Chapter 014: Eating Watermelons in the Archives of Lies (3)
The skinny Lao Cheng and the pot-bellied Yin Guanglai collected two file fragments in the teaching building. After confirming that nothing was missed, they chose to go back to the archives first.
On the one hand, before separating from Song Xiaoyan, they agreed to reunite in the archives to exchange information after searching a place.
On the other hand, Lao Cheng was sure that the "Water Snow Elf"'s statement that "he did not go to the teaching building" was a lie, so he wanted to return to the archives first to complete the task of "each player returns at least one archive fragment" to avoid any further trouble.
Yes, Lao Cheng has also analyzed based on the name of the copy that the fragments of lies should be placed on the file shelf.
But he did not teach Yin Guanglai everything he knew.
It would be in line with his style to keep such useful information to himself.
In the dormitory building, Mo Qianhe and his group of six had just gone up one floor when they saw another projection in a dormitory.
This time it is still a dialogue between "Sad Matryoshka" and "Whispering Orchid".
At this moment, the long-haired "Matryoshka" seemed to be breaking down and crying over the content on her phone. She cried to "Orchid Grass" beside her: "'Tabian Qianfan' said that he has never been with me!"
"Orchid Grass" comforted her for a while and asked her what she was going to do next.
The "Matryoshka" wiped away her tears, tried to calm down, and replied: "Since this child is not loved, then it is better not to let it be born into this world."
The two sentences spoken by the "Sad Matryoshka" turned into two fragments and fell to the ground.
The phone in her hand grew larger, turning into a screen as tall as a person.
Instead of rushing to pick up the pieces, players raced against the clock to scan the contents on the screen.
It seems to be a campus forum, where someone posted a gossip post anonymously, accusing a scumbag of cheating.
Liu Tang, a master of gossip, read through the whole thing quickly and concluded, "I get it. The girlfriend got pregnant unexpectedly, and the boyfriend not only didn't want to take responsibility, but also cheated on her with a mistress."
Jiang Minxu, the president of the Poshan Guild, glanced sideways at Liu Tang and couldn't help but grumble, "You're quite efficient at eating melons."
Liu Tang smiled proudly: "Eating melons, I'm a professional!"
Jiang Minxu: "..."
The post clearly states that the cheating man is "Tabian Qianfan" and the mistress is "Water Snow Elf", and only the identity of the pregnant girl is concealed.
Mo Qianhe speculated: "If the pregnant girl here is the 'sad nesting doll,' then the poster seems to be speaking up for the 'nesting doll.'"
Pilot Song Xiaoyan thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that this post was made by 'Matryoshka's' good friend... 'Orchid Grass'?"
Her childhood friend Qin Zhengyi was quick-witted. Recalling the fragments of Lancao's voice message, she said, "If it was her who sent it, then her statement of 'I won't tell anyone' might be a lie."
The famous star Fang Yiran said happily, "Then we have found a lie!"
The screen continued to scroll down, and two replies in the comment section were pushed to the top.
One was a reply from the scumbag named in the post, "Tabian Qianfan": "I have never been with any girl, nor have I caused anyone to get pregnant."
One reply was from a mistress named "Snow Elf in the Water": "'Tabian Qianfan' and I are just friends. I've never heard that he has a girlfriend."
The two replies also turned into two file fragments and fell to the ground.
Liu Tang sighed: "This is a real-name rumor refutation, really tough."
Qin Zhengyi, standing by, expressed disbelief: "They might be lying. You can't trust the words of a scumbag and a mistress."
President Jiang picked up the four fragments from the ground. He looked a little strange and said unsurely, "Don't be prejudiced. They may not really be scumbags or mistresses. Let's take a look at the other fragments."
Fang Yiran's expression also looked unhappy, and he nodded.
Seeing the expressions of the two men, Qin Zhengyi said with a hint of hostility, "Oh, men always want to protect men. Don't their names already hint at it? 'Tabian Qianfan' means 'playing many boats', and 'Snow Elf in the Water' means 'White Lotus'?"
When Liu Tang heard this, he couldn't help but praise in his heart:
[Wow, seeing the true nature through the online name, awesome.]
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Song Xiaoyan nudged her childhood friend with her elbow and said, "Don't create a male-female confrontation when talking about this kind of issue. We still need to work together to clear the dungeon."
Qin Zhengyi glanced at her childhood friend and sighed, "Alright, alright, alright. I know you're worried about your 'husband'."
"Qin Zhengyi, do you want to die?"
Mo Qianhe did not join the debate, but remained neutral and said, "It seems that we have obtained at least one set of completely contradictory statements. 'Matryoshka' said that the child is 'Qianfan's', while 'Qianfan' denied that he had made anyone pregnant.
"That means one of them must have lied, and one of these two fragments can be put back on the shelf."
Fang Yiran wanted to extricate himself from the awkward atmosphere and quickly agreed: "Yes!"
Song Xiaoyan also withdrew her attention from the playful quarrel with her childhood friend and said, "I also found a fragment that must be the truth."
She tapped a fragment in Jiang Minxu's hand, projecting the image of 'Matryoshka' crying: "'Stepping Through Thousands of Sails' said he's never been with me!"
Song Xiaoyan explained, "Regardless of whether 'Qianfan' lied in the post, he did clearly state that he had never been with anyone, so 'Maowa's' retelling of the story must be true."
"That's right!" Qin Zhengyi hugged her childhood friend's shoulders and said happily, "Xiaoyan, you are still so smart!"
Everyone agreed with Song Xiaoyan's analysis, and Jiang Minxu put away the fragment that must be true: "It seems that this fragment is useless. Let's divide the remaining six pieces."
Qin Zhengyi tended to believe what the "Matryoshkas" said, thinking that the cheating man "Tapo Qianfan" and the mistress "Snow Elf in the Water" were lying, so she picked up the two fragments, kept one for herself, and gave one to her childhood friend.
Although Song Xiaoyan was not sure whether this was a lie, she took it anyway. It was not time to put away the fragments anyway.
Others, unsure of the truth, picked up a book at random.
So Jiang Minxu now has three fragments in his hand, and the other four players each have one.
As an NPC, Liu Tang cannot pick up file fragments.
He had nothing in his hands and really wanted to find some snacks.
Entering the archives, the fat man Yin Guanglai looked towards the front desk and found that the NPC who had been guiding the way was not there. He was a little surprised: "Did this NPC disappear after guiding the way?"
Lao Cheng walked to the file shelf nonchalantly and confirmed that the two file fragments he had collected so far belonged to the "Water Snow Elf".
He pretended to be careless and handed the fragment of her "didn't go to the teaching building" to the fat-headed and big-eared Yin Guanglai, and said, "Let it go. Complete your basic personal tasks first."
Lao Cheng was waiting for Yin Guanglai's reaction. If the other party returned it obediently, he would not be at a disadvantage.
Although he was sure that putting the file fragment back would successfully complete the single-person guaranteed mission, it would be safer to let Yin Guanglai test the waters first.
Since you want him to help you take the blame later, you have to give him some benefits in the early stage to gain his trust.
Yin Guanglai took the file fragment that looked like a booklet with a smile and put it on the shelf.
Just as the booklet was about to fall on the shelf, his fat hand suddenly stopped.
The man gave a hearty smile to the tall and thin Lao Cheng standing beside him, but his eyes were full of suspicion.
He clicked on the fragment and projected the speaker's appearance.
After confirming again and again that it was consistent with the portrait on the file shelf, he looked at Lao Cheng again.
Lao Cheng also smiled at him.
Yin Guanglai looked at the other person's expression and felt that this person was a weasel paying a New Year's visit to a chicken and had no good intentions.
Although it was his first time entering the dungeon and he didn't have a thorough understanding of the rules here, he still had some understanding of Lao Cheng.
In this deadly game, what this person likes to do must be to prioritize self-protection and then squeeze enough value from others.
How could he let me finish the task first and take advantage of him?
He probably wants me to test the waters for him first.
Yin Guanglai doesn't want to be a sucker.
So he continued to smile, handed the fragment in his hand back to Lao Cheng's bony hands, took the other file fragment from him, and said:
"You go first. If there's something good going on, of course brothers go first."
The smile on Lao Cheng's face became even more sincere.
This was just as he expected.
This fat pig has cheated so many people that he must have a lot of doubts.
If you give him the right piece, he will definitely change for another one.
Lao Cheng deliberately froze his expression, pretending that his trick had failed, and slowly placed the fragments on the file shelf in a dilemma.
The two of them simultaneously recalled the system announcement: "10% of the files have been successfully returned. Congratulations to all players. You are one step closer to completing the game~"
Yin Guanglai looked at Lao Cheng in surprise. This guy didn't lie to him?
He did not blame himself for doubting the other party, but regretted that he had lost the opportunity to successfully return the files.
Damn it! Could it be that my initiative to request the exchange was also part of this scammer’s plan?
The five players who were continuing to explore the dormitory building also heard the system broadcast at this time.
Mo Qianhe and President Jiang Minxu looked at each other, and their faces darkened.
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Pilot Song Xiaoyan also exchanged glances with his childhood friend.
Only seven players entered this copy, five of whom stayed in this dormitory building and did not return to the archives.
Then it is clear who will return the files at this moment.
"He said he would take you through the exam, but he returned the file on his own without even exchanging any information with you." Qin Zhengyi, a childhood friend, felt sorry for Song Xiaoyan.
Song Xiaoyan was sure that she had been cheated. Although her face looked ugly, she had been mentally prepared, so she was still calm.
Jiang Minxu then said to the others, "Even though they got there first, it's a good thing. After all, it's not easy to increase that 10% file return rate."
The famous star Fang Yiran said impatiently, "I know, I know. We've already discussed this, haven't we? We need to find out whether it's true or not."
Jiang Minxu didn't get angry at the interruption and continued to explain, "That's not all. The second level of difficulty in this dungeon is that after returning the file fragments, there's a chance that the boss will target you."
Hearing this, Fang Yiran felt a little embarrassed as if he had been slapped in the face.
Qin Zhengyi cursed Lao Cheng with a gloating look on her face: "I hope that old dog gets a good beating from the Boss!"
At this time, in the archives, Yin Guanglai's face was wrinkled with regret because he missed the opportunity to complete the task.
Suddenly, he saw a short-haired woman in uniform appear next to Lao Cheng.
The fat man was so frightened that he fell to the ground with a thud, shaking the ground.
Lao Cheng was also shocked when he saw the woman next to him, but he was always good at pretending to be calm in the face of danger, so he still kept a smile on his face.
He noticed the "Boss" icon brightly lit above the woman's head, and questions welled up in his mind.
Could it be that the Boss was unlocked so quickly?
Lao Cheng didn't show it on his face, but his hand had already opened the system panel, ready to use the life-saving items in his backpack at any time.
The woman had gray hair and a calm complexion, and looked like a very learned and intellectual person.
She introduced herself politely: "Hello, I'm the director of the archives."
Lao Cheng remained motionless, remaining on standby, and replied with a smile, "Hello, Director. What can I do for you?"
The woman's expression remained impassive. She asked, "Excuse me, what is the actual truth contained in the archive fragments you returned?"
Lao Cheng's tense heart relaxed. He knew the answer to this question: "The truth is, the 'Water Snow Fairy' went to the teaching building at that time. She lied."
As soon as he finished speaking, the woman nodded to indicate that the other party's answer was correct, and then she disappeared little by little.
The tall and thin man finally relaxed completely, holding onto the file rack, and felt his legs go a little weak.
"What the hell, what was that just now?! Will the boss ask questions after I return the file?!" Although Yin Guanglai is not as smart as Lao Cheng, he has some experience and quickly understood the rules.
Lao Cheng stood firm before answering, "It seems so."
The fat man got up from the ground, wiped the sweat from his temples, and said fearfully, "What happens if I answer wrong? 'Eliminated'?"
Lao Cheng shook his head, expressing uncertainty.
The regret in Yin Guanglai's heart completely disappeared at this moment.
Fortunately, he did not return the file first, otherwise who knows if he would have answered the questions incorrectly out of fear.
Since the boss asks about the truth behind the fragments, does that mean that the fragments put back on the shelf are all illusions?
Did Lao Mo, also known as Lao Cheng, guess something a long time ago but not tell him?
The fat man looked at the fragments he had exchanged from Lao Cheng, and he didn't dare to put them back on the filing shelf easily.
He couldn't be sure what questions the boss would ask him, nor could he be sure what bad consequences would occur if he answered incorrectly.
His existing doubts about Lao Cheng flared up like a fire fed by the wind.
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