After each person received a sapling, they exchanged glances and began to act separately.
Having minor grievances was one thing, but the tasks that needed to be completed could not be slacked off.
They not only had to plant the saplings but also plant them in places that Uncle Feng would not easily find.
At the very least, the saplings must not be destroyed before Aunt Hui was sent out of the village.
“Where are you guys going…?”
Uncle Feng was taking out a pile of saplings he was going to plant from his back basket.
He turned his head and found that the volunteers had already run off and disappeared.
…
The bullet comments in the sky were also a bit surprised.
【This is the first time I've seen someone confront an NPC.】
【Their speed is really fast. It's only the second day, and they've already collected all the clues.】
【Haha, are they playing hide-and-seek now?】
【These guys, who are death emissaries from the underworld, give me a very bad feeling…】
…
The viewers in the live stream room, however, were cheering with screens full of comments: "Well done!"
"As long as I hide it well enough, you won't find my sapling~"
"Qin Xie tipped the streamer a sports car *1, with the message: Keep up the good work haha…"
…
Jiang Lin and the others each found a hidden spot and planted their saplings.
They watered them with ordinary spring water from Daqing Mountain.
To be safe,
Jiang Lin also cast a protective shield over each person's sapling.
Whether it could block the attacks of the half-beasts or not, it was good to delay them for a while.
After completing this series of tasks, the group quickly descended the mountain.
Because they were already familiar with the path.
When they returned to the village, it was not yet late.
The adults in the village still had not shown themselves.
Instead, the children who had turned into small animals were standing under the eaves or hiding behind indoor windows,
with their eyes wide open, observing these volunteers from all directions.
Qi Liu's expression was subtle: "Why are they always looking at us?"
It was fine when they didn't know,
but after knowing that these small animals were transformed children, being stared at like this made them feel uncomfortable all over.
The woman in the red dress: "Perhaps they're thinking about how to eat these volunteers after they die."
Liu Yao swallowed her saliva, "You, you guys, don't scare yourselves."
It was easy to scare people to death.
However, after the woman in the red dress said that,
as the few of them listened to the small animals eating snacks and smacking their lips, they all felt unwell.
Their footsteps quickened, and they nimbly walked towards their dormitory.
Opening the door to the house,
when they saw Aunt Hui sitting on a small stool in the yard, engrossed in shelling beans,
the few of them felt a sense of relief for no reason.
Qi Liu closed the door and followed behind the streamer into the house.
He asked, "Streamer, do we start our operation as soon as it gets dark?"
Jiang Lin: "Yes."
…
The following time was spent waiting.
As the sky gradually darkened, Qi Liu and the others couldn't help but feel a little restless.
Even holding water bottles filled with pond water, their hearts could not be calmed.
Some checked their clothes and shoelaces.
Some ran to the toilet repeatedly.
Others went into the kitchen to find some snacks and ate them non-stop.
Even the elite man,
within ten minutes, pushed up his glasses twice and checked his watch three times.
By dinnertime,
looking at the table full of delicious food, Qi Liu inexplicably thought of the words 'the Last Supper'.
This time, with the streamer present, they could surely pass.
But next time…
They didn't even know when they would die next time…
Ding ding ding—
The crisp sound of ceramic colliding rang out.
The four of them instinctively looked over.
Jiang Lin, holding his chopsticks, said lightly, "Eat your meals properly."
The four of them were agitated, but they obediently picked up their chopsticks.
They needed to eat to have the strength to escape.
Knowing the logic was one thing, but…
"…"
Jiang Lin took in their behavior.
After taking a bite of food, he continued:
"Actually, this world is a level set for ordinary humans."
It was possible that because of his presence, the difficulty of the 'monsters' had increased.
"If you had more time, I believe you would find a way to pass on your own."
As he spoke, the four of them tightened their grip on their chopsticks.
Although the elite man had gone through trials before, he was still not sure.
Because every horror game was no different from playing with one's life.
Qi Liu, Liu Yao, and the woman in the red dress were even more uncertain.
They instinctively wanted to deny it.
Jiang Lin's expression was calm, and he slowly analyzed it for them:
"You came down from Yingying Mountain by your own strength.
As long as you have the spring water and your bodies are imbued with its aura, you will be safe at night…"
Even relying on the four of them alone,
if they found that there weren't enough clues during the day to pass, they would definitely think of the night.
Then, they would find ways to deal with the potential dangers that might appear at night—the mountain spirits.
The mountain spirits needed the pond water from Yingying Mountain to deal with them.
On the second day, the volunteers would know that
even if they watered the saplings with pond water, it might not be enough to protect them.
Since that was the case,
why not save the pond water for the night
and see if they could find other clues?
As long as they could drive away the mountain spirits that entered the houses, they could explore Daqing Mountain.
By watching quietly from a distance, they could discover the existence of the half-beasts.
What were the half-beasts looking for?
Only the mountain treasure was missing.
Then, thinking back to what Uncle Feng had said, the mountain spirits had transformed into humans and stolen the mountain treasure.
Why would the mountain spirits need to transform into humans to steal the mountain treasure?
Unless they wanted to deceive someone.
But on Daqing Mountain, there was only Uncle Feng, the forest ranger.
…
If they continued to deduce from this direction, they would eventually get the answer.
It was just that because Jiang Lin was in a hurry to leave, he collected all the clues at once.
Therefore, the time left for them to think and explore was reduced.
When faced with various clues, they would feel clueless.
After Jiang Lin finished speaking, the living room was very quiet.
He did not rush to speak, leaving time for the few of them to ponder.
After a while,
Liu Yao finally spoke, "Even if we can discover the key person, Aunt Hui, through contact. But how do we send her out?"
"There are more villagers than one. When we send Aunt Hui out, we will definitely be blocked by all the mountain spirits. But we don't have that much pond water."
They could only get one bottle of water at a time, and only the streamer could get so much.
The elite man pushed up his glasses,
his voice dry:
"There is. As long as we accumulate the water from the previous few days.
However, this depends on how long it takes us to discover the truth.
If we only find out on the fifth day, then we won't be able to save much."
As for the pond water from the previous days, it was either used to water the trees or for exploring clues at night.
Jiang Lin looked at Qi Liu, "There is another method."
"Your four personalities are different, but they can also complement each other.
If I hadn't joined, you would have observed and interacted with the villagers and Uncle Feng more carefully.
You would have discovered that
only Uncle Feng here can get water without limits.
A sapling needs a bottle of water, while Uncle Feng… plants many saplings every day."
With Qi Liu's outgoing personality, as long as he actively went to help and gain favor,
it was not impossible to get more pond water.
…