The male supporting character was actually myself.

After all, Shi Xiaotong went to chase Li Shuaishuai today, and Liang Rumeng helped call Li Mingliang's family to chase after them together. Later, he also offered a reward for the capture of Shi Xiaotong and the others, so he simply didn't have time to do anything in the small bamboo house.

But Li Shuaishuai still died; the mission required everyone on the island to survive for it to be considered a success.

Clearly, Shi Xiaotong's intervention was still a failure.

Li Dahan, having drunk quite a bit, staggered towards the village. Seeing this, Jiang Chen gave Duan Chengze a look and followed at a distance.

As usual, he went to find Zhang Qiang.

The little white cat obeyed and continued searching for poison; Zhang Qiang's courtyard wall was very high, and in order to hear the details, Jiang Chen glanced at his neighbor's courtyard gate, which was open but he didn't see anyone, so he slipped inside.

The two houses are about the same height, with their eaves close together, but the neighbor's courtyard wall is much lower.

There was no ladder in the yard, so Jiang Chen nimbly flipped over the wall and then climbed onto the roof using the yard wall as a stepping stone.

As he crawled forward, he soon overheard the conversation between Zhang Qiang and Li Dahan.

"Why is such a big man so long-winded?"

"Let me see it. I'll be relieved once I see it!"

"I just hid, what are you looking at? Be careful someone finds out, then neither of us will end up in trouble. Tomorrow we'll take a boat out to find a place to sell you, and you'll get your share of the money!"

"No, I regret it. This is what I found, I can't let you keep it."

"Pah! We found it together, and you're trying to keep it all for yourself?"

"I think you're trying to keep it all for yourself! I dug it out with a shovel, what's it to you? Stop with the nonsense, let me see if it's still there. Who knows if you've resold it behind my back?"

"Sell? Who the hell would we sell this deserted island to? Did the alcohol get into your head?"

……

Chapter Sixteen: Terrifying Desert Island (15)

The two were speaking softly, and Jiang Chen could only barely hear them because of their close proximity and keen hearing.

After a few words of persuasion, Zhang Qiang, clearly unable to persuade Li Dahan, finally led him to open the door of the inconspicuous woodshed on the far side and go inside.

"You fucking lied to me?" A few seconds later, a slightly drunk Li Dahan shouted, "You must have sold it secretly! Zhang Qiang, you son of a bitch, give me back the antique!"

Judging from the noise, Li Dahan must have made a move. Zhang Qiang's breathing was slightly rapid, and he ignored him, instead rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for something.

"Wait a minute, I left it here, how could it be gone?"

"This is unbelievable! Damn it!"

As the rummaging grew louder, the two of them soon fell silent.

The room was silent for a few seconds. Then Zhang Qiang suddenly hardened his attitude and roared back, "Li Dahan, you definitely did this! What a thief crying 'stop thief!' You stole the antique and then turned around and accused me. I never knew you had such a thieving heart!"

"Holy crap! Zhang Qiang, you're shameless! You gave me back my antique!"

"You son of a bitch! You stole something and now you're causing trouble? Go to hell!"

The sounds of a struggle came from the woodshed. Then, Li Dahan, covered in dirt, pulled open the wooden door and stumbled out, shouting, "Murder! Zhang Qiang is going to kill someone! Help!"

"I'll fucking kill you!" Zhang Qiang grabbed his axe and chased after him.

Just as the banquet was about to begin, Li Dahan panicked and fled towards the beach and woods instead of going back into the village. Zhang Qiang, carrying an axe, gave chase.

The square was bustling with activity, and no one heard Li Dahan's shouts.

After the two of them had run far away, Jiang Chen climbed down the ladder from Zhang Qiang's house and took a look at the woodshed.

Bamboo baskets, hemp ropes, broken shoes and other odds and ends were scattered all over the ground. A wooden plank was lying in the corner with a small hole in the ground underneath. Behind a wooden box that was pushed open, there was a hole big enough for an adult to crawl through!

He left Zhang Qiang's house and went around to the back of the house, which was overgrown with miscellaneous trees, to observe carefully. He quickly found the entrance from a clump of weeds.

It's not hard to deduce from their conversation that Li Dahan found an antique while digging, and Zhang Qiang was also present at the time. After discussing it, they agreed that Zhang Qiang would temporarily keep the antique, and they would agree to take a boat out the next day to sell it and split the money.

Since it was discovered while the two were working together, it's very likely that it happened during the morning when the village chief asked Li Dahan to call Zhang Qiang to turn over the soil (but it didn't work)!

The sight of the laughing crowd in the square discussing antiques, lottery tickets, and other news stories about people turning against each other for profit clearly aroused Li Dahan's suspicion, who was slightly tipsy.

That's when the conflict started.

Judging from the hole in the woodshed, it shouldn't have been dug recently.

Jiang Chen found some damp soil in the weeds, which was the same level of moisture as the small hole under the wooden board where things were hidden.

Clearly, Zhang Qiang wasn't lying; he hid the antique in what he considered a safe place.

But the tunnel had been there for a long time, so it probably wasn't stolen by Li Dahan.

There was a lot of trash scattered in the grove, and at first glance, there was no trace of it.

Who dug this hole in Zhang Qiang's woodshed?

People would be very careful to avoid letting outsiders know about acquiring antiques, so how did the person who sneaked in through the tunnel and stole the antiques find out?

What is the connection between the antiques and everything that is happening on the island today?

Jiang Chen frowned slightly and instead of returning to the main square, went to the place where the village chief wanted to build an amusement park.

This place used to be a small hill, but now half of it has been dug up. Nobody knows what they were planning. Zhang Qiang and Li Dahan are responsible for cleaning up the excavated area.

Two days ago, when Jiang Chen was gathering clues, he didn't go this way. After all, it had been mostly dealt with and could be seen at a glance; it was just an empty space.

He spent a short while carefully examining the open space today.

There were some food scraps and watermarks on the edges, indicating that someone had eaten there.

Near the earthen mound, there was a small pit. Jiang Chen squatted down to observe it carefully and could vaguely see that the soil at the bottom showed the imprints left by the bottom of a jar or bottle.

A few weeds and freshly turned soil lay scattered nearby.

He looked up and saw that the weeds must have fallen from the hillside.

Jiang Chen walked up the narrow path beside him and found some trampling marks and shovel digging marks along the way.

"Host!" The little white cat came bounding back in a panic, its soft, trembling voice crying out, "I found the poison!"

At the same time, Shi Xiaotong's terrified scream came from not far away, "Ah! Help!"

"Damn it!" Jiang Chen followed the sound and saw Li Mingliang, with a sinister smile on his face, stab Shi Xiaotong in the heart from behind.

"You killed my son! I'll kill you!"

Blood splattered on her face as Li Mingliang stabbed her haphazardly with knives.

Jiang Chen strode forward and kicked him to the ground. The obese Li Mingliang clutched his chest and lay on the ground for a long time without getting up.

"Do you have any items you can use?" Not daring to move Shi Xiaotong, who was covered in blood, he glanced at the items and props available in the system space, but found none that could help her.

Shi Xiaotong shook her head weakly, "Thank you, but I'm about to die."

She moved her fingers and took out all the remaining items from her backpack. Pointing to the small stone around her neck, she gasped for breath, "If the props can be kept, I'll give them to you; you can divide these things among yourselves."

Shi Xiaotong's eyes were unfocused and pale, her lips trembling slightly. Just as she was about to close her eyes, she suddenly remembered something. She struggled to grab Jiang Chen's clothes and said, word by word, "Li Shuai didn't go to the river. He... he went to find... the widow grandma..."

After conveying the potentially useful information, Shi Xiaotong suddenly released her hand, let out a long breath, and closed her eyes.

"Fuck him!" The village chief, leading the search party, followed the sound and, seeing the scene, was so enraged that veins bulged on his forehead. He rushed over and kicked Li Mingliang repeatedly, yelling, "Killing villagers and tourists! You fucking don't want to live anymore and you're dragging us down with you!"

"We're doomed. Now that tourists have died on the island, who will dare to come?"

"That damned Li Mingliang!"

"Kill this damn thing!"

……

When Song Gang and Duan Chengze arrived after hearing the commotion, the village chief had already stopped everyone and ordered them to take the dying Li Mingliang to a nursing home.

Duan Chengze checked on Shi Xiaotong's condition, then patted Jiang Chen on the shoulder without saying anything.

Song Gang muttered to himself, "How could things be so unlucky? Wasn't she hiding? How did Li Mingliang manage to find her?"

Jiang Chen got up and went to check where she was hiding. A snake as thick as an arm was coiled in the grass, flicking its tongue.

“She violated the rules; the dungeon's operating mechanism always deliberately creates unexpected events for her.” He sighed and said, “I checked the place where Shi Xiaotong hid and there was nothing else, but a snake just suddenly appeared out of nowhere and scared her away.”

Later, another snake emerged from the hidden bushes.

The sounds I heard were Shi Xiaotong screaming first, followed by shouts for help.

She must have instinctively screamed and ran from her hiding place after seeing the snake. Li Mingliang was nearby; she saw him and ran while calling for help, but he still caught up with her.

Song Gang scratched his head, shook his head, and sighed, "Honestly, she was scared to death by a snake. If it were me, I wouldn't even make a sound if a non-venomous snake bit me twice!"

“If you were the one breaking the rules, you wouldn’t be the snake,” Duan Chengze said coldly. “The dungeon will definitely arrange for you to be what you fear most, leaving you nowhere to hide and forcing you to expose yourself.”

Chapter Seventeen: Terrifying Desert Island (16)

Song Gang, who offered his hindsight advice, fell silent after being rebuked.

After detaining Li Mingliang, the village chief hesitated before stepping forward and asking, "Are you familiar with this young lady? Could you contact her family a little later?"

If anything happens on our island, I, as the village chief, will definitely take full responsibility!

The crucial time for the sea god worship ceremony is fast approaching, and it is of great importance to us.

"I'll call the police immediately after the sea god ceremony. I'll also compensate you three for your emotional distress. Please understand, is that alright?"

The person is already dead. After tonight, she won't even leave behind a body. What else can be done?

The village chief seemed to have received a pardon and hurriedly arranged for someone to make a simple stretcher to temporarily place Shi Xiaotong's body in the nursing home.

Jiang Chen noticed that the small stone around her neck had disappeared. It was probably a binding item, and once the person died, the item would be gone.

“These things were in her backpack, and she let us share them.” He pointed to the supplies on the ground.

Two bottles of water, four bags of compressed biscuits, and some change of clothes and other common items—it seems that Shi Xiaotong, like Tang Zixuan, is following conventional planning when it comes to the things she brings into the dungeon.

I never imagined that the beginner dungeons would be so difficult and terrifying.

Jiang Chen glanced at Duan Chengze, thinking that increasing the difficulty of the dungeon was probably one of the effects of the protagonist's aura.

"Host, all the poisons are in the widow's hands." The little white cat then reported, "I saw her carrying many small glass bottles, all filled with cyanide pellets that looked like candy beans!"

I rushed over to report the situation and didn't have time to monitor where she went.

But I suspect the widowed grandmother poisoned it!