"Greed": He Must Be Well-Versed in Some Aspects of Psychology
Xu Xi waited for a while and saw that no one had touched their chopsticks. The village chief and his wife both began to show a hesitant expression on their faces.
He didn't want to wait any longer.
Whether it's poisonous or not, let's try it first and see.
Under the astonished, curious, or thoughtful gazes of the five players, Xu Xi picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and began to eat.
After seeing that the Young Man in a Hoodie had finished his dishes and taken a bite of rice, and seemed to be fine, the others waited a little longer before starting to eat.
After some players tested the poison, they felt relieved. Besides, the Dungeon lasted for three days, and they couldn't possibly go three days without eating.
After taking a bite, the group paused for a moment.
It was indeed quite delicious, with a unique flavor reminiscent of rustic farm-style dishes.
Seeing that the masters had recognized her skills, the village chief's wife's smile became more genuine again.
Village Chief Zhu his wife and grandson to go to the kitchen to eat first, while he stayed behind.
"I've had all the houses in the village that were burned down repaired. Why don't you gentlemen stay in those houses?"
"Are there no other empty houses in the village?" the Man in a Suit asked.
"Yes, there is, but... it's not very auspicious."
Although people died in both cases, one was only affected by the spread of the fire, while the other was haunted by a vengeful ghost.
How can the two be the same?
The village chief suddenly realized that his considerations seemed to have underestimated these wise people.
"Please forgive me, esteemed individuals. I didn't mean to distrust you; I simply..."
Seeing the village chief's tone become awkward, the Man in a Suit smiled and reassured him, "We understand Village Chief Zhu's good intentions; anywhere is fine for us."
The village chief relaxed. "Haha, I underestimated you experts. With your help, that vengeful ghost will surely be eliminated."
Listening to Village Chief Zhu's obviously clumsy flattery, Xu Xi, who was listening intently to their conversation, even felt a sense of shared empathy for his awkwardness.
"The accommodations I've arranged for you all are all close together, three houses in a row. They've already been cleaned, and you can each stay in two households."
At this moment, the man in the baseball cap suddenly looked up and said, "Can't we live together? Your houses look pretty big."
Village Chief Zhu hesitated for a moment, then explained in a low voice, "I don't really recommend that all the experts live in one household. After those villagers died mysteriously, apart from those who were working away from home and never returned, their family members also died one after another. Not a single one survived."
The baseball cap shut up.
Let's live separately then.
Otherwise, what if something goes wrong and all the players are wiped out in one fell swoop?
"No problem," the Man in a Suit readily agreed. "I wonder if Village Chief Zhu has anything else to say? We'll go check on things in the village after we finish eating."
Seeing how proactive these experts were, Village Chief Zhu believed them even more and said happily, "It's nothing. You can come to my house for meals for the next three days. If you need any help, you can also come to me. I may not have any great abilities, but at least the villagers respect me as their village chief."
"Okay." The Man in a Suit nodded. "We won't hesitate to help you if needed."
After Village Chief Zhu went to the kitchen, the Man in a Suit glanced around at everyone and smiled, "What are everyone's thoughts on this Dungeon?"
The Young Man in a Duckbill Cap was the first to reply, "It's obvious that the truth isn't that simple; this village chief is definitely hiding some information."
Once someone started, the rest of the people followed suit and shared their thoughts.
The Young Woman in a Long Dress hesitated for a moment, then said, "But I feel like he genuinely believes it's the ghost of Awang's mother causing the trouble."
The Curly-Haired Woman gently stroked her hair. "Maybe he's just acting; his acting is so good he fooled us all."
To avoid being overheard by the village chief's family in the kitchen, the group spoke in hushed tones.
"And don't you guys think... the villagers in this village seem pretty good?" The Young Man in a Duckbill Cap stroked his chin. "They don't look like they're haunted by evil spirits at all."
This is something that everyone finds very strange.
"The village chief also told us not to reveal our identities... Surely the villagers don't know there's an evil spirit in the village?" But the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap immediately shook his head, denying his guess. "That doesn't make sense either. Wasn't the rumor that Awang's mother turned into a vengeful ghost to take revenge on the village spread by the villagers themselves?"
The Young Woman in a Long Dress chimed in, "This must be related to the information the village chief is hiding."
The players discussed it at length, but didn't come up with anything useful.
"Currently, there are almost no clues, and we can't determine the conditions for clearing the Dungeon. But since the village chief has given us three days to complete the 'exorcism,' it's very likely that something will happen after three days, which has created a sense of urgency in the village chief."
The Man in a Suit first shared his thoughts, and seeing that everyone had quieted down, he then offered his suggestion.
"The way to clear Dungeon is basically inseparable from Dungeon background, the so-called truth, and what we need to do is find clues to uncover the truth."
"There's still some time before dark. We can each go into the village to gather information, and then meet up at Awang's house in half an hour. After all, Awang's mother is a key figure mentioned by the village chief, so we definitely need to talk to her son. Finally, we should try to get back to our temporary lodging before dark."
No one objected to the suggestion; it was a reasonable one.
Xu Xi they had already expressed all her thoughts, Xu Xi remained silent.
The players had no appetite for the food; they quickly ate a few bites to fill their stomachs, then asked the village chief for Awang's address. After discussing it, the six of them each chose a direction to investigate.
--
The Production Team "Shining Players" program.
Looking at the scattered figures of the players in the Livestream Room, Song Yan spoke up at the right moment, "It seems that the players have already made some initial plans. I wonder what the two experts think of this Dungeon and the current performance of the players?"
Cao Hongbo and Ge Ying exchanged a glance.
Ge Ying smiled and said, "Teacher Cao, you go first."
Cao Hongbo nodded politely to him, then commented, "There's too little information about this Dungeon yet, so I can't figure anything out. However, the players all have their own distinct personalities, especially the man in the suit; he has good social skills and decent leadership."
"And our player for today's live stream— Xu Xi —needless to say, I specifically watched his first three Dungeons before coming to this Production Team. Judging from the third Dungeon, he must be well-versed in some aspects of psychology."
"While none of the other players dared to touch their chopsticks, Xu Xi was the first to test the food for poison. He wasn't being reckless; he knew the dishes on the table were most likely normal."