Chapter 86: 4 People and a Monster

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: 4 People and a Monster

Lan Lan and Li Ran arrived.

Shi Zhile ended the video call and looked at the two of them.

"It’s almost eight o’clock. Go get Luo Jiuyin. Li Ran and Lan Lan will take the first watch, and Luo Jiuyin and I will take the second. Let’s not split up on the first night. We can all just squeeze in here."

Lan Lan nodded. "I’ll do whatever Sister Zhile says. I’ll go get Luo Jiuyin now."

She poked her head outside and called out softly, "Sister Jiu Yin, we’re all doing the night watch in Sister Zhile’s house tonight."

Luo Jiuyin arrived quickly. She sat down cross-legged by the fire and rubbed her hands together to warm them.

"It’s a good idea to keep watch together on the first night. Li Ran and Lan Lan can take the first half, and Shi Zhile, you and I will take the second. The second half of the night is more dangerous than the first."

Lan Lan clapped her hands. "That’s just what Sister Zhile said."

Li Ran looked at the bonfire outside. "Should we put out the fire outside?"

Shi Zhile replied, "No. If the monsters are afraid of fire, they won’t get close to that bonfire. If they’re not, it’ll attract them, and in that case, the fire can draw some of their attention."

"There’s one thing I need to say beforehand. This yard is blocked off on three sides. It feels secure, but it isn’t truly safe. If a monster actually gets in, we’ll have nowhere to retreat. It’s either kill it or escape.

Whichever it is, since we’ve chosen to stay here in this yard, there can be no backstabbing."

Shi Zhile had killed monsters before. To her, they were things that could be killed if she fought for her life. She wasn’t afraid of monsters, but she was afraid of people.

Afraid they would stab her in the back and sacrifice someone else at a critical moment.

The three of them nodded in unison. "Since we chose to team up, we won’t sell out our teammates. Don’t worry."

The sound of footsteps approached. Shi Zhile and Luo Jiuyin instantly grew alert. One grabbed an axe and the other a sledgehammer as they both got to their feet.

"Shi Zhile, it’s us. Is it okay to come in?"

The voice came from the yard entrance.

They could only make out shadowy figures, but from the voices, they knew it was Wang Gang and Xiao Yi.

Shi Zhile looked to Luo Jiuyin and Li Ran for their opinion. When they both nodded, she called out, "Yes, it’s fine. Come on in."

The two men arrived outside the wooden house. A moment later, Lan Lan spoke up urgently, "Sister Zhile, it’s 7:59."

Shi Zhile had Lan Lan move further inside to let the two men into the wooden house.

The two of them scrambled in without the slightest hesitation. Wang Gang got straight to the point. "We’ve come to cooperate. How about we keep watch together tonight?"

Lan Lan muttered, "You’re not here to keep watch, you’re here to mooch off my Sister Zhile’s wooden house."

Xiao Yi coughed awkwardly. "You knew, but you just had to say it out loud? Don’t we have any pride?"

Lan Lan retorted, "What good is pride when it’s a matter of life and death?"

Xiao Yi: "..."

Shi Zhile looked at the time on her panel. "Let’s reschedule the watches. It’s eight o’clock now. The first half of the night is when you’re least likely to get sleepy, so that’s from eight to twelve. Next is twelve to three, then three to six.

Everyone can choose which shift they want to take."

Wang Gang was silent for a moment. "Monsters usually come out between twelve and three. Xiao Yi and I will take that shift."

That was also the period when one was most drowsy, so it was indeed best suited for those who were clear-headed and energetic.

Lan Lan spoke up, "I always go to bed late. I’ll take the eight to twelve shift."

Li Ran shrugged. "I’ll join you."

The remaining shift naturally fell to Shi Zhile and Luo Jiuyin.

Neither of them had any objections. Shi Zhile wrapped her military coat tightly around herself, lay down, and went to sleep.

She turned up the temperature on her soft armor. With its double-layered heat lock, Shi Zhile couldn’t feel a trace of the chill seeping up from the stones beneath her.

The moon rose above the branches. A terrified scream from the distance jolted the sleeping Shi Zhile and the others awake.

She called out to the system in her mind, ’What time is it?’

[1:28 AM.]

’What happened at the beach?’

[The other four players were attacked by a monster. The monster hadn’t attacked them as long as they had a torch, but when it was Hu Yaqin’s turn to hold it, she fumbled and dropped it into the seawater, extinguishing it.]

’Didn’t a single one of the four have a spare?’

[After getting screwed over by Li Ran, Hu Yaqin was hoarding the torches. They lit one, and she was the one who threw it into the sea and put it out. Who knew that moron Hu Yaqin... only brought one torch. Now they have no fire source at all.]

Shi Zhile: "..."

’Words fail me.’

Lan Lan had just fallen asleep when the scream startled her awake. She now sat beside Shi Zhile, her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

"That was Hu Yaqin’s scream. Looks like the monster’s here."

Everyone took out their weapons and stared intently into the distance. To their relief, not a single person present asked any stupid questions.

The screaming didn’t last long. When everything fell silent again, the sound of the ocean waves became exceptionally clear.

After a few moments, the sound vanished completely.

The silence only made the group more cautious.

Li Ran said, "Does anyone have them as a friend? Send a couple of messages and ask what’s going on."

Lan Lan, clutching a large machete, said, "It’s a life-or-death moment. Even if we ask, they probably don’t have time to reply."

Xiao Yi said, "Don’t bother them. If they remember us and lead the monster here, we’re done for."

Wang Gang said, "Unless the monster kills them in one blow, someone will definitely run over here to survive."

Shi Zhile opened her panel again, only speaking after confirming the wooden house was completely immune to monster damage.

"Luo Jiuyin, do you have any more stones in your backpack?"

"I do."

A wicked smile spread across Shi Zhile’s face. "Quietly, use the stones to build a wall in front of the house. As long as they come over and see we’re not here, they’ll take the monster and run somewhere else."

Luo Jiuyin waved her hand, and a massive boulder appeared. With the aid of her backpack, she could arrange the boulder into any shape she desired just by thinking it.

Xiao Yi stroked his chin. "Among those four, Guo Funing is the trickiest. If they run back here and don’t find us, they’ll definitely search the area.

So just putting up a stone wall isn’t enough. It would be best if someone sent them a message to lure them away."

His gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Wang Gang. "Brother Wang, you’re the most suitable person to send the message."

Wang Gang gave a bitter smile. "I know, I’m the ’good guy,’ right? What should I send?"

Xiao Yi smiled. "Ask them what happened, if they ran into a monster. If they did and they need help, tell them to find us in the swamp to the west."

It was dark, visibility was poor, and the swamp was overgrown with weeds. A single careless step could send someone sinking into the mire.

Xiao Yi didn’t just want to lead them away; he wanted to get rid of them once and for all.

Shi Zhile looked at him, and Xiao Yi returned her gaze with a smile.

Wang Gang said, "The swamp is too dangerous. Let’s tell them to go to the forest. Whether they live or die will be up to fate."

Xiao Yi didn’t say anything else. Wang Gang opened his panel and sent the message.

Lan Lan also secretly opened her panel and typed furiously. Soon, Shi Zhile received a message from Lan Lan.

[Sister Zhile, we need to be careful of Xiao Yi. Someone who’s so quick to wish death on others is terrifying.]