The woman stopped moving the moment she heard that, staring blankly at the ceiling of the cave as she let the hideous man have his way.
Zhu Xi Ning noticed she was clutching a kingfisher feather pearl flower in her hand, her tears smearing the greasepaint on her face until her original features were unrecognizable.
Suddenly, the woman's eyes flickered; she seemed to see countless black ants crawling over Young Master Zhou's body.
Ants?
Young Master Zhou had specifically commissioned the decoration of this cave, so there shouldn't be any snakes, insects, rats, or ants here.
She wanted to look closer, but she found that there was nothing on that nauseating, pale, fleshy body.
Blood stained the hard rock where her body rubbed against it, but she didn't seem to feel it, nor could she hear the discussions and pointing from the people outside the cave anymore.
She wondered why she had seen ants covering Young Master Zhou.
And was it just her imagination, or did those ants... seem to have human heads?
Zhu Xi Ning stood in a corner of the cave, her figure swaying slightly.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn't Zhu Xi Ning's body that was swaying, but rather a continuous stream of ants crawling out of her, making the edges of her silhouette appear blurred and trembling.
Zhu Xi Ning's eyes, hidden behind the Ant God mask, were calm, like the surface of a sea brewing a storm.
She had acted on impulse; as a woman seeing another woman suffer such a thing, she had intervened since she had the means to protect herself.
But this was only an illusion, and she was merely an outsider to events that had already truly happened.
Over a hundred years ago.
There was nothing she could do.
Based on Gu Xiang Kai and Nan Yue's experience, the vengeful spirits in the illusion would be aggressive toward the mission takers, but that hadn't happened even after the tragedy ended and Young Master Zhou left triumphantly.
The girl sat kneeling on the ground with a dull expression, looking somewhat lost.
She didn't know what she was supposed to do next.
"Hurry up and come out to perform!"
Young Master Zhou's voice drifted in from outside, and the music started up again, waiting for their female lead to take the stage.
Zhu Xi Ning's anger flared even hotter; how was the girl supposed to face the people outside at a time like this?
Even if an opera performer was part of the lowest rungs of society, were they not still human?
Were they truly just playthings?
But Zhu Xi Ning could do nothing; she could only watch as the girl wiped her bloodshot eyes, straightened her clothes, and gritted her teeth before heading out.
As the illusion dissipated, Zhu Xi Ning felt a warm hand steadying her shoulder, and only then did she realize she was trembling slightly.
"Are you alright?"
Zhu Xi Ning took a deep breath, shook her head, and looked down at her screen.
To her surprise, almost no one was sending bullet comments, but her tips had reached over 600.
Zhu Xi Ning frowned slightly; for a split second back in the cave, she had caught a glimpse of the streaming screen, and it had been densely packed with blood-red bullet comments.
【He deserves to die!】
【He deserves to die!】
【He deserves to die! He deserves to die!】
【He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die! He deserves to die!】
But when Zhu Xi Ning looked closer, those bullet comments vanished as if she had hallucinated them.
Zhu Xi Ning didn't believe she had hallucinated; for a moment during the cave illusion, her stream had been affected, and what she had seen were not the viewers' comments.
Zhu Xi Ning's streaming duration ended, leaving only Jiang Siyan; it was already two in the afternoon, but the sky was so gloomy that it was hardly different from night.
"Let's go back and rest for a bit."
It had been fourteen or fifteen hours since they arrived at the mission, but the rule of each person streaming for half an hour made the pace too tense for anyone to focus on resting.
They were always worried that others might find clues, so they kept their eyes glued to the screens without any time to rest; if the mission dragged on, it would become very disadvantageous.
Having a team was an excellent choice at a time like this; Zhu Xi Ning found a room in the wooden building with slightly less death energy, where the five of them took turns resting.
There were ten hours left until midnight, and with each person standing guard for two hours, they could ensure everyone got some sleep.
Gu Xiang Kai took the first shift, while Nan Yue took the last.
The rooms in this wooden building were very cramped, but Nan Yue wasn't picky about where she stayed; she picked a top bunk, hopped up, and fell into a deep sleep within seconds of hitting the pillow.
Wen Xiang Yuan and Zhu Xi Ning also fell asleep one after another, leaving Jiang Siyan watching in awe.
In fact, he hadn't had a good rest in many years, as blood and slaughter would fill his mind the moment he closed his eyes.
He had only managed to survive until now without a mental breakdown because of a god-given awakened ability.
"Your sleep quality is all quite high," Jiang Siyan sighed.
Gu Xiang Kai glanced at Nan Yue, who was sleeping peacefully on the top bunk. "Yours will get better too."
Jiang Siyan looked puzzled.
Gu Xiang Kai pointed his thumb at Nan Yue. "Our boss's nickname is Sleeping Pill. You know about the thing inside her, right? It makes it impossible for her to rest properly in the real world for long periods."
"Later, she discovered that the thing couldn't come out to affect her in mission worlds, so she developed a habit of sleeping as much as possible during missions."
"Even though that thing can't come out in the real world anymore, Boss still sleeps better in the mission world."
Jiang Siyan said, "...That sounds truly heartbreaking."
Jiang Siyan nodded to Gu Xiang Kai and went to rest.
Gu Xiang Kai stared at the streaming screen alone; he noticed that after the initial tour of the residence, the remaining streamers were more or less being asked by the bullet comments to explore certain places.
However, many people did not comply.
On the first day, they just wanted to test the waters.
As Gu Xiang Kai's two-hour shift was nearing its end, it happened to be Jiang Siyan's turn, and Jiang Siyan's sleeping face appeared directly on the streaming screen.
Gu Xiang Kai saw that Jiang Siyan had earned nearly 80 in tips just by sleeping.
Gu Xiang Kai felt a bit annoyed.
He woke Jiang Siyan and then dozed in the room; there was no need to worry about Jiang Siyan's stream, and if something tried to enter, he could handle it.
Jiang Siyan took over the streaming camera; he had gentle eyes and a gentlemanly demeanor, being neither overly fawning nor cold, which earned him quite a bit of favor from the viewers.
He scanned the bullet comments rapidly and suddenly smiled.
"Hmm? You want me to go check the pharmacy? Sure, I'm a doctor anyway, but where is it?"
Following the prompts from the bullet comments, Jiang Siyan walked to a detached small building behind the wooden building; he heard this was the place where the performers of Liping Garden went for medical treatment.
Of course, they could also register the supplies they needed here, which would then be purchased by a dedicated servant and delivered to them.
The pharmacy was on the second floor; Jiang Siyan strode up the stairs, which let out a creaking sound.
The once sturdy and solid wood could now only struggle to hold on.
Rate on N.U.
