"It was your Big Brother He who started the moral blackmail first, and now that he's been called out, he's talking about mutual support? How exactly are we supporting each other? What have you guys provided? Give me a break. Mutual support isn't a one-sided charity mission; we aren't idiots."
"Besides, wasn't it one of your people who died last night? Have you even figured out how he died? You were teammates entering the mission together, yet when you saw he didn't come back, why didn't you look for him? You just let his body rot in the wild. So much for your 'mutual support.'"
"We might run into trouble later, but you guys are already in it. How about worrying about yourselves first?"
Song Sisi had dared to confront He Jiang earlier because she saw Nan Yue didn't like him. Now that Zhu Xi Ning was letting loose, she felt relieved.
Jiang Mingfu's face flushed with anger. He stepped forward, instinctively wanting to get physical.
Zhu Xi Ning shook her head. This was a man's subconscious—always thinking they could physically suppress a woman, regardless of whether they were a useless glutton themselves.
Wen Xiang Yuan’s eyes sharpened, and she pulled Zhu Xi Ning back, shielding her like a chick protecting a hen, which touched Zhu Xi Ning slightly.
At least this girl really considered them her own.
But Wen Xiang Yuan didn't need to worry.
He Jiang grabbed Jiang Mingfu and scolded him, "Shut up!"
Jiang Mingfu was confused. Even if Gu Xiang Kai looked like he could take on ten people, the rest were just women. Why should they be afraid?
Especially if they didn't put this sharp-tongued woman in her place, they'd never get any clues later.
He Jiang met Nan Yue's expressionless gaze and shuddered. He turned and slapped Jiang Mingfu. "Shut up!"
Jiang Mingfu went quiet, feeling wronged.
He Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, only to see a flash of disappointment on Nan Yue's face.
He Jiang: ...What exactly is she disappointed about?!
The villagers ignored the outsiders' conflict and continued toward the ant nest. Huo Fuyu smiled at He Jiang's group and walked over to Nan Yue.
"Information exchange. Would Miss Nan be interested?"
Nan Yue focused on the road. "You first."
Huo Fuyu sighed with a smile. "The cogon grass we cut is for building an altar. They say the Ant God likes it."
Nan Yue gave a neutral "Oh." "Our Ant-red Flower is also for the sacrifice."
Huo Fuyu waited. Seeing she had no intention of continuing, he raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"
Nan Yue shrugged. "That's it. You can go back and ask Luo Liu."
Huo Fuyu's gaze deepened. He didn't seem to mind her hostility at all.
"I thought information exchanges were supposed to be sincere."
Nan Yue's smile was cold. "Mr. Huo, we also had people cutting grass. To be blunt, you aren't even qualified for an exchange because I'll find out whatever you know anyway."
"So I suggest you save the moral blackmail for someone else. I don't have any morals."
Huo Fuyu chuckled. "You're right."
"Then I'll share something your teammates definitely don't know."
He leaned in slightly. Nan Yue didn't flinch, her whole body ready to strike.
"You need to carry an oil lamp when you go out, as it can save your life."
Nan Yue paused and looked at him seriously.
Huo Fuyu seemed to know she didn't believe him, so he winked. "That’s how Wu Zicheng died."
Nan Yue gave a half-smile. "Wu Zicheng didn’t bring a lamp? Then how do you know his death was related to that?"
Huo Fuyu smiled back. "Because I survived."
Nan Yue's smile vanished as she stared at him.
The others noticed the strange atmosphere but didn't dare ask, continuing to hurry forward.
"Why?"
Why kill Wu Zicheng?
Huo Fuyu tossed the torch in his hand. "Miss Nan, that has nothing to do with the mission rules."
Nan Yue was silent for a moment before telling him about what happened at the holes and her deduction.
Huo Fuyu tilted his head. "Mental attacks?"
He seemed puzzled. "That thing should be a meat-eater."
Nan Yue thought of Wu Zicheng's half-eaten corpse. She kept walking, with Huo Fuyu following leisurely.
"Did you see it?"
Huo Fuyu shook his head. "No. It was too fast, and the night was too dark."
Whether he was telling the truth or not, Nan Yue didn't say more.
This man was dangerous, in a different way than Chi He.
Chi He was mentally unstable and had a weird obsession with cleanliness that kept him from killing. Nan Yue found Chi He a headache but wasn't overly guarded against him.
But Huo Fuyu was different; neither friend nor foe, and Nan Yue didn't want too much contact with him.
As they walked, Gu Xiang Kai moved closer to Nan Yue and told her about their experience.
The grass-cutting area was a plain that looked suitable for farming, but only cogon grass grew there.
The village boy couldn't speak the official tongue and just gestured for them to start cutting. Everything was normal at first, though the ground was uneven, requiring them to be careful not to slip.
At lunch, they ate steamed buns. They found no clues in the field; it seemed they were just there for manual labor.
Then, they heard Zhou Jie Feng scream.
He hadn't finished his bun earlier and had left it in his basket. When he went back to eat it, he bit into a large ant crawling on it.
The ant was about half the length of a pinky finger, pitch black, and he had bitten it in half.
Zhou Jie Feng spent a long time gagging, terrified. Eating a bug was common in missions, but this ant was huge and bitten in half; no one could handle that.
Zhou Jie Feng remembered the village worshipped ants and turned pale, looking at the village boy.
The boy looked disgusted and a bit embarrassed, like a normal host seeing a guest eat something bad.
Zhou Jie Feng was on edge all afternoon, fearing retribution from the Ant God.
But nothing happened. Su Sheng comforted him, saying the village worshipped ants but still took precautions against them, so it probably wasn't a big deal.
"Is that so..."
Gu Xiang Kai looked around to ensure no one was listening and whispered, "When Zhou Jie Feng was vomiting, I looked. The ant was bitten in half, but it was still alive. Its legs were still twitching."
Wen Xiang Yuan looked disgusted but curious. "How long did it live?"
Gu Xiang Kai thought for a moment. "At least ten minutes. Then the ant's corpse disappeared."
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