"Greed": Do You Have Any Gold?
To Xu Xi's surprise, the "villagers" did not attack him.
The other person was an old man in his fifties or sixties. Apart from his slightly bluish complexion and dirty clothes, there was nothing strange about him.
However, Xu Xi did not dare to be careless.
The old man stood there staring intently at him. After two seconds, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you have gold?"
Gold?
Xu Xi was completely confused.
What's the problem?
The old man just stared at him intently, seemingly determined not to give up until he got an answer.
Xu Xi didn't know what to answer, so after thinking for a moment, she simply asked in return, "Why are you asking this?"
Do you have gold?
"It's none of my business whether I have it or not."
Do you have gold?
No matter what Xu Xi replied, the old man only repeated the same question, and showed no sign of wanting to hurt anyone.
It seems the only answer is either yes or no.
Xu Xi herself didn't have much gold, so she tentatively replied that she didn't.
"You really don't have any gold?" The old man's expression immediately turned sinister, and he asked again in a chilling tone.
It seemed that if Xu Xi still answered no, the old man would start acting strangely.
To be honest Xu Xi did hesitate for a moment because of the old man's behavior, but in the end he still firmly replied no.
Sure enough, the old man remained the same and did not go berserk.
He stared at Xu Xi for a while, unwilling to give up, before turning around and walking towards the next house.
Shortly after, the familiar knocking came from next door. It was the same routine: a few knocks, no one answered, then they moved on to the next house.
Xu Xi had already noticed out of the corner of his eye that the room opposite had been quietly opened a crack while he was talking to the old man, clearly indicating that the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap was observing the situation from inside.
Seeing that the old man had left, the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap opened the door and came out.
He showed no remorse for hiding himself and leaving his teammates to face danger alone in critical moments; his face was full of honesty and openness.
"Sorry, buddy, I'm a little scared of dying, so I'm hiding."
For the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap, preserving his own life is the most important thing in a crisis in the Dungeon, and he might even turn on his so-called teammates if necessary.
Besides, it was the Young Man in a Hoodie who opened the door.
Xu Xi didn't say anything. Even though he hadn't experienced many Dungeons, he knew that this kind of attitude was actually the norm in Dungeons.
The Young Man in a Duckbill Cap wasn't embarrassed at all; he simply repeated his earlier guesses that he hadn't had a chance to voice.
"I suspect that the old man targeted us because of the lingering pungent, fishy smell on us."
"Whether it's because of this or not, I think it's necessary for both of us to take some measures."
"I suggest you take a shower later, and tomorrow morning we'll go to the village chief to get some wood ash or something to get rid of the smell on your clothes. There should be plenty of that in the village."
Xu Xi saw that this person's guess was pretty much what she had guessed, and even considered how to remedy the situation, which sounded quite reasonable, so she didn't refute it.
He closed the door and was about to go back to his room to take a shower when he heard the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap ask hesitantly behind him, "Dude, do you have some kind of life-saving Item?"
Xu Xi paused, turning back to look at the seemingly innocent and curious young man.
"I just saw how easily you opened the door. I wouldn't dare to be so brave if I didn't have the confidence," the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap said with a smile.
"So?" Xu Xi raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"
The Young Man in a Hoodie in front of me didn't look very old, but his eyes, as calm as the deep sea, seemed to be able to see right through people's hearts.
The Young Man in a Duckbill Cap felt a sudden tightening in his chest. He pretended to have just realized what had happened and immediately apologized, his face showing just the right amount of remorse. "I'm sorry, I was being rude. I shouldn't have asked such an inappropriate question."
Xu Xi gave an ambiguous "hmm" and turned to go back to her room.
The remaining Young Man in a Duckbill Caps stood there for a while before leaving.
--
[What's with that baseball cap? I can understand him hiding in his room, after all, it's human nature to do that in a life-or-death situation, but why did he chase after Xu Xi afterwards asking if he had any life-saving Item?]
[This kid doesn't look like a good person.]
[He wouldn't think that Boss Xu Xi has Item and wants to steal it, would he?]
[The prophet in front has been killed.]
I know that Xu Xi has some kind of Item, but I'm not sure if it's something that can save his life.
[Xu Xi dared to open the door directly because he had observed other details and knew there was no danger in opening it. Look, that old man only asked one question, got the answer, and left.]
It's strange, really. Why did that old man linger in front of Xu Xi's door for so long, looking like he wouldn't give up until he got through?
[Could it really be because it smelled like the wheat field?]
[I don't think so, it's too far-fetched. They didn't stay there for very long, and that little bit of smell would probably have evaporated by the time they got to Awang's house.]
[Not necessarily. This is Dungeon world; things exceeding normal limits are not unusual.]
Why isn't anyone saying they were poisoned by the Production Team? Don't forget how the previous players died.
[Damn, that makes sense. Those players earlier were definitely being targeted by weird and inexplicable forces.]
I'm voting for the Production Team; they definitely pulled Production Team.
[Stupid Production Team, come out and take the blame!]
Song Yan, Cao Hongbo, and Ge Ying looked at each other in bewilderment as the barrage of comments suddenly became agitated.
Even the three of them began to wonder if the Production Team's superstitious methods were finally taking effect.
As for commentary and analysis?
Forget it, what's the point of letting them evaluate this?
--
Early the next morning.
The six people gathered at the village chief's house for breakfast.
At the dinner table, the Man in a Suit glanced discreetly at the two young men, Young Man in a Hoodie and the Young Man in a Duckbill Cap, sitting diagonally opposite him.
There was a knock on the door last night, but it left after a few knocks.
Upon hearing this, everyone slowed down their eating.
The Young Woman in a Long Dress and the Curly-Haired Woman exchanged a glance.
"They knocked on our door too, just a few times and then left."
The Young Man in a Duckbill Cap glanced at Xu Xi, who was leisurely eating breakfast, and briefly recounted what had happened last night.
The others were surprised by the Young Man in a Hoodie's bold behavior and had some guesses, but they didn't show it.
"It's hard to say whether you were affected by the smell. The smell should dissipate naturally, and you didn't stay near the wheat field for long."
The Man in a Suit thought about it for a moment, but still had reservations about the possibility.
"But an old man who only asks 'Do you have gold?'... Obviously, the villagers know that this old man knocks on doors at night, and they should also know his identity."