Yang Chaoyu mustered her courage and sent MN a text message: Could we request to become an alliance with Qi Yang and Ke Xingyun, and share clues and scores?
The other party seemed to have been waiting all along, replying instantly.
【MN】 Request denied.
Yang Chaoyu froze and held up her phone for Ke Xingyun to see. Ke Xingyun let out a tearful whimper, his eyes brimming with tears. If he had not been holding down Qi Yang's powerful patron, he probably would have rushed over to hug Yang Chaoyu's powerful patron.
“Dad...”
His nose had turned slightly red from crying, and he looked as pitiful as an abandoned puppy.
“For the sake of that title, I won't leave you behind.” Yang Chaoyu lovingly patted his head.
“I'll keep a close eye on him.” Completely immersed in his role, he rubbed against her palm, tears falling one by one. “Dad, we're counting on you.”
Yang Chaoyu: “You don't have to keep calling me Dad...”
Ke Xingyun paused, then tentatively called out, “Mom?”
Qi Yang endured the pain and rolled his eyes at him.
Yang Chaoyu: “Don't. That title is too strange.”
He had only wanted to take advantage of her at the time, but after hearing it for so long, it was still...
“Then... Big Brother!”
“I'm clearly a girl. Why can't you call me big sis?”
Ke Xingyun: Because you made me call you Dad, so I thought you liked being addressed as a male big shot?
But his instinct for survival made him keep his mouth shut, and he said instead, “big sis's imposing aura rises three meters high, with ten thousand zhang of light shining behind her, blinding her younger brother.”
Yang Chaoyu: Fine, that's certainly obsequious enough. Also, crying this sorrowfully will make me think I'm never coming back. Please stop setting ominous flags.
This was the first time Yang Chaoyu had been entrusted with such an important responsibility, and she was somewhat nervous.
“Bang!”
The tremendous sound was especially jarring in the middle of the night, as if someone had kicked open a locked door.
Yang Chaoyu soothed Ke Xingyun for a few moments and promised that she would not leave them to fend for themselves before heading back. Zou Qing had collapsed beside the door of 1302, covering her ears and desperately trying to make herself smaller as she sobbed hysterically. Yang Chaoyu had no time to comfort her. She stepped into the room and looked inside.
In the living room, the old man stood sideways, facing the two bedrooms hidden in darkness.
When he saw her enter, he asked, “Did someone get their leg broken?”
Yang Chaoyu nodded. Feeling that he knew something, she was about to ask him a few questions when he waved his hand.
“That fellow just kicked open the door to the bedroom on the left. You can follow him in and take a look.”
That was not what Yang Chaoyu wanted to ask, but when she saw the old man bend down to lift the sofa cover, she felt that it was not the right time. She walked over to the damaged door.
The door was half open, and the lock was completely broken.
The baseball cap was searching through something. When he noticed Yang Chaoyu approaching, he slipped an object into his pocket.
This was a child's room, with many adorable animal stickers covering the walls. Beside the door stood a large bed covered with pale blue sheets, while opposite the bed was a very large wardrobe.
Yang Chaoyu could not help taking a few more looks.
For a child, the wardrobe was indeed rather large.
But then she thought that the people living here were either rich or influential. It was normal for a child to have more clothes, which showed that her parents loved her dearly.
The room's window was also very large, facing the neighboring building. But with no light, it was only a pitch-black silhouette. Beneath the window was a desk, completely empty.
The baseball cap was standing beside the desk.
Yang Chaoyu asked, “Did you find anything?”
He nodded toward the desk beside him. Yang Chaoyu was still somewhat wary of him, so she edged over to the window, keeping herself facing him as much as possible, and quickly glanced at the desk.
It was an ordinary desk, but the cabinet beneath it had four wheels and could be pushed and pulled.
The cabinet had three drawers. Two had been pulled open a crack, while the top one was tightly shut. Yang Chaoyu guessed that the top drawer might require a key.
Just as Yang Chaoyu was thinking this, she heard a soft chuckle.
She turned to look at the baseball cap.
He seemed quite interested as he sized Yang Chaoyu up and asked, “You really are too trusting.”
?
Yang Chaoyu did not understand.
She waited for a while, but the man continued looking at her without saying a word. She confirmed that he had no intention of sharing information, and that his earlier actions had apparently been meant to mislead her.
She held back her frustration and was about to crouch down to search for herself.
He grabbed Yang Chaoyu by the arms and said in a low voice, “In this game, those who trust too easily die young.”
Yang Chaoyu thought he was referring to her trusting Ke Xingyun.
She said blandly, “That's still better than being cold-blooded.”
After the other party had pleaded with her like that, what would she be if she refused him, if not cold-blooded? Although it might also have something to do with being too trusting, she could not bring herself to be ruthless and reject him. Besides, this was the first time anyone had relied on her so completely...
His eyes, concealed in the darkness, stared at Yang Chaoyu for a long time like a beast lurking in the shadows. Yang Chaoyu felt her skin crawl beneath his gaze and wanted to leave, but then he said, “Someone was injured or killed during the first time period. For the next thirty-five minutes, we'll all be safe. In the meantime, why don't we exchange some information?”
She asked, “What first time period?”
His mask shifted slightly as he said, “MN's livestream missions are divided into three types: large-, medium-, and small-scale time-period missions. Small-scale missions usually last three to six hours and are mainly about finding one or several objects. An injury or death event is triggered once during each time period, though the trigger is unpredictable. But as long as someone is injured every hour and no one else deliberately seeks death, everyone will remain safe.”
A chill rose from the soles of Yang Chaoyu's feet and shot straight to her heart.
“And how did you find that out?” Yang Chaoyu asked as she backed away.
“Little fool, obviously because this isn't my first mission.”
He tilted his head slightly, allowing the moonlight to illuminate the brim of his cap. They were an exceptionally beautiful pair of eyes, shaped like willow leaves—long, narrow, and deep, with slightly upturned outer corners. His eyelashes were thick and dense, covering nearly half his eyes and giving him a deeply affectionate look.
Whether because of the moonlight or the angle, a hint of gold shone through his black pupils.
Just looking at those eyes, one could practically see his pride overflowing.
Yang Chaoyu swallowed and could not help asking, “So what exactly is this MN thing? Aren't ghost monsters things from novels and stories? Weren't we told that nothing could become a spirit after the founding of the country?”
The man laughed again, his eyes curving into little crescents. “You can't be so greedy. I shared two pieces of information with you, but you don't plan to give me anything at all?”
He stood with his arms folded across his chest.
Yang Chaoyu thought for a moment, then told him the information she had obtained from the driver.
He said, “Oh,” then added, “You're pretty lucky.”
Yang Chaoyu asked whether he had found any clues.
But he only smiled and said, “Little fool, I don't give clues away for free.”
Yang Chaoyu thought for a moment before asking, “One of my teammates is injured. Can I leave the game? What is the punishment for elimination?”
“Go find the answers to those questions yourself. There are two time periods left, so you'd better think about how you're going to survive. Also, pay attention to your livestream interface.” As he spoke, he strode outside.
Yang Chaoyu took out her phone and looked at MN's text message. She sent over her earlier questions, hoping to obtain some information from the other party, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea—there was no response at all. Recalling what MN had said about the livestream, Yang Chaoyu hesitantly tapped the MN icon, and the screen immediately changed into the livestream interface.
The Livestream Room actually had dozens of spectators. The newest comments were all speculating about how long the person with the broken leg would survive.
Afterward, someone posted a comment.
Lemon Spirit: “I just came from the neighboring room, where that stay-at-home Young Brother is. He's been telling incredibly awkward jokes the whole time. Hahaha... Somehow, they hit a cute spot.”
Yang Chaoyu's heart jolted. She spoke to the livestream, “Can you contact the police and an ambulance? This is Liutang Residential Complex.”
The Livestream Room fell silent for a moment before a comment floated up.
Apple core: “Oh ho, Sandao older brother is really bad. He guided a newcomer into triggering a death condition.”
Next came another comment.
Pear pastry: “I'm calling all my friends over to watch this young lady seek death!”
After that, the Livestream Room suddenly exploded with activity. The viewer count surged exponentially, reaching nearly a thousand in just a few seconds. The screen began to lag, and comments flooded past at high speed. Most of them said they wanted to witness the overseer slaying a woman to attain enlightenment.
Yang Chaoyu felt a chill spread through her heart and thought to herself: What is going on?