Chapter 10: Poaching
Because of the three-day agreement, the atmosphere within the team began to deteriorate. By the afternoon of the second day, conflict erupted again. Xiong Qi and Xiao Ke had a heated argument, all over a meal they didn't like. Xiong Qi, in a fit of rage, threw the meal out the door, and Xiao Ke, in a rage, slammed the door and left.
Suspicion permeated the air, and teammates who could once be relied upon were now the subject of suspicion. A single conversation, a single action, even a single glance could become the trigger for an avalanche.
This was the first time that Lin Qiushi felt so clearly that everyone was about to die. The pressure and doubt brought by death were almost becoming the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Ruan Baijie seemed to have anticipated this situation, so she didn't seem surprised. She found a corner to sit down, watching the people in the living room become increasingly nervous, and suddenly spoke softly, "Have you forgotten that there's a body somewhere else?"
These words were like raindrops falling into the dry earth, instantly moistening the completely dry atmosphere. Xiong Qi asked, "Where?"
Lin Qiushi said, "Is it a cemetery? But I've looked for it before, and I don't know where the tombs in this village are. I've never found them."
"Of course it's not a cemetery." Ruan Baijie said, "Burial in this world is probably not as simple as we imagined."
"Where is that?" Lin Qiushi asked.
Ruan Baijie said, "Do you remember those people who were crushed to death by the tree when you were carrying it a few days ago?"
Lin Qiushi suddenly realized, "Yeah, aren't they also considered dead objects..."
"Let's go and find a time to dig out their bodies. The well filling issue will be resolved soon." Ruan Baijie said, "We don't have to be in this state anymore."
The atmosphere instantly lightened up after these words were spoken, but it was still far from relaxed, as no one knew whether the body would ever be found. It had been snowing continuously since the day they had carried the tree, and the body had long been buried in the deep snow, making it difficult to dig it out.
But no matter how difficult it is, it is definitely easier than killing someone.
Everyone knew that time was running out, and after coming up with this idea, they all said that it would be best to dig out the body as soon as possible to prevent any accidents.
Lin Qiushi didn't expect that everyone would be so accepting of this matter. No one raised any objections from beginning to end.
But on reflection, this was indeed the best solution for the time being. While digging up bodies in the snow wasn't easy, at least everyone had a goal to strive for. Furthermore, even if someone died during the digging process, that would suit everyone's needs—they wouldn't have to kill anyone, and they'd have dead bodies to fill the well.
Half an hour later, everyone gathered at the door of the house, each man holding a shovel in his hand.
"Let's go." Xiong Qi had a cigarette between his lips. This was the last tobacco he brought into this world, so he smoked it very carefully. "We must dig it out today."
Cheng Wen, who had chased Wang Xiaoyi yesterday, had red eyes and bloodshot eyes. He looked neurotic: "If we can't dig it out, we will all die." He said, glaring at Wang Xiaoyi and Lin Qiushi fiercely.
Lin Qiushi didn't give him face and glared back at him without any courtesy.
"Let's go." Ruan Baijie shouted.
Xiong Qi led everyone towards the mountain path.
It has been snowing at night and sunny during the past few days. There is a thick layer of snow on the ground, leaving soft footprints when you step on it.
After about a few dozen minutes, everyone arrived at the familiar mountain path, and further up was the forest farm.
"It seems to be around here." Because there were no landmarks, Xiongqi could only determine the approximate range, "Let's start digging here."
Lin Qiushi nodded, exerted force with the hand holding the shovel, and shoveled up a pile of snow.
Although the path was not wide, it covered a large area, making it quite difficult to find the body. However, everyone worked very hard, and no one was lazy.
Ruan Baijie sat on a nearby rock, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds. Her relaxed expression formed a stark contrast with Xiao Ke's nervous expression. Perhaps unsatisfied with Ruan Baijie's nonchalant look, Xiao Ke suddenly said, "Aren't you afraid of death? If you die in this world, you will die in the real world as well."
Ruan Baijie lazily said, "I'm scared."
Xiao Ke asked, "Why do you still have this expression if you're scared?"
Ruan Baijie didn't even bother looking at her. She treated her like air, with what could be described as contempt. "Everyone's reaction to fear is different. Some cry, some laugh. I just like to eat melon seeds." She stretched out her hand and scattered the shells on the snow-covered path. "And you like to litter."
Xiao Ke: "..." She clearly felt that Ruan Baijie was fooling her, but she didn't know how to refute for a moment. She could only curse angrily and turned away.
Ruan Baijie's expression was half-smile. From the moment she came here, her eyes had never left Lin Qiushi for a moment, as if there was something extremely interesting about Lin Qiushi that attracted her attention.
Lin Qiushi didn't look at Ruan Baijie. He lowered his head and shoveled the snow seriously, praying in his heart that he could find the two bodies quickly.
However, sometimes God is not always willing to grant people's wishes. It was already late when they set out, and after digging for an hour, night fell on the earth.
The snow began to fall again. Lin Qiushi blew a breath into his frozen hands and looked up at the sky.
The moonlight today is quite good. A huge moon hangs in the sky, shining on the white snow, so that the mountains and forests are not too dark.
Xiong Qi stood beside him, shoveling snow while talking to Xiao Ke. Cheng Wen, who was in a bad mood, did not stand up. He cursed while shoveling snow, and his movements were quite quick.
The remaining three girls stood beside the path. They didn't say anything, but just looked at Lin Qiushi quietly.
Lin Qiushi dug for a while and suddenly felt something was wrong. He raised his head and glanced in the direction of Ruan Baijie, confirming that there were indeed three people standing there.
One is tall and two are short. The two short ones stand side by side, seemingly holding hands in a friendly manner.
Seeing this scene, Lin Qiushi suddenly stopped what he was doing.
"What's wrong?" Xiong Qi, who was not far away, noticed something strange about Lin Qiushi. "Lin Qiushi?"
Lin Qiushi said, "It seems a bit strange..."
"What's strange?" This was Xiao Ke's voice.
After hearing her voice, Lin Qiushi finally discovered the strange point. There were six people left: Xiong Qi, Xiao Ke, Wang Xiaoyi, Cheng Wen, Ruan Baijie, and himself.
Xiao Ke was standing next to Xiong Qi, so why were there two people holding hands next to Ruan Baijie?
Lin Qiushi's throat heaved. He pretended nothing had happened and continued waving his shovel, calling out, "Ruan Baijie, come here. I have something to tell you."
Ruan Baijie stood up from the stone and walked towards Lin Qiushi. She asked, "What's the matter?"
Lin Qiushi remained silent, his peripheral vision still focused on the two people holding hands. He noticed they were standing in the shadows of the treetops, making their faces barely discernible. Their heights were practically identical, their hands linked together, as if they were deeply in love. But at this moment, it was truly unnerving.
"Lin Qiushi?" Ruan Baijie asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Qiushi still didn't say anything. He was planning to wait for Ruan Baijie to come closer before speaking, when he felt his shovel pause slightly, as if he had dug up something hard.
Ruan Baijie just happened to walk in front of Lin Qiushi. She lowered her head and saw a frozen corpse next to Lin Qiushi's shovel. "Did you find it?"
"What?" Lin Qiushi didn't react to what Ruan Baijie meant for a moment.
"Did you dig up a body?" Ruan Baijie's tone brightened. "Not bad, you're pretty lucky..."
Only then did Lin Qiushi suddenly realize what he had dug out with his shovel. He lowered his head to look and saw a frozen corpse in the snow. Only a pair of pale hands were exposed on the corpse, but it was certain that it was the companion who died while carrying a tree and was covered by the snow.
"Found it!" Lin Qiushi shouted. He then looked back toward the spot where he had seen the two figures. He saw that the two figures had become one, and the figure slowly moved toward them. When they reached the spot where the moonlight shone, Lin Qiushi recognized it as Wang Xiaoyi.
Wang Xiaoyi walked over to Lin Qiushi and seemed to find his gaze a little strange: "Why are you looking at me?"
Lin Qiushi shook his head, "It's okay."
Wang Xiaoyi said, "Thank you, you're amazing." She lowered her eyes and looked at the body in the snow pit, her eyes very gentle. "If it weren't for you, I might have died yesterday. You actually found the body..."
Lin Qiushi said, "It's just luck." He suddenly reached out and held Ruan Baijie's hand, "Come here."
Ruan Baijie felt Lin Qiushi's movement and raised her eyebrows slightly. Just as she was about to speak, she felt Lin Qiushi's fingers gently drawing on the palm of her hand.
He drew four strokes in total and wrote the character "王".
Ruan Baijie understood instantly. She tightened her grip, indicating that she understood. She looked at the body and said, "Now that we've found it, let's take it back quickly."
"Okay." Wang Xiaoyi smiled and said, "Let's go back quickly."
The author has something to say: I asked everyone to find dead objects, and someone said that the problem could be solved by taking off their pants and masturbating into the well...
Things in the well: society, society, can’t afford to offend, can’t afford to offend.
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