“I concealed part of the information.” Lin Jue’s handsome eyebrows furrowed slightly, with faint dark circles under his eyes, making him look a bit tired. “Something that shouldn’t be here has infiltrated our group of players.”
“What is this thing that shouldn’t be here? Is it a copy monster?” Samael asked, “Who is it?”
Lin Jue shook his head. “I don’t know who it is. Let me start from the beginning.”
Lin Jue: “Rong Mountain at night is really strange. During the day, it seems fine, but after nightfall, I heard strange sounds.”
“It was like a mix of crying and roaring, but definitely not a sound a human could make. The sound came from the top of the mountain, and it sounded very sorrowful—it was really eerie in the quiet Rong Mountain.”
“I followed the sound up the mountain, but halfway up, I hid.”
Lin Jue paused slightly, licking the corner of his lips. “I saw some strange black shadows emerging from the ground. They looked like ghosts. They were slender and semi-transparent.”
“There were many of them, like bamboo shoots after a rain, emerging one after another.”
“They didn’t seem to have much intelligence. After emerging from the ground, they started surging toward the top of the mountain in unison.”
“I quietly followed them until they reached the top of the mountain.”
“These black shadows surrounded the banyan tree, their bodies twisting as they tried to attack it. The leaves of the banyan tree shook and rustled, and that’s when I realized the source of the strange sound.”
Bai Lixin and Samael looked at each other.
Lin Jue: “But that’s not the end of it. The strangest part is still ahead.”
“As you already know, there are many graves behind the banyan tree. I saw even more black shadows emerging from those graves. But instead of attacking the banyan tree, they turned and attacked the attackers.”
“The two groups of shadows quickly became entangled in a fight.”
Bai Lixin & Samael: “…”
“Then, something else happened.” Lin Jue’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “While the two groups of shadows were fighting, another group of shadows rushed up from the bottom of the mountain. The outlines of these shadows were much clearer, and they quickly joined the battle. I saw it clearly; their targets were the attackers. The attackers were quickly repelled, and they retreated down the mountain path before disappearing into the ground.”
“During the clash between these three groups, I vaguely heard a voice say something to me.”
“The voice said, ‘Be careful of your surroundings, there are resentful ghosts trying to take advantage of the chaos to revive.’”
Bai Lixin: “What kind of voice was it? A man or a woman?”
Lin Jue: “It was a man’s voice.”
Samael: “Did you see the person who was speaking?”
Lin Jue tried to recall, then shook his head with difficulty. “I don’t remember seeing anyone.”
Samael: “Then why do you trust that voice so much, even though you didn’t see anyone?”
Lin Jue pointed to his chest. “I don’t know why, but I just felt that the voice was very trustworthy, as if it came from deep within my heart.”
Bai Lixin & Samael: “…”
Bai Lixin: “What happened after the shadows attacking the banyan tree dispersed?”
Lin Jue: “Then they scattered. The shadows from the graves also disappeared. The later group of shadows walked into the depths of the graves. I tried to follow them, but they all vanished halfway.”
“After that, I saw the villagers from Chenjia village carrying a dozen corpses up the mountain. They dug fifteen pits near the graves and buried the bodies there.”
Lin Jue paused here, his eyes unfocused, as if pondering something. After a moment, he slowly said, “I just remembered.”
“A shadow seemed to notice me. It stopped beside me and pointed in a direction.”
Samael: “Which direction?”
Lin Jue looked up at Rong Mountain, adjusted his position slightly, and raised his hand. “There.”
That direction was east.
The place where the players disappeared.
Samael adjusted the black hood on his head. “If what that voice told Lin Jue is true, do you think there’s something off about Li Li?”
Lin Jue: “What do you think?”
Samael’s deep, hoarse voice sounded like a cello. “He’s so selfless that it seems out of place.”
“Indeed, I also find that a bit strange.” Lin Jue stroked his chin. “That death contract was very unreasonable. Party A doesn’t bear any cost, while Party B must suffer the greatest pain before dying. This is inherently unequal. As the initiator of the contract, he actually set up such an agreement. If he really has an ulterior motive, it seems his current goal is either the treasure or rather, the ultra SS-level resurrection prop.”
“But if he wanted to obtain the ultra SS-level resurrection prop, shouldn’t the contract stipulate something like ‘If Party A obtains the ultra SS-level resurrection prop, it must be handed over to party B, otherwise, there will be consequences’?”
“From this perspective, it seems he really just wants to help all the players survive, and we’re misjudging him.”
Samael let out a cold laugh from under his hood. “Consider it from another angle. What if Li Li is certain he’ll get the resurrection prop himself? Or what if, even if another player gets it and refuses to hand it over, he has a way to make them do so? If he has such capabilities, then there’s no need to stipulate that clause in the contract.”
Lin Jue frowned upon hearing this. “If that’s the case, then the purpose of the death contract wasn’t to bind the players, but to…”
Samael: “To encourage all the players to help him search for the treasure.”
Bai Lixin: “It could also be to distract everyone, making the players ignore the east side of the village.”
Lin Jue: “Twelve people disappeared, and the direction points straight to the east side of the village. It’s clear there’s something there, yet Li Li easily diverted attention away from it.”
After their conversation, the air grew quiet.
They looked at each other, and suddenly, all three of them burst into laughter, their laughter causing the air around them to ripple.
Lin Jue laughed wildly and wantonly. “A good guy who’s trying to save the entire team of players, and we’ve labeled him as having ulterior motives. Don’t we look like the gossips who sit around chatting at the village entrance?”
Samael: “You don’t know this, but nine out of ten pieces of gossip at the village entrance are true, just with some exaggeration. I felt like Li Li was odd from the start, I really don’t know what his intentions are.”
Lin Jue sneered. “Who knows? Let’s find something to do, Bai Lixin.”
“Alright.” Bai Lixin dusted off his knees. “Since he doesn’t want us going to the east side of the village, let’s go to the east side of the village.”
Lin Jue: “Haha, just what I was thinking. Let’s go, rebellious brothers.”
The three of them left the courtyard together and headed toward the east side of the village.
As they passed the old elm tree in the center of the village, Bai Lixin came to a stop.
Lin Jue and Samael were walking ahead, but when they saw Bai Lixin stop, they also turned around.
Lin Jue saw Bai Lixin looking up at the old elm tree one moment, then looking around, as if confirming something.
He asked, “What are you looking at?”
Bai Lixin: “Aren’t there fewer villagers?”
Upon hearing this, Lin Jue and Samael looked around and finally noticed something unusual.
There were indeed fewer villagers, but they normally wouldn’t pay attention to such things.
Yesterday and the day before, there were a dozen or so villagers playing under the old elm tree at this time. Now, there were only seven or eight left.
There were also fewer villagers walking back and forth on the road.
Lin Jue: “Maybe they went hunting in the mountains?”
Bai Lixin discreetly pointed to the few people under the old elm tree. “I’ve been passing by here these past few days. Those under the old elm tree are always the same group. Besides these young adults, there used to be some elderly and children. Now they’re still here, but the elderly and children are gone. If they went hunting in the mountains, it should be them, not the elderly and children.”
Samael: “What you said reminds me—this morning, I didn’t see any children in the house where I live.”
Bai Lixin: “Let’s take a walk around the village first and see if there are fewer people in the courtyards.”
The other two didn’t object to Bai Lixin’s suggestion, so the three of them strolled leisurely around the village.
And indeed, as they went around, they realized they were right—many households were missing people.
When they arrived at Bai Lixin’s house, they saw Chen Xiaoshi kicking stones at the door.
He used a branch to draw a little grass hut on the ground, hopping around happily as he played by himself.
When Chen Xiaoshi saw Lin Jue, he rushed over and hugged Lin Jue’s leg. “Brother Lin Xiao, how’s your wedding room decoration going? When can I see the pretty sister?”
Chen Dazhuang heard the noise and walked out from the courtyard. Compared to the excited Chen Xiaoshi, Chen Dazhuang’s demeanor was much more indifferent.
He pulled Chen Xiaoshi off Lin Jue’s leg with a stern face, showing no sign of a smile. “Brother Lin Xiao, congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”
Lin Jue: “Uh, oh, thank you.”
Chen Xiaoshi was still fidgeting in Chen Dazhuang’s grip, excitedly shouting at Lin Jue, “Brother Lin Xiao, tomorrow night is your wedding! I’ll definitely come and drink the wedding wine!”
Hearing this, Chen Dazhuang immediately twisted Chen Xiaoshi’s shoulder. “Wedding wine, wedding wine—what wine does a kid like you have to drink? You’re learning bad habits. You’re not allowed to go!”
Chen Xiaoshi pouted, looking aggrieved. “But…”
“But what?” Chen Dazhuang glared at him. “If you go, then don’t recognize me as your brother. Now, come inside!”
Chen Xiaoshi was dragged into the courtyard by Chen Dazhuang. As Chen Dazhuang was closing the door, his eyes fell on Bai Lixin. “Erniu, come back early.”
Before Bai Lixin could say anything, the courtyard door was slammed shut with a loud “bang,” leaving the three dumbfounded.
Samael said in a serious tone, “Congratulations on the wedding, brother,” which earned him a glare from Lin Jue.
The two vice presidents of the Sand Sea Guild seemed to enjoy teasing each other. Seeing Lin Jue’s reaction, Samael didn’t hold back. “But seriously, when’s the wedding tomorrow?”
Lin Jue: “I’m not the one getting married. It’s Lin Xiao!”
“Then, Brother Lin Xiao,” Samael mimicked Chen Xiaoshi’s tone, “what time is your wedding tomorrow? I want to drink the wedding wine.”
Lin Jue gritted his teeth. “Six in the evening.”
Samael calculated the time. “It’s now 9:30 in the morning, and there are 35 hours left until the game ends. The second stage ends tomorrow at 8:30 in the evening, and Brother Lin Xiao’s wedding is at six, which leaves two and a half hours before stage two ends.”
“Great, great, there’s still time to go drink your… oh no, Brother Lin Xiao’s wedding wine.”
Lin Jue: “Samael, are you out of your mind? With that time, wouldn’t it be better to focus on finding clues?”
Samael: “We can skip looking for clues, but we can’t miss Brother Lin Xiao’s wedding.”
Lin Jue: “…”
‘Samael, you’d better have the ability to never get married in this lifetime, or else you just wait and see.’
