Chapter 19: Manipulating Emotions

Season Chenling pressed his fist against his lips, his eyes shimmering with an uncontrollable smile.

Lu Xi reached out and gently pinched his waist, gritting her teeth and whispering, “Stop laughing.”

In this world, there are no eternal enemies or friends—only shared interests.

Right now, everyone needs to pool their clues together to figure out exactly where the “door” in Muguan Village is.

When alone, Lu Xi often felt it was fine to be a stagnant fish, content without ambition; as long as she was alive, it didn’t matter which world she existed in.

But now was different. With a sly little green tea girl clinging to her side, Lu Xi’s sense of responsibility had risen just a little.

If possible, she wanted to acquire more skills or tools to ensure survival.

“Ahem, then I’ll share the clues I’ve found,” Lu Xi cleared her throat and sat up straight before speaking.

“I think… everyone here is dead.”

“That’s obvious, isn’t it? Would living people be chasing us with knives?” Chen Yiyi rolled her eyes.

Lu Xi replied, “What I mean is, the villagers who seem normal during the day aren’t really human.”

Her words fell silent among the group.

Lu Xi continued, “Muguan Village—‘Mu Guan’ literally means coffin. For example, this entire village is like a coffin, and the door that can take us out of here is like the lid of that coffin. Only by prying open this coffin lid can we have a chance to escape.”

“But what conditions must be met to trigger the appearance of this coffin lid—the door—is what we need to figure out now. I got a clue from Cuicui’s home. Her mother left this place, and the villagers seem unwilling to let women leave.”

Hence, the villagers keep blocking players from leaving, yet the village chief doesn’t behead the female players.

This is certainly not out of any chivalrous sentiment; rather, women in this dungeon plane are more like a resource.

A resource that must not be “wasted” by killing.

Gu Yun raised her hand, her voice as weak as a mosquito’s buzz: “Um…”

“Can you speak up? There’s no danger now, so why are you so timid?” Chen Yiyi’s mood was particularly bad today, and she was quick to ignite.

Even the slightest matter could provoke her anger, and her words were laced with barbs.

“Gu Yun is just shy and afraid to speak loudly. Do you have to get so mad?” Meng Yuanyuan couldn’t stand it and spoke up for Gu Yun.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yiyi shot her a glare. “Shut up. And how dare you lecture me? You’re always snapping at your own mother—such a little lady’s attitude…”

Zhang Qiulan tugged her daughter’s sleeve and flashed a conciliatory smile to the others, speaking shyly, “We’re all friends here, let’s not…”

“All right, everyone, stop arguing. Harmony brings wealth,” Jiang Yanyan said softly, and the tension eased.

Zhang Qiulan swallowed the rest of her words and gently stroked her daughter’s hair.

Lu Xi watched, stunned.

The oppressive environment easily affected everyone’s emotions.

But everyone had been far too obedient to the original story’s heroine.

It was as if whenever Jiang Yanyan spoke gently, everything could be resolved.

Gu Yun’s eyes reddened, and under Jiang Yanyan’s encouraging gaze, she went on: “I chatted with Aunt Liu at the village entrance during the day and got a clue from her.”

“She told me about her school days. I thought her manner of speech didn’t seem like someone from a mountain village, so I asked about her younger years. It seems… she was trafficked here.”

After Gu Yun finished, Meng Yuanyuan shared her own observations.

“I also noticed something. Several elderly women here have crippled legs—some are lame, others have broken limbs. It doesn’t look congenital but like they were deliberately maimed.”

Lu Xi said, “I suspect this place wasn’t originally called Muguan Village, and human trafficking is rampant here. Many of the women were probably trafficked.”

“But Xi, these clues don’t amount to much,” Jiang Yanyan smiled gently, her tone friendly. “Whatever the village’s name, it won’t help us find the exit.”

If the door out of the dungeon world doesn’t appear, they’ll be trapped here forever.

“Suppose,” Lu Xi proposed, “there was a custom of buying and selling brides here. Some escaped; others didn’t. Among those who didn’t escape, there are two types: one group has resigned themselves, like those Gu Yun and Meng Yuanyuan met—they have children, bonds, and no desire to leave, some even become collaborators.”

“The other group might have been killed,” Season Chenling added.

Lu Xi nodded. “Exactly. Although the village’s name isn’t that important, it still contains clues. Coffin means no one here is truly alive. For an entire village to be wiped out, or let’s think more boldly…”

Lu Xi continued, “Could it be that all the villagers died overnight? To kill so many at the same time, besides a natural disaster, it would have to be mass poisoning or burning.”

Jiang Yanyan was about to speak when Lu Xi cut in again.

Looking around, everyone was intently watching Lu Xi, their gazes blazing.

Even Ji Yunxuan stared without blinking, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

Jiang Yanyan clenched her fists, lips tightly pressed, a barely perceptible trace of impatience deep in her eyes.

In previous dungeon worlds, players centered their hopes on her and Yunxuan as pillars of spirit.

Lu Xi had always looked at them with admiration and reverence.

But now, even this little tag-along had started to shine.

“Why do you think they were burned to death?” Ji Yunxuan asked.

Because of the freezing snow outside, Lu Xi explained, “Didn’t you notice? With so much snow, it must be well below zero, but everyone’s clothes aren’t very thick. Do you feel especially cold?”

Her words woke everyone from their daze.

Though cold, it wasn’t as freezing as the snow suggested.

Players could sense the difference between seven or eight degrees and subzero temperatures.

This was a bold guess: could what their eyes perceived not be the truth?

The heavy snowfall might only be a cover to hide the real crime.

Something the villagers didn’t want the players to detect…

Ji Yunxuan pondered briefly and nodded. “Lu Xi makes a good point.”

Daylight was short in Muguan Village, and the nights were long.

They needed to use the relative safety of daytime to search for more useful clues, to verify their current theories.

Several people armed themselves with farming tools and split up.

Season Chenling followed closely behind Lu Xi, and after the others moved away, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.

“Hey? Wh-what are you doing?” Lu Xi struggled instinctively.

“I have something to tell you,” Season Chenling lowered his head, lips near her earlobe, whispering, “There’s someone among those players with an emotion control skill.”

Lu Xi froze, turning to him with wide eyes. “Really?”

Emotion control?

She immediately thought of Chen Yiyi’s sudden fiery temper and frowned.

Chen Yiyi could be difficult sometimes, but she wasn’t prone to exploding at the slightest provocation.

The one who flared up easily was clearly Meng Yuanyuan.

However, Meng Yuanyuan’s bad temper was only toward her own mother, Zhang Qiulan.

“How do you know?” Lu Xi asked curiously.