chapter 55

“What happened?”

On the way to the Sheep Pen, Fu Zhixing noticed her absent-mindedness and couldn’t help but ask, “What did you just say to Qin?”

Tu Nan glanced at him and briefly recounted the conversation between the two of them.

“You didn’t see her expression…” Tu Nan said worriedly, “I keep feeling that she’s going to do something…”

“Don’t worry too much,” Fu Zhixing comforted her. “In the Instance, if it’s hard to protect others, at least protect yourself.”

Tu Nan nodded.

A new batch of animals had been brought into the Sheep Pen.

They were lively and full of energy.

The animal corpses that had littered the ground last night had all disappeared, but the air still seemed to carry a faint scent of blood, mingling with the omnipresent fragrance of Rose in the Castle, making people feel inexplicably nauseous.

Qin also saw the two out-of-place Lambs among the flock. Yesterday, she hadn’t understood the look in their eyes, but now she couldn’t help but feel a surge of sorrow.

She took a deep breath, afraid someone would notice, and quickly turned her head.

“What’s wrong, are you feeling unwell?”

“Alan” saw her expression and asked with feigned concern.

Qin concealed the hatred in her eyes and forced a smile. “No, it’s just that the smell here is a bit strange, a little nauseating.”

“Alan” took a deep breath, his brows relaxing as he smiled, “Is it? I actually find it… quite refreshing.”

“Everyone, just like yesterday, let’s work together and finish the task as soon as possible,” Fu Zhixing called out.

Everyone tacitly began to move.

Yesterday, they had fed all the Feed, but today the Stone Troughs were full again, emitting a strange, fishy odor.

Tu Nan thought of the noises she had heard last night, and a wave of nausea surged up.

They quickly finished feeding the other sheep, leaving only the two Lambs.

Qin stood protectively in front of them, refusing to let Jack feed them the Feed no matter what.

“Didn’t we not feed them yesterday either?” Qin glared at Jack. “Nothing happened.”

“Didn’t you hear what George said? That’s because Lilith was very pleased with us feeding Xiao Bai. Today, we might not be so lucky,” Jack retorted, unwilling to back down. “In a place like this, I can’t allow even the slightest chance of a mistake. Before the flock starts bleating, we need to feed them quickly.”

“They don’t want to eat,” Qin insisted, refusing to budge.

The two Lambs hid behind her.

“Why do you care whether two sheep want to eat or not?” Jack looked at her in confusion, then suddenly narrowed his eyes and said suspiciously, “Did you find out something? Or have you already been Assimilated by the Instance!”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Qin glared at him angrily, her voice carrying a dangerous edge. “Say one more word and I’ll tear your mouth apart.”

“So I was right,” Jack felt he’d grasped the truth. “You slept alone last night, everyone knows that the Weird knocking at the door is confusing, it’s hard to stay clear-headed alone.”

“Actually, you’ve already been Assimilated by the Weird, pretending nothing happened, blending in among us, waiting for the chance to wipe us all out!”

Tu Nan glanced at “Alan” without betraying any emotion. He was watching Jack and Qin’s argument with a smile, clearly entertained.
As if sensing her gaze, “Alan” glanced in her direction.

Tu Nan quickly averted her eyes the moment he looked over.

“Alan” narrowed his eyes, and suddenly his expression changed. He put on an angry face and walked between Qin and Jack, shouting sternly at Jack, “What nonsense are you spouting? I won’t allow you to slander Qin like this.”

Qin looked at him in surprise.

“Who doesn’t know you two are in cahoots? Of course you’d speak up for her.” Jack’s suspicious gaze darted between the two of them, and then he suddenly realized, “You both had separate rooms yesterday. Now, I bet you’ve both already turned into Weird, haven’t you?”

“I’ll kill you!” Qin could no longer control herself. She pulled out a Dagger from who knows where and lunged at Jack.

Jack’s expression changed, but since he had survived in the Instance until now, he clearly had some skills. He immediately summoned a Protective Shield to cover himself.

Qin slashed at him, but the Dagger was blocked before it even touched the Protective Shield.

With a clang, her arm went numb from the shock, but she forced herself to hold on, not showing any sign of weakness.

“Stop arguing, all of you. The situation is still unclear-what’s the point of teammates turning on each other now?” Tu Nan stepped between them. “Instead of fighting, why don’t we think about how to get out of the Instance?”

At her words, Qin snorted coldly and withdrew her Dagger.

Seeing this, Jack also retracted his Protective Shield.

“Have you all forgotten who our real enemy is?” Jenny couldn’t help but shout, “It’s only been a few days, and you’re already fighting among yourselves. I think we won’t even need Weird to make a move-at this rate, we’ll all be wiped out.”

“I can let it go with him,” Qin snorted, “but today, no one is feeding the Feed to those two sheep.”

“Unreasonable,” Jack glared at her, then looked at Fu Zhixing. “You be the judge. Isn’t her behavior suspicious?”

Tu Nan and Fu Zhixing knew the truth, but the others did not. Tu Nan glanced at them, torn, and decided it was best to come clean.

“Actually…” She opened her mouth to speak.

“Shut up.” Qin’s gaze swept over her. “I know what you want to say, but I won’t allow you to tell them.”

If this got out, it would definitely cause panic. That alone would be bad enough, but someone might even suggest killing the two sheep.

People turning into sheep-who would believe that the two people inside the sheep were really themselves?

They’d probably think it was just a trick by the Weird.

This was also why Tu Nan and Fu Zhixing hadn’t told everyone right away.

“What do you mean by that?” Jack’s gaze shifted between them. “Are you hiding something from us?”

“We agreed from the start to share all information. Now you’re keeping secrets from us?” Jack was furious. He grabbed Rose’s hand. “Let’s go. These people aren’t worth trusting!”

Tu Nan tried to persuade him, but Jack was stubborn and wouldn’t listen to a word.

Qin watched the two of them leave with a cold look, a mocking smile curling at her lips.