Jiang Xiuxiu squinted her eyes at the scene before her.
What are these two up to?
She thought for a moment and decided to stay put in the house to observe their next moves.
Fortunately, the house was not far from the Wang family’s residence. Hiding inside, Jiang Xiuxiu could still see clearly.
She watched as they sneaked to the Wang family home, knocked out a player who discovered them, and quietly slipped inside.
Then, they raised the hammers in their hands and smashed the Wang family's front door with great force.
During the day, most players went out to gather information, so few stayed at the Wang family’s home.
Thus, the villagers’ actions went unexpectedly smoothly.
They first destroyed the front door, then went inside and smashed all the windows, making a complete mess of the yard.
They ruined the remaining crops in the nearby fields with their tools.
Then, they entered the house, creating a cacophony of shattered pottery.
The players' quilts were thrown out and mostly torn apart.
However, as they did all this, Jiang Xiuxiu noticed that they seemed to have another purpose.
In the kitchen or yard, their actions were perfunctory, like completing a task—start roughly, finish hastily.
But once inside the house, especially in Wang Xiaoyue’s room, they stayed much longer.
In the kitchen, they simply smashed things. But in Wang Xiaoyue's nearly empty room, they made subtle sounds of rummaging.
It was as if they were looking for something.
Jiang Xiuxiu wanted to know more but, being a fugitive, she couldn’t confront them directly.
Alone, she couldn’t take on two armed men. Thinking it over, she chose to remain hidden.
Soon, the Wang family home was reduced to ruins.
The two left as quickly as they came, leaving behind a scene of chaos for the players.
The outcome was predictable.
When the players returned, they were furious and sought an explanation from the villagers.
But the villagers denied everything.
Not only did they deny it, but they also feigned enthusiasm, offering to let the players stay at their homes and bringing them food.
The villagers' drastically different attitude naturally made the players wary.
There was a subtle issue: the Wang family home was technically borrowed by the players and did not belong to them.
Even if they demanded an explanation from the villagers, they had no real standing.
Although they were Wang Xiaoyue’s classmates, they had forcibly moved into the Wang family home.
After all this turmoil, the players were exhausted physically and mentally.
Jiang Xiuxiu could easily guess the villagers' intentions.
By violently but effectively breaking the players' residence, the villagers left them with no place to stay, forcing them to accept food and become offerings to the river god.
Shameless but effective.
The players used to live in absolute safety, but now they had nowhere to go.
At noon, Ye Ming came to see her again.
He briefly described the players’ situation, which was not far from what Jiang Xiuxiu had expected.
Realizing they couldn’t get any answers, the players chose to leave the village, eating and sleeping outdoors.
For players who had been pampered all their lives, this situation was quite difficult.
“They have no idea what to do,” Ye Ming suddenly asked, “Jiang Xiuxiu, what would you do?”
If it were her...
Jiang Xiuxiu thought for a moment before responding, “Of course, I would team up and steal the villagers' food.”
Though stealing wasn't good, it was her first reaction.
The food the villagers prepared for the players was problematic, but the food they made for themselves was definitely safe.
She could even justify it: since the villagers were supposed to feed them, why not take the food themselves?
The players were few but young, whereas the villagers were mostly old and frail. If the players united, they might not win against the villagers, but they could certainly resist.
Would this habit affect reality? Many who fought in online games weren’t necessarily potential murderers in real life.
These villagers didn’t seem like good people. If Jiang Xiuxiu had to act, she might feel guilty but wouldn’t hesitate.
“Alright,” Ye Ming replied with a faint smile. “I got it.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xiuxiu knew he planned to relay the idea to the players and nodded in agreement.
“Stick together,” she reminded. “It’s easier for villagers to target you if you’re scattered.”
After talking, they were both a bit hungry.
Jiang Xiuxiu sent Ye Ming to get some vegetables from the villagers' fields.
She cooked a meal in Wang Xiaoyue’s grandfather’s kitchen, and they ate together.
After the meal, they exchanged a few words before Ye Ming left.
The remaining players were likely being watched by the villagers.
If he stayed too long, Jiang Xiuxiu’s location could be compromised.
After Ye Ming left, Jiang Xiuxiu breathed a sigh of relief.
Due to Ye Ming’s sudden confession in the morning, she still felt a bit nervous and awkward around him.
But Ye Ming behaved naturally, just like before.
This actually made her feel more at ease.
Despite everything, Jiang Xiuxiu's suggestion wasn’t entirely selfless.
She wanted to escalate the conflict between the players and villagers.
After discovering the villagers intentionally destroyed the Wang family home to make the players homeless and accept the betrothal gifts, Jiang Xiuxiu was puzzled.
There were only ten players left, including herself. Though young and energetic, most were female.
These villagers had already committed murder. Why were they so soft with the players?
Jiang Xiuxiu had considered that if she were a villager, she would trick the players into the house, tie them up, and throw them into the river at night, giving them no chance to resist.
If the villagers were determined to deal with the players, escape would be nearly impossible.
But the villagers didn’t act that way.
They only became frighteningly aggressive towards players who were clearly candidates for the river sacrifice. Otherwise, they used underhanded tactics to discomfort the players, avoiding direct confrontation.
Jiang Xiuxiu didn’t think this was on Xu Bai’s orders. Knowing him for so long, he didn’t seem the type to respect the players.
So, what were they afraid of?
Thinking of the villagers searching Wang Xiaoyue’s room, Jiang Xiuxiu wondered if it was related to the Wang family twins.
The players had another identity: they were close friends of Wang Xiaoyue.
To find out about her situation, they even came to investigate.
This identity, usually insignificant, could be useful.
Jiang Xiuxiu's intuition told her the villagers' cautious behavior might be linked to the Wang twins.
After reading the grandfather’s diary and learning about the close relationship between Wang Xiaoyue and Wang Xiaoyun, she no longer believed their disappearance was due to sibling rivalry.
Wang Xiaoyue and Wang Xiaoyun one’s body hidden in a straw stack, the other thrown into a cold river.
Their deaths were a tragedy, likely the result of their joint resistance.
If they became ghosts hostile to the villagers but friendly to the players, it would make sense.
But since the appearance of one of their spirits in a player’s dream, there had been no further contact.
Jiang Xiuxiu wanted to confirm her suspicions but had no way to do so.
And she wanted to test the villagers’ limits.
Stealing food was a simple way to probe.
Ye Ming worked quickly. Soon, Jiang Xiuxiu saw a group of players gathering outside the distant village through the window.
At dinner, she got new food from Ye Ming and saw he was unharmed.
“We did as you suggested,” Ye Ming said. “We raided a household’s kitchen and took all their food.”
“Anyone get hurt?” Jiang Xiuxiu asked the question she was most curious about.
“No,” Ye Ming replied. “We escaped quickly. The villagers were furious but didn’t dare speak out.”
Didn’t dare speak out?
The Wang sisters’ influence seemed greater than she thought.
“Have you found a place to rest?” Jiang Xiuxiu asked after some thought.
Ye Ming shook his head.
“Bring them here to rest,” Jiang Xiuxiu decided. “I’ll find another place for the night.”
She realized she needed to meet Wang Xiaoyue or Wang Xiaoyun.
If they didn’t come to her, she would seek them out, possibly returning to the now-abandoned Wang family home.