Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 902 The Old Field Mouse's Good Look

"..."

He Lingling and An Jie looked at Yu Shijiu's hairy arm with solemn expressions. In the end, He Lingling slowly nodded.

"...You're right, that might really be a solution, but we must be extremely cautious. It must be done in an environment that we can control, and we must make Thumbelina understand that we are actively triggering a minor danger, rather than being in a passive, victimized role."

After thinking about it, Anjie and Chen Yi did not raise any objections.

Yu Shijiu was even less likely to do so; he couldn't wait to get out and properly loosen up his muscles and bones with those strange things.

Seeing that no one had offered any opinions, He Lingling quickly connected all the clues and guesses and soon came up with a plan.

Her plan wasn't complicated; it was roughly to observe the interaction between the old field mouse and Thumbelina during dinner and look for opportunities to keep them from getting too close.

After nightfall, they tried to lure Thumbelina out, citing reasons such as "worrying that Swallow's injury might have worsened" or "hearing strange noises in the room." They made contact in a corner of a burrow passage, relatively far from Old Field Mouse's bedroom, where they had made some simple preparations beforehand (they could use towels or other items from their system inventory to slightly cover the walls).

At the same time, if Yu Shijiu's mind is not corrupted, he can also try to actively sense or even slightly "provoke" the claws in the surrounding soil, observe Thumbelina's reaction after seeing them appear, and take the opportunity to reveal information such as their discovery of the bracelet and the cave of corpses.

"...If danger is encountered, especially if the claws appear in large numbers, or if the old field mice suddenly appear, everyone must immediately retreat back to the room to protect themselves."

Anjie gave a final, serious reminder, pinching her brow as she said, "Remember, our primary goal is to survive and advance our exploration, not to fake our deaths once."

Although you don't actually "die" in guild battle dungeons... Ange still doesn't want to see the corpses of her teammates who have sacrificed themselves.

Even if it's fake.

Everyone nodded solemnly.

Anjie couldn't help but stare at Yu Shijiu, who was also nodding, for several moments, then sighed and said:

"Shi Jiu, please don't go out alone tonight, okay?"

The group then turned to look at Yu Shijiu.

Yu Shijiu, who was being stared at, blinked and nodded obediently: "Okay."

“…” Anjie immediately felt much more at ease.

Although she still didn't quite believe that Yu Shijiu would obediently listen to her...

——————Main room.

As evening approached, the five of them finished resting and went to the main room.

After the five people entered the main room, they saw dinner laid out on the table.

Tonight's dinner was indeed a bit more "sumptuous." In addition to the same bland soup as the previous days, there were several pieces of meat stewed until they were so mushy that they were unrecognizable, as well as some darker-colored fungi that looked like some kind of mushroom.

The food still smelled similar to the familiar sweet and rotten smell of the cave, and the meat in the wooden bowl had an indescribable fishy odor.

Thumbelina was standing by the table, head down, stirring the mushrooms and roots in her bowl. Her expression was calm, and she seemed not to hear the approaching footsteps of the group.

Xu Han walked quickly to the table and looked down. He examined the unknown meat in the bowl several times, and a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

Do field mice actually eat meat?

How come he remembers that field mice don't eat meat?

Just as Xu Han hesitated whether to ask He Lingling, familiar heavy footsteps suddenly came from the entrance of the main room.

The group immediately fell silent.

At the entrance to the main room, the old field mouse slowly walked in, leaning on his cane, and looked at them inside with a smile.

"Why are you all standing here? Are you waiting for me?"

The old field mouse took a few more steps forward, his eyes showing satisfaction: "Thanks to the hard work of you good children in cleaning and tidying up these past few days, my burrow is much cleaner now."

"..." The five of them exchanged quick glances, instantly adopting a shy yet delighted (because of the compliment) expression, and bowed their heads in response: "You flatter us, it's what we should do."

"They're all good kids, they're all good kids..."

The old field mouse was clearly pleased with their response, and happily continued walking forward. After sitting down at the table, he warmly invited them to sit down and eat as well.

"What are you all standing for? Come on, sit down."

The five of them obediently sat down according to the old field mouse's directions.

“You are all good children.” The old field mouse began to stir the wooden bowl in front of it, which was filled with mushrooms and root grains, and looked kindly at Thumbelina, who had just sat down next to him.

"And you, Thumbelina."

The old field mouse paid special attention to Thumbelina, who had her head down, and gently patted the back of her hand with its other paw that wasn't stirring the wooden bowl.

"You must eat more and take good care of your health."

The old field mouse sighed, "The guest who's coming tomorrow night likes pretty girls who look healthy and rosy. He doesn't want his wife to look too shabby and thin."

Thumbelina, who was being "guided" by it, turned pale and just nodded mechanically. She hardly dared to look up and make eye contact with the old field mouse the whole time.

Anjie frowned as she watched Thumbelina and the old field mouse's "interaction." Her hand holding the wooden spoon twitched slightly. Just as she was about to speak, she heard footsteps coming from the doorway of the main room.

Fang Youhua and Yang Hua also appeared.

"I'm sorry, Grandma Field Mouse, I'm late. There was just too much dust in one area. I figured since I'd already cleaned it up, it wouldn't be right to leave it uncleaned, so I was a little late..."

Fang Youhua walked in with a look of shame in her eyes. Yang Hua, who was following behind her, kept his head down and didn't say anything, but just followed Fang Youhua step by step.

The old field mouse's expression softened even more at the sight of these two obedient "good children," and upon hearing this, he nodded with a kind smile and said:

"No rush, no rush. Dinner has just been prepared. Come and sit down with us for dinner."

"We're late, we're so sorry to have kept everyone waiting so long..."

Despite the old field mouse's friendly demeanor, Fang Youhua remained gentle and compliant, responding appropriately to every word he said. After sitting down, she even took the initiative to inquire about Mr. Mole's preferences, indicating that she and Yang Hua would definitely prepare a proper reception for this distinguished "guest" the following evening.

Compared to Fang Youhua's ease and composure, Yang Hua appeared much more nervous, his gaze frequently glancing towards Yu Shijiu and the others. In particular, when he saw Yu Shijiu's arm wrapped in bandages, a look of surprise and uncertainty flashed in his eyes.

Sister Fang... what Sister Fang said was actually true... Yu Shijiu's arm, was her arm really contaminated by some kind of monster?

Thinking of this, Yang Hua's heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally began to calm down.