“Turns out it really was you looking for me.”
As Dong Xiu spoke, he walked through the main gate but did not proceed further inside. Instead, he stood still, sizing up Xin Meng and Xiong Jiabao, while the two aunts behind him smiled and said, “Young man, see? We told you we weren’t lying.”
Just as Xin Meng was about to speak, she suddenly saw Xiong Jiabao beside her burst out in anger, charging out like an enraged little bird. He grabbed Dong Xiu by the collar, nearly lifting him off the ground!
No one expected such a turn of events. When Dong Xiu saw Xiong Jiabao’s twisted expression, he probably recalled how he looked in his previous world. His face instantly turned pale, and he missed the opportunity to break free in time.
“You! Framed! Me!” Xiong Jiabao shouted furiously, swinging his fist and landing a punch squarely on Dong Xiu’s face, knocking his glasses off!
“I, Xiong Jiabao, may be foolish, but I’m not that easy to bully!”
The small courtyard was immediately thrown into chaos. Villagers rushed forward to pull the two apart, while Xiong Jiabao, still unwilling to relent, tried to continue attacking. Dong Xiu, however, dared not confront him and retreated several steps, using the villagers’ strength to back away.
“How am I framing you? It was you who wanted to go down there; I didn’t push you!” Without his glasses, Dong Xiu’s vision was somewhat blurred, making it hard to see Xiong Jiabao’s face, which relieved him a bit. But feeling guilty, his words lacked conviction, yet he still stubbornly refused to admit it.
“You!” Xiong Jiabao waved his fist again, trying to charge forward, but was held back by a few teenagers who grabbed his waist. He shouted, “If it weren’t for you provoking me, I wouldn’t have acted impulsively!”
Hearing this, Dong Xiu calmed down. He shook off the aunts holding him and went to pick up his glasses, wiping them before putting them back on. He then coldly laughed at Xiong Jiabao, “If I don’t talk to you, you won’t go down? Aren’t you good buddies with Jiezi? Don’t you listen to everything he says? If he told you to go down, would you go or not?!”
Xiong Jiabao paused, recalling the person who had deceived him, who seemed even more detestable than Dong Xiu before him!
Dong Xiu seized the opportunity to continue questioning him, “Answer me! Are you going down or not?”
Xiong Jiabao choked, the colorful feather duster on his head drooping a bit. He dropped his hands, looking dispirited, “Hmph, I’ll let you off this time. If you dare to use me again next time, I will definitely beat you up so badly that your own mother won’t recognize you!”
With that, he angrily turned and walked toward the door. The others, seeing that a fight was no longer happening, did not stop him. Xiong Jiabao plopped down on a small stool at the door, saw the tea jar that Xin Meng had placed on the ground, and angrily grabbed it, tilting his head back to gulp down the water in a fit of rage. Wu Xuehua glanced at him, twirled her finger around her braid, and pouted.
At that moment, Xin Meng, who had been watching from the side, walked over and asked Xiong Jiabao, “Do you still remember what happened after you touched the stone?”
Xiong Jiabao had no particular grievances against Xin Meng. He had little social experience and initially treated everyone in the team as friends, letting down his guard completely, which led to him being tricked so badly. However, he was not a saint; he expected others to be loyal to him as he was to them. If they weren’t, then fine, they were no longer friends!
Thus, Dong Xiu had already been crossed off his list of friends, while Xin Meng, who had always been friendly and nice to him, remained. Naturally, he was willing to answer Xin Meng’s question.
“I don’t have any specific feelings, just an impression,” Xiong Jiabao scratched his head, unsure how to describe it. “After I touched that stone, I lost consciousness. When I woke up again, I was in the mountains, and what happened after the last game naturally came to my mind. But if you want me to specifically describe how I knew, I can’t say.”
Xin Meng nodded, feeling a bit relieved. “That’s still fortunate; you only know the situation without experiencing it firsthand.”
Hearing this, Xiong Jiabao suddenly recalled what happened after he turned into a monster. It seemed he had even eaten human flesh raw? He couldn’t help but shiver, feeling a chill run down his spine, and said, “You’re right, thank goodness! Thank goodness…”
At that moment, another group of people arrived outside, and Xin Meng turned to see that Li Yougen had been found.
As soon as Li Yougen saw Xiong Jiabao, he turned into an angry bull in the courtyard, storming over to confront him. The villagers again rushed in, creating a scene to separate the two.
Li Yougen berated Xiong Jiabao, “You damn bastard! You turned into a monster and didn’t go after the real culprit, but instead chased after me! You even scratched my leg with your nails, causing me to turn into a zombie! I won’t let you off!”
However, unlike the unrepentant Dong Xiu, Xiong Jiabao knew he was in the wrong and quickly apologized, his attitude particularly sincere, which calmed Li Yougen down a bit. Li Yougen shot Xiong Jiabao an unhappy glare, turned around, and then met Dong Xiu’s dark expression.
Recalling the scene of him biting Dong Xiu, Li Yougen felt a bit guilty and nauseous, his stomach churning. Before he could say anything, he rushed to the wall and vomited violently.
Dong Xiu’s expression darkened even more, but he did not pursue Li Yougen to punch him. He still had his wits about him, knowing that at that time, Li Yougen had already lost consciousness and turned into a monster NPC. It would be pointless to hold him accountable, so he ignored him, only feeling more displeased.
By now, four people had arrived, but Xin Meng frowned. Where were Qi Xiaokui and You Yi?
It was strange; although they had only known each other for less than a day, he felt an inexplicable closeness to You Yi, as if he were an old friend. Whenever You Yi appeared, Xin Meng instinctively moved closer to him, not knowing why.
Later, Xin Meng analyzed it, thinking it was somewhat similar to a teenage girl suddenly making a good friend, feeling an instant connection and wanting to do everything together, even going to the bathroom.
It was simply terrifying!
His mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts, yet his eyes couldn’t help but keep glancing toward the door. When he finally saw that familiar figure, all those thoughts turned into soap bubbles under the sun, disappearing completely. He quickly rushed over, his eyes filled with joy as he looked into the other person’s eyes, which sparkled with brightness.
You Yi stood in front of him, smiling back, reaching out to ruffle his hair. The atmosphere between them was exceptionally harmonious.
Li Yougen shot them a sidelong glance, scoffing, “Hmph,” muttering, “Still saying it’s not that, ugh…”
His unspoken words halted as he recalled what had happened earlier, breaking out in a cold sweat. He swallowed the rest of his words. Sure enough, he saw You Yi glance at him casually, which scared him so much that his legs felt weak. He turned his head, tapping his mouth with his finger, muttering under his breath, “Told you to watch your mouth! Told you to watch your mouth!”
Dong Xiu sneered, his gaze at Xin Meng filled with disdain and contempt. However, he wasn’t as foolish as Li Yougen; he understood the principle of trouble coming from one’s mouth.
He glanced at the scattered villagers in the courtyard. The dirty glasses and the bruised corners of his mouth diminished his previously high and mighty demeanor, yet he remained oblivious, still wearing a proud expression. With a hint of impatience, he said coldly, “Now that everyone is here, let’s discuss the mission. First, hand over your cards…”
Xin Meng turned around and suddenly interrupted him, “We’re still missing one person; Qi Xiaokui hasn’t arrived yet.”
Dong Xiu was very displeased with Xin Meng interrupting him while he was speaking, his tone impatient, “It doesn’t matter whether she’s here or not.”
After saying that, he seemed to think of something, glanced at Xiong Jiabao, his gaze flickering, and his expression suddenly turned to rage. “If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have known that the meteorite was dangerous, and Xiong Jiabao wouldn’t have turned into a monster. It’s all because she didn’t cooperate!”
“That’s right!” Xiong Jiabao seemed to just realize this, slapping his thigh. “Why didn’t I think of that? If she had shown us the card from the start, I definitely wouldn’t have touched that thing! If I hadn’t touched that thing, I wouldn’t have turned into a monster!”
Xin Meng was very disgusted by Dong Xiu’s deliberate attempt to shift blame. “If you’re going to say that, then let’s go further back. If you hadn’t tried to hit her in the underground supermarket, she might have shown us the card long ago!”
“You!” Dong Xiu was furious, glaring at Xin Meng, his fists clenched tightly. How could this person always be against him? He practically wanted to beat him to death!
But seeing You Yi immediately protect Xin Meng behind him, he unwillingly averted his gaze, cursing inwardly, “It’s just a little rabbit, acting all high and mighty!”
Xin Meng was well protected, almost completely shielded by the man behind him. Feeling emboldened, he poked his head out and continued, “Have you all forgotten the lesson? If we don’t wait for her and can’t see the contents of her card, what if danger arises?”
Everyone fell silent. Finally, Xin Meng concluded, “We still need to find her!”
“Excuse me…” Suddenly, a clear female voice interrupted their conversation. They turned to see Wu Xuehua looking at them with wide, curious eyes. “What are you talking about? What zombies, meteorites… and what danger?”
“Ah, we…” Xiong Jiabao didn’t know how to explain, but Dong Xiu impatiently said, “It has nothing to do with you, stop meddling.”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold. It was the first time Wu Xuehua had been scolded in such a tone, and tears welled up in her eyes. Pouting, she looked quite aggrieved, and the aunts were also displeased. “Hey, you young man, how can you speak like that!”
“Exactly! We even treated you to a meal. How can you talk to Hua Hua like that? She meant no harm; what do you mean by meddling!”
Although the villagers were kind, they were not without temper. Wu Xuehua had always been a flower in the village, and now being scolded by an outsider like this made them unhappy. They all had a poor impression of Dong Xiu. Dong Xiu hadn’t expected his one remark to provoke such a strong reaction and was unwilling to apologize, leading to a tense standoff.
In the end, it was Xin Meng who feared that Dong Xiu would ruin the team’s image in the villagers’ eyes, quickly smoothing things over. “He has a bad temper and always talks like this; it’s not intentional. He often scolds us too, so everyone, don’t take it to heart.”
The villagers thought about how Dong Xiu had indeed not said anything nice since he arrived, and they believed Xin Meng. However, Dong Xiu did not appreciate it. In his view, Xin Meng’s words, while seemingly an apology, were actually tarnishing his reputation!
“Just you wait!” Dong Xiu muttered fiercely under his breath, ensuring no one heard him.
