Chapter 179

Chapter 179

“What’s wrong with it?”

Everyone looked at Zhang Shun.

“The pelvis is wrong. That boatman was male, but this skeleton belonged to a woman!”

“Are you sure?” Li Wei asked in surprise.

“I was a medical student before I became ill. I wouldn’t mistake something that basic.”

Zhang Ru wore an expression that said she had expected as much.

“That explains why Brother Liu said the skeleton looked strange. He must have spotted the discrepancy and deliberately pointed us toward it.”

Zhang Ru was grateful she had drawn the skeleton in advance.

“So what? He’s still dead,” Li Wei said irritably.

“No. If the skeleton is wrong, then the boatman’s death is questionable too.”

“You think he faked his death?” Zhang Shun asked.

“That’s my theory. Do you remember what the boatman emphasized at the very beginning?”

“That the river was dangerous?”

“Exactly. He said the river was dangerous. But don’t forget, the theme of this place is lies. The opposite of that statement is that the river isn’t dangerous. It may even be the true safe route!”

The primary reason Zhang Ru reached that conclusion was Liu Ye’s unhesitating plunge into the river. A powerful backer never did anything unnecessary. Brother Liu must have discovered something and deliberately jumped in.

She refused to believe he was dead. Working backward from that premise, the river had to be the true path to safety.

“It’s possible,” Zhang Yanyan agreed.

“If that’s true, the boatman’s behavior makes sense. He had lived beside this river for so long, and his body had supposedly been corroded by its water. He must have understood how dangerous it was. Yet under those circumstances, he somehow lost his footing and fell in. He did it to frighten us away from the river!”

People instinctively avoided harm and sought safety. Once they watched someone die in the water, none of them would consider jumping in to test it.

“Then what do we do? The boat is almost at the opposite bank. Do we land or enter the river?” Big Gold Tooth asked.

The moment he finished, Zhang Ru leaped into the water without hesitation. White smoke rose, and a skeleton floated to the surface.

Everyone was stunned by her courage. Zhang Shun jumped in immediately after her. With no better choice, Wang Weiwei, Zhang Yanyan, and Big Gold Tooth followed.

Only Li Wei remained aboard, hesitating. He had already been killed by the Chef once because he acted too impulsively. This time, he was afraid.

He could not be sure the river truly led to survival. Zhang Ru’s reasoning was sound, but what if she was wrong? He had trusted his own judgment too much once before and paid with his life. He did not dare gamble again.

The boat had been cramped with seven people, but there was more than enough room for Li Wei alone. He dismantled some spare wood, fashioned another oar, and rowed to the bank.

The shore looked peaceful. A large door seemed to stand in the distance. After a moment’s hesitation, Li Wei decided to investigate.

But the instant he stepped ashore, the river behind him gradually transformed into solid ground. Waves of mist rose and enveloped him, with mysterious dark shapes surfacing from time to time within the fog.

…

Meanwhile, Zhang Ru felt no pain beneath the water. The current swept their bodies downward, spinning them around and around.

To use an inappropriate comparison, it felt as though she had been flushed down a toilet.

Just as they were about to lose consciousness, light appeared ahead.

Splash!

Zhang Ru and the others surfaced one after another. Liu Ye was on the bank, grilling something. Two gemstones lay beside his feet.

Steward Wang had already returned to the jade pendant. Liu Ye had not killed him. Once Steward Wang realized he had inadvertently sent Liu Ye down the correct path, the shock was more than he could bear. He smashed his own head to pieces and retreated into the pendant to sulk.

Liu Ye was eating when he spotted them. His face immediately brightened.
“You made it! Good heavens, I’ve been waiting forever.”

Everyone was speechless.

They had been worrying about him, while he had been sitting here enjoying a barbecue.

When they looked back at the river, however, Li Wei did not emerge. Their hearts sank. He was probably finished.

Wang Weiwei’s expression stiffened when she saw Liu Ye. Then she exclaimed in delight, “Brother Liu, you’re alive! You scared me to death. I thought I’d gotten you killed. I’m so sorry, Brother Liu!”

Sobbing, Wang Weiwei ran over and threw her arms around him.

“I’m fine. It wasn’t a big deal. You arrived at the perfect time. Here, have some meat.”

Liu Ye pushed her away, picked up a piece of meat from the ground, and put it into her mouth. Wang Weiwei chewed instinctively.

Thud!

Her entire body convulsed as she collapsed. White foam poured continuously from her mouth.

“What happened to her?” Liu Ye asked in astonishment.

Everyone was speechless.

You’re asking us?

“Um, Brother Liu, what kind of meat is that?”

“I don’t know. Two snakes were waiting in front of me when I climbed ashore. Why would I turn down free food? So I grilled them. I found these two things in their stomachs too.”

Everyone was speechless again.

You ate them without knowing what kind of snakes they were? The two creatures had probably been part of another game, yet Liu Ye had eaten them before they even had a chance to appear.

“I found one in the water too.”

Zhang Yanyan took a gemstone from inside her clothes. It had floated into her arms after she entered the river.

They handed all the gemstones to Liu Ye for safekeeping. Counting the one from the earlier room, they now had four.

“By the way, do any of you want some?”

Everyone shook their heads frantically.

Once Liu Ye had eaten and drunk his fill, the group set out again. The rest of the journey was relatively peaceful. Most of what they encountered were simple traps.

Many supposedly required one person to be sacrificed, but the group cleared every one by sacrificing Steward Wang instead.

In a room filled with bombs, they sent Steward Wang in first to trigger the explosives.

When they found three cups of water, two of them poisoned, they had Steward Wang drink all three.

They pulled out Steward Wang’s tendons to make a rope for crossing a cliff, used his head as a bowling ball, and wore his skin as insulated gloves while connecting electrical wires.

Zhang Yanyan even drew inspiration from the experience. After escaping, she wanted to write a book titled *One Hundred Thousand Ways for Steward Wang to Die*.

After an arduous journey, they found a white house.

They guessed it was the safe house mentioned in the rules, which could allow one person to clear the entire level immediately.

The group was about to discuss who should enter when Wang Weiwei suddenly rushed ahead and darted inside.

“Hahaha! You idiots can stay here until you die. I’m leaving first!”

Pink vapor poured from Wang Weiwei’s body as she laughed maniacally. Her features had already begun to twist, and Zhang Ru and the others could even make out a dark shadow clinging to her.

With that, she slammed the door.

“Hey! You bastard!”

Zhang Yanyan pounded hard on the door, but the entire house abruptly vanished.

“Damn it. She got lucky.”

Then Zhang Yanyan noticed a gemstone on the ground. She hurriedly picked it up and handed it to Liu Ye.

“Forget it. It doesn’t matter. The exit isn’t far from here anyway.”

Zhang Ru looked into the distance. The exit gate was already visible.

They quickened their pace and reached it before nightfall.

Countless holes covered the gate. Judging by their size, they appeared to match the shapes of the gemstones. According to the rules, this must be where the gems were inserted.

“Brother Liu, you do it.”

But as soon as Zhang Ru spoke, she saw panic on Liu Ye’s face.

“Um… the gemstones are gone.”