Chapter 22: Do You Plan to Keep Hiding?

After lunch, Lu Ming received the intel Yilin Ka had left by the window.

Mù Island still has three players who haven't shown up, and his eyes quickly settled on a girl's information—a nurse at the clinic.

Lu Ming decided to start by assisting at the clinic; his frequent interactions with Lin Ran might provide clues, and he handed the remaining two to Mo Yan.

Rain began again; in the distance a grayish haze stretched, and after the rain the thick cloud cover let a few beams of sunlight through.

To be safe, Lu Ming chose to use a shadow; even if he were discovered, he could vanish on the spot, and as long as he remained within Yang Xin's line of sight, the other party would still reach for his hand.

The second tier of the Phantasmal Shadow is indeed handy; many convenient tasks can be handled by the shadow.

Shifting his sight behind the shadow, Lu Ming deliberately looped around the island road, bought a hoodie at a distant spot. Pulling the hood up makes him easy to be recognized.

The clinic was open, and Lu Ming, using the intel, located the person's residence, surveyed the surroundings, confirmed no one was home, and knocked on the door.

After a moment, a burst of hurried footsteps echoed from inside, and a girl in casual attire opened the door.

Seeing Lu Ming, the girl was clearly startled.

"Zhao Zi?" Lu Ming asked, his body like a mountain that blocked the sun, casting a dark shade over the girl.

"Um…" the girl croaked, her throat trembling; her parents were also… now at home just… "If you're looking for dad… ah!"

Zhao Zi let out a soft sigh, and the boy standing there forced his way in, slamming the door behind him.

Thinking he was being robbed, he halted and stepped back: "Don't, don't… take whatever you want, I'll call the police."

Lu Ming pulled up his hood, raised his gaze: "Liao Yiran, player."

"Player…?!" the girl was slightly surprised, but her face quickly turned cold: "Tell An Xius, if you want to take part in the main quest, just…"

"An Xius is already dead," Lu Ming said. "To be exact, he's already gone."

An Xius, an old player, found a few new players at the beginning of the instance, called them together, discussed the main storyline's direction, and when unexpected events arose, he also handled one of them.

Zhao Zi, also observing from An Xius's viewpoint, never imagined that after saying just a few words to An Xius, his position would be revealed; even on Earth, the online exposure still…

"So what, who told you to hold a gathering, it's over!" Liao Yiran said, her voice a bit sharp, then softened: "Only six left, can we proceed peacefully? As long as we earn points, that's fine; the guaranteed 25 points are enough to live in the Main God Space."

Having entered the game, she had previously suffered a car accident that killed her beloved brother on the spot, and she was diagnosed to be confined to a wheelchair for life. She thought life was already bad enough, but then a home robbery occurred; the thieves took all the valuable items, and one even made lewd advances toward the girl in the wheelchair. With her fortunes wiped out, the game began.

She successfully evaded the robbery, wondering whether she was fortunate or unlucky.

"Clues?" Lu Ming ignored the other's query and pressed on with his own question.

"If you tell, can you stop pestering?" Liao Yiran said, her tone like that of a home intruder; she had once said something similar to a robber, and it nearly cost her everything.

Lu Ming stared into the other's eyes, seeing a wholly desperate look, the glimmering tears seeming to indict fate.

"Alright."

Without a goal, with dead eyes, aimless pursuit, it ends only in aimless death; terrified, even knowing where they will die.

"Alright, follow." Liao Yiran turned and descended the stairs, her steps unsteady, as if she hadn't fully adapted to walking.

Lu Ming followed to a room on the second floor.

Liao Yiran picked up a photo frame from the table, turned and thrust it into Lu Ming's hand: "Take it, it's yours; once you have it, leave quickly."

Inside the frame was a group photo; Lu Ming instantly recognized Lin Ran, Dr. Lin, who looked relatively young, with a delicate figure standing beside him—the girl from the laboratory.

"The girl's daughter?" Lu Ming asked.

Liao Yiran reluctantly said, "Yes, this photo is old; it was taken of Zhao Zi and Dr. Lin's family."

Lu Ming looked down again; indeed Zhao Zi's silhouette was there, and behind the frame was a second photo of Dr. Lin's daughter, likely taken by Zhao Zi.

"The daughter drowned a few years ago and wasn't rescued; the town's sole doctor handled all the deaths, so…"

If it's to bring his daughter back to life, then what Lin Ran did does indeed make sense.

【Main storyline:】

Initially, animal body experiments; as the so‑called resurrection technique grew more refined, it began to expand toward human bodies.

However, animal structures inherently lack self‑awareness; resurrected bodies are like walking corpses. Attempts to fuse animal genes inadvertently awakened a bloodthirsty trait in some of the revived.

They believe the technology is not yet mature and requires refinement, thus more corpses are needed; if those damned villagers also became corpses, that would suffice!

【Main storyline progress: 50%】

"We've already uncovered all the clues we can," Liao Yiran's voice trembled: "Really…"

Her fragile spirit was nearly broken by the game; the new instance, she couldn't even endure a single moment, having been abandoned by teammates for being unable to walk. The Main God Space's three… space became her only refuge, lying in bed, seated in a wheelchair, watching time drift, the world seeming…

If the points are sufficient, she even desires the space itself.

"Only six left; Lin Ran will definitely act more," Lu Ming said.

"What does that mean?"

"Perhaps he wants all the town's residents to become test subjects," Lu Ming said, gazing at the frame, voicing his conjecture.

The organizer's offering, undoubtedly a masterpiece, will let players breeze through the instance.

Lu Ming left; Liao Yiran, realizing, stepped back and collapsed onto the bed.

"… what else do you want to do?"

Lu Ming took the photo of Dr. Lin's daughter, returned the frame to its place: "Are you sure you want to keep hiding until the game ends? The organizer will definitely let players breeze through, at least the instance will."

"Staying by Dr. Lin's side, don't you find it getting stranger?"

Hearing Lu Ming's words, Liao Yiran also froze: "It seems… something."

"Do you know they're using corpses for experiments?" Lu Ming asked.

Liao Yiran's face grew horrified: "What… corpses? For experiments?"

"To bring his daughter back to life," Lu Ming stared into her eyes: "If you stay by Dr. Lin's side, you'll soon become an experimental subject yourself."

"He's dead; how could he be resurrected…" Liao Yiran murmured, having known Dr. Lin, always believing him a learned, benevolent physician.

"Believe!"

"Fine." Lu Ming, indifferent, since the clue was already secured, walked to the door, then suddenly turned back: "If you're afraid of death, go to the harbor and shout 'player'."