Nan Yue got out of bed slowly and methodically.
She picked out the brightest clothes in her wardrobe to wear.
She glanced at the flowers in the glass vase; they were about to wither.
She would replace them with new ones today.
She had already grasped the general situation of this mission.
What they needed to find was the secret of their own murders.
Everything was interlinked; the one who was killed was also the murderer.
And then?
She guessed that they would need to publicly recount the evils they had committed within the factory.
All the original hosts the scavengers played were people from the factory.
They lived in this micro-society, and every action they took while alive was to better integrate into it.
They needed to cut themselves open before their fellow workers and show their true selves.
Nan Yue was eighty percent certain of this clearance logic.
However, she didn't plan to use it herself.
The reason was simple: Xiang Guang deserved it.
At least for Li Hui, Xiang Guang deserved to die.
She would lay everything bare to the factory, including Xiang Guang's true face.
She would not use Li Hui's body to apologize to the demon who controlled and harmed her.
So when Huang Ya Nan hurried downstairs to find Li Hui, this was the Nan Yue she saw.
A Li Hui who was admiring her new clothes in the mirror, calm and full of hope.
"Huihui..."
Huang Ya Nan's eyes grew slightly red.
She seemed to remember the Li Hui from a year ago, before the marriage.
She had been smart, beautiful, sunny, and cheerful, loving bright clothes, literature, and poetry.
She wasn't the later Li Hui, who was taciturn and lifeless.
Only the flowers in the room and the cat downstairs proved she was still the same person.
But...
Huang Ya Nan thought of her own home, her children, and how if her man could just change his post, she wouldn't have to work so hard.
She wouldn't have to live a life where the couple lived in the same factory and home but never saw each other.
"Keep an eye on Li Hui for me; she's too flashy, I'm worried."
Just this once.
Once Xiang Guang helped her husband change his post, she would stop being complicit in his cruelty.
She suppressed her internal struggle and forced a smile.
"Huihui, what are you doing with those fabric stamps?"
She saw the items in Li Hui's hand, unsure where she had dug them out from.
"I traded food stamps for them," Nan Yue replied, ignoring the direct question.
"I want to buy some red cloth to make a dress."
Huang Ya Nan's expression changed.
"But... but you look good in plain colors. Besides, you're already married. If you dress so flamboyantly, people will gossip."
Huang Ya Nan wanted to say more, but Li Hui turned her head to look at her.
Meeting the other's gaze, she abruptly shut her mouth.
She had the illusion that she didn't recognize the person in front of her.
"Huang Ya Nan, doesn't your conscience bother you?"
The Li Hui before her asked this question calmly, even cordially.
Huang Ya Nan's face changed instantly.
She knew Li Hui had always known everything, but she believed Li Hui could understand her and sympathize with her difficulties.
Even though Xiang Guang was like that, Li Hui's life was still good; she didn't have to worry about food or clothing.
In marriage and life, how could everything go perfectly?
Furthermore, she still had Zhang Xiaotian.
Huang Ya Nan's face flushed with anger and embarrassment. "Li Hui! What are you saying? What have I done? My conscience is perfectly fine!"
Huang Ya Nan unleashed a torrent of words while Nan Yue watched her quietly.
Only as she spoke did Huang Ya Nan realize she was overreacting, which instead made her look guilty.
She fell silent, wanting to say something to soften the tension, but she couldn't bring herself to back down.
But Li Hui simply smiled, as if seeing something ridiculous, her expression filled with coldness and disdain.
Huang Ya Nan felt as though a pit were stuck in her throat, unable to swallow or spit it out, leaving her stifled.
"Is that so?"
Nan Yue walked past Huang Ya Nan and headed straight out.
"I, for one, believe in karmic retribution."
"As long as one has a clear conscience, it's fine."
Li Hui left, leaving Huang Ya Nan standing there.
Her face turned ashen, as if she had aged several years in an instant.
She stood in place, murmuring to herself.
"Karmic... retribution."
Nan Yue went to the cafeteria to get her food.
She lined up and bought porridge and steamed buns, then spotted Huang Ya Nan.
The other woman seemed to want to say something to her, but Nan Yue ignored her.
Huang Ya Nan didn't find it appropriate to discuss private matters in front of so many people.
She didn't even dare let others see that her relationship with Li Hui had changed.
People would gossip.
Where there are many people, there is much gossip, even if the factory was like one big family.
Nan Yue didn't eat in the cafeteria either, because she saw Wen Xiang Yuan loitering outside.
Nan Yue finished her porridge in a few gulps and walked out with the steamed buns.
Wen Xiang Yuan was holding medicine, looking like she was there to deliver it.
When she saw Nan Yue, she nodded somewhat distantly.
But Nan Yue knew that Wen Xiang Yuan was definitely there for her.
Sure enough, as they brushed past each other, Wen Xiang Yuan lowered her voice.
"Something happened to Zhou An."
Simply put, Zhou An didn't die, but he vanished from the factory.
Granny Zhao spat at the mention of that man, telling her not to ask about such a beast.
Wen Xiang Yuan felt something was wrong and came to tell Nan Yue.
The scavenger playing Zhou An must have died, but the character Zhou An hadn't. He was just no longer in the factory.
That meant Zhou An himself didn't die in the cycle of karma.
It was just that because the scavenger died, he returned to his original fate.
Nan Yue nodded slightly.
She would go find out. Zhou An was related to Wen Xiang Yuan, and his fate was linked to the clues regarding Zhao Yao.
Nan Yue finished the steamed buns on her way.
By the time she reached the factory office, Jiang Siyan was already there.
As she stuffed the last bite of the bun into her mouth, Jiang Siyan greeted her with a smile.
"Have some water so you don't choke."
Nan Yue took the enamel cup from Jiang Siyan; the water inside was perfectly warm.
Since there were no outsiders, it wasn't a violation of the rules.
Being teammates, Nan Yue didn't mind and lifted it to take a few sips.
Jiang Siyan's eyes crinkled with a smile.
Nan Yue briefly told Jiang Siyan what Wen Xiang Yuan had said.
Jiang Siyan raised an eyebrow and began flipping through the factory archives.
Nan Yue stood to the side and watched for a moment, then suddenly frowned.
"Why is there blood on your collar?"
Jiang Siyan paused, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
"It's nothing."
Nan Yue tilted her head to observe him.
The man looked normal, but his eyes were slightly red, with bloodshot veins deeper than those caused by mere exhaustion.
It looked like... an external injury.
Could Jiang Siyan be injured?
Nan Yue didn't believe it; at least, the current mission difficulty shouldn't be enough to cause that.
That meant he had done it himself.
Why?
Nan Yue thought of Tang Yu's somewhat twisted affection for Li Hui.
According to their deduction, Tang Yu must have killed Li Hui for some unknown reason and was being haunted by her.
So the vengeful spirit Jiang Siyan saw at night should appear in Nan Yue's image.
Nan Yue was a clever person; a little thought made her understand.
She guessed Jiang Siyan had been triggered by the vengeful spirit that shared her appearance.
This man was a bit of a madman himself.
Well... Lan Jing Shui had specifically warned her to watch out for him.
It was just that Jiang Siyan was usually too normal and his awakened ability too powerful, so she had overlooked it.
Rate on N.U.
