Chapter 210
Chapter 210
Qin Nan didn’t get the answer he wanted.
But his thoughts wandered to another question.
“The amusement park was abandoned because poor management drove it out of business. Then… why was the villa abandoned?” he asked.
Everyone had wondered about that from the beginning, though no one had raised the question directly. Now that they connected it to the failed amusement park…
“If the amusement park went bankrupt, then… did the female lead’s family go bankrupt too?” Lin Junruo suggested.
Mu Xin nodded. “That would make sense.”
The amusement park failed and was abandoned; the female lead’s family went bankrupt and abandoned the villa.
“That doesn’t seem right,” Qin Nan objected.
Lin Junruo looked at him. “What doesn’t?”
“Whether we’re talking about the amusement park or the female lead’s family, insolvency doesn’t explain the abandonment. The park owns valuable land, and the villa could be sold. Neither should simply be left to rot,” Qin Nan said.
Even after the park closed, its enormous plot of land could have been sold and redeveloped. The villa could have raised money too. Anything would have been better than abandoning it.
Jian Fan added another point. “The objects in the villa’s sitting room should be quite valuable.”
Qin Nan didn’t care what the objects were. Jian Fan’s point was what mattered.
“Exactly. If the family had gone bankrupt, those valuables would have been sold or seized to repay their debts. Why would they still be there?” Qin Nan said.
That was true.
Lin Junruo and Mu Xin fell into thought. What other reason could there be?
And whatever it was had to connect the abandoned amusement park with the abandoned villa. Neither woman could make sense of it.
Even deaths on the properties shouldn’t have been enough to leave them permanently abandoned.
Mu Xin looked directly at Qin Nan. “Have you thought of anything?”
Qin Nan sounded helpless. “Shouldn’t this fall within your area of expertise?”
Mu Xin laughed. “Lin Junruo and I may know more about romance games, but this isn’t merely a romance game. What lies underneath could be the complete opposite of the game itself.”
Qin Nan didn’t argue. He only shook his head. “I still can’t guess what it is. You’d be better off hoping Jian Fan puts that brain of his to work.”
The others smiled at that.
Just then–
Lu Jing’s expression abruptly darkened. He yanked Qin Weiyi behind him, turned toward one direction, and shouted, “Who’s there? Come out!”
The sudden yell startled everyone.
Mu Xin and Lin Junruo flinched, then hurried behind Lu Jing once they recovered.
Qin Nan and the others gathered around him and followed his gaze.
Lu Jing was staring at a thicket across from them, every nerve alert.
“Someone’s there?” Jian Fan asked.
Lu Jing grunted an affirmative. His eyes swept the area as he slowly stepped backward, gaze fixed ahead and body taut. At the same time, he crouched and reached behind himself to pick up a medium-sized rock.
He rolled his wrist, preparing to throw it toward the thicket–
“Wait,” a woman called from within.
Then Qin Nan and the others saw a woman step out. Wasn’t she the new Player who had been matched with them in this world?
Even after she revealed herself, Lu Jing did not lower his guard.
He might not be clever, but he understood certain things perfectly well. For example, clearing this world supposedly required killing every Player. Lu Jing would never do that, but he had to guard against others who might.
Especially a woman who looked dangerous from head to toe.
Apparently aware that she was at a disadvantage, she made an effort to retract her thorns and offered Qin Nan’s group a gentle smile.
“I mean you no harm,” she said.
No harm?
Clearly, no one believed her.
If Lu Jing hadn’t detected her, she probably would never have shown herself. And if she had remained hidden behind them, who knew what she might have done later?
Seeing that they remained wary, the woman considered her options. “I know where your teammate is.”
Teammate?
They froze.
Qin Nan, Jian Fan, and Mu Xin formed one three-person team. Lin Junruo barely counted as an unofficial member. Lu Jing and Qin Weiyi were together, while Yellow Hair was technically on his own. Still, the seven of them comprised a temporary team that could split and regroup as needed.
Weren’t all seven already here?
Their first reaction was confusion. Only afterward did they belatedly remember.
Oh. There was still Shi Chen.
They didn’t consider Shi Chen a teammate, but from the woman’s perspective, the misunderstanding was reasonable.
Even so, no one spoke.
Shi Chen’s situation had nothing to do with them. The woman before them warranted far more caution.
“Where is he?” Jian Fan asked abruptly.
The woman relaxed. Wearing a friendly expression, she moved a few steps closer. “Near the Ferris wheel. I can take you there.” She smiled. “There are seven of you and only one of me. I wouldn’t attack you even if I were stupid. I think we can cooperate.”
Jian Fan ignored the offer.
“There is always someone willing to prove they’re even more irrational,” he said.
The woman: “…”
Qin Nan couldn’t suppress the curve of his lips.
“Believe me or don’t.” The woman was growing irritated.
Still refusing to engage with her argument, Jian Fan said evenly, “Lead us to the Ferris wheel. Stay two meters ahead of us and walk in front.”
The woman: “…”
She didn’t obey immediately.
Jian Fan’s demand was simple: she had to guide them from the front. But doing so would expose her back to all seven. If they tried anything, she would have no time to defend herself.
“Brother, that’s going a little too far,” she said, trying to negotiate.
Jian Fan laughed softly. “If we attacked, do you think you could resist?”
She scoffed. “You can’t be sure of that.”
Jian Fan nodded. “I believe you’re capable. But this is the Realm of Death.”
Her expression changed sharply.
This was the Realm of Death, and all of them were bound by its rules.
What did her physical skill matter? Even if every one of the seven were weak, unless she subdued all of them before they could act, a single skill would end the fight.
One skill after another could rob her of control for minutes–enough time to kill her several times over.
She had to accept that grim fact.
“We don’t kill first,” Jian Fan added.
The woman studied him, then said irritably, “You’d better keep your word.” She turned away and started walking. “Follow me.”