Translator: Cinder Translations
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"He's going to confront them," Jiang Cheng said.
"Confront who?" Fatty blinked in confusion.
"Of course, the one who got his teammate killed." Jiang Cheng, seemingly uncomfortable with his damp sleeves, rolled them up a few times before continuing.
"The ghost?"
"Tsk." Jiang Cheng shot him a glance, as if about to scold him, but then seemed to reconsider. Instead, he said in a neutral tone, "Scarlet."
At the mention of that name, Fatty immediately perked up. "Doctor," he asked, "are you saying Scarlet was behind Zuo Jing's death?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Who?" Fatty asked urgently.
Jiang Cheng stretched his sore legs, then turned to look at Fatty for a few seconds before slowly uttering two words: "You Qi."
"He..." Fatty swallowed, furrowing his brows in confusion. "Doctor, how did you figure that out?"
"It wasn't me—it was Zuo Jing who told us," Jiang Cheng said, glancing at the table.
Fatty instantly got the hint, ran over to the table, poured a cup of hot tea, and carefully brought it back to Jiang Cheng.
After taking a sip, Jiang Cheng's face looked a little less pale. "When An Xuan approached the body earlier, he blocked our view."
"The first time I saw Zuo Jing's corpse, her right hand was clenched into a fist. But after An Xuan left, all her fingers were broken."
Jiang Cheng stared at Fatty. "What she fought so hard to protect was taken by An Xuan."
Fatty lowered his voice. "What was it?"
Jiang Cheng reached into his clothes and pulled out a small object. When he opened his palm, Fatty's expression shifted slightly. With a strange look, he asked, "That twig?"
"For Zuo Jing, this game was over before it even began," Jiang Cheng said, examining the twig. "Nothing she did in the game could have changed her fate because... she was already marked by the ghost before it started."
Fatty froze.
"You Qi swapped out her twig," Jiang Cheng said calmly. "The middle-aged woman gave him seven, but he mixed in a fake one. Nobody noticed at the time."
Fatty tried to recall. That was true. The middle-aged woman never specifically asked You Qi to take the twigs, nor did she ask him to distribute them. He stepped forward voluntarily.
Since he was the closest to the door, no one questioned it.
And after he took the twigs, the middle-aged woman had even chuckled quietly and said, 'Then you may distribute them yourselves,' before turning and leaving.
Looking back now, that was definitely strange.
"Doctor..." Fatty hesitated.
"Don't ask me where You Qi got the extra twig from. Maybe he snapped one in half, turning one into two, or maybe he broke it off the red-cloth selection branch. I don't know." Jiang Cheng preemptively shut down Fatty's next question.
"If you're curious, you can ask You Qi yourself," Jiang Cheng shrugged. "But I don't think you'll get the chance."
Fatty grabbed a chair and sat down. After a moment, he asked in a low voice, "Doctor, do you think You Qi is going to get killed?"
"No," Jiang Cheng chuckled. "I meant you."
Fatty knew Jiang Cheng was just messing with him, but he still pretended to be scared for a second before continuing, "Doctor, I'll be honest, I think You Qi is pretty skilled. How do you know—"
"If An Xuan and Xia Meng together can't even handle You Qi, then I'd say the Night Watchers might as well disband," Jiang Cheng interrupted. "They should just come work the night shift at our club instead."
Fatty thought about it and realized Jiang Cheng had a point. "So, Doctor," he asked, "what should we do next? Should we help?"
"Help who?" Jiang Cheng fixed his gaze on Fatty. "Help Xia Meng and An Xuan?"
Fatty looked at him in confusion, as if he hadn't understood. Was Jiang Cheng suggesting they help Scarlet instead?
"Think about it. After An Xuan and Xia Meng deal with You Qi, who do you think is next?" Jiang Cheng leaned forward, holding his teacup.
"Us?"
Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes and stayed silent. After a moment, he turned to the window and suddenly said, "Fatty."
"Yes, Doctor?" Fatty responded obediently.
"There's something that's been bothering me," Jiang Cheng sat cross-legged and looked at Fatty, his gaze unusually serious. "I want to hear your thoughts."
Fatty straightened his back. "Doctor, go ahead."
Jiang Cheng thought for a moment before asking, "Why us?" He paused before explaining, "I mean, why did Xia Meng's group choose *us* to accompany her on this mission?"
Fatty hesitated for a few seconds before replying, "Doctor, didn't that middle-aged man say? We're unfamiliar faces. Scarlet doesn't know us, so we're easier to keep hidden."
"That's just nonsense," Jiang Cheng shook his head. "I don't believe Scarlet knows every single Night Watcher—that's unrealistic."
"The Night Watchers exist for a reason. If they dare to send people into nightmares to go up against Scarlet, that means that, at least on the surface, they have the upper hand."
"If they just wanted to protect Xia Meng, they could have sent two of their own top members instead of bringing us in. So why us?"
"Besides, we don't trust each other. You can tell that Xia Meng, An Xuan, and even Zuo Jing were keeping their guard up around us." Jiang Cheng continued, "They went through all this trouble to drag us into this mission, but still don't trust us. What's their real goal?"
"Doctor..." Fatty was struggling to follow along. He licked his lips awkwardly and admitted, "Just tell me what you think. You know my brain... compared to you guys, I might as well be a two-dollar bowl of tofu pudding."
"The ones truly hiding in the shadows here are the Night Watchers—An Xuan and Zuo Jing," Jiang Cheng exhaled. "We, like Xia Meng, are just bait."
After a moment, he added, "I can't think of any other reason."
"We're bait too?" Fatty found it hard to believe. "Doctor, we never offended Scarlet. It doesn't make sense for them to target us."
Jiang Cheng didn't answer. He lowered his head in thought for a while, then shook his head again. "I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it."
Fatty walked over and patted Jiang Cheng on the shoulder. "Don't think too much about it, Doctor. Let's just focus on getting out of here first."
After all, they were still trapped in the game. The mission was nearing its end, and based on past experience, the closer they got to the finish line, the more aggressive the ghosts would become.
Zuo Jing's death might not stall them for long.
(End of the Chapter)
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