In the live broadcast room
[Although it’s satisfying to watch them tease each other, don’t they feel any tension? There are only 35 hours left, and their progress is only at 25%. If it were me in there, with just a third of the time remaining and only 25% of the task done, I’d be scared to death and wouldn’t be able to focus. They seem way too relaxed.]
[Maybe they’re used to facing huge challenges? Or they just have strong psychological endurance?]
[They’re just not showing it on the surface. This is a life-or-death situation; who would dare treat it like a game? If they were really that relaxed, they wouldn’t be packing their schedule so tightly without even sleeping.]
[That’s true. Some players haven’t rested for 20 hours already.]
[They suspect Li Li, but this time I think they’re overthinking it. Even if Li Li has ulterior motives and wants to obtain the super SS-level resurrection prop, the death contract is binding. Li Li has to follow the contract and resurrect the dead players to bring them to the third stage, which is beneficial to the players themselves. Remember, this is a horror death game, not some kindergarten game of tag. It’s reasonable to look out for one’s own interests, right?]
[Yeah, I’m with you on this one.]
[Just waiting for Bai Lixin to overturn.]
[Do you think he’s jealous of Li Li? Li Li’s been like a star in this copy, and his presence has completely overshadowed Bai Lixin. That’s probably why he’s so maliciously suspicious of Li Li. From what I’ve seen, Li Li has been helping other players the whole time, whereas Bai Lixin hasn’t done much.]
[Heh, what nonsense are you spouting? Bai Lixin hasn’t done much? If he hadn’t, how could the players have made it to the second stage? They would’ve been wiped out in the first stage. Rather than flashy superficial work, God Xin has been doing the real work, okay?]
[Li Li is leading all the players to find the treasure, while Bai Lixin is diligently searching for the cause of the fire. They’re not arguing in the copy; their division of labor is perfect, yet you guys are fighting. Why are you more anxious than the emperor’s eunuchs? As long as the outcome is good, that’s all that matters. I bet they haven’t even thought about it that much. In that environment, all they’re focused on is completing the task.]
[…]
[Exactly, what’s the point of arguing? This isn’t some fan war. Once the results come out, everything will be clear.]
—————————
After sweeping through the Chenjia village, Bai Lixin and the other two continued toward the east end of the village according to their original plan.
Chenjia Village had three entrances: north, east, and west.
To the south was the foot of Rong Mountain, which led into the mountain.
To the north was where the groom left on the first day during the ghost marriage.
To the west was the direction of the Song house.
Chenjia Village was surrounded by water, with the winding river encircling it like a giant dragon. The river branched off in several directions, one of which flowed down from Rong Mountain and into the river.
The terrain of Chenjia Village was higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest. Chen Xiaoshi and Chen Dazhuang were downstream in the northwest when they were fishing out the “corpses”.
If the “corpses” came from upstream, there were two possible sources: Rong Mountain to the south, and the east end of the village.
The eastern entrance was inconspicuous, and even the path was much narrower than the other three.
Narrow, meaning people really walked on it.
It seemed that the villagers of Chenjia Village seldom used this road.
At the eastern end of the village was a reed marsh. The yellowish-brown reeds swayed in the wind, their light and soft flowers rippling across the landscape.
The reed marsh was tall and dense; once inside, it was easy to lose each other.
The three of them reminded each other a few times before stepping into the thick reed marsh.
At first, they stayed together. But whether it was because the reed marsh was too vast or for some other reason, when Bai Lixin pushed aside the reeds in front of him, Samael had disappeared.
Lin Jue shouted around, “Heh, Samael, you can get lost in a reed marsh?”
Apart from the sound of the reed flowers brushing against each other in the air, there was only the faint echo of Lin Jue’s voice, with no response from Samael.
“He was just here a moment ago,” Lin Jue called out again, “Samael.”
Still no answer.
Lin Jue and Bai Lixin exchanged glances. Lin Jue said, “There is something strange about this reed marsh.”
“Lin Jue, come take a look at this.” Bai Lixin had discovered a thin black thread on a withered reed stem.
Lin Jue moved closer and took the thread, “It’s fabric, could it be from Samael’s cloak?”
Bai Lixin: “His cloak isn’t that poor in quality, is it?”
“Then, could it be from a previous player?” Lin Jue suddenly thought of a possibility and abruptly looked up at Bai Lixin.
The air fell silent.
The two of them spoke in unison, “The mysterious people.”
Lin Jue: “The mysterious people were here.”
Bai Lixin: “Or, the mysterious person is stationed here.”
Swish—
A sudden gust of wind blew, and the sound of the swaying reeds came from all directions, like a desolate war song, sending a chill down their spines.
Lin Jue shuddered involuntarily. He looked around and asked, “Why do I suddenly feel so cold?”
Knowing that the mysterious people might be nearby, the two of them became more cautious as they continued forward.
Lin Jue walked ahead, while Bai Lixin followed closely behind, never letting Lin Jue out of his sight.
The reed marsh grew along the riverbank, the ground muddy, and it wasn’t long before their shoes were caked with mud.
“Bai Lixin.” After circling the reed marsh for nearly an hour, Lin Jue was getting impatient, “Was this reed marsh this big when we came in?”
Bai Lixin: “No, we’re trapped in here.”
Crack.
Just as he finished answering, they heard a crisp sound ahead, and Lin Jue stopped in his tracks.
Lin Jue looked down, “I think I stepped on something.”
Beneath his foot was a white, severed arm, half-buried in the mud. Lin Jue had just broken it.
The severed arm extended from the mud, its hand clenched into a fist with only the index finger pointing outward, as if indicating a direction.
“…Is it pointing the way for us?” Lin Jue asked with uncertainty.
Bai Lixin: “Since you say so, let’s follow the direction it’s pointing.”
Lin Jue: ???
‘Clearly, I was asking a question, not making a statement.’
They walked for another ten minutes, when there was another “crack” under Lin Jue’s foot.
Looking down, there was another severed arm with its index finger pointing in a certain direction.
Having seen this twice now, the two of them didn’t say much and silently followed the direction indicated.
Another ten minutes passed, and once again, there was a familiar “crack” under Lin Jue’s foot.
Lin Jue lifted his foot to see yet another severed arm, “…Bai Lixin, why don’t you go ahead?”
Bai Lixin: “I think they seem to like you better.”
Lin Jue: “…”
‘I don’t care what you think.’
Despite his words, Bai Lixin and Lin Jue switched positions, with Bai Lixin walking ahead and Lin Jue following behind.
Another ten minutes later, when the familiar “crack” sound echoed from under Lin Jue’s foot again, Lin Jue’s expression was already numb.
Bai Lixin: “See? I told you, they like you more.”
Lin Jue: “…”
‘Ha, what do you like about me? I’ll change.’
“Look, it seems like we have reached the end,” Bai Lixin’s voice snapped Lin Jue back to reality. He looked in the direction the skeletal hand was pointing and saw the familiar Chenjia Village.
They had circled around, and under the guidance of the skeletal fingers, they had returned to their starting point.
Lin Jue suddenly understood, “They were leading us out?”
Why?
The rustling of the reeds blended with the sound of footsteps and people talking.
Bai Lixin and Lin Jue exchanged a glance and instinctively crouched down in the reeds.
Soon, two players appeared in their line of sight.
It was a man and a woman.
The male player was a muscular guy.
The female player had a high ponytail that swung with each step she took.
A rope connected the two of them at the waist. Although they were together, they didn’t seem particularly close.
The muscular man looked around cautiously, while the woman with the high ponytail kept her head down, searching for something.
Muscular Man: “Is this the place?”
High Ponytail studied a piece of paper in her hand carefully, “This should be where they went missing.”
Muscular Man: “We should go back and tell Li Li. I’m worried it might be dangerous with just the two of us.”
High Ponytail: “Do you think Li Li has time to worry about them? Everyone Is focused on the treasure right now. We’re the only ones looking for them. If you’re scared, go back yourself, I still have to find my friend.”
Muscular Man wasn’t pleased, “Who says I’m scared? If you’re looking for your friend, then I’m looking for my brother.”
They continued to push through the reeds. Muscular Man muttered, “Are you sure that map is accurate? There’s nothing here.”
High Ponytail: “It’s impossible for it to be wrong. This isn’t a map, it’s a tracking prop. My friend and I each have one. We look out for each other while clearing copies, and this tracking prop allows us to see each other’s route and coordinates. We’ve used it many times, and it’s never been wrong.”
Muscular Man crouched down, pushing aside the weeds on the ground while muttering under his breath, “Just because it’s never been wrong doesn’t mean it won’t be wrong. What if it’s wrong this time?”
High Ponytail glanced at him, “What did you say?”
Muscular man: “Haha, nothing, I didn’t say anything.”
“Eh, what’s this?” Muscular Man paused his action of pushing aside weeds.
High Ponytail quickly ran over and asked, “What did you find?”
“Haha.” Muscular Man retracted his hand, revealing a bunch of dead grass, “Nothing, just messing with you.”
High Ponytail’s face instantly darkened, “My friend’s life or death is uncertain, I don’t have the mood to joke around with you.”
Muscular Man dusted off the dirt from his hands and stood up, “Relax a bit, don’t be so tense. We still have more than thirty hours to go. What will you do if you have a mental breakdown now? For the sake of your friend, you need to conserve your strength. Besides, as long as we haven’t received a system notification, they’re still alive, so there’s still hope.”
High Ponytail’s darkened face softened slightly. She took a few deep breaths to suppress the anxiety in her heart, and then wandered aimlessly in the vast reed marsh, “Let’s keep looking, maybe we missed something… Ah!”
With a sudden scream, High Ponytail’s body began to sink into the ground.
The rope connecting the two of them caused Muscular Man to be dragged down as well. Reacting quickly, he grabbed the rope, but it was as if there were a thousand pound object pulling from within the earth, and without even being able to exert his strength, he too was sucked underground.
Bai Lixin and Lin Jue exchanged a glance, and just before Muscular Man was completely swallowed by the earth, Bai Lixin grabbed his ankle, while Lin Jue grabbed onto Bai Lixin’s arm.
After the four of them disappeared, the ground returned to its original state, as if no one had ever been there, and nothing had ever happened…
