Chapter 99

Chapter 99

The blood-colored twilight gently covered the land of the Peach Blossom Spring but couldn’t penetrate the mysterious white mist here.

Before the darkness fully set in, Xiyu headed to the already abandoned marketplace, carefully spending ten taels of silver on a steamed bun and another twenty taels on a water pouch. Only then did Luo Xi carry him to the roof of the shelter, where they ate a simple dinner in the cool breeze.

“The price of water is almost the same as staying a night at the shelter. It looks like it will become a very precious resource in the future,” Xiyu said carefully, taking a sip.

Luo Xi smiled lightly. “Of course, there is no clean water in Peach Blossom Spring, and once people run out of water, they’ll face all kinds of problems.”

Xiyu handed him the water pouch. “Drink more, I’m not doing anything physically demanding. I guess the daily tasks in the game aren’t about battling zombies, but rather helping Fox Four Aunty find unlucky people willing to pawn themselves.”

Luo Xi narrowed his eyes. “The first two days should be relatively peaceful, but as people's abilities are pawned off more and more, the work they can do will become less. At that point, to survive, they’ll be willing to do anything.”

Without strength, one can't protect oneself. That is truly the most painful loss. Xiyu couldn’t help but feel a headache.

Luo Xi lowered his gaze, watching the stream of streamers settling into the shelter, then smiled. "By the way, today I worked diligently with that Chief Constable Situ and managed to get some important information."

Xiyu looked up.

Luo Xi cleared his throat. "Now that the officials of Peach Blossom Spring are dead, the original laws have gradually lost their effect. If anyone kills an innocent person, they can pay 80 taels of silver to buy their freedom from the government. If they can’t come up with the money, the government won’t waste the last of its public grain on a murderer, so the criminal will be executed the same day."

Hearing this unexpected news, Xiyu couldn’t help but be surprised, slowly blinking his eyes. "So…"

Luo Xi’s gaze grew colder. "So, as long as a streamer has more than 80 taels of silver, they can be killed without much consequence. If it were before, I’d already have sent Du Li and Su Ziyan out. You must know that many good opportunities come from the imbalance of information. Once everyone understands the cost of this punishment, it’ll be harder to take advantage of."

"You mean... you don’t plan to do that now?" Xiyu forced a bitter smile. "Could it be because of me?"

Luo Xi answered matter-of-factly, "You're unstable right now, how can I make enemies everywhere? If I have too much silver, it'll only attract attention and I won’t be able to handle the consequences."

Xiyu originally thought it was somewhat helpless—if this guy had been playing the game alone, he wouldn’t have survived after only selling ten taels of silver on the first day. It seemed that Luo Xi wasn’t a passive weakling. He always found ways to think ahead, only it depended on whether he was willing to act.

Luo Xi bit into the tough steamed bun as if savoring some delicacy, but he was likely more enjoying the time spent with Xiyu.

While eating, he suddenly raised his head and gestured below. "Look, here comes the shameless one."

Xiyu shifted his gaze.

It was the male streamer named Shu He.

He was rather inconspicuous among the others, and it was remembered that he had his luck taken by Fox Four Aunty with twenty taels that morning. Now, he had his head lowered, looking pitiful, seemingly without a job?

Sure enough, Shu He shamelessly clung to the wealthiest, Du Li. "Can you lend me thirty taels of silver? I'll pay you back tomorrow, with interest, how about that?"

Du Li, disgusted, struggled to push him away. "Just because you say ‘with interest,’ doesn’t mean it works like that. You think I’m an idiot?"

She then forcefully shoved Shu He aside and rushed into the dirty but hopeful shelter.

Su Ziyan, left behind, innocently blinked and rejected him, "Huh? I’m deaf—what did you say, I can’t hear!"

With that, he squeezed through the door after her.

Shu He, left standing there, felt both disappointed and fearful. He turned back to look at the increasingly thick twilight and couldn’t help but plead with the young girl guarding the shelter. His look was truly pitiful and useless.

Luo Xi shook his head as he watched, "To have made it this far in the qualifying round and still expect others to pity you? This person deserves to be out."

Xiyu couldn’t do much to help, so he simply turned his eyes away and looked elsewhere.Ruo Xi grabbed his wrist and said, "Let's go inside and rest. Once it gets dark, we'll see what the so-called corpse demon is capable of."

Actually, compared to those ferocious and bloody monsters, Xi Yu always thought that human nature was even more terrifying. He remained calm and said, "Alright, but don't get impulsive and try to test your skills. Based on the current situation, it would be better to stay low-key."

The shelter was filled with the homeless people who had nowhere to hide in Peach Blossom Village, and the conditions were naturally worse than those in the still-operating inns. They couldn't even provide clean bedding, let alone private rooms.

Fortunately, the ten broadcasters who had managed to find work and squeezed in were all trapped in a filthy large room. They sat on the damp and cold straw mats, looking at each other silently, as if keeping quiet could protect their secrets.

Duli, as usual, was restless and suddenly hummed from the corner, "Zi Yan and Xi Yu are working for Fox Four Aunts, Ruo Xi and Xu Rou are with Captain Situ, Lu Yan and Huo Qing Shen are at the Lin Mansion, Dan Yun and Hong Feng are following the swordsman, and I’m helping Li Mo at Yonghe Hall. That's right, right? I noticed these five are no saints. Looks like we’ll be against each other soon."

At first, Dan Yun had been full of energy, but since Fox Four Aunts had taken away most of her memories, she had become somewhat dazed. Still, she irritably retorted, "So? What are you trying to say?"

Duli smiled maliciously, "In troubled times, there aren’t many people who can be good, so I think we should be particularly wary of those helping Captain Situ. If he finds out about us and harms our boss, that would be a big problem."

Ruo Xi and Xu Rou, the targets of her words, remained expressionless.

The weak but beautiful Huo Qing Shen also smiled, "That’s not necessarily true. Who can guarantee that ordinary people have high moral standards, and that the captain won't sink to their level just to survive? Right, Ruo Ge?"

Ruo Xi, half-supporting the drowsy Xi Yu, answered coldly, "It doesn’t matter if they sink to your level or not. I’m not interested in doing so. You can’t even afford to buy water, yet you’re talking nonsense. Isn’t your throat dry?"

Huo Qing Shen’s flattery backfired, and he awkwardly lowered his head.

Lu Yan, who had lost his eyes, and Dan Yun leaned against each other, speaking softly, "I’m tired. Let’s sleep."

Dan Yun reached out and snuffed out the flickering oil lamp in the center of the room.

The room fell into darkness, and a rare quietness filled the space.

Although Xi Yu wanted to take the opportunity to probe into everyone's situation, his exhaustion from physical strain prompted his body to seek rest, and the warmth in Ruo Xi’s arms on this cold night made him inevitably drowsy.

Ruo Xi also squinted to rest, but his breathing remained steady, seemingly staying alert.

This was unavoidable. After all, the importance of silver needed no explanation, and if it were stupidly stolen, it would be laughable.

Duli also shared the same worries and alertness. She wrapped the money pouch given by Fox Four Aunts tightly around her wrist and placed it under her head, finally managing to fall asleep.

When the room became particularly quiet, Ruo Xi gently loosened his hold on Xi Yu and moved towards the window where the moonlight was faint.

He had deliberately observed everyone's expenses earlier in the evening. Aside from accommodation, only Xi Yu, Duli, Su Ziyan, and Lu Yan had bought steamed buns and water, and Xu Rou had bought only a bag of water. With Su Zhen heading to the inn... the current amounts of silver were still clear.

Xi Yu: 80 liang

Himself: 10 liang

Xu Rou: 10 liang

Duli: 100 liang

Su Ziyan: 100 liang

Lu Yan: 30 liang

Dan Yun: 30 liangHuo Qing Shen: 0 liang

Hong Feng: 0 liang

Li Mo: 20 liang

Su Zhen: 0 liang

...

Most of the broadcasters were either completely broke or starving. If he guessed correctly, they would likely go to Fox Four Aunts for a second pawn, but what if their ability to pawn items led to losing their jobs? When faced with life and death, money and profit, how would everyone choose?

The rules of the game were troubling, and the situation would definitely not be as clear-cut as he had promised Xi Yu.

Ruo Xi clenched his fist and silently decided: Even if it was to protect the disadvantaged Xi Yu, he would have to be the bad guy if necessary.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, a beastly growl suddenly echoed through the previously silent alley. In the dim moonlight, some stiff black shadows began to emerge. They seemed completely mindless, with no specific target, just mindlessly searching for the living from house to house, eager to taste fresh blood.

At the same time, several villagers armed with knives, guns, and sticks rushed from the corners and began battling the corpse demons in the night mist. The scene was so tragic that it stirred the blood even more.

The broadcasters, who had been lightly asleep, were all awakened by the noise, and everyone became alert.

Ruo Xi immediately returned to Xi Yu’s side and took his cold hand, saying, “It’s okay. It’s just the time for the monsters to be active.”

Xi Yu silently nodded.

Dan Yun walked to the window and disdainfully said, “What’s so scary? Just give me a weapon, and killing them would be like a game.”

Lu Yan advised from the side, “Stop bragging and sit down.”

Just then, it seemed the system wanted to play a joke on them. Suddenly, a corpse demon with a face full of rotting flesh lunged at them, reaching out to grab the beautiful Dan Yun.

Dan Yun instinctively protected Lu Yan and took a few steps back.

Before she could even make a sound, Duli screamed in fright, curling up in the corner and shouting, “Wasn’t it safe to stay in the shelter? Help! Help!”

Dan Yun frowned, clearly struggling to suppress the impulse to rush out.

Fortunately, at that moment, a constable with a knife arrived and began to wrestle with the corpse demon.

Ruo Xi covered Xi Yu’s eyes, saying, “It’s okay. It seems we’re safe for now. It’s noisy, but you can try to rest.”

Though safe, it was only temporary.

Xi Yu lay on Ruo Xi’s lap, looking out at the faint firelight and the occasional shadow cast in from the outside, letting out a soft sigh and replying, “I still don’t know where these corpse demons come from in this story. If they’re really related to Peach Blossom Village, then the one who started it should truly be damned.”