When Qi Liu and the woman in the red dress were halfway through their meal, Liu Yao also came down.
The three ate while exchanging glances.
Has the streamer not come down yet?
Not yet.
Did they go out?
Don't know.
Who is that person waiting for?
Who knows.
Upstairs—
Jiang Lin was watching Shen Luo's situation through the live stream.
Seeing that everyone downstairs had arrived, he temporarily put away the live stream and went downstairs to eat something casually.
"Good morning, streamer."
"Good morning."
The woman in the red dress and Liu Yao greeted him.
Qi Liu stood up directly, "What do you want to eat, streamer? I'll get it for you."
Jiang Lin said lightly, "Just grab something."
He wasn't picky.
The elite man, who had been standing by the wall, straightened up as soon as he saw Jiang Lin appear.
The eyes under his glasses flickered,
His emotions shifted from surprise and excitement... to finally settling on 'as expected'.
He hadn't misjudged last night.
No wonder these newcomers got along so harmoniously, with no arguments so far.
In the game worlds he had participated in before,
Players usually revealed their true natures by the first or second day.
After all, there were no legal restrictions like in the real world, coupled with the mental pressure brought by the strange existences...
People were capable of anything.
This was also why he had planned to stay away from other players from the beginning.
Instead of failing to cooperate, they might end up being betrayed.
After guessing last night that it might be the streamer's paper figure, the elite man carefully recalled his actions since arriving in the game world.
Fortunately, he hadn't done anything out of line.
During the process of planting saplings yesterday, although he hadn't paid much attention to the newcomers, he hadn't bullied them either.
Now that he saw the streamer had truly appeared,
He didn't immediately approach. He just waited for the streamer to finish breakfast and followed behind them.
The elite man's thoughts were well-laid.
But reality often differed greatly from imagination.
After Jiang Lin put down his chopsticks, he said, "I found quite a few clues last night."
Qi Liu and the other two were slightly surprised, then showed expressions of 'as expected'.
A true master is a true master.
Even without sleeping at night, they could still spar with ghosts.
Jiang Lin glanced at the elite man by the wall, "You come over and listen too. Perhaps we'll be able to leave in the next two days."
The elite man was stunned and took a step towards the dining table.
After taking just two steps, he heard Jiang Lin's second sentence.
Huh?
Huh? Huh? Huh?
The elite man, Qi Liu, Liu Yao, and the woman in the red dress all looked at the streamer.
What?
Leaving in the next two days?
Weren't they supposed to plant trees for seven days? Did the streamer find a faster way to clear the game so quickly?
...
"???"
"Did I miss something?"
"While I was sleeping last night, did the streamer get any more clues?"
The viewers in the live stream were also confused.
They had clearly followed the streamer all night, from collecting dark shadow jars to going up Great Green Mountain...
The clues were all the same.
Did they overlook something?
No, no, no, it's very likely that the streamer secretly leveled up!
Yes, it must be!
Then,
The viewers noticed,
On the ceiling in the live stream, the barrage of comments also showed a lot of question marks.
【???】
【Discovered so quickly??】
【This clear record is about to be refreshed, right?】
The viewers (hands on hips): "That's right, the streamer is just that awesome!"
Although they hadn't found the way to clear the game.
But seeing these guys frustrated was very satisfying!
...
After the elite man also sat down at the dining table, Qi Liu thought that this guy had finally discovered the streamer's existence.
Then he thought of something and looked around, "Streamer, should we talk here, or should we find another place?"
Jiang Lin said, "No need."
Qi Liu said, "Oh," and thought, indeed, Aunt Hui couldn't hear anyway.
Since the streamer said it was fine, then it was fine.
Afterward, Jiang Lin told them the clues he had obtained last night one by one.
The dark shadows that broke into the house, the half-beasts frantically searching for something on Great Green Mountain.
And Aunt Hui, who lit a kerosene lamp and sharpened her knife every night.
Liu Yao found a small notebook from somewhere and diligently took notes.
If her memory wasn't good, she had to rely on her pen.
'Dark Shadow' 'Pool Water' 'Villagers'...
With each clue she heard, Liu Yao's expression changed slightly.
She was horrified.
And felt a chill down her spine.
However, as the streamer revealed more and more astonishing clues,
Liu Yao's notebook filled up.
By the end, she looked at the full page of her notebook.
Her entire mind went blank.
What? What is this?
It felt like she knew everything, but also knew nothing...
Liu Yao scratched her somewhat vacant head. It was over.
She couldn't make any sense of it.
She subconsciously looked at the other three.
The elite man was thinking seriously, his glasses reflecting wisdom.
Qi Liu stared at the streamer, his eyes glazed over.
Liu Yao knew at a glance that this guy was spacing out.
It was just like when she used to listen to lectures.
Looking at the woman in the red dress, Susan Shan, she frowned and pondered with her head bowed.
In short, no one uttered a single word.
The dining table was extremely quiet.
After a long while,
Qi Liu came back to his senses and decided to break the atmosphere.
With his unfocused eyes, he tried hard to recall.
He stammered, "So the villagers were the ones who stole the mountain treasure..."
He counted on his fingers, "During the day, the children turn into animals, and at night, the adults turn into mountain spirits. Even Uncle Feng transforms, but he's a bit deranged."
Jiang Lin looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
Qi Liu opened his mouth, then looked at the elite man on his left.
This guy seemed very elite.
Seeing everyone's gaze focused on him, the elite man subconsciously adjusted his glasses.
"Currently, we can temporarily divide them into three factions."
"First: Aunt Hui, who is mute and makes exquisite meals.
She sharpens her knife at night, but has done nothing. Currently, she is benevolent towards the players."
"Second: The villagers. They turn into mountain spirits at night.
In the story, they stole the mountain treasure and are considered villains. Moreover, they harm players at night.
However, they are afraid of the pool water. But why they are afraid of the pool water of Yingying Mountain, I haven't figured that out yet."
At this point, the elite man paused, as if recalling something.
Then he continued:
"Third, the forest ranger Uncle Feng. He leads everyone to plant trees during the day, but at night he turns into a monster and destroys the trees.
His actions are very contradictory. And our condition for clearing the game is to successfully plant at least one sapling within seven days."
Why plant trees, and why destroy trees?
The former, on the surface, is to restore Great Green Mountain.
The latter clearly does not wish to see this happen.
"The current problems are:
As half-beasts, why are they unwilling to see Great Green Mountain restored?
Do the saplings have any other meaning for the NPCs?
Also, what was lost from the half-beast's chest?"
Liu Yao listened carefully, and when she heard this, she raised her hand and said,
"The mountain treasure! We know the mountain treasure is missing!"
In her notebook, she circled and marked 'mountain treasure', 'mountain spirit', and 'Uncle Feng' separately.
Qi Liu: "So it was the villagers who harmed Uncle Feng and were cursed. And Uncle Feng also split into two roles,
One who cherishes Great Green Mountain, and one who wants to find the mountain treasure and get revenge?"
The elite man tapped the tabletop, "But if that's the case, what role does the mountain spirit of Yingying Mountain play in this? A weapon?"
Uncle Feng said that mountain spirits are afraid of pool water.
It can protect saplings.
This is also equivalent to telling them indirectly how to deal with mountain spirits.
And he himself is half a mountain spirit.
During the day, he actually wanted to stop his nighttime self?
The elite man pinched the bridge of his nose.
He felt that the clues were becoming chaotic again.
After listening for a long time, the woman in the red dress finally spoke, "The villagers and Uncle Feng were harmonious during the day, and the stories they told were similar.
But at night, they would transform. One became the mountain spirit in the story, and the other destroyed saplings and lost things.
They have subtly formed an opposition.
Is there a possibility that their nighttime selves are the real ones?"
The elite man frowned, "...Cooperating during the day, opposing at night... You mean, during the day, they are hiding the same thing, and at night they tear off their masks and break the illusion?"
The woman in the red dress nodded.
If they followed the game rules, everything would be normal, and it could be classified as game settings.
But if they opened their minds and inferred based on the story, there would be many suspicious points.
Qi Liu's gaze flickered between the two, feeling like he was falling behind.
Seeing that Liu Yao across from him also looked confused, he felt a little comforted.
...
Throughout the entire process, Jiang Lin remained silent, quietly listening to their analysis.
Seeing that they were one step away from the truth but couldn't sort out their thoughts for a moment,
He then prompted:
"How did Uncle Feng begin the story?"
...