Chapter 209

Chapter 209

Xiao Huai walked up to the blonde woman and took the spray bottle from her hand.

When Chen Chong saw Xiao Huai arrive, he stopped pretending to be a ghost. He rolled his eyes back into place. They had already gone a little numb.

“You… How could it be you?” The blonde woman shot to her feet, though her legs were still weak.

Xiao Huai ignored her. A group had already approached behind him.

They were all players the blonde woman had believed to be dead.

Not only were they perfectly fine, they were bursting with energy. Whatever disappointment the blonde woman felt, her present situation was truly miserable.

Her identity had been exposed, and she had surrendered her trump card as well.

Xiao Huai tightened his grip on the spray bottle, the corners of his mouth curving upward.

This was the special item granted to the identity card player in this instance.

As soon as he held it, the item’s description appeared on his System interface.

[Sight-Restoring Spray] Item Description: A special item from [Town of the Blind] and a gift for the identity card player. If you lose your sight, use the Sight-Restoring Spray to see the light once more.

[Note: Whatever bad deeds you want to do, go ahead and do them boldly. You will be this game’s favored player and will never risk going blind.]

Xiao Huai had kept the mask from the Jinlemen Club. Now that he had a better item, the mask could become a souvenir.

Jiang Wenmei slowly walked over. When she drew near, she suddenly stopped and flexed her wrist slightly. Her joints gave a series of crisp cracks.

“We’re civilized people. If we can settle this with our hands, we don’t waste words. So, are you going to have a proper conversation with us, or do you plan to keep walking down this dark road to the bitter end?”

The blonde woman’s throat bobbed. Why did this feel even more frightening than being surrounded by all those horror effects?

Chen Chong wiped the fake blood from his face and came to the blonde woman’s side. “Hehe, my friend, we’re all broad-minded adults. If you can give us more intel, I guarantee we’ll spare your life.”

What else could the blonde woman do? She was truly and completely alone now. Only an idiot would refuse them.

“I’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything.”

She told them all the intel and clues she knew.

They already knew most of it, since they had only recently been hunted themselves.

However, the blonde woman did reveal one particularly important matter.

The creatures beneath the wells.

“All I know is that there are an enormous number of ghosts and monsters under the wells. They seem to be guarding something. A few will come out occasionally, but most of them stay underground.”

Jiang Wenmei had also blasted open a passage between East City and the underground. The number of monsters below could only have increased.

“What if I want to force all of them out?” Xiao Huai’s sudden question drew everyone’s attention.

The blonde woman frowned. “You want to force them out? You want all of them to come up? That’s extremely dangerous!”

“But I want to destroy what they’re guarding.”

His tone remained perfectly flat, yet destruction seemed to smolder in his eyes, veiled by a faint, calm madness.

“That…” The blonde woman froze slightly. “It isn’t impossible. If a riot breaks out underground and everything descends into chaos, they’ll charge out of the wells.”

“I understand.” Xiao Huai nodded.

The blonde woman was bewildered. That was all he had to say? Could he truly be planning to start a riot?

Surely not. How could he possibly do that alone? The others could not all be willing to lose their minds with him, could they?

“Whatever you want to do, I’ll help.” Chen Chong nearly slung an arm around Xiao Huai’s shoulders.

Xiao Huai stepped back. Chen Chong’s arm met empty air, and he nearly fell flat on his face. Only when Jiang Wenmei caught him by the back of his collar did he regain his balance.

Jiang Wenmei said, “Chen Chong often says stupid things, but I don’t object to him helping you.”

Zhong Jiangyuan needed no mention. He would certainly stand beside Xiao Huai.

Without realizing it, Shen Yun’s attitude toward Xiao Huai had long since changed. “I… I can help too.”

Lu Yuanshi did not need to speak. The mere sight of him standing beside Xiao Huai was enough.

With a single glance, it was as though their thoughts became connected.

In the end, they would always arrive at the same idea.

Xiao Huai lowered his eyes. The main mission had to be completed, and if he wanted to leave nothing to chance, he might truly need these friends.

He looked up. “I have a plan.”

Xiao Huai explained his plan to everyone.

When he finished, they all stood frozen for a full two minutes.

His plan was flawless.

Carrying it out, however, would require exceptional coordination.

“If you can’t manage it, that’s all right. I’ll be there,” Xiao Huai said quietly.

For the first time, Chen Chong’s expression turned serious. “What’s the problem? Brother, I’m definitely helping you with this.”

Shen Yun asked, “When do you plan to carry it out?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“All right.” Shen Yun nodded.

Zhong Jiangyuan pointed at the blonde woman, who was still in a daze. “What about her?”

“She was never much of a threat. She has a special identity, but she is also a player who wants to leave the game.” Xiao Huai walked up to her. “Your tricks are still far too immature.”

The hint of a smile at the corners of his eyes was vivid and lively, with a trace of cunning. Once seen, it was difficult to look away.

The blonde woman could not help thinking to herself.

If Xiao Huai had received the identity card, perhaps none of these players would have survived.

But just as Xiao Huai had said, failing her identity card mission would not necessarily kill her. If the game’s main mission remained incomplete, that might truly mean certain death.

Compared with the punishment for failing her identity card mission, she wanted to clear the game more.

She lowered her head, shed every trace of her disguise, and said heavily, “I won’t cause trouble for you.”

* * *

At around eleven that night, the sound of opera singing drifted from the stage at the Yang Residence.

Xiao Huai was not asleep. He leaned against the doorway and quietly looked toward the stage.

Soft footsteps approached behind him.

He did not look back. A coat settled over his shoulders.

The coat still carried Lu Yuanshi’s scent and warmth.

“Can’t sleep?”

Lu Yuanshi’s voice reached his ear.

Xiao Huai neither nodded nor shook his head. He continued looking ahead.

Listening to the lyrics drifting toward him.

Only now did he understand that every night from eleven onward, Yang Nanqing performed the opera [Mandarin Ducks] on the stage.

But each time, Xiao Huai had failed to hear the end.

He had never heard the line, “Live well.”

Or perhaps Yang Nanqing simply could not sing that line.

Lu Yuanshi came to stand beside him and was about to lower his head to look at Xiao Huai’s expression.

Before he could, Xiao Huai moved several steps closer and rested his head in the hollow of Lu Yuanshi’s shoulder.

“Let me lean on you for a while.”

Lu Yuanshi froze.

All things became unnaturally still. Every breath Xiao Huai took, every beat of his heart, grew infinitely louder, like a flower bud growing from bone and blood, quietly spreading until it reached Lu Yuanshi’s heartstrings.

At that moment, the corners of Xiao Huai’s lips lifted faintly. His slight smile was like moonlight shining through a crack into an abyss.