ATFBETIBM Chapter 292.2

Shen Mo leaned against the RV door, one hand instinctively supporting the young man’s waist, while the other hand hovered in the air awkwardly.

The young man’s cheeks were slightly pink, his slightly hazy eyes gazing lightly at Shen Mo.

With determination, he parted Shen Mo’s lips and entered forcefully, quickly entangling with Shen Mo.

The young man’s body was hot, and his passion made Shen Mo’s heart tremble.

But soon, Shen Mo realized something was wrong. He struggled to maintain his dwindling rationality, using all his strength to push the young man away. “You’ve been drugged, haven’t you?”

The young man’s gaze grew even hazier. He wriggled out of the man’s grip like an eel, and his burning body flung itself into the man’s embrace. “I don’t know, I feel so hot, Shen Mo.”

“Can you scratch me here?” The young man fumbled and pulled Shen Mo’s hand to his lower back. Due to his enthusiastic movements, his shirt had become disheveled and hung haphazardly on him. “I’m so itchy.”

As his fingers touched something smooth and taut, Shen Mo’s mind seemed to explode, leaving him unable to think.

———————–

In the live broadcast room:

[Ah, damn it, why the censorship! I hate you, system. We’re all mature fans, what can’t we see?]

[It’s okay… we can imagine.]

[Wuuu, such an intense scene early in the morning. How can I get through the day now?]

[Tears uncontrollably streaming down my face.]

[Ding, issuing a “Experienced Driver Card.”]

[God Xin is so good at acting, weeping with greed.]

[I just want to possess any item inside that RV now, I want to see it with my own eyes!]

[Sisters, even though it’s an RV, it’s still a vehicle… do you think it could become a rocking car?]

[Fuck, sister, you’re… awesome!]

[I already have images in my mind, what should I do? Let’s put it this way, if you can’t give us the actual scene, can you at least show us the rocking car?]

[God Xin: No need!]

———————————

“Are you feeling better now?” Inside the RV, Shen Mo handed Bai Lixin a glass of ice water with his left hand. “Have some water.”

Bai Lixin took the glass, and downed the water in one go. “Thank you.”

Shen Mo leisurely pulled out a wet wipe, sliding it across his right hand, removing the stickiness.

One wipe wasn’t enough, so he grabbed another one. The wet wipe elegantly danced between his slender fingers and through his knuckles, his gaze falling lightly on Bai Lixin’s face.

Bai Lixin had tear streaks at the corners of his eyes, and a mist of moisture still lingering in them. At the moment, he pursed his mouth, looking as aggrieved as could be.

All of Shen Mo’s frustration vanished instantly. Right now, he just wanted to comfort the poor little warm stove.

“Stay away from Luo Mei in the future. I won’t help you if there’s a next time.”

The young man looked at the man with a pitiful expression. “You would really not help me?”

Shen Mo almost choked on his breath.

‘Help, help, help! I’ll definitely help!’

“Was it Luo Mei who drugged you?” Shen Mo frowned slightly. “That can’t be right. Would Luo Mei be foolish enough to do something so blatant during the daytime?”

“It wasn’t her, maybe it was me who drugged myself?” The young man glared at the man.

Shen Mo was almost rendered breathless by another bout of frustration. “It was her, absolutely her!”

S419M: [Lord Host, just admit the truth. My heart is aching for the Lord God.]

Bai Lixin: [Ah, there’s really nothing I can do. Originally, I wanted to probe the situation, but who would have thought he’d suddenly appear? Can’t you see how angry he is, he’s almost puffed up like a balloon. This is called taking advantage of the situation.]

S419M: [You’re just using the opportunity! The medicine Luo Mei released into the air only affects the mind, not the body.]

Bai Lixin: [Hahaha, you know, I know, the heavens know. The drugging part is true, it’s just a difference in the function. She can’t be blamed for this difference.]

Escape System: [I know too!]

Shen Mo stayed in the room with Bai Lixin for another ten minutes before leaving reluctantly.

Before leaving, Shen Mo hesitated for two seconds before plucking up the courage to say, “Bai Lixin, the air in the room feels a bit stuffy. Maybe you should open the window to let some fresh air in.” And it would also help disperse the scent of heather.

Of course, he couldn’t bring himself to say the next sentence.

After watching Shen Mo leave, Bai Lixin turned his attention to the group chat.

It was now 10:30 in the morning, and half an hour ago, he had heard the prompt from the system. Then, the group chat had been constantly buzzing with activity.

However, he had been occupied at that time and hadn’t had the spare energy to focus on it.

It wasn’t until Shen Mo left that he finally had the time to see what had been said in the group chat.

Man in the suit: [Another one died, who this time?]

Mohawk: [It’s probably the kindergarten teacher. She hasn’t said anything since five o’clock this morning.]

Twin Ponytails: [I just checked the chat history, and that’s true. It’s such a pity. She could have held on a little longer, we were already 60% done with the task.]

Man the in suit: [Why did she die? Work-related? Or something else?]

Mohawk: [Sigh, I don’t know. I’ll go take a look if I pass by. Don’t forget, we’re meeting at the Wangchuan Fruit Mix shop at 2 pm.]

The chat ended there.

At 10 o’clock, the system had announced that another player had died, and he had faintly heard it. Judging from the chat records, the deceased player should be the one role playing as a kindergarten teacher.

Bai Lixin pondered for a moment and typed a line into the group chat: [It may not necessarily be about unfinished work. There’s the possibility that one person has to die every day.]

The previously quiet group chat was once again stirred into frenzy.

Mohawk: [Do you have any evidence?]

Bai Lixin: [No evidence, just a feeling that it’s too consistent. One player has died each day for the past three days. It’s strange.]

Man in the suit: [No one died on the first and second days, the nanny died on the third day, the software engineer on the fourth day, and today, the fifth day, it’s the kindergarten teacher. It’s possible that it’s just as Bai Lixin said, we can’t rule out that one person has to die every day.]

Mohawk: [But what about the professional tasks? The system didn’t say someone has to die every day.]

Man in the suit: [No, while the system didn’t explicitly say someone will die every day, it has consistently emphasized that we should strive to complete “professional tasks m.” Think about it, apart from diligently completing your work in a company, isn’t there also performance review?]

[It’s not just about avoiding mistakes in the professional tasks, if your performance isn’t up to standard, the company will also dismiss you. Among us ten, what if there’s an unnoticed evaluation for one person each day?]

[We’ve always thought that 10 a.m. is when the results from the previous day are announced. But what if 10 a.m is actually the time of evaluation and it just happens that the deceased player from the previous day is announced at the same time?]

[No one died on the first day… maybe because it was the “probation period”? Isn’t there a probation period when joining a company? Then at 10 a.m. on the second day, the official evaluation starts. The nanny had the worst performance at first, and we can see from the group chat that she kept complaining, so she died first.]

[But the results of her death were only announced at 10 a.m. on the third day.]

[Next was the software engineer. He also complained in the group chat before his death.]

The remarks from the man in the suit momentarily silenced the group chat.

After awhile, Mohawk spoke up: [Are you suggesting that the system might choose the worst performer among us every day? That’s dangerous. The remaining few of us won’t just be comrades, but competitors.]

The group chat fell silent once again.

Twin Ponytails: [Don’t be too pessimistic. As long as we can find the correct answer in time, we can leave this cursed place. The sooner we solve the mystery, the faster people can leave.]

Thorn: [Yes, you’re right. We must catch that sunglasses guy this afternoon!]

~~

It was noon but Shen Mo’s filming hadn’t concluded yet. They had a simple meal in the RV and despite the scorching sun, Shen Mo emerged from the RV once again.

Before 2 pm, Bai Lixin and other players had gathered at the Wangchuan Fruit Mix Shop.

Five days had passed since their first encounter.

Most of them appeared fatigued, their faces betraying signs of exhaustion.

The six of them found a table and sat down, patiently waiting for their target to appear.

“I’ve been thinking about something,” the man in the suit said with a pensive look. “How does the system determine who has the worst performance? Does it evaluate work ability, or something else?”

Bai Lixin pondered earnestly, “It might assess work status and emotions.”

“If we were to find a common point among these three deceased players, it’s that they had heavy negative emotions while working. This could be one of the criteria the system uses to judge.”

His words caused Mohawk’s face to turn pale.

Twin Ponytails didn’t look any better.

Mohawk visibly panicked, gripping his cold drink tightly, “If that’s the case, aside from those three, I’ve complained a lot yesterday too. I might be the next one to die!”

Twin Ponytails was also pale, and her voice was trembling, “It’s not just you, I’ve complained as well. It could be me who dies.”

Mohawk exclaimed, his expression a mixture of fear and dread: “No, no, no! It has to be me, I’m done for. I don’t know when the punishment will come, it could be anytime from now until 10 am tomorrow! Help, I’m done for.”

The man in the suit intervened, The man in the suit interjected, “Let’s not rush into this. It’s not auspicious to fight over it. If we find the murderer before the punishment time arrives, we can all leave this place. By then, no one will die.”

Mohawk stared at the doorway, his eyes wide with anxiety. If it weren’t for the man in the suit restraining him, Mohawk might have rushed out to confront the target.

In the private chat window:

Man in the suit: [Don’t act here. According to this copy’s setting, if we manage to find the murderer before the punishment time arrives, we’ll probably get taken to the police station and held for 24 hours to make statements. Then we won’t be able to complete our professional tasks. Instead, let’s follow this man when he leaves and strike when we’re in a secluded place.]

Mohawk’s face turned a mixture of blue and purple. His hands were clenched so tightly they turned white, and his entire tense body trembled uncontrollably.

No one would remain calm when they realized they had less than a few hours left to live.

The fear of death lingered in their minds, along with the uncertainty of another kind—uncertainty about death itself.

Uncertain if they would be the one to die, uncertain of the time of death, uncertain of the method of death.

Confusion, dread, unwillingness… All these emotions converged in the players’ minds at this moment.

The suffering was indescribable.

Time seemed to slow down, and everyone kept to their thoughts, staring intently at the man with sunglasses.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, the man with sunglasses finally stood up.

The six of them exchanged glances and hurriedly followed him.

This street was a bustling commercial area, with old and new buildings mixed together, like decayed trees growing in a lush forest.

The man with sunglasses seemed unaware of their presence. They silently followed him until he turned into a dark, narrow alley. Mohawk couldn’t restrain himself any longer and quickly broke free from the man in the suit’s grasp. He rushed forward and pinned the man with sunglasses to the ground.

The man with sunglasses was startled and was about to call for help but Mohawk quickly punched him in the face and then covered his mouth with his hand.

Mohawk then removed the man’s sunglasses, revealing a pair of clear and bright eyes that were completely different from his previously cloudy ones. Even a layperson could tell that these were two entirely different sets of eyes.

Mohawk glared at the man with sunglasses fiercely. “Don’t shout, or I’ll kill you, got it?”

Only after the man with sunglasses nodded in fear did Mohawk let out a sigh of relief and release him.

“Who are you people? What do you want? Let me go!” The man with sunglasses was pinned to the ground, staring at the six people who surrounded him in terror. “Do you want money? I’ll give you money. Please, don’t kill me.”

“Whether we kill you or not depends on your cooperation,” Mohawk said menacingly. “I’m asking you, who was the owner of these eyes, and who killed them?”

The man with sunglasses avoided eye contact and stammered, “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about. These eyes belong to me.”

“Fuck!” Mohawk’s fist slammed down on the man’s face. “Let me tell you, I will really kill you! Don’t waste our time. Tell me now!”

The man with sunglasses cried out in pain, trembling as he looked at the group in front of him. He nervously said, “I can’t say. If I do, I might face retaliation.”