Chapter 20 Nocturnal Sounds

"Nothing," Xu Huo's gaze shifted from the body to the excessively high pile of firewood next to it and the freshly sharpened axe, then he stood up to look around the area.

"I've got it!" the short-haired female player, holding two pairs of rubber shoes of different sizes that she found in the cabin, said excitedly, "This place must have been for two people, maybe even a husband and wife. The woman died first, then the man fell seriously ill, buried her, and committed suicide out of total despair."

"Not too early, not too late, but just when we enter," Smoky makeup curled her lip disdainfully.

The muscular men searched inside and outside the wooden cabin for useful clues but found none, so they decided to put the body back in the cabin, planning to bury it when it got light.

The group returned the way they came, passing through the woods to reach the main hall of the mountain villa.

The courtyard was laid out in a U-shaped structure, with the main entrance leading to the hall, corridors on both sides leading to guest rooms. Each wing of the U had two rooms, each room equipped with hot springs, and at the two corners at the back, there were paths leading outside the courtyard—one to the dining area and the other to the storeroom.

At a glance, the courtyard had many exits and entrances, hardly any privacy to speak of.

There were no other people in the mountain villa, but it was fairly clean and had functioning electricity. Perhaps due to the humidity and the all-wood construction, there was a pervasive smell of rot inside.

"Six rooms, how shall we split them?" the rich second-generation asked.

"Two to a room is just right," the muscular man slapped his bicep, "but I'm not afraid to stay alone!"

"I think it's better to stay together," the long-haired female player suggested, "Everyone being together provides mutual support and it's better for dealing with any issues that might arise."

"Have you forgotten something?" the bald middle-aged man interjected suddenly, "There could be a Cannibal Player among us, who would want to share a room with a Cannibal Player?"

"Finding the Cannibal Player is simple, the numbers are unique…" the cowboy was cut off before he could finish by the short-haired female player, "Wang Wei, don't talk without feeling the pinch. White players are at a disadvantage. Look at numbers? We don't even know who will end up dead!"

White players—Xu Huo realized at the train station, while dealing with those ticketless players, that besides the red and black, there was another category of white players. Players who hadn't eaten human flesh nor killed anyone were classed as white. Relative to the other two categories, white players certainly were in a precarious position.

The cowboy, Wang Wei, shrugged his shoulders, "If you don't want to, then forget it. It's better to stay separately."

"Of course we'll stay separately!" the short-haired female player grabbed the long-haired female player, "You're staying with me!"

The long-haired female player's mouth opened slightly, then she nodded in agreement.

"Better off just staying separately," the man in the suit glanced at everyone, "Now that we're in the game, we've got to look after our own lives, and after all, it's just five days."

The players came from various places, unfamiliar and distrustful of one another; it was only normal to be preoccupied with one's own concerns.

After all, this was a survival game; just lasting five days was enough.

"Brother Xu, would it be okay if I stayed in a room with you?" With none of the other players showing willingness to team up, Yuan Yao had no choice but to follow Xu Huo.

"Sure." Xu Huo picked the first room on the right, and just before entering, he gestured with his chin forward. Yuan Yao understood and immediately pretended to look for someone to pair with, following behind the other players.

It was a while before he returned, having scoped out the occupants of several rooms.

"The beauty with long hair is called Du Lanlan, quite easy to talk to. The one with short hair is Xia Guo. They're staying across from us."

"The woman with the rich guy is a streamer, looks average, and her name could be real or fake—it's Liu Yuanyuan."

"They live next door to Huang Junjie and Zhang Xiong, with Huang Junjie being the uncle in the suit."

"The bald guy is Wan Zhikang. Du Lanlan and Xia Guo arrived one after the other. When they just got here, Wan Zhikang ran over to curry favor; when they ignored him, he took a dislike to them. He stays in the room right across from us with that foreigner, Abel."

"The room next door is taken by Wang Wei. That college student had nowhere else to go; when I came back, I saw Wang Wei invite him in."

After listening, Xu Huo nodded. "Which two players had you not seen before?"

"Wang Wei and Huang Junjie." Yuan Yao relayed everything he had learned from Du Lanlan in one breath. "Huang Junjie is really impressive. When Wan Zhikang was harassing them, she exposed him right away. It turns out that the bald guy was a cuckold who'd been swindled out of all his money by a lover, and he turned his affection into resentment towards beautiful women."

"They know each other?"

"No, they don't. That's what makes it so impressive; Huang Junjie deduced it from little clues." Yuan Yao said with envy, "I wish I had such an amazing ability."

At this point, Xu Huo had already checked all around the room. He drew the curtains, "Let's get some sleep early."

Suddenly feeling a bit scared, Yuan Yao cautiously looked at the always expressionless person, "By the way, Brother Xu, aren't you afraid that I could be a Cannibal Player?"

Xu Huo lay down on the bed. "Don't worry, I am not a Cannibal Player."

Yuan Yao gave an awkward smile and lay down on the other bed.

The light in the room was dim, and outside in the courtyard, the sound of running water from the hot spring was regular and soothing. Xu Huo fingered the mobile phone in his pocket, going through the information about the players in his mind.

He had paid attention to everyone; most of them came empty-handed, with only clothes and simple everyday items like lighters and earrings. Devices such as mobile phones, watches, and weapons were nowhere to be found. The game seemed to define what constituted a prop based on its technological content.

However, he had come directly from the train station, and his mobile phone and dagger hadn't disappeared.

The game hints mentioned that due to low replication levels, non-game props cannot be brought along, and the villa's popularity among both players and non-players suggested that the replica's location is not completely closed off.

You can't bring things in from outside the game world, but if you are already in the game world, you can bring anything into the replication regardless of whether it's a game prop. Similarly, whether you are a player of the replica or not, you can enter the replication site.

Moreover, the game didn't specify how many people are involved in the replica.

Xu Huo turned over, eyes open, and met the silent figure who had approached his bedside, "What are you doing?"

Yuan Yao nearly screamed out, but quickly clarified out of fright, "I'm not trying to hurt you, I just wanted to see the number on your back."

To prove his innocence, he lifted his own shirt first, "Really, I am a White Player!"

Xu Huo sat up, leaned against the bed, and lit a cigarette, observing the anxious Yuan Yao, "If you're that scared, why did you want to stay in the same room as me?"

Seeing that Xu Huo had no intention of attacking him, Yuan Yao relaxed a bit, "I'm actually a homebody, I'm no good with manual tasks. You might not believe it, but on the preliminary assessment train, I nearly got killed by a fifteen-year-old girl... But you, Brother Xu, are different. Calm and composed, with long hair too, you really look like a master from another world. I wanted to follow a strong player..."

Xu Huo raised his hand to interrupt him, listening intently:

"Clang... Clang... Clang..."