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 stepped 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, but I often ride a Hello Bike to work, so it should be similar!"
Bai Liu refused calmly. "It's a long way. Get down."
Du Sanying's face cracked, and he screamed madly in his heart—Mr. Bai Liu, how 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 reluctantly. 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 from 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 after you get back so I know you're safe."
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 her chin and said, "You usually work for money, and you're short of money after being laid off. Old Lu won't 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 into 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 isn't a player and only 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 her. "Okay, stop pretending. Bai Liu can't see you now. 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 people to play games with…"
"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 against her.
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 being sad over something like a game that's supposed to make people happy."
Lu Yizhan took a deep breath and hummed muffledly.
The taxi drove along the remote and desolate road toward the bustling city center, leaving the empty driving training ground behind.
In-game.
Bai Liu took Mu Sicheng and the others to log into the game. They first went to the gathering place of the Wandering Circus Guild and headed 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 twisted his face. He asked with a ferocious look, "We 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 twenty-four. He's 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 into two groups, and not a single one of you succeeded?!"
These speedsters stood there as if walking on thin ice, not daring to even breathe.
Kong Xuyang was about to kick again when he realized he could no longer control his temper. At that moment, Bai Liu came over with his teammates and took their seats. He looked at Kong Xuyang, nodded, and greeted him as calmly as if nothing had happened.
Just like the tricks Kong Xuyang had played before, Bai Liu didn't care at all. They had no effect on him. Everything Kong Xuyang did was like a clown performance, 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 expression, staring at Bai Liu with sinister eyes. Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, his expression softened, revealing a malicious smile. He mouthed silently: "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 appeared, 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 him 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 way for the audience to remember a player and the easiest way to become a star."
"He actually gave this position to Hairy Fish, a reserve player who has never played before. Why not let the regular players go?"
Wang Shun frowned in confusion. "What does Kong Xuyang want to do?"
"Send him out as a 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 lose the singles match. Even if he has the skill [Silent] to freeze the panel, Captain Tang's physical fitness is also very strong."
"That's right." Wang Shun pondered. "Captain Tang can beat Kong Xuyang out of the game with his bare hands."
"There is no one on his team who can beat Captain Tang, so he simply used a reserve player for this position." Bai Liu glanced at Kong Xuyang's face. "It seems that he plans to focus on the doubles match."
Wang Shun was startled. "Our doubles team has always been you and God Mu."
Bai Liu hummed calmly. "He probably wants to confront me directly."
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 handle that?"
Bai Liu looked at Kong Xuyang across from him and said, "I've experienced it before. 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: A doubles match is about to begin.]
[System Prompt: Wandering Circus members Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng vs. Fanatic Lambs members Kong Xuyang and Silent Lamb.]
The entire audience erupted into huge cheers. This doubles match brought together the 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 his hand. "Is there a story behind it?"
Kong Xuyang grinned. "Because our team's trump card is a lamb."
Bai Liu said thoughtfully, "Fanatic Lambs… I remember that player died, unfortunately, in last year's mid-season tournament."
Kong Xuyang's face twisted for a moment before 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 at his temples grew thickly down to below his ears. His nose and lips protruded slightly while his cheekbones were retracted, giving him the appearance of a lamb.
Judging from the wounds and the motorcycle helmet, this man had obviously participated in the previous siege against Bai Liu, but Bai Liu couldn't recall exactly where he had appeared.
Bai Liu lowered his eyes and noticed what the lamb-like team member was holding in his hand.
—A white and red fabric bow hair tie.
It was something square.
Kong Xuyang laughed sinisterly. "Do you feel like this person did something very wrong to you, but you can't remember who he is?"
"Because his skill makes you forget who he is."
"Just wait for me to torture you, Bai Liu. You'll regret having the guts to confront me. But it's too late to tell you that now."
After speaking, Kong Xuyang smiled, withdrew his hand, turned around, and walked toward the login point.
Bai Liu looked at the Lamb team member following Kong Xuyang, then retracted his gaze and walked toward their login point with Mu Sicheng.
[Silent] + [Silence of the Lambs]…
That could indeed be considered a killer combination.
[System Alert: Players Bai Liu and Mu Sicheng have logged into the game (Yinshan Village).]
Bai Liu opened his eyes.
Before him was a desolate hillside covered with shrubs. Dense trees and bamboo forests shaded the dirt road. All around were fields where rice had just been planted. The green rice shoots and swaying weeds along the ridges were so vivid that they almost hurt the eyes.
Ahead was an abandoned pond and a well covered with emerald-green duckweed. Bai Liu looked up and saw houses built along the hillside. Smoke rose from their chimneys. Green mountains loomed in the distance, and a light rain was falling. The scene was peaceful, almost like a hidden paradise.
[System Alert: During the Qingming Festival, the rain falls heavily, and pedestrians on the road are heartbroken.]
[Player Identity: You are a local gangster returning to your hometown, Yinshan Village. You haven't been back for many years, but recently you received a notice from a national archaeological team saying that your village has unearthed a century-old tomb of great value, located directly beneath your house.]
[The archaeological team intends to excavate the tomb, which requires demolishing the houses in the village. They need the consent of the property owners. However, a few elderly residents left in the village accidentally fell from the mountain while climbing to worship their ancestors three days ago during the Qingming Festival. They fell into the pond and drowned.]
[Your grandmother was among the elderly who drowned. All of her other relatives are gone, so the ownership of the house naturally passed to you—the grandson who has not returned to worship his ancestors for decades.]
[Your apparent purpose for returning to Yinshan Village this time is to pack up your belongings, keep vigil for your grandmother on the seventh day after her death, and take over the house. However, secretly, you have other motives.]
[Main quest of "Yinshan Village" activated: Survive until the archaeological team arrives to take over the ancient tomb.]
[Side quest of "Yinshan Village" activated: Explore "your" purpose.]
Bai Liu took a step forward. There was a strange sound beneath his feet, like paper tearing. He looked down and saw a white round coin for the afterlife with a square hole in the center.
Bai Liu paused, then turned his head and looked back along the scattered paper money.
The paper coins stretched all the way from the abandoned pond to the path leading up the mountain toward his home. They were faintly trampled into the mud. If Bai Liu hadn't paid close attention, he might not have noticed them at all, soaked and softened by the rain.
Bai Liu looked up at the dilapidated village swaying in the mountain rain and saw smoke rising from every household.
"Ahhhhh—!"
A trembling male voice came from far behind him.
Bai Liu turned around and saw Mu Sicheng running toward him with tears streaming down his face as if something were chasing him. He grabbed Bai Liu's arm tightly and refused to move. He was gasping for breath, his face pale with fear.
"Bai—Bai Liu…" Mu Sicheng's voice trembled as he screamed, "This is actually a Chinese horror game! I'm freaking terrified 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 they're way scarier than zombies and monsters?"
Seeing that Mu Sicheng was genuinely frightened, Bai Liu changed the subject. "Did you find anything?"
When Mu Sicheng heard the question, he swallowed nervously and spoke 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 extremely clear. Even the brand pattern on the soles could be seen. A continuous trail of prints connected the pond to where Mu Sicheng was standing.
Bai Liu looked at them. "I see."
Mu Sicheng closed his eyes, his hand trembling slightly as he held Bai Liu's arm. "…Look carefully."
This time, Bai Liu examined them more closely. After staring at the footprints for a while, he noticed something wrong.
Behind each of Mu Sicheng's footprints was a small inverted triangular mark. It was very light, as if something had been standing on tiptoe behind him, gripping his shoulders and following step by step.
Moreover, the size of the footprints was wrong. They weren't the size of human feet at all. They looked more like… the footprints of a paper figurine 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. After that, my footprints were wrong. There was one extra set."
Bai Liu retracted his gaze. "Did your health or spirit values decrease?"
Mu Sicheng shook his head.
"Then don't worry about it for now." Bai Liu looked toward the distant village. "Let's go inside first."
Mu Sicheng only glanced at the village before his face turned pale again. He grabbed Bai Liu tightly and slowly turned his head toward him.
"…Wait."
"You read the player identity introduction, right?" Mu Sicheng pointed toward the faint smoke rising from the village, his expression dark. "Yinshan Village is already a dead village. The last elderly resident drowned three days ago. There's no way anyone should be cooking here."
"What's with all that smoke?"
Bai Liu looked over and said, "I noticed it too. But the only way to find out who's cooking is to go take a look."
"I guess it's being prepared for the paper figurine following you as a burial offering."
"You're still freaking scaring me!" Mu Sicheng nearly burst into tears. "Are you really not afraid at all?"
Bai Liu smiled. "It's okay."