Was there anything wrong with standing on the side of humans?
They were also human.
Ning Su glanced at them and muttered, “Selfish humans.”
“...”
He’s scolding them, but wasn’t he also scolding himself?
The young man turned away, seemingly reluctant to talk to them, looking towards the two cute non-human kids.
Fang Qi and Pang Yang were puzzled.
Pang Yang glanced at him and said to Fang Qi, “I think he’s very clever. We should seriously consider what he’s saying.”
Fang Qi nodded. “I know. Not only is he clever, but he’s also well-liked by the high-status Miss Driver here. Maybe he knows something. Let’s think about what he means.”
Ning Su: “...”
He immediately looked at Ling Xiao.
At the same time, Ling Xiao, playing with the vine in his hand, also looked over, his eyes dark and mysterious.
However, in the warm yellow light, Ning Su unexpectedly found a faint glimmer emerging from the darkness in his eyes as he looked at him.
Ning Su’s eyelashes trembled, lifting his eyes to get a better look.
For some reason, Ling Xiao turned his head, flipped over, and climbed onto the upper bunk.
Ning Su stared at the corner of the other’s raised black windbreaker, not knowing what he was thinking, only vaguely hearing the discussion between the two in his ears.
Pang Yang: “If we don’t stand on the side of humans, then in this instance, can we only stand on the side of the dead?”
Fang Qi: “Standing on the side of the dead would mean killing the dead is a heinous crime, a huge wrongdoing...”
The two shivered.
Suddenly, they felt they had grasped the truth.
Yes, why should they stand on the side of humans?
Moreover, this was already a supernatural instance.
They were the anomalies here!
Realizing this, cold sweat broke out on both of them.
They almost went down a path of no return under the guidance of the human pupa master.
Regardless of whether one admitted it or not, everyone had a bit of a desire for strength, especially in fearful and tense environments. The brain was unable to calmly consider things and was highly susceptible to the influence of strong-willed thinking. It was easy to fall into cognitive biases and forget to question whether their thoughts were genuinely correct.
With this awareness, Pang Yang spoke again: “[Do good deeds, don’t inquire about the future.], we should also stand on the side of the dead when doing good deeds.”
Fang Qi: “...Yes.”
Doing good deeds from the perspective of the dead—
Immediately, the two thought that on the second day they entered the instance, that little salted fish gave roasted sweet potatoes to the old man!
And some wild vegetables and fruits!
This cunning little salted fish!
“And I.” Pang Yang, with a look of despair, pointed at himself, “I killed the old man’s rooster.”
Fang Qi: “......”
Fang Qi dryly comforted him, “Doing good deeds doesn’t mean not doing bad things.”
Pang Yang felt like crying.
Pang Yang: “Oh, are we players going to be killed by the dead and still have to do good things for them? Are we some kind of cosmic punching bags?”
Fang Qi: “...When did we ever have human rights in the instance? It’s good enough to survive by being unfortunate.”
Pang Yang felt even more like crying.
Pang Yang: “What should we do if the dead approached us?”
Fang Qi said, “This goes back to the initial question, how do we avoid exposing ourselves, including how not to be suspected by the dead, and when suspected and tested, how not to be confirmed as different.”
When they first entered the instance, Zhao Kehan had analyzed it with them, but what they discussed at that time was completely irrelevant now.
Talking could lead the dead into confirming that they were humans. When the dead touched Fang Qi and felt his body temperature, they didn’t think he was different.
Ning Su finally turned his gaze back to them.
Fang Qi hurriedly said, “Come, let’s discuss together!”
Pang Yang: “Yes, yes, we realize our mistake, Little Clever. Come quickly!”
The two stared eagerly at him.
Ning Su: “......”
Ning Su: “We can deduce how the corpses confirm players as anomalies by examining how Fang Qi managed to avoid the corpse that night. Let’s start by retracing the events of Fang Qi evading the corpse.”
Both nodded, and Fang Qi enthusiastically recounted the process of the corpse approaching him that night.
Ning Su said, “The corpse encountered Fang Qi, but that didn’t confirm Fang Qi as someone different.”
Pang Yang added, “This indicates that touching and feeling body temperature alone cannot confirm someone as an anomaly.”
Ning Su shook his head. “Be more precise. It should be stated that a corpse touching a player cannot confirm them as ‘alive’.”
They both paused.
Indeed, that was more precise.
...Was it too precise?
Ning Su continued, “Fang Qi survived by mainly playing dead and not responding during the process.”
Fang Qi nodded. “That’s right. No matter how the corpse called my name, I didn’t respond and didn’t move.”
Fang Qi added, “From my perspective, not responding when the corpse calls your name is a key point.”
Pang Yang said, “When the corpse approached me, it called my name too! So, if the corpse calls the player’s name, and the player responds, it confirms the player as an anomaly. That seems to be their method of confirmation.”
Ning Su shook his head.
“...”
“This point sounds reasonable, but it doesn’t make sense for the first player who died.” Ning Su recalled that night, “We had just entered the instance, and he died before even getting off the bus.”
“At that time, we appeared in a bus filled with corpses. The situation was unclear, and everyone was hiding. It wouldn’t make sense to immediately reveal our names.”
“And at that time, the corpses hadn’t evolved yet, hadn’t become intelligent and terrifying ghosts. Without hearing, how would they know the player’s name? How could they call out the name?”
Both nodded, “Right!”
Ning Su said, “Fang Qi played dead without responding, not just vocally, but also physically.”
They were stunned again.
So, there was this aspect too.
Indeed, the corpse encountered Fang Qi, but Fang Qi didn’t respond.
They suddenly understood why Ning Su emphasized the precision earlier, not just any touch, but specifically the corpse touching the player couldn’t confirm them as anomalies.
Because, when players touch corpses, it might allow the corpses to confirm that the player was different!
Ning Su: “Due to the division of buses and the dim light of the night, we don’t know the specific death situations of all players. We can only speak based on what we know.”
“The first is Fang Qi, who found out and told us that two corpses were fighting, and a player didn’t avoid it. During this process, the player might have actively touched the corpse, either grabbing or pushing it away.”
“The second one, when Zhao Kehan died, I saw him actively reaching out to help the girl in the red shirt.”
“The third one, Dong Zhengxuan, who had just died not long ago. According to Wan Bo, everything was normal before. It was only when Dong Zhengxuan held onto Lin Lin that Lin Lin appeared abnormal and killed Dong Zhengxuan.”
Pang Yang raised his hand: “And me! When that corpse came to me, I mistook him for another player on the bus, grabbed his wrist angrily, and that’s when he turned particularly terrifying.”
Suddenly, the two had a moment of enlightenment.
Was there anything wrong with standing on the side of humans?
They were also human.
Ning Su glanced at them and muttered, “Selfish humans.”
“...”
He’s scolding them, but wasn’t he also scolding himself?
The young man turned away, seemingly reluctant to talk to them, looking towards the two cute non-human kids.
Fang Qi and Pang Yang were puzzled.
Pang Yang glanced at him and said to Fang Qi, “I think he’s very clever. We should seriously consider what he’s saying.”
Fang Qi nodded. “I know. Not only is he clever, but he’s also well-liked by the high-status Miss Driver here. Maybe he knows something. Let’s think about what he means.”
Ning Su: “...”
He immediately looked at Ling Xiao.
At the same time, Ling Xiao, playing with the vine in his hand, also looked over, his eyes dark and mysterious.
However, in the warm yellow light, Ning Su unexpectedly found a faint glimmer emerging from the darkness in his eyes as he looked at him.
Ning Su’s eyelashes trembled, lifting his eyes to get a better look.
For some reason, Ling Xiao turned his head, flipped over, and climbed onto the upper bunk.
Ning Su stared at the corner of the other’s raised black windbreaker, not knowing what he was thinking, only vaguely hearing the discussion between the two in his ears.
Pang Yang: “If we don’t stand on the side of humans, then in this instance, can we only stand on the side of the dead?”
Fang Qi: “Standing on the side of the dead would mean killing the dead is a heinous crime, a huge wrongdoing...”
The two shivered.
Suddenly, they felt they had grasped the truth.
Yes, why should they stand on the side of humans?
Moreover, this was already a supernatural instance.
They were the anomalies here!
Realizing this, cold sweat broke out on both of them.
They almost went down a path of no return under the guidance of the human pupa master.
Regardless of whether one admitted it or not, everyone had a bit of a desire for strength, especially in fearful and tense environments. The brain was unable to calmly consider things and was highly susceptible to the influence of strong-willed thinking. It was easy to fall into cognitive biases and forget to question whether their thoughts were genuinely correct.
With this awareness, Pang Yang spoke again: “[Do good deeds, don’t inquire about the future.], we should also stand on the side of the dead when doing good deeds.”
Fang Qi: “...Yes.”
Doing good deeds from the perspective of the dead—
Immediately, the two thought that on the second day they entered the instance, that little salted fish gave roasted sweet potatoes to the old man!
And some wild vegetables and fruits!
This cunning little salted fish!
“And I.” Pang Yang, with a look of despair, pointed at himself, “I killed the old man’s rooster.”
Fang Qi: “......”
Fang Qi dryly comforted him, “Doing good deeds doesn’t mean not doing bad things.”
Pang Yang felt like crying.
Pang Yang: “Oh, are we players going to be killed by the dead and still have to do good things for them? Are we some kind of cosmic punching bags?”
Fang Qi: “...When did we ever have human rights in the instance? It’s good enough to survive by being unfortunate.”
Pang Yang felt even more like crying.
Pang Yang: “What should we do if the dead approached us?”
Fang Qi said, “This goes back to the initial question, how do we avoid exposing ourselves, including how not to be suspected by the dead, and when suspected and tested, how not to be confirmed as different.”
When they first entered the instance, Zhao Kehan had analyzed it with them, but what they discussed at that time was completely irrelevant now.
Talking could lead the dead into confirming that they were humans. When the dead touched Fang Qi and felt his body temperature, they didn’t think he was different.
Ning Su finally turned his gaze back to them.
Fang Qi hurriedly said, “Come, let’s discuss together!”
Pang Yang: “Yes, yes, we realize our mistake, Little Clever. Come quickly!”
The two stared eagerly at him.
Ning Su: “......”
Ning Su: “We can deduce how the corpses confirm players as anomalies by examining how Fang Qi managed to avoid the corpse that night. Let’s start by retracing the events of Fang Qi evading the corpse.”
Both nodded, and Fang Qi enthusiastically recounted the process of the corpse approaching him that night.
Ning Su said, “The corpse encountered Fang Qi, but that didn’t confirm Fang Qi as someone different.”
Pang Yang added, “This indicates that touching and feeling body temperature alone cannot confirm someone as an anomaly.”
Ning Su shook his head. “Be more precise. It should be stated that a corpse touching a player cannot confirm them as ‘alive’.”
They both paused.
Indeed, that was more precise.
...Was it too precise?
Ning Su continued, “Fang Qi survived by mainly playing dead and not responding during the process.”
Fang Qi nodded. “That’s right. No matter how the corpse called my name, I didn’t respond and didn’t move.”
Fang Qi added, “From my perspective, not responding when the corpse calls your name is a key point.”
Pang Yang said, “When the corpse approached me, it called my name too! So, if the corpse calls the player’s name, and the player responds, it confirms the player as an anomaly. That seems to be their method of confirmation.”
Ning Su shook his head.
“...”
“This point sounds reasonable, but it doesn’t make sense for the first player who died.” Ning Su recalled that night, “We had just entered the instance, and he died before even getting off the bus.”
“At that time, we appeared in a bus filled with corpses. The situation was unclear, and everyone was hiding. It wouldn’t make sense to immediately reveal our names.”
“And at that time, the corpses hadn’t evolved yet, hadn’t become intelligent and terrifying ghosts. Without hearing, how would they know the player’s name? How could they call out the name?”
Both nodded, “Right!”
Ning Su said, “Fang Qi played dead without responding, not just vocally, but also physically.”
They were stunned again.
So, there was this aspect too.
Indeed, the corpse encountered Fang Qi, but Fang Qi didn’t respond.
They suddenly understood why Ning Su emphasized the precision earlier, not just any touch, but specifically the corpse touching the player couldn’t confirm them as anomalies.
Because, when players touch corpses, it might allow the corpses to confirm that the player was different!
Ning Su: “Due to the division of buses and the dim light of the night, we don’t know the specific death situations of all players. We can only speak based on what we know.”
“The first is Fang Qi, who found out and told us that two corpses were fighting, and a player didn’t avoid it. During this process, the player might have actively touched the corpse, either grabbing or pushing it away.”
“The second one, when Zhao Kehan died, I saw him actively reaching out to help the girl in the red shirt.”
“The third one, Dong Zhengxuan, who had just died not long ago. According to Wan Bo, everything was normal before. It was only when Dong Zhengxuan held onto Lin Lin that Lin Lin appeared abnormal and killed Dong Zhengxuan.”
Pang Yang raised his hand: “And me! When that corpse came to me, I mistook him for another player on the bus, grabbed his wrist angrily, and that’s when he turned particularly terrifying.”
Suddenly, the two had a moment of enlightenment.
