Qian Daniu pointed at the two of them and said, “You two actually have a walkthrough, don’t you?”

If Uncle Tian really was a paper figure that operated during the day through photosynthesis, then the idea of danger after nightfall became questionable.

Because at night, there might appear things even more terrifying than paper people.

And while paper people looked scary, they hadn't harmed them, so they couldn't be considered enemies. For now, it was best to treat them as neutral. But the things that were dangerous in the dark—those should be considered hostile. However, the hostility might not be directed at them, the sacrificial offerings, but rather at the paper people.

Xing Ye recalled the events of the day and formed a hypothesis in his mind—but it still needed verification.

Aside from that, there was something else they needed to pay attention to: the five remaining players had yet to appear.

If teammates were trustworthy, they should act together, not get separated, and clearly divide tasks to keep the team efficient.

But with the teammates assigned by the system, Xing Ye truly couldn’t place full trust in them.

As for the “Following fate Tool” that Qin Xiao’er mentioned—which could turn players into items—no one knew if it truly existed. Xing Ye and Cao Qian still needed to be on guard against the other teammates.

However, one thing was certain: since Qin and Wang dared to take on leadership roles, they must have strong self-preservation abilities. Even if they split up, Xing Ye wasn't too worried about them getting into trouble. At the very least, returning to the house with Aunt Tian shouldn't be an issue.

Once they confirmed that Uncle Tian didn’t move, the five carefully exited the courtyard. Outside the gate were two roads running east and west. This house sat directly between Yang Xiaomao’s home and the village chief’s house—one road led to Yang Xiaomao’s place, and the other to the village chief’s.

Qin Xiao’er said, “We should split up. That’ll be more efficient.”

This suggestion was expected by Xing Ye. Wang Sifang and Qin Xiao’er must have their own theories based on the current clues. But they clearly didn’t plan to share their findings with Xing Ye and the others—they wanted to keep the info to themselves. This suggestion actually played into Xing Ye’s hands.

“You three head west to the village’s edge. I’ll go east with Qin Xiao’er. If there’s danger, run back quickly. How about it?” said Wang Sifang.

Qian Daniu wasn’t happy. She didn’t like Cao Heihei much, and she thought Yang Xiaomao was useless. Making her babysit two newbies in an advanced world felt way too risky.

At the same time, she didn’t want to go with Qin Xiao’er either—he had tools that could endanger Following fate players.

So she settled for the lesser evil and chose to follow Cao Heihei.

In the end, Qian Daniu could only nod in agreement.

Qin and Wang were headed east, toward the village chief’s and party secretary’s homes. The area assigned to Xing Ye’s group was in the west.

Xing Ye had no opinion on the territory assignment—he wanted to investigate both directions anyway.

Qin and Wang quickly set off, disappearing into the darkness. Xing Ye’s group stayed behind.

The rural night was filled with the sounds of insects and owls. In the dark, every sound felt terrifying.

Qian Daniu whispered, “It’s way too dark. I can barely see two meters ahead. If some monster pops out, I won’t be able to react at all.”

Cao Heihei glanced at her and said, “I’ll be able to react.”

She clenched her fist—finally, she could move freely with the big guy!

Xing Ye turned to Cao Qian and asked, “Do you have any thoughts about this world?”

Cao Qian had been holding back all day. Xing Ye could tell she had her own ideas about this world, and he wanted to see how much she’d grown since the last one.

With “Teacher Xing” asking, Cao Qian immediately replied: “First, the naming issue. Rather than a matter of region or time period, I think it’s an identity issue. If we tie it to the paper people, could it be that those who call their parents ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’ are the paper people, and those who say ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’ are real villagers?”

“Second, the village population. Fifty years ago, the famine killed many. Every three years they sacrifice a child, and in the early attempts at sacrifice, many died for angering the Mountain God. Without marriage between villages, how is the population still this large? Plus, we haven’t seen the other five players. So I have two guesses:

Either it’s not just one village sacrificing to the Mountain God—there are several close-knit villages with intermarriage, preventing inbreeding in such a closed environment. The other five players might be in those other villages.

Or: there has only ever been one village. As the population declined, paper people gradually replaced real ones. This explains the different terms of address and why the population seems stable on the surface.”

“Third, if the Mountain God only wants one sacrifice, why send five kids each time? The other four forget everything and live normally in the village. Are they truly alive? Are they really human?”

“Fourth, what’s our mission? From what I know about advanced world rules, it’s usually about a duel between rival teams—the winner advances. But if that’s the case, it plays right into the game’s hands. That approach only earns a few points, like in melee worlds. To earn big points and qualify for the final stage, we have to uncover the game’s true nature, defeat the system, and overcome so-called fate.”

As they walked and talked, Qian Daniu’s jaw nearly hit the ground.

Yang Xiaomao and Cao Heihei—one timid and passive, the other always silent—suddenly became eloquent and confident once Qin and Wang were gone. They looked like pros.

And Cao Heihei wasn’t just talking—she was giving a numbered breakdown, “First, second, third,” even “either, or.” Was this a research paper?! How did they manage to analyse so much in so little time—and everything actually made sense!

Most importantly, their academically styled tone made the dark night feel... full of scientific light. Suddenly, she wasn’t scared anymore!

After hearing Cao Qian’s analysis, Xing Ye nodded in satisfaction.

No wonder Cao Qian could lead Guan Ling through hard mode—her perspective was already quite comprehensive.

She was just missing one piece.

Xing Ye said, “To add on—I might be a child born from two living people.”

Cao Qian and Qian Daniu both turned to look at him. Qian Daniu stared at Yang Xiaomao—now glowing with the light of wisdom—with disbelief. Where was the scared, weak boy from before?

Xing Ye continued, “First, my parents refer to themselves as ‘Father’ and ‘Mother.’ Second, I personally saw them fighting in the village chief’s yard—they bled. Third, for nine years straight, the final chosen sacrifice was always their child. Isn’t that strange? Lastly, the village chief seemed to welcome their fighting—not only did he not stop it, he even encouraged it. And when he referred to my parents, he used ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’!”

Qian Daniu’s jaw dropped. She’d already thought Cao Heihei was sharp, but Yang Xiaomao was on another level.

She figured she didn’t need to think anymore—just follow Xing Ye’s lead and she’d be fine.

Xing Ye concluded: “As for the village’s truth, I agree with the second part of Cao Heihei’s second theory—there has always only been this one sealed-off village. Under the Mountain God’s protection, it gradually evolved from a living-human village into a paper-human one that doesn’t need food or water and can live forever.

The village chief always calls my parents ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom.’ I think they’re paper people with thoughts—more advanced than Uncle Tian. But Qin Xiao’er’s father is the village party secretary, and he says ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’—his stance is likely aligned with mine. That’s probably why he gave Qin Xiao’er a hidden tool to protect him. Meanwhile, Wang Sifang and Qian Daniu’s parents didn’t give them anything—maybe because they’re paper people’s children, or half-paper, half-human. The Mountain God would never choose them.”

After hearing this conclusion, Qian Daniu finally couldn’t help but ask: “Who the hell are you people?”

Cao Qian pointed at herself: “Cao Heihei. Total noob in my first advanced world.”

Xing Ye followed up on Cao Qian’s words and said, “Yang Xiaomao, a rookie in the advanced world for the second time.”

Rookie, my ass! Qian Daniu pointed at the two of them and said, “You two actually have the walkthrough, don’t you?”

A profound smile appeared on Yang Xiaomao’s youthful face as he said to Qian Daniu, “I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a walkthrough, but you’re actually a Fate-following player, right? After hearing the threats from Qin Xiao’er and Wang Sipang, you pretended to be a Fate-defying player.”

Qian Daniu’s identity was exposed by Xing Ye in a single sentence. She was so startled that she covered her mouth and took two steps back, afraid she might scream in the dark and attract something bad.

At that moment, a pale hand reached out from the darkness behind her and grabbed her arm.

Before that hand could do anything, a shadow almost completely blended into the darkness suddenly appeared behind Qian Daniu as if by teleportation. It shoved her toward Xing Ye while simultaneously tearing off the hand that had grabbed her.

Cao Qian held the severed hand and glanced into the darkness. She shook her head at Xing Ye and said, “It ran.”

She lifted the hand, felt it, and said, “Definitely flesh and blood, but not from a living person — it was torn from a corpse.”

Only then did Qian Daniu remove her hand from her mouth, gasping for breath as she asked, “How can you tell it’s from a dead person?”

“I’ve torn it from a living one before,” Cao Heihei said calmly.

She even flashed a smile at Qian Daniu. In the darkness, Cao Heihei seemed to merge with the night, revealing only a somewhat crooked set of white teeth, with a few gaps here and there — after all, she was in the middle of losing her baby teeth.

Qian Daniu rolled her eyes. At this moment, if she could faint, how great would that be!

Xing Ye took the severed hand and examined it, then asked, “Did the owner of this hand attack you?”

Cao Qian shook her head and said, “I struck once, and the person ran. I only know the arm’s owner should be female.”

Xing Ye nodded and said, “I see. It looks like you and I are relatively safe in the dark. On the contrary, Qian Daniu is in danger. No wonder her mother repeatedly warned her not to go out at night.”

“W-Why?” Qian Daniu asked.

Xing Ye said, “Paper figures can move around during the day, so things that aren’t paper figures wouldn’t appear then. Daytime is safe for the paper figures. But at night, there must be a force that opposes the paper figures, coming out while their power is weak. Based on the forms of address, you are likely the child of a paper figure, so your level of danger is higher than ours. I’m definitely the child of living humans. Cao Heihei woke up in the main house, and her parents are unknown. But based on how the owner of this hand chose to attack you and not Cao Heihei, she’s very likely also a child of living people.”

Teaming up with Qian Daniu was the right decision — she helped confirm many of Xing Ye’s theories.

Qian Daniu: “…”

She had survived countless melee worlds and advanced worlds, so why did her brain feel completely rusted right now?!

 

Translator : DarNan