Chapter 478: Chapter 414: Winner Takes All
Xi Menxiu turned and walked away, but hadn’t gone two steps before being called back by Yang Xiao, "Don’t be rash, there’s no harm in settling matters before taking action!"
Da Xiong was taken aback and looked toward Yang Xiao, "You mean..."
Yang Xiao led everyone a little further away and lowered his voice, "First, investigate this Meng Yu, see if he has any grudge against Pang Jian. Also, find the other survivors from this mission and clarify everything thoroughly."
Beibei furrowed her brows, "You suspect there’s something wrong with this Meng Yu?"
"I don’t know, but we can’t just take one side’s word for it. It’s not whoever complains first who is right. We want to avenge Zhi Jie, but we can’t let hatred cloud our judgment and be used by others." The human heart is unpredictable and at this moment, Yang Xiao had to remain calm.
"What should we do now?" Beibei asked.
"Da Xiong, look into Meng Yu’s background, see if he has made enemies with anyone. I’ll stay and continue chatting with him. Yu Shu, follow me and profile all the teammates we had during the mission, recording their features, including personality, habits, accent, etc., and give the results to Xi Menxiu."
"Xi Menxiu, you stay in the office and get in touch with the technical department, verifying the identities of these teammates in the real world one by one. Once confirmed, either find them or invite them over. Beibei, you’ll be responsible for this part, but be mindful of the approach."
After delegating the tasks, the five of them set about their duties, and Yang Xiao soon obtained information on the other participants of the mission.
The mission wasn’t large, with only seven participants in total. Including Zhuge Zhijie, two had died, leaving five survivors. Among these five, apart from one whose features were too vague to identify, the identities of the other four were quickly confirmed.
Meng Yu, male, 23 years old, from Jin Shui City, worked as a caretaker in a retirement home.
Ruan Lihuan, female, 19 years old, from Jin Ying Ridge, an internet spicy dance streamer who frequently appeared in midnight streams. Her bold streaming style often brushed against the edge of acceptability, which regularly resulted in warnings from her platform.
Feng Pengfei, male, 39 years old, from Yun Bao Township, a truck driver who is currently wanted for hit-and-run caused by driving while fatigued three years ago.
Pang Cai, male, 21 years old, from Yun Qi City, a rich second-generation and the only son of Pang Youfu, the chairman of Yun Qi City’s Xin Ye Group. Known for his arrogance and recklessness, he had been reported multiple times for hosting drug-fueled debauchery, deceiving girls into drinking drugged liquor, and seizing the opportunity to assault them. However, each incident had been smoothed over by his family’s influence.
After recognizing from the photos provided, Meng Yu confirmed that this rich second-generation, Pang Cai, was the murderer, Pang Jian, who killed Zhuge Zhijie in the mission.
As Ruan Lihuan’s identity was confirmed, Beibei immediately set off, flying to Jin Ying Ridge. With the cooperation of local authorities, she found Ruan Lihuan at a new media company that very night, while she was live streaming.
Feng Pengfei was a fugitive, but easy to find. With the Patrol Defense Office’s powerful intelligence capabilities, he was quickly captured near a rental house close to an illegal construction site. Da Xiong flew over immediately and conducted an overnight interrogation. At first, the man was terrified, thinking he was going to be shot. But once he learned that a full confession could lead to leniency, he immediately spilled everything.
Beibei placed a report in front of Yang Xiao, "The accounts given by Ruan Lihuan and Feng Pengfei match exactly with what Meng Yu said. I had Xi Menxiu check their communication records—these two did not know Meng Yu previously, nor had they contacted each other after leaving Nightmare World. This confirms there was no conspiracy to coordinate their stories; what Meng Yu said was the truth."
"Captain, what do we do next?" Xi Menxiu asked excitedly, "When are we going to catch that bastard Pang Cai?"
Just then, someone came to the door; it was Ms. Wen. Ms. Wen got straight to the point, instructing Yang Xiao and Beibei to go immediately to the director’s office.
Upon seeing Nalan Shuo, Yang Xiao instinctively had a bad feeling, because Nalan Shuo’s expression was strange. He gestured for Yang Xiao and Beibei to sit down before slowly speaking, "You’re going to find that Pang Cai?"
"Yes, that bastard killed Zhi Jie. Murder demands life; we must avenge Zhi Jie!" Beibei did not hide her feelings, clenching her teeth as she spoke.
But Nalan Shuo was eerily calm and extended his hand, "You say he killed Zhi Jie—where is the evidence?"
"Meng Yu brought us the message, it was Zhi Jie’s dying words he passed on. Plus... plus the testimonies of Ruan Lihuan and Feng Pengfei corroborate it," Beibei explained.
"Words are no proof; where’s the evidence?" Nalan Shuo maintained his outstretched hand, unmoved, "Physical evidence, the Ominous Instrument, the corpse, or an eyewitness to the murder scene—I want to see what you have."
"Director, what are you talking about?" Beibei panicked momentarily, "That is Nightmare World, a place that doesn’t spit out bones after eating people; how could there be such things?"
"You know it’s Nightmare World, you know there’s no evidence—so on what grounds are you claiming that guy killed someone, killed Zhi Jie?" Nalan Shuo’s face suddenly changed, even showing a hint of anger.
This reaction shocked both Yang Xiao and Beibei. The director had green-lighted condolence measures regarding Zhi Jie and had personally contributed 10,000 yuan, moving them deeply. Yet, he was now so uncooperative on the matter of vengeance.
"Director, you... what is this..." Beibei was confused.
"Let this be the end of it; I won’t tolerate any more foolishness," Nalan Shuo stated definitively. "There’s an unwritten rule that everyone must follow, be it us at the Patrol Defense Office, the Apostles Union, Chamber of Commerce, including other powerful gangs. That rule is that what happens in Nightmare World stays in Nightmare World. Life and death are fated, and riches are in the heavens. No settling accounts afterwards, regardless of what happens—it’s all the same."
"It’s each to their own ability who lives and who dies," Nalan Shuo emphasized in a low voice.
"Why?" Beibei struggled to accept this.
"Rules are rules. No one is allowed to break them; we can’t start now." After a few words, Nalan Shuo’s frigid expression slowly softened, and he let out a sigh, "I know it’s hard for you, and I feel the same. Zhi Jie was like a son to me, but there can be no discussion on this. Nightmare World is too complicated, not something that can be explained in a few words. If we start allowing vengeance seeking, it would cause chaos. In the future, everyone would be settling scores with each other, claiming to have evidence that would all turn out to be so-called ’witness testimony’ without substantial physical proof. Everyone would clamor for arrests, for lives taken in retribution. Have you thought about the terrible consequences that might bring?"
"Nightmare World is meant to be survival of the fittest, where any means are justified; those who are killed can only blame their lack of skill."
"Don’t think that it’s just strangers who don’t know each other. Even within the same force, the same faction, backstabbing and using teammates as shields are not unheard of in extreme circumstances."
"These are the laws within Nightmare World—survival of the fittest. None of us can interfere with that, and we can’t afford to," Nalan Shuo concluded.
