Chapter 20 Our Promise 12 The City Flooded
Yahe and Li Hu made a sharp, explosive sound, and tried to run away with Wu Wangwang, but the door was near Du Luo, and the only place they could run was a small balcony. Outside, there was a raging storm, and they were on the twentieth floor. Unless they could fly, it was a dead end.
Wu Wangwang pulled away from Yahe's hand, which had been holding hers, and stared at Du Luo: "I'm a little curious, are you Du Luo or Guo Tianyin?"
Upon hearing this, Yahe and Li Hu were stunned. They asked in a low voice, "Fu Mei, what do you mean?"
“I’ve always felt that Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin’s demands were contradictory. First of all, Chu Ping was clearly killed by Ya and the other two, but she still insisted on chasing after Hua Jiao to kill her. Guo Tianyin loved Hua Jiao and was willing to protect her life even after his death. But Hua Jiao clearly killed Guo Tianyin, so why was she targeting someone who didn’t actually kill her?” Wu Wangwang said, revealing her initial suspicion that she didn’t want to believe Chu Ping.
Yahe leaned over and tugged at Wu Wangwang's sleeve: "Don't upset him. Maybe he's just too attached to let go."
Wu Wangwang slowly shook her head: "It's not that I'm reluctant to part with it, it's because I don't know."
Du Luo was stunned. She raised the watermelon knife and asked, "What do you mean?"
“I found a problem from the traces left by both sides. Ya and the other two wanted to kill Chu Ping. Fu Mei was the first to find out and offered a solution. Hua Jiao also chose to kill Guo Tianyin on the same day and cooperated with him. How did Fu Mei know why Hua Jiao wanted to kill Guo Tianyin?” Wu Wangwang couldn’t figure this out.
Just now, Hua Jiao wrote in her article that Fu Mei was also one of her suitors. Is this suitor real or fake?
Hua Jiao only has two requirements when choosing a partner: height and a nanny. The class monitor's observation is definitely correct.
Therefore, gender is never taken into consideration, and Huajiao's every romantic partner is male, causing players to overlook the possibility of female suitors among them.
As the only daughter of a wealthy family, Hua Jiao has plenty of money to give to men or women, as long as she's willing. When she's short of money, who wouldn't want to give it a try? What if she's lucky enough to become someone's best friend? Wouldn't that be a complete turnaround for her?
In Hua Jiao's eyes, Fu Mei played such a role: poor and extremely ingratiating towards her. Even the class monitor said that Hua Jiao actually played more with Du Luo, who she had grown up with, but Fu Mei always chased after Hua Jiao.
Wu Wangwang continued, "I found a lot of information, but I forgot about the time. Hua Jiao's article clearly states that Fu Mei suddenly came up to me after Guo Tianyin broke up with Hua Jiao. Hua Jiao thought that Fu Mei was one of the many suitors who wanted money. Unfortunately, Hua Jiao didn't like girls and was already with Du Luo."
"Does this timing mean... Fu Mei approached Hua Jiao because of Shi Rong?" Ya He immediately made the connection.
“Yes, abortion is also harmful to the body. Although Shi Rong doesn’t lack the money, she needs someone to take care of her during her postpartum period. Fu Mei likes Shi Rong very much, but her family doesn’t have that much money. She wants to take care of Shi Rong, so she needs help. That’s why she went to Hua Jiao’s side, trying to get some scraps from Hua Jiao.” Wu Wangwang finally connected Fu Mei and Hua Jiao.
If Fu Mei wants to find a breakthrough through Hua Jiao, she needs to be better and more meticulous than Guo Tianyin. So, while Guo Tianyin was tracking Hua Jiao, she was probably also tracking the two of them. If necessary, Fu Mei was probably prepared for Guo Tianyin to go crazy and attack Hua Jiao, so she could go and save Hua Jiao and become Hua Jiao's best friend.
However, Guo Tianyin was very patient and did not make a move until he secretly witnessed Hua Jiao pushing her mother down. He could not allow his high-class life as a young lady to be ruined by the child.
Since normal food can't induce a miscarriage in the mother, let's just be direct.
Guo Tianyin probably hopes to become Hua Jiao's boyfriend again through this incident. Hua Jiao is worried that her parents will be angry if this is discovered, as it is her only secret.
Therefore, Guo Tianyin must die.
On the other hand, Yahe felt better about Fu Mei, perhaps because Fu Mei was low-key and gentle, and wouldn't give Yang Bin and Li Hu a second glance, which made Yahe feel safe.
Thus, the secrets of both sides converged on Fu Mei, who was the one who came up with the idea, but it was all for Shi Rong alone.
Du Luo wiped the blood from his face: "I know all of this. You're talking about things I don't know." "Have you ever thought about what kind of idea Fu Mei gave both sides to make them cooperate in killing each other?" Wu Wangwang didn't answer directly, but asked in return.
"To cover for each other so that there are enough people?" Yahe made an outrageous statement.
Even Du Luo's bloodshot eyes revealed a sense of speechlessness.
Wu Wangwang scratched his head, thinking that humans can be quite strange sometimes: "We can work backward from the result. Chu Ping chased after Hua Jiao to kill her, and Guo Tianyin attacked you. It must be because they thought their enemies were Hua Jiao and you."
In other words, although the reasons are that Yahe's trio wanted to kill Chu Ping and Huajiao's trio wanted to kill Guo Tianyin, the people the victims were chasing and killing were completely reversed. There was also Fu Mei in the middle who was like an invisible person, even though she was clearly among them.
Therefore, Wu Wangwang boldly deduced: "Fu Mei's suggestion to both of them is that since you both have people you want to disappear, why don't you switch places and kill them, just like helping a friend? This will greatly reduce your guilt."
Yahe and Li Hu finally understood. They opened their eyes wide and stared blankly at Du Luo, whose appearance was miserable.
"So, the person Yahe and the other two actually killed was Guo Tianyin, who was tricked into going there, while Huajiao and the other two helped get rid of Chu Ping. Fu Mei may not have actually done anything, but she was the mastermind. Because the person she saw before she died wasn't the person she was supposed to meet, Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin made different demands." The Yahe player covered his mouth; this truth was too terrifying.
The ghost was tricked by the NPC from the very beginning. What would happen if the player did exactly as the ghost asked?
This is a false premise. Once players choose sides, the inevitable result will be infighting leading to no one surviving, or only one or two people remaining. However, if the truth is found and the ghost's camp is reversed, then the players who initially chose sides will be killed by the ghost whose stance has been reversed.
There is almost no solution.
Du Luo suddenly burst into laughter, her throat filled with bubbly sounds: "Then guess, am I Guo Tianyin or Du Luo now?"
Yes, there are two more ghosts in this dungeon, Du Luo and Shi Rong, who have almost never appeared.
After learning the truth, Wu Wangwang breathed a sigh of relief: "No matter who you are, you can't kill me. The only person truly protected by this instance is Fu Mei. I've been hunted down the whole way. Both you and Chu Ping must have tried to kill me, but you failed every time."
In Guo Tianyin and Chu Ping's eyes, Fu Mei was also an enemy, so they must have attacked her quite a bit. But apart from the time she was thrown into the sea, they never really killed her. Guo Tianyin and Chu Ping never actually killed her.
Previously, Wu Wangwang thought that the death rule had not been triggered, but Du Luo said that all players had triggered it. Since it had been triggered, the only explanation was that Fu Mei was naturally protected by one of the ghosts, just like the Ghost Mother protects the players who came to make wishes.
If it weren't for the dungeon mechanics, Wu Wangwang would never have thought of this possibility. Players who didn't die wouldn't feel protected; they would just think they were lucky to survive. But Wu Wangwang was different. After learning the truth, she realized that given Shi Rong and Fu Mei's relationship, Shi Rong would definitely protect Fu Mei at all costs.
Du Luo lost another tooth: "Then you can try. That piece of trash Guo Tianyin has been dealt with. Now I am Du Luo. All of you deserve to die."
As soon as he finished speaking, lightning flashed outside the window, and the silvery light shone through the window, making everyone look as white as ghosts.
Yahe tugged at Wu Wangwang's clothes: "Hey, it seems like she's evolved? Will Shi Rong really come to save you?"
Wu Wangwang pondered for a moment: "I'm not sure, because Chu Ping doesn't know the truth. Shi Rong is probably still outwitting Chu Ping. If Chu Ping knew the truth, the first person she would probably attack would be Shi Rong."
"Wouldn't that be a waste? Du Luo has been driven crazy by Hua Jiao, how are we supposed to fight her?" Ya He was so anxious that he was trembling all over.
As they were talking, Du Luo rushed over, and Wu Wangwang instinctively slapped her, sending Du Luo flying.
Before Du Luo could react, she crashed into the wall. She shook her head, stood up straight, and found a chunk of flesh crushed on her head. But being a ghost, she felt no pain, and she still held the knife firmly in her hand.
This move stunned Yahe and Li Hu. They looked at Wu Wangwang as if she were a monster, and then silently took a step back. They felt that Wu Wangwang was even more terrifying than Du Luo. She had sent the ghost flying. Was she even human?
Wu Wangwang was silent for a moment, then tried to make amends: "I'm sorry, I used a knife to hack through the last dungeon, and I didn't realize it yet. I'll be more careful next time."
Du Luo straightened his head: "There won't be a next time. I'm going to kill you!"
Then Du Luo opened his wide, black mouth and charged forward. Wu Wangwang stepped forward and delivered an elbow strike, causing Du Luo to vomit blood, along with two teeth.
Wu Wangwang bowed to Du Luo: "I'm sorry, I don't think I can die here. You come and chase after us."
Then Wu Wangwang grabbed the terrified Yahe and Li Hu and ran: "Run! Let's get to the square! There shouldn't be anyone there in this heavy rain. Let's go there and play battle royale with her again."
The three of them rushed to the door, opened it, and were met with a deathly pale, bluish face. The person slowly opened their eyes, revealing pitch-black pupils—it was Shi Rong.
Shi Rong glanced at Wu Wangwang's face: "You are not her, but as long as it is Fu Mei, I will always come."
After saying that, Shi Rong walked through the middle of Wu Wangwang and the other two, and grabbed Du Luo who was rushing over.
Du Luo immediately grabbed her knife and slashed at Shi Rong's arm: "You bitch! Let me go! I'm going to kill them! You all deserve to die! You all deserve to die! You're all in cahoots with Hua Jiao! I'm going to kill you all!"
Shi Rong's arm was severed, and Du Luo fell to the ground. Shi Rong's flesh and blood then surrounded Du Luo, immobilizing her, leaving her only able to curse incessantly.
The blood on the ground emitted a stench that belonged only to the dead.
After controlling Du Luo, Shi Rong turned to Wu Wangwang and said, "Let's go quickly. I can only control my body for nine hours a day. Du Luo and I were killed by them for the same reason, but our resentment is far less than that of Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin. So we can only appear for a limited time each day. If it weren't for the things we couldn't let go of, we would probably have been used as scapegoats by Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin."
Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin were able to get out because they found scapegoats, but they didn't expect that it was Shi Rong and Du Luo who went down, and the murderers were the same group, which caused the two ghosts to occupy the same body.
Unlike Du Luo, Shi Rong was not crazy. She had never thought it would turn out this way, but since it happened, she was only worried about implicating Fu Mei.
Guo Tianyin wanted to kill everyone except Hua Jiao, and Chu Ping wanted to kill everyone, which led to this secret-based battle royale.
"Was Guo Tianyin really killed by Du Luo?" Wu Wangwang asked quickly.
"Impossible. It's just temporarily suppressed. They damaged their bodies like this because they attacked each other. When Guo Tianyin wakes up and finds that Hua Jiao has been murdered, he will also hunt you down." Shi Rong shook his head helplessly.
Upon hearing this, Yahe exclaimed, "What? Huajiao is dead too? Does that mean there are only the three of us left in this instance?"
Shi Rong nodded slightly: "Yes, the three of you have to rely on yourselves. It's already 8:30 in the morning. Good luck to you."
Just moments ago they felt pressed for time, but now they felt it was too long, so Wu Wangwang and the other two immediately turned and ran outside.
As she was leaving, Wu Wangwang heard Shi Rong whisper, "Fu Mei, live on."
No matter what kind of person you are, I hope you can live. All your sins are because of me, and I am willing to die to bear all your karmic burdens.
It was pouring rain outside. The three of them hesitated as soon as they rushed downstairs. There was no one on the road in this weather. If they rode their electric scooter to the square by themselves, they might get struck by lightning on the way. Moreover, Wu Wangwang's phone was not waterproof. It would be ruined if it got wet in the rain. Without navigation, they would have no idea where they were going.
Yahe grabbed a handful of her hair: "What should we do? The rain is too heavy."
Li Hu, with his good eyesight, pointed to a light in the distance and said, "That looks like the community store. Let's go see if they sell raincoats. If they do, we'll go and buy a couple. We can't just keep waiting here; Shi Rong can't hold out for long."
Now all the secrets have been deciphered, but they are not spared from being hunted down because the only remaining ghost who wasn't hunting them was killed. The player was too late and missed the opportunity to utilize the ghost.
You could say they've made it to the finals, so the ghosts decided to stop talking to them about the rules.
Wu Wangwang didn't go out because she was afraid of getting wet, but Li Hu and Ya He went. They ran over and came back quickly, saying that it was indeed a high-end general store in the community, but they didn't have raincoats. Usually, people in the community drive cars, so they don't need those things at all.
Li Hu tentatively suggested, "How about we steal one from the underground parking garage?"
"No, think about it, the ghosts in this instance are all water ghosts. It's raining heavily outside, and if a car trips on the road, the three of us will die in a car accident." Yahe immediately refused.
"What should we do? Are we just going to wait here to die?" Li Hu was on the verge of collapse.
Wu Wangwang thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we borrow a plastic bag from that grocery store? It'll keep our phones waterproof if we put it in there."
After hearing Wu Wangwang's words, Li Hu and Ya He slapped their foreheads. They were both stunned. They had forgotten that they could find something to waterproof them. Anyway, the person wouldn't get wet, as long as the phone was okay.
Plastic bags were easy to borrow. Wu Wangwang opened the map on her phone in advance, and following the instructions, the three of them noted down a section of the road before heading outside the community to find an electric scooter.
It was already 9 p.m., and there were still eleven hours until 8 a.m. on September 1st.
The roads were difficult to navigate at night, so they kept adjusting their route. Fortunately, there were few police officers, and they were able to get through without any problems by simply avoiding a few major intersections.
The water on the way was deep, and I almost got wrecked several times. It took me longer to get to the square than I had come.
When they arrived near the square, they parked the car and went to the bus stop to take shelter from the rain. By this time, all three of them were soaked to the bone, looking like drowned rats. It was just past midnight, and the night was dark and windy. The bus stop couldn't offer much protection from the rain, and they were in a sorry state.
Yahe huddled behind the bus stop sign, saying, "Won't we get blown away if we stay here all night? What if Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin show up later?"
"Don't jinx it. We're not in the mountains. We won't die of hypothermia from being rained on all night," Li Hu replied, shivering.
Actually, the temperature drops very quickly when it rains heavily. It's only because the temperature was high in summer that they were able to withstand it. It would be really dangerous in autumn or winter.
Wu Wangwang sat down directly on the bench, cupping her face in her hands without saying a word.
Yahe and Li Hu complained to each other for a while, then noticed that Wu Wangwang remained silent, so they went over and sat down next to her.
"Fu Mei, aren't you scared?" Ya He asked, rubbing his arms.
“Scared? I’m very scared.” Wu Wangwang always kept her persona in mind; she was a timid, pitiful little girl from the countryside.
Li Hu glanced at her and said, "But you hit Du Luo twice just now, and you seem very calm now."
Wu Wangwang showed no reaction: "Oh, I'm probably just scared out of my wits."
They don't seem scared at all, but don't delve too deeply into the players' affairs. The names they use are fake, so why ask such detailed questions?
Time passed slowly, and after 2 a.m., the time began to drag on. Li Hu tried to stay awake by chatting: "By the way, do you guys think we should reserve one or two slots for clearing a dungeon each time?"
As a programmer, Yahe's sleep schedule is usually reversed, so she wasn't that sleepy and continued the conversation: "What do you mean?"
Li Hu was silent for a moment, then said, "I've already cleared seven dungeons, and this is the eighth time. Each time, I was saved by other players because I know how to pick locks. I've noticed that some dungeon bosses and ghosts will choose a player with a specific identity to protect them. Players who draw that identity are simply the chosen ones."
Yahe looked enlightened: "That's right, the ones chosen for this instance were Huajiao and Fumei. Huajiao's ghost didn't protect her well, so she died. Shirong arrived in time, so Fumei didn't die. Will the referee tell us why?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the referee suddenly poked his head out from behind the bus stop sign: "Okay."
Li Hu and Ya He were so frightened that they jumped up, while Wu Wangwang was a beat slower and then looked surprised.
The referee was standing in the rain, but he was completely dry. He was still holding the steaming teapot. "Don't be too surprised. As a referee, I have an obligation to determine whether your questions are questions that can be explored in the instance. I definitely can't answer questions related to the instance content, but if it's a game-related question, I'll answer to the best of my knowledge."
Players can absolutely trust the referees. They do not participate in the instance; they are merely there to judge whether a player's behavior is compliant. As long as they don't step out, even the most outrageous actions by a player are allowed.
Yahe breathed a sigh of relief and pressed, "Then why is that?"
"It mainly depends on what role the player gets when they come in. This step is purely based on luck. If you're lucky, you might just pick up a character protected by the boss, and then you'll be protected. But if you're unlucky, all the players might get a parachuted-in character, which isn't a replacement for an NPC at all, and then you'll have to fight the boss hand-to-hand." The referee explained the rules in detail.
In some ways, Wu Wangwang was actually quite lucky, as she drew the protected character both times.
Yahe lowered her head in disappointment: "So that's how it is. In that case, apart from Huajiao and Fumei, all the other players in this level were just unlucky, as they were all the murderers."
Li Hu pondered for a moment and said, "According to this logic, Hua Jiao is the one who's unlucky, right? She clearly drew the identity that Guo Tianyin was protecting, and everything was fine in the early stages, but in the end, Guo Tianyin was killed by Du Luo, and the protective umbrella was gone all at once. Hua Jiao didn't even know anything about it, so it was like she was just handing Du Luo her head for nothing."
Moreover, she was protected by Guo Tianyin in advance. When Guo Tianyin got into trouble, Hua Jiao couldn't even ask other players for help. She was directly killed by Du Luo, who replaced her. How terrifying is that?
One second the boss says he'll definitely save your life, the next second he rushes over and kills you, and you'll never understand why until you die.
Just like if Wu Wangwang believed Shi Rong's words and spent a long time with Shi Rong, one day when Chu Ping replaced Shi Rong, she would probably chop her into mincemeat.
Yahe nodded in agreement: "It's best to draw the Invisible Man role. Nobody will notice you. You're a pure freeloader. Maybe you can survive until the end. That's how I play games. As long as you know how to survive, you can definitely win."
Wu Wangwang couldn't understand a word, but she tried her best to pretend that she did. It seems that as a human, she still has a lot to learn.
Later, Li Hu couldn't hold on any longer. He started to become delirious even while chatting, so they had no choice but to move aside the bench so he could lie down and sleep.
On a stormy night, under the narrow bus stop sign, only Wu Wangwang, Yahe, and the referee remained to enjoy the spectacle.
Summer days are early. As dawn breaks, two distorted figures emerge from the dim rain. They writhe their limbs, and shadows cling to them, making them appear like inhuman monsters moving rapidly.
Yahe didn't even dare to scream anymore. She frantically pushed Li Hu, trying to wake him up.
Li Hu woke up groggily and saw two distorted figures. She screamed in fright, but Ya He quickly covered her mouth.
This is just the beginning of the battle royale. They have to run and get on the bus at 8:30 sharp. The referee said he would start the bus at 8:30, but he didn't say that the ghost couldn't get on the bus. In other words, if they want to leave, they have to fight the ghost on the bus until the last second.
The referee chuckled: "Good luck with the last three hours."
The referee then disappeared, leaving only three players behind.
Yahe swallowed nervously: "Fu Mei, what do we do? I'm a technician who can't even kill a chicken."
Li Hu added, "My physical strength is just average. I usually pick locks for people, I've never been a thief, so I can't run that fast."
"So how did you guys clear the dungeons before?" Wu Wangwang thought that those who were slow probably wouldn't be able to get out of the dungeon alive.
The two said in unison, "It's all thanks to our teammates."
Well, now their only remaining teammate is Wu Wangwang, and Wu Wangwang is obviously very intelligent and calm, so perhaps she can come up with a good solution.
Wu Wangwang wasn't quite familiar with the feeling of being speechless, but she was always a ghost or deity who was willing to listen to wishes. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Okay, then we'll tell Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin the truth later."
"Huh?" Aya was somewhat shocked. "But if that's the case, wouldn't you become their biggest enemy?"
After all, it was Fu Mei who came up with the idea in the first place, and it was also her fault that the exchange of murders caused two ghosts to hate the wrong person. Without Shi Rong around, she would be finished if she dared to speak up.
Wu Wangwang calmly looked at Chu Ping and Du Luo, who were slowly revealing themselves, and said, "It's okay, they can't catch up with me."
Yahe stared in disbelief: "Where do you get your confidence from? Let's think of something more reliable."
“That makes perfect sense. Didn’t you guys notice that Du Luo couldn’t catch the three of us back then? To catch someone who can run fast, they have to leave their body. But if they leave their body, Shi Rong and Du Luo will appear. Shi Rong will save my life. So, all we need to do is tell them the truth and then force Chu Ping to leave Shi Rong’s body.” Wu Wangwang answered seriously.
Chu Ping and Guo Tianyin, who had already walked over covered in blood, heard everything clearly.
The rain kept washing away the blood from Chu Ping's face, and her bloodshot eyes trembled: "You're dreaming. I won't let that damned woman out."
Awa screamed, "Ah—I spoke too loudly, they heard me!"
"Then you guys have to do your best!" Wu Wangwang was still stirring things up. She made a cheering gesture, then turned and ran away, disappearing in an astonishingly fast manner.
The person disappeared so quickly that Chu Ping was stunned for a moment, then roared at Guo Tianyin, "Kill her! Kill her! Kill her! It's all her fault!"
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Author's Note: [End of Chapter]
Wu Wangwang: The human limit for speed in this instance is the race champion. As long as I run within the limit, I won't break the rules. If I get caught, I'll elbow my dear colleague and keep running, hehe.
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