Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

The air was filled with a sweet, fishy smell of burnt flesh.

But the scent was swallowed up by the fog and couldn't travel more than three feet.

What's even more horrifying is her face.

A fresh, gruesome wound, with torn flesh, runs diagonally from the left cheekbone down to the jaw.

The location, length, and direction of the wound—

It looks exactly like the face of that middle-aged woman in the cafeteria this morning.

Emily was still bleeding.

Blood dripped down his chin, caught by the writhing mist, and silently swallowed up. Not even a trace of red remained.

Cheng Caijun was frightened by this bizarre scene.

"Taking chestnuts out of the fire, a mirage."

Lu Changsheng looked at Emily and muttered the judgment Chen the Blind Man had given her.

To snatch chestnuts from the fire is an act that involves killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own. Now that Emily is covered in burns, could this also be a form of retaliation against that woman's actions?

The imagery of flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water inherently carries a sense of haziness and fleeting joy.

Blind Chen's prophecy came true once again in Emily's life.

Lu Changsheng and Cheng Caijun are soul entities and therefore cannot contact Emily.

This place is not safe either, and the two of them are in a spirit state.

So the two of them quickly retraced their steps and, before the ghost outside the courtyard could react, swiftly slipped into the courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet. The two returned to their house, and the next second, the world spun around them.

When they opened their eyes again, Lu Changsheng and Cheng Caijun's souls had returned to their bodies.

Neither of them looked well.

Even though no rules have been broken, three out of the nine players are now unable to move.

"Brother Lu... why does Emily's wound look so much like that crazy woman I saw in the cafeteria the other day?"

Cheng Caijun was the first to ask a question.

Lu Changsheng analyzed in a deep voice.

"She left us to act alone to get revenge on that woman, burning her and disfiguring her. But today she's the one who looks like this."

"And what's really strange is that when we arrived that day, the food had already been served, except for the bread, which was brought out later. There was something in Emily's food. This woman was targeting Emily from the very beginning."

"So the purpose... was to make her knock out her teeth?"

Cheng Caijun was taken aback, recalling the woman's expression when Emily had bitten her teeth.

"It should be."

Lu Changsheng nodded.

"But why would you break a tooth? What kind of sign is that?" Cheng Caijun was a little confused. "And the retaliation came so quickly."

"It wasn't revenge," Lu Changsheng said gravely. "If Mark and the others hadn't seen that lame blacksmith today, I probably would have thought it was revenge too. Leo probably didn't do anything to target the blacksmith."

The two sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed) and began to list and analyze the strange events of the past three days.

"Not revenge? Then what is it?" Cheng Caijun's mind raced. "My leg is missing, so yours has to be crippled too? And why Leo?"

"Because of the similarity."

Lu Changsheng remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Leo's height, skin color, strength, and build are similar to the village blacksmith's. That's why the blacksmith approached him."

"Emily and that woman don't look alike. Could it be because they're both women? But Sister An is a woman too!"

Cheng Caijun scratched his head.

"But if we follow this line of thought, I think Emily and that woman are quite similar in personality; they both have a kind of crazy, eccentric quality."

"Yes."

Lu Changsheng did not overturn his own assumptions and continued to analyze according to his own hypothesis.

"If the two people were originally similar in some ways, then the actions of the blacksmith and the woman undoubtedly made them even more similar."

Cheng Caijun nodded. Although he didn't know the purpose of making the players similar to them, this idea worked perfectly well for Emily and Leo.

"Brother Lu, let's go check on Emily tomorrow morning to see if she's missing a tooth. Then, at lunchtime, let's check on that woman to see if she's also missing a tooth. If she is, then this conclusion can be basically confirmed in Emily's case."

Cheng Caijun's mind was racing. Despite not having eaten or slept well for several days, he was unusually clear-headed at this moment.

"Good job, Cheng Cai. You've made the most of your time training at the camp."

Cheng Caijun's transformation was visible to the naked eye, and Lu Changsheng was filled with satisfaction.

"Hehehe."

Cheng Caijun smiled sheepishly.

But then he thought of a crucial question.

"But what about the others? What's with Ivan? And who else among the villagers is trying to target the other players?"

"The identities of the others are still unclear, but haven't you already guessed which villagers are targeting the two of us?"

Lu Changsheng and Cheng Caijun exchanged a glance, their understanding unwavering.

"Xiao Lian?" Cheng Caijun reacted instantly. "But what do Xiao Lian have in common with the two of us? I always feel that Xiao Lian is different from the other villagers, and it's not just because she is the village chief's granddaughter."

"It's definitely different. She seems to hate you a lot. Other villagers just torment the players, but Xiaolian wants to send someone to kill you and put you to death."

Cheng Caijun felt like he had been hit with a thousand blows. He felt incredibly wronged because he felt like he was completely innocent and had been caught in the crossfire.

The two of them pondered Xiaolian's actions repeatedly.

But no matter how I think about it, it all seems rather inexplicable.

"It's not just because I'm your friend, Brother Lu, that you're asking?"

Cheng Caijun lay sprawled on the bed, feeling as if the hair on the top of his head was about to be lost.

The speaker may not have meant anything by it, but the listener may have taken it to heart.

Lu Changsheng seemed to be enlightened at once, feeling a sense of clarity.

"If that's really the case, then Xiaolian has no friends? So even though I was chosen by her, I can't have any friends either?"

The more Lu Changsheng talked, the more outrageous it seemed, yet it was strangely reasonable.

He also has a bit of a headache right now.

"How did they select the corresponding players?" Lu Changsheng leaned against the cold wall behind him, muttering to himself.

"Could it be...?"

The name of the instance flashed through his mind, and he recalled the villagers' fervent and focused gazes when he first entered the village and Chen the Blind Man gave his fortune reading.

The general outline of the copy gradually became clear in his mind.

What role does village chief Chen Shan play here?

"That Park Bo-soo..."

Cheng Caijun yawned and asked.

"Leave it for now."

Lu Changsheng thought for a while.

As it was getting late, the two took turns keeping watch.

Although ghosts still lingered outside the door and windows, the night was generally peaceful.

The courtyard gates were gradually pushed open.

An Zhiyu was the first to walk out. She stood at the doorway, her gaze calm.

Yamamoto Ichiro also cautiously came out, while Leo's room door remained tightly closed.

No one knocked.