Blood

Lu Bai didn't answer, casually smoothing out a corner of the bedding.

Seeing this, Gao Pangzi twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Are you playing dumb with me?"

Lu Bai shook his head, "I just think this place is nice."

"As a temporary shelter, this level would satisfy most people."

Gao Pangzi turned and signaled his subordinate to pull the tent flap closed.

Lu Bai acted as if he hadn't seen it, flexing his fingers, "If that's the case, isn't it better to just stay put?"

Hearing this, Gao Pangzi was amused to the point of anger.

"If I don't... hey, holy crap!"

He had only gotten halfway through his provocative words when he saw Lu Bai pull a Brocade-shell pistol from his chest.

Lu Bai pressed the muzzle against Gao Pangzi's forehead and flicked the safety off with his thumb, "Do you want to guess if I have bullets in this gun?"

Gao Pangzi froze on the spot, cold sweat immediately breaking out.

He swallowed hard, forcing a strained smile, "Little brother, don't be nervous, I was just kidding around... just don't let your hand shake."

Lu Bai stared at him with a chuckle.

With a gun to his head, Gao Pangzi immediately backed down, "Cough, if you don't like it, we won't joke around anymore."

Saying that, he carefully retreated back to his own sleeping mat.

Lu Bai couldn't be bothered to pursue it further and put the Brocade-shell pistol back in his pocket.

It was worth mentioning that although the inspection at the main gate was only to check for bite marks.

Lu Bai had only chosen to bring one Brocade-shell pistol for safety, burying his Eight-Sided Han Sword by the roadside.

Now that he had resolved this trouble with the Brocade-shell pistol, he couldn't help but feel proud of his foresight.

Frankly, Gao Pangzi was just an ordinary thug. Even with his larger build, he was no match for Lu Bai.

However, if it came to a real fight, causing too much commotion would be troublesome.

Putting aside how eye-catching it would be to carry a sword around everywhere, the deterrent effect of a firearm was clearly far greater than that of a cold weapon when dealing with ordinary people.

Lu Bai let out a meaningless laugh, then leaned back and lay down on the bed.

He rested his hands behind his head, his eyes half-closed, looking as if he were asleep.

At this moment, no one inside the tent would dare to check if he was actually asleep.

Gao Pangzi and his group huddled together, even their voices lowered unconsciously, so they had no intention of bothering Cui Qing anymore.

Of course, Lu Bai wasn't actually asleep; he was checking his system panel.

The Deathmatch Participant location information released by the system had indeed not been updated yet.

He noticed that after the third announcement, the time interval for the system to release location information had been gradually increasing.

It started with an announcement every two hours, then slowly changed to four hours, eight hours, and sixteen hours.

Now, more than ten hours had passed since the last location update, and there was still no sign from the system.

Because of this, his "hunting" efficiency for Deathmatch Participants over the past few days had been disappointingly low.

The interval time was doubling?

Lu Bai pondered for a moment and exited the system panel.

After all, his ranking was still first, so he wasn't in a hurry.

Putting himself in others' shoes, he estimated that the efficiency of other Deathmatch Participants wouldn't be too high either.

There were no entertainment facilities in the shelter, and in this environment, it felt like even time had slowed down.

"...The more one benefits others, the more one's own Way is advanced. The Way of the Tao is to benefit and not to harm. The Way of the Sage is to act and not to contend."

After Lu Bai recited this more than thirty times, the sky finally darkened.

During this time, Gao Pangzi and his group, with great foresight, helped him get a portion of food. Lu Bai had nothing to say except to praise them for being sensible.

As for Cui Qing, he had been curled up on his bed all afternoon, making no effort to curry favor with Lu Bai, nor showing any intention of reconciling with Gao Pangzi and his group.

Lu Bai also enjoyed the peace and quiet, not resisting the current situation.

"Notification, passage will be prohibited in ten minutes..."

The broadcast sounded again from outside the tent, and the crowd gathered outside chatting quickly dispersed.

Similar to the midday procedure, medical staff in protective suits came and went.

The difference was that this time, the prohibition on passage would last until eight o'clock the next morning.

Since there was nothing to do but stay in the tent, Gao Pangzi and the others chatted for a while before falling asleep.

As time passed, the shelter area gradually quieted down, leaving only the looped broadcast playing at a lower volume outside.

Lu Bai had originally planned to move out under the cover of darkness, but unfortunately, plans couldn't keep up with changes.

The system has been slow to release the location information of the Deathmatch Participants, and if he wanted to act, he wouldn't know where to find a target.

He just lay on the cot, enveloped by the pungent smell of disinfectant, and drifted off to sleep in a daze.

He didn't know how long he slept.

Suddenly, Lu Bai's eyes snapped open, his gaze filled with vigilance.

He smelled a strong, bloody scent that even the disinfectant couldn't mask.

Suppressing the urge to get up immediately, he calmly scanned the situation inside the tent.

The other occupants of this tent seemed to be fast asleep, with Gao Pangzi snoring rhythmically.

Where was the smell of blood coming from? The next tent over?

Lu Bai hesitated for a moment, restraining the urge to go and see.

No matter what, a Deathmatch Participant was still flesh and blood and couldn't possibly confront an organized army head-on.

Entering this temporary shelter meant the rules of the game had changed. The prerequisite for "hunting" Deathmatch Participants was not to expose oneself.

Considering that the killer might not still be in the adjacent tent, and to avoid being mistaken for the killer if he showed up at the crime scene, Lu Bai decided to do nothing. He would find out everything in the morning anyway.

With that thought, Lu Bai lay quietly on the cot, no longer able to fall back asleep.

He didn't have to wait long.

Before dawn, the situation in the next tent was discovered by a patrolling soldier, and soon, the sound of hurried footsteps appeared outside the tent.

Lu Bai closed his eyes, relying on his far-above-average hearing, and quietly listened to the commotion outside.

"Damn it!"

"Hiss~"

Someone gasped.

"Holy crap, what in the world is going on?"

"It's not like someone deliberately spilled fresh blood on the cot, is it?"

Someone even had the nerve to joke.

"How could it not coagulate?"

"Stop with the commentary and figure out what's going on." A calm voice cut off the conversation unceremoniously.

Drip~ drip~

It sounded like some liquid was being wrung out of fabric.

"Company Commander, there are no fingerprints, footprints, or any other traces left in the tent. Although we haven't measured it precisely, I estimate there are a few dozen pounds of blood collected from all over the tent. It feels like enough to take a bath." Someone reported the situation while clicking their tongue in amazement.

"Stop the nonsense!"

That voice remained as calm as ever: "So, the blood of all six people is here?"