At this moment, in Xu Xi's live stream.
[Ahhhh, Master, you absolutely must not open the door!!]
[? Why?]
[What's going on, what's going on? Is there something outside the door?]
[No way, isn't our perspective supposed to be following the players?]
[Go check out the baseball cap guy's live stream and you'll know.]
[I'm back. Damn, that guy actually set up an ambush outside!]
[I watched the whole thing, let me explain.]
[I didn't understand the encrypted talk between the baseball cap guy and the guy in the suit, don't know what they plotted.]
[But they each used chicken blood to lure a dried corpse.]
[The couple that died in the fields.]
[There's a dried corpse outside the door that the baseball cap guy lured over.]
[He still has a pack of chicken blood in his hand, just waiting for Master Xu Xi and the others to open the door so he can throw it.]
[Damn, that's so treacherous.]
[Wtf, why would they want to harm Master Xu Xi and the others?]
[No idea about that.]
[The suited guy wouldn't have lured the other one to the Long Dress Girl, would he?]
[Yep, you guessed it. Reward: one dried corpse.]
[...Not joking, the two people in the clinic are in serious danger now.]
The live stream comments, now understanding the specifics, were all worried.
Mainly because it seemed the two masters were completely unprepared, having no idea a player had lured a dried corpse to ambush them right outside the clinic.
Just as the comments were anxiously spamming "don't open the door," already picturing the scene of the two masters being ambushed by the dried corpse upon opening it, they saw the young man in the black hoodie on the screen pause for a moment while holding the doorknob, then turn to ask the other tall, skinny man:
"Does this clinic have a back door?"
—
The clinic was divided into two parts. One was the outer area with the consultation desk and medicine cabinet, the other was a small bed for examinations, separated by a curtain.
During the day, none of the players had gone behind the curtain, so Xu Xi didn't know if the clinic had a back door.
Although a bit puzzled, the tall, skinny man went in to check and quickly came back out. "Yes, there is. Why?"
Not thinking the hoodie-wearing young man would ask about a back door for no reason, a possibility flashed through his mind. He couldn't help but ask, "You suspect there's danger outside the door?"
Xu Xi gave a slight nod.
He hadn't expected this person to be so perceptive.
But remembering how the other had swiftly jabbed the syringe into the dried corpse after he was pounced on, he wasn't that surprised anymore.
This person was clearly someone with quick reactions too.
Too bad the dried corpse had been even faster; he hadn't been saved in time.
But he wasn't just suspecting; he had genuinely died once.
Judging by the fact that he was drenched in blood the moment he opened the door, it was obvious someone was deliberately waiting for them outside.
He just didn't know who that person... or those people were?
Gao Zhuang, who was killing to silence them? Villagers who discovered their identities? Or Village Chief Zhu, whose stance was unclear?
Could it be the Spirit Medium?
After all, it was the Spirit Medium who invited them out at night.
But would the Spirit Medium's methods be so... uh, physical? Shouldn't she be hiding in the shadows, muttering incantations to curse them?
Running through all the suspects in his mind but still unable to pinpoint a specific target, Xu Xi silently complained to himself before temporarily giving up.
Whoever it was, he'd find out in a moment.
Xu Xi explained his plan to the tall, skinny man; he needed the other's cooperation.
The plan was simple.
He would attract attention at the front door, while the tall, skinny man quietly slipped out the back door to counter-ambush the person hiding in the dark.
As for why he wasn't the one going to catch them... he was afraid he couldn't win in a fight.
"I'm pretty good at fighting."
That's what the tall, skinny man had said himself.
The question was whether someone was also waiting at the back door.
The tall, skinny man stood by the back door, syringe in hand. On the surface, he was asking the hoodie-wearing young man if he suspected danger outside, but in reality, he had already seen that the other was certain there was a problem.
Among the players he had encountered, the aura of mystery around this young man was unique, so he chose to trust his judgment.
Gripping the syringe tightly, he carefully opened the back door.
The night outside was peaceful, the night breeze blowing in bringing a slight chill.
No immediate danger.
Xu Xi waited a little longer after the man left.
He took a deep breath. Next, it would depend on his reaction speed.
Gripping the handle, he gently pressed down. The moment the door opened, perhaps because he was prepared, Xu Xi's eyes were exceptionally sharp this time, spotting the blood pack being thrown through the air.
Unfortunately, before he could even clearly see who was hiding in the dark, his hand had already reacted first, slamming the door shut again with a *thud* and locking it.
The blood pack hit the door with a heavy thump.
The next second, a tremendous force slammed against the door.
Xu Xi hastily retreated several steps before turning and running towards the back door.
Now, with the blood on the front door attracting the dried corpse, he could go catch up with the tall, skinny man.
To avoid getting too close and being noticed by the dried corpse, Xu Xi took a wide detour before circling back near the clinic, finally spotting his familiar teammate behind a tree.
The moment he saw him, he couldn't help but ask, "How did it go?"
The tall, skinny man looked like he had been in a chase, breathing slightly heavily.
"It was that player wearing the baseball cap."
"He was very alert. He ran off right after throwing the blood pack."
He had given up the chase after a while. Their purpose was to gather clues under cover of night, and making too much noise wasn't wise. Moreover, the other had clearly planned his escape route; continuing the chase wasn't a smart move.
Xu Xi hadn't expected it to be that baseball cap young man.
He had run through all the suspects and hadn't even considered him.
So... what was that guy's purpose in deliberately luring a dried corpse to attack them?
Just wanting to kill them?
The tall, skinny man was also pondering a similar question.
Leaving aside the baseball cap young man's motive for now, the dried corpse he lured was probably the villager who died in their own wheat field after making a wish to the Mountain God.
Village Chief Zhu said it was a couple.
Now one of them was at the clinic. Where was the other one?
Exchanging a glance, the two wordlessly decided to go find the suited man and the Long Dress Girl.
However, they didn't expect to run into a player on their way to the Spirit Medium's residence.
The Long Dress Girl saw them from afar and jogged over.
The moment the three met, the Long Dress Girl asked, "Did the man wearing the baseball cap lure the other corpse to your place?"
The tall, skinny man nodded.
Before they could even ask, the Long Dress Girl calmly explained the situation: "Midway, the baseball cap guy found an excuse to leave the group. When the corpse attacked us, the guy in the suit tried to stab me in the back."
"Those two are probably in cahoots."
The suited man was responsible for killing the Long Dress Girl, and the baseball cap young man was responsible for ambushing Xu Xi and the other.
Clear division of labor.
But when did these two secretly team up?
Right, the baseball cap guy ran off. What about the suited man?
Curious, Xu Xi voiced his question, only to hear the Long Dress Girl say nonchalantly, "I killed him."