Novice Uninhabited Village (11)

Ji Xun fell silent for a moment. Apart from Lu Jiancheng, whose expression was still fairly normal, all the players were suffering varying degrees of psychological collapse.

They had been dragged without warning into a bizarre world, with deadly threats everywhere and chilling, terrifying monsters all around.

Zhao Fu's death had been the spark that lit the fuse, unleashing all their unease and fear.

Ji Xun knew he could not be too harsh on these flesh-and-blood humans. Lowering his eyes, he said, "I'll stand guard outside. You have an hour to let it all out. After that, I'll come back and tell you what I found underwater."

He paused, then continued, "The fact that you entered this game means none of you wanted to die. But if you don't pull yourselves together, you might end up just like Zhao Fu. I can protect you for now, but you may have to face the deaths of other teammates in the future. When that happens, you'll only have yourselves to rely on. You don't want Zhao Fu's sacrifice to mean nothing, do you?"

With that, he pushed the door open and stepped into the courtyard. Tang Cha's muffled sobs drifted out from the room.

The scorpions outside grew restless again at the sound, but they only dared to cower in the corners. Not one dared charge at him.

"Is your hand all right?" Lu Jiancheng followed him outside and asked with a frown.

Ji Xun looked at his constantly trembling hand and shook his head to indicate that he was fine.

He had originally intended to clear the game one step at a time, but in that situation, he had been unable to control himself.

So after he killed that group of monsters, his new boss had taught him a little lesson for upsetting the game's balance. Now he did not even have the strength to lift his hand, let alone wield a blade.

That also ruled out forcing his way through the rest of the game.

Lu Jiancheng felt around in his trouser pocket but found no cigarette pack. He took a deep breath and said, "When I first saw you on the bus, I thought you were some kind of deranged murderer. Didn't expect to get you wrong. Thanks for what you did for Zhao."

Ji Xun gave a low chuckle. In a sense, Lu Jiancheng's guess had not been wrong.

Lu Jiancheng saw a scorpion poke its head out, only to yank it back the moment it spotted Ji Xun. He scoffed. "What a fucking mess. Feels like a dream. Even these damned things pick on the weak and cower before the strong."

When Ji Xun continued to ignore him, Lu Jiancheng began talking to himself. "Wonder if little Tang Cha can pull himself together."

Ji Xun suddenly spoke, but rather than respond to that, he asked, "How did you die?"

Lu Jiancheng gave him a long, unreadable look, then smiled self-mockingly and said with forced nonchalance, "Beat someone up, then got hit by a car while I was running away."

What Lu Jiancheng left unsaid was that the man he had pinned to the ground and beaten had just abused his younger sister. Yet his pregnant sister had begged him not to hurt her husband. At that moment, Lu Jiancheng had felt like a clown.

He was furious that she would not stand up for herself, but he could not bring himself to say anything cruel to his pregnant sister. So he had stormed out of her home, only to be struck and killed by a drunk driver on his way out.

That was why he had said on the bus that the people he hated most were scumbags, especially those who hit women.

Ji Xun asked, "What were you thinking right before you died? Were you scared?"

Lu Jiancheng thought for a moment, then said firmly, "Nothing to be scared of. I was just worried there'd be no one left to protect my sister, and her in-laws would have her completely under their thumb."

The two fell silent again. Before long, a faint rustling came from the door behind them.

Sniffling, Tang Cha poked his head out from behind the door. His eyes were red as he said to them, "Guys, come inside first. It's not safe out there."

Though the players had not yet pulled themselves out of their breakdown and despair, their emotions were much steadier than before.

Tang Cha moved closer to Lu Jiancheng and asked, "Lu, was the car that hit you a white SUV, over on Kangning Road in J City?"

Lu Jiancheng asked in surprise, "Don't tell me you were hit too?"

Tang Cha nodded vigorously, clenching his fists in anger. "I'd just received my acceptance letter and was thrilled. Who knew that drunk would come charging at me in his car? Then I didn't know anything anymore. Before I lost consciousness, all I could think was that I had to let my mom see my acceptance letter for herself."

Ji Xun said quietly, "Maybe that's what brought you into the game."

Tang Cha found that convincing and asked the others, "What about you? Ah... never mind if you don't want to talk about it."

Zhou Yang hesitated for a moment before Xin Xin gave a bitter smile and answered, "Neither of our families accepted us as a couple. His parents disliked how mercenary and calculating my family was, and my parents hated how his family acted like they were above everyone else. So we..."

The dinner where their parents met had ended on bad terms. Once the young couple went home, they had faced their parents' adamant opposition.

So the two of them had made the most foolish decision of their lives.

Xin Xin's voice choked up. "Right before I died, I felt I'd let Zhou Yang down terribly, and both our families too."

Zhou Yang pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on the crown of her head, and closed his eyes briefly. "Without me, someone like Xin Xin could have married a man a thousand times better than me," he said sorrowfully. "Why should she have had to die with me?"

Xin Xin tilted her face up and smiled. "Isn't the same true of you? You graduated from a prestigious university and come from a scholarly family. Why did it have to be me?"

Tang Cha wiped away his tears. "Boohoo-another day of being moved by beautiful love!"

Fang Rui lowered her head and smiled. "I don't have much of a story. I just stayed up too late and died suddenly. If I had any lingering regret, it was probably that I'd kept myself shut up at home for work and never really seen the world."

Seeing everyone's eyes turn to him, Ji Xun paused and said, "I was fired."

Tang Cha's mouth fell open. "So you couldn't make ends meet and starved to death, Ji? That's awful, that's so awful."

Ji Xun pressed his lips together, then glared at him. "You annoyed me to death."

Tang Cha's interruption made all the players burst out laughing, easing the gloomy atmosphere considerably.

Ji Xun took the opportunity to tell them what he had discovered at the bottom of the river.

"That child is the third villager."

The drowned corpse looked horrifying. Since the fish at the bottom of the river had gnawed on the child, he looked even more frightening.

The corpse lay flat on the earthen bed. One of his feet had been stripped entirely to the bone, while the other still barely retained its shape. Water kept dripping from him, and before long, a small puddle had collected on the bed.

Tang Cha was wondering whether this was where the water stains that appeared every night in the side quest had come from.

Sure enough, Ji Xun said, "He's A-Fei."

Grandpa Jin's son, A-Fei, had been the only one of the children who disappeared back then who had never returned.

No, perhaps he had returned.

Whenever night fell, a dripping figure would crawl out of the river. Dragging his ruined body, he would stagger toward his home, one step at a time.