Chapter 9: The Gu Tribe Fortress, Part 8

The night had been quite restless, but Zhou Zhou slept soundly.

She did not open her eyes until the sun was high in the sky. As the harsh sunlight poured onto the head of the bed by the window, the young girl blinked, her eyes tearing up from the irritation.

"Mmm..."

System: [Good morning, Zhou Zhou.]

Hearing the system's voice, perhaps still dazed from her slumber, Zhou Zhou mumbled a groggy "Present."

The system wanted to laugh but held it back.

[Ahem, Zhou Zhou, it’s really time to wake up. If you don't get up, the monsters will come to get you.]

That wouldn't do at all!

Zhou Zhou was startled, scrambling up in a flurry. "...Where are the monsters?"

"Where are the monsters?"

She looked left and right, but saw nothing. The room remained as gloomy and damp as ever, with only the area near her bed catching a sliver of sunlight through the window.

"?"

A question mark seemed to hover over Zhou Zhou's head.

"022," the girl said, feeling a little aggrieved, "...are you lying to me...?"

[I'm not.]

The system chuckled lightly. [But not right now.]

Zhou Zhou huffed, refusing to believe it. It had clearly been teasing her earlier; that was hardly a serious remark. She decided to ignore the system for now.

...

While she was busy pouting, the other players had already pried open the door, prepared to leave. After all, someone had died, and the room was clearly abnormal; rather than staying, they were better off heading out to search for clues in this instance.

Ning Jidong watched the nimble players with surprise. What exactly was the background of these people? They had picked the lock with ease; he had even seen one player accidentally crush a door handle.

"Did you see that?"

Ning Cheng’s expression was grim. He only grunted in response.

"I saw, so what, Dad?" Ning Yan hadn't thought much of it. He was always easygoing; not only did he not find it strange, but he was actually a bit happy. He figured that since someone else had picked the lock, they didn't have to stay here either. "How about we go out with them?"

"You idiot."

Ning Cheng glanced at him. "Don't you think these people are clearly prepared for this?" They didn't look like ordinary folks.

Ning Yan remained indifferent, offering a shy, handsome smile. "Let’s just get out first, never mind who they are."

Ning Jidong, being more experienced, thought it over. "Let's follow them from behind and look for an opportunity to contact the outside world."

Ning Cheng didn't say anything. Since Ning Rong's death yesterday, he had revealed her abuse toward him and Ning Yan, and now he didn't know how to act around his father. Ning Jidong, meanwhile, was filled with complex emotions. He felt a rare sense of guilt for not having taken better care of them, for having let the wolf into the house. Between his sister and his two sons, his children were naturally more important. Knowing the truth had caused the sorrow he felt for Ning Rong’s death to dissipate. Looking at his two sons, now safe and sound, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

And so, Ning Jidong and his group followed the players out the door, trailing behind them cautiously. The players spared them a disinterested glance before looking away. Let them follow. They thought arrogantly, what kind of trouble could a group of NPCs possibly stir up?

...

"...Is the insect feed in the cave ready?"

Zhou Shan had been busy all night, finally suppressing the restless Gu insects, and asked the villagers behind him.

Villager: "It's ready, but this batch of insects is quite fierce, and we are still short a few people."

Zhou Shan wasn't surprised. Everyone in the Gu village raised insects, not as a cultural tradition, but because if they didn't, they would die. The fiercer the insect, the longer one lived. Thinking of this, Zhou Shan let out a cold, cynical laugh.

"Pick a few from those tourists tonight."

The villager, his face pale and as eerie as a sculpture, offered a smile. "Understood."

However, after responding, seeing that Zhou Shan had nothing more to say, the villager's purple-tinted lips twitched, full of doubt.

"And what about the other one—"

The hoarse, raspy, and unpleasant voice drifted into his ears, causing Zhou Shan's expression to turn frigid.

"Village Chief, isn't your sister the Gu Eye?"

The Gu Eye was the first living person to be bitten by the King Gu after it had been raised by countless other insects. It had to be a person with a very special constitution to absorb the resentment of the insects, allowing them to be commanded by the villagers. Zhou Zhou happened to have such a constitution. Zhou Shan had kept her until now specifically because of this trait, intending to treat her as insect feed and discard her one day.

But he didn't think that way anymore!

He shot a cold, icy glare at the tactless villager, his eyes filled with strange malice and a crimson, sinister intensity. It was cold, devoid of any warmth, making anyone who saw those eyes feel as if they had fallen into hell.

The villager shivered, a chill crawling up his spine.

"Village Chief...?"

The villager’s face remained stiff, his hateful and terrifying features turning a sickly pale. The veins in his neck pulsed as if something insect-like was crawling beneath his skin—it was eerily hair-raising. That was his Gu. The insect, sensing its master's fear, moved about restlessly, causing a wave of pain that made the villager cough up blood. "Cough, cough..."

"I will find another Gu Eye," Zhou Shan said, watching the villager spit blood with indifference. He spoke expressionlessly, "Do not touch her again."

But how could a Gu Eye be found so easily? If they couldn't find one and the breeding of this batch of insects was delayed...

The villager suppressed the metallic taste in his throat and his fear of Zhou Shan, a flash of resentment crossing his withered, rigid face. "Why let her go? She isn't even one of the villagers—"

"Shut up."

Zhou Shan’s face darkened. "If you question me so much, why don't you be the Village Chief?"

"...No, no! I didn't mean that!"

Hearing this, the villager’s cement-like face was suddenly filled with extreme panic. The Village Chief used the fiercest Gu insects; if one couldn't suppress them, one would die. How could he compare to Zhou Shan? Moreover, the insects inside his own body were nowhere near as powerful as Zhou Shan's.

Zhou Shan: "...Then shut up."

The villager nodded, and with a grim expression, he and the other villagers retreated. Once they were gone, Zhou Shan tidied himself up, meticulously cleaning the bloodstains off his body. After all, he couldn't let the young girl see him in such a state when he returned; he didn't want to scare her.

...

Lying on the bed, Zhou Zhou counted the time on her fingers. Without a phone, she didn't know what to do. By the time it was nearly noon, Zhou Shan still hadn't returned.

Zhou Zhou asked the system, "Is he not coming back?"

If he didn't come back, she planned to go out and find the players to regroup.

[He will.] The system paused slightly. [He's here.]

Who, who was here?

Zhou Zhou was confused.

A familiar male voice rang out. "Zhou Zhou, Brother is back."

It was Zhou Shan. He carried food in his hands, his clean, deep-set features displaying a striking handsomeness. Even more eye-catching were his dark, muscular arms, full and powerful. With broad shoulders and a narrow waist, he looked inherently strong.

But the man's expression was inexplicably gloomy. He had just gone to where the players were and found the entire room empty, which was undoubtedly a provocation to him. It left him feeling extremely sour.

However, in that low, water-prison-like room, Zhou Shan had also discovered that someone had foolishly messed with his insects. Surely, some of them were already dead. He thought with malicious indifference: those bugs wanted to run, didn't they? Wasn't it better to just stay in the insect room? Did they have to wait until they died one by one for him to collect their corpses?

The malice churned in his heart, and for a moment, he actually felt a desire to kill.

"Brother?" the girl asked hesitantly.

The moment the man heard the girl's soft, delicate voice, the malice instantly vanished. He broke into a smile, looking somewhat guilty. "Zhou Zhou, I'm sorry. Brother had some business this morning and couldn't come back; you must be hungry."

"This is food Brother brought from town, it's still warm. Come, let Brother feed you—"

He sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to help Zhou Zhou, intending to feed her.

"Ah, open your mouth—"

Seeing the girl didn't move, the man gently coaxed her.

[...C-can I do it myself?] Zhou Zhou asked the system internally. She felt so embarrassed. Damn it, did he really have to feed her? She thought she should have basic self-care skills... right? Even if she was a "fool," she couldn't be so pampered that she couldn't eat.

System: [You can. It doesn't break your character.]

Zhou Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Zhou Shan and said in a small voice, "Brother Zhou Shan... I want to do it myself."

Zhou Shan was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, then be careful, Zhou Zhou, the food is a bit hot."

Although he felt a slight regret at losing the pleasure of feeding the girl, the fact that Zhou Zhou could express her own thoughts was already a vast improvement over the past. She used to be like a stiff piece of wood, without any thoughts of her own. And he had never fed her or been this close to her before. Now, the Zhou Zhou who took the initiative felt as if she had been infused with a soul.

She was vibrant and beautiful, making it impossible for him to look away. Since yesterday, he had felt an irrepressible urge to possess that vivid beauty.

Zhou Zhou ate in small bites. The food was actually quite good, and she ate with relish. Her soft, delicate tongue appeared and disappeared, and as the man watched, his heart was filled with an indescribable, scorching desire.

The young girl remained completely unaware. As she ate, she secretly asked in her heart, [You said I'm not a cannon fodder, that I die on the second day...]

System: [Yes.]

[Then who is it...]

[That kills me?]

The girl's voice trembled. The system was silent for a few seconds before breaking the rules to tell her, [Zhou Shan.]

Technically, it wasn't supposed to say. But... the system watched the girl—vibrant yet frail—holding the spoon... she was clearly acting as "normal" as could be, her expression focused and earnest. But her loose, thin dress clung to her delicate, snow-white body;