Xu Nan wasn't surprised. He immediately let Xu Jiawei in.
"What do you need me to do this time?"
Xu Jiawei said nothing.
Her lips were pressed together. This was the first time Xu Nan had seen her in such a bad mood.
Xu Jiawei tossed him a bundle. Xu Nan opened it and found food and thick clothes inside.
Xu Jiawei said, "The Village Chief is taking everyone to watch the sea fishing in a bit. Slip away in the confusion, and don't come back to the Guesthouse."
Xu Nan froze for a moment. "What do you mean? You want me to stay outside? Don't the rules say we have to stay in the rooms with our names on them?"
Xu Jiawei swept a scornful, knife-sharp glance over him. "An idiot is always an idiot... There is no such rule. It was a lie to fool them. Did you get sucked into the act too?"
She lit a slim women's cigarette and took an anxious drag.
"Shao Lan is far too difficult to deal with. He probably hasn't uncovered the whole truth yet, but I think he's close."
"Qin Ning is a problem too. She's too good a fighter, and she doesn't trust anyone." Xu Jiawei sighed. "Even worse, I've noticed those two keep disappearing together and coming back together."
Xu Nan couldn't help asking, "What does that have to do with you trying to send me away now?"
Xu Jiawei said, "I need you to take the fall."
"What?!"
Xu Jiawei remained calm in the face of Xu Nan's outrage.
"We have to hand Zhang Fang over to the Village Chief by tomorrow at the latest," she said. "There are barely any NPCs in this Instance. If two players disappear one after another, do you think someone as smart as Shao Lan won't realize there's a traitor among the players?"
Xu Nan said, "You mean..."
"Rather than wait for him to get suspicious, we should give him a suspect first." Xu Jiawei pointed at Xu Nan. "That's you."
"You're already a prime suspect in Song Liru's disappearance anyway. If you disappear along with Zhang Fang tonight, I can pin both incidents on you."
"Wait, what? Why do I have to take the fall?" Xu Nan demanded angrily. "I'm not doing it!"
"Fine." Xu Jiawei nodded.
Xu Nan faltered.
"I don't have time to argue with you," Xu Jiawei said coldly. "You can stay, but then it'll be your job to kill Shao Lan and Qin Ning. Can you do that?"
That left Xu Nan completely stumped. "I..."
He wasn't capable of that.
"We're a team. If you can't handle the complicated work, then at least do your part with the simple work." Xu Jiawei took a drag and said nothing more.
After a moment of silence, Xu Nan agreed.
"I have only one requirement: don't let them find you, unless you're dead." Xu Jiawei sighed. "Go."
Qin Ning walked alone along a dark path.
About five minutes earlier, she had noticed someone following her.
The person's footsteps were very quiet. When Qin Ning walked faster, the footsteps sped up; when she slowed down, they slowed with her.
The trees cast deep shadows, and the bushes were dense. Every time Qin Ning looked back, she saw no one.
She paused, then continued forward.
Suddenly, a rustling came from the bushes ahead and to one side.
A dark figure darted out of the bushes, slashing a knife at Qin Ning's face!
Qin Ning jerked backward, steadied herself, and kicked at the figure.
A heavy thud sounded in the darkness. The figure went flying, then scrambled up and fled into the bushes.
Qin Ning gave chase.
The bushes grew denser and denser. Night had fallen completely, and the wind roared in her ears.
Qin Ning stopped.
Reason told her she couldn't keep chasing. The area was full of rough trails leading who knew where, and there was no light at all. Getting lost would be extremely dangerous.
Qin Ning retreated to the original path, recalling the figure she'd just seen.
She estimated the person was around 1.7 meters tall and on the thin side. Their head and face had been wrapped in cloth, leaving only a narrow gap. In the darkness, she couldn't make out who it was at all.
Among the players, only Xu Jiawei and Xu Nan matched that build.
"Qin Ning!"
Qin Ning looked up at the voice and realized she had reached the area near the Guesthouse. Xu Jiaojiao and Xu Zijian stood ahead.
Xu Jiaojiao jogged over and affectionately linked arms with Qin Ning. "Where did you go, Qin Ning?"
Qin Ning discreetly shook off Xu Jiaojiao's hand. Knowing she was reserved, Xu Jiaojiao didn't mind. "The Village Chief wants everyone to watch the sea fishing. Let's go together."
Qin Ning hesitated for a moment.
Then she remembered that Shao Lan had asked her to keep Xu Jiaojiao and Xu Zijian occupied.
"All right," Qin Ning said. "Let's go together."
Qin Ning joined Xu Jiaojiao and Xu Zijian, and they walked slowly toward the shore.
They waited by the sea for quite a while before Xu Jiawei arrived.
"Why is it just the four of us?" Xu Jiawei looked around. "Where's Shao Lan?"
Xu Jiaojiao said, "I don't know. Zijian and I only found Qin Ning."
Xu Jiawei's searching gaze settled on Qin Ning's face. Qin Ning calmly shook her head. "I don't know."
Xu Jiawei sounded doubtful. "You don't know either?"
"Why would I know?" Qin Ning said. "We weren't acting together."
Xu Jiawei tugged anxiously at her hair. "The thing is, Zhang Fang is missing. I just told Shao Lan I was going to question Xu Nan, but it turned out Xu Nan was missing too."
"What?" Xu Jiaojiao said. "Xu Nan took Zhang Fang away?"
"I'm not sure either. I wanted to wait for Shao Lan to come back and discuss what to do." Xu Jiawei's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, there's Shao Lan."
A figure on the shoreline grew larger as it approached. It was Shao Lan.
"What took you so long?" Xu Jiawei asked anxiously. "I was about to go looking for you."
"A child couldn't carry the fishing gear, so I helped out." Shao Lan gave a faint smile.
His head was indeed covered in sweat, and he looked as though he had just finished some physical labor.
"We haven't even dealt with our own problems, and you still have time for that," Xu Jiawei chided. "Xu Nan and Zhang Fang are both missing. Should we send some people to look for them?"
Shao Lan shook his head. "Let's watch the sea fishing first."
"Watch the sea fishing?"
"Yes. It's so dark now, and we're surrounded by mountains. There's no way to find one or two missing people," Shao Lan said. "Even if we search, we should wait until daylight."
His reasoning made sense, so Xu Jiawei could only nod. "All right."
She sat down close beside Shao Lan. On his other side sat Xu Zijian, followed by Xu Jiaojiao, with Qin Ning beside her.
They were on high ground overlooking the beach below.
The moon suddenly emerged from the clouds, brightening their surroundings. White waves rippled across the sea.
The fishing boats by the shore were ready. Children arrived one after another, carrying fishing gear and buckets of bait.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'll catch lots of big fish this time and make fish soup for my sister when we get home, to help her get stronger."
At the sound of the voice, Shao Lan looked into the distance.
Sure enough, the speakers were Xu Xiaohong and Xu Gao.
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