Dr Gu Shu felt like he had split personalities, one calmly sitting behind his desk, the other scratching his head in confusion and drawing question marks.

    ‘Is this some kind of prank?’ He wondered.

    As a chief physician, he had seen and dealt with all kinds of patients, but this one was a new breed of weird. He didn’t know how to handle her.

    Yu Xiao waited for his reaction with a hopeful smile. Dr Gu Shu snapped out of his trance and asked, “Why does it matter?”

    “It matters a lot,” Yu Xiao said earnestly. “It’s very important to me. Why? Do you have a problem with me asking?”

    Dr Gu Shu paused, unsure of what to say. “No.”

    Yu Xiao clapped her hands and cheered, “Awesome!”

    Dr Gu Shu was baffled. What was so awesome about this? Why did she care if he was married or not? He wished he could keep his mouth shut, but curiosity got the better of him.

    “What’s the point?”

    “Huh?” Yu Xiao pretended to be surprised. “Just being friendly, Dr Gu Shu. When I go to someone’s house, I like to know a little bit about them. Is that wrong?”

    *

    *

    Yu Xiao didn’t really want to leave Gu Shu’s house, but he practically shoved her out the door with a sour look on his face. She glanced at the dark clouds above and felt a pang of nostalgia for George. George was a decent guy; he never throw anyone out…

    She had been too flustered to get Gu Shu’s number, but she figured she could try again later.

    Yu Xiao had barely taken a few steps when Zhou Xiao Zhen ran up to her.

    “Smiley!” Zhou Xiao Zhen shouted. “Come on, let’s get some grub!”

    As they walked, Zhou Xiao Zhen filled her in on what had happened. “The chubby guy can cook like a pro. I snuck a bite of his food when he wasn’t looking, and it was awesome. The one who’s a jerk and looks like a scarecrow, what’s his name… Whatever, the skinny one, he came back and joined the fat one. The two chicks are back too, they said they found something and they want everyone to see it.”

    Yu Xiao asked, “And the two hot guys?”

    “Ha, I knew you had an eye for them, Smiley!” Zhou Xiao Zhen gushed. “As soon as I saw them, I was like, ‘wow.’ Which one do you like better? Lu Xun is nice and all, but I dig the mysterious type. Luo Jin is so cool, he’s totally my type…”

    Yu Xiao kept quiet, listening to her friend’s rambling. She wanted to tell her about her interaction with the attending doctor, but Precious was too hyped up to listen. She decided to wait for a better opportunity.

    They ran into Lu Xun and Luo Jin at the main door to their home.

    Lu Xun saw Yu Xiao who tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. He was always the first to break the ice, even when the ice was made of corpses. “Hey, you’re back. Did you get anything useful from Gu Shu?”

    Yu Xiao told him the truth. “Oh, Gu Shu said he’s not married.”

    Lu Xun’s smile turned into a grimace. “…”

    “Did you guys find anything?”

    “We found out that the villagers are having some kind of secret meeting,” Lu Xun said, trying to act normal. “But there’s a guard at the door, and we couldn’t hear anything.”

    They walked into the kitchen, where the smell of food made their mouths water. Everyone else was sitting at the table, except for them.

    Zhao Lan waved at them. “Hungry? Come sit with me.”

    The fat guy could cook, alright. The table was loaded with shiny veggies and juicy meat. Wang Yang beamed at them. “Don’t be shy, dig in. Try my food.”

    Zhang Feng looked at them all, snorted, and said, “We’re in the same instance, right? So let’s cut the crap and share what we know. I’ll start. I went to the ancestral hall and found a bunch of dead bodies. They all died from some disease. I also found a list of their names and dates of death. I know who was the first one to get sick.” He said it casually, but there was a smug glint in his eyes. He helped himself to a slice of meat.

    “That’s a big deal,” Lu Xun said. He told them about the village meeting. “I think this village has a dark secret. They’re up to something, but we don’t know what.”

    He finished talking, and Zuo Qing and Sun Yun looked at each other. Then Zuo Qing gave a fake smile. “We were looking for the first sick person too. But since Mr. Zhang Feng already did that, let’s move on.”

    They all turned to Yu Xiao, who hadn’t said anything yet.

    She felt their eyes on her and cleared her throat. “The village chief’s son is sick too. He’s getting married to change his luck.”

    “…”

    “…”

    Zhang Feng frowned. “That’s it? You were supposed to talk to Gu Shu. Did he tell you nothing?”

    Yu Xiao shrugged. “He told me something, but it’s not important for our mission.”

    Zhang Feng sneered. “How do you know what’s important and what’s not? We’ve all shared what we found. Why are you hiding something? Are you trying to ditch us?”

    “Fine, I’ll tell you,” Yu Xiao said. “I asked Gu Shu if he had a wife, and he said no…” Sёar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “…”

    A speechless silence fell over them, and Zhang Feng was getting annoyed. “Are you kidding me?”

    “No,” Yu Xiao said, feeling hurt. “I’m telling the truth; I swear.”

    This made them even more confused. Zuo Qing looked shocked. “Why would you ask Gu Shu that?”

    Yu Xiao, feeling a bit silly, looked down. “Just a personal interest.”

    Yu Xiao didn’t care, but Zhou Xiao Zhen had a temper, especially with Zhang Feng. His voice was always rude, mocking and cold. She rolled her eyes and said, sarcastically, “What’s the problem? Can’t someone have a hobby? Some people, even though they’re ugly, act like they’re better than everyone. Who are you to question us? If you’re so awesome, why don’t you just finish the task by yourself?”

    “You…” Zhang Feng’s face turned red with rage, his sallow skin now flushed. “Who are you talking about?”

    Wang Yang quickly stepped in, holding him back. “Calm down, calm down.”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen tilted her chin up. “I said who, and anyone with a brain can tell.”

    This pushed Zhang Feng over the edge, glaring at Zhou Xiao Zhen. If Wang Yang wasn’t holding him back, he would have attacked her.

    Wang Yang was nervous, asking Zhao Lan and Yu Xiao, “Can you two help me out here?”

    Yu Xiao smiled and said, “Sorry, my kid here is young. She’s blunt. Just let it go; don’t sink to her level.”

    When he heard this, Wang Yang almost let go, thinking, Lady, if you’re not going to stop her, at least don’t make it worse.

    Zhao Lan couldn’t stand the drama, so she got up, walked to the kitchen, and grabbed the knife they used to cut vegetables. She held the knife with both hands, and with a sudden twist, she broke it in half.

    Everyone was speechless, staring at her in disbelief.

    Zhao Lan held one half of the knife in her hand, and said casually, “Are you done fighting? Can we sit down and eat like civilised people now?”

    *

    *

    After that, everyone settled down, ate a quiet dinner, washed the dishes together, and went to bed peacefully.

    They were all teammates again.

    Except for Yu Xiao and her two friends, the others were not newbies. They were not scared of Zhao Lan because she was strong, but because they knew, to do what she did, Zhao Lan must have used some enhancement cards, and not just one.

    There were only two ways to get a physical fitness card: either fork over 50 points at the mall or make it to the top ten of the points leaderboard, which gave out a card after every mission.

    Either way, it was obvious that Zhao Lan was not someone to mess with. In a world where most people barely scraped by with 3 points per mission, not many could afford to shell out 100 points for a fitness card. And if she was one of the leaderboard elites, that made things even worse…

    Ever since then, Zhang Feng had gone silent, walking around like a ghost.

    On the other hand, Zhou Xiao Zhen was in a good mood, chatting with Yu Xiao about Gu Shu, asking if she had scored his number.

    Yu Xiao wished she had, but she didn’t say much. She rolled over in bed and fell asleep in a flash.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen watched Yu Xiao, feeling jealous. She had seen Smiley’s speed before, but she still envied her.

    Yu Xiao usually slept like a log, nothing could wake her up.

    But tonight was different. She tossed and turned, half-dreaming, half-awake, as if she heard a familiar sound. That sound was creepy, like the night-time teeth grinding of her old roommate.

    She opened her eyes without warning. The room was dark, only a little moonlight came through the window.

    Was she dreaming?

    The next second, she felt two hands grab her right arm. She turned her head and saw a dark shape squatting by the bed, almost eye to eye with her. In the dark, she could only see a vague outline, but the big mouth stood out under the moonlight.

    Suddenly, the large mouth bit down, and Yu Xiao let out a painful cry.

    She reached into her pocket and pulled out a Thunder Strike Talisman. The shadow saw it, let go of Yu Xiao’s arm, and ran for it.

    Yu Xiao jumped out of bed, yelling, “There’s a ghost!!!”

    “Get up, get up!!!”

    These two yells, while not too loud, were full of panic. But the other eight people in the room seemed to be deaf, they didn’t move.

    Yu Xiao couldn’t wait, she ran after the intruder herself.

    In the quiet night of the village, the moon was bright in the sky. On the dirt road, a girl, barefoot, chased a dark shape, racing through the village.

    She caught up with it, and the shadow had to duck into a low building. Yu Xiao followed it without thinking. There, she saw the shadow standing still. Why didn’t it run? Because this was the outhouse.

    With no way out, the shadow decided to fight. Yu Xiao’s arm hurt, and she angrily waved her left hand, spreading out a dozen talismans like a fan.

    The shadow: “…”

    It turned around and jumped into the hole with a splash.