Carnivore (XV): Doubts

When Qi Si followed Zhu Ling and Zhang Licai back to Granny Su's residence, Yang Yundong's group had not yet arrived.

The pale sun hung far away on the distant western horizon, almost swallowed by the mist. Before it could fully submerge into the white fog, the vast expanse of mist seemed like rice paper wiped with a damp cloth—thinning, fading, and dispersing inch by inch.

The boundary of West Village was like an ancient relic suddenly unsealed, though the substance forming the blockade did not simply vanish into thin air. The clouds surged away like wild horses, weaving a maze of fog along the road to the east of the village, with gray-white smoke rising steadily.

Qi Si stepped over the threshold, his gaze landing on the corner where Lu Keliang's corpse had originally lain.

The freshly dead body was now nothing more than a bare skeleton, not a shred of flesh remaining, as clean and smooth as if it had been licked clean by a pack of carnivorous beasts.

The surface of the skull gleamed with a fresh, milky-white luster, shining brightly in the twilight glow. Even Qi Si, who was accustomed to bone-based art pieces, could not help but whisper a soft sigh: "Truly beautiful."

He watched for a moment before stepping closer.

Zhou Yilin was sitting beside the skeleton, silently wiping away tears. Hearing footsteps, she began to sob: "I wanted to move Uncle Lu to a different place... I don't know how it ended up like this..."

Qi Si let out an "oh," reined in his wandering thoughts, and walked toward the depths of the residence, treading across the parched earth.

Granny Su happened to be coming out of the main room with a cheerful smile.

Even though he was certain this old woman had been dead for a long time, Qi Si maintained his usual expression and asked politely, "May I ask if there is a place here to wash up?"

Granny Su froze.

Then, she heard the young man before her say, word by word: "I want to take a bath."

Ten minutes later, Qi Si stood in the woodshed, finally having stripped off his shirt and trousers, which were stained with mucus and dust, and submerged himself in a wooden tub filled with hot water.

He scooped up water and poured it over his head, his vision blurring and clearing through the droplets.

In a daze, he saw his own eyes, veiled by a layer of film, and his soft facial contours, which lacked distinct lines. A sense of alienation sprouted from the depths of his mind. He subconsciously raised a hand to touch his face; the sensation was cool.

"Chang Xu, you don't have a change of clothes, do you? I found some in the room..." Zhou Yilin's timid voice came from outside the door. "I've placed them on the window frame for you."

His train of thought interrupted, Qi Si paused for a second, then lowered his eyes and said with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble."

Hearing Zhou Yilin's footsteps fade away, he rose from the tub, reached out to pick up the seemingly clean white shirt and black trousers from the window frame, gave them a shake, and silently pulled them on.

As he moved, his fingers seemed to touch something. Frowning, Qi Si pulled out a slip of paper tucked inside the clothing.

The slip was made of the same material as the Travel Guide, with a deep, black ink stroke drawn across it, its meaning indecipherable.

A clamor of voices rose outside the door; it must have been Yang Yundong and the others returning.

Qi Si squinted, pushed open the woodshed door, and immediately saw Yang Yundong in the center of the courtyard carrying the Tattooed Woman on his back, his face dark and gloomy.

On the way back to the residence, there was no longer a need for defense, so Yang Yundong had taken over from Zhao Feng to carry the Tattooed Woman. He hadn't shown much fatigue throughout the journey, though his eyes carried a clear trace of sorrow.

"We couldn't get in," he said in a low voice. "The Ancestral Hall door is locked; they say it only opens in the morning."

Zhao Feng, following behind, nodded to confirm the former's words.

Compared to when they were at the Village Chief's House, the Tattooed Woman's physical mutation had worsened. Her legs hung limply, dangling against Yang Yundong's waist like the tentacles of a mollusk, dripping flesh-colored mucus.

She was already delirious, mumbling incoherent nonsense like "I'm not afraid of you people," unaware of what she had encountered in the depths of her Nightmare.

She was visibly beyond saving, but the human species always liked to perform futile, excessive resuscitation on their companions to find peace of mind.

Yang Yundong dragged a stool from the dining table to the corner and leaned her body against it.

The package containing the God Meat, which Zhang Licai had carried back, was placed in the same corner. Yang Yundong used a Pu Saber to slice a piece of God Meat and held it to her lips.

She muttered "I won't eat" and turned her head away, her teeth clenched tight.

Qi Si noticed that a faint black smoke lingered around the woman, identical to what he had seen on the papyrus in the Rose Manor instance.

He blinked, and his vision returned to clarity; the black smoke was gone, as if it had been an illusion.

"Dinner is ready, come and eat!" Granny Su shouted at the top of her lungs.

She swayed her body as she brought out vegetarian dishes from the small kitchen next to the woodshed.

The players gathered toward the dining table in silence. After a day of twists and turns and witnessing the death of a companion, no one could remain indifferent.

After everyone was seated, Qi Si looked at Granny Su and said, as if casually: "A-Xi seems to really like meat. He even ate a piece of my companion this morning... Could it be that you usually starve your grandson?"

Granny Su's expression turned ugly.

She looked at the emaciated boy beside her, exchanged some unknown message with her eyes, and when she looked up again, she was incredibly firm: "Our A-Xi does not eat meat."

The corners of Qi Si's mouth curled up into a mocking, biting smile: "Don't deny it. If he doesn't eat meat, what was he doing when he took it?"

"I don't know, and it has nothing to do with you." Granny Su's tone was unkind as she pulled A-Xi away from the table.

The remaining players stared at each other in silence.

Qi Si rubbed his chin, looking innocent and slightly disappointed.

He had laid out the verbal trap, but he hadn't expected the NPC to refuse to take the bait. It seemed that obtaining key information from Granny Su would not be simple.

Ignoring Yang Yundong's questioning gaze, Qi Si acted as if he didn't see it, helped himself to a portion of crown daisy, mixed it into his fragrant rice, and buried his head in his meal.

Although the food was, strictly speaking, cooked by a dead person, the craftsmanship was simply too good to resist.

To Qi Si, there was no difference between the dead and the living; he was happy to take advantage of his time in the instance to improve his diet.

After a brief lull, Zhu Ling reacted and clearly recounted the clues the three of them had found in the Village History Museum, while also mentioning their speculations about the world-building.

Without a doubt, most of the background story and world-building were clear, leaving only two points of uncertainty:

First, what is the purpose of Su Village accepting travelers played by players?

Second, what do the villagers want with the players' meat?

Zhou Yilin hesitated, whispering, "After you all left, I found something in the main house. I don't know if it will be of any use to you."

She pulled a booklet that looked like a ledger from her bosom, placed it on the table, and gently flipped it open.

On the title page, the word "Atonement" was written in red ink, the characters clawing and sprawling in a particularly hideous manner. The subsequent pages were filled with dense lists of names.

The names on the first few pages all began with the surname "Su," and most had been crossed out in red ink. Qi Si looked at the final eleven names.

--They were the titles the eleven players had given during their self-introductions.

Among them, the names Lu Keliang, Wu Heng, Zhu Dafu, and Allen each had a fresh red mark across them, clearly crossed out only a short while ago.

Zhang Licai craned his neck to look, and upon seeing his own name, his expression turned ghastly: "That old hag Granny Su truly has no good intentions. Is she trying to kill us all here?"

Qi Si did not take the bait.

He thought of the photograph he had found in Room 2 on the third floor during the previous instance.

It had similarly marked the life and death of players, and was similarly filled with the malice of wanting to slaughter every last one of them.

In the last instance, Annie had made a deal with a god: as long as she kept all the guests in the manor, she could restore her sister Anna's beauty.

So, what about this instance?

"Only Granny Su knows the specific situation, but she won't tell us," Yang Yundong exhaled a breath of stale air.

Feeling restless, he stood up, dragged the bundle containing the God Meat from the corner to the table, and used his Pu Saber to divide it into pieces of roughly equal size.

He placed four pieces of meat in front of each person, then bundled up the remaining God Meat and tossed it back into the corner.

"If you still need more, take it yourselves. Remember, you cannot eat too much God Meat; eating too much will lead to trouble." Yang Yundong scanned the group, his tone brooking no argument. "Tomorrow morning, we will go to the Ancestral Hall together to take a look."

No one responded; everyone's eyes were more or less stained with exhaustion.

Zhang Licai muttered under his breath, "Two more died today. I'm afraid it might be my turn to die tomorrow..."

Hearing this, Yang Yundong sighed: "Everyone has seen our rate of attrition. I suspect the minimum number of survivors for this instance is one. If we don't decipher the worldview, we will die until only one person remains to clear the stage."

The worst-case scenario had its own grim logic, and whispers began to ripple across the dining table.

After a while, players began to voice their agreement one after another.

"I'll listen to Brother Yang!"

"The Ancestral Hall is all that's left; we have to go check it out no matter what!"

"Then it's settled!"

Qi Si had no intention of joining the discussion. He silently collected his portion of God Meat, picked out a smaller piece, popped it into his mouth, and swallowed.

The other players clamored for a while before also cautiously picking out God Meat from their portions to eat, as if afraid that if they ate too slowly, they would encounter that terrifying hunger from last night again.

Three people died on the first day; theoretically, one or two people had taken extra God Meat...

Qi Si scanned the room, but the players all looked normal, showing not the slightest clue.

He merely smiled as if he didn't care, said "I'm heading off," and left the table.

He returned to his room and stopped beside the desk.

The title page of the travel brochure placed on the desk no longer bore the original four lines of poetry; they had been replaced by new sentences:

[Two shall not dwell in the house, enter the hall but be not alone]

[Mourn not the newly dead ghosts, for when sins are erased, why weep?]

I'm sorry to have made everyone worry about me. Today, I went to a large hospital to consult with specialist doctors regarding the surgery. The doctor said that at my age, the recovery rate is very high, and things aren't as bad as I imagined. The doctor is very responsible; upon learning of my situation, he recommended that I go to a larger, more professional hospital for the surgery, and I have to rush there this afternoon... I have received everyone's well-wishes. I cannot reply to them one by one, so I would like to express my gratitude here collectively! (The previous chapter was blocked and is currently being appealed for release...)