After she shoved her liver back into her abdomen, she casually stood up again and continued holding Jiang Yan’s hand to dance. When she saw her skin still stuck to Jiang Yan’s hand, she would awkwardly apologize to him.
At this moment, she didn’t 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 everyone’s mind.
"What’s 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 wasn’t 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:
【Instance: Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 80%】
【Player: Xue Dun, Escape Progress: 50%】
【System NPC: "Hunter", Line error, system BUG, has been promptly fixed.】
After the main system’s announcement ended, the "hunter" subtly shot a glare toward the horizon.
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!]
[It’s 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 instance’s 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 mind—Xue 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 Dun’s 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 appeared—this was Xue Dun’s 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 wasn’t 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 else’s 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 didn’t know why she didn’t argue. She felt... since both he and his mother said so, maybe that was just how it was?
Jiang Yan looked at Xue Dun’s 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, "There’s 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 didn’t 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 hadn’t 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 Dun’s mother.
The family was in an uproar, and several little girls trembled as they huddled together, crying silently in the corner.
Jiang Yan’s 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 didn’t have children; he couldn’t have them, and neither could the other. Jiang Yan’s parents had once asked them if they wanted to adopt two children to make the home livelier.
Later, one day, Jiang Yan’s 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 child’s worldview.
But after all this time, Jiang Yan still didn’t discover anything related to the game copy.
The traces of “rabbit” and “magpie” existed only in the storybooks she read to the children in the bland, almost toxic life of “Bear.”
The book also gave a scene where a little rabbit in the forest couldn’t 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 didn’t persist in moving forward.
Therefore, it didn’t know that the end of the road was home.
While telling this story, her little daughter innocently asked, “Mom, did the rabbit get lost too on the road? Is that why it hasn’t come home for so long?”
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 Li’s corpse.
In fact, it wasn’t just Lei Li’s. Upon closer inspection, beneath Lei Li’s body were two or three other corpses, including Wang Yu, Zhong Yun, and even Ding Wanyu’s.
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 corpses—Zhou Hao and Xue Dun.
If Xue Dun had already died at the claws of “Bear” when they found this road, why was Zhou Hao missing?
No Zhou Hao, but countless dead “Lei Li.”
Aren’t they friends?
663 said that Lei Li entered the game because of Zhou Hao, but they had no intimate relationship, and Lei Li didn’t 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 “rabbit” forgot that it was a “rabbit,” did Lei Li forget that she was Lei Li?
Obviously not.
The “magpie” always remembered that it was a “magpie,” but didn’t everyone always remember that they were themselves?
So, what was forgotten? What was remembered?
At this moment, the scene in Jiang Yan’s mind changed again—Xue Dun brought back a woman with a pregnant belly.
He looked at her, arrogantly pointing to the stranger’s belly and saying, “It’s a son.”
She said she couldn’t get a divorce; her children needed her.
He replied, “Then you take them all. Having a bunch of dependents here is useless.”
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 couldn’t support so many children.
“No!” The woman’s voice was loud and sharp, sounding very harsh. “Didn’t you say you don’t have a wife? Didn’t you say you’re already divorced?”
The 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 Dun’s plan had gone wrong. After the woman went back, she didn’t 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 children’s screams.
“Mommy—!”
She heard her daughters crying, struggling to break free from the man’s grip, desperately comforting her children, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! Baby, don’t be afraid! Be good... go outside, don’t look!”
“Don’t bully my mom!” The older daughter hugged her father’s legs, but the next moment, she was kicked against the wall.
She saw her daughter’s head slam against the wall with a thud, then fall to the ground, unmoving, like a broken doll.
Seeing this, she didn’t know where she found the strength, but she broke free from the man’s 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.
“Hospital!” She picked up her daughter and was about to rush outside. “Don’t be afraid, mommy will take you to the hospital!” 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 neighbor’s door, and the door was opened by a kind elderly woman. The little girl hugged the woman, saying, “Grandma, help my mommy... help my mommy...”
Everyone around knew about their family’s troubles. It wasn’t 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, “Sigh, it’s okay, good child, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
The girl cried until she was out of breath, tugging at the elderly woman, trying to drag her to her own house. “Grandma... please save my mommy....”
The elderly woman thought it was just like every other time, so she only comforted the child to stop crying.
It wasn’t until the little girl said, “Daddy chopped off mommy’s head!” 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 daughters’ bodies, sighing.
"Why didn’t she run? We had reported their family’s issues many times before, trying to get her to divorce, but she refused! Sigh... Poor child who ran out."
Yes, why didn’t she run?
No, why did she even have them in the first place? If they hadn’t come out of her womb, they wouldn’t have been killed by their own father.
Why did she marry him in the first place? After they graduated, didn’t his attitude toward her become more and more impatient?
Why did she meet him in the first place?
“You look beautiful in red.” Back then, she thought his eyes held a light, but now, looking back, the light in everyone’s 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 blood— the little rabbit got lost on the way home.
The “Bear” in front of her 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.
“Thank you.” The woman smiled at Jiang Yan, as if forgetting everything. “The day after tomorrow, we have a social event in our department. Can I invite you to join us?”
Jiang Yan was stunned for a second, then nodded, “I’ll save you a seat.”
“Good!”
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.
“By the way, what’s your major?” The woman turned back and smiled at Jiang Yan, her bright eyes sparkling in the snow.
“Uh... Sophomore, Class 3 of Tourism Management, Jiang Yan.”
“I’m from the next-door class, Class 4 of Finance! My name is Li Xue.”
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, “Li Xue... Li Xue...”
Li Xue was Wang Yu’s girlfriend, and she had been corrupted into a “hunting dog” the previous day. Coincidentally, “Bear” was also named Li Xue.
Of course, “Li Xue” was a fairly common name.
Sweat trickled down Jiang Yan's cheek. The applause of the “Hunter” drew everyone's attention.
“She didn’t eat Yan Yan.” The “Hunter” said regretfully, “I was looking forward to the moment when she would rip open Yan Yan’s stomach, and Yan Yan would beg me for mercy!”
Saying this, he lightly appeared behind Jiang Yan, picking up the tired little lamb from the snow.
“Why is Yan Yan always so stubborn? You would rather dance with such a monster than kiss me,” the “Hunter” 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.
“You have quite a deep misunderstanding, Master,” Jiang Yan replied.
“Hunter”: “.....”
[Shit! What a bold move!]
[Such a reckless fool! The fact that he didn’t die is truly a miracle!]
[I told you Yan Yan wouldn’t die! Excited! My wife is still alive after dancing with the evil spirit!]
[I feel like Li Xue didn’t 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!]
“I spoiled Yan Yan too much,” the “Hunter” said with his mouth, then gently kissed the top of Jiang Yan’s 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 hadn’t 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 won’t come home."
Did he apologize afterward? It didn’t seem like it.
But what was the reason they had argued in the first place?
The "Hunter" pinched Jiang Yan’s face. "The distracted little kitten will be punished."
Saying that, he very childishly squeezed Jiang Yan’s 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 Yan’s face!]
Let him go!! Let me punish him!]
[Honey, didn’t you want to kiss him? Go ahead and kiss him now, Jiang Yan can’t resist, right?]
[...What’s going on? Did the system glitch here? No one’s talking about the plot, all they’re 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, "There’s less than an hour until dusk. I’ll 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.
—
Wang Yu set up his tent again, and inside the tents of the two NPCs and three players, they discussed the contents of Li Xue’s 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 hadn’t 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 couldn’t 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.
"We’ve finished the current side plot. According to the game time, there shouldn’t 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, there’s 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 aren’t. They’re not lovers, not relatives, just ordinary classmates. Why would she enter the game for Zhou Hao?"
"If it were just for fun, she wouldn’t have passed the game’s review."
"To enter the game for someone else—if it’s 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 didn’t you notice?"
"Notice what?"
"In this game, I’m the only one here who’s an indigenous resident of this forest, along with the pile of Lei Li’s 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 Li’s bodies.
Ding Wanyu looked at Jiang Yan with some surprise. This person’s mind was more useful than he had imagined, able to make such connections.
[Jiang Yan didn’t look as dumb as he seemed]
[What do you mean "not as dumb as he looks"? Does Yan Yan look dumb? He’s obviously very smart!]
[He’s not exactly smart, but I’d say he’s calm. In such a tense atmosphere, just danced with a vengeful ghost, and now he can still stay calm enough to reason—this is really not easy.]
[Blowing smoke! Just blowing smoke!]
[Same here. The person upstairs is just jealous. You probably would’ve 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.]
“You’re not dumb at all, are you? You should exercise your brain more often, otherwise, it'll rust,” 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 he’d 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 Dun’s 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 Li’s corpses that he panicked and fled.
Could he have been the one to kill Lei Li?
That didn’t 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 wasn’t a fatal mistake, then what was it? What kind of blood feud could exist between two high schoolers? It couldn’t 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 couldn’t 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 Yan’s hand went into his pocket and touched the card inside, silently sighing.
This was a tough puzzle. He still couldn’t 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 couldn’t catch the "thief," he’d lose points, but if Jiang Yan got caught, he’d lose his life!
Moreover, for his side mission to find "the rabbit" and "Magpie," "Hunter" had warned that if he couldn’t 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.
“Do you guys have any clues about the thief?” Jiang Yan straightened up and asked.
Except for the delirious Lei Li, the remaining three shook their heads.
“Then you can go home,” Jiang Yan said. “The master said, if you don’t find the thief before dusk, but you manage to leave this forest by then, you’ve won the game.”
“The rabbit got lost on the way home, but in reality, it’s always been on the way back.”
“That path should be the small road outside. Dusk is almost here, so follow that road to go home.” Saying this, Jiang Yan pushed Lei Li into Zhong Yun’s arms. “Take her. She probably wants to go home too.”
Zhong Yun held Lei Li tighter. Since the system hadn’t judged her dead, then Lei Li was still alive. Naturally, she couldn’t stay here like the two NPCs.
“But… have you found Magpie?” Zhong Yun hesitated.
“The system said if you don’t get the correct answer, there will be penalties,” 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 couldn’t get out before the "Hunter’s" set time, it would be over.]
[Heh? Kind-hearted? Talking about kindness in "turns"—isn’t that just ridiculous?]
[Shouldn’t people be a little kind? When did kindness become a flaw?]
[Kindness isn’t 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 system’s announcement echoed in the air:
[Side Quest: Sheep’s Forest, Quest Progress: 90%]
[Player: Zhou Hao, Escape Progress: 90%]
“Looks like your friend has already found the way home,” Jiang Yan said, standing up from the tent. “You should be going home now.”
“But you…” Zhong Yun hesitated, looking at the pale young man in front of her.
“What 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!” 663 yelled at Jiang Yan, feeling exasperated.
“Have you ever been told you are pretty loud” Jiang Yan said indifferently.
“You actually think I’m loud?” 663 couldn’t take it anymore. “I’ve been wholeheartedly doing this for your own good! And you treat me like this!”
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 system’s announcement rang out again:
[Side Quest: Sheep’s 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?
“Let’s take a look,” 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 “Lei Li” 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.
“You lost your thing! It's yours!”
“You lost your thing! It’s yours!”
“You lost your thing! It’s yours!!!”
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 “Lei Li” 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...
“Ugh…”
The snow on the ground was stained red, and the smell of blood lingered in everyone’s 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 “care” on her face.
“You know Lei Li, right?” Jiang Yan asked Zhong Yun.
Zhong Yun tightened her hold on Lei Li and hesitated before replying, “We… are friends.”
“Then do you know Zhou Hao?”
“He is Lei Li’s classmate.”
“Can I ask you one more question?” Jiang Yan inquired.
“You can,” Zhong Yun responded.
“Are you a doctor?” 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, “No, I’m a mortician.”
She continued, “The 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 hadn’t died yet; she was still clinging to her last breath.”
“You two came in together?” Ding Wanyu asked, somewhat surprised.
“Yes,” Zhong Yun replied.
So, “Magpie” has always known she was “Magpie”? 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 doesn’t 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 Yun’s reaction was likely because she’s a newcomer player, so she responded to Jiang Yan's goodwill.]
[Agreed. Does anyone seriously think the main system is “benevolent”?]
[Do you think Jiang Yan planned this deliberately?]
“Did you do it on purpose?” 663 asked Jiang Yan in surprise.
“Yes, though I didn’t expect the three of them to know each other,” Jiang Yan replied. “I 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.
“And when Wang Yu saw Zhou Hao recklessly breaking away from the group, he was visibly worried about him.
“This shows they’re not bad people. Good people wouldn’t just stand by and let someone who’s kind to them die because of them,” Jiang Yan said.
“That kind of approach only works with new players,” 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.
“Hey! Lei Li, you dropped something!”
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 didn’t even seem as disgusting anymore, not even to Wang Yu.
Lei Li, who was being held in Zhong Yun’s 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 hasn’t given her any personal side quests.]
Jiang Yan, however, felt that the main system likely hadn’t 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" didn’t need to do so.
Since there was no need, the main system naturally didn’t 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.
“Go home,” Jiang Yan said with a gentle smile. “If you missed this year’s college entrance exam, do well next year.”
“Thank you.”
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, “Do you have the correct answer?”
“I do have an answer, but whether it’s correct or not, I’m not sure,” 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.
The "Hunter" arrived, accompanied by the howls of the "Hunting Dogs."
“You let all your companions leave? So, are you ready to give me the answer now, Yan Yan?” The "Hunter" bent down, locking eyes with his little sheep.
"Who is playing the 'Rabbit' among you?"
"Lei Li," Jiang Yan answered.
【Instance: Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 100%】
【Players: Lei Li, Zhong Yun, Escape Progress 100%: Escape Successful】
"Yan Yan is so smart! Then who is playing the 'Magpie'?"
"Zhou Hao."
【Instance: Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 100%】
【Player: Wang... Wang... Zzz—】
【Zzz—Zzz—】
【No way? The main system glitched again?】
【Why is it still glitching after the instance is over? Enough already! If the main god doesn’t want to continue, let me do it! I can!】
【You? You’d probably get countered by the boss instantly and then torn to shreds!】
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?
【Instance: Sheep's Forest, Instance Progress: 100%】
【Player: Wang Yu, Escape Failed: Contaminated】
【Player: Li Xue, Escape Progress 100%: Escape Successful】
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?"