At the Glittering Play program office.
Song Yan stared unblinkingly at the big screen, which had already gone dark.
Beneath her seemingly blank expression, her thoughts were churning violently.
What had she just witnessed?
A clearance?
A player actually managed to clear an instance while under the scrutiny of this program dubbed the "Grim Reaper of the Industry"?
Could a player really clear it?
Song Yan also wanted to calm down, to best showcase the poise and capability of a professional host, but...
It was cleared!!!
Since the program began broadcasting, after hundreds of players had been eliminated, today marked the first time a player had actually cleared an instance!!
In her dazed state, the only thought that surfaced in Song Yan's mind was—
She wouldn't get scolded anymore.
That was great.
The two experts beside her, after their initial stunned silence, were no less overjoyed than Song Yan.
God only knew how much mental preparation they had done after accepting the invitation from this program.
They had even braced themselves for being roasted on the trending charts. Who could have imagined such a dramatic turn of events? Out of the darkness came light!
Their reputations were saved!
After a brief lull, the live stream comments instantly flooded the screen again like a tidal wave.
Only this time, the situation was vastly different from the previous barrage of malicious comments.
[My big, beautiful eyes are telling me, cleared???]
[I pinched my little brother. Your big eyes aren't mistaken, it really was cleared.]
[Red fire, chaos, dazed and confused.]
[I knew it, Master Xu Xi, you are the most awesome!!! (Twisting) (Roaring) (Voice cracking)]
[The first player to break the Flash Play curse, I ask you, who else can do this!]
[Quick, quick, quick, where are the haters? Come out, hahahahaha!]
[Where are my editors? Where are my marketing accounts? Your traffic is here, start editing!!!]
[This is what you call a miracle! Heaven births not my Master Xu, Flash Play remains in eternal night!]
The chaotic frenzy of the comments snapped Song Yan back to reality.
She cleared her throat lightly, unable to fully conceal the barely contained excitement in her tone.
"Let us congratulate this player named Xu Xi for successfully clearing this instance!"
"I wonder what evaluation our two expert gentlemen have for this player and this instance?"
Ge Ying wore a smile, his expression relaxed as he said, "I just want to say, truly worthy of being 248."
Cao Hongbo also offered his commentary, "The method of clearing this instance was both unexpected and yet made sense upon reflection."
Song Yan displayed her curiosity, "Actually, I have a few questions. I wonder if the two expert gentlemen could enlighten me?"
"Since there was no conflict of interest, why did two players later team up to deliberately sabotage their teammate?"
"At the clinic, Xu Xi seemed certain there would be danger outside the door."
"Finally, how did he know Gao Zhuang would commit arson? And why did he decisively call the police instead of handling it privately with Village Chief Zhu?"
Ge Ying offered an explanation almost without hesitation, "Actually, there were traces to follow all along."
"I don't know if you observed closely the expressions of the players after they came out of the Mountain God Temple. You can check the replay."
As soon as his words fell, the backstage staff, understanding perfectly, opened the replay and dragged the progress bar to the moment the players had just exited the Mountain God Temple.
Ge Ying smiled, turning to look at the person beside him, "When it comes to expressions, Professor Cao is the professional. How about you provide the commentary here?"
Cao Hongbo knew he was giving him camera time and nodded slightly in thanks before picking up the analysis. "There were six people in total. The player in the suit, although his face appeared calm, had tense facial muscles, his lips were unconsciously pressed together, and his brow was slightly furrowed, indicating his inner state was clearly not as tranquil as his surface."
"The player with curly hair and the player wearing the baseball cap were the two whose emotions were most outwardly visible. Their unsettled, restless demeanor was probably apparent to everyone."
"As for the remaining three—the player in the long dress, the player with the gloomy aura, and our live stream subject, Xu Xi—their expressions were much steadier. Their eyes were focused, their gaze abstracted, indicating they were pondering something."
"Ever since the players returned from the Mountain God Temple, the curly-haired player's mood had been very low. Before that, she had been quite proactive in analyzing clues, yet in the subsequent discussions, she rarely spoke up again."
"After the curly-haired player died from poisoning, the baseball cap player's emotions were clearly becoming harder to control, his entire body radiating anxiety and unease."
Cao Hongbo stopped here and didn't continue, glancing sideways at Ge Ying.
Receiving the cue, Ge Ying calmly took over. "Thank you, Professor Cao, for analyzing the players' micro-expressions for us. I believe after hearing Professor Cao's words just now, everyone has some ideas."
"This Mountain God can bewitch people's hearts. Clearly, three of the six players fell under its influence."
"Originally, the Suited Man and the Baseball Cap Young Man were holding steady, but the unexpected death of the Curly-Haired Woman made them panic."
"I lean towards the idea that the Curly-Haired Woman's death actually had nothing to do with the well water, but was related to the wish she made after being bewitched by the Mountain God."
"Clearly, these two other bewitched players thought the same."
"There's another very interesting point later."
"When the players split up to act, the Baseball Cap Young Man, who usually liked to act alongside Master Xu Xi, proactively chose to team up with the Long Dress Girl. The Suited Man also joined them without hesitation."
"From this point on, the Baseball Cap Young Man probably already had a plan in mind. The Suited Man noticed his unusual behavior, and the two reached a cooperation."
"Making a wish to the Mountain God comes with a price. I guess their reason for doing this was to eliminate that price."
Song Yan had a sudden realization, "So that's how it was."
Ge Ying smiled and continued, "The second question. Don't be fooled by Master Xu Xi seeming to have nothing to do with the word 'cautious,' but he is definitely not a reckless person."
"Master Xu Xi might not have known for sure if there was danger outside; he was probably just testing the waters casually."
"However, from earlier, we could see Master Xu Xi actually knows a bit of psychology. He should have detected the oddities in the Baseball Cap Young Man's words."
"I think he had actually already seen through the Baseball Cap Young Man's scheme."
"If it were truly just a casual test, he should have waited for the Tall, Skinny Guy to return, or also left directly from the back door, instead of deliberately opening the door to lure the Baseball Cap Young Man."
Song Yan asked curiously, "Then how did Master Xu Xi see through that player's trick?"
Unconsciously, her form of address had also changed from "Xu Xi" to "Master Xu Xi."
Ge Ying shook his head, "Unfortunately, I don't know that either."
Song Yan was genuinely surprised this time, "You don't know either?"
Ge Ying gave a helpless smile, "Yes. Just like Master Xu Xi's first instance, this instance also has many aspects I can't see through. For example, the third question."
"How did Master Xu Xi know Gao Zhuang would commit arson that night? I really wish someone could tell me. His actions were too abrupt, so abrupt I even thought he had foreseen the future. Of course, I'm joking. He must have discovered something we completely failed to notice."
"I've said it before. Master Xu Xi's way of thinking about problems is different from ours."
"As for the last question, Gao Zhuang was caught red-handed at the arson scene. His collusion with the Spirit Medium couldn't be hidden anymore. Naturally, the sacrificial ceremony the next day couldn't possibly succeed. The instance actually revealed the clearance method here, which was to expose Gao Zhuang and the Spirit Medium's actions."
"One could have privately sought out Village Chief Zhu. However, don't overlook the players' identities. Even though they were invited 'experts,' they were still outsiders. Sometimes, don't underestimate the power of faith. The villagers had deeply believed in this so-called Mountain God for three years. If Gao Zhuang and the Spirit Medium were eloquent and turned the tables, the players might very well have capsized in a ditch."
"Master Xu Xi's ability to think of calling the police immediately is truly impressive. His mind works incredibly fast. So what if the villagers didn't trust them? Once the police arrived, they'd behave."
Cao Hongbo also laughed, "I didn't expect Xu Xi's legal awareness to be so strong. If it were me, I'd only think of ways to make the villagers believe privately. Who knows how much effort that would take."
Song Yan deliberately sighed with feeling, "No wonder Mr. Ge holds Master Xu Xi in such high regard. I also want to say, truly worthy of being 248."
Were there other questionable points in this instance?
Of course there were.
But those weren't things that could be discussed publicly.
After all, the ground they stood on still bore the name "Glittering Play."