

She shifted slightly so that the sunlight fell onto the visor of her baseball cap. The next second, words appeared on the underside: “No loud laughter.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. She laughed and cried at once, finally relaxing into her seat, gasping for breath.

After a long time, she turned toward Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang, her heart overflowing with gratitude. It was because of them that she survived again!

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Mu Lantu gave a faint smile. “You were smart enough yourself.”

“Menglei…”

Cheng Wenwen, panicked, clutched Fang Menglei’s sleeve.

The two players sitting in front of Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang stirred: that female player had discovered the death condition thanks to those two boys’ hint!

“Observe carefully, observe carefully…”

“Wenwen, calm down!” Fang Menglei wanted to hold her friend’s hand but stopped for fear of triggering her death condition. She pulled back just in time. “Observe carefully. I believe you can do it too!”

That small withdrawal agitated Cheng Wenwen. Thinking her friend was unwilling to help, she grabbed Fang Menglei’s hand tightly, her voice sharp with desperation.

“Menglei, help me! We agreed to ally, didn’t we? Why won’t you help me?”

“Wenwen…”

“Menglei! Help me—”

Her scream was cut short. Cheng Wenwen collapsed, dead.

Watching her friend die right before her eyes, Fang Menglei shrank back in terror, sobbing uncontrollably, her face drenched with tears.

At almost the same moment, one of the players in front of Mu Lantu saw words appear on his visor: “No crossing arms.”

He shuddered in relief. Crossing his arms was a common habit when he thought deeply. Luckily, the tense atmosphere since boarding had kept him from doing it earlier.

He removed his hat, wiped sweat from his brow, and said to his seatmate, “Ming Ruizhao, you can do it too.”

“So, the rule is: before finding the death condition, the hat must stay on. Once the condition is discovered, the hat loses its function.” Ming Ruizhao guessed. He shifted slightly and words surfaced on his visor: “No sighing.”

Ming Ruizhao laughed in disbelief, then hugged his seatmate tightly.

“Finally, I’m free!”

He stood up and extended a hand to Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang. “Thanks, brothers, for saving my life. Let’s get to know each other. I’m Ming Ruizhao, Class 1, Chemistry Department, Infinite University.”

“Xu Huazhang, Class 2, Geology Department.” Xu Huazhang shook his hand lightly.

Ming Ruizhao turned to Mu Lantu. “If it weren’t for you, we might not have survived.”

“No need for thanks. Mu Lantu, Class 2, Geology Department.” Mu Lantu had a good impression of him and his seatmate. Both had remained calm throughout, clearly capable of big things.

His seatmate spoke only after they finished. “I’m Ren Qiudong, same class as Ruizhao. Nice to meet you.”

Their conversation stayed brief and quiet, not wanting to affect the still-clueless tourists.

The bus fell into its eerie tension again.

The passengers looked more at ease on the surface, shifting cautiously when stiff, but they dared not make any unnecessary moves. Their nerves remained taut. Sweat meant dehydration, yet none dared drink water, not even wipe their brows.

When sweat stung their eyes, they simply endured, quickly turning disheveled.

The bus sped steadily, leaving the city for open countryside—fields, forests, lakes, beautiful scenery that no one had the mind to appreciate.

At noon, the bus pulled into a service area parking lot.

Hu Shun stood up with a smile. “Students, we’re here! The bus will stop for an hour and a half. Use this time to eat, rest, shop, or use the restroom. We leave at 1:30 sharp!”

Then he and the driver left, chatting cheerfully toward a hotel.

Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang shouldered their bags and got off.

Seeing them put their hats back on, Fang Menglei, Ming Ruizhao, and Ren Qiudong silently did the same.

Before leaving, Fang Menglei glanced one last time at Cheng Wenwen’s lifeless body, sighed softly, and turned away.

Mu Lantu wore his hat to remind others, but it was futile. By coincidence—or perhaps by the dungeon’s design—the parking lot lay in the deep shadow of a massive building, so the hats showed no writing. Or perhaps, once off the bus, the hats simply lost their function.

A third of the group disembarked; the remaining two-thirds, still clueless, stayed behind.

They watched the departing players with envy and resentment—resentment at their selfishness, resentment at fate’s unfairness.

“C-can we get off too?” someone asked.

No one answered.

Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang entered a clean Chinese restaurant. After ordering, they turned and saw a large group trailing behind them.

The restaurant wasn’t theirs; others were free to follow. At least they kept their distance and didn’t force themselves at the same table.

The food was pricey, and Infinite University had given them little cash. Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang ordered just two dishes and added four self-heating hotpots from their game backpacks—barely enough.

As for whether the food might be tampered with, they didn’t bother worrying. Unless under special conditions, the dungeon wouldn’t poison everyone at once.

The food was average at best. Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang barely touched it, eating mostly rice with their hotpot food to make do.

Halfway through, a group of players stormed in.

The diners rose in alarm.

Zhou Yong’an scanned the room. “Everyone, no matter what, we’re all students of Infinite University. We should help each other. I want you to tell me—what exactly triggers death?”

The others exchanged helpless looks. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to tell him. They simply couldn’t. Not even the words “I can’t say” would leave their mouths. Nor could they gesture. Some invisible force bound them.

No one dared step forward.

Zhou Yong’an’s face darkened. He had a terrible feeling that this time, he might not make it out alive. Reaching behind his back, he drew a pistol.

“Fine! If you won’t talk—if the dungeon won’t kill you—I will!”

“Wait, wait. No need for killing.” One of the male players behind him grabbed a female player by the wrist, yanking her up. His leering eyes glued to her chest. “Beauty, you tell me! If you don’t, I’ll take it as you wanting me to ‘play’ with you, ha ha ha! Not bad to have a beauty keep me company before I die!”

Several others joined in with filthy laughter, their eyes sweeping over every woman in the room.

The trapped girl struggled in vain, her face bloodless. “Let me go! Help! Help—!”

A chopstick flew like an arrow, piercing the man’s wrist.

“Ahhh—!”

The man screamed, clutching his bleeding wrist.

The girl took the chance to run back behind the others.

A few men with some backbone immediately stepped forward, shielding the women.

Click here to download the advanced chapters. (EPUB & PDF)