Hu Jiu ignored the commotion among the female college students and asked only, "Do you have any more useful clues? Tell me everything immediately, as it will help me catch the mastermind!"
"Clues? What clues? Don't you know magic? Just get to work!" Li Qisi opened a bag of potato chips and said casually, "Conan needs clues to solve cases, why would Fox Immortal need clues? Don't you guys just have a flash of inspiration and figure everything out in no time?"
Tao Wan's pupils contracted in fright. Seeing that the fox wasn't angry and ignored Li Qisi, she cautiously said, "Based on my observations, I have some guesses. The purpose of the Nightmare Game isn't simply to kill people; otherwise, there would be no need to create those rules to protect humans or set up safe zones. Just letting ghosts slaughter people would be too much for us students to handle in a single mission. In fact, although the Nightmare Game's survival dungeons are terrifying and frightening, the mortality rate isn't high."
"Furthermore, Nightmare Game likely has some kind of reward system to lure people in. Some students who have been in the game for a long time have already defected to Nightmare Game, and I don't know what benefits they've received, but they've become traitors, helping to secretly monitor and manage newcomers."
As soon as she finished speaking, Tao Wan's three roommates stared at her in utter shock, seemingly puzzled as to how she knew so much.
The fox flicked its fluffy tail and spoke their minds directly, "You know quite a lot."
Tao Wan smiled wryly, "That's a must. Anyone who encounters this situation would try to gather clues to survive. They can't just keep struggling in this game forever, can they?"
Upon hearing this, her three roommates looked embarrassed. They were just three lazy bums, drifting along and barely scraping by. Was this something to be said?
Comparing people is a recipe for disaster; comparing goods is a recipe for discarding them.
Tao Wan continued, "Actually, if you observe the selected students closely, you'll find that over 90% of them are always frowning, worrying about how long they have left. But there are always a few exceptions. They gradually transform from being frowning to being full of confidence. I hadn't noticed this subtle change before, but there's one girl on our floor whose change is particularly noticeable; I can't Neglect her."
"You're not talking about Liu Qingxuan, the school beauty of this year's class, are you?" Li Qisi suddenly exclaimed.
Tao Wan nodded. "You noticed it too, right? You just didn't think of it that way."
The reason she could immediately tell that Liu Qingxuan had sided with the Nightmare Game was because she herself had a Chang Ghost mother. In a mountain village where sons were valued over daughters, her mother was clearly a woman, but she did not love her daughter who was also a woman. Instead, she tried to stand on the same side as her husband by suppressing and insulting her "rebellious" daughter, in order to please men and gain more benefits and a voice.
Her mother privately cried and complained to her about her father's domestic violence. She and her mother joined in denouncing her father. Unexpectedly, her mother turned around and told her off to her father, claiming that she was unfilial and disobedient to her father and deserved to be punished and beaten.
Tao Wan was deeply impressed by her mother's accomplice-to-the-wicked demeanor and behavior, and could never get over it. So when she saw a similar demeanor in Liu Qingxuan, she immediately became suspicious, even though there was no evidence.
Despite having absolutely no evidence, Tao Wan confidently presented it as a clue, and earnestly suggested, "Fox Immortal, I don't know if my guess is true or false, but you can keep an eye on Liu Qingxuan. She lives in dormitory 317, has long hair, a beauty mark under her eye, and is very beautiful. You definitely won't mistake her."
The fox nodded, indicating that it accepted the offer.
Tao Wan then asked again, "The four of us really won't get caught up in the Nightmare Game again, right?"
"Of course!" the fox answered confidently, and then he left, intending to go to dormitory 317 to see the so-called "traitorous school beauty."
Li Qisi tried to persuade her to stay, but Tao Wan quickly covered her mouth with a blanket.
After the fox left, Tao Wan closed the dormitory door. Li Qisi was very dissatisfied. "Xiao Wan, why did you lure the Fox Immortal away? Don't think I didn't hear it; you clearly did it on purpose, deliberately stirring up a conversation to lead the Fox Immortal to Liu Qingxuan!"
While hurriedly packing her toiletries, Tao Wan said, "Isn't this all to provide useful clues? Since the Fox Immortal asked, how can I hide anything?"
This was clearly a perfunctory remark. The real reason was that she didn't trust the Fox Immortal. The four people in their dormitory were just ordinary college students. If they were accidentally caught in the crossfire while the Fox Immortal was fighting the Nightmare Game, they might die!
Before ascertaining the Fox Immortal's true stance and purpose, Tao Wan dared not easily cling to a powerful figure. If she chose the wrong one, escaping would be difficult. In this situation, the best option was to find a way out of the vortex, away from the focus and core of the conflict, and become an insignificant, invisible passerby to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Tao Wan dared not voice this thought, much less remind her three roommates, because she was afraid that the walls would hear her. On the surface, she would only praise the Fox Immortal, because flattery never fails, and saying nice things would reduce the chances of encountering risks. These were all experiences she had gained from dealing with her tyrannical parents over the years.
"Sisi, your attitude when you were talking to the Fox Immortal was really too casual and presumptuous. Aren't you afraid of angering the Fox Immortal?" another roommate complained softly.
Li Qisi tapped her phone, saying confidently, "He's Fox Immortal, why would he be angry with me? If he were to hold a mortal like me accountable for my petty mistake, how could he be called a spirit? If a god were to stand by and watch someone die, he would surely lose merit and be punished by Heaven’s Retribution, so he would definitely save us!" That's how the spirits in novels, movies, and TV dramas always are.
"Li Qisi, what have you done?" The fourth roommate suddenly exclaimed, glancing at her phone before glaring fiercely at Li Qisi.
"It's nothing, Hu Jiu just posted about the Nightmare Game and the Fox Immortal on Weibo~" Li Qisi said casually, "Before, I was afraid of being erased, so I couldn't tell anyone about the Nightmare Game in any way. Now that I can finally say it, I just have to get it off my chest!"
Her three roommates were completely speechless.
At first, the four roommates had a rather ordinary relationship. It was only later, due to the appearance of the Nightmare Game and the pressure of survival, that they clung to each other for warmth and their relationship improved a lot.
At this point, the external pressure to survive seemed to have disappeared, and the small group in the dormitory didn't immediately fall apart, but conflicts immediately surfaced.