Chapter 64 Identity Verification Everyone felt a chill run down their spines…
"So, you just handed them over like that?"
Qi Zhixia repeated her question for the third time, her tone inevitably tinged with confusion, "But the person on the other end is a staff member in red..."
"Of course we know that too."
Luo Chuange wasn't in a good state either. He sat dejectedly at the end of the bench, regretting, "But by the time we realized what was happening, he had already started to snatch us away."
Old Ren sat next to Wang Jianping, still adjusting his breathing rhythm.
"He's incredibly fast and very strong. Even I, who do heavy and rough work all year round, can't pull him away..."
Based on previously obtained information, they could only trust the staff in green uniforms at the emergency aid station, while the staff in red uniforms, who were not mentioned, might belong to the category of "wrong rules".
Qi Zhixia felt a headache coming on at the thought of this.
Their purpose in coming here was to bring Liang Xun and Gu Keke back to their senses and restore their health; but instead, they've sent them directly to the side of the rule heretics.
But after much thought, this matter shouldn't be so simple.
Qi Zhixia seemed to have grasped the key point of the matter again, and she turned to look at Luo Chuange.
"Did the staff in green say anything to you before you arrived?"
Luo Chuange, who had been feeling deeply guilty, suddenly woke up from his dream after hearing her words.
He suddenly looked up and quickly sorted out the underlying logic amidst his chaotic thoughts.
"He told us to hand the patients over to the person who lifted the curtain, and said that the person would guarantee their recovery."
As his thoughts gradually became clearer, the light in Luo Chuange's eyes slowly rekindled.
"And the person who lifted the curtain was the staff member in red, and Sister Jun and Coco were indeed handed over to him."
Qi Zhixia continued, "Following this logic—the yellow-clad man tells us to unconditionally trust the green-clad man, which also includes 'unconditionally trusting what the green-clad man says.' Therefore, the red-clad staff members arranged by the green-clad man can also be trusted by us..."
Wang Jianping stood to the side with his arms crossed, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.
He didn't seem to have any desire to get involved in the topic.
Old Ren, meanwhile, watched longingly, piecing together his opinion with stammering words.
"But if we say that, wouldn't that mean we can trust the staff member in red?"
Old Ren rubbed his deflated belly. "The yellow-clad man believes it, the green-clad man believes it, and the red-clad man believes it too... Could it be that the system has suddenly taken a liking to us and doesn't want to cause us any trouble?"
That's not what I meant.
Knowing that Lao Ren might have some difficulty understanding, Luo Chuange reiterated the point in slightly simpler language. Only after Lao Ren understood the concept of "unconditional trust in the green-clad man and its derivative behaviors" did he feel relieved.
Luo Chuange leaned back in a relaxed posture on the back of the bench made of ginger candy cakes and let out a long sigh.
"Thankfully, at least they're still safe..."
As the group's mindset gradually calmed down, the atmosphere in the central hall also became quiet.
But this peaceful time didn't last long, because a rustling sound came from behind the closed curtain.
This was far too jarring in the tranquil setting.
Immediately, both groups waiting in the central hall looked toward the source of the sound.
The curtain, draped with yellow cherries, was slightly lifted a crack. Behind the crack were two familiar figures.
Old Ren, who was lying on the bench, suddenly perked up, plopped down next to Luo Chuange, and excitedly patted his shoulder repeatedly.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're all alright! Xiao Luo, hurry, hurry!"
Reminded, Luo Chuange sprang up from the bench and moved to their side in a few steps.
He instinctively reached out to help, but then immediately realized something and hesitated.
Seeing his cautious appearance, Gu Keke chuckled mischievously, her pale lips turning a deep shade of red.
“We are doing very well now, just like any other normal person, so you don’t need to worry so much.”
Liang Jun, who was standing next to her, was also pale, but she did not respond to Gu Keke's words. Instead, she turned slightly to the side and glanced at her own rear.
Through her actions, the players in the central hall noticed that there was a bright red color following closely behind Liang Jun and Gu Keke.
Qi Zhixia, who had remained silent, quietly observed the situation around her. She noticed that the two men and one woman who had been looking around earlier became heavy-hearted after catching sight of the staff member in red.
Then, they pretended nothing had happened and withdrew their probing gaze.
Liang Jun didn't notice these details; her attention was always focused on what was behind her.
She looked much better than Gu Keke; at least her lips still had a faint hint of color.
"You can't leave this area, right?"
The person being questioned was like a silent shadow. The work clothes that looked fitted on everyone else resembled a loose wizard's robe on him, making him appear as if he were about to collapse.
A few dark red spots were scattered across the robe, each one like a dried-up lake, solidified on the fabric and forming a hard lump.
The staff member in red did not answer Liang Jun's question, but kept her head down.
Then, like an old, malfunctioning robot, he clunked as he lowered the curtain, using the swaying yellow cherries to completely block everyone's view.
Having received no answer, Liang Xun looked away and, as she walked back to the gingerbread bench with Luo Chuange, asked, "Why did we end up in the hands of the red-clad staff?"
"Please have a seat."
Luo Chuange waved to Lao Ren, signaling him to sit further away, leaving enough space for Liang Jun and Gu Keke on the bench.
After the two women were seated, Luo Chuange briefly recounted everything that had happened to Liang Jun and Gu Keke after they fell unconscious.
Just as the storyline was about to come to an end, Old Ren chimed in with his own words.
"Oh, right, a staff member also gave us a brooch, saying it was some kind of limited edition merchandise."
"That's right."
After being reminded, Luo Chuange realized that he had overlooked the most crucial issue.
"That's a brooch shaped like a bumper car. Touching it will advance your game progress—I slipped it into your hands while you were unconscious. See if there's a record of that?"
Gu Keke took the lead and retrieved the key information in her system, where she naturally saw the prominent "1/7" mark next to the target progress.
Although Liang Jun did not make any obvious movements, her eyebrows were slightly raised, and her ashen face showed a few rare expressions.
"brooch?"
She seemed to finally become interested. "What's it like?"
Seeing that the two had nothing to do, Lao Ren sat down with his legs crossed, humming a little tune leisurely.
Hearing that Liang Xun had become interested in the gadget, he nodded twice in Qi Zhixia's direction.
"Xia, quickly take off your brooch and let them see it."
Surprisingly, Qi Zhixia did not make any move when her name was called.
She instinctively protected the brooch pinned to her collar, but her eyes were fixed on Liang Jun and Gu Keke, as if trying to find some flaw in their faces.
"Summer?"
Gu Keke was also taken aback by her sudden change in attitude, and her words carried a sense of helplessness, "You... what's wrong?"
Old Ren's smile froze on his face. He unconsciously moved closer to Luo Chuange, keeping a proper distance from Qi Zhixia.
"Xia, what are you doing?"
Qi Zhixia's gaze never left the two people in front of her from beginning to end.
Her suspicious gaze shifted from Gu Keke to Liang Jun, and she unconsciously intensified her action of covering her collar.
"How can I be sure that you two are really Liang Jun and Gu Keke?"
It was like a muffled thunderclap striking them right between the eyebrows; everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Old Ren, who had finally managed to move next to Luo Chuange, was startled again and quickly retreated to his original position using both hands and feet.
His gaze toward Liang Xun was tinged with complex emotions, his expression as ferocious as if he had swallowed a live fly.
Wang Jianping, who was sitting at the other end, also seemed to sense the change in atmosphere. He remained silent for a moment and then chose to stand behind Qi Zhixia.
Wang Jianping didn't pay much attention to Liang Jun and Gu Keke's micro-expressions, but instead focused his attention on the clumsy Lao Ren.
Qi Zhixia simply gripped the brooch on her collar tightly.
"Sister Jun, Coco, you two were taken to an enclosed space by the staff in red while unconscious for more than ten minutes—"
She paused for a few seconds, carefully choosing her words.
"Personally, I think there's a possibility that your products might have been switched."
Players are in a rule-based world tailored for them by the system, and every unexpected "brilliant idea" from the system may blind them.
In this situation, who can tell whether the feather that lands in their hand in this second belongs to the white dove that suddenly flew away in the previous second?
"Therefore, I cannot hand over such an important item to you until your identities are finally confirmed."
Qi Zhixia moved her fingers slightly and quickly took the brooch off the collar of her clothes, holding it in her hand.
As if she had just thought of something, she turned to look at Luo Chuange and asked, "When did you meet them?"
Luo Chuange glanced down at the person beside him and replied in a deep voice, "The first instance, Wilson Academy."
"In that case, let's ask some questions that only a few of you would know in that instance."
After thinking it over several times, Qi Zhixia said, "The more details, the better."
Gu Keke could tell that Luo Chuan Ge had some concerns. She reached out and patted his leg, and their eyes briefly met in the sweet atmosphere of the emergency aid station.
"It's okay, feel free to ask, my sister and I understand."
Upon hearing this, Luo Chuange turned to look at Liang Xun and met her tacitly approving gaze.
"The first question..."
Luo Chuange took a deep breath. "What's the room number of our boys' dormitory?"
Liang Xun and Gu Keke exchanged a glance and answered in unison, "501."
This problem seems a bit simple, since the dormitory settings are arranged by the NPCs, and it would be easy for the system to interfere if it wanted to.
After thinking for a long time, Luo Chuange decided to start with the interactions between the group of people.
"Then, Song Ming..."
When mentioning this name, Luo Chuange couldn't help but pause for a moment.
"What was the last thing Song Ming did...?"
Time seemed to sink into a long vacuum, so long that they thought no one would speak again.
Gu Keke's voice, like delicate threads, pierced through the fragile defenses that isolated her from the vacuum.
"He...he threw the gold lock and key into the dormitory while he was being torn apart by Di Qing..."
Liang Jun's brows furrowed together in a frown.
"Just before the dormitory door closed, he was still trying to get as far away from our dormitory as possible... Di Qing was clinging to him, heading towards him..."
"Enough!"
Luo Chuange roared as his arm was slammed vertically into the gingerbread bench, the bulging veins spreading and pulsating rhythmically with the slight tremor of his body.
"They're both right..."
He slowly raised his head, and the crimson at the corner of his eye appeared so quickly that Qi Zhixia thought she was seeing things.
Luo Chuange's fist drilled deep downwards, and the unique light milky aroma of ginger candy cakes quickly filled the air.
Is it okay now?
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A message from the author: Happy Children's Day, everyone!
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