This bug is amazing!

Chapter 256 Meeting

Upon seeing the note, everyone couldn't help but show surprise.

Just looking at the material of that piece of paper was enough to confirm Ji Yi's words: Ju Mao had actually taken advantage of the chaos to break into the crime scene and take the note from under Old Zhang's pillow.

What's even more surprising is that he actually had such cunning, almost misleading everyone in the wrong direction.

“He fabricated a living Old Zhang, so that whenever he wanted to cause trouble—like murder—he could shift the blame onto ‘Old Zhang,’ and everyone would be drawn to a non-existent person, allowing him to hide better.”

As she spoke, Ji Yi put the note away, and at that moment, Ju Mao recovered from the pain:
"Damn it, I'm just unlucky, just kill me."

His eyes were bloodshot: "I'll be waiting for you down there, hahaha! So what if you're smart? Do you really think you can escape this curse? You will die, and they will all die too!"

Ji Yi ignored him and simply picked up a hemp rope from the courtyard:
“I will not kill you, and I believe that none of the elders and fellow villagers here have ever killed anyone with their own hands, so I will not make things difficult for them either.”

As he spoke, he knelt down behind the orange-haired man, pinning him down completely:
“Even if a villain like you has killed someone, it’s not our place to judge you. We’ll lock you up for now, so at least when the disappearance happens, you can die in place of an innocent person.”

According to the rules, once the disappearance event begins, one person will disappear from the world forever every day.

If the group fails to find and kill the person holding the "alive" note within seven consecutive days, the "ghost-hunting game" will end, and all those holding the "death" note will die.

Conversely, each time the holder of the type is killed, the seven-day period will reset.

In other words, theoretically, it would be more valuable to spare the life of a thug.

After Ji Yi had completely tied up the orange hair, Liu Zhaohua finally realized what was happening. He looked at Ji Yi with approval, but also with a hint of undisguised embarrassment.

"As expected of a young person who writes detective novels, his thinking is so flexible. He is a promising young man."

As he spoke, he looked at the orange-haired thug, his expression becoming more serious:
"Let me lock him up for now. After noon, I think it's necessary to gather everyone together to discuss the disappearance incident. I think everyone agrees, right?"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded silently.

Ji Yi nodded slightly. He knew that the number of people present was less than a third of the total population of the village. In order to resolve the curse of Shenyin, it was indeed a necessary procedure to gather everyone together for a meeting to discuss the matter.

"I think the meeting could be held at the village chief's house."

The old man in the elderly couple said.

"His grandson is a good man; he built him a small Western-style house at the entrance of the village, a house big enough to accommodate the whole village."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Liu Zhaohua nodded. "Everyone, you can all disperse now and go tell others about the meeting. As for me..."

Liu Zhaohua picked up the orange-haired thug who was tied up tightly.

"When it comes to interrogating prisoners, no one is more authoritative than me."

There was a fierce look in his eyes, and Ji Yi believed that Ju Mao was probably going to suffer a lot later.

Soon, everyone dispersed, informing the others of what had happened that day and the afternoon meeting.

When Ji Yi returned to Xie Ping's house, the white porridge on the table was still warm, just the right consistency for her taste.

He happened to be a little hungry, so he picked up some pickled vegetables and cured meat and devoured them in no time.

After eating three bowls of porridge, Ji Yi finally managed to feel full.

'This body must have been starving for a while; it's amazing I still have the strength to punch someone.'

Touching the still clearly defined eight-pack abs on her stomach, Ji Yi was certain that the quality of this body was no different from that in reality.

"Xiao Ji is really good, that was the reasoning just now."

Xie Ping smiled, but her eyes held a cunning, fox-like glint as she looked at Ji Yi.

"Liu Chuchu kept turning back to look at you before we parted. You're handsome and smart, you must have a lot of female admirers, right?"

Liu Chuchu is Liu Zhaohua's daughter. Just now when she left, Ji Yi remembered that she really did look at her twice. Ji Yi almost couldn't help but say "What are you looking at?" and challenge her to a fight.

"Sister Xie, please stop joking with me."

Ji Yi didn't know why, but he sensed something unpleasant in her words. In any case, his intuition told him that it was best to avoid this topic.

"To be honest, keeping a cunning and ruthless guy alive, even if he's imprisoned, I still think it's a bit too risky."

Ji Yi's expression was not relaxed; this was indeed the truth.

Ju Mao set a bad precedent, and Ji Yi worried that it would subtly affect the atmosphere among the villagers, making it even more difficult for him to complete the dungeon mission.

'Would this likely exacerbate the villagers' infighting and turning them into enemies? But this is my job advancement quest instance. According to the so-called evil god's guidance, shouldn't I kill everyone and become the final winner in the village?'

Judging from the name of this deity alone, it seems that slaughtering the village is the correct way to pass the level.

But I always felt that the evil god was not simply "evil".

At least Ji Yi had worked full-time as the [Successor of the Evil God] for a period of time; it wasn't a profession that was purely about doing evil.

"If you had any concerns, why didn't you kill him on the spot?"

Xie Ping asked curiously.

"Kill him? Heh, if I don't want to die sooner, I'd better not do that."

Xie Ping tilted her head slightly upon hearing this, seemingly expressing her confusion.

Ji Yi made no attempt to hide anything and confessed directly:

"Not killing him is not because of any saintly mentality, but for the sake of 'public image'."

After saying that, seeing that Xie Ping still didn't quite understand, he had no choice but to explain in more detail:

"Think about it, if I had cleanly and efficiently killed him in public, what kind of impression do you think people would have of me?"

“Intelligent and decisive,” Xie Ping continued. “I understand. It’s not that you don’t want to kill him, but that you have to cultivate your image.”

"Otherwise, when an exceptionally talented and ruthless killer appears, he will easily become the target of public criticism. The villagers will constantly suspect that such a clever and capable person might kill them one day."

“That’s right,” Ji Yi continued, “As you can see, I seem to be thinking a bit better now, but I’m a ‘good’ person.”

"Although I've gained attention today, I'm not likely to be feared. On the contrary, a good person like me has won people's favor, making it easier for me to survive. I wonder if you've seen a foreign program like this."

"Find one hundred strangers and have them decide that only one person can win the grand prize. Otherwise, the organizers will begin a process of elimination that challenges human nature, until only one person remains."

"Of course, these one hundred people could not reach a consensus. They all wanted to win the ultimate prize, and so the fierce competition began."

"Deception, alliances, lies, betrayal. To avoid elimination and for the ultimate prize, everyone pulls out all the stops. Do you know who the final winner will be?"

Xie Ping shook her head.

"In the end, the winner of the grand prize is not the smartest, nor the best at deceiving, nor the most charismatic leader. Rather, it is the kind-hearted person who is willing to fight for the rights of others and compete for the grand prize together."

As Ji Yi spoke, she felt that something was missing from her storytelling, so she simply picked up her chopsticks and started eating pickled vegetables and sausages.

"The overly sincere and kind 'saintly' who is willing to sacrifice himself gets what he wants and becomes a stepping stone for others; those who are too unscrupulous in their pursuit of victory are despised and suffer retribution at crucial moments; the ultimate winner is kind but principled, and with a bit of luck, he achieves victory."

Ji Yi's words made Xie Ping thoughtful.

To be honest, very few people can calculate human nature and strategy to this extent.

If Ji Yi hadn't confessed, no one would have known it was part of her acting, let alone that there was such a profound consideration behind it.

If the orange-haired thugs were taking one step at a time, planning two steps ahead, then Ji Yi was calculating even further ahead with each move, aiming directly at the end of the game. Perhaps Ji Yi's confession now is also part of the plan?
After a moment's thought, Xie Ping nodded:

"So Xiao Ji has been creating a persona all along? She told me everything, isn't she afraid I'll tell everyone?"

"Sister Xie is a good person, I trust you."

Ji Yi answered immediately, looking at Xie Ping with a very sincere gaze:
"I will do everything in my power to unravel this mystery of disappearance and save everyone."

Xie Ping dodged Ji Yi's burning gaze and muttered, "Hmph, just an act."

Just then, a crying and screaming sound came from the next room:

"Waaah! My sister's phone can't connect to the internet, and An'an wants to play games!"

Xie Ping immediately stood up: "I'll go and comfort him. After you change your bandages, go and prepare. You'll be meeting the whole village this afternoon."

"Prepare? What do I need to prepare?" Ji Yi asked, puzzled.

"I need to take a shower," Xie Ping said casually. "Lying in bed with you all night has made my hair stink."

"Forehead"

Ji Yi scratched her head sheepishly: "I'm really sorry, after all, I've been away from home for several days, and it's not convenient to wash up on the way. I'll go right away after I apply the medicine."

After saying that, Ji Yi went straight to the bedroom.

After taking the medicine from the old wooden box, Ji Yi lifted her calf and saw the wound that had been broken by a stone the night before.

Despite the pain, I applied the medicine.

"Hiss, why am I so cruel to myself?"

After gritting her teeth and applying the medicine, Ji Yi tidied herself up and immediately prepared to take a shower.

The bathing facilities here are very basic, consisting of a small toilet room with a cement floor, a simple squat toilet, water pipes, and a water tank.

Next to the water tank, there was a small stool.

"It's not a dry toilet! I declare that this is absolutely the most valuable and technologically advanced facility in this house."

Compared to the drainage system in the mountain village, the large-screen TV was indeed insignificant.

Muttering to himself, Ji Yi took off his clothes, sat on the bench, and picked up a water ladle to pour water over his head and body.

While washing, he reviewed the information he had obtained about the instance and pondered its final direction.

"According to the mission objectives, if I survive to the end, I've already won half the battle."

The coolness of summer seemed to clear his mind a bit.

"If things progress to that stage, I will have no choice but to kill someone, or even... take Xie Ping down."

wow~
"hiss!"

He poured water all over his head in one go, trying to avoid washing the wound, but now too much water was poured on it, causing him to wince in pain.

Just then, there was a loud "bang".

The toilet door was suddenly flung open, and a beautiful figure in a black dress appeared outside.

Ji Yi: "?"

Xie Ping: "Oh dear, so Xiao Ji was taking a shower. I'm so sorry, I came to use the toilet and didn't know there was someone inside."

She spoke calmly, but her gaze was unwavering, more like an eagle's fixed intent on its target.

Guan Yu: "What are you looking at me for?! When Guan Yu opens his eyes, he will see blood!"

Ji Yi: "...My bathroom light was on and the water was running, how could you not know someone was in there?"

Xie Ping: "I thought it was An'an."

Ji Yi: "You just finished comforting An'an and came straight here, didn't you?"

Xie Ping: "Mm."

"You actually admitted it!"

Ten minutes later, Ji Yi hurriedly finished showering and changed into some old clothes that had gone bad.

There was no other way; this was all he had. Neither An'an nor Xie Ping had any clothes that he could wear, so he had to make do for now.

Nothing significant happened for the next few hours.

The roads in Sanshi Village are currently blocked by mudslides and landslides, making them almost impossible to repair manually. They can only wait for external construction and rescue teams to use excavators for emergency repairs.

As for communications, perhaps the heavy rain last night destroyed base stations and signal towers; in any case, no signals could be received, whether for calls, text messages, or even televisions and radios.

Completely cut off from the outside world seemed to intensify a thought in the villagers' minds:
Has murder become legalized or justified?

Natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Before the arrival of the eerie and malevolent spirits that could plunge people into despair, it seemed that people had already begun to crumble from within.

It's one o'clock in the afternoon.

The location was the village chief's residence, a three-story villa that was far more impressive than the other villagers' homes.

The first floor is large and spacious, and at this moment, two large round tables are full of people, including the village chief.

There were eleven people at one table and twelve people at another. The total population of Sanshi Village is only twenty-three.

Of course, if you include the orange-haired thugs who were locked up, then there are a total of twenty-four people here.

“I see quite a few unfamiliar faces here.”

The village chief spoke, a sprightly old man whose tone carried a resolute determination.

"Please take turns introducing yourselves so we can get to know each other. Look, there seem to be some people here who don't belong to our village. Heh."

What the heck is that "heh"?

Ji Yi glanced at the village chief's subtly mocking expression and inwardly scoffed:

"Your village is so poor and run-down, yet you're xenophobic? What, you don't welcome city bumpkins? Do country bumpkins have some kind of superiority complex?"

Just then, a man who looked rather frail and scholarly stood up:
"Good afternoon, elders and fellow villagers. My surname is Ji, and my given name is Ji Tuyi. My grandfather was Ji Xingguo."

"So you're the Ji family's son. You've grown up so much. I used to hold you when you were little. Why did you only think of going back to your hometown to visit these past few days?"

As soon as Ji Tu finished speaking, an old woman recognized him.

Most of the young people in the village have gone out to work, and the elderly in the village don't recognize each other. But in such a small place, as long as they are related by blood, they can all know who is whose grandson or niece as soon as they are mentioned.

Ji Tu smiled shyly and picked up a book:
"Besides paying respects to our ancestors, I also plan to do some fieldwork in the countryside this time. Now I've made something of myself and become a writer. This is the book I published."

(End of this chapter)