Chapter 81: Details

"Xiao Yong!" Before the others could react, Zhu Dechang barked first, his tone slightly heavy.

The shout seemed to make the flames in the oil lamp flicker gently.

He then turned to Jiang Liuxue and said:

"You did nothing wrong. Any single suspicious thing is worth attention."

"……"

After all, he had organized everyone and shown considerable ability, so Xiao Yong, seeing this, said nothing more.

"Can you recall any more details?"

Facing Zhu Dechang's question, Jiang Liuxue tried hard to remember:

"Let me think… I think I saw that in the dream, Zhou Lan… was wearing a beige vest, a pair of jeans, and a black leather belt at her waist…"

As she recalled, Xiao Yong's expression gradually changed!

In his mind, a certain memory faintly surfaced.

"Right!" Recalling this far, Jiang Liuxue seemed to suddenly realize something! Her beautiful eyes widened:

"That Zhou Lan actually looked taller, more masculine in build! Only the face was Ms. Zhou Lan's."

What? Zhou Lan heard this and was stunned.

The others were also confused by what they heard.

What… kind of nonsense is this?

"So is the person you saw actually me or not?" Zhou Lan couldn't help but ask.

"Not sure…" Jiang Liuxue fell silent.

But they hadn't noticed that Xiao Yong's expression had already completely changed. The dim yellow firelight in the room cast heavy shadows across his rugged middle-aged face.

But because of the lighting, and because Xiao Yong's expression quickly composed itself, the others didn't notice anything off about him.

"Anything else?" Zhu Dechang asked again, and seeing Jiang Liuxue shake her head slightly, said:

"Everyone keep it in mind, pay extra attention from now on.

"Especially Xiao Yong and Zhou Lan—you two need to pay extra attention."

Everyone nodded, except Xiao Yong—he hesitated, then said uncertainly:

"Um, could I switch rooms with Xiong Lihui?"

? Everyone looked at him.

Xiao Yong's expression flickered:

"Zhou Lan and I were originally sharing a room. Now that this has happened, if we keep staying together, I'm afraid…"

Between the lines, he was clearly implying that Zhou Lan was the problem!

Although Zhou Lan had long hair, she was no fool with short sight, and immediately retorted:

"You're afraid something will happen? I'm also afraid you'll cause trouble! Coward, why don't you go live outside on your own!"

Xiao Yong's face changed immediately upon hearing this,

"It was clearly Jiang Liuxue who dreamed you committing murder, so what? You've got a guilty conscience and can't sit still?"

"Hah, I'd like to ask what you're afraid of? I think you're the one with a guilty conscience!"

Ding Mo, who had been observing from the side, noticed that after hearing this line, Xiao Yong was absolutely furious!

Could it be that Zhou Lan had hit the mark—did he really have a guilty conscience?

"Enough! We're all on the same side, don't start falling apart." Zhu Dechang stepped in at the right moment to try to stop it.

But Xiao Yong seemed too angry to listen to advice at all, and simply strode forward,

Looking like he was about to give Zhou Lan a slap.

Zhou Lan's expression also changed.

"I say… stop!" Seeing the atmosphere suddenly tense, Zhu Dechang's face went cold, and he flicked his Ear Stud sharply with a finger.

Ding—!

A small, crisp sound rang out in the room.

There was no reaction… except for Xiao Yong!

After Zhu Dechang completed this series of actions, his face suddenly went white.

From his perspective, it felt as if the entire world had lost its sound—he couldn't even detect his own pulse or heartbeat!

The world was so quiet it seemed to have fallen into deathly stillness! This state lasted only a few short seconds, yet it nearly drove Xiao Yong mad!

On top of that, a metallic, trembling boom came from the horizon and instantly enveloped him!

"Ugh—!" Xiao Yong went 'bang' and dropped rigidly to the floor.

But by then, Zhu Dechang's Ear Stud had already stopped ringing.

Only then did some color return to Xiao Yong's pale face, as he lay on the ground gasping for breath and dry-heaving.

Everyone watched the scene in surprise, but in their hearts, they weren't entirely surprised.

As the saying goes, anyone who has survived 4 Tasks must have abilities beyond ordinary comprehension.

Otherwise, they wouldn't all submit to Zhu Dechang's leadership.

"Why must you do this to yourself." Zhu Dechang sighed, actually helped him to his feet and patted his back:

"Sorry, we can't turn on each other."

Midway, he glanced again at the Ding siblings.

Honestly, now he didn't know whether their move was good or bad.

He only hoped now that this dream was merely just a dream…

A piece of dream information whose truth couldn't be verified could already cause such an uproar—if it were real, what then?

As for Ding Mo, watching him help Xiao Yong up, he was somewhat surprised.

Zhu Dechang was wearing a pair of non-mainstream oversized platinum Ear Studs, along with a flashy suit—Xiao Yong had wondered what sort of person he was.

After spending a whole day together now, he had unexpectedly discovered that he was actually quite proper.

"I—I absolutely won't live with her!" But once Xiao Yong had recovered, he still refused to back down.

"... Fine then, I'll room with you. You go swap rooms with Xiong Lihui." Zhu Dechang could only say.

Zhou Lan had no objections at this point, but Xiong Lihui opened his mouth, a hint of displeasure on his face.

Based on Zhu Dechang's performance, he had always been the carry.

The two of them living together—Xiong Lihui had even sighed last night about how lucky he was. He hadn't expected that luck to end tonight.

He glanced at Xiao Yong discontentedly, but in the end said nothing.

Zhu Dechang had already said as much, and it was for the team's sake too—he had nothing to say.

The two of them then swapped rooms.

So, one by one, everyone returned to their rooms to rest, while Xiao Yong stayed in this room, together with Zhu Dechang.

He watched Zhou Lan disappear past the doorway with a sour expression.

Xiao Yong instinctively relaxed a little.

Just now, Jiang Liuxue's description had been eerily similar to someone in his memory.

"N-no! It must just be me overthinking. That person doesn't even exist in this world, so how could…" Xiao Yong consoled himself for a bit, then turned to look at Zhu Dechang.

"Same old rule—we take turns keeping watch." Zhu Dechang gave him a nod.

For Polluters on a Task, this was indeed the usual rule.

Xiao Yong responded, watching Zhu Dechang sit himself down on the wooden chair by the table, knowing he meant for Xiao Yong to rest first.

So he lay down on the bed.

Although the nightmare had left him still shaken, he had been tired all day and hadn't slept much the night before, so no sooner had he gotten into bed

than he fell into a deep sleep.

……

This place, it should be a dream.

Because Xiao Yong saw… a familiar figure wearing a white tank top!

He wore a yellow hard hat, his bare arms well-developed. Right now, under a sun in the sky that carried no warmth whatsoever, he was toiling away at a construction site.

Xiao Yong stood beside him in a daze, watching his back, watching him carry bricks, shovel cement, climb up and down—within half an hour he was already drenched in sweat.

But less than one-fifth of the work shift had even passed!

He could only keep on laboring; under the blazing sun, his tank top was soaked through again and again.

Day after day, every single day.

Throughout this whole process, Xiao Yong never once saw his face head-on.

Time seemed to flow unusually fast—in the blink of an eye, several years had passed,

and the accumulated sweat stains left by the figure gradually yellowed, finally making that white tank top…

dye itself an off-white yellow!

"N-no… no!" Xiao Yong saw this and shook his head in horror:

"It's not me!!"

He let out a roar, turned, and fled.