Chapter 45 Tearing Apart

A dozen minutes later, Yu Shuling returned to the small house where they had been, but stopped at the door.

The darkness concealed everything inside. Perhaps something could be seen in the dim moonlight, but it wouldn't be very clear. However, with Yu Shuling's keen senses, she immediately realized there must be someone inside. She had made a mark at the door when she came out, but that mark had now been erased.

After lingering for a while at the door of the cottage and applying some more Tiger Balm to her legs, Kawana finally arrived, albeit late. The beautiful mixed-race girl had been searching for something, and immediately waved to her upon seeing her.

Yu Shuling then jogged over and saw Kawana anxiously gesturing and explaining to her:

"Shuling, there are people in that house! I just saw someone coming this way when I went out..."

Kawana left home later than her, and Yu Shuling, still carrying a bag, didn't want to stand outside for long, so she asked:

"Is it still that savage?"

Kawana shook her head:

"It's the villagers here."

Kawana then recounted how she had almost encountered several tall, strong villagers before she came out. Fortunately, she was quick-witted and had a fast reaction time. Seeing that those people looked hostile, she immediately went inside, gathered their belongings, and dragged them to hide in the bushes not far away.

They discovered that the villagers had dismantled their temporary dwellings, taking apart the beds and removing them.

The house was originally built of wood. Although it wasn't particularly exquisite, it should have taken some effort to build. But those people just started demolishing it without warning, and they've already hollowed out the interior.

It seems they're making some minor repairs inside, planning to demolish their entire house and eliminate their place of residence.

Kawana couldn't help but get into character:

"They worked so hard, and they seemed very willing to accept us before, but I never expected them to be two-faced..."

Yu Shuling interrupted her:

"Let's take the things away first."

Yu Shuling had been wondering why, since they had been given houses, the players were made to risk their lives to get those supply packs at the very beginning of the show.

The mystery was finally revealed at this point: even though the environment seemed quite comfortable at first, they still had to use those supply packs later on, which was the core of the program's setup.

They had only initially offered them a sugar-coated bullet; now that the villagers had revealed their true colors, it was time to break ties with them. The claim that the longevity village had a problem with its water source was probably just a smokescreen.

A few minutes after the two women left, the "villagers" dutifully dismantled the house they had just stayed in.

However, the two people who had already left were unaware of all this. On the way, Yu Shuling asked Chuan Nai:

Did you get any clues by the river?

"The old man told me that if I walked eastward along the water source for a kilometer, there would be a factory."

Kawana didn't know where "East" was, and felt that it would be dangerous for her to go there alone, so she didn't make any rash moves.

She said that besides getting this clue, she also picked up an emergency kit, a very small one. Kawana only opened it after the two had walked for a while. Inside, she found a small bottle of water and a transparent plastic bag containing a few scattered pills, labeled "Antidote Water" and "Healing Pill" respectively.

Yu Shuling: "..."

As a foreign friend, Kawana could recognize the characters, but he failed to grasp the awkwardness of the rough and poorly made item, and earnestly told Yu Shuling to put the things away:

"We'll split it in half, you get half, and I'll take half. I have an empty water bottle over there, I'll fill it with the antidote, so we won't have to worry about splitting it up!"

The two walked for nearly a kilometer and felt they were quite far from the hut, so Yu Shuling signaled to Chuan Nai to stop and set up camp.

Although Kawana spoke earnestly, Yu Shuling ultimately didn't take her things. After all, Kawana had brought them herself, and she could look elsewhere during the day; the production team should have left these things there as well.

However, once they rescue the bride, the battle against the villagers will officially begin.

That night, the two of them made do with sleeping bags under the shade of a tree. Yu Shuling was used to hardship from her military service, but she didn't expect Kawana to have no objections.

They sprayed mosquito repellent around them and on their sleeping bags, and Yu Shuling even sprinkled realgar powder, leaving the production crew speechless.

This area has been cleaned up. Apart from the possibility that some small insects might not be completely eliminated, the production team will definitely ensure the safety of the guests.

However, Yu Shuling had brought such complete supplies. They had actually placed supply packs in places like bushes, containing things like food, water, and sunscreen. Yu Shuling had taken all of these into consideration.

Compared to the calm and uneventful situation here, Zhou Ya's situation last night was anything but peaceful. Zhou Ya encountered Mu Yubing and Tao Liang last night. After running quite a distance with the bride, she was exhausted. She thought the villagers would give up, since it was already late at night.

To everyone's surprise, those people didn't play by the rules at all. They even used a rotation tactic, lying in wait in advance. Zhou Ya cursed the entire production team in her mind.

Fortunately, he ran into two other people and found a weapon—an inflatable spiked club with a high attack rating. He wielded it with great force, finally buying the other two time to catch their breath.

That evening, they naturally gathered more detailed clues about the longevity village from the bride.

The next morning, Kawana heard a noise and woke up Yu Shuling. The two of them only had time to pack up their sleeping bags and some supplies before they started losing blood in the "poisonous fog".

After escaping the "poisonous fog," both of them had lost more than twenty bars of health; they hadn't expected the weapon to be so lethal. After a frantic run, they lost some supplies but successfully rejoined another team.

Luo Ziqi was with the fitness coach, and after the two teams met up, she quickly went to find the other people.

Although it's described as an individual battle, given the current situation, people are increasingly convinced that this was just an initial ruse. If they were fighting alone, they would have been eliminated by the villagers long ago; only by teaming up do they have any hope.

The village was divided into very large areas, and with the villagers causing trouble and setting up various traps, everyone had to complete various tasks and piece together clues along the way. It wasn't until the sun was about to set in the afternoon that everyone finally gathered together and had a hasty dinner.

Of course, Zhou Ya and the others did not give up on the bride. Calling her a bride is not quite accurate. To be precise, she was a female college student who had been trafficked to a mountain village. The girl said her name was Xiaoxiao.

Once everyone had arrived, Xiaoxiao patiently explained everything she knew to everyone again.

"Many outsiders were lured here by them; the people here cooperate with the human trafficking gangs..."

"They say they're looking for a job or recruiting, or they use online dating or classmates as a pretext... Once you're in, it's like living in complete darkness."

She didn't know why the village was called a "longevity village"; it might just be a lie fabricated by the backward village to attract outsiders.

“There are many people like me. Although I haven’t met them all, some of the women who are supposed to be mothers have come to persuade me to stay here, saying that there’s no point in running away. They gave some very beautiful women to the factory manager. I don’t know where the factory originated. I only heard these things from the people I was detained.”

After saying all this, Xiaoxiao couldn't help but burst into tears. She seemed to have been carrying too much pressure, and she sobbed uncontrollably on Zhou Ya's shoulder.

Although everyone knew this scene was staged, it still moved them deeply, reminding them of the women who had been trafficked to mountainous areas.

Most girls who are trafficked to these remote areas are simply not lucky enough to receive help from a group of people. Even worse, the entire village may become accomplices.

Ignorance and closed-mindedness have fostered a unity that is their greatest asset. Their disregard for the law gives them the courage to confront the police.

The factory that Xiaoxiao mentioned matched the clues that Kawana had obtained earlier. Since they had already gathered together, Kawana naturally shared what she had seen and heard without reservation.

"These people are really despicable," Luo Ziqi cursed angrily. "Why don't we follow the water source to the factory today and see what they're up to!"

"It's getting late now, and they don't know when they'll put out fog again..."

Xiao Shu is another male MC besides Zhou Ya. His gaming style is relatively conservative and cautious. He likes to "pick up the scraps". This kind of reckless rush is obviously not what he likes, so he speaks up to dissuade him.

“But we don’t have anywhere to sleep here. Yao’s tent can only fit two people at most,” Luo Ziqi said impatiently. “Even if we can find a house, you said they keep releasing that fog. I’ve already lost more than 30 bars of health. What if I just die while I’m sleeping?”

"By the way," reminded by Luo Ziqi, Mu Yubing turned to ask the others, "How did you guys sleep last night? They finally found a house, but it was all demolished. They really went all out."

At this point, everyone used their own methods. Some people found small houses that hadn't been demolished, made do with temporary teammates for one night, were woken up by fright, and then ran away.

Tao Liang climbed the tree, found a suitable spot, and draped a sleeping bag over himself. Speaking of this, Luo Ziqi felt a little embarrassed. She had run into her fitness coach, Brother Yao, who generously offered her his tent, while he himself made do outside with his sleeping bag.

Zhou Ya interrupted the conversation:

"Everyone, I don't think it's necessary to confront the factory directly, but it's already the third night. Our mission is to survive for five days, and we're already halfway there. We can't keep wasting time here."