Chapter 160: Cursed Island

Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Cursed Island

Shi Zhile pondered for a moment. "Are you sure I’ll run into Jiang Yu in the next instance?"

"Yes!"

Shi Zhile’s gaze met Mr. Wen’s. He gave a barely perceptible nod, signaling her to agree.

"If you’re using me as bait to catch Chuyi, you should at least give me some compensation. Besides, killing someone isn’t simple. I want a weapon—one that can take a life from miles away.

Jiang Yuxing, Jiang Yu is Jiang Jing’s sister. It’s a huge risk for me to make a move. If your compensation is laughably small, I don’t see why I should go to all this trouble for a mere piece of information."

’She didn’t actually believe killing Jiang Yu would lure out Chuyi. After all, it’s unlikely that Jiang Yu is his girlfriend.’

’She’s less of a girlfriend and more of a witness to his connection with Earth. Having a legitimate identity reduces a lot of unnecessary trouble, after all.’

Jiang Yuxing spoke slowly. "I don’t have a weapon, but I can give you the blueprints for a sniper rifle. You already replaced the showerhead in the bathroom. With these blueprints, won’t you have enough to work on?

It’s not good to be too greedy."

He paused, but seeing the impatient look on Shi Zhile’s face, he immediately changed his tune. "Fine, what do you want?"

Shi Zhile’s face was impassive. "I was only planning on asking for a little, but since you insist on accusing me of being greedy, I won’t hold back.

I want all the laboratory equipment from our original world, and I want it now. Since you know I replaced the showerhead, you should know what I’m planning."

The corner of Jiang Yuxing’s mouth twitched, his usual composure cracking.

This truly was being greedy, and on a grand scale.

He stood up and spread his arms wide. "Here, you might as well just kill me and trade my corpse for the equipment."

Shi Zhile instantly whipped out an axe and pressed it against his lower abdomen. Before she could say a word, Jiang Yuxing immediately sat back down on the bed.

"Deal!"

He agreed so readily that Shi Zhile was taken aback for a moment.

Jiang Yuxing pushed the axe away with his hand. "If you’d put that axe to my neck, I wouldn’t have agreed. But you..."

He didn’t finish, but everyone present knew what he meant. The girl was threatening his family jewels. One swing of that axe would truly be a fate worse than death.

"The equipment will be delivered to you before the instance begins."

After saying his last words, Jiang Yuxing opened a Teleportation Gate and left without a backward glance.

The gazes of the four instantly shifted to Wang Peng.

Wang Peng: "..."

He tremblingly sent a message to Jiang Yuxing. A second later, a Teleportation Gate opened, and he was kicked through it.

After sending Wang Peng off, Shi Zhile opened another Teleportation Gate, leading the other three inside.

They entered a lush forest, the air filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.

Wen Bai scanned their surroundings warily, the scene looking more and more familiar. "Is this... the Primitive Forest?"

Shi Zhiyi confirmed it, "It is the Primitive Forest, but not the one that was destroyed by the tsunami. Or has the forest really recovered to its former state in just over a month?"

Shi Zhile said, "Let’s put the Primitive Forest aside for now. What are your thoughts on Jiang Yuxing insisting that Jiang Yu must die?"

Mr. Wen pulled out a notebook, sketching and writing as he analyzed the situation. "He’s confident he can make you encounter Jiang Yu in the next instance, and he agreed to give you the lab equipment just like that. Those two things indicate he can control a large part of this game. At the very least, when it comes to planning the game, he has a say—and absolute authority at that."

Shi Zhiyi and Wen Bai had long suspected Jiang Yuxing was connected to the game, but since they didn’t know who Chuyi was, they only understood half of the conversation.

Shi Zhiyi asked, "Who is Chuyi?"

Shi Zhile briefly explained the relationship between Chuyi and Jiang Yu, and then relayed the information Chuyi had revealed to the two of them.

"The Primitive Forest appeared suddenly after Chuyi vanished. Here, the system is almost completely defunct. I suspect this place isn’t part of the game, and the life forms here aren’t controlled by the system.

The only thing I can’t figure out now is why Jiang Yuxing insists on killing Jiang Yu. Is it really just to draw Chuyi out?"

Shi Zhiyi took out a few stools and sat down before analyzing the situation. "Not necessarily. If he really wanted to use Jiang Yu to lure out Chuyi, wouldn’t a living person be more useful than a dead one? It’s more likely he sees us getting closer to the base and wants to use Jiang Yu’s death to make an issue of it.

Just as you said, Jiang Yu is Jiang Jing’s sister, and our closest contact at Huaxia Base is Jiang Jing."

Wen Bai interrupted their train of thought. "The important thing right now is how to keep Jiang Yu alive. They want her dead, so even if Shi Zhile doesn’t do it, Jiang Yu will most likely be killed anyway.

Besides, is it possible that Chuyi is the key to us finally escaping this game?"

Shi Zhiyi followed up, "You mean Chuyi is an important NPC who helps the players?"

Wen Bai raised an eyebrow. "You could see it that way. Think of this game as a story. The protagonists are the players trying to survive, and the one who leaks information to them is the NPC. That kind of character is usually hunted by the villain."

To confuse the players, the villain will usually frame the NPC as some irredeemable monster, diminishing their importance in the players’ eyes.

Right now, we need to find Chuyi to get more information, and Jiang Yuxing is also looking for him. And Jiang Yu just happens to be the only player who can summon this particular NPC.

If that’s the case, we absolutely can’t kill Jiang Yu. Not only that, we have to protect her."

When Wen Bai finished speaking, he looked up to find the other three staring at him.

Especially Shi Zhile. Her dark eyes were completely calm. She snatched the pen and paper from Mr. Wen and held them out to him.

"Here, pen and paper for you. You should write the novel! With logic like that, it’s a waste of your talent not to be an author."

Wen Bai: "..."

He cleared his throat, took the pen and paper, and placed them back in Mr. Wen’s hands. "Thanks for the offer, but I’m one of the main characters in this novel, not the author."

Shi Zhiyi gently pinched the soft flesh of Shi Zhile’s cheek, then took out some sliced pears she had stored in her backpack.

"Wen Bai’s analysis makes sense, but as you said, how do we keep Jiang Yu safe?"

Mr. Wen and Wen Bai said in unison, "The space! After this instance begins, all of us except Shi Zhile will enter the space.

The moment you encounter Jiang Yu, bring her into the space immediately."

Shi Zhile said, "I have a bad feeling that the upcoming instance will have the spaces disabled."

As if to confirm Shi Zhile’s words, a message arrived from Jiang Yuxing.

[In the next instance, the Planting Space and Breeding Space will both be disabled.]

Shi Zhile showed them the message, then replied: [I figured as much. News like this isn’t enough to make me kill someone, especially a former teammate.]

Jiang Yuxing quickly replied: [Cursed Island. Ten sacrificed, zero survivors. Last time you said there weren’t many opportunities to kill Japs. What if I give you a chance for revenge, but you have to risk your life for it?]

[Now I’m getting excited!]