Internal Strife

"Don't even think about living if you've deceived me!"

Miao Miao was the girl's older sister.

There was also a bedridden mother at home.

The village didn't seem biased against girls; although there were three women in this household, the house had three stories, with red wallpaper on the outer walls and fashionable white and gold patterns on the porch, resembling a Western-style villa.

The mother sat in an electric wheelchair, sliding from the bedroom to the living room.

"Thank you, dear, for bringing her back," the mother said, looking weathered and with rough, dry skin.

"No problem," Meng Lan replied.

Meng Lan was observing the girl who had been peeping at her from close quarters.

Could she possibly be the culprit with that physique?

"Yan Yan, fetch some water and thank our guests," the mother instructed.

The girl's name was Zhang Yan Yan.

She went to the kitchen to fetch water, handing the first glass to He Wan Wan.

"Thank you," He Wan Wan said, turning to give the glass to Zhang Yi Zhi, who had been helping just now. She didn't drink it herself. "You're tired today; you should rest."

Meng Lan noticed Zhang Yan Yan's gaze fixed on He Wan Wan. When He Wan Wan wasn't paying attention, Zhang Yan Yan reached out and pinched He Wan Wan's waist!

"Hey!" He Wan Wan exclaimed, but seeing that it was just a little girl, her expression softened. She bent down and asked, "What's wrong, little sister?"

"I like you," Zhang Yan Yan said, smiling.

Meng Lan couldn't help covering her nose. Zhang Yan Yan emitted a stench of rotten flesh, as if she hadn't properly washed the blood from her period last night and had just changed her pants. How was this girl raised? Didn't anyone in her family care?

However, there were no signs of autism or other mental disorders in Zhang Yan Yan's fluent conversational ability.

Zhi Huan and Zhao Che didn't stay long at Zhang Yan Yan's house; it was a waste of time for them! However, Zhi Huan vaguely remembered hearing the name "Zhang Miao Miao" somewhere.

—In the ancestral hall!

—They later sneaked into the ancestral hall and saw the murals!

—Zhang Miao Miao, born in 1941!

He was wrong.

His inference was completely wrong!

It was already afternoon when they came out of Zhang Yan Yan's house. He Wan Wan wanted to return to the small building to rest and not go out tonight, but Meng Lan stopped her.

"Why?" He Wan Wan asked.

"Let's go to the red house west of here first. We won't go back tonight," Meng Lan said confidently.

"Why stay together with everyone, isn't that safer? What are you worried about?" Zhang Yi Zhi asked.

"Zhao Che and Zhi Huan suspect us, they probably think Wan Wan is the culprit," Meng Lan said frankly, "We need to find the real killer without playing mind games with them."

She had considered retaliating, but she was already too busy at the moment. If she got involved in the struggle between teams, she would be in an even more passive position.

"Why suspect others at a time like this!" Zhang Yi Zhi stomped his feet angrily. "I won't suspect Wan Wan; she hasn't done anything wrong! But when they suspected Wan Wan was the killer, why didn't they tell us? According to the logic, we should share information!"

"Who knows," Meng Lan said.

Although someone had died in the red house yesterday, it was now the best hiding place, and no one would come to disturb them. The three of them agreed to stay in the same room to be safe, as they were now worried not only about ghosts but also about villagers involved in child trafficking and teammates suspecting them of being killers.

Meng Lan locked the door and checked the windows inside and out before finally giving up. He Wan Wan would feel safe with Meng Lan by her side, and she began to do her job—cooking dinner.

"They really have nothing at home; even the rice has weevils!" He Wan Wan complained. "The rice isn't fresh and doesn't taste good. I'll make you guys some rice cakes!"

Meng Lan:?

"Can you do it?" she asked, skeptically looking at He Wan Wan's slender arms.

"I have experience; my little brother loves them. Take a mineral water bottle; we're not hungry anyway. You can have some later," He Wan Wan said.

"Alright."

The three of them didn't return to the small building, naturally missing Zhao Che, who was busy cooking dinner in the kitchen.

He was bustling about in the kitchen, preparing two dishes: stir-fried shredded potatoes and twice-cooked pork. He used plenty of chili bean paste, and as Qihuan stood at the kitchen door smelling the aroma, he exclaimed, "I never knew you could cook. I always order takeout when I'm home."

"My girlfriend likes my cooking," Zhao Che replied, his gaze showing genuine warmth when he mentioned his girlfriend.

Qihuan rarely chatted casually with Zhao Che. "You're not married yet. How long have you been together?"

"Just a few months," Zhao Che said shyly. "She likes my braised chicken wings. I'm not busy at work, so I cook for her when I get off at five-thirty. If it weren't for this invisible world, we would be meeting the parents next month. We get along well."

"That's nice."

The dishes were ready.

Qihuan took two plates and pretended to be worried. "Let me help you carry these. You go wash your hands. It's getting dark, and I don't know where they've run off to. They're really risking their lives."

Hearing this, Zhao Che looked up at Qihuan, his eyes cloudy and unclear.

After washing his hands, he turned to tidy up the table.

Qihuan placed the dishes on the table and fetched bowls and chopsticks. The two big men sat facing each other at the wooden table, with the statue of the Three Mountain Goddesses behind them, looking down like spectators.

Zhao Che moved his chopsticks and took a sip of water before asking, "Qihuan, what do you think about He Wan Wan? Are we going to look for them tomorrow?"

"Yes, we have to go!" Qihuan said, showing a rare outburst of impatience. "We'll settle this tomorrow. I really don't want to stay here any longer."

Zhao Che asked again, "Qihuan, although I'm an old man, I only passed the last level by accident. Can you tell me about this invisible world? I introduced the rules that day; are there any other rules? Do you know how to leave this game?" He stared at Qihuan, blinking, hoping for a relaxed and pleasant answer.

"Some say you can leave when your hidden card turns colorful," Qihuan said, tapping the table with his chopsticks. "Eat up; it'll get cold soon. Aren't you confident in your own cooking?" He took the first bite.

Zhao Che also picked up some food. The onions in the twice-cooked pork had absorbed the oil from the pork, becoming crispy and translucent, sprinkled with the fragrant saltiness of cumin. He sighed with satisfaction, "Is it enough to complete enough tasks to pass, or do we need to do something else? I really want to leave this place. How about you, Qihuan? How's your life in the real world?"

"I have no family," Qihuan said. "They died in a factory accident, and I grew up alone. Now I work in a financial company."

Unlike Meng Lan's restrained and rational demeanor tinged with a hint of innocence, Qihuan was distant, aloof, and cold. All the achievements he had achieved today were earned step by step, without anyone's help or guidance. He was supposed to be promoted from supervisor to manager soon, but he was unexpectedly involved in the invisible world, resulting in seven days of inexplicable absence from work—he was demoted due to improper work attitude.

—He had lost everything he had worked so hard for! He would do anything to leave this damned invisible task!

When Zhao Che's question made him clench his fists, he bit down hard on the vegetable stalk in his mouth.

"What's wrong, feeling unwell?" Zhao Che coughed twice.

As soon as the words fell, Zhao Che suddenly clutched his heart, his body starting to convulse. In a panic, he fell from his chair to the ground, "I, ah—I don't know what's happening!"

He made a choking sound, trying to dig out the food he had eaten from his throat with his fingers.

Finally.

Qihuan breathed a sigh of relief, slowly standing up and looking down at Zhao Che. "I'm sorry, thank you for trusting me so much. But I really need to leave this game completely. When your hidden card turns colorful, you can leave, provided you have accumulated enough energy. Completing tasks can earn you energy, and killing can gain you the other person's energy."

"You... you!"

Qihuan didn't show a hint of remorse.

He was fighting for survival, and Zhao Che wasn't exactly a saint either. If Zhao Che had acted decisively when he first saw Zhang Jinlong and Meng Lan, instead of shouting and hesitating, that lunatic wouldn't have had the chance to kill. This kind of person deserved to die!

"Don't pretend to be a good person. You joined forces with me because the fewer people pass the level, the higher the average energy gain, so don't act like a big bad wolf!" Qihuan didn't bother pretending anymore and drank some water indifferently.

He had drugged Zhao Che while serving dishes.

Qihuan continued, "Blame them; otherwise, it would have been them dead tonight." He didn't know why those brats didn't return to their room at night, but it didn't matter; he already had one person in his hands!

The reason was simple. Since he had guessed wrong, and He Wan Wan wasn't the killer, he had to maximize his own benefits. He targeted this foolish fat man first, then would find opportunities to eliminate the other players one by one!

"The... food... is tainted!"

"I used the medicine produced in this village."

"Yes, you used the medicine..."

Qihuan wanted to say a few more mocking words to justify his actions, but the next moment, he felt dizzy and his vision blurred!

What's going on? What's happening! The medicine!

He had been tricked!

In a haze, Zhao Che calmly got up and walked towards Qihuan, his cheeks flushed, and he shouted angrily, "You lied to me! You deceived me like that woman! She died, and you will die too!"

He was trembling with anger, and the positions of the two men were reversed. Qihuan fell to the ground, gasping for breath, while Zhao Che stared at the person who had drugged him.

"I can see through your lies. I can." Zhao Che noticed something was off with Qihuan while cooking, so he took advantage of his distraction to switch the dishes and pour medicine into the man's water.

The piece of green pepper Zhao Che ate hadn't even gone down his throat, hadn't melted in his stomach, and the drug hadn't entered his bloodstream with digestion—it was spit out into his hand when he coughed.

"—You!"

Qihuan looked at the elderly man who had only passed one task in astonishment.

The hidden card.

It was said that the hidden card could bring supreme power.

Was the power of this man the ability to discern lies, so his intentions to kill him were also seen through?

"You even took Zhang Jinlong's knife. You're really prepared." Zhao Che's face was cold. "That woman wanted to pretend to register marriage with me and then kill me, and you wanted to kill me to save yourself! You're all the same. You don't deserve to live in this world! I hate lies. If you feel guilty, if you truly treated me sincerely, I wouldn't want to kill you! How dare you bully honest people like this? This is how you treat me!"

Zhao Che tore open the facade of a good person, almost going crazy in his deception!

He raised his trembling arm, and the sharp blade inserted into Qihuan's heart one by one, splattering blood on his trembling flesh!

Damn it!

You all deserve to die!

None of you deceivers can live!

The red house.

Meng Lan had the most relaxed meal she had had in the past few days.

He Wan Wan's white sugar rice cakes were delicious.

"I'll go change and take a shower. Should be fine, right?" He Wan Wan said.

"If anything happens, just call me. I'll tidy up a bit," Meng Lan said.

However, after He Wan Wan entered the house, ten minutes passed without her coming out again.

Sensing something was wrong, Meng Lan hurried to the door. "Wan Wan?"

No response from inside.

The door was locked from the inside.

"Zhang Yichi! Break down the door!"

The two of them worked together to break through the loose wooden door, and the brass lock clattered to the ceramic floor.

The room was empty.

No one was there.