As Dong Xiu walked up the mountain from the south side, he happened to encounter Xin Meng and You Yi, who were coming down. Xin Meng found it strange, “Are you looking for us?”
Dong Xiu quickly scanned behind them and around, then glanced at the muddy shovel in You Yi’s hand. Adjusting his glasses nonchalantly, he said, “It’s nothing, just a bit worried about you. There have been a lot of deaths in the village recently, and I’m afraid something might happen to you. It’s better if you don’t separate from the group for now; staying together means you can support each other in case of trouble.”
To be honest, Xin Meng didn’t believe a word Dong Xiu said. Would he really worry about them? And even if he said it nicely, would he remember to support them in danger? It would be good enough if he didn’t step on them to escape!
But Xin Meng didn’t expose him. “Is it just you? What about Li Yougen and Xiong Jiabao?”
Dong Xiu sneered, “That Shamate guy is really something; he’s sleeping soundly. I came with Li Yougen to find you, but he went to the North Mountain.”
Xin Meng nodded, “Then let’s go back.”
“Wait,” Dong Xiu said, “Did you just go up the mountain? Did you find anything?”
He looked meaningfully at the shovel and said, “If you found something, it’s better to share it so we can analyze it together. Maybe we can discover some details that we missed, what do you think?”
Seeing that he had noticed, Xin Meng didn’t think about hiding it. To pass the level, one couldn’t rely solely on oneself. As the saying goes, many hands make light work; three cobblers can outsmart Zhuge Liang, not to mention that Dong Xiu was quite clever. He originally planned to return to the village chief’s house and gather everyone to discuss this matter, but seeing Dong Xiu’s persistent demeanor, he decided to share what he had seen regarding the grave.
“I want to go up and take a look,” Dong Xiu said after hearing this. “It’s not far from here, right?”
Knowing he didn’t trust him, Xin Meng wasn’t angry and said good-naturedly, “Not far, we’ll take you there.”
So the three of them returned to the unnamed woman’s grave.
Dong Xiu circled the mound five or six times but couldn’t discern anything. He then looked at You Yi, “Can I borrow the shovel? I want to take another look.”
Xin Meng frowned, hesitating a bit. After all, digging up someone’s grave wasn’t a good thing, especially not for the second time. But You Yi had already thrown the shovel over and pulled Xin Meng aside, crossing his arms and watching Dong Xiu with an attitude that suggested he wouldn’t help at all. Seeing them stand by, Dong Xiu could only curse inwardly and start shoveling the dirt himself.
A familiar corner of the coffin emerged, followed by the entire lid. The light yellow wood grain was covered in clumps of dirt, resembling old age spots or stubborn psoriasis. Xin Meng looked at the dark brown clumps of dirt and felt that same sense of incongruity, but he couldn’t quite grasp that fleeting insight. His gaze remained fixed on the coffin, but he couldn’t help but take a couple of steps toward You Yi.
The small coffin was revealed again. Since You Yi had pried it open once before, the nails embedded inside had been pulled out, so the lid and coffin were separated. Dong Xiu gently pushed, and the lid slid off. Xin Meng felt a bit of dread and deliberately hid behind You Yi, peeking out to see the skull quietly resting on a pile of white bones. The previous feelings of resentment and unwillingness did not resurface; it was indeed just his imagination.
Dong Xiu felt a bit uncomfortable but still examined the pile of bones carefully, puzzled. “Just a year, and it turns to white bones? Isn’t that a bit too fast?”
Hearing him ask this, Xin Meng replied uncertainly, “It seems that under certain conditions, it can happen, like high pressure or high heat…”
Dong Xiu scoffed coldly, “This isn’t a volcano; where would the high pressure and heat come from?”
“Then does that mean the village chief and the others are lying?” Xin Meng asked. “Could it be that this body didn’t just die a year ago, but many years ago? But why? Why would they lie about the time?”
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer, so he could only keep his doubts to himself.
When they first came, Xin Meng had been worried about whether the corpse was Qi Xiaokui. After confirming it wasn’t, he relaxed a bit and didn’t pay as much attention to many details. However, regardless of Dong Xiu’s character, his insight and analytical skills were quite impressive. Having him look at the corpse wasn’t without its benefits; at least he discovered many details that Xin Meng had overlooked.
“Also, what’s strange about the things in this coffin,” Dong Xiu pointed inside and said, “Did you not notice that there are only a pile of bones in here?”
Xin Meng looked at the scattered bones and then at the clean interior of the coffin, suddenly widening his eyes, “That’s right! It’s too clean!”
Not to mention the clothes the deceased should have been wearing—perhaps the villagers didn’t dress her—but most importantly, there wasn’t even a trace of decayed skin or muscle tissue in the coffin!
This wasn’t just buried underground; it was placed in a sealed coffin. How could there be none of that? How could it be so clean?
Suddenly, a cold wind blew from nowhere, and goosebumps rose all over Xin Meng’s exposed arms. He felt a chill that seemed to pierce through to his bones, making him shiver.
“W-what’s going on…” Dong Xiu trembled, hugging his arms, “Why is it suddenly so cold?”
But Xin Meng had an instinct that something was wrong; they might have triggered some kind of flag, and something bad was about to happen!
Sure enough, the wind not only didn’t die down but grew stronger, blowing fiercely, swirling leaves and dust into the air. Soon, a small whirlwind formed, obscuring the view in front of the three. Xin Meng was blown so hard that he couldn’t open his eyes, and small stones and leaves kept hitting his face, causing his skin to sting. After a while, he could barely stand!
Just as he leaned to one side and was about to fall, the ground suddenly gave way beneath his feet, and he plummeted into the water with a splash!
The icy water quickly enveloped his body. Xin Meng was caught off guard and choked on a mouthful of water. To make matters worse, he couldn’t swim at all!
He frantically flailed his limbs, but it only accelerated his descent. He didn’t dare open his eyes, struggling helplessly as the lack of oxygen made his lungs ache. The shadow of death quickly enveloped him, and Xin Meng gradually sank to the bottom, about to become the first player to drown in the game. However, just as he was sinking into despair, a strong arm reached out, tightly wrapping around his waist and pulling him upward. Xin Meng, in a panic, clutched at the person’s body and clothes as if grasping a lifeline, following the force upward until he finally broke through the water’s surface, coughing violently as his lungs felt like they were about to explode, his mind a chaotic blur.
You Yi held him tightly as he coughed uncontrollably, keeping Xin Meng secure in his embrace. He brushed aside the wet hair covering Xin Meng’s face with his hand, using his thumb to wipe away the tears from his coughing. Xin Meng’s eyes, misty with water, looked pitifully like a helpless animal cub, making one’s heart soften at the sight.
However, Xin Meng’s feelings were far from pleasant. The sensation of nearly drowning was terrifying for someone who couldn’t swim. He didn’t even have time to see who had saved him, nor could he observe the surroundings. His fingers clung tightly to You Yi’s clothes, trembling all over, gasping for breath.
Regardless, the three of them had at least escaped the water’s surface. Dong Xiu, who often went to the gym, was a good swimmer and surfaced even earlier than You Yi, who had gone down to save him. At this moment, he was looking around.
“This is… a reservoir?!” Dong Xiu’s face was filled with disbelief and horror. “How did we suddenly end up here?!”
Thinking of the few people who had inexplicably died in the reservoir before made his hair stand on end!
“Let’s go!” Dong Xiu shouted. “We need to get out of here quickly!”
After saying that, he began to swim vigorously toward the shore. Xin Meng also regained his senses, being pulled by You Yi as they swam toward the shore. However, after a short while, Xin Meng felt as if something was pulling on his clothes, dragging him down!
He looked at You Yi in panic, only to find him frowning, treading water in place as if he were facing the same situation. Ahead, Dong Xiu shouted, “Who the hell is pulling me! Xin Meng, you…”
When Dong Xiu turned around and saw that Xin Meng and You Yi were still some distance away from him, his voice abruptly cut off, and his expression turned to one of sheer terror! “What, what is that?!”
He began to look down into the water, but apart from the dark surface, he saw nothing. Behind him, Xin Meng watched as Dong Xiu turned his head in a circle, suddenly feeling an eerie sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it somewhere before…
That’s right! He had indeed seen it before, when Wu Qiang and the others had entered the reservoir to pull Wu Xiuzhi’s body. They had suddenly stopped, making the same motion!
Xin Meng’s heart raced. He recalled how Wu Qiang and the others had suddenly disappeared beneath the water’s surface, only to be pulled out as three corpses!
Could it be that they would end up like that too?
What to do, what to do…
Before Xin Meng could think of a way to escape from his chaotic thoughts, he felt a pair of hands seemingly gripping his ankles, and then a tremendous force yanked him down beneath the water!
Xin Meng didn’t even have time to scream before he was pulled back into the water. Fortunately, he had still been holding onto You Yi’s hand, which gave him a bit of cushioning. Plus, having realized what had happened before, he was somewhat mentally prepared. This time, at least he didn’t choke on water. Xin Meng took a deep breath and sank beneath the surface, forcing his eyes open.
All he could see was darkness, and all he could hear was the rumbling of the water. Below the surface seemed to form a separate space. His hand separated from You Yi’s, and the sensation on his ankles vanished. Xin Meng sank in the water, feeling as if he was the only person left in the world…
He kept turning his head, looking around, his fear reaching its peak. Not to mention the impending unknown danger, the threat of drowning was looming right before him!
Soon, he saw a white dot appear beneath his feet, slowly growing larger, as if something was surfacing from the bottom and swimming toward him. Before he could see what it was, he noticed more and more white dots appearing below, growing larger and larger. When they finally came within Xin Meng’s line of sight, he widened his eyes in horror!
A pale, naked body, like a swarm of jellyfish in the sea, surged toward him. Those equally pale faces were set with two black patches where the whites of their eyes should be, all staring fixedly at Xin Meng. Their eerily stretched mouths almost reached their ears, revealing toothless red gums inside. Xin Meng saw their lips moving silently, as if they were saying, “Food, food…”
