The male supporting character was actually myself.

Therefore, the poison in the wine must have been added by a few people after the village chief had inspected it.

Zhang Qiang can be ruled out; he not only stole the wine but also poured it into the small wine jug, and died after drinking it.

The village children rarely get to experience a lively temple fair, and they run around and play from early morning, so the possibility of them poisoning them is close to zero.

Firstly, there was no direct motive;

Secondly, children are unlikely to be exposed to large amounts of cyanide.

Only Li Mingliang and Wang Dayou remain, and these two are the key targets for surveillance tomorrow.

After a brief discussion, the group of five concluded that Li Mingliang was more likely to have poisoned the animals.

After all, he came back from a big city yesterday, so he was more likely to have obtained a large amount of cyanide.

Furthermore, Li Mingliang's family had a feud with the village chief, so using the chief's brewed wine to poison people could be a possible framing. However, why the others who hadn't drunk the wine also died from poisoning requires further investigation tomorrow.

Jiang Chen was looking for a clue about the widowed grandmother, which Shi Xiaotong had seen in the woods behind the nursing home.

At the time, she was limping as she led several children to observe plants and tell stories, and she didn't look like she was crazy.

“When I was walking around the village, I heard Zhang Qiang telling the old man’s son next door to call him Dad.” Liang Rumeng suddenly remembered a detail. “I only overheard it and didn’t know if it was useful.”

Later, I asked the villagers, and many people said that Zhang Qiang was having an affair with the woman next door, and that the child named Manzai was Zhang Qiang's.

"Old Coward" is his nickname, and he lives up to it.

He was clumsy with words and cowardly, and didn't dare to refute Zhang Qiang's public ridicule.

On the contrary, his wife was very shrewish. Every time she heard Zhang Qiang asking his son to call him "Dad," she would curse and even hit him, mocking him as a useless little toothpick whose wife couldn't lay eggs, and saying that she wouldn't even look at him.

After listening, Song Gang scratched his head in frustration and said, "What a mess! There are over a hundred people in the whole village. I can't even keep up with a few words from each person. How am I supposed to know what's useful and what's not?"

"That's why we need to unite and cooperate even more!" Liang Rumeng said in a sharp and serious voice, "We must never be like Tang Zixuan again, arrogant and conceited, and trying to be clever."

"If there's nothing else, get some rest. Let's try to gather more clues tomorrow."

The clock tower on the deserted island struck twelve, and everything returned to normal.

Tang Zixuan's body had also disappeared, and room number three was as clean and tidy as when they first arrived.

"I...I'm still a little hesitant to sleep in this room by myself," Song Gang said hesitantly, scratching his head. "How about I share a room with you guys?"

With the help of Jiang Chen and Duan Chengze, Song Gang's bed was moved to room number two, and the three of them slept in the same room with the lights off.

The next morning, after washing up, everyone except Jiang Chen sat in the lobby eating compressed rations and drinking bottled water.

"Your newbie gift pack is really full of food!" Song Gang said enviously as he watched him eat several meat buns. "You're so lucky!"

New players entering the instance for the first time will receive a newbie gift pack containing random food and water.

After eating a feast for two days, Duan Chengze also started eating compressed rations, while Jiang Chen still had all sorts of delicious food with every meal.

"I don't dare eat or drink anything from the village, and I'm almost out of the compressed biscuits I brought. Who would have thought the beginner dungeon would be this difficult!" Liang Rumeng exclaimed.

Except for newbies entering the dungeon for the first time, everyone else should prepare all necessary items within ten minutes of receiving the dungeon entry notification.

The amount of food and water to carry tests the player's calculation ability.

With limited backpack space, carrying more food and water means carrying less of other items, which can lead to shortages when needed in dungeons.

However, if the assessment of the dungeon is not accurate enough, and the food and water carried are insufficient, one will have to risk eating or drinking items in the dungeon, or trading with other players.

“If you don’t have enough food and water, I can provide some,” Jiang Chen said, offering a suggestion rather than a direct answer.

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiaotong hurriedly put her hands together and pleaded, "Could you give me a bottle of water first?"

He took a bottle from the system space and threw it over.

"Thank you!" She took the water but didn't open it to drink; instead, she put it in her backpack.

Liang Rumeng gave her a sharp look and reminded her, "Food and water are very important to players and require time to buy. You can't just take them for free; you have to trade them with other items."

Shi Xiaotong clearly knew the rules of the death game. After being told them, her face flushed slightly and she stammered, "How about I tell you first when I find a clue today?"

Jiang Chen nodded without saying anything.

“We’re all tenants living in the same building, so it’s fine for you to be so generous,” Liang Rumeng said earnestly to Jiang Chen. “But you can’t be so generous when you meet other players in other instances.”

You can know a person's face but not their heart; if someone sets their sights on you, you'll be in big trouble!

Duan Chengze hurriedly asked, "Have you encountered many other players? Were they also trapped in the apartment like us?"

Chapter Twelve: Terrifying Desert Island 11

"It's not easy to run into acquaintances in dungeons. Apart from group activities when new members join, we usually play with other players."

Song Gang explained, "But since we don't know each other, even if we encounter other players, both sides are very wary and won't reveal their secrets easily."

I advise you to be careful when you encounter other players in the future.

Some instances allow killing or require players to kill each other. I've heard of people specifically hunting other players, so you must be wary of strangers.

Otherwise, they might appear friendly and cooperative on the surface, but then stab you in the back.

Jiang Chen noticed that Duan Chengze's eyes were somewhat dim.

Is he looking for someone?

It seems that some protagonists of this type are set up to search for relatives and only enter dungeons out of necessity.

That would be troublesome; who knows if the person he's looking for is dead or alive?

If the protagonist doesn't want to escape the death game, then his aura won't work in solving the horror apartment problem.

Jiang Chen propped his head up with his right hand and slowly rubbed his temples;

The little white cat was wolfing down its breakfast. "Host, I'll go keep an eye on Li Shuaishuai for you after I'm full!"

"Little Stone, will I die today?" Shi Xiaotong pulled out the red string around her neck and asked the crystal pendant on it seriously.

Everyone looked up at her. Asking her every day whether she would die felt a little strange.

I don't know why Shi Xiaotong bought such a prop.

It flashed twice and then turned blood red.

Shi Xiaotong's face turned deathly pale instantly. "What... what should I do?"

“You’ll come with us today to gather clues. We won’t do anything else. We’ll just have everyone in the village repeat the cycle from day one, and you’ll be safe,” Duan Chengze suggested.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

As long as you don't get involved and cause a butterfly effect, staying away from danger zones during critical periods will not pose a life-threatening risk.

"But..." Shi Xiaotong's face was deathly pale as she hesitated, "What if my countdown isn't long enough? If I can't escape the dungeon and get the rewards today, I'll die too..."

Liang Rumeng's expression turned serious. "Your countdown isn't long enough?"

“In the past, the countdown would pause when entering a dungeon,” she hurriedly explained. “But this beginner dungeon is obviously too difficult. If the countdown doesn’t pause, I’ll almost run out of my remaining points.”

Song Gang scratched his head, looking troubled, and said, "This is going to be a problem."

We don't know whether the countdown will stop after entering the instance.

Intervening in the plot could trigger a butterfly effect and lead to death;

Not intervening and just waiting for the countdown to run out could also lead to death.

It's a 50/50 split; you have to choose.

After a moment of silence in the hall, Shi Xiaotong, holding the small stone that had returned to its original color, made up her mind and said, "I'll take a risk. I'll go and hold Li Shuai back today. As long as he doesn't die, maybe the rest of the events won't happen."

Jiang Chen and Duan Chengze both shook their heads in denial.

“Based on our conclusion from guarding the wine barrels yesterday, the poisoning occurred before Li Shuaishuai’s body was discovered, so whether he is dead or not may not be that important,” Duan Chengze was the first to offer his opinion.

Jiang Chen nodded in agreement, "Li Shuaishuai's death may only be one link in the chain, and most likely not the source. Restraining Li Shuaishuai will probably not stop the poisoning, so the villagers will still be poisoned to death."

Unless, the poison was administered by Li Mingliang.

If Li Shuaishuai doesn't go out and something happens, it will keep him occupied, preventing Li Mingliang from having time to poison him.

"Then what should I do?" Shi Xiaotong's hand, holding the small stone, trembled slightly. "Should I just sit here and wait to die?"

With too few clues and the little white cat unable to find the source of the poison, Jiang Chen shook his head helplessly, "You'll have to choose for yourself."

If you want to take a gamble and intervene, you have to time it right; otherwise, once the cycle starts, you can no longer intervene.

After a moment's thought, Shi Xiaotong decided to take a gamble and stop Li Shuaishuai from dying.

“Then I’ll keep an eye on the front door for you,” Liang Rumeng suggested. “You keep an eye on the back door. If I see Li Shuaishuai leaving, I’ll call you over. If we can successfully break the cycle, you can get a bigger reward.”

Shi Xiaotong stood up and bowed to them, "Thank you!"

Mustering her courage, she stepped out of the beach hut first, her departing figure conveying a sense of tragic desolation, as if she were leaving for good.

"Let's go. If she gets involved in the plot, we need to prepare early." Song Gang stood up, rubbed his face, and encouraged everyone, "Good luck, everyone! Let's hope everything goes smoothly today!"

After greeting the village chief, Jiang Chen went straight to the dilapidated mud-brick house at the back of the village to find the widowed grandmother.

His intuition told him that everything that happened today was very likely related to Li Xiangping's death.

However, there are too few clues to corroborate this, and the items rewarded by the system are too restricted in the dungeon. If there are other hidden reasons for Li Xiangping's death, it is likely that even using the items will not be enough to extract any information.

Perhaps we should start by looking for clues from the widowed grandmother.

Surprisingly, she was still not home.

Jiang Chen circled the back mountain but didn't see anyone, nor in the woods behind the nursing home.

The deserted island isn't very large, but it is an island after all, and the roads are rugged. To create a tourist attraction, many obstacles have been artificially created, making it difficult to find a marginal "roaming NPC".

"Host, Shi Xiaotong can't stop Li Shuaishuai any longer!" The little white cat hopped over, panicking, "They're at the waterfall right now!"

Jiang Chen rushed over.

Ten minutes earlier, Shi Xiaotong, who was waiting at the back door of Li Mingliang's house, successfully caught Li Shuaishuai sneaking out.

She hurriedly stepped forward and called out, "Li Shuaishuai, where are you going?"

"Who are you? Why are you meddling in my business?" The pampered Li Shuaishuai was chubby and fair-skinned. At the age of eleven or twelve, he was already more than half a head taller than the short Shi Xiaotong. He glared at her unfriendly and said with dissatisfaction, "You're such a busybody!"

Seeing that he was about to head up the mountain, Shi Xiaotong hurriedly called out, "Grandma Li, Li Mingliang! Your Shuai Shuai is going to play in the river!"

I shouted several times, but no one answered from inside the house.