Where's the cute girl we were promised? She's completely wiped out S-rank dungeons!

"What did you say? Qiao Ran is dead?!"

Although He Zhixiao is not very intelligent, he is not stupid either.

Qiao Ran has been in the game for a while now, and his popularity has remained consistently high. How could someone who could climb to the top of the newcomer rankings in a one-on-one battle with such low stamina and agility die so easily?

Enraged, he grabbed Cui Xiaofei by the collar, lifted him into the air, and questioned him:

"You idiot, are you in cahoots with him, lying to me like this?!"

He Zhixiao knew very well that Wang Daqiang was not a good boss, and Cui Xiaofei was not a loyal subordinate. This guy was a fence-sitter, capable of turning against him at any moment and then stabbing him in the back!

"Brother Xiao, you have to believe me! How could I possibly lie to you! I saw it with my own eyes, right there in the back mountain, you can still see the traces now!"

Cui Xiaofei cried with snot and tears streaming down his face: "Even if he was lucky enough to climb to the top of the list before, it doesn't necessarily mean that he relied on his strength!"

Maybe he seduced some woman with his pretty face... Oh! Men can be like that too! Yes, he climbed to the top using such despicable methods!

Perhaps he was just unlucky this time and triggered the death condition, so it's understandable that he was eaten by the NPC, Brother Xiao!

He Zhixiao's head ached from his crying, and he irritably shoved him away: "Get out!"

His talent was S-level strength enhancement; he could effortlessly lift a strong middle-aged man with one hand. Cui Xiaobei was flung away by him, flying through the air. Song Yuan stepped forward and caught him just before his head made intimate contact with the bricks on the ground, helping him regain his balance.

She looked at He Zhixiao, who was still standing there panting and in a daze, and suggested:

"Should we go out and look for her?"

He Zhixiao, however, seemed to have found an outlet, pointing his finger at her and cursing loudly, venting all his anger on her:

"Looking, looking, looking! What are you looking for? The village chief already said not to wander around at night! Are you out of your mind? Go back to sleep!"

Although he liked Zhao Meng, it was only because of her body. Once he got tired of her, he would still abandon her without hesitation.

For example, right now, He Zhixiao would absolutely not risk being eaten by NPCs to go out and find someone for a stupid woman. Although Cui Xiaofei isn't a good guy, what if what he said is true? Wouldn't he be jumping into a fire pit then?

Finally, He Zhixiao gave the order: the three of them should go to sleep tonight, and Song Yuan should wake him up at dawn—if he doesn't wake her, shoot her dead.

He wanted Cui Xiaofei to take him to that awful place in the back mountain first thing tomorrow morning to check if there were any signs of players being murdered.

If Qiao Ran really dies, all the points, items, and weapons will drop. He needs to confirm Qiao Ran's fate with his own eyes to prevent that coward Cui Xiaofei from conspiring with that pretty boy to trick him.

However, He Zhixiao dared not enter the male teachers' dormitory again. He went into the female teachers' dormitory alone, and shoved the crying, trembling Cui Xiaofei, and the indifferent Song Yuan into the male teachers' dormitory.

He had actually intended to bring Song Yuan to warm his bed. After all, she was quite pretty, but he later decided against it. That woman's eyes were terrifying; if he fell asleep looking at that face, he was bound to have nightmares.

Moreover, Zhao Meng is a woman, and it's unknown what strange thing took her away. What if this monster is specifically targeting women? Although his uncle gave him many protective items, it's still best to be cautious.

In the [Mountain Village Corpse] instance, players need to address their passive physiological needs; without sleep, they won't have the energy to act the next day. His eyelids were already drooping, and given that He Zhixiao was always protected by his uncle and was inherently lazy, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In the male teacher's dormitory.

"Cui Xiaofei" covered his face, lay face down on the pillow, and cried so hard that his shoulders trembled.

"Waaaaah... Waaaaah... Waaaaah hahahahahahahahaha!"

The crying grew increasingly strange, eventually transforming into arrogant laughter:

Under the warm yellow light, Cui Xiaofei's short black hair grew longer, his white shirt and suit pants were replaced by a burgundy V-neck top, his black-rimmed glasses disappeared, and his bone structure returned to its original exquisite appearance.

Qiao Ran laughed so hard she rolled around on the bed:

"Hahahaha! This is so funny, so funny! My acting is amazing, hahahaha..."

Song Yuan stood by the bed, silently watching him act crazy:

"He didn't even suspect you were an imposter. I wonder if he'll be able to figure it out tonight."

Because Qiao Ran, as a D-level player, had demonstrated his talent in the game multiple times, He Zhixiao should have known that Qiao Ran had the ability to impersonate others. However, regarding Qiao Ran's impersonation of Cui Xiaofei, he only suspected betrayal and never imagined that the person in front of him was no longer the real "Cui Xiaofei".

"Maybe I took the part where I scolded myself too seriously, hahaha..."

Qiao Ran wiped away the tears that had welled up from laughing. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"However, Zhao Meng's disappearance was unexpected by none of us. Did she do anything unusual during the day?"

"It might be related to that child this afternoon."

"Which child?" Qiao Ran asked, puzzled. "I didn't see any NPCs in child form when I entered the dungeon."

Song Yuan sat down on another bed: "I guess that NPC might only talk to female players. But I can't be sure if the NPC who talked to Zhao Meng is the same one as me. Do you remember what she and Zhao Yong said in the office?"

After a brief moment of recollection, Qiao Ran repeated, "It's roughly about a little child hugging her and asking her to be his mother, right? Is that the sentence?"

Song Yuan nodded: "Yes. That child did the same thing to me, but the difference is that I refused. So Zhao Meng's disappearance might be related to that child."

Furthermore, after a full day of exploration, they discovered that the people in this village were also quite strange. Normal NPCs can have some simple conversations with players. But the women here all had sallow complexions and stiff expressions. No matter what they asked, these NPCs remained silent, continuing with what they were doing.

Their expressions were blank. Every day, besides working silently in the fields, they would sit under the eaves, staring blankly at the scenery outside.

Whenever a stranger passes by, they turn their heads and stare intently at them, continuing to peer and peek even after the person has left, as if the person is some rare animal.

The men are relatively more normal and can communicate normally. However, they only interact with each other as NPCs. Apart from special NPCs like the village chief, the men uniformly remain absolutely silent when faced with questions or attempts to get close to the players.

He Zhixiao is also a big problem.

This guy has too many items on him: a pistol with unlimited ammo, zero recoil, and continuous fire; an alarm clock that detects if someone is approaching and automatically sounds an alarm when the player is relaxed or asleep; an invisible soft armor that can block one fatal blow; and a white jade pendant that can be stacked and is immune to mental attacks... You could say this guy is a walking prop library.

All the information was provided voluntarily by Cui Xiaofei, who had been knocked unconscious, given a whole bottle of strong sleeping pills, and hidden in an office locker.

To kill this guy, we have to trigger his death condition and let the NPC code kill him. Before that, he has to believe that he and Qiao Ran are sincerely helping him.

"Let's go, let's go out. This village should unlock new storylines or scenes tonight," Song Yuan said, patting her skirt as she stood up. She frowned as she approached Qiao Ran, who was yawning repeatedly while buried under the covers.

"What's wrong with you? You've suddenly become so lazy. If you can't help, then there's no point in discussing forming a team."