Chapter 86 The Punisher (3)
"One more... is needed?"
Hong Jiadu's voice was dry and tight. He forced a smile, trying to appease or defend himself.
But the smile looked distorted and stiff under the will-o'-the-wisp.
"Ruo Ruo, what do you mean by this?" Pei Yu admitted it, and Si Si... she nodded as well.
Back then, weren't the two of them the ones involved? Is it...is it because it's been so long that you're mistaken? Or..."
He abruptly turned to the cowering shadow, his tone suddenly becoming stern, tinged with displaced anger:
"Was it you! Xu Sisi! Are you hiding something?! Besides you, who else could it be?!"
The dark figure representing Xu Sisi trembled violently at his stern question, almost collapsing. It shook desperately, emitting a silent and desperate wail.
Zhou Ruoruo—or rather, the being occupying Zhou Ruoruo's body—remained completely unresponsive to Hongjiadu's explanations and accusations.
Her lifeless, green-glowing eyes remained fixed on Hongjiadu, her venomous gaze seeming to want to devour him alive.
Her rotting lips moved slightly, and that chilling female voice once again flooded everyone's minds:
"You...know...it in your heart."
"I don't!"
Hong Jiadu slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, the movement so forceful that it nearly overturned the candlestick in front of him.
"What do I know?! I was just a bystander back then! Someone...someone who was so scared by you that he dared not say or do anything!"
"Yes! I know! I know Pei Yu went out that night, I know there was something wrong between him and her, I even... I even guessed later that Xu Sisi might have been involved too!"
But I didn't lay a hand on her! I didn't touch a single hair on her head! Her death has nothing to do with me!!
He waved his arms excitedly, spitting as he spoke, his face flushed with excitement and fear, a chilling contrast to Zhou Ruoruo's deathly green.
This is also completely different from his usual leisurely and even somewhat playful demeanor.
Hong Jiadu was almost insane; he pointed at Pei Yu and shouted:
"It was him! He confessed it himself, he did it!"
He seemed not to be satisfied and pointed to the shadowy figure again.
"And her, that bitch Xu Sisi! She confessed too, the murderers are them! Only them!"
Lin Chujiu coldly observed Hong Jiadu's almost out-of-control state, her mind racing to sort through the clues.
It seems different from what she had expected.
This "she" is not a fabrication made up by Hongjiadu to trick her; on the contrary, she is a real person who actually existed in the game.
It's even the key to clearing dungeons!
Hong Jiadu is trying his best to distance himself from the situation, portraying himself as a cowardly and weak insider rather than a participant.
But... if he really only knew the truth, why was his fear accompanied by such a strong sense of guilt?
Furthermore, why is Zhou Ruoruo so persistent in accusing "one more is missing"?
Lin Chujiu didn't understand, so she sat aside and quietly observed how things were going.
Despite Hong Jiadu's agitated accusations, Pei Yu remained silent, only slightly raising his eyes to look at Hong Jiadu. The complex emotions he had shown before were gone, replaced by an almost indifferent scrutiny.
It was as if watching a fish that had been caught and brought ashore make its final struggle.
Just then, Zhou Ruoruo, who had been staring intently at Hongjiadu, suddenly moved.
It wasn't her body, but the thick, nauseating resentment emanating from her.
The resentment surged as if it were alive, and her green face appeared even more ferocious in the light of the will-o'-the-wisps. Her hoarse voice suddenly became sharp and high-pitched, filled with endless pain and accusation:
"Just someone who knew? Hahaha..."
The laughter was more unpleasant than crying, like the howling of hundreds of wronged souls at the same time.
"Hongjiadu, don't think I don't know!"
"Have you forgotten what you were holding that night?"
Before the words were finished, "Zhou Ruoruo's" swollen, decaying green body suddenly leaned forward, almost falling onto the long table!
At the same time, her right hand, which had been hanging by her side stiff as a wooden stick, was raised very slowly and pointed straight at Hongjiadu!
This simple action seemed to have exhausted all the body's strength, and brought about even more terrifying changes.
The finger she pointed to had its skin rapidly crack and peel off, revealing the black bone underneath.
Following her pointing finger, Lin Chujiu was horrified to discover that his own shadow, illuminated by the will-o'-the-wisps at Hongjiadu's feet, suddenly began to writhe and lengthen abnormally...
The outline of a long-handled tool was faintly visible on the part of the shadowy "hand"—
Although blurry, its shape clearly resembles... a shovel!
Rule 8: The shovel and spade are his weapons. The person holding them is scary, and everyone hates them.
Lin Chujiu's pupils constricted sharply! Could that shovel be the weapon she used to kill someone back then?
[Congratulations, host, for revealing 80% of the truth!]
The system's announcement sounded again, startling Lin Chujiu, who continued her deduction.
"No...no! That's your hallucination! It's a trick of this godforsaken place!"
Hong Jiadu also saw the strange distortion of his own shadow. He jumped back as if he had been burned, his face as pale as paper.
He shook his head frantically in denial, his voice hoarse with extreme fear:
"I didn't! I didn't take the shovel! I didn't take anything!"
It was Pei Yu! He used some unknown means to kill her! Xu Sisi was an accomplice, I just... I just helped later..."
His words came to an abrupt halt as he realized he had let something slip in his haste.
"Help?" The hoarse female voice clung to her like a leech, relentlessly pursuing, "Help cover it up? Help... bury the body?!"
The last two words exploded like a thunderclap!
The burial, the pit, Rule Seven, and Zhou Ruoruo's green corpse buried in the pit...
All of this slowly connected, gradually forming in Lin Chujiu's mind. The "earth pit" in the instance was not only a form of killing according to the rules, but also a reenactment of the burial of the body of the "she" they had spoken of back then!
Lin Chujiu felt a wave of intense nausea and dizziness as fragments of the truth were being pieced together, tinged with the stench of blood.
[Hehe, congratulations to the host for releasing 90% of the rules!]
Just 10% more, and the terrifying escape will begin!
The system broadcast a "hehe" sound, its malice unmistakable.
Lin Chujiu found him annoying and told him to get lost and stay away.
And her accusations continue, her voice filled with sorrow:
"You're scared, Hongjiadu, you're afraid of being exposed!"
"You're afraid that things will be exposed, you're afraid that the mistakes you made will be discovered by everyone, and you're also afraid that that foolish woman, Xu Sisi, will reveal the truth!"
So you devised a way to kill her! And you intend to seal my body underground forever!
The body was underground... Lin Chujiu quickly wrote it down.
"You're talking nonsense!!"
Hong Jiadu completely collapsed. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was devoid of any pretense, revealing only a frenzied fear and murderous intent.
"Shut up, you evil spirit who doesn't even know what kind of thing you are!"
She died long ago, her soul scattered to the winds!
You are not "her," don't try to fool me, don't try to drag me into this!
He turned around abruptly, not rushing towards "her," but lunging at Lin Chujiu, who was closest to him!
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