Because Luo Yu had voluntarily left the group, Sun Heng couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated and displeased.
After all, he had been trying to win Luo Yu over while also admiring the attitude and skill she displayed when analyzing clues.
…She was truly far superior to Yang Tian, who only knew how to pose and look pretty.
Sun Heng stayed silent, and the other players, who had been shouting for blood, suddenly had no idea what to do.
They had been brash, proclaiming, “Better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let one escape,” but after being mocked by Luo Yu, they felt their behavior might have been inhumane.
The monster disguised as Brother Fat grew even more optimistic, begging for mercy with heartfelt tears.
It seemed its life was not destined to end.
Speaking of which, these players were really foolish, driving away the only person who had deduced the truth.
That person named Luo Yu…
A murderous glint flashed in Brother Fat’s eyes.
She was a threat; once the current danger was over, he would join his companions to eliminate her.
In the end, no one had the resolve to abandon the captured players to die, so after the farce, they released the captives. Pressed for time, they hurried back to the teaching building.
On the surface, the player team seemed largely unchanged, except for Luo Yu’s departure. In reality, once the seeds of suspicion were sown, the undercurrents of distrust between them could no longer be contained.
At noon, the players gathered again, everyone present, including those falsely accused of being monsters in the morning.
For monsters, leaving the group at this moment would be tantamount to confessing, so they preferred to lurk among the players.
For the small number of innocent players who had been mistakenly targeted, leaving the group would only make them appear suspicious as monsters. Without the protection of the team, they would die faster.
Of course, Sun Heng did not grant the “suspects” equal rights with the relatively innocent players.
Although the players still discussed and acted together, the others closely monitored the “suspects,” keeping them at the center of the group and restricting their every move.
With a long lunch break ahead, the players decided to investigate the small grove.
This was thanks to Yang Tian, who had obtained information from the Dorm Supervisor.
Yang Tian wasn’t particularly talented otherwise, but she was perceptive. She sensed Sun Heng’s coldness toward her immediately after pushing Luo Yu away, so she played her trump card.
“Because I happened to be the last one back to the dorm, I might have met the trigger condition…”
“The Dorm Supervisor casually mentioned something that most people would ignore, but I was clever enough to notice…”
“I observed carefully. Compared to those students, the Dorm Supervisor’s behavior has always been normal. She’s definitely not on the monsters’ side…”
To highlight her role, Yang Tian described how difficult and convoluted it was for her to obtain this information.
This not only increased her credibility but also subtly weakened the influence of Luo Yu’s argument.
According to the Dorm Supervisor, the school’s secret lay in the small grove. The danger they faced might be wild wolves rather than monsters capable of replacing normal humans.
The small grove was dense with shrubs. Even at noon, sunlight failed to penetrate the trees.
The moment the players entered, the darkness and eeriness of the grove startled them, sending chills down their spines.
Something strange was definitely going on. They trusted Yang Tian more and dismissed Luo Yu’s warnings.
“Hmph, maybe there aren’t any monsters at all,” one player thought.
He was one of the normal players who had been nearly mistaken for a monster and almost died in the game because of Luo Yu’s words.
Among the group, his vigilance toward “monsters” was the lowest; in fact, he barely believed they existed.
Soon, fog began to rise in the grove.
The player kept his head down, following the footprints ahead, paying little attention to his surroundings—until…
The footprints abruptly stopped.
He looked up in terror and realized he could see no other players, surrounded on all sides by the gray mist.
Had he become separated from the main group? How could this happen?
He forced himself to search the fog but couldn’t spot a single person.
Instead, he faintly heard the distant howls of wolves.
It was noon—why were wolves howling now?
The player froze at the illogical occurrence, and fear quickly rose within him.
This was a survival game. Anything illogical could happen in a survival game!
For the first time, the player had a clear understanding of his situation.
Until now, he had treated this survival game like an adventure, even imagining leveling up and dominating the game.
But now…
Frantically searching the grove, he accidentally stepped into a swamp, half his leg sinking in.
“Damn it.” His movement restricted, the player finally panicked, struggling to pull his leg out while shouting, “Hey, anyone there? Brother Sun!”
No one responded, while the wolf howls grew closer.
Suddenly, something touched his shoulder.
A wolf?!
“Ah—” He screamed, only to have a hand clamp over his mouth the next second.
“Shh, it’s me. Don’t scream, or you’ll attract wolves.”
At first, the player struggled, but upon hearing the voice and realizing the hand belonged to a capable human, he calmed down.
He turned to look behind him, eyes lighting up. “Brother Fat, is that you?”
He felt grateful to Brother Fat; if not for him pleading for mercy earlier, he might already be dead.
Brother Fat smiled gently. “Bro, I’m here to help.”
“All right, all right.” The player grabbed Brother Fat’s hand, using his strength to push himself out of the swamp.
The wolf howls ceased.
“Thank you so much, Brother Fat. Without you, I really couldn’t have gotten out.”
Brother Fat remained silent, still smiling. Even after pulling the player free, he didn’t let go of his arm.
“Yeah,” Brother Fat sighed faintly, “falling into the swamp would have made it inedible. Wouldn’t that be a waste?”
“Yeah, yeah.” The player agreed, but then felt a chilling realization, eyes widening in horror.
“You… Brother Fat…”
“You actually really…”
“No, no, no, don’t eat me…”
…
In the girls’ dormitory, Luo Yu was resting at noon, sipping an iced cola.
The cola had been handed to her by the Dorm Supervisor in the lobby. As for her rest… There was nothing else to do, and she didn’t want to return to the teaching building to be surrounded by a group of obsessive students, so she stayed in the dorm.
On her way back, Luo Yu noticed Brother Sun’s group had gone to the small grove. She had considered warning them but decided it might be presumptuous and let it go.
The small grove gave her a strange feeling—neither dangerous nor exactly safe.
Just looking at it from afar made her heart pound, images of mist, moonlight, and lantern-carrying figures flashing through her mind.
It was as if she had dreamed of it before.
“Fizz, fizz, fizz—”
Her iced cola was finished. Luo Yu climbed off the bed and tossed the plastic cup into the trash.
Most students had returned to the teaching building after lunch, so the dormitory was nearly empty.
But as Luo Yu threw away the trash, she paused.
Near the dormitory door, she heard someone seemingly crying in the hallway…