Chapter 127

Chapter 127

The sudden appearance of a tense situation excited Su Ziyan, and he blinked his big eyes as he eagerly watched from the side.

After a moment of being stunned, Luo Xi helplessly said, "She does look a lot like Zhi Shan, but how would I know if she's a reset version? Maybe she's just a humanoid with similar genes."

Xiyu knew Luo Xi wouldn't lie to him, but he still awkwardly said, "But your reaction is quite special."

Hearing this, Luo Xi fell silent. Even facing difficult intellectual challenges in the game, nothing had made him feel as bald as this moment.

Xiyu’s gaze darkened, and he unusually hummed in response. "If you don't want to talk about it, fine. Let's just play the game."

With that, he continued walking.

Su Ziyan, fascinated, whispered, "Bro, you're going down. Hurry up and explain."

Luo Xi surprisingly followed the idiot's advice and quickly caught up with Xiyu. "Actually, I'm just a little surprised. Also, I really appreciate what happened before, she did save me. But you need to know, even if she is a reset version of Ling Xue, she’s no longer the same. What does Zhi Shan's identity have to do with it?"

The fairy-like Xiyu coldly said, "Does it not matter? If one day I get reset, would you treat me like a stranger?"

Luo Xi immediately responded without hesitation, "Then I’ll blow up the company."

At that moment, the sensitive system detected his inappropriate remarks and immediately issued a warning.

＊

【Broadcaster Luo Xi, please refrain from making dangerous statements about the company. Repeating this will result in elimination.】

＊

"…Heh." Luo Xi continued to sulk. "Why compare yourself to others? Besides, Ling Xue is as irrelevant to me as a rabbit. You can’t expect me to just forget about her like that."

Xiyu’s expression softened slightly. "So she really isn't your white moonlight?"

"I’ve sworn for the second time, she really isn’t!" Luo Xi felt wronged. "Besides, I’m gay. How could my white moonlight be a woman?"

Xiyu: "…Is there some man I don't know about?"

Luo Xi immediately felt a bald spot forming.

Xiyu finally smiled. "Just kidding. Since there’s nothing to it, forget it."

Luo Xi cleared his throat. "I really appreciate your generosity!"

Su Ziyan muttered from behind, "You forgave him that quickly, not very scientific."

Unfortunately, at this moment, Xiyu was no longer focused on this matter. He cautiously walked up to the dyeing workshop's door, hesitated for a moment, and then chose to climb over the wall. After landing, he smelled a strong, unpleasant chemical odor and indeed saw Ying Zhixing and the other two.

In terms of ability, that guy was one of the top broadcasters, but now that he had turned into a woman, Xiyu wasn’t used to it. He awkwardly greeted, "Looks like everyone has found this place. The two people with you... are Yan Ruyu and Zhou Ze, right?"

Ying Zhixing’s response was still indifferent and calm: "So what? Don’t try to get close. There are all kinds of dyes in this workshop, you’re free to look, but if you find anything, it’s up to you."

Xiyu, holding his "wedding garment," slowly blinked. "This is clearly a task about killing people. If you think it's just about researching dyes, you’re really naïve."

Yan Ruyu, who was standing behind Ying Zhixing, couldn't help but laugh lightly: "You’re saying the same thing as Ying-ge. It seems waiting for the system prompt is the most reliable. After all, there’s only one wedding garment."

Looking closely, she was indeed a beautiful woman. Unlike most broadcasters who were overly young and delicate, Yan Ruyu looked more like an ordinary person, not only graceful but with a tempting figure, and she smiled in a very charming way.Unable to appreciate it, Xiyu, who was also gay, didn't say anything further. He went over to a barrel of foul-smelling dye and bent down to look closely, but unfortunately, under the night sky, the colors were murky and unclear, making it difficult to start.

At this moment, Luo Xi, along with the clumsy Su Ziyan, walked in. He quietly tested, "This building is probably a decoy. Now I’m more curious—how did those NPCs appear? Why do we always only hear voices?"

Ying Zhixing and the delicate, low-key Zhou Ze exchanged glances but didn't respond. Instead, they signaled each other and left.

Yan Ruyu walked a few steps before turning back to smile. "Luo-ge, stay safe. Oh, no, I should call you Luo-jie now."

"..." Luo Xi wanted to say something but stopped himself. After they all left, he whispered, "There’s something wrong."

Su Ziyan, with his dog-like ears, listened carefully. "That’s right. They must know when the paper man appears! Zhou Ze quietly said to Ying Zhixing—don’t let the one with the surname Luo know!"

Luo Xi nodded seriously. "I’m saying, there's something off about them bringing Yan Ruyu along. This isn’t in line with Ying Zhixing's character. If it weren’t for an exceptionally strong companion, he usually prefers to fight solo."

"Could Yan Ruyu have resources he doesn't have? Or... does this game require a real woman?" Xiyu idly speculated while continuing to research the dyes.

He picked up some joss paper from the ground and dipped it into the barrels one by one, getting various shades of red, both deep and light.

"If that’s the case, we need to find Zhi Shan!" Su Ziyan immediately spoke up.

Luo Xi looked like he wanted to kill him.

Su Ziyan quickly corrected himself. "Then Fei Ling is fine too!"

Xiyu ignored them, laying the dyed joss paper on the ground and marking it seriously with his eyes lowered. "I don’t even know what time it is. The first piece of information should be coming soon."

He really was "prophetic." As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying system notification sounded, and it turned out to be from the matchmaker.

＊

【Candidates, are you getting impatient?】

【I’ll tell you, the dye for the wedding garment must be handmade. You can't use those ready-made low-quality ones!】

＊

Upon hearing this, Xiyu immediately slumped and tossed the joss paper aside, looking at Luo Xi. "Let’s go. We can’t be expected to invent a dyeing method ourselves. There must be related NPCs waiting in this town."

Su Ziyan, disappointed yet nervous, looked around anxiously. "NPCs are fine, as long as they’re not ghosts..."

No sooner had he spoken, than a pink figure peeked out from behind a dye barrel. It was a heavily made-up, shabby female paper man. She curiously clicked her tongue. "The candidates this year are really all over the place, huh!"

Su Ziyan was startled and screamed as he ran behind Luo Xi. "Damn, what's wrong with this village? Are even the paper men not allowed to pass through?"

The female paper man looked at him with disdain for his exaggerated reaction. "Money is just an external thing. What's its use?"

Xiyu quickly asked, "You don't like money? Then what do you need?"

The female paper man knocked on him, her black hole-like eyes devoid of emotion, but the mouth painted on her face curved upward. "If I told you, wouldn't it be meaningless?"

Luo Xi stared at her thoughtfully, pondering.

The female paper man suddenly grew upset. "What are you staring at? Never seen a beauty before?"In an annoyed manner, Luo Xi kicked the paper man aside. "You're still coming at me? What did you just say? Good and bad? Who's the good one, and who's the bad one?"

The paper man floated away like a deflated balloon but then turned around and twisted back. "Isn’t it obvious? Hmph."

Su Ziyan, trembling, asked, "You just mentioned the candidates. It seems you know about the bride selection?"

"Of course," the paper man replied proudly. "Every year, the bride has to come here and get several rolls of red cloth."

This unexpected information delighted Xiyu. "Really? Do you know how the wedding garment is dyed?"

The paper man immediately lowered its head. "The wedding dress... is the matchmaker's secret..."

Xiyu was unwilling to give up. "But you live here, so you must be an expert in dyeing, right? Do you still remember the color of the wedding dress?"

The paper man muttered, "The color... is a very special red... let me take a look..." It walked around the dye vat in circles, murmuring as if it had lost its soul. After a while, it clumsily climbed into the bright red dye vat and disappeared without a trace. Before it vanished, it mumbled, "Used up... I don’t have any more here..."

Su Ziyan thought he was one step ahead and couldn’t hold back his fear. He excitedly ran over and shouted, "Hey! Don’t hide!"

Xiyu advised him, "It shouldn’t be this easy to clear the level, but at least we know that the key information for the task is definitely not here. Let’s go look somewhere else."

Su Ziyan said, "But outside, there are only voices, no people."

"No, there are paper people everywhere. It’s just that they need certain conditions to reveal themselves," Luo Xi finally spoke up with a calm smile. "And I think I know the secret now."

Su Ziyan was surprised. "Really? What is it?"

Luo Xi put his arm around his shoulder. "Let’s go, let’s try it outside."

Meanwhile, Ying Zhixing and his team were walking down the street. They didn’t chat, and their attitude remained calm, but there were no new discoveries.

Zhou Ze, with his mild presence, spoke gently. "Xiaoyu, aren’t you scared anymore?"

Yan Ruyu, trying to get their help to clear the level, smiled flatteringly. "I was a bit scared before, but with you guys, what is there to fear? You’re the strongest in this round."

Ying Zhixing gave her a cold glance, ignoring her flattery, and instead made a shushing sound. "Someone's here."

Zhou Ze bravely took the lead and went ahead.

Unexpectedly, it was Fei Ling, running clumsily and panicking. Her cute face was filled with terror as she grabbed Zhou Ze, like she had found a lifeline. "Help! There's a drunkard chasing me!"

"Don’t panic," Zhou Ze comforted her and asked, "A drunkard?"

Fei Ling nodded. "Yes, a man, drunk and stumbling out of the darkness, lunging at me. Luckily, I ran fast!"

Zhou Ze glanced at Ying Zhixing.

Ying Zhixing rarely smiled, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Did you really see clearly? Was it a person, or was it a paper man?"

Fei Ling swallowed hard, her expression confused.

Ying Zhixing said, "Actually, in this Yinqiao Village, there are all kinds of burial items burned for the dead, right? Be careful. Don’t get killed by accident."

"In a way, the one chasing you really is a drunk 'ghost,'" Zhou Ze added with a smile.

Fei Ling's face turned white with fear, and she tightly held onto Zhou Ze’s sleeve.Ying Zhixing主动说：“Forget it, if you need help, you can come with us.”

Meanwhile, Yan Ruyu, who was standing alone beside them, seemed to feel left out and couldn’t help but cast a slightly hostile glance at her.