Chapter 4

The female player who had been puzzled finally reacted a few beats later.
"You mean our game tasks have already been arranged, just waiting for us to trigger them? The purpose of us playing the game and completing tasks is to entertain the god, to please the god. That means our fundamental task in playing this game is to amuse the god! Is it a devil? Watching us like a show, running around like fools..."
Gu Yi'an agreed with the latter part of the female player's words.
She was quite right, this so-called god seemed more like a devil.
However, it was better to keep such thoughts to oneself rather than voice them aloud.
From the fact that this god only enjoyed hearing praises, it was highly likely to be petty-minded.
Gu Yi'an raised her right index finger to her lips and whispered softly.
"Shh! The god is watching you."
The malicious god had been observing them all along.
The female player's previously frantic and agitated emotions were instantly doused like cold water.
Her gaze turned vacant, and she fell silent.
The other players shared similar sentiments but dared not speak them aloud, remaining quiet instead.
Gu Yi'an didn't want to look at their disheartened faces.
She glanced elsewhere and happened to see the little boy struggling to carry a tray with six cups of tea, carefully stepping over the threshold.
"Let me help."
Gu Yi'an stood up and approached.
The little boy kept his eyes fixed on the six cups of tea on the tray, taking small, cautious steps.
"Sister Gu, I can do it."
His expression was resolute as he slowly made his way to the stone table.
Gu Yi'an watched him closely, just in case.
Brother Zhang and the most talkative male player stood up when they saw the boy approaching and offered to take over.
The little boy's usually distant expression toward them softened slightly.
But he was stubborn; even though the six cups on the tray wobbled precariously, clearly beyond his strength, he refused to let Gu Yi'an or the other two help him carry it.
The three players still seated, one man and two women, included one woman who seemed dazed and detached, while the other two kept an eye on the tray the boy was holding.
After much effort, the little boy managed to carry the tray safely to the stone table, with only the final step of placing it down remaining.
"Clatter! Bang, thud, thud, thud."
At the last moment, the boy's hands faltered, and the tray crashed onto the stone table, sending tea splashing everywhere.
Brother Zhang and the others immediately stepped back, avoiding the splashes. Only the woman who had been out of it the whole time got tea on her clothes, as the rest had moved away in time.
Gu Yi'an, who had stood up earlier, was now behind the little boy. She quickly pulled him aside and asked,
"Huzi, are you okay?"
The little boy shook his head and pointed at the seated female player. "That sister might be hurt."
The splashed woman tugged at her clothes, noticing the wet stains. Under normal circumstances, she would have been upset, but after all she had experienced that day, she no longer had the energy to care and simply sat there without a word.
Brother Zhang observed the situation, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
He subtly moved away from the dripping edge of the stone table, ensuring he didn't come into contact with any of the tea.
Gu Yi’an had been keeping an eye on Brother Zhang, so she immediately noticed his small gesture.
After the little boy answered Gu Yi’an's question, he began tidying the messy stone table.
Gu Yi’an hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to help straighten the overturned teacups.
Seeing Gu Yi’an's action, Brother Zhang once again looked at her with an incredulous expression.
His gaze was exactly the same as when he had last seen Gu Yi’an helping an elderly woman who had fallen on the ground.
Brother Zhang's eyes flickered, and he suddenly spoke.
"Do you need my help?"
He chose to speak just as the little boy and Gu Yi’an were almost done cleaning up.
Gu Yi’an, holding two teacups in her hands, glanced at Brother Zhang before quickly looking away.
Compared to Gu Yi’an's subtle disdain, the little boy was much more direct. Holding a tray, he gave Brother Zhang a strange look and said, "Everything's already done. Why would we need your help now?"
Brother Zhang, thick-skinned as ever, showed no sign of embarrassment and replied, "I spoke too late."
Since Gu Yi’an had taken care of four teacups, the little boy had a much easier time carrying the rest back. Gu Yi’an naturally followed him.
Brother Zhang also wanted to tag along, but the little boy turned and gave him a disdainful look.
The little boy said, "If you really want to help, go get some vegetables from that room. It's almost noon, and I suppose you haven't eaten yet either."
He gestured with his eyes toward the middle room facing the courtyard wall.
The layout of his house was rather strange, likely because it was a self-built structure put up haphazardly. Three sides of the house enclosed a small courtyard.
Each side had a door, but only one side had windows; the others had none.
Brother Zhang glanced at the tightly shut door of the middle room and, considering the players' penniless situation, said to the little boy, "We don’t expect free meals either. Ahem... we’re on a budget trip and don’t have much money. If there’s any work to be done, just assign it to us."
He used the identity that Gu Yi’an had fabricated for them.
The little boy had little patience for Brother Zhang's words. "Sister Gu, let's go. Your friend talks way too much."
He didn’t bother lowering his voice, and everyone present heard him.
Brother Zhang acted as if he hadn’t heard anything and said to the novice players who were watching him with amusement, "Don’t just stand around. Time to get to work."
Gu Yi’an followed the little boy into the only room with windows.
It was from this room that the little boy had earlier brought out tea for them.
Upon entering, Gu Yi'an realized it was actually a suite. The room by the entrance wasn't large, but every wall had a door leading to other rooms.
Gu Yi'an followed the little boy toward the innermost door when suddenly, a sharp, piercing scream echoed from behind.
"Ahhh, "
From the sound, it seemed to be coming from the middle room.
Gu Yi'an turned around and saw five players, including Brother Zhang, scrambling out of the middle room in a panic.
They looked around frantically, and one male player accidentally caught sight of Gu Yi'an inside the room.
Terrified, he shouted at her, "Don't go with him! He's a ghost!"
Brother Zhang also spotted Gu Yi'an. His expression was grim as he called out, "Little Gu, come out first."
What had happened?
Holding the teacup, Gu Yi'an stood still.
It was obvious that the little boy was suspicious.
This game clearly required interacting with the little boy to trigger other events.
It seemed Brother Zhang and the others had successfully triggered something.
A novice player tried to climb over the courtyard wall to escape.
Another novice player clung tightly to Brother Zhang, too scared to do anything else.
Brother Zhang stared intently at the little boy and Gu Yi'an inside the room.
With the players making such a commotion, the little boy placed the plate on the only square table in the room.
"Sister Gu, put it here."
At this point, Gu Yi'an naturally followed the little boy's instruction.
Seeing that Gu Yi'an wasn't afraid of him and had placed the teacup as he said, the little boy happily took her arm.
"Sister Gu, they're too cowardly. Good thing you're not."
As the little boy approached, Gu Yi'an's body involuntarily stiffened.
When he took her arm, she felt as if that arm had gone completely numb.
It wasn't that she wasn't afraid, she just didn't show it as obviously.
Gu Yi'an felt very much like a hostage being held captive.
Arm in arm with the little boy, they walked out into the courtyard.
The players, drenched in sweat, slowly backed away until they were pressed against the wall.
Ignoring them, the little boy led Gu Yi'an into the middle room and pointed at something inside, saying, "Sister Gu, that's the dish for lunch."
Gu Yi'an was truly bewildered.
The first thing she saw upon entering the room were two pitch-black coffins lying on the floor!
Just as her gaze instinctively flinched away, she happened to hear the little boy's words.
Gu Yi'an subconsciously followed the direction of his pointing finger.
She saw grayish-white mushrooms!
Grayish-white mushrooms growing from the bottom of the pitch-black coffins!
Was this what they were going to eat later?!
When Gu Yi'an regained her composure, she looked up and saw two photo frames hanging on the wall under the dim yellow light. Beside the frames were electric candle-shaped lamps.
Normally, the frames should have contained photos, but Gu Yi'an didn't see any portraits.
Strange, she should have noticed the portraits quickly.
Gu Yi'an looked down at the mushrooms again.
This time, the mushrooms seemed tinged with a yellowish hue under the light.
"Sister Gu, these mushrooms are really delicious," the little boy enthusiastically shared his knowledge of their texture.
Gu Yi'an forced a stiff smile.
Mushrooms are fungi. If they grew from coffins, they should still be edible, right?
Half an hour later, Gu Yi'an, Brother Zhang, and the other players gathered around a square table in the only room with a window.
Gu Yi'an occupied one side of the table alone, while the other four players squeezed together in pairs, taking up the other two sides.
The five players glanced at the single dish on the table, mushroom soup, and their expressions turned grim.
They had no desire to eat it. They had secretly observed the mushrooms the little boy had picked from the coffin, but since the boy had invited them to dine, they dared not refuse.
Gu Yi'an broke the silence first.
"Shall we talk?"
The little boy had gone to cook, leaving the players a good opportunity to communicate.
The other four players remained silent, tacitly agreeing.
Gu Yi'an asked, "One player is missing. What happened to him?"
She remembered a talkative male novice player, though she hadn't memorized his name.
At her question, the two female players seemed to recall something unpleasant, their faces turning particularly pale.
Brother Zhang replied, "He tried to climb the wall and resist the game. The god punished him."
"Be more specific," Gu Yi'an pressed.
"Snapped in half at the waist. He died."
After describing the manner of death, Brother Zhang didn't forget to flatter the god, adding, "Death was the god's mercy toward him."
Gu Yi'an found this ridiculous. Clearly, the god was warning them that refusing to play meant death.
How was using death as a threat in any way merciful?
Even so, Gu Yi'an followed suit, keeping a straight face as she said, "The god has always been so just and forgiving."
It was all for survival, to avoid ending up like that male player, dead and utterly destroyed.
Gu Yi'an's gaze darkened.
She moved on to her next question, "What did you see in that room?"
What had they witnessed that made them think the little boy was a ghost?
Brother Zhang and the others immediately showed signs of lingering fear.
One of the female players seemed about to speak, but Brother Zhang beat her to it.
Brother Zhang said, "Information exchange should be mutual. We can't keep answering your questions for free."
Gu Yi'an remained calm. "What do you want to ask me?"
Brother Zhang glanced at the other players.
Gu Yi'an smiled. "You can discuss it among yourselves. I don't mind."
The other players hesitated, looking from Brother Zhang to Gu Yi'an.
Brother Zhang sighed and said, "Everyone has their own thoughts. It's hard to reach a consensus. Well, I'll shamelessly ask the question that's most useful for our survival right now."
Upon hearing this, the other players concealed their own hidden agendas and quickly voiced their agreement, saying they’d let Brother Zhang ask the questions and that they trusted him.
To be honest, Gu Yi’an had no idea when she had acquired the information that could ensure everyone’s survival.
Brother Zhang had casually pinned a big responsibility on her.
Refuting him now would be difficult, as it might make others think she was deliberately withholding information.
Gu Yi’an glanced at the group, putting on a faint, insincere smile as she said, “In that case, if you want to survive, you should trust me even more, right? Brother Zhang has a track record.”
Brother Zhang had previously claimed that the task was to survive for seven days, but that had all been a lie.
The new players had a rough idea about this, they knew Brother Zhang’s words were false, but to stay alive, they clung to him, not daring to question his earlier actions.
Gu Yi’an’s words made the three new players start to reconsider.
Although Gu Yi’an was a girl, her calm and composed demeanor, combined with the fact that even the experienced Brother Zhang believed she had a way to survive, made them think that following her might be their best chance to clear the game.
Brother Zhang was well aware of the other players’ thoughts. He didn’t show it on his face and ignored Gu Yi’an’s earlier remark, directly posing his question.
“How should we interpret the phrase ‘Kindness is a sin’ from the beginner’s hint?”