The entire audience, both human and non-human, fell silent...

Having been tricked instead of tricked, Ji He finally lost her temper and yelled, "Ruan Qing'an, you fucking tricked me!"

The sudden burst of strength caught Ji He completely off guard. Before she could even put up a fight, she was tied up like a dumpling and thrown out. It was an utter disgrace!

But Ruan Qing'an just smiled softly and said seriously, "No, it's fate, Ms. Ji He, so you can't miss it. I wish you a happy marriage and many children."

Ji He felt nauseous, and her face turned even more pale.

But at this moment, Uncle Zhang, who had become a vengeful ghost, didn't care about any of that. Ignoring Ji He's struggles, he dragged her to the ground, pulling her out like a dead pig.

Because they caught the person, Uncle Zhang could speak without interruption.

"Stay, stay!"

"I told you to hide here, I told you to hide here!"

Ji He, bound like a rice dumpling with red thread, was lying on the ground, frantically tearing at the red thread binding her body, trying to struggle free, but Uncle Zhang had already raised his axe high.

Its body was hunched and short, but now it was incredibly frightening.

Before Ji He could untie the red thread and escape, Uncle Zhang's axe had already fallen, striking Ji He's calf hard!

In the small courtyard, the woman's screams were heart-wrenching—

A large amount of blood pooled together and rushed towards the tumor on Uncle Zhang's back, where it grew and enlarged little by little. Uncle Zhang was completely unaware of this and hacked at Ji He as if possessed, like a butcher slaughtering a pig, hacking away with utter madness!

Ruan Qing'an lay flat in the quilt, closed his eyes, and listened to the sound of bones breaking constantly coming from outside, which was particularly shrill and piercing.

037: [Female, the female lead... is she... dead?]

Ruan Qing'an did not answer. Only after the sounds in the courtyard disappeared did she finally sit up and look out the window.

Ji He has disappeared without a trace.

Uncle Zhang, who had just been wielding an axe, was now lying on the ground, sprawled out. One of the tumors on his back had been punctured, and a large amount of dark, filthy, viscous liquid gushed out, flowing onto the ground and corroding it until it began to bubble and rot.

037 was stunned: [Ah, no, where's the female lead?! Even if she was chopped up, there should at least be some ashes left, right? This...this—]

"She did indeed run away."

Ruan Qing'an, however, was not surprised at all, and coldly watched the scene: "Do you really think Ji He has no other tricks up her sleeve? This is probably a substitute, she has already slipped away unharmed."

"This female lead is not that simple. She can rank among the top players in the global horror game rankings. Ji He is not a simple person. She must have a lot of trump cards up her sleeve. She has just been hiding her strength. Moreover, Ji He is ruthless."

After saying that, Ruan Qing'an glanced at Uncle Zhang lying on the ground, finally looked away, lay back down, and went back to sleep.

Until the next morning—

"Where has Sister Ji gone?!"

Xia Changhong's voice suddenly came. When the Ghost Realm descended, everyone except those inside it was completely unaware.

Ruan Qing'an opened his eyes groggily, and after lifting the bed sheet, he saw the anxious Xia Changhong. After all, they were both players and belonged to the same camp by nature. No matter how much they fought each other internally, they were closer to each other than the NPCs they regarded as data.

Xia Changhong, who had been silent all along, finally became anxious. Seeing this, Ruan Qingan also said, "Is Ms. Ji He missing? I'm sorry, I slept very soundly last night."

What's going on with this window?

"Oh, I don't know either. Actually, I was woken up by the cold. Her complexion didn't seem good last night. Maybe she encountered something unclean. I don't understand..."

Upon hearing Ruan Qing'an's words, Xia Changhong realized that the person in front of him was just an NPC. He thought for a moment and then immediately went to check the situation outside the courtyard. Ruan Qing'an followed him and found that there were no traces left.

Xia Changhong could only stand there, her face looking rather grim.

NPCs don't understand dungeons. Even if something really happened, how could Ruan Qing'an be unharmed while Ji He is missing?

If this NPC wasn't the problem, otherwise...

It's likely that Ruan Qingan's identity is not simple.

Regardless of the reason, Xia Changhong still couldn't believe it. Even a weak NPC like Ruan Qing'an hadn't encountered any major problems, so how could Ji He be in trouble? And then she recalled Ruan Qing'an's earlier words—

Did Ji He not get into trouble, but instead discover some clue and try to secretly ditch him to get the benefits herself?!

Just then, footsteps came from outside the small courtyard.

Jiang Shihe was carrying a plate with several steamed buns on it. Seeing that the two of them were in the yard, he said, "I asked Uncle Zhang for some steamed buns for breakfast. Come and eat."

"Detective Jiang, have you seen Ji He?"

"she?"

Jiang Shihe was slightly taken aback: "Sorry, I didn't see it."

Seeing that Xia Changhong's expression was somewhat unpleasant, Jiang Shihe didn't pay much attention to him. Instead, he took the plate, came to Ruan Qing'an's side, took one, and held it to her lips: "Make do with this."

"It's nothing, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Jiang."

Ruan Qingan chuckled softly, her beautiful eyes curving into crescent moons.

At this moment, Xia Changhong walked over, picked up a gift, thanked her, and then said, "Ji He is missing. I'll go look for her. We'll come back later when we find her. I'm sorry!"

After saying that, Xia Changhong grabbed the steamed bun and ran out.

037: [Wow, they're such good friends?]

"What's so good about it? It's just that Xia Changhong was afraid that Ji Hezhen would secretly go looking for clues on his own without telling him, and in the end, he would escape from Fengxian Village and leave him here alone."

Ruan Qingan couldn't help but sneer.

After taking a couple of bites, she stopped eating the steamed bun and turned to Jiang Shihe: "Mr. Jiang, should we go out and take a look? I have a feeling something is wrong here, so we should leave as soon as possible."

"I know, don't worry."

Jiang Shihe paused: "Regardless of whether or not I need to give Captain Long an explanation, I want to find out about your background. The fact that you appeared outside Fengxian Village covered in injuries proves that things are not simple."

"Mr. Jiang..."

Ruan Qing'an was taken aback, and subconsciously smiled at Jiang Shihe, tilting his head: "Then let's look around here first, and then leave."

I also...really want to know about your background...