Chapter 27: The Poison Village 26

The audience in the young girl's livestream erupted the moment Zhou Shan spoke.

"What do you mean, 'for your own good'?! That dog Zhou actually wants my wife to die!! There are so many parasite bugs in that field, he’s trying to harm her!"

"Why is that stinking dog being so fierce!! Can't he see my wife is scared to death..."

"The person above is absolutely right. Don't be afraid, wifey... let your husband give you a kiss... wifey, please don't listen to that dog Zhou!!"

"My wife is almost crying, boohoo, my heart aches for her..."

The viewers of the escape game were not exaggerating in the slightest; seeing the girl's pale, terrified expression, they were nearly heartbroken.

Zhou Shan was forcing the girl into the field, and with so many insects present, the viewers—as outsiders—could see the danger clearly. They all knew the fate of anyone parasitized by the insects in the Insect Village instance was death. They were convinced that Zhou Shan wanted the girl dead.

As they watched the girl hesitantly extend her slender calf, about to touch the water in the paddy, the viewers panicked, and the comments flooded the screen.

"Wifey, don't go down!! You'll die if the bugs get inside you!!"

"Ahhhhh, wifey, please don't move anymore!!!"

Zhou Zhou glanced at the comments. Under Zhou Shan’s coercive gaze, her palms were slick with sweat. Given the situation, going down meant death, but not going down...

The man was still staring at her unblinkingly, filling her with uncontrollable panic.

What should she do now...?

Her body was trembling violently, and cold sweat trickled from her palms to her forehead. The black cloak obscured her flushed, bitten lips and her deathly pale face.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, and her mind was in turmoil; she couldn't find a way out of this predicament...

"Hey—"

The blinding light made her eyes ache, and through her daze, she heard a young, cold sneer.

It sounded somewhat familiar.

"Village Chief, can't you see she doesn't want to go down?" the white-haired youth asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chu Mingshu, who had been preparing to intervene, suddenly froze, his expression growing even colder.

It seemed the girl didn't need his help after all.

Zhou Shan looked up at the fearless youth, his expression darkening.

"And so? What are you trying to say?"

Liang Ye had long despised Zhou Shan—an instance boss bullying a simple-minded girl.

He had thought Zhou Shan cared for his sister, but it turned out he was nothing more than this.

Forcing a simple-minded girl into the field was no way for a brother to act.

"Don't you know she's terrified?"

Zhou Shan’s face remained cold, but seeing the transparent, glistening teardrops falling from the girl's eyes, his heart gave a sharp tug. He didn't want her to be afraid, but he wanted her to die even less...

"To squeeze your own sister like this, what kind of brother are you?"

Liang Ye sneered at Zhou Shan from the dark, muddy field, his white hair dazzling under the sun.

"Since she absolutely has to go into the field," he continued, "she’s still young. I’ll go in for her, how about that?"

"Stop scaring her—"

Facing the instance boss, Liang Ye held his handsome, striking face high, looking reckless and arrogant.

The viewers were stunned, then burst into collective shrieks.

"Ahhhhh, Zhou Zhou, Mommy is giving Liang Ye major points for this!!!"

"Damn, that kid actually pulled it off."

"I knew it! Ever since Liang-shen kissed her so fiercely in the room last time, he definitely fell for her..."

"Hehe, I approve of this union..."

"Hmph, although I admit Liang Ye did well this time, wifey cannot be tricked away by him so easily!!"

Some viewers were sour. "If I were in the instance, I would definitely have done better than Liang Ye."

"Liang Ye is just lucky enough to be in the same instance as wifey..."

"Brother Zhou Shan..."

Zhou Zhou pulled her feet back and turned to bury herself in Zhou Shan’s arms. Hearing Liang Ye’s words, she felt immense gratitude. She hadn't expected Liang Ye to help her out of the situation.

Zhou Shan realized he couldn't force the girl into the field now. Feeling her soft body trembling incessantly, he could only sigh. "Zhou Zhou, let me take you back first."

Zhou Zhou shook her head. "Can I stay here and watch for you, Brother...?"

With the crisis averted, she wanted to stay with the players; she would find no clues if she stayed in the room alone.

Zhou Shan had no choice but to nod.

Under the sunlight, Liang Ye’s slightly light-colored pupils watched the girl quietly, his lips curving into an elegant arc.

Zhou Shan felt intensely annoyed watching this. He let out a cold, sharp laugh. "What the hell do you know? Do you think you're some kind of savior?"

"If you want to go into the field for Zhou Zhou, then go now."

Liang Ye crossed his arms and smiled dismissively. "Sure."

He stepped out of the riverbank, extended his leg, and entered the girl's paddy. His feet were soon wet, and he crushed a few insects that surfaced under his boot.

The girl looked into Liang Ye’s eyes. Those beautiful dark pupils were filled with a faint smile, fixed on her without blinking—both frivolous and earnest.

"Brother Liang Ye..."

Hearing the girl call someone else "brother," Zhou Shan stared at Liang Ye, a flicker of distorted gold flashing in his pupils.

*Die, die, die, die, die—*

*Zhou Zhou, only I can be your brother.*

Zhou Zhou caught that glimpse of gilded gold with keen eyes.

More sweat broke out on her body, and she was terrified to her core. How could his eyes look so much like Ke Zhi’s from her dreams...?

"Don't be afraid, Zhou Zhou."

Liang Ye reached out, ignoring Zhou Shan’s murderous gaze, and patted her head, which was covered by the black cloak. His voice was clear. "I’ll help you."

These parasites were terrifying to the girl, but to him, they were nothing; the insects couldn't even get close to his feet.

"Damn, am I seeing things?"

A player with his pant legs soaked in the paddy widened his eyes, not even noticing the bugs crawling onto his legs, his voice filled with disbelief.

"A big shot like Liang Ye is actually sticking his neck out for an NPC?!?"

"...You're not seeing things..."

Although he didn't want to admit it, the person next to him clearly saw it too.

The players were left speechless.

A big shot like Liang Ye was clashing with an instance boss for the sake of an NPC?

Could it be... that this NPC was the key to the instance?

It was no wonder they thought so; Liang Ye’s cold, ruthless, ghost-like reputation was too deeply ingrained. They didn't believe a big shot like him would help anyone for no reason.

Even though the girl was exceptionally beautiful and stirred their own desires for pity and possession, she was still, after all, an NPC.

There must be some clue on her.

The players exchanged glances, their minds racing.

They looked down at the insects that were constantly wriggling but unable to pierce their skin, feeling thoroughly disgusted.

Fortunately, Brother Cheng was experienced; he had made them buy specific insect-repellent powders and masking agents last night. Even though the system shop was a rip-off, as long as it worked, it was worth it.

No matter how much it hurt their wallets, they wouldn't gamble with their lives.