Chapter 70: Offering (13)

Chapter 70: Offering (13)

◎Zongtu Yuan was so infuriated that he spat out a mouthful of blood.◎

Shi Youqing headed straight for the peach blossom forest, glancing back upon hearing the commotion… His brows slightly furrowed, surprised that Hao Tianshuo was following him.

Being wary of him, Shi Youqing continued to run forward, quickening his pace to shake off his pursuer. Fortunately, after a good night's sleep and the nourishment from those tomatoes, he felt strong and agile.

He realized the creatures’ abilities were improving, their mimicry vastly different from yesterday’s.

In such a scenario, once the players believe the creature, he would be identified as the monster. Lacking the physical strength to match those players, he wouldn’t risk being misidentified as the fake Shi Youqing, even if there was a slight chance of that.

Of course, apart from this reason, staying would only lead to more suspicion and mistrust among the players in their inability to distinguish the two, which was unnecessary. Their task at this stage wasn’t about spotting differences.

The simplest approach was not to trust anyone and focus on their own tasks.

After a while, Shi Youqing started to pant from running, but Hao Tianshuo was still relentlessly pursuing him.

“Qingqing Ge (Brother Qingqing)!”

“Qingqing Ge… wait for me! Qingqing Ge…”

Shi Youqing wasn’t sure what Hao Tianshuo was up to. He took a sharp turn and hid behind an old tree, waiting for Hao Tianshuo to run past.

Hao Tianshuo soon appeared, his complexion poor and his eyes frantic. He looked around and then continued to pursue forward.

From behind the tree, Shi Youqing watched his retreating figure, then stepped out again. As he walked, he thought about Zongtu Yuan's recent actions, which, despite being puzzling and confusing, clearly treated the monster as a human.

If Zongtu Yuan also came after him, Shi Youqing had no doubt that the man would kill him outright.

Shi Youqing changed direction, but after only a few steps, he was suddenly tackled to the ground from behind.

His heart tightened instantly, and he quickly drew his gun. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he heard Hao Tianshuo’s voice, “Brother Qingqing! I finally found you! Don’t run anymore, it’s dangerous here... Last time, you almost got lost here…”

Shi Youqing clenched the gun but didn’t lower it, turning his head suspiciously.

Seeing him not resisting, Hao Tianshuo then stood up and helped him to his feet. Noticing the gun pointed at him, he was startled at first, then chuckled, “You’re still so formidable… That’s right, otherwise, it’d be bad if you met bad people.”

Shi Youqing interrupted him coldly, “What do you want, exactly?”

“I’m following you,” Hao Tianshuo, still unaccustomed to his coldness, said with a forced smile, “Don’t be angry. When you weren’t back, I didn’t realize there was a fake you and mistook that person for you… Look, I brought some tomatoes, but that fake one ate one, so annoying!”

“….” Shi Youqing stared at the few small tomatoes in his hand, “How do you know I’m not the fake one?”

“Of course, you’re not! Do I even need to ask?” Hao Tianshuo looked bewildered, “The moment you came out, I knew I was duped... Do you think that impostor lacked just one tomato? It made me so mad!”

“……”

After a moment of silence, Shi Youqing attempted to get up, but Hao Tianshuo reached out to help him again, “Brother Qingqing…”

Shi Youqing said, “You go back.”

Hao Tianshuo immediately shook his head, “I know you’re going to that place again. I’ll go with you.”

Shi Youqing glanced at him.

Hao Tianshuo stuttered, saying, “Actually, I remember what happened yesterday.”

Shi Youqing: “...What?”

Hao Tianshuo spoke softly, “When we left there yesterday, that thing was going to shoot me, right?”

“……”

“Then the gunshot sounded, and you disappeared... I thought you were dead, never expected you’d snatch the gun.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Brother Qingqing,” Hao Tianshuo looked up, his usual smile gone, “I owe you my life, I can’t let anything happen to you again.”

Shi Youqing scrutinized him carefully, as if trying to discern the truth of his words. After a moment, he said, “If two identical people appear, and I’m mistaken as the fake, aside from the monster, players will also want to kill me.”

Hao Tianshuo hurriedly said, “That’s why I need to stick with you!”

Shi Youqing was blunt, “But I don’t trust you. Right now, if you stab me, I would die.”

Hao Tianshuo was taken aback, then shook his head firmly, “I would never do that! What can I do to make you believe…”

“Unless you do exactly as I say.”

“…Tell me.”

“Go back now and trick the impostor into giving up his gun. It can only kill with a gun, and doesn't need to aim for a vital spot; any hit will do.”

“And you…”

“With the impostor gone, at least no player will suspect me. Just get this done.”

Hao Tianshuo’s expression turned grim, fixing his gaze on Shi Youqing, “You’re still going to that place?”

Shi Youqing calmly replied, “That’s my business.”

Hao Tianshuo choked up, then looking down at the few tomatoes, handed them over, “Then take these with you.”

Shi Youqing shook his head, “I have my thermos, water is enough.”

Hao Tianshuo, tugging at his hair in dilemma, finally gave in with a bitter smile: "Alright, then. Once we deal with the fake one, you hurry back... Don't worry, I'll get that dead thing sooner or later!" he said, a trace of resentment in his expression.

Shi Youqing pursed his lips, remaining silent.

Hao Tianshuo left, looking back every few steps.

Alone in the peach blossom forest, Shi Youqing put away his gun and continued forward.

The space required either a travel companion or a dead person to enter. Shi Youqing took a small path, eventually finding a large, leafy old tree near the depths of the forest and climbed up.

He sat on a branch, largely concealed by the foliage, making him difficult to spot, but with a clear, expansive view to see if anyone approached.

He waited for others attempting to enter that space, planning to slip in with them.

Guo Yalan, being a travel companion, wouldn't likely come to find him alone at this time; doing so would be equivalent to directly informing those aware of the travel companion rule—indicating that Shi Youqing was the real one. From the game’s perspective, this would be considered cheating, akin to a forced rescue, like what happened with Zheng Ping previously.

Such an action would result in disqualification.

The best approach was, paradoxically, to stay with the impostor, guiding players to find the flaws in the fake one.

When leaving, Shi Youqing and Guo Yalan briefly exchanged glances, silently reaching a consensus.

Shi Youqing now just wanted to know if those scales had undergone any changes.

If, as Zongtu Yuan speculated, this was a form of cultivation, what exactly would be cultivated in the end?

The Hucheng Town instance was based on his experiences, and this instance directly used the scales from his initial monster form to lay out a "cultivation" nest...

If all of this was orchestrated by someone with higher game authority, were they trying to create a new evil deity?

Shi Youqing lowered his eyelashes, embracing the tree trunk and gazing towards the distant path, waiting in silence.

……

In front of the wooden house, Zongtu Yuan sat under the eaves, letting a terrified Qiao Mingcheng urgently tend to his injured hand.

Already numb from pain, he stared coldly at the young man's dazed profile.

Guo Yalan stood at a distance, silent and deep in thought.

Xia Yue, remembering Shi Youqing’s parting words, kept a wary distance from the crowd, “What’s going on? Why are there two Shi Youqings?”

Luo Yanzhong, focusing on the young man, loudly declared, “From now on, no one should accompany Shi Youqing, regardless of which one is real. One of them is definitely fake.”

The young man’s face darkened as he looked at him, “You’re taking that impostor’s word seriously?”

In the ensuing silence, Chu Wei, adjusting his glasses, intervened, “There’s no need for internal conflict. The monster's goal is to sow distrust among us. Besides, that person ran away scared not long after arriving, clearly guilty.”

Someone nodded in agreement, “If he were real, he wouldn’t fear being recognized, right? That person fled too quickly.”

Qiao Mingcheng, having just disinfected Zongtu Yuan’s hand, hesitated upon hearing this, “But… the one I saw… I feel like… he also didn’t seem fake.”

The young man looked down at him, “So you’re saying I’m the fake?”

Qiao Mingcheng paused, quickly bowing his head, “I didn’t mean… I…”

Zongtu Yuan forcefully snatched the last bit of bandage from Qiao Mingcheng’s hand, tied it tightly, and abruptly stood up, striding towards the young man.

Before the young man could react, Zongtu Yuan suddenly ripped off the cloth wrapping his hand.

Despite it being just a brief moment, everyone saw it – the hand was covered in scales!

“What... what is that?!”

The crowd hastily distanced themselves from the young man.

“How did you get this thing, and you don’t know?” the young man quickly covered the scales, glaring at Zongtu Yuan, his face darkening, and raised his hand to strike.

However, his swinging hand was forcefully grabbed mid-air.

Zongtu Yuan remained unflustered, flinging the young man’s wrist away, “You think you can slap me? Who the hell do you think you are?”

The young man paused, his face extremely unpleasant, coldly stating, “Those who don’t believe me can leave.”

“What’s... what’s with his hand?” Qiao Mingcheng anxiously inquired.

The young man turned back to Zongtu Yuan, expecting him to explain.

Yet, the man who had just shielded him from a bullet extended his hand, “Give me your gun, I need to check it first.”

The young man scrutinized him, seeing his emotions stabilize, and handed over the gun, “You know what’s happening...”

Before he could finish, the gun was pointed at his forehead.

“Know my ass!” Zongtu Yuan fumed, suddenly turning to Qiao Mingcheng, “Fuck! Stop searching for that damn medicine! Go chase that person back!”

Qiao Mingcheng, rummaging through a bag, was startled, “Huh?”

The young man’s face changed, about to speak, but his hands were suddenly twisted behind by Zongtu Yuan, “Someone! Tie him up!!!”

“What’s... what’s happening?”

People were dumbfounded, completely at a loss in their shock. Meanwhile, a male player who had heard of Zongtu Yuan promptly obeyed, quickly binding the struggling, weakened young man with a rope.

“Zongtu Yuan—” the young man glared coldly at him, “Are you betraying me? You clearly know how these scales got on my hand!”

“I don’t know,” Zongtu Yuan shamelessly feigned ignorance in front of everyone, “How could such a thing grow on a person’s hand? You’ve exposed yourself.”

“...You!”

At this point, Chu Wei interjected, “But I remember… the fake one also wrapped this hand. Didn’t they both have these things on their hands? Zongtu Yuan, you just took a bullet for him, implying you believed he was real. What are you doing now? Trying to kill with the gun? Oh, you have indeed killed players before, and now again...”

Zongtu Yuan’s face flushed with mixed emotions, he cocked the gun, aiming it once more at the young man, “Another damn word from you, and I’ll blow him away!”

The young man tensed up, “You wouldn’t dare!”

Chu Wei fell silent, his expression darkening.

Everyone was confused about the situation, and just then, hurried footsteps approached from behind...

Zongtu Yuan turned sharply, seeing Hao Tianshuo approaching, his eyes darkening.

He clenched his fists tightly, pulling at his wound inadvertently, and a wave of excruciating pain caused him to tremble, nearly losing his balance.

“Are you… are you alright?” Qiao Mingcheng hurriedly asked.

“Won’t die!” Zongtu Yuan, his forehead vein bulging with pain, sweating profusely, fired a shot into the ground in frustration, swearing loudly, startling several people into screaming and backing away.

“He’s… he’s gone mad…”

“Is he really going to kill someone?”

“……”

Zongtu Yuan had never felt so stifled in his life. For a second, he truly wanted to end the impostor but, recalling the latter’s role, he gritted his teeth and bore it.

He had actually… actually been duped by this guy.

Taking the bullet was a bodily instinct.

He had always seen that person as fragile and delicate, unable to withstand even a punch, let alone a bullet.

But after taking the shot, he realized he might have been wrong.

The look in the young man’s eyes as he glanced at his hand, brief as it was, did not escape Zongtu Yuan.

Smugness.

The disdainful Shi Youqing feeling smug because he had taken a bullet for him…

"It was even more absurd than his dream."

"If his initial doubt was based merely on a glance, the young man’s subsequent behavior completely convinced him of his own foolishness."

"Understanding Shi Youqing well, he knew that the extremely intelligent man would not insist on convincing everyone of his authenticity, especially when suspicion had already arisen. Firstly, this wasn’t a task about identifying a ghost, so there was no need for such insistence. Secondly, it would only add pressure to the other players and distract them from gathering crucial information."

"Unless, he could produce definitive proof that the other was an impostor."

"Clearly, the young man couldn’t."

"On the other side, Hao Tianshuo, who had returned, wasn’t scared off by the gunshot. Approaching the tied-up impostor, he squatted down, frowning, 'Fake, spit out my tomatoes!'"

“……”

"The young man was momentarily dumbfounded, then looking towards Zongtu Yuan and others, realizing he was cornered, dropped the pretense with a slight smile, 'Once eaten, how can they be spat out? Can the bullet you took for your teammate be taken back?'"

"Silence ensued."

"Zongtu Yuan remained quiet too, his expression wooden, repeatedly envisioning the scene of Shi Youqing walking away."

"No anger, no concern, not even a hint of surprise."

"…As if he was always such a fool."

"Zongtu Yuan, filled with murderous intent, stepped forward, towering over the young man with hatred. The latter, unafraid, glanced at butterflies in the sky, saying, 'No matter, by this time, he should have been captured, thanks to your help.'"

“……”

"In an instant, Zongtu Yuan’s blood boiled, his face turning demonic. The gun barrel clanged against the young man’s forehead, the urge to fire suppressed by a sudden surge of rationality. The next moment, a taste of blood rose in his throat, and he fell utterly silent."

"A warm breeze passed by."

"The crowd stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before them—"

"Zongtu Yuan, in sheer anger… actually spat out a mouthful of blood."

"[?Author's Note]"

"Ahh, there's never enough time at night for me to write, I need to improve my time management [not really]."

"Thanks to the little angel who launched a rocket: --Waiting for the Aurora-- 1;"

"Thanks to the little angels for watering with nutrient solution: Pou, Ji Shan 10 bottles; Esperanza 5 bottles; Zhou Zhou Zhou Zhou Zhou 1 bottle;"

"Thank you all very much for your support, I will keep trying my best!"