Chapter 123: Cannot

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Cannot

The players who had just been incited trembled in fear.

They had indeed coveted Shi Zhile’s supplies, but they cherished their lives more.

Although Wei Zhan didn’t know why Shi Zhile wanted to gather the players, he chose to trust her, remembering the grain she had sent to the base.

He stood up, his expression solemn and his voice firm and resounding. "I am Wei Zhan, the search and rescue captain of Huaxia Base."

"Let me say a few words. You all might not know this, but Comrade Shi Zhile has a long-standing cooperative relationship with our Huaxia Base. Many of the seeds and vegetables at our base were provided by Comrade Shi Zhile.

During the earliest stages of the base’s construction, Comrade Jiang Jing, the supplies captain for Sector Two, worked alongside Comrade Shi Zhile. I can tell you all with full responsibility that Comrade Shi Zhile is a good person!"

Shi Zhile pressed her red lips together, suddenly feeling the urge to laugh.

’In Uncle Wei’s eyes, I’m actually a good person!’

Jiang Jing also stood up to vouch for Shi Zhile.

Shi Zhile looked at Mo Ze. "Did you take note of the troublemakers from just now?"

Before Mo Ze could speak, Mo Ya nodded excitedly. "I did!"

Shi Zhile smiled at her. "Tie up the ones who were causing trouble. At dawn tomorrow, dump them in the Beast-eating Clan’s territory."

Mo Ya was the first to act, felling Yuan Qiang with a single punch.

The other tribe members scrambled to get their hands on them, looking as if they wanted to tie up all the players.

After this display to warn the others, the remaining players all behaved themselves.

Shi Zhile stood up and did a headcount.

"Thirty-two players. After dawn tomorrow, Uncle Wei and Jiang Jing will each take sixteen players and some tribe members to search for supplies on our territory.

There are no restrictions on the type of supplies. As long as it’s useful, bring it all back.

The dungeon prompt mentioned that the island would have a crisis. Right now, the biggest crisis is the giant python on the island. If you encounter it, don’t try to fight it head-on. Your job is to survive, but a prerequisite for survival is that you are not allowed to lead the python to the tribe."

With Mo Ze and his men standing guard, no one dared to protest.

Wei Zhan then suggested setting up a night watch and patrols. Shi Zhile arranged everything, mixing two players with four tribe members in each group to have them supervise each other.

The summer night wasn’t cold, and all the players crowded around the bonfires to rest.

Meanwhile, Shi Zhile led Jiang Jing and the others back to the cave.

Jiang Yuxing was half-reclined on the wooden bed, his eyes fixed on Shi Zhile.

Shi Zhile sat at the stone table, surrounded by Wang Peng, Jiang Jing, Jiang Yu, and Wei Zhan.

Jiang Yu leaned closer to Shi Zhile and asked curiously, "How did you get those primitives to obey your every word?"

It wasn’t just her; the other three were just as curious.

Shi Zhile sipped her water without answering.

Jiang Jing teased, "I can’t believe I was only gone for a day, and I come back to find you’ve become the tribe’s chief. We’ve got a life-and-death bond, so shouldn’t the great Chief appoint me as a protector or something?"

Shi Zhile shot him a look and tapped the table. "Uncle Wei, tomorrow when you’re leading the players to search for supplies, I want you to protect someone."

Wei Zhan: "Who?"

"Academician Wen. The Primitive Forest has more useful resources than we imagined. This morning, I went with Mo Ya while she was gathering, and we found many crops on the mountainside that resemble millet.

But they’re much larger than any I’ve seen in the real world. I’m afraid I might be mistaken, so I want Academician Wen to take a look.

I already spoke with Academician Wen this afternoon. He agreed."

Wei Zhan’s square, honest face couldn’t hide his excitement. "Academician Wen? You met Academician Wen? Is he injured?"

"He’s not injured. Academician Wen is already resting."

Wei Zhan let out a sigh of relief. His mission was to escort Academician Wen back to the base, but unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to rendezvous with him before the dungeon began.

Knowing Elder Wen was safe, he could finally relax.

"Comrade Shi Zhile, there’s one thing I must ask you. For this dungeon, why are you gathering all the players together?"

The tribe’s name had been changed to Huaxia. Flying the country’s banner was bound to attract many of the surviving players.

He had to know her intentions!

The uninformed Wang Peng and Jiang Yu also voiced their confusion.

From what they knew, whenever they cleared dungeons together, Shi Zhile had always been ruthlessly decisive. Her suddenly gathering the players gave them the unsettling feeling that she was planning to wipe everyone out.

Shi Zhile looked at Jiang Yuxing. "Can I tell them?"

’His cryptic words from yesterday made it clear that he knew something was wrong with the game.’

’His Level was higher than Chuyi’s, and with his sly-old-fox personality, he very likely knew about her conversation with Chuyi.’

’Right now, everyone’s lives were in the game’s hands. He was the only one who knew how to quit the game, so she couldn’t afford to confront him head-on when it was crucial.’

’Besides, the origins of the game weren’t something that more people should know about. Before she had more concrete information, his opinion was especially important.’

Jiang Yuxing smiled and shook his head. "You can’t. Let’s talk after we’re out of the dungeon."

’Getting out of the dungeon would mean the trouble outside is resolved, and the game is safe again.’

Shi Zhile nodded and turned back to Wei Zhan. "Uncle Wei, he said I can’t say, so I can only tell you that I’m doing this to save the majority of the players."

’Both of my spaces can hold people. If it comes down to it, I’ll put the primitives into my space to complete the first clear condition for the dungeon.’

’As long as the dungeon ends, most of the players will be able to survive.’

Fearing Wei Zhan wouldn’t believe her, Jiang Jing stood up, saluted, and said with a solemn expression, "This is a matter of great importance. We would never dare to make a false report."

Wei Zhan: "You know the reason?"

"Yes! Elder Wen knows too."

With Jiang Jing’s guarantee, Wei Zhan chose to believe them.

The night deepened. Aside from the occasional bird call from the forest and the sound of patrolling footsteps, all was silent.

A deeply sleeping Jiang Yuxing was woken by Shi Zhile.

"Come with me to the bathroom."

Jiang Yuxing raised a slight eyebrow, his voice still husky with sleep. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

The two of them walked out of the cave, one after the other. After they were far away from the other players, Shi Zhile stopped.

"I need Corpse Dissolving Water. A lot of it!"

Jiang Yuxing leaned against the stone wall, yawning with sleepy eyes. "Making them disappear outright will arouse suspicion. How about a poison? It won’t kill them in the short term, but any strenuous movement will be fatal."

Shi Zhile rubbed her forehead. "There are too many of them. It’ll be hard to administer a poison, and it’ll be troublesome if someone wakes up."

Jiang Yuxing: "Silly! It’s a poison gas. You think I’d suggest something that puts you at risk? I’ll go for you."

Shi Zhile squinted at him. He looked even more handsome in the hazy moonlight.

"I’ll go myself. Give me the poison."

’Only by seeing Yuan Qiang and the others get poisoned with her own eyes could she be completely at ease.’

’She had wanted to kill Yuan Qiang ever since he incited the players to murder her for her supplies, but striking a fatal blow in front of so many people could easily trigger a riot.’

’Although it would serve as a warning to others, it would also make it easy for someone to stab her in the back later on.’

Jiang Yuxing took out a thin bamboo tube and handed it to her, repeatedly warning, "The poison is very potent. Don’t get hit by it yourself."

Before Shi Zhile could say anything, Wei Zhan’s voice came from not far away.

"Who’s there?"

The corner of Jiang Yuxing’s lip curled up. The next moment, a cool body burrowed into his arms.