Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 908 Exploration

Under the watchful eyes of the other four, Yu Shijiu analyzed the situation clearly and logically, a stark contrast to his usual somewhat unconventional and rough style.

"In my opinion, the key to solving the problem might not be helping Thumbelina leave 'according to the script,' but rather..."

He paused, then said, word by word:

“Destroy the story, make the ‘gift’ disappear, or make the ‘mole’ who received the gift, or ‘the husband candidate who is similar to the mole,’ disappear completely.”

He Lingling, who had been covering her face, suddenly raised her head and stared intently at Yu Shijiu.

The boy's face was expressionless, but his eyes shone brightly, churning with a familiar excitement for destruction and chaos. But this time, there seemed to be an added layer of calmness and purposefulness within them.

He Lingling's heart was beating a little fast. She subconsciously wanted to refute Yu Shijiu's words, but the words caught in her throat and she couldn't say the next sentence.

Perhaps... perhaps Yu Shijiu is right?

He Lingling's mind was in a mess. Countless clues and plot lines kept crawling around in her brain, like countless tiny mosquitoes making annoying buzzing noises.

“The mole will be here tomorrow night,” Yu Shijiu continued. “Whether we warmly ‘welcome’ it or find a way to kill it, we have to choose a path.”

As he spoke, Yu Shijiu's lips curled into a subtle, cold smile.

"My personal suggestion is... to choose the latter."

The room was very quiet.

Xu Han seemed about to say something but then lowered his head again after An Jie noticed.

Forget it, he'd better not say anything. If he does, things will just get messed up again...

Chen Yi was the first to break the silence. He sighed, shook his head, and then said, "If it really doesn't work... then let's try Shi Jiu's idea—"

"Too dangerous."

Anjie interrupted Chen Yi, still a little worried, "What if we kill the mole and the story doesn't connect with what we expected?"

"..." Chen Yi opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Xu Han subconsciously looked at He Lingling, who hadn't said a word.

For a moment, even Yu Shijiu, who had proposed the "solution," turned to look at He Lingling.

Under the gaze of several people, He Lingling closed her eyes, let out a long sigh, and pressed her temples wearily.

"Wait one more night."

"Let's wait one more night... If the plot doesn't deviate too much from the original work, let's try it according to Shi Jiu's idea."

He Lingling said.

Outside the window (if the vent on the door can be considered a window), the night inside the cave was still dark and deep, but beneath this oppressive darkness, undercurrents were already surging.

------

Behind the crack in the door to Fang Youhua/Yang Hua's room, a pair of calm, unwavering eyes gazed toward the "Living" guild's room, as if they could see through the mud and walls to the five people inside discussing how to clear the level.

Fang Youhua lowered her head and gently stroked a cold, rough object in her pocket—a straw bracelet that she had quietly taken from the main room and left behind.

"The mole is coming..."

She moved her lips silently, revealing a very faint, elusive smile.

Fang Youhua stopped standing behind the door and quietly turned to walk towards the bed, her gaze slowly falling on Yang Hua's bed.

On the bed, Yang Hua, who had been unable to fall asleep for the first half of the night and had even pretended to be asleep, was now fast asleep and could not hear any noise in the room.

Fang Youhua quietly looked at Yang Hua's sleeping profile, blinked slowly, and then silently walked to her bedside, lowered her head, and reached out to touch the other's face.

"Be good..."

"Be good and don't run around..."

Fang Youhua whispered, "As long as we listen to you and don't run around... we'll definitely be able to leave here."

"..."

Yang Hua seemed to be dreaming of something unpleasant, and suddenly shivered in his bed for no apparent reason.

Fang Youhua reached out and pulled the blanket up over Yang Hua, then turned around and went back to her own bed, lying down and closing her eyes into darkness.

It's ok.

Almost there, less than 10% of the exploration progress remains.

soon.

------

No sleep for one night.

When the broken candles on the walls of the main room lit up again, Yu Shijiu slowly opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, he felt the tingling sensation in his left arm spread to his shoulder.

"..."

Yu Shijiu sat up and untied the cloth strip to check—the thick black and yellow hair had completely covered his entire left arm and was beginning to slowly extend towards his neck.

After a few seconds of silence, he touched his contaminated skin.

That area felt rough and hard to the touch, and was slightly cooler than normal skin. When you touched it with your fingertips, you could even feel something wriggling subcutaneously under the skin.

Even more strangely, Yu Shijiu felt that his five senses seemed to have become more acute due to the pollution.

Now he doesn't even need to concentrate to clearly "hear" the movements of those claws deep in the cave walls—today their activity seems to be more frequent, with a kind of... restlessness before the excitement.

Yes, it was lively.

The word inexplicably popped into Yu Shijiu's mind.

For the field mice living in their burrows, the arrival of the mole today is probably a grand and lively welcoming feast.

"woke up?"

Anjie's voice came from beside me. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, with dark circles under her eyes, clearly indicating that she hadn't slept well either.

"……Um."

Yu Shijiu lowered his head and wrapped the strips of cloth back together, responding softly to the words.

The other three people in the room had also woken up.

Xu Han yawned and rubbed his eyes. Chen Yi was organizing the items in his system backpack, looking troubled. He Lingling sat on a small stool in the corner, clutching a piece of dried grass bracelet in her hand, her eyes vacant, as if she was thinking about something.

On the bed, Thumbelina was still fast asleep—or rather, unconscious.

She hasn't woken up since Anjie carried her to bed last night.

"Something's not right with her."

Ange walked to the bedside, felt Thumbelina's forehead, and frowned: "Her breathing is very weak, and her pulse is very slow."

He Lingling came to her senses and came over to check. "It's probably because of too much mental stress that the body activated its protective mechanism... Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that... the old field mouse did something."

Her words made the atmosphere in the room, which had been fairly pleasant, somewhat heavy.

"Today is the last day before the mole arrives."

Chen Yi said in a low voice, "No matter which path we choose, we must act tonight."

"Brother Chen, Sister An, let's get this straight, I still stand by my opinion."

Yu Shijiu stood up, stretched her somewhat stiff body, and said with a smile:

"When the mole arrives, we'll find an opportunity to strike directly. Since 'according to the original plot' is a trap, why don't we just break free from the plot?"

"What about Fang Youhua's side?"

Xu Han asked worriedly from the corner, "They have a reception mission, so they'll definitely follow the mole the whole time. If we try to make a move, they'll definitely stop us, or do something in the chaos, right?"

This is indeed a problem.

After a moment of silence, He Lingling finally made a decision: "Let's split up."

"Sister An, Shi Jiu, and I will handle the mole. Brother Chen and Xu Han, you two will keep an eye on Fang Youhua and Yang Hua. If necessary... restrict their movements, but try not to cause fatal injuries."

She paused, a hint of helplessness in her voice: "In the end, all we really want is to survive."

So, after people die, they are absorbed by the Dawn Game. The players who are still alive now are just a group of pitiful people who regret their deaths and want to be reborn into the world.

Although there's no real death in the guild competition... He Lingling did know Fang Youhua before, so it just gives the other party more time to earn points, and it won't affect their wins or losses.

"Understood." Chen Yi nodded understandingly. "We will act according to the circumstances."

"What about Thumbelina and the swallow?"

Anjie didn't express any confusion about what He Lingling said; she just looked down at Thumbelina, who was unconscious on the bed.

"If what 'Thumbelina' said is true, and the swallow is also part of the scam... should we still save it?"

"..."

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Thumbelina, who was sleeping soundly on the bed.

The sleeping Thumbelina was completely unaware that she was the center of everyone's attention, and remained asleep with a frown.

"...Let's ignore Thumbelina for now."

He Lingling said, "Let's go to the main room first."

"Old field mouse didn't let us eat today, and Thumbelina hasn't shown any signs of waking up... It's highly likely that today is a safe free time. Let's go to the main room and see how Swallow is doing."

He Lingling's words were agreed upon by everyone.

"Okay." Anjie nodded slightly.

Chen Yi nodded in agreement: "Okay."

Xu Han immediately raised his hand: "I completely agree!"

Yu Shijiu tightened the last strip of cloth in his hand, raised an eyebrow and said, "I agree too."

"..."

——————Main room.

As the group walked smoothly into the main room, He Lingling glanced at Yu Shijiu's left arm.

“Shi Jiu,” He Lingling suddenly said, “can you still hear the sounds those claws are making today?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Shijiu raised an eyebrow and nodded: "Yes, they sound more active."

"what happened?"

Yu Shijiu looked at He Lingling and asked, "Is something wrong?"

“…No,” He Lingling turned her head away from Yu Shijiu and the other three’s gazes, “I was just wondering if those claws were actually made of field mice…”

"What else could it be but a field mouse?"

Xu Han was a little confused: "There's nothing else in this burrow besides field mice, right?"

“…Not necessarily,” Chen Yi hesitated for a moment, then whispered, “Aren’t there Thumbelina and the Swallow…and the Mole who’s coming tonight?”

“…Um,” Xu Han hesitated, then stammered, “It, they count too…”

"Why don't they count?" Anjie glanced at him, frowning. "No detail or character in the game dungeon can be ignored. Did you forget your brain today?"

"..." Xu Han scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled awkwardly:

"Um, I was just saying, haha, don't take it seriously, Sister An..."

"..." Yu Shijiu glanced at the basket in the corner of the main room.

In the corner, the basket containing the swallows was still there, but the swallows' heads, which had been sticking out, were now completely tucked into the quilt, and only a huge, bulging outline could be seen.

Yu Shijiu walked over and lifted a corner of the quilt.

The swallow in the basket still had its eyes closed, but Yu Shijiu keenly noticed that the wounds on its wings that were only partially healed yesterday had almost completely healed today, leaving only a few faint pink scars.

The healing speed is unbelievably fast.

“It’s been pretending to be asleep,” Yu Shijiu said, frowning. “Or rather, it’s accumulating power.”

"what?!"

Xu Han was so shocked that he jumped up on the spot.

"Let's take Thumbelina away and fulfill her 'mission'."

He Lingling walked over, looking at the swallows in the basket with a complicated expression.

"Whether this 'mission' is real or fake, good or bad, it will carry it out; that's its 'role setting'."

He Lingling bent down and gently covered the quilt that had spilled out of the basket back up.

"Don't worry about it for now."

Yu Shijiu lowered his head and said, "Let's deal with the mole first, then we'll decide what to do with the swallow."

Just as they expected, the old field mouse didn't show up at breakfast time.

There are only five "alive" players in the main room.

Ange dragged the basket with the swallows lying on it and placed it on the haystack near the fireplace.

Just as the group was discussing returning to their rooms, a woman's voice suddenly appeared behind them.

"Grandma Field Mouse went to prepare tonight's ingredients early this morning."

The group of people were startled and turned around at the same time.

Fang Youhua stood at the entrance of the main room. When she saw the group turn around, she smiled gently and explained in a low voice why Old Field Mouse hadn't come to the main room.

She wore a relatively neat gray dress today, and her hair looked carefully combed. She smiled slightly:

"Grandma Field Mouse said that the banquet to welcome the mole tonight is going to be very grand, and that we should also prepare well."

As she spoke, her gaze seemingly unintentionally swept over Yu Shijiu's left arm—although it was still wrapped in strips of cloth, the abnormal bulges and contours beneath the cloth revealed some clues.

Yang Hua stood next to Fang Youhua, looking down at the ground, not daring to look at anyone around him the whole time.

"Preparations?" He Lingling interjected cautiously, "What do we need to do?"

"The main thing is to tidy myself up and keep myself clean."

Fang Youhua smiled and said, "Grandma Field Mouse asked me to tell you that Mr. Mole is a very respectable and wealthy gentleman who pays great attention to etiquette and appearance."

She paused, then added, "Oh, right, Grandma Field Mouse said she'll take Mr. Mole to visit his burrow in the evening. We'll need to line up to welcome him then. Dinner will be in the main room. Xiao Hua and I will be in charge of serving the food. As for you guys... Grandma Field Mouse said you're 'guests' for now, so you just need to eat quietly."

Fang Youhua's words sounded very polite, but in reality, she was drawing a line—the reception work would be fully handled by the remaining two members of "Eye of All Things," and the five "living" people were completely excluded by her words.

"..."