After Uncle Tian fell in, he actually began to flatten like a paper figure, gradually softening as he soaked in the water.

 

After Xing Ye gave his reminder, he gracefully retreated, leaving the few children deep in thought.

In modern society, such differences aren’t worth paying attention to. Because transportation is convenient and there are many regional dialects, people use different terms to address their parents depending on local custom. Even within the same group, four or five different ways of addressing parents might appear.

But this village was different. It seemed extremely isolated. The roads were all dirt, with no signs of artificial paving. The most advanced form of transportation in the village was the bicycle—there wasn't even a tractor to be seen. They still used relatively primitive methods like animal-powered farming. In a village like this, the existence of two different terms of address was definitely worth noting.

No matter how smart someone as, they were still affected by fixed patterns of thinking. It was easy to unconsciously apply real-world logic to a game world, which could lead people to overlook key clues that were right under their noses but hard to notice.

Regarding the issue of addressing parents, Cao Qian had a theory—though she wasn’t sure if it was correct. She really wanted to hear what Xing Ye had to say. Teacher Xing would definitely present hypothesis one, two, three, four, five, and so on, and then analyse each one step-by-step—eliminating the impossible and pursuing the most likely path for investigation.

Even if he guessed wrong, it wouldn’t matter. In past worlds, Xing Ye had also made wrong assumptions due to lack of information. But he would constantly adjust based on new clues, and eventually arrive at the correct conclusion.

In the "Chainsaw" mansion world, Cao Qian had also followed Xing Ye’s way of thinking to find an exit, and unknowingly became the backbone of all the players. Back then, seeing everyone waiting for her analysis, she was actually very flustered. She was afraid of making a wrong guess—because if she did, others might have to pay for her mistake. At that moment, she understood how difficult it was to be a leader. Especially a leader like Xing Ye—who cared deeply for his teammates and didn’t want anyone to suffer. Every step was like dancing on a cliff edge, extremely difficult.

But precisely because of the pressure, she realized how important it was to stay calm, establish authority, and inspire confidence in others. That was the only way to keep the group steady.

Looking at the innocent, naive expression on Yang Xiaomao’s (Author: Xing Ye’s) face, Cao HeiHei couldn’t help but think: "I still have so much to learn."

“Could it be human trafficking or something?” Qin Xiao’er tried to guess with his limited brainpower. “You said earlier that your mother, Aunt Yang, was beaten badly by Yang Dazhuang and didn’t dare fight back. The village is so backward, ignorant, and closed-off—still holding onto things like lynching and sacrificial rituals. It wouldn’t be strange at all if the brides here were trafficked in. And people from different regions would have different ways of addressing parents.”

This guy was just scolding Qian Daniu earlier, saying you can’t blame everything on ignorance. Now that he was trying to analyse things, he immediately blamed ignorance again. It was obvious his initial warning wasn’t his own idea—it must have been prompted by someone else.

Hearing his analysis, Wang Sipang pressed a hand to his forehead in frustration. Letting this idiot be the apparent team leader was a huge mistake.

Qin Xiao’er was the oldest in the group and the village party secretary’s son. Plus, he had a face that looked like a student council president—very convincing. On the surface, he seemed like the ideal leader. Who would’ve thought he’d be so hopeless?

Qian Daniu squinted and smiled: “Human trafficking seems likely. Maybe this place is even a drug factory. Once we head into the mountains, we’ll crack the case and become heroes!”

On the surface, she was agreeing with Qin Xiao’er, but her tone was clearly sarcastic.

Wang Sipang could only say, “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions so easily. This world isn’t that simple. We have too little information right now. Let’s note all our suspicions down, and once we have enough of them, we’ll start to see the bigger picture.”

Xing Ye’s goal was to open everyone’s minds. Mentioning the difference between ancient and modern times was just a way to encourage broader thinking. Seeing that Wang Sipang had started to consider things seriously, he gave another reminder: “I remember this game has ten players, split into two teams. Has anyone seen the other team yet?”

The other four went silent. No one in the village looked like a player—in fact, they all gave off an eerie vibe.

Xing Ye continued: “Has anyone’s system mentioned a mission or victory condition? My phone didn’t say anything. Are all advanced worlds like this? I remember in the first world, the system at least told me to defeat my opponent in the arena. Why is this world so mysterious? Captain Qin, you’re experienced with advanced worlds—do you have any insight?”

The arena was the first advanced world that Yan Hebi had experienced. That’s what a normal player’s first advanced world should look like—clear rules, a strong team goal, and mostly newbie players.

In contrast, Xing Ye had faced increasingly difficult enemies. By the third world, he was already encountering reincarnation players on the verge of reaching the final stage. The worlds after that only got stranger.

He didn’t believe this world could be as simple as just human trafficking. He was also thinking: where was the other team? And where had Yan Hebi gone?

After Xing Ye, speaking from a newbie’s perspective, posed his question, Qin, Wang, and Qian all fell silent.

They had all experienced multiple advanced worlds, but they had never seen one like this—where there was no identifiable opponent and the rules were unclear. In fact, when they saw the system prompt on their phones, they were just as confused. They had no idea what the system wanted them to do this time.

Cao Qian, hearing Xing Ye’s question, also spoke up from a newbie’s perspective: “Why do we need to wait three days? What takes so long about meeting the Mountain God? Are these three days meant to give us time to act, or to give time to our opponents? What exactly are we supposed to do during these days?”

Qin and Wang: “……”

These two newbies were asking sharper questions than the veterans—they didn’t know how to respond!

Xing Ye sighed inwardly. These teammates were far inferior to Shao Lin.

From the moment they entered the world, all they thought about was how to control the team—how to manipulate the three “little rookies” into obedience, fighting over power and authority instead of actually doing anything useful.

In the real world, Xing Ye had seen plenty of people like this—people in high positions despite their incompetence. Their work skills and performance were mediocre, but they excelled at suppressing colleagues. They’d dress up subpar products and sell them at a premium, never considering how to improve quality. And when problems arose, they’d immediately shift the blame onto others.

Shao Lin could instantly see through the system’s rule traps. He could spot the hidden mechanics of a casino faster than Xing Ye and always strike first. If not for Xing Ye being one step ahead, Shao Lin would’ve been the only winner in that match.

As for these current teammates… sigh. Think about it. Why would the system assign Xing Ye a competent, adaptable, and tactful teammate?

Xing Ye asked, “When your parents sent you to this house, did any of them say something like, ‘It’s definitely going to be the Yang kid who becomes the sacrifice—you're just here to go through the motions’?”

He remembered it was Qin and Wang who’d said that.

Sure enough, Qin Xiao’er and Wang Sipang exchanged a glance—there was finally a flicker of realization in their minds.

Xing Ye turned to Qian Daniu: “Did your parents say anything strange? Anything that felt off to you? Maybe some weird detail?”

Qian Daniu looked at Yang Xiaomao’s tender face, thought for a moment, and said, “Nothing particularly unusual… Ah, my mom did repeat one thing four or five times when she brought me here — she told me not to wander around after dark!”

Normally, parents say things like that to their kids, so Qian Daniu hadn’t thought much of it. But after Xing Ye’s reminder, she started to feel the number of repetitions was excessive.

Wang Sipang finally seized the opportunity and said, “The place is so heavily guarded, there’s no way we could escape. Wait—she was actually warning us! She was telling us that after dark, there is a chance to escape!”

Team Leader Qin finally picked up the thread: “Of course we’re not going to run away, but we can use that time to gather information. Maybe the village at night hides other secrets.”

Cao Heihei let out a breath of relief — finally, these people weren’t acting like total fools.

Still, she prompted them: “I think ‘don’t wander around after dark’ has two meanings. First, that we can go out after dark. Second, that there’s unknown danger at night — and this room is the safest place. Which means, if we go out at night and run into danger, we must come straight back to this room!”

Xing Ye nodded in approval. Cao Qian had the deepest understanding of the warning.

Looking at Qin, Wang, and Qian, Xing Ye secretly shook his head — still too inexperienced.

Qin Xiao’er and Qian Daniu had both received special hints. Xing Ye was being targeted by the system, as shown by the attempted kill right at the start, so it was only natural he got extra clues. Cao Heihei had started out in this room, relying solely on herself for clues. Wang Sipang was neither remarkable nor useless…

Based on the clues each held, Qin Xiao’er and Qian Daniu were likely fate-following players, while the other three were fate-defying players — this would make for a reasonably balanced team.

Therefore, it wasn’t necessarily true that Qin Xiao’er genuinely submitted to Wang Sipang. It was likely he was being threatened by Wang’s ability to turn fate-following players into tools. He had no choice but to follow him.

The same could be true for Qian Daniu — upon hearing the other two speak, she quickly hid her real identity and pretended to be a fate-defying player

Through just a few exchanges, Xing Ye had roughly grasped his teammates’ intelligence levels and personalities. He was satisfied to find that he and Cao Qian were standing at the top in terms of brainpower.

“We’ll deal with it tonight,” Qin Xiao’er said, under Wang Sipang’s signal. “It’s only the first day — there will definitely be new clues tonight.”

Xing Ye exchanged a glance with Cao Heihei. The two were on the same wavelength. Xing Ye said, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

There might be clues at night, but there were still things to be done during the day. They hadn’t even explored the entire house yet.

As a boy, Xing Ye was escorted by Uncle Tian. He glanced at Uncle Tian’s left leg and confirmed that Cao Qian had been right — Tian’s left leg below the calf was missing. There was no prosthetic, just the shape of his pants held up by air.

He then observed Tian’s face — the man was so thin, he looked like a sheet of paper.

On their way back from the toilet, they passed a paddy field — it was planted with rice.

Xing Ye narrowed his eyes slightly and said to Uncle Tian, “Uncle Tian, as sacrificial offerings, we can’t die before we’re delivered to the Mountain God, right?”

Uncle Tian didn’t speak, only gave a slow nod.

Now that his life was relatively safe, Xing Ye acted like a mischievous child, walking along the edge of the rice field, tugging at Uncle Tian’s clothes.

Then, he made a calculated slip and dragged Uncle Tian down with him.

Uncle Tian was unexpectedly light — Xing Ye pulled him straight into the rice field, while Xing Ye himself nimbly avoided falling in, only getting a bit of mud on one foot.

Before harvest, rice paddies are full of water. When Tian fell in, he started to soften, flattening out like a paper man.

Xing Ye bent down, reached into the water, and pulled out a piece of paper that hadn’t dissolved — on it was a QR code.

Just then, a sinister voice rang out behind Xing Ye — Aunt Tian’s.

“What are you doing?”

 

Translator : DarNan