Chapter 893: Misleading the Public

I was actually a little surprised that someone like Bai Yang would be curious about an organization.

Since Bai Yang said that Mian Yang wasn't killed by gambling with his life but died because he "broke the rules," it means the other side had no premeditation or plan. They might have just accidentally caused Mian Yang's death, or perhaps some uncontrollable minor incident in the game led to Mian Yang temporarily breaking the rules.

After I shared my thoughts with Bai Yang, he offered a different perspective. He believed that Mian Yang wasn't the type to be careless or easily provoked. Although Mian Yang's game was set up in a hidden location, that didn't mean it was easy. After all, Mian Yang was using this game as a stepping stone to meet Bai Yang. Otherwise, once Bai Yang reached the "Di Ji" level, how could he trust Mian Yang's abilities if he discovered the game was simple, mindless, and isolated?

So, the issue arises: a "Di Ji" game isn't just the most difficult type to control among the "Yang" games; it's also highly challenging and located in a secluded spot. With all these strict conditions, is it really not strange that someone suddenly caused the referee to break the rules and die?

Bai Yang told me that the other party was likely trying to cover their tracks. The person who struck thought killing such a remote zodiac figure wouldn't draw attention, but they didn't know that Mian Yang was connected to Bai Yang. Even if the opponent's position was extremely isolated, someone had been watching it all along.

Bai Yang had never seen Mian Yang's game or anyone who participated in it, yet through the known facts, he analyzed the entire incident clearly in just a few sentences. I was utterly outmatched.

I agreed to investigate the organization and then went to Di She's residence to return that "Higher Plants Atlas" to him. But I found him hanging himself again. I had nothing to say, so I just waited quietly for him to finish.

Once the rope suddenly snapped and Di She fell to the ground, he noticed me standing nearby.

"You little brat..." He was stunned for a moment, then coughed and explained,"Cough... Don't think this is just an ordinary hanging... Cough cough..."

"Oh?" I shrugged. "What's different about this one from before?"

"Of course there is..." Di She stood up, looking proud as he said,"Before, I only hanged myself because I was too sad, but this time..."

"This time what?"

"This time it's because I wanted to hang myself that I did it!"

The air froze for a few seconds before I slowly handed the book forward, pushing it into Di She's arms, and said hoarsely, "Thanks for the book. I'm leaving first."

"Hey... Wait, you little brat... Hold on..." Seeing me turn to leave, Di She quickly changed his tune, "Fine, fine... I'll explain properly. There really is a reason this time!"

I shook my head. "Whether you tell me or not, I can guess. It's probably because you couldn't stand hearing other people's sad stories, so you wanted to suicide to ease your emotions, right?"

"It's really not!" Di She waved his hands excitedly. "This is so bizarre that I'm afraid if I say it, you'll think I've gone mad!"

Oh, heavens, with you hanging yourself every day, how could I not think you're mad already?

"Or... why don't you tell me?" I asked.

"Hiss... It's a supernatural event, and I can't figure it out—it's lasted through two cycles." Di She scratched his forehead, his face full of fear as he said, "Either I'm having hallucinations, or there's a ghost here."

"How so?" I found it hard to believe that "End of All" would be haunted, since this place is already more terrifying than any haunting.

Di She leaned in closer and whispered to me, "You little brat... In the cycle before last, I killed seven people, but Di Long told me it was only five. And in the last cycle, I killed nine, but he said it was only four..."

"Uh..."

"What does that mean...? Where did those people go?!" Di She glanced around cautiously, then said very seriously, "Either I'm hallucinating and keep seeing people who aren't there... or it's really haunted... Those people weren't human to begin with, so killing them doesn't count..."

As soon as he finished, Di She shivered. "That's terrifying... Sister... I need to hang myself to ward off the evil."

Oh, heavens, with a hanging rope always at your door, that's already evil enough—I never thought it could be used for warding off evil.

"Uh... Maybe... maybe it's not a haunting... There could be another reason..." I said.

"What reason?" Di She looked at me. "Do you know, sister?"

Yes, I know, but it's really hard to explain.

"Anyway, you don't need to be afraid..." I stood up awkwardly, smiled at Di She sheepishly, and said, "Maybe those people weren't here to join your game; they were participating in someone else's."

That short sentence left Di She dumbfounded.

"Appearing in my game area... to join someone else's game?" Di She blinked after hearing it. "Are you okay mentally, you little brat? Do you even hear what you're saying?"

Yes, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it myself.

Those few who died in Di She's area but weren't counted in his score were already part of Bai Yang's score. They died here just to control the "lamp."

That tiny lamp could be worth as little as three or five "Dao," or as much as affecting "deposits" and "lotteries."

"Ah... Just think of it as me talking nonsense."

I shook my head. I didn't want to deceive Di She, but I also didn't want to betray Bai Yang, so I said nothing more and hurriedly left his area.

That day, I walked the same path that Jiang Ruo Xue had taken, spending nearly five hours to reach the other end of the city. But I didn't know her exact birthplace.

I didn't have "cause and effect," so I couldn't move around as freely as Jiang Ruo Xue. She always managed to find me, but I might not find her.

I only knew she was likely active in this area, and given her outgoing personality, plenty of people should recognize her. I thought I could ask around and find her.

Unfortunately, although I saw many people who seemed to retain their memories, no one recognized Jiang Ruo Xue.

I also took the opportunity to inquire about organizations in the area. Just as Bai Yang had said, there was a large organization called "Tian Tang Kou" here, with over thirty members, all "Hui Xiang" users. Their headquarters was a hotel, and their leader was Chu Tian Qiu.

If Yang Ge was right, this Chu Tian Qiu was almost certainly the killer of Mian Yang.

But was he really that powerful?

In the evening, I stopped a cool-looking girl on the street. She was wearing a leather jacket with lots of ear studs and lip piercings. For some reason, I felt that a rebellious girl like her might know Jiang Ruo Xue.

"Um... Excuse me, dear." I smiled and said,

"Tsk!" The girl glanced at me impatiently. "Who's your dear?"

"It's not that..." I sensed something odd about the girl. "I just want to ask about someone."

"Tsk! Don't know!"