Although she quickly resumed tidying as if nothing had happened, Nan Yue, who had been watching her closely, didn't miss that momentary pause.
"To tell you the truth... I think I saw a woman."
Xiao Min froze completely. After a moment, she said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Then, she hurried into the kitchen with the dishes.
Nan Yue stood there thoughtfully. It seemed the Apartment Manager could indeed provide clues.
She just wasn't sure if Xiao Min was unwilling to speak because she could only offer so many hints or if her favorability wasn't high enough yet.
Nan Yue figured she still had time and planned to work on increasing Xiao Min's favorability over the next few days.
Nan Yue wasn't in a hurry to return to her room or go out. She was still thinking about what had happened last night.
Everyone had encountered some sort of incident yesterday. It was as if the apartment, after letting them pass a relatively peaceful first day, had finally revealed its true colors.
Missions with time limits were usually like this. The further they progressed, the more dangerous they became.
Zhang Qingyang was an exception. He had truly "gotten on good terms" with his neighbor, so he hadn't experienced any scares or danger yet.
But Nan Yue felt something was off, a sense of discordance she didn't fully grasp until she ran into Li Ge in the elevator on his way to work.
"Finished breakfast?"
Li Ge no longer looked as nervous as he had when Nan Yue invited him to her room yesterday. He actually looked quite presentable.
Looking at Li Ge's smile, Nan Yue suddenly realized that her relationship with him was actually quite good.
Aside from not opening the door for him on the first night, she had greeted him frequently yesterday, hadn't reported his peeping, and had even invited him to eat fruit that evening.
No matter how she looked at it, their relationship was harmonious, as evidenced by Li Ge's friendly reaction now.
Yet, she had still been terrorized.
Thinking of that woman's gaze from last night, Nan Yue had no doubt that if it weren't for the restrictions of the rules, she might have been devoured.
That was when Nan Yue realized the source of her unease: the terror some people experienced didn't come from their neighbors.
It was true that Lu Li and Pu Kun were troubled by their neighbors' behavior.
But she and Luo Feifei clearly weren't being pestered by their neighbors—at least, not directly.
Was there a connection?
When Nan Yue stepped out of the elevator, she saw Chi He knocking on Granny Zhao's door.
Whether no one was home or she simply didn't want to see him, Granny Zhao never opened the door.
Chi He heard the movement and looked back, giving Nan Yue a bitter smile when he saw her.
"It seems my neighbor isn't very fond of me. I'll probably have to put in quite a bit of effort to win her over."
Nan Yue paused at his words, then her eyes lit up.
She knew what the key was!
She and Luo Feifei shared a commonality: they were on good terms with their neighbors, and because of that, they were attacked by a different force.
Thinking of the woman from last night and Xiao Min's avoidance when asked if Li Ge lived alone, an idea struck her.
Could that woman... be someone living with Li Ge?
And she had attacked Nan Yue because Nan Yue's favorability with Li Ge had reached a certain level.
Nan Yue posted her thoughts in the group chat. Lu Li and Gu Xiang Kai were the first to respond, and their replies were simple and sincere.
"Thanks."
Nan Yue was undoubtedly the Scavenger with the most clues and the quickest grasp of the situation so far. This had nothing to do with age or experience. It simply showed she was highly talented.
But there were also those who disagreed, like Zhang Qingyang.
"According to what you're saying, I've also reached a certain level of favorability with my neighbor, just like you guys. So why haven't I been attacked?"
Nan Yue thought for a moment before replying, "I'm leaning toward two possibilities. One is that because you invited her into your home—assuming this other force was once victimized by the neighbor—they wouldn't dare appear while Qingqing was in your room."
"The other reason might be that something did happen, but you just don't know it."
It was a simple analysis, but that last sentence made the hair on the back of Zhang Qingyang's neck stand up.
He wanted to argue but didn't know what to say. He knew deep down that Nan Yue's assessment might be right because he hadn't told the whole truth.
Last night, he and Qingqing hadn't had sex, but she hadn't left either. She had slept at his place.
It wasn't that he didn't know NPCs in a mission could be dangerous, especially in this one.
But he had always been alone. He wasn't popular with women, and he looked down on women who were stronger than him.
He also envied Scavengers who found partners during missions, or even just partners to vent their desires with.
Then Qingqing appeared. She didn't need sweet talk or him spending points to please her. She was the one trying to win him over.
Qingqing's worldly air made Zhang Qingyang look down on her a bit, yet she was undeniably beautiful and charming.
For some reason, he couldn't help but feel his heart stir whenever he saw her.
But that was as far as it went. Zhang Qingyang had no intention of losing his life here.
In any case, his favorability with Qingqing was definitely high enough. As long as he stopped there, even if something happened, it would just be a scare and wouldn't kill him.
No matter what, he couldn't let Qingqing into his room tonight.
When Zhang Qingyang stopped responding in the group chat, Nan Yue had a good idea of what was going on.
But ultimately, everyone had to survive the mission on their own. All she could do was share her thoughts.
Nan Yue: "Did anyone find any clues in the newspapers?"
The others probably hadn't looked very closely, as it was Gu Xiang Kai who replied again.
Gu Xiang Kai: "I found something, though I don't know if it's related. It says a little girl's body was found in South Lake."
Lu Li: "A little girl? Is South Lake the one the bus passes by?"
Gu Xiang Kai: "How should I know?"
Lu Li: "Thanks. I owe you one."
Missions rarely contained useless clues. Although no names were mentioned, the only little girl in the apartment was Lu Li's neighbor, which provided a clear direction for her, who had previously been in the dark.
Seeing that there were actual clues in the newspapers, the others suddenly became interested and began reading behind closed doors.
Nan Yue only had a few copies left, so she planned to head out for a walk during the day.
Across from the intersection outside was a bus stop. Nan Yue stood by the roadside waiting for a bus, boredly watching the broken traffic lights flicker randomly.
Turning her gaze, Nan Yue noticed something in the middle of the intersection—or more accurately, something on the ground.
Checking the empty road for traffic, she quickly walked toward the center of the intersection.
There was a small black mark on the ground. Nan Yue knelt down and touched it, her fingers coming away coated in a layer of black ash.
This was...
It looked like the residue left from burning something.
While Nan Yue was deep in thought, a bus suddenly sped toward her from the distance without any warning, on the verge of hitting her as she stood in the middle of the road.
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