After she shoved her liver back into her abdomen, she casually stood up again and continued holding Jiang Yanâs hand to dance. When she saw her skin still stuck to Jiang Yanâs hand, she awkwardly apologize to him.
At this moment, she didnât have the extreme violence from before, nor did she show any bloodthirsty or crazy expression. Ignoring her tattered body, she seemed like an ordinary person, well-raised.
They met at a university campus social event. That day was Christmas, and she was wearing a red dress like this one.
Jiang Yan was startled by the sudden appearance of a non-existent memory in his mind.
It seemed like he saw "the bear" alive, and the face in front of him, covered in corpse wax and eroded by corpse fluid, had once been so delicate and clean.
Not just Jiang Yan, as the two of them stumbled through their awkward steps in the snow, this memory appeared in everyoneâs mind.
"Whatâs going on?" Wang Yu asked timidly to Ding Wanyu beside him.
"The side story of the dungeon," Ding Wanyu answered very calmly.
He now understood why the BOSS asked Jiang Yan to dance with "the bear." Jiang Yan was now the "judge" of the game, and the main storyline of the dungeon required him to push it forward.
The main system had set up a new character script for their real NPCs, so the "key clues" to winning the "hunter's" game should be hidden in the side stories of the dungeon.
Some answers that had not yet been revealed would also emerge as the side stories of the dungeon came to light.
However, Ding Wanyu always felt that there was something he had overlooked. What could it be?
He looked at Jiang Yan, dressed by the hunter as though he were a prince from the medieval era, slowly dancing in the snow with a tattered "bear," no music, no lights, the ground stained with the yellow-brown corpse liquid flowing from the ragged body of the "bear."
No one spoke, and everything felt like a ridiculous silent movie.
Some memories that didn't belong to him continued to pour into everyone's minds. Ding Wanyu glanced at Wang Yu, who was completely out of it, then looked at the calm-looking Zhong Yun and Lei Li, who seemed to have lost their wits, though the system hadn't yet classified her as "dead" or "contaminated."
Eventually, he kindly reminded this unlucky group of new players: "You'd better pay close attention; perhaps the master will provide you with crucial clues to win the game during this waltz."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yu and Zhong Yun instantly became serious.
However, these memories were so plain, almost as though they were happening all the time.
It was just an ordinary "bear" who met its honest lover in college, and they began a sweet date.
At first, she didn't like him, but his persistent pursuit and trivial care eventually moved her.
A few years after graduation, they naturally got married.
It was warm, so warm it felt boring.
[Jiang Yan almost fell asleep.]
[Actually, I'm almost falling asleep too.]
[Me too, what's the point of learning a romance guide in a horror game, this is ridiculous.]
[This "bear" is really out of place! It feels like it was forcibly inserted into this instance.]
[No way! Did you guys see the "bear" kill Xue Dun? Her child called Xue Dun "daddy."]
[Oh, I was watching Jiang Yan sleep at that time. But aren't these ghosts always killing men who are called "daddy" and women who are called "mommy"?]
When Jiang Yan confirmed that the woman in front of him had no murderous intent, he relaxed.
Although the ragged person in front of him was disgusting, for Jiang Yan, who had a room full of realistic specimens at home, it wasnât that bad after a while.
The scene in his mind was unbearably boring, and yet he had to keep spinning in circles, which made Jiang Yan feel drowsy.
Seeing this, the "hunter" gently held the golden scythe of the "judge" and said with some sympathy, "If Yan Yan is tired, we can rest for a while and then continue dancing."
As soon as the "hunter" finished speaking, the main system's announcement echoed through the forest:
ăInstance: The Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 80%ă
ăPlayer: Xue Dun, Escape Progress: 50%ă
ăSystem NPC: "Hunter", Line error, system BUG, has been promptly fixed.ă
After the main systemâs announcement ended, the "hunter" subtly shot a glare toward the sky.
[Just a BUG? Why is there a BUG every day?]
[Has the main god gone on vacation these past few days? The system is full of BUGs, and he hasn't done any maintenance?]
[This instance has been plagued with BUGs nonstop, but other instances don't have any BUGs!]
[Itâs probably because this instance is too difficult, and the main system's judgments are a bit off.]
[Don't you think the biggest BUG is that the instanceâs difficulty is too high?]
Hearing that the "hunter" had a BUG, Jiang Yan silently lowered his gaze. The unusual behavior of the "hunter" seemed to make sense now.
He had originally wanted to ask 663 why the behavior of this instance's boss felt like it was free, as if not controlled by the system.
At that moment, a familiar face flashed in Jiang Yan's mindâXue Dun.
The last time Jiang Yan saw this face, it had been turned into a basket for carrying things, and the eyes could still extend and retract like a snail. At the time, Jiang Yan was startled, and now, thinking back, it seemed quite comical.
Putting aside that it was a real human head, the craftsmanship and style were something someone would surely like.
Because that image was so shocking, Jiang Yan almost forgot what Xue Dunâs normal appearance was like. So when the normal appearance of this person appeared in his mind, Jiang Yan was stunned for a second or two, thinking that this person looked so familiar.
At this time, she was already pregnant, and Xue Dun appeared in her mind as her husband. Along with Xue Dun, a face that looked strikingly similar to the elder Xue appearedâthis was Xue Dunâs mother.
She was pregnant, and her husband, due to his busy work, had brought his mother from their hometown to take care of her.
Her mother-in-law treated her very well, taking care of her pregnancy with great thoughtfulness. Every day, she cooked for her and even researched pregnancy recipes online. She told her that eating too much meat wasnât good for the baby and that she needed to eat more vegetables.
She said she wanted to go home, that she missed her mother, but both he and his mother opposed it.
The reason was that she had already married into their family. If she cried and went back home like this, others would think they treated her badly and would gossip.
Moreover, how could a woman who had become someone elseâs wife keep running back to her parental home?
Such words seemed to belong to the last century. The books she had read and the lessons she had learned told her this was a bunch of nonsense, but she didn't refute it.
She didnât know why she didnât argue. She felt... since both he and his mother said so, maybe that was just how it was?
Jiang Yan looked at Xue Dunâs increasingly plump body, the gold watch that appeared on his fat wrist, and the kiss marks that had slowly grown. He slightly furrowed his brow.
She was sick.
She was pregnant, yet her body had gradually started to "rot."
The doctor asked her if she had been physically intimate with anyone, and she replied, "My husband."
The doctor remained silent for a moment, then said with some sympathy, "Thereâs no way to use medication right now. When is your due date? You must give birth to the baby before we can treat you. With your current condition, you will need a C-section. A natural birth might harm the baby."
She really wanted to ask, "Doctor, did my husband cheat on me?"
But the words stuck in her throat. The baby inside her made her unable to gather the courage to speak.
Finally, her due date arrived. She gave birth to a daughter, weighing six pounds and two ounces.
"Do you want to rest for a bit?" Jiang Yan kindly asked the "bear" in front of him.
She looked at Jiang Yan with a somewhat confused expression. Her eyes, once having pupils, now had dark green irises, and red blood vessels filled her entire sclera. Fresh blood flowed from the corners of her eyes, dripping into the decaying hole in her face.
"Me? No need, thank you," she replied politely.
Her liver once again fell to the ground, but this time, instead of bending down to grab it, she stomped on it.
Seeing this, Jiang Yan could only continue dancing, though he was exhausted.
Physically tired, and mentally overwhelmed.
He saw how Xue Dun didnât like the daughter she had given birth to, mocking her cruelly. He saw how she became pregnant again shortly after giving birth, even though her illness hadnât been fully treated.
He saw that after she gave birth to two daughters, she lost another pregnancy. Xue Dun insisted that she go to the hospital to check the baby's gender, and in the end, he demanded that she abort the girl in her womb.
He saw her hugging her mother and crying, while her mother could only go and argue with Xue Dunâs mother.
The family was in an uproar, and several little girls trembled as they huddled together, crying silently in the corner.
Jiang Yanâs previous marriage ended unexpectedly, but during the marriage, he was happy.
In his eyes, marriage had always been just a matter between two people. Today, he finally understood that marriage could involve so many others.
He and that person didnât have children; he couldnât have them, and neither could the other. Jiang Yanâs parents had once asked them if they wanted to adopt two children to make the home livelier.
Later, one day, Jiang Yanâs father came to their house. After being terrified by the bloody wax figure of a human head hanging in the living room, he never came again.
After all, facing a bloodied human head every day would have a negative impact on a childâs worldview.
But after all this time, Jiang Yan still didnât discover anything related to the game copy.
The traces of ârabbitâ and âmagpieâ existed only in the storybooks she read to the children in the bland, almost toxic life of âBear.â
The book also gave a scene where a little rabbit in the forest couldnât find its way home, but in reality, it had always been on the road. It was just distracted by the carrots and cabbages along the way and didnât persist in moving forward.
Therefore, it didnât know that the end of the road was home.
While telling this story, her little daughter innocently asked, âMom, did the rabbit get lost too on the road? Is that why it hasnât come home for so long?â
The road?
Jiang Yan distractedly glanced at Lei Li, sitting on the swan-down cloak, looking at his own corpse not far away.
Currently, there was only one road in front of them, and it was blocked by Lei Liâs corpse.
In fact, it wasnât just Lei Liâs. Upon closer inspection, beneath Lei Liâs body were two or three other corpses, including Wang Yu, Zhong Yun, and even Ding Wanyuâs.
Jiang Yan also keenly noticed that under the mountain of corpses, there were a couple of bloodied, green swan-down cloaks crushed beneath. That should be his own?
At this moment, Jiang Yan realized that two people were missing from the pile of corpsesâZhou Hao and Xue Dun.
If Xue Dun had already died at the claws of âBearâ when they found this road, why was Zhou Hao missing?
No Zhou Hao, but countless dead âLei Li.â
Arenât they friends?
663 said that Lei Li entered the game because of Zhou Hao, but they had no intimate relationship, and Lei Li didnât have a crush on Zhou Hao. So what was the reason for Lei Li entering the game?
The rabbit that got lost on the small road, could Lei Li be that rabbit?
The ârabbitâ forgot that it was a ârabbit,â did Lei Li forget that she was Lei Li?
Obviously not.
The âmagpieâ always remembered that it was a âmagpie,â but didnât everyone always remember that they were themselves?
So, what was forgotten? What was remembered?
At this moment, the scene in Jiang Yanâs mind changed again. Xue Dun brought back a woman with a pregnant belly.
He looked at her, arrogantly pointing to the strangerâs belly and saying, âItâs a son.â
She said she couldnât get a divorce; her children needed her.
He replied, âThen you take them all. Having a bunch of useless daugher here is useless.â
She shook her head. After years of constant pregnancy and childbirth, she had lost the ability to work. Now, even if she went out to find a job, she couldnât support so many children.
âNo!â The other womanâs voice was loud and sharp, sounding very harsh. âDidnât you say you donât have a wife? Didnât you say youâre already divorced?â
The other woman clearly not anticipated the current situation and was hysterically fighting with Xue Dun.
She numbly shielded her children behind her, some of them looking at the girl with the pregnant belly in front of them.
Clearly, Xue Dunâs plan had gone wrong. After the woman went back, she didnât hesitate to abort the child in her womb and severed all ties with Xue Dun.
That night, Xue Dun came home drunk. At that time, she was holding the children in bed, telling them a bedtime story.
It was the story of the little rabbit getting lost.
Xue Dun, drunk and stumbling, barged into the room. He grabbed her by the hair, yanking her off the bed amidst the childrenâs screams.
âMommyâ!â
She heard her daughters crying, struggling to break free from the manâs grip, desperately comforting her children, âDonât be afraid! Donât be afraid! Baby, donât be afraid! Be good... go outside, donât look!â
âDonât bully my mom!â The older daughter hugged her fatherâs legs, but the next moment, she was kicked against the wall.
She saw her daughterâs head slam against the wall with a thud, then fall to the ground, unmoving, like a broken doll.
Seeing this, she didnât know where she found the strength, but she broke free from the manâs grip and rushed to her daughter, who was lying motionless on the ground.
She was both panicked and careful as she picked up her daughter, her hands stained with fresh red blood.
âHospital!â She picked up her daughter and was about to rush outside. âDonât be afraid, mommy will take you to the hospital!â But as she reached the door, a heavy blow to the back of her head caused her to instantly collapse.
Immediately after, the man grabbed her by the hair and swung the axe in his hand, striking the back of her head again and again.
Bright red blood and white brain matter surged out from her skull, her eyes wide open, desperately looking toward her unconscious daughter.
Her children watched the cruel scene before them, screaming and crying.
They kept calling for their father, terrified, scared out of their minds by their crazed father and their broken mother.
Her second daughter, already in first grade, sobbed as she ran outside. She was a very smart girl.
She ran out of the house crying, knocked on the neighborâs door, and the door was opened by a kind elderly woman. The little girl hugged the woman, saying, âGrandma, help my mommy... help my mommy...â
Everyone around knew about their familyâs troubles. It wasnât that no one had called the police, but what could the police do when they arrived?
The children needed someone to care for them, and she had no job. Call after call to the police, but nothing changed.
Gradually, the neighbors became numb to it, and their eyes began to show mockery.
The elderly woman, tired, gently pulled the girl into the house and whispered, âSigh, itâs okay, good child, donât be afraid, donât be afraid.â
The girl cried until she was out of breath, tugging at the elderly woman, trying to drag her to her own house. âGrandma... please save my mommy....â
The elderly woman thought it was just like every other time, so she only comforted the child to stop crying.
It wasnât until the little girl said, âDaddy chopped off mommyâs head!â that the elderly woman realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly called the police.
When the police arrived, the ground was covered in blood, and there were the severed limbs and arms of the little girls.
Her head had been chopped off and hidden in the pumpkin she had bought to make soup.
She quietly watched from inside the pumpkin, watching as the man put on his handcuffs, sat in the police car, and as her second daughter, who had run out, helplessly cried while holding her mother. She watched as the officers collected the pieces of her daughtersâ bodies, sighing.
"Why didnât she run? We had reported their familyâs issues many times before, trying to get her to divorce, but she refused! Sigh... Poor child who ran out."
Yes, why didnât she run?
No, why did she even have them in the first place? If they hadnât come out of her womb, they wouldnât have been killed by their own father.
Why did she marry him in the first place? After they graduated, didnât his attitude toward her become more and more impatient?
Why did she meet him in the first place?
âYou look beautiful in red.â Back then, she thought his eyes held a light, but now, looking back, the light in everyoneâs eyes is the same.
So why, in this world with so many people, do so many have to live such painful lives?
Why?
The storybook appeared in the nearly dried-up pool of blood, stained brown by the bloodâ the little rabbit got lost on the way home.
The âBearâ in front of him suddenly stopped. When Jiang Yan looked up at her again, he froze for a second.
He saw that the woman in front of him looked delicate and bright, no longer showing any signs of the terrifying demeanor from before.
âThank you.â The woman smiled at Jiang Yan, as if forgetting everything. âThe day after tomorrow, we have a social event in our department. Can I invite you to join us?â
Jiang Yan was stunned for a second, then nodded, âIâll save you a seat.â
âGood!â
The woman turned and walked a few steps. On her shoes, there was still the residue of her own liver that she had just stepped on and crushed.
âBy the way, whatâs your major?â The woman turned back and smiled at Jiang Yan, her bright eyes sparkling in the snow.
âUh... Sophomore, Class 3 of Tourism Management, Jiang Yan.â
âIâm from the next-door class, Class 4 of Finance! My name is Li Xue.â
After saying this, she turned and disappeared into the dark woods, leaving a group of people in shock.
Li Xue??
Wang Yu immediately looked up, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the clean, bright woman in front of him. He muttered to himself, âLi Xue... Li Xue...â
Li Xue was Wang Yuâs girlfriend, and she had been corrupted into a âhunting dogâ the previous day. Coincidentally, âBearâ was also named Li Xue.
Of course, âLi Xueâ was a fairly common name.
Sweat trickled down Jiang Yan's cheek. The applause of the âHunterâ drew everyone's attention.
âShe didnât eat Yan Yan.â The âHunterâ said regretfully, âI was looking forward to the moment when she would rip open Yan Yanâs stomach, and Yan Yan would beg me for mercy!â
Saying this, he lightly appeared behind Jiang Yan, picking up the tired little lamb from the snow.
âWhy is Yan Yan always so stubborn? You would rather dance with such a monster than kiss me,â the âHunterâ said.
Jiang Yan coldly looked at the goat's head in front of him, the sharp horns on top of its head looking very frightening.
âYou have quite a deep misunderstanding, Master,â Jiang Yan replied.
âHunterâ: â.....â
[Shit! What a bold move!]
[Such a reckless fool! The fact that he didnât die is truly a miracle!]
[I told you Yan Yan wouldnât die! Excited! My wife is still alive after dancing with the evil spirit!]
[I feel like Li Xue didnât actually want to kill Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan is the judge, and she just killed Xue Dun. Maybe she wanted to prove her innocence to the judge.]
[Xue Dun deserved to die!]
[Absolutely deserved to die!]
âI spoiled Yan Yan too much,â the âHunterâ said with his mouth, then gently kissed the top of Jiang Yanâs head.
Jiang Yan obediently allowed him to hold him, but the scenes that had just unfolded were like a soap opera, leaving him unable to gather his thoughts.
He leaned on the "Hunter's" shoulder, breathing heavily, his mind filled with the oppression in Li Xue's marriage. He couldn't understand why she hadnât chosen to divorce from the beginning.
Jiang Yan's thoughts began to drift a little. He wondered why, despite the hardships Li Xue endured, she never chose to divorce. What could have made that person leave so decisively?
At that moment, the "Hunter" gently caressed Jiang Yan's soft cheek and asked, "What is Yan Yan thinking about?"
What was he thinking? He was recalling the details before that person left. They had argued, but Jiang Yan was not someone who liked to fight, so rather than an argument, it was more of a cold war.
Compared to Li Xue, their marriage felt like a child's play.
Jiang Yan looked at the "Hunter's" emerald eyes, and in his mind, the scene of that person leaving replayed: "Yan Yan, if you don't apologize to me, I wonât come home."
Did he apologize afterward? It didnât seem like it.
But what was the reason they had argued in the first place?
The "Hunter" pinched Jiang Yanâs face. "The distracted little kitten will be punished."
Saying that, he very childishly squeezed Jiang Yanâs face, making his whole face puff up.
[...Wow, what a scary punishment.]
[Yeah, so scary.]
[Jiang Yan should be close to crying now.]
[I also want to pinch Yan Yanâs face!]
Let him go!! Let me punish him!]
[Honey, didnât you want to kiss him? Go ahead and kiss him now, Jiang Yan canât resist, right?]
[...Whatâs going on? Did the system glitch here? No oneâs talking about the plot, all theyâre discussing is the NPCs?]
After the "punishment," the "Hunter" set Jiang Yan back down onto the snow. He placed the golden sickle, symbolizing the "Judge," back into Jiang Yan's hands.
He bent down and looked at the little lamb, clearly still a bit out of it, and said, "Thereâs less than an hour until dusk. Iâll be waiting for your answer, my dear little judge."
With that, he and the "hunting dogs" behind him disappeared into the dense forest with a gust of snow.
â
Wang Yu set up his tent again, and inside the tents of the two NPCs and three players, they discussed the contents of Li Xueâs memories.
Lei Li was forcibly brought back to the tent by Zhong Yun. Ding Wanyu suggested that she should stay outside the tent, but Zhong Yun responded that since the system hadnât judged her as dead, she should still be considered their companion.
"The lost rabbit has actually always been on the way home, but she just couldnât keep going down the path," Wang Yu mumbled, his head lowered.
"So, who is the rabbit then?" Zhong Yun asked, confused.
Ding Wanyu looked at Jiang Yan, he was the Judicator.
"Lei Li," Jiang Yan replied.
"Are you so sure?" Ding Wanyu questioned.
"I'm not sure, just a guess," Jiang Yan said, his expression unchanged. He looked at Lei Li in the corner, her eyes blank and her appearance completely devoid of normal human traits.
"Weâve finished the current side plot. According to the game time, there shouldnât be any extra side stories left," Jiang Yan slowly spoke, his lazy, raspy voice bringing a warm feeling to the heart.
"Li Xue entered the game and became the NPC 'Bear' to destroy Xue Dun, thereâs no dispute there. Xue Dun deserves to die."
"And my personal system tells me that Lei Li entered the game for Zhou Hao."
"Unlike Li Xue, who became 'Hunting dog,' Li Xue and Wang Yu are partners, but Lei Li and Zhou Hao arenât. Theyâre not lovers, not relatives, just ordinary classmates. Why would she enter the game for Zhou Hao?"
"If it were just for fun, she wouldnât have passed the gameâs review."
"To enter the game for someone elseâif itâs not for an obsessive romantic love, it must be to exact a vengeance that could cost her life."
"Are you saying that Lei Li and Zhou Hao have enmity?" Zhong Yun asked, puzzled. "But in the basement, Lei Li seemed to care a lot for Zhou Hao, she said they were classmates and should look out for each other."
"What if Lei Li forgot?" Jiang Yan asked. "The rabbit forgot it was a rabbit, so if Lei Li forgot she had enmity with Zhou Hao, then everything makes sense."
"And didnât you notice?"
"Notice what?"
"In this game, Iâm the only one here whoâs an indigenous resident of this forest, along with the pile of Lei Liâs bodies on that little road. Those bodies spoke, and they were the same as hers."
Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
After this explanation, the pile of bodies indeed seemed to be the same as "Li Xue," turning into ghosts after death. Those were Lei Liâs bodies.
Ding Wanyu looked at Jiang Yan with some surprise. This personâs mind was more useful than he had imagined, able to make such connections.
[Jiang Yan didnât look as dumb as he seemed]
[What do you mean "not as dumb as he looks"? Does Yan Yan look dumb? Heâs obviously very smart!]
[Heâs not exactly smart, but Iâd say heâs calm. In such a tense atmosphere, just danced with a vengeful ghost, and now he can still stay calm enough to reasonâthis is really not easy.]
[Blowing smoke! Just blowing smoke!]
[Same here. The person upstairs is just jealous. You probably wouldâve been scared stiff as soon as "Bear" extended its hand!]
[Indeed, being able to calmly look at that corpse dancing, and staying so collected, not everyone has this level of mental fortitude.]
âYouâre not dumb at all, are you? You should exercise your brain more often, otherwise, it'll rust,â 663 reminded.
"Why would anyone look for trouble when there's none?" Jiang Yan lazily responded.
He was truly exhausted. Running through the snow and dancing with "Bear," the amount of exercise heâd had today could replace an entire year's worth.
Jiang Yan lazily leaned against the tent frame, watching Lei Li shrink in the corner, while he pondered what kind of grudge Lei Li and Zhou Hao could possibly have.
Unlike Li Xue and Xue Dunâs murderous grudge over the daughter, these two were still students. What kind of hatred could make such a little girl risk her life?
Zhou Hao seemed pretty normal the other day when he was with Lei Li, no signs of guilt. It was only after seeing the pile of Lei Liâs corpses that he panicked and fled.
Could he have been the one to kill Lei Li?
That didnât make sense. If that were true, he should have been scared the moment he saw Lei Li, not after seeing her pile of corpses.
If it wasnât a fatal mistake, then what was it? What kind of blood feud could exist between two high schoolers? It couldnât have been because Zhou Hao owed Lei Li money, right?
Jiang Yan yawned. Anyway, he was about 90% sure that Lei Li was "the rabbit" in his mind.
Now he just needed to find "Magpie."
He turned his gaze to Wang Yu and Zhong Yun. One had a girlfriend with a name that just happened to match "Bear," was it really because the name was that common?
The other showed no change in expression when seeing the bodies and the rotting inside. It couldnât be that Zhong Yun also had a specimen room at home, could it? What a coincidence.
Jiang Yan then glanced at Ding Wanyu, who was also looking at him with furrowed brows.
Ding Wanyu was probably struggling to figure out who the "thief" was. Jiang Yanâs hand went into his pocket and touched the card inside, silently sighing.
This was a tough puzzle. He still couldnât figure out why "Hunter" chose him to be the "Judge."
The role of the "Judge" should belong to someone "innocent," so no one would suspect Jiang Yan, whether it was "the rabbit," "Magpie," or "the thief." He was the "Judge."
But Jiang Yan himself already bore the identity of "the thief." Since that was the case, why did "Hunter" pick him as the "Judge"? Was it to make things difficult for the group of "thief catchers"?
In a group of "detectives" searching for the hidden "thief," only to discover that the "thief" was the high-ranking judge?
This side quest was impossible to play!
Could it be that the system deducted 100 points from him and gave him this compensation?
Jiang Yan sympathized with Ding Wanyu, but their situations were different. If Ding Wanyu couldnât catch the "thief," heâd lose points, but if Jiang Yan got caught, heâd lose his life!
Moreover, for his side mission to find "the rabbit" and "Magpie," "Hunter" had warned that if he couldnât complete the task, there would be a penalty.
What kind of penalty? Jiang Yan thought of the "colleague" who had been turned into a human dumpling in front of him, and a shiver of dread instantly ran through him.
Outside the tent, the golden hue on the horizon was growing more dazzling by the minute. Time was running out.
âDo you guys have any clues about the thief?â Jiang Yan straightened up and asked.
Except for the delirious Lei Li, the remaining three shook their heads.
âThen you can go home,â Jiang Yan said. âThe master said, if you donât find the thief before dusk, but you manage to leave this forest by then, youâve won the game.â
âThe rabbit got lost on the way home, but in reality, itâs always been on the way back.â
âThat path should be the small road outside. Dusk is almost here, so follow that road to go home.â Saying this, Jiang Yan pushed Lei Li into Zhong Yunâs arms. âTake her. She probably wants to go home too.â
Zhong Yun held Lei Li tighter. Since the system hadnât judged her dead, then Lei Li was still alive. Naturally, she couldnât stay here like the two NPCs.
âBut⌠have you found Magpie?â Zhong Yun hesitated.
âThe system said if you donât get the correct answer, there will be penalties,â Ding Wanyu said.
Now, they were gathered in this tent, not only trying to find the "thief" but also providing clues for Jiang Yan to find "Magpie" and "the rabbit."
After his analysis, Jiang Yan had already identified a candidate for "the rabbit," but there was still no extra clue for "Magpie."
Now Jiang Yan was letting the players leave.
[Was he planning to guess on his own?]
[How did his intelligence seem to fluctuate?]
[Yan Yan is kind-hearted, right? If he kept the players here, and they couldnât get out before the "Hunterâs" set time, it would be over.]
[Heh? Kind-hearted? Talking about kindness in "turns"âisnât that just ridiculous?]
[Shouldnât people be a little kind? When did kindness become a flaw?]
[Kindness isnât a flaw, but being kind to the point of harming yourself makes you a fool.]
Wang Yu and Zhong Yun hesitated as they looked at Jiang Yan.
At that moment, the main systemâs announcement echoed in the air:
[Side Quest: The Sheepâs Forest, Quest Progress: 90%]
[Player: Zhou Hao, Escape Progress: 90%]
âLooks like your friend has already found the way home,â Jiang Yan said, standing up from the tent. âYou should be going home now.â
âBut youâŚâ Zhong Yun hesitated, looking at the pale young man in front of her.
âWhat are you doing? Letting them go? They stayed on their own to help solve the problem, and now you want to let them go? I thought you were smart just now!â 663 yelled at Jiang Yan, feeling exasperated.
âHave you ever been told you are pretty loudâ Jiang Yan said indifferently.
âYou actually think Iâm loud?â 663 couldnât take it anymore. âIâve been wholeheartedly doing this for your own good! And you treat me like this!â
Jiang Yan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He glanced at the other three in the tent, feeling like their personal systems were perfectly normal.
Just as Zhong Yun and Wang Yu were feeling guilty and hesitant, the main systemâs announcement rang out again:
[Side Quest: Sheepâs Forest, Quest Progress: 95%]
[Player: Zhou Hap, Killed by the rabbit.]
Everyone froze, then immediately looked toward Lei Li in Zhong Yun's arms. Wasn't Lei Li right here?
âLetâs take a look,â Ding Wanyu said as he stood up and opened the tent flap, stepping outside.
The others followed him. Wang Yu's tent was near the small road, and after walking a few steps, they stopped. They saw âLei Liâ crawling out from the road, frantically surrounding and tearing at something.
From their position, they could see an unmoving leg. The torn pants clearly indicated that the person being torn apart was Zhou Hao, who was still alive moments ago.
âYou lost something! It's yours!â
âYou lost something! Itâs yours!â
âYou lost something! Itâs yours!!!â
They screamed and lunged at the person lying on the ground, desperately tearing chunks of flesh off his body.
Jiang Yan saw one of the âLei Liâ figures dive in and pull out a bloody piece of meat. He could already tell what part of the body it was.
She held the bloody piece of meat, greedily gnawing on it. When she noticed someone watching her, she even turned to Jiang Yan and smiled seductively...
âUghâŚâ
The snow on the ground was stained red, and the smell of blood lingered in everyoneâs nostrils. Wang Yu could not handle the intensity of the sight and turned his head to vomit.
Meanwhile, Zhong Yun still stood silently, holding Lei Li without any expression. In fact, Jiang Yan could detect a hint of âcareâ on her face.
âYou know Lei Li, right?â Jiang Yan asked Zhong Yun.
Zhong Yun tightened her hold on Lei Li and hesitated before replying, âWe⌠are friends.â
âThen do you know Zhou Hao?â
âHe is Lei Liâs classmate.â
âCan I ask you one more question?â Jiang Yan inquired.
âYou can,â Zhong Yun responded.
âAre you a doctor?â Jiang Yan asked.
Zhong Yun paused for a moment, then quickly realized why Jiang Yan would ask such a question. Indeed, her reaction to seeing the dismembered bodies had been far too calm.
She shook her head and answered, âNo, Iâm a mortician.â
She continued, âThe reason I know Lei Li is because one day, Zhou Hao brought her, barely alive, to my studio and asked me to do makeup for her. At that time, she hadnât died yet; she was still clinging to her last breath.â
âYou two came in together?â Ding Wanyu asked, somewhat surprised.
âYes,â Zhong Yun replied.
So, âMagpieâ has always known she was âMagpieâ? Is that the meaning?
[She should be the "Magpie," right?]
[It seems so. Who would have thought that three newcomers with shared ties would appear in the same instance?]
[Looking at Zhou Hao's and Xue Dun's miserable fates, it seems the main system planned this intentionally.]
[So, the main system never intended to strike a deal with Zhou Hao and Xue Dun in the first place? Was it always targeting Li Xue and Lei Li?]
[But why is Li Xue an NPC while Lei Li is a player?]
[Because Lei Li wasn't dead yet, just clinging to her last breath, obviously!]
[Age doesnât matter when it comes to grudges.]
[Zhong Yun probably chose to confide in Yan Yan because Yan Yan suggested letting them leave earlier. Good deeds do seem to bring rewards, and even the system appears to favor good people.]
[Don't overstate it. Zhong Yunâs reaction was likely because sheâs a newcomer player, so she responded to Jiang Yan's goodwill.]
[Agreed. Does anyone seriously think the main system is âbenevolentâ?]
[Do you think Jiang Yan planned this deliberately?]
âDid you do it on purpose?â 663 asked Jiang Yan in surprise.
âYes, though I didnât expect the three of them to know each other,â Jiang Yan replied. âI only noticed that when we were being chased by the Bear, Zhong Yun kept holding onto Lei Li while running. Even when I gave them cloaks, she wrapped everything around Lei Li.
âAnd when Wang Yu saw Zhou Hao recklessly breaking away from the group, he was visibly worried about him.
âThis shows theyâre not bad people. Good people wouldnât just stand by and let someone whoâs kind to them die because of them,â Jiang Yan said.
âThat kind of approach only works with new players,â 663 replied.
Moments of humanity and kindness like these probably only exist among newly joined players in this game. It seems Jiang Yan was simply lucky this time.
"But I don't know if I'm the 'Magpie,'" Zhong Yun said, "because my personal system hasn't issued any corresponding side quest."
"I don't have one either," Wang Yu said, his face pale.
Jiang Yan frowned slightly. Neither of them?
His gaze shifted between Wang Yu and Zhong Yun. Could it be that the "Magpie" wasn't one of them?
Or could the "Magpie" actually be Zhou Hao?
Because he always knew he was the one who hurt Lei Li?
"Do you know what happened between Lei Li and Zhou Hao?" Jiang Yan asked Zhong Yun.
Zhong Yun held Lei Li tighter in her arms and nodded. "I think you can already tell that Zhou Hao is an extremely self-centered and arrogant person."
Jiang Yan nodded.
Zhong Yun slowly recounted what she knew, though it wasn't much.
She only knew that Zhou Hao had always been an arrogant teenager with a touch of immaturity, but other than being annoying when he spoke, he hadn't done much else.
After all, he was only seventeen years old. He still had time to grow.
But one day, he developed feelings for Lei Li. The reason he liked her was inexplicably shallow. simply because Lei Li had cut her hair short, and he thought it looked great.
Thus, he began to pursue Lei Li, but she declined, saying that high school students should focus on academics.
Then, Lei Li's nightmare began.
Out of nowhere, rumors started circulating, claiming that she had dated multiple boys and had been intimate with many men.
Lei Li's short hair did suit her, accentuating her already delicate features and making her even more attractive. As a result, more boys began to like her, making the rumors seem even more believable.
Gradually, Lei Li was isolated. She became solitary both at school and on her way home.
On the road, she could often hear her classmates whispering about her.
But she didn't care. She had cut her hair short simply because it was more convenient. With senior year approaching, she didn't want her hairstyle to interfere with her studies.
If her classmates didn't want to be friends with her, so be it. She was focused on her studies and had little interest in socializing.
She had already set her goal and was working hard to achieve it: to get into a university in the capital.
To say she wasn't sad would be a lie, but she kept telling herself that everything would be fine after the college entrance exams. Her current task was to study hard, not to form cliques.
But what she never anticipated was that her summer would end before senior year even began.
Before the college entrance exams, the school gave all senior students a three-day break to relax. The class monitor suggested using the class funds to organize a farewell dinner.
After dinner, the sky had already turned dark. The classmates wanted to go singing, but Lei Li wanted to go home to review her notes, so she declined.
She never expected to be attacked by classmates she was all too familiar with on the path home that she had walked countless times.
âHey! Lei Li, you lost something!â
Those were the words Zhou Hao called out to her with when he stopped her.
Looking at the "Lei Lis" that were continuously biting Zhou Hao, the blood-stained remains scattered across the snowy ground didnât even seem as disgusting anymore, not even to Wang Yu.
Lei Li, who was being held in Zhong Yunâs arms, stared blankly at the scene. Seeing the leg exposed in front of everyone, she suddenly burst into loud wails.
She remembered... It seemed she was already dead.
Damn it! Why are there so many damned people in this world?
[A B-level instance with A-level difficulty... I think I understand now.]
[Could the "Magpie" be Zhou Hao? He always knew he was the one who hurt Lei Li.]
[His psychological fortitude is incredible! Just a few days ago, he faced Lei Li without even a hint of guilt.]
[It feels like it should be Zhou Hao. Zhong Yun seems like a stretch, especially since the main system hasnât given her any personal side quests.]
Jiang Yan, however, felt that the main system likely hadnât issued a personal side quest to the "Magpie" at all.
After all, the "Magpie" has always been the "Magpie."
Unlike the "Rabbits," who needed to recall their identity, the "Magpie" didnât need to do so.
Since there was no need, the main system naturally didnât have to issue a personal side quest.
Jiang Yan sighed. He walked forward, took out two roasted chestnuts from his pocket, and handed them to the crying girl.
Lei Li sniffled as she accepted them, saying thank you to Jiang Yan.
âGo home,â Jiang Yan said with a gentle smile. âIf you missed this yearâs college entrance exam, do well next year.â
âThank you.â
After bidding farewell to Jiang Yan, the remaining three players set off on the small path.
The "Lei Lis" automatically moved the lifeless corpses to the roadside, clearing the way for them.
Watching the three figures fade into the distance, Ding Wanyu asked Jiang Yan, âDo you have the correct answer?â
âI do have an answer, but whether itâs correct or not, Iâm not sure,â Jiang Yan replied.
He felt as though... he was overlooking something important.
The clouds in the sky were painted in large swaths of red, as if the heavens themselves were weeping blood.
â
The "Hunter" arrived, accompanied by the howls of the "Hunting Dogs."
âYou let all your companions leave? So, are you ready to give me the answer now, Yan Yan?â The "Hunter" bent down, locking eyes with his little sheep.
"Who is playing the 'Rabbit' among you?"
"Lei Li," Jiang Yan answered.
ăInstance: The Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 100%ă
ăPlayers: Lei Li, Zhong Yun, Escape Progress 100%: Escape Successfulă
"Yan Yan is so smart! Then who is playing the 'Magpie'?"
"Zhou Hao."
ăInstance: The Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 100%ă
ăPlayer: Wang... Wang... Zzzâă
ăZzzâZzzâă
ăNo way? The main system glitched again?ă
ăWhy is it still glitching after the instance is over? Enough already! If the main god doesnât want to continue, let me do it! I can!ă
ăYou? Youâd probably get countered by the boss instantly and then torn to shreds!ă
Jiang Yan slightly frowned. From the "Hunter's" eyes, he saw a hint of amusement. It seemed he had overlooked something very important... What was it?
ăInstance: The Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 100%ă
ăPlayer: Wang Yu, Escape Failed: Contaminatedă
ăPlayer: Li Xue, Escape Progress 100%: Escape Successfulă
What?!
Jiang Yan's eyes widened in disbelief.
The "Hunter" picked Jiang Yan up as if holding a doll, wrapping him entirely in his embrace. He leaned close to Jiang Yan's ear, his laughter carrying a dangerous undertone:
"Unfortunately, Yan Yan lost.
"Are you ready to accept your punishment, my little sheep?"