Chapter 84 (1/2)
The big turkey was physically strong but not bulky. It was like a bomb exploded as she screamed and slammed into Fu Wenduo. Fu Wenduo avoided this charge and two rows of shelves were knocked over by the turkey. In the billowing smoke, the big turkey turned her head and attacked again.
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo looked at each other before dividing into two opposite directions, striking the big turkey.
The small parasol opened and blocked the sharp claws of the turkey. Fu Wenduo held the dagger and raised it from the bottom of the small parasol at a speed that was hard for the naked eye to follow. It tipped upwards and cut the chest of the big turkey. The big turkey already knew about the power of this dagger and one claw seized the dagger.
The red turkey claws collided with the black dagger, causing sparks to fly.
“Cooo!!!”
The big turkey waved her wings angrily and it was blocked by the small parasol, causing Tang Mo to take three steps back. The big turkey shook off Tang Mo and attacked Fu Wenduo again. Fu Wenduo was stunned and immediately retreated. In the dim supermarket, the two people and one turkey were separated by five metres and stood in an isosceles triangle. The big turkey’s sullen gaze lingered on Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.
The next second, the three of them attacked at the same time.
Bang bang bang!
While Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo fought with the big turkey, Xiao Jitong and the little boy ran to a corner and carried the short-haired girl somewhere else. Xiao Jitong said, “Look for a safe place where you can prepare the Banana Wine.”
The little boy nodded.
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo were containing the big turkey on one side while Xiao Jitong and the short-haired girl quickly disappeared into the supermarket. They headed to the manager’s office on the first floor of the supermarket. As soon as Xiao Qiao entered the room, he quickly locked the door. He took out a yellow boxed drink from his pocket, similar to the banana milk sold in the supermarket. The yellow carton had blood-red font on it in big characters.
[Banana Wine]
It started in crooked small print: The underground person’s favourite wine, with annual sales equivalent to 100 laps around the black tower!
Xiao Jitong took this box of Banana Wine, ripped open the straw packaging and put the straw into the mouth of the short-haired girl. At this time, the short-haired girl’s companion secretly ran over. She had watched as the big turkey attacked the short-haired girl and didn’t dare approach. Tears flowed down as the long-haired girl witnessed the misery of her companion. She held her companion and sobbed.
The Banana Wine in the box decreased and the face of the short-haired girl became rosier.
Outside the office, the fighting never stopped. The speed of the big turkey was becoming faster and faster. This time, her strength was higher than the previous Eagle Catches the Chicks game. Her claws swung towards Tang Mo and Tang Mo moved to the side to avoid it. Three deep scratches were drawn on the wall, revealing the steel bars inside.
The turkey skin was hard and the small parasol couldn’t penetrate it. Only Fu Wenduo’s dagger could deal damage. After the last lesson, the big turkey was already wary of Fu Wenduo’s dagger, not giving him the opportunity to attack. She was keenly aware that Tang Mo was the weaker of the two and constantly attacked Tang Mo, forcing Fu Wenduo to pursue her.
The two people and the turkey hit every corner of the supermarket. Fu Wenduo’s bullets were all used all and the big turkey seized this chance to attack Fu Wenduo, sharp claws aiming at his head. Fu Wenduo rolled on the ground to avoid it. Who would’ve expected the big turkey to suddenly turn and fly towards Tang Mo?
Tang Mo had been preparing to save Fu Wenduo. Things abruptly changed, causing him to open the small parasol with horror. However, the big turkey was faster than him. The sharp claws were about to pierce Tang Mo’s chest! A silver light flashed past Tang Mo’s face. The big turkey immediately stopped attacking and dodged the arrow. She turned her head to look.
She saw that on top of the automatic staircase, a woman in black stood on the second floor of the supermarket, staring at the turkey coldly. Ningning was holding a silver crossbow and it was the arrow she fired that the big turkey was forced to dodge. Tang Mo took this opportunity to run to Fu Wenduo and met him.
The big turkey let out a dull cry and her tiny eyes looked back and forth between the three players. Suddenly, she roared and rushed towards the lone Ningning.
Ningning raised the bow and a silver ray of light appeared on it as she pulled back the bowstring. The next second, she quickly fired and three silver lights shot at a very fast speed towards the fire turkey. The fire turkey avoided them and rushed to the second floor of the supermarket.
Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo immediately took the stairs and pursued the turkey.
Time passed and the black tower’s delighted countdown rang through the supermarket. Dead silence filled the first floor of the supermarket. On the second floor, three powerful players competed with the big turkey. Without the deadly blue water droplet, Xiao Qiao’s traps could only delay the turkey a little big and couldn’t cause real damage.
The Tang Mo trio joined hands. The big turkey couldn’t hurt them but they also couldn’t hurt the big turkey.
Fu Wenduo cried out, “Be careful!”
The big turkey attacked with her claws. Tang Mo turned to avoid it but he wasn’t fast enough, a thin wound appearing on his cheek. Red blood slowly seeped out.
Fu Wenduo’s face was solemn while Tang Mo placed one hand on the ground as support, raising the other to wipe the blood on his cheek. He solemnly looked at Fu Wenduo and Ningning. The three people nodded. No one spoke but they had reached an realization.
Their speed had dropped.
Their hunger wasn’t obvious at first and Tang Mo hadn’t paid attention while fighting. But this hunger didn’t disappear. As they continued to fight the big turkey, hunger gradually filled their body. Tang Mo realized that his speed had slowed down and his strength decreased. Otherwise, he would’ve been able to escape from the big turkey’s attack just now.
Tang Mo quickly said, “They have saved the person. Withdraw!”
“Okay!”
The three people immediately split up while the big turkey chased them.
In the supermarket, the black tower’s countdown continued:
“…60, 50, 58…”
There was only one minute left. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo ran down from the supermarket’s second floor, Tang Mo ran west while Fu Wenduo ran east. The turkey looked at Tang Mo before turning to chase Fu Wenduo. Tang Mo hesitated for a moment. Then he gritted his teeth and turned to help Fu Wenduo. For a time, the big turkey chased Fu Wenduo while Tang Mo chased the big turkey. The two people and big turkey ran back and forth in the supermarket.
Once the countdown reached the last 10 seconds, the big turkey caught up with Fu Wenduo. She knocked over the shelves next to Fu Wenduo, blocking the way. Then she rushed towards Fu Wenduo. At this time, a pink parasol appeared in front of her.
Tang Mo cried out, “Fu Wenduo!”
Fu Wenduo immediately understood what he meant. Tang Mo stood behind the big turkey, blocking her head with the small parasol. Fu Wenduo no longer ran away, turning to attack instead. The black dagger was like death as it moved up from under the big turkey’s wings. The hard wings were split into two halves, as if cutting tofu.
The big turkey’s angry roar echoed in the supermarket while the black tower reported the last two numbers.
“…1, 0.”
“Ding dong! The Eagle Catches the Chicks game has ended.”
The big turkey’s scream echoed in Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s ears. But the sound stopped as soon as the black tower spoke. The big turkey’s right wing was only attached to her body by a thin layer of skin. Tang Mo put away his umbrella while the turkey stared at Fu Wenduo with red eyes.
Slowly, her eyes turned black. The big turkey turned her head stiffly and moved to the meat foods area, lying on the ground and sleeping.
At this point, the second round of the Eagle Catches the Chicks game official ended.
Tang Mo finally felt relief after the game was over. He had a sharp adrenaline rush when struggling with the big turkey and hadn’t felt any pain or tension. Now that everything was over, he felt a terrible pain from his arm. Tang Mo pulled up his sleeves and saw a deep scratch from his wrist to his elbow, revealing the white bone.
Fu Wenduo also suffered some injuries. His thigh was mercilessly hit by the turkey and the leg bones somewhat broken. He hadn’t shown it when running away but now he limped to Tang Mo’s side, looking down at his arm.
Fu Wenduo asked, “How is it?”
Tang Mo rolled up his sleeves to prevent his clothes from touching the wound. He shook his head. “It is nothing. Just now, the big turkey wanted to scratch me beyond the small parasol.What about you?”
“It doesn’t matter. I should be able to walk normally after an hour.”
Once the Eagle Catches the Chicks game finished, the turkey fell into a deep sleep. Ningning, who was hiding on the second floor, and Xiao Jitong’s group of four, who were hiding in the office, all came out. After seeing the big turkey that had fallen asleep, the long-haired girl was so angry that so wanted to go up and kick the turkey, but her companion stopped her.
The short-haired girl’s health had been restored by the Banana Wine. She previously had the appearance of death and now she was just a bit pale. She hated the big turkey. She always wanted to tear the turkey to pieces but she knew it was useless.
The short-haired girl took a deep breath and looked at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. “Thank you.”
Tang Mo raised his eyebrows and said lightly, “They are the ones who saved you.” He glanced at Xiao Jitong and Xiao Qiao.
The short-haired girl’s eyes were resolute. “But you delayed the time and allowed Xiao Qiao and Captain Xiao to save me. I heard it from Captain Xiao so thank you.”
The other person said so, not giving Tang Mo room to refute it. He just looked at Xiao Jitong.
The turkey wasn’t away but the seven players didn’t look very good. Xiao Jitong saw that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo were injured and took out a second bottle of mineral water. He gave it to Ningning to heal her wounds before handing the bottle to Fu Wenduo. Fu Wenduo wasn’t polite and took the mineral water to heal himself and Tang Mo.
With their body’s recovery, they could move normally in one hour but the wounds wouldn’t help completely. Using a prop to speed up the recovery was the best option.
After ensuring that everyone’s injuries were dealt with and making sure that the big turkey wasn’t awake, Xiao Jitong’s expression gradually sank. He looked at the players present and spoke in a serious tone. “We lined up in the wrong order.” The big turkey might lie but it was absolutely impossible for the black tower to deceive them. The order they lined up in was indeed wrong.
The short haired girl thought, “Captain Xiao, should I switch places with Yuanyuan? Next time I will line up in Yuanyuan’s spot.”
Tang Mo said, “Perhaps it isn’t that simple.”
The whole group looked at him.
Tang Mo’s brain worked quickly as he carefully recalled everything that happened in the last hour. Finally he said calmly, “In the last Eagle Catches the Chicks game, we noticed that the big turkey was attacking one target… Ningning. The turkey has a fixed target. She might hurt other players but she can only kill the last player. But this time, the big turkey didn’t try to catch her.”
Xiao Jitong then spoke. “Yes, we speculated that the big turkey must follow the ‘Eagle Catches the Chicks’ rules and only kill the last player. Therefore, we thought that Ningning was ranked last.” Xiao Jitong looked at Fu Wenduo. “…But this time, the turkey tried to catch Mr. Tang Ji in the Eagle Catches the Chicks game.”
The long-haired girl didn’t understand. “Why? Shouldn’t she be catching the last player?”
Tang Mo pondered on it and Xiao Jitong also didn’t speak.
Their previous reasoning was based on ‘Ningning is last while Xiao Qiao is second.’ If Ningning wasn’t last, the order of ‘official players, reserves and stowaways’ that they speculated on was likely to be wrong. Things would return to the original point.
Fu Wenduo speculated in a low voice. “She can only catch the player who is ranked last the first time. Once the player successfully escapes, she can move forward in the sequence and grab the second-last player.”
Xiao Jitong said, “This is possible but this rule isn’t the same as ordinary Eagle Catches the Chicks games.”
Tang Mo also thought of Fu Wenduo’s speculation and his line of thinking was the same as Xiao Jitong. However, there were also two answers to explain the difference in the big turkey’s actions.
Tang Mo guessed, “The first possibility is like Tang Ji said. She can only catch the last chick the first time, then she will move forward to catch the second and third last.But this speculation is a bit farfetched.” Tang Mo thought about it before continuing to speak. “This doesn’t meet the normal Eagle Catches the Chicks game.” There is a second possibility…”
Fu Wenduo spoke for Tang Mo. “The order has changed?”
Tang Mo looked at him and nodded. “Right, the order has changed. Suppose the big turkey really can only catch the last player. In the first game, Ningning was really ranked last. The next time we lined up, Tang Ji is in last place. It is possible that the queuing order has changed. However…”
“That probability is less than 20%.” Xiao Jitong shook his head with a smile.
The group looked at him.
Once Tang Mo spoke his two possibilities, Xiao Jitong was immediately aware of his concerns. He spoke what Tang Mo suspected, “If this is the case, the game is very unfair to players. In every black tower game, the games are mostly fair. There is no absolutely fairness in this world but the black tower will try to be as fair as possible and ensure that both sides don’t get too much advantages. Unless a single game person is too powerful, the black tower will make restrictions in the game itself. This reality instance has placed restrictions on the players, not the big turkey.”
Xiao Jitong looked at the big turkey. “Players can’t kill the big turkey. When the big turkey turns into an eagle, she can be wounded but not killed. When she isn’t an eagle, subjective injuries aren’t allowed. There is only one restriction on the big turkey. In her normal form, she can’t harm his children. In contrast, players are limited a lot. But the black tower must be fair.”
Fu Wenduo grabbed the opening. “There is another restriction. In the Eagle Catches the Chicks game, she can only kill a fixed player.”
Xiao Jitong suddenly stopped speaking and looked at Fu Wenduo. It wasn’t just him. Ningning also turned to look at Fu Wenduo.
The two girls didn’t understand Fu Wenduo’s meaning. The long-haired girl asked, “Isn’t that what we knew before? The turkey must kill the last player, it must follow the rules of the Eagle Catches the Chicks game. Why are you saying it again?”
Fu Wenduo didn’t speak and Tang Mo spoke for him. “We will continue and not pay attention to this.”
The two girls were confused while the little boy looked at the adults with strange expressions. His eyes suddenly brightened and he was about to speak when he covered his mouth.
If the main game ‘lining up to eat insects’ had restrictions on the players, then the side game ‘Eagle Catches the Chicks’ actually had restrictions on the big turkey.
First of all, the big turkey could only kill a fixed player in the game i.e. the player who was last. She could injure other people but could actually only kill the last person. This was a fact that everyone had discovered in the first round of the game. But what Fu Wenduo just said was something more brutal.
In this round of the Eagle Catches the Chicks game, the turkey hadn’t expected the short-haired girl to die from a random wave of her wings. This was also unexpected for the big turkey. She hadn’t attacked too much. If the short-haired girl died, it would definitely be an accident. The big turkey was stunned for a few seconds and her first reaction was to find Fu Wenduo.
She almost exhausted all efforts to kill Fu Wenduo. Fu Wenduo must die before the short-haired girl died.
It was different from the first round of the game, where she only exposed her desire to kill Ningning at the end. This time, the short-haired girl was dying after just 10 minutes, making the big turkey try wholeheartedly to kill Fu Wenduo.
If the short-haired girl dying would trigger the ‘Heartbroken Big Turkey’ effect, the big turkey would immediately be released from her schizophrenic state and the Eagle Catches the Chicks game would end. There was no need to be so urgent when the game would just end. At that time, the anxious behavior of the big turkey wasn’t the mentality that ‘since a player is already dying, let’s kill more players.’ It was more like she was grabbing at a lifeline.