Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Everyone noticed Xu Tian’s movement.

She had stopped running for her life; instead, she lunged toward Qi Shuping.

Xu Tian wanted Qi Shuping dead, even if it meant sacrificing her own life.

For a moment, everyone was stunned by Xu Tian’s actions. In this instant, no one stopped to wonder why she was doing it; they were simply paralyzed by shock.

Jian Fan was too far away. He wanted to save Qi Shuping, but he was powerless to do so.

In the end, he could only pin his hopes on the Points Store. However, as he scrolled through the store pages, he couldn’t find the item he needed. He could only watch as Xu Tian closed in on Qi Shuping.

Behind Qi Shuping were the encroaching green bubbles; before her was Xu Tian, watching like a predator with malicious intent.

This time, it seemed Qi Shuping truly had no way out.

However, just as Xu Tian was about to reach Qi Shuping, a sudden “bang” rang out. Xu Tian’s movements jerked to a halt, and she collapsed directly onto the ground. Simultaneously, Lu Jing finally arrived. Just as the green bubbles were about to overtake Qi Shuping, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and sprinted toward the rocky area.

Lu Jing was truly putting every ounce of strength he had into this.

The second after he stepped onto the rocks with Qi Shuping on his back, the green bubbles arrived right behind them.

Everyone’s tense gazes fell upon the green bubbles.

Under their collective watch, the green bubbles finally stopped spreading once they touched the rocks.

Only then did everyone let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Once the danger had temporarily receded, they finally had the mental capacity to think about what had just happened.

After Xu Tian fell, she was surrounded by the green bubbles and perished rapidly at a pace visible to the naked eye. As for why Xu Tian had fallen, Qin Nan stole a cautious glance at the Pistol in Qin Weiyi’s hand.

Qin Weiyi had hidden this far too well, hadn’t he?

Only now did Qin Weiyi shake his hand, complaining, “This gun is so difficult to fire.”

Jian Fan stepped forward to help Qi Shuping up, then said to Qin Weiyi, “Thank you.”

Qin Weiyi put the Pistol away. “Don’t mention it. We’re teammates.”

“That shot was alright, but your aim is still a bit off,” Lu Jing remarked, evaluating Qin Weiyi’s performance.

Qin Weiyi said helplessly, “In such an emergency, being able to decide to fire and actually hitting Xu Tian without hitting the wrong person is already good enough.”

Lu Jing laughed a few times in agreement. “True. After all, it was your first time firing a gun.”

“First time?” Qin Nan asked in surprise.

Qin Weiyi nodded. “Lu Jing taught me before, but I’ve never had any live combat experience. Luckily, I didn’t miss.”

“Why did Xu Tian… want to kill Professor Qi?” Lin Junruo asked weakly from the side.

As soon as she spoke, Yellow Hair and Orange Hair immediately turned their gazes toward Qi Shuping. They were incredibly curious.

They had seen people push their companions out to take a hit when facing danger, but to give up one’s own chance to escape just to drag Qi Shuping down to death with them?

Just how deep did this grudge go?

Mu Xin was also curious.

Naturally, so was Qin Nan.

Although they knew Xu Tian had approached Qi Shuping with a motive, no one would have imagined that the motive was Qi Shuping’s death-even at the cost of her own life.

Orange Hair and Yellow Hair didn’t know the history, but the others had seen with their own eyes how Xu Tian and Qi Shuping met and how they had stuck together. Within the Realm of Death, there was absolutely no grievance between the two that warranted this. Could it be-from reality?

What kind of deep-seated hatred could drive Xu Tian to abandon her hope of survival in the Realm of Death?

And that was something only Qi Shuping could likely clarify for them.
Qi Shuping was still gasping for air. She lay back against the rocks, and as she regained her composure, she stared at the green bubbles.

The green bubbles avoided the rocky area but had spread across the entire beach. Although they were safe for the moment, they were now confined to a tiny island of stone.

A single glance told them that to escape these green bubbles, the nearest patch of grass was at least four or five meters away.

The others were waiting for Qi Shuping’s answer, so they naturally followed her gaze. When they saw the situation, a sense of despair immediately welled up in their hearts.

They might have escaped disaster for now, but they had no way to retreat. Staying on these rocks was nothing more than waiting for death to arrive.

How long had it been since this world began? Were they really going to fall here so soon?

Just then, Qi Shuping suddenly let out a short laugh.

Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn to her laughter.

Jian Fan had been half-kneeling by Qi Shuping’s side. Seeing her reaction, he asked, “What did you think of, Professor Qi?”

Qi Shuping gazed at the green bubbles, her expression turning calm. “Xu Tian is one of the Realm of Death’s people.”

This single sentence stunned most of the people present. If anyone’s expression remained relatively indifferent, it was likely only two people.

Jian Fan and Xia Zeqin.

“I guessed as much,” Jian Fan said.

Qi Shuping looked at Jian Fan, while Qin Nan and the others naturally began to size him up as well.

Qin Weiyi was also somewhat shocked. He considered himself quite clever, yet in the same situation, he had actually fallen so far behind Jian Fan? It was a little hard to believe.

For a moment, Qin Weiyi found it difficult to accept.

“Xu Tian-or rather, the real Xu Tian-was already eliminated back in the first world,” Jian Fan said.

Mu Xin’s expression changed abruptly.

After his initial surprise, Qin Nan also had a sudden realization.

He finally understood why Jian Fan had initially wanted to recruit Xu Tian but suddenly changed his mind and extended an olive branch to Mu Xin instead. Jian Fan had said Xu Tian was pretending and that there was something wrong with her. Qin Nan had believed him, but he never imagined the problem was this significant.

“It was after the first round of evidence collection, wasn’t it?” Mu Xin spoke up.

Jian Fan nodded. “If I’m not mistaken.”

They had only been in contact with the real Xu Tian for a very short time. On the bus, she had a fairly enthusiastic personality. Then the game began, and when the Players were introducing themselves, she still seemed normal-until the first round of evidence collection ended and they returned to the hall.

From that moment on, Xu Tian had changed.

Mu Xin was an expert at putting up a front, so she had naturally noticed something off about Xu Tian. However, she knew too little about Xu Tian, so she simply assumed Xu Tian was faking a personality. She hadn’t considered the possibility that the real Xu Tian had been eliminated and replaced by the Realm of Death.

Or rather, before the Vampire World, Mu Xin wouldn’t have even considered such a possibility.

It was Jian Fan.

He was the one who had pushed this possibility in front of them.

And now, having experienced the Vampire World, the idea of Xu Tian being replaced was still bizarre, but Mu Xin accepted it quickly.

Once she accepted it, a heavy weight settled in her heart.

Xu Tian was dead, but it was highly likely that a Zhao Tian or a Chen Tian would appear later. Not only would they have to face this in every game world, but they also had to be wary of the companions who had traveled through several worlds with them.

It was undoubtedly a soul-crushing realization.

As for Qin Nan, it was only at this moment that he truly understood the things Jian Fan had told him in the past.

So, what about Xia Zeqin?