After simply cleaning up the scene, Fang Dian called the police. Afterwards, she and Bai Liu borrowed Mu Sicheng’s heavy-duty motorcycle, put the unconscious Lu Yizhan on the back of the bike and put on her helmet. She then took a step forward with her long legs, waved her hand, and prepared to ride back.
Du Sanying looked at the injuries on Fang Dian and Lu Yizhan from a distance, and reminded them fearfully: “Well, how about asking Mr. Bai Liu to call a taxi for you? Don’t ride a motorcycle, it’s not safe…”
Bai Liu glanced at the motorcycle expressionlessly, then looked at Fang Dian: “When did you learn to ride a heavy motorcycle?”
Fang Dian turned around to put a helmet on Lu Yizhan who was lying on the back seat. Hearing this, she looked up and laughed, “I haven’t learned it, but I often ride a Hello Bike to work, so it should be similar!”
Bai Liu refused calmly: “It’s a long way off, get down here.”
Du Sanying’s face cracked, and he screamed madly in his heart – Mr. Bai Liu, why do you have the nerve to say that about others!!
Isn’t this exactly the same as what you said before?
Fang Dian sighed with regret and stared at Bai Liu for a while. After making sure that Bai Liu would not let her ride, she got off the motorcycle with a feeling of regret. After getting off, she touched the motorcycle and said, “If I hadn’t been caught this time, I wouldn’t have had the chance to see the racing scenes in the movies. It’s so cool to drive a heavily-armored motorcycle…”
Bai Liu said, “I’ll lend it to you when I have the chance.”
Fang Dian’s eyes lit up: “It’s a deal!”“I’ll call a car to pick you and Lu Yizhan up later.” Bai Liu said, “Send me a text message to let me know you’re safe after you get back.”
Fang Dian made an OK gesture, then helped Lu Yizhan to the side and waited.
Bai Liu paused and said, “Don’t you want to know why you were arrested? It has something to do with me.”
“I can see that. I’m not stupid.” Fang Dian leaned on the motorcycle with her legs crossed, tilted her head and smiled. “But you didn’t seem to want to say it, so I didn’t ask.”
Bai Liu was silent for a moment: “I’m sorry…”
Fang Dian raised her hand to interrupt Bai Liu: “Hey hey hey! No need!”
She smiled as generously as always: “It’s still the same old rule. You implicated me once, so you owe me a favor. I’ll use the motorcycle you lent me to pay it off. There’s no need to apologize. We can just settle the debt between us.”
Fang Dian smiled brightly: “Are you busy with some team competition recently? I haven’t seen you here for a long time.”
Mu Sicheng and Tang Erda’s expressions changed, and they subconsciously glanced at Bai Liu.
Bai Liu’s expression remained calm: “How did you guess that?”
Fang Dian touched his chin and said, “You usually work for money, and you are short of money after being laid off. Old Lu will not let you do anything illegal. The fastest way to make money legally in the short term, apart from gambling, is generally through various competitive games.”
“And…” Fang Dian pointed at the people around Bai Liu, crossed her arms and smiled, “These are all unfamiliar faces. I haven’t seen them before. Are they your teammates?”
Bai Liu hummed.
Fang Dian still smiled: “It seems that you get along well with them. Bring them to my house for dinner sometime.”
Bai Liu lowered his eyes for a long time and agreed.
The taxi that Fang Dian called arrived quickly. Fang Dian supported Lu Yizhan, who was not yet fully awake, waved goodbye to Bai Liu then got in the car and left.
As soon as Fang Dian left, Mu Sicheng couldn’t help but ask, “Is she a game player?”
“No.” Bai Liu looked at the taxi’s back as it drove away.
Mu Sicheng was puzzled: “But what she said just now was too accurate?”
Bai Liu retracted his gaze: “She guessed it.”
Mu Sicheng couldn’t believe it: “If she wasn’t a player, she just met us once, how could she guess so accurately?”
Bai Liu was silent for a while and then said, “When we were in high school, Lu Yizhan and I played Gobang, various competitive games, and horror games with her. We never beat her once in three years.”
“So far, I have never won a game against her.”
Inside the taxi.
Fang Dian leaned against the car window, yawned lazily, stretched out her foot and kicked Lu Yizhan next to him: “Okay, stop pretending, Bai Liu can’t see it, open your eyes.”
Lu Yizhan slowly opened his eyes and leaned back in his seat in silence.
Fang Dian didn’t look at him, her eyes fell far away outside the window: “Bai Liu has changed a lot. When he was in high school, he was so lonely and could only play with you and me. Now he has so many new friends and can play games with him…”
“Hopefully he’ll have fun.”
Fang Dian smiled, she turned around and rubbed Lu Yizhan’s head vigorously, smiling brightly: “Of course, Old Lu, you too.”
“Y’all gotta have fun!”
Lu Yizhan slowly opened his arms, tightly hugged Fang Dian’s waist, and buried his face in them.
Fang Dian gently pushed aside Lu Yizhan’s hair and kissed his injured forehead: “Whether it’s you or Bai Liu, it’s not worth it to be sad because of something like a game that is supposed to make people happy.”
Lu Yizhan took a deep breath and hummed muffledly.
The taxi drove along the remote and desolate road towards the bustling city center, and there was no one in the empty driving training ground behind it.
In-game.
Bai Liu took Mu Sicheng and the others to log into the game, went to the gathering place of the Wandering Circus Guild first, and went straight to the lounge.
Mu Ke, Liu Jiayi and Wang Shun were already waiting there.
“The result of the last game of the Fanatic Lambs is out.” Wang Shun looked at Bai Liu and exhaled, “They won, and their betting pool has expanded again. Just now, your viewing pool was recalculated, and the result is number 9.”
“Your match with the Fanatic Lambs will be held at Viewing Pool No. 9.”
Bai Liu nodded: “I understand, let’s go now.”
Viewing Pool No. 9.
Kong Xuyang sat on the edge of his seat with a gloomy face. Next to him stood a few injured bikers who didn’t dare to look up.
“You said that your sneak attack on Bai Liu failed?”
Kong Xuyang folded his hands on his knees, trying to put on an air of authority, but the shame of failure made his face twisted, and he asked with a ferocious look:
“We have successfully ambushed the best tacticians in this game. Bai Liu is just a laid-off worker who was fired by the company at the age of 24. He is a loser. How could you lose to him in real life?!”
Kong Xuyang kicked a biker on the knee and shouted angrily: “Waste, a bunch of waste!”
“I brought you into the game, supported you in a life of luxury, and used props to clean up your messes, and this is how you repay me?!”
“I told you to split up into two groups, and not a single one of you succeeded?!”
These speedsters stood there as if they were walking on thin ice, not daring to even breathe.
Kong Xuyang was about to kick again when he saw that he could no longer control his temper. Bai Liu came over with his teammates and took their seats. He looked at Kong Xuyang, nodded and greeted him, as calm as if nothing had happened.
Just like the tricks Kong Xuyang had played before, Bai Liu didn’t care at all, and it didn’t have any effect on him. Everything Kong Xuyang did was like a clown, not worth mentioning in front of Bai Liu.
Bai Liu’s calmness completely angered Kong Xuyang.
Kong Xuyang stood up suddenly, but he finally controlled himself. He sat down with a distorted face, staring at Bai Liu with sinister eyes. Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, his expression softened a lot, revealing a sinister smile, and mouthed: “Bai Liu, you can outrun the first day, but not the fifteenth.”
Bai Liu raised his eyebrows slightly.
More and more people gathered in the viewing pool, and everyone’s eyes were focused on the large TV screen in the center. The screen slowly lit up, and a line of words appeared on it:
[System Alert: Singles competition is about to begin.]
[System Alert: Wandering circus member (Rose Hunter) vs. Fanatic Lamb member (Hairy Fish)]
When the list came out, the audience was shocked:
“What’s going on? Isn’t it Kong Xuyang?”
“Hasn’t he always been fixed in the singles position?”
“Who is this hairy fish? I’ve never seen it before?”
Wang Shun was also surprised: “In order to increase his exposure, Kong Xuyang has always been fixed in the singles position. Playing singles is the easiest position for the audience to remember and the easiest to become a star player.”
“He actually gave this position to Hairy Fish, a reserve player who has never played? Why not let the regular players play?”
Wang Shun frowned in confusion: “What does Kong Xuyang want to do?”
“Send him out for sacrifice.” Bai Liu stared at the big screen intently. “Kong Xuyang should know that I will let Captain Tang compete in the singles match, so he knows that he will most likely not win the singles match. Even if he has the skill of [Silent] to freeze the panel, Captain Tang’s physical fitness is also very good.”
“That’s right.” Wang Shun pondered, “Captain Tang can beat Kong Xuyang to quit the game with just his bare hands.”
“There is no one on his team who can beat Captain Tang, so he just uses a reserve player for this position.” Bai Liu glanced at Kong Xuyang’s face, “It seems that he is going to play a doubles match.”
Wang Shun was startled: “Our doubles competition has always been you and God Mu.”
Bai Liu hummed calmly: “He probably just wants to take the initiative to confront me.”
Wang Shun looked at Bai Liu with concern: “Bai Liu, Kong Xuyang’s tactical style is very cruel. He likes to freeze the opponent’s panel and then torture and tease the opponent slowly. Can you do that?”
Bai Liu looked at Kong Xuyang across from him and said, “I’ve experienced it, and I think it’s just average.”
[System Alert: Wandering Circus member (Rose Hunter) won the singles match, finished the game in advance, and accumulated 2 points]
After Tang Erda logged out, he sat next to Bai Liu. A new line of words appeared on the big screen in the middle of the viewing pool, and Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng stood up.
[System prompt: Doubles match is about to begin.]
[System prompt: Wandering Circus member Bai Liu, Mu Sicheng vs. Fanatic Lambs member Kong Xuyang, Silent Lamb]
The whole audience erupted in huge cheers. This was a doubles match that brought together popular tacticians from both sides.
Before logging into the game, Kong Xuyang hypocritically walked up to Bai Liu and shook hands with him, saying with a fake smile: “Bai Liu, do you know why my team is called [Fanatic Lambs]?”
Bai Liu smiled and shook hands with him, then asked, “Is there any story behind this?”
Kong Xuyang couldn’t help but grin, “Because our team’s trump card is a lamb.”
Bai Liu said with a long tone, “Is it [Fanatic Lambs]? I remember this player died unfortunately in last year’s mid-season tournament.”
Kong Xuyang’s face twisted for a moment, then he smiled again: “No, it’s a brand new [Lamb], [The Silence of the Lambs].”
Bai Liu shifted his gaze to the team member standing behind Kong Xuyang.
The man looked young, about twenty-five or twenty-six. He was wearing a motorcycle helmet and staring at Bai Liu. There were scars on his face. His eyes and face were round. The hair on his temples grew lushly all the way to below his ears. His nose and lips were protruding, and his cheekbones were retracted, like a lamb.
Judging from the wounds and the motorcycle helmet, this man obviously participated in the previous siege of Bai Liu, but Bai Liu couldn’t remember where this man had appeared in an instant.
Bai Liu lowered his eyes and saw what this lamb-like team member was holding in his hand.
——A white and red fabric bow hair tie.
This is something square.
Kong Xuyang laughed sinisterly: “Do you feel that this person did something very wrong to you, but you can’t remember who he is?”
“Because his skill is to make you forget who you are.”
“Just wait for me to torture you, Bai Liu. You will regret having the guts to confront me. But it’s too late to tell you this now.”
After Kong Xuyang finished speaking, he smiled, withdrew his hand, turned around and walked towards the login point.
Bai Liu looked at the Lamb team member following Kong Xuyang, retracted his gaze, turned around and walked towards their login point with Mu Sicheng.
[Silence] + [Silence of the Lambs]…
That can indeed be considered a killer weapon.
[System Alert: Players Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng have logged into the game (Yinshan Village)]
Bai Liu opened his eyes.
Before his eyes was a desolate hillside of shrubs. Dense trees and bamboo forests shaded the dirt road. All around were fields where rice had just been planted. The green rice and swaying weeds on the ridges were so green that they were eye-catching.
There was an abandoned pond and a well filled with emerald green duckweed ahead. Bai Liu looked up and saw houses built on the hills. Smoke rose from the chimneys. Green mountains were in the distance and there was a light rain. It was quite peaceful, like a paradise.
[System Alert: It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and pedestrians on the road are heartbroken]
[Player’s identity: You are a local gangster on your way back to your hometown, Yinshan Village. You haven’t been back for many years, but not long ago you received a notice from a national archaeological team saying that your village had unearthed a century-old tomb that is unique and has great mining value, and it is right below your home.]
[The archaeological team wanted to excavate the ancient tombs under the houses, so they had to demolish the houses in the village, and they needed the consent of the household owners. But it happened that the few elderly people left in the village accidentally fell from the mountain when they climbed the mountain to worship their ancestors three days ago during the Qingming Festival, and they fell into the pond and drowned.]
[Your grandmother happened to be among the elderly people who drowned. All of your grandmother’s other relatives are gone, so the ownership of the house naturally fell to you, the grandson who has not returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors for decades.]
[Your ostensible purpose for returning to Yinshan Village this time was to pack up your things, keep vigil for Grandma on the seventh day after her death, and take over the house, but secretly, you had some ulterior motives.]
[The main quest of “Yinshan Village” is activated: survive until the archaeological team arrives to take over the ancient tomb.]
[“Yinshan Village” side quest activated: Explore “your” purpose. ]
Bai Liu took a step forward and there was a strange sound under his feet, like paper breaking. He looked down and saw that it was a white, round piece of money for the afterlife with a square hole.
Bai Liu paused, then turned his head and looked back along the paper money.
The paper money floated all the way from here, from the abandoned pond, all the way to Bai Liu’s way home up the mountain. The pieces of paper were faintly trampled into the mud. If Bai Liu hadn’t paid special attention, he would not have noticed the paper money that had been soaked and softened by the rain.
Bai Liu looked up at the dilapidated village swaying in the mountain rain, and saw the smoke rising from every household.
“Ahhhhh——” A trembling male voice came from far behind Bai Liu.
Bai Liu turned around and saw Mu Sicheng running towards him with tears streaming down his face as if his butt was on fire. Then he grabbed Bai Liu’s arm tightly and didn’t move. He was gasping for breath, and his face was pale with fear.
“Bai, Bai Liu…” Mu Sicheng’s voice trembled as he collapsed and screamed, “This is actually a Chinese horror game! I’m freaking afraid of Chinese horror games!”
Bai Liu raised an eyebrow: “Are you afraid of ghosts?”
“I’m not afraid of ghosts!” Mu Sicheng retorted in a timid tone, “I’m afraid of Chinese horror games. Don’t you think Chinese horror games are much scarier than those zombies and monsters?”
Bai Liu saw that Mu Sicheng was really frightened, so he changed the subject: “Did you find anything?”
When Mu Sicheng heard Bai Liu ask this, he swallowed nervously and said stiffly: “…Look behind you, look at my footprints.”
Mu Sicheng was wearing a pair of sneakers. The footprints left on the muddy road after the rain were very obvious. Even the size and brand on the soles of his feet could be seen. A series of footprints on the road clearly connected from the vicinity of the pond to Mu Sicheng’s feet.
Bai Liu looked at the footprints and said, “I see.”
Mu Sicheng closed his eyes, and the hand holding Bai Liu’s arm trembled slightly: “…Look carefully.”
Bai Liu looked more carefully this time. He stared at the shoe prints for a while and then found something wrong.
Behind each of Mu Sicheng’s shoe prints there was a small inverted triangle footprint, very light, as if something was holding Mu Sicheng’s shoulders, standing on tiptoe and following him step by step.
Moreover, the size of the footprints is wrong. It is not the size of a human footprint at all. It looks more like… the footprints of a paper man buried with the dead.
“I always felt like something was following me…” Mu Sicheng took a deep breath, “Then when I turned around, I saw a paper bride’s face smiling strangely. Then my footprints were wrong. There was one more.”
Bai Liu retracted his gaze: “Have your health and spirit values decreased?”
Mu Sicheng shook his head.
“Then don’t worry about it for now.” Bai Liu looked at the village from afar, “Let’s go into the village first.”
Mu Sicheng only took a glance at the village, his face turned pale again, he tightly grasped Bai Liu, and slowly turned his head to look at Bai Liu: “…Wait.”
“You’ve read the player identity introduction, right?” Mu Sicheng pointed at the faint smoke still rising from the village, his face darkening, “Yinshan Village is already a dead village. The last few elderly people alive were drowned three days ago. There’s no way anyone would light a fire and cook in this village.”
“What’s with all this smoke?”
Bai Liu looked over and said, “I noticed it, but I have to go over to find out who is making the fire and cooking, right?”
“I guess it’s made for the paper figurine that follows you as a burial object.”
“You’re still f*cking scaring me!” Mu Sicheng couldn’t hold it back and almost burst into tears, “Are you really not afraid at all?”
Bai Liu smiled: “It’s okay.”
——————————————
Xiu’s Notes: Couldn’t decide if i wanted to directly translate ‘Hairy Fish’ or keep it as ‘Mao Yu’ but decided to just directly translate it. It sounds so funny in English LMAO.
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