Chapter 8: Her Native Tongue Was Silence

The old ghost’s head had not yet had time to twist back into place, leaving him in a kneeling position that looked as if his legs had been snapped backward. He presented a bizarre and exaggerated spectacle to the crowd.

Everyone was stunned.

Lu Xi was equally dazed. "You... you want to bow with me?"

What kind of maneuver was this? She had expected the old ghost to simply chop off her head to use as a lantern.

At that moment, Jiang Yanyan suddenly spoke up: "Xiao Xi, hurry up and get up! Go hide somewhere safe; it’s too dangerous here."

The heroine's voice, brimming with tenderness and concern, snapped Lu Xi back to reality. She scrambled up from the ground in a flash.

The old ghost slowly began to pull himself upright, casting a cautious glance at the black cloak on Lu Xi’s body.

*Snap.*

His head slowly rotated back into its proper position.

Seeing this, the group seemed to wake from a trance. Led by Ji Yunxuan, they simultaneously unleashed their skills. Anything capable of dealing damage was hurled toward the old ghost.

A cloud of smoke rose, so thick that it obscured everything in sight.

By the time the smoke cleared, the old ghost in the blue gown had vanished from the spot. If it weren't for the scattered corpse parts and bloodstains on the ground serving as reminders of their recent harrowing encounter, one might have mistaken it all for a hallucination.

"Xiao Xi." Jiang Yanyan appeared at Lu Xi’s side, having jogged over from somewhere. She grabbed Lu Xi’s hand, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Thank goodness you’re still alive. I knew heaven would hear my prayers."

"Your prayers?" Lu Xi was completely baffled.

Jiang Yanyan offered a gentle smile. "Yes! Ever since you left, I’ve been praying to the heavens to watch over you, hoping you’d be safe. And look, you’re truly unharmed."

"So, you really should thank Yanyan for being alive," someone nearby chimed in.

Lu Xi: "..."

Her native language was speechlessness.

Although one had to abandon materialism in this survival game world, there was no need to be so devoutly reliant on ethereal concepts like heaven or deities.

In the original story, the heroine was described as gentle, kind, and possessing the temperament of a delicate white lily, making her incredibly endearing. Regardless of gender, anyone who met her would feel a natural fondness for her.

Except, of course, for the villainess.

Speaking of which, why hadn't the villainess made her entrance yet?

"Xiao Xi, did you activate some kind of skill?" Jiang Yanyan took the initiative to link her arm with Lu Xi’s. They walked side by side, leaving even the male lead, Ji Yunxuan, ignored on the sidelines.

Lu Xi stole a glance at the male lead of this world. He was very handsome and a perfect match for Jiang Yanyan, though his face was cold and haughty, with an underlying arrogance visible between his brows.

Lu Xi shook her head and replied honestly, "No."

"No skills? What about items then?" Jiang Yanyan didn't get the answer she wanted. She paused for a moment, but upon seeing that Lu Xi’s expression didn't look like she was lying, the hand that had been affectionately clutching her arm loosened almost imperceptibly.

Lu Xi continued to shake her head.

"You have no skills and no items—what on earth did you rely on to survive?" Chen Yiyi, standing nearby, leaned in, her voice filled with disbelief and excitement.

Lu Xi blinked. "Luck?"

Chen Yiyi was the girl who had acted so dramatically earlier, attracting the old ghost's attention. Upon hearing Lu Xi’s answer, she rolled her eyes, turned around, and ignored her.

A piece of trash wasn't worth the effort of buttering up.

"Since you're back, let bygones be bygones. Lu Xi, as long as you behave yourself and don't drag the team down, we can continue to protect you." Ji Yunxuan’s gaze fixed on Lu Xi.

*Hm?* A classic case of taking the moral high ground to seize the initiative.

Lu Xi tried hard to dig through her memory for the original owner's plotline. Being an inconsequential cannon fodder character, she was only briefly described at the beginning, with later events mostly glossed over in a few sentences.

However... it seemed the original owner had a crush on Ji Yunxuan?

*Ew.*

Lu Xi shuddered.

Compete with the heroine for a man? That was a guaranteed path to a miserable end.

In this survival world, everyone valued profit above all else. Within a team, people would kill each other out of selfishness, yet they would also choose to bury the hatchet if it served their interests. It was common for people who had been at each other's throats in one plane to shake hands and coexist peacefully in the next.

"Are you hungry? Eat something to replenish your energy," Jiang Yanyan said softly, handing her an apple. Every gesture she made was filled with tenderness.

After several rounds of survival, and having finished absorbing the memories of the original owner transmitted by the system, Lu Xi had basically figured out the situation.

This was a special world composed of countless strange, terrifying, and complex spaces. Each space presented its own unique scenery. The outsiders who were inexplicably dragged in—like them—were collectively known as players.

Players had to survive in these different spaces and successfully escape. If one were to die in a strange world... well, congratulations, there would be no "next time" for you. Conversely, if they successfully cleared a level, players would receive rewards. Some rewards were permanent, while others had limited uses or were one-time-use skills.

But no matter how useless a skill might be, it was still better than being a piece of trash with nothing at all.

Unfortunately, Lu Xi was currently that very burden with nothing.

Back by the cliff, after Lu Xi had left, several more people from their group had died one after another.

Lu Xi didn't reach for the apple. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

Rejected, Jiang Yanyan didn't say anything, just withdrew the apple, though the smile on her face faded slightly.

This place was called Muguan Village, and the old ghost from earlier was the village chief. During the day, the chief was no different from an ordinary person, but at night, he would "mutate" once certain conditions were met. As for what those conditions were, it remained unknown.

Since it wasn't dawn yet, the group decided not to split up for safety's sake. They gathered in an open area, piled up firewood, and held a small "bonfire party" to discuss their next move.

Lu Xi chose not to join their group. The original owner had stayed with them for so long, and in the end, no profound, moving friendship had ever been cultivated. Lu Xi didn't want any further entanglement with them, so she found a pile of hay and curled up comfortably inside. It would save them from forcing her to be a sacrificial lamb next time.

The cold moon hung in the sky, and the temperature dropped sharply at night, but with this magical cloak, she didn't feel much of the chill.

Footsteps approached from afar. Everyone immediately tensed, staring in unison at the source of the sound.

Thankfully, it was living people. The group let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Xi craned her neck to look. It was that mother and daughter, along with Jiang Chen.

She leaned back again, unzipped her bag, and prepared to choose some food. To her surprise, there was a self-heating hot pot in the bag. Lu Xi’s eyes lit up instantly.

Mountain village environments were nothing like cities; not only was transportation underdeveloped, but daily facilities were also inadequate. Players couldn't collect high-quality supplies here; at most, they could manage to keep from starving. The apple in Jiang Yanyan’s hand—juicy, fresh, and sweet—was already considered a rare delicacy.

Though she wasn't sure if Ji Chenling was a human or a ghost NPC, he was certainly generous—all the supplies he left her were things she loved.

Jiang Chen greeted the group and soon began chatting with them. He glanced in Lu Xi’s direction but said nothing.

"Lu Xi, don't be so antisocial. Just come over here. Is it really necessary to hold a grudge about what happened before?" Chen Yiyi sneered.

Lu Xi ignored her and continued fiddling with her self-heating hot pot.

Jiang Chen stood up and walked over to her. "Put all the spicy oil in; don't waste it."

The original owner hadn't liked spicy food, but Jiang Chen was a spice addict. The label on the self-heating hot pot in her hands clearly read "Beef Spicy." He assumed the pot must have been meant for him.

*Heh.* Trying to play a game of "hard to get" with him? He figured she was still just a lovesick fool trying to win his favor again.