"Sorry, I need to go take care of some personal physiological needs first."
"...Everyone, come over here to change into the prison uniforms."
The familiar words grew clearer as they approached from a distance.
Xu Xi raised his hand and rubbed his neck.
The sensation of suffocation still seemed to be stuck in his throat.
He scanned his surroundings.
Staff members bustling back and forth, the slovenly man directing the players, and the ten players from other nations with tense expressions walking towards the slovenly man.
Xu Xi stood still, unmoving.
He was sorting through all the clues he had gathered so far.
It could be confirmed that there were two types of supernatural beings inside this camp: one was the former victims—the bluish-green supernatural beings, and the other was the former rebel leader—the living corpse man.
The living corpse man would awaken from the passage below the dungeon tomorrow at noon, then commence indiscriminate slaughter, and could not be sealed or eliminated.
This meant they had to find a way to clear the instance before tomorrow noon.
First, rule out faction warfare; even the opposing Blue Monsters couldn't handle the living corpse man.
Second, rule out a battle royale; on a lonely island surrounded by sea, they had nowhere to run, and the only boat was also restricted by the instance itself.
As the instance's NPCs, the show/production team's role wasn't just to provide the instance's background and release smokescreens to increase difficulty; they also hinted at a strange clue—the victim roster pointing to the truth of the deaths.
Yes, Xu Xi had already figured it out.
That red skull symbol was indeed the key point, but what was important wasn't the symbol itself, but its location.
With the boat as transportation unusable and the living corpse man as the big boss unsolvable, he could only turn his gaze to the last remaining party.
And among the numerous Blue Monsters who died in the rebel massacre, the only one judged as a spy and executed by firing squad stood out as special.
Suppose the core of this instance actually lay with that Blue Monster.
An ordinary island resident wrongly accused as a spy and silenced, even losing their tongue and unable to defend themselves—what would it want to do?
Having reasoned this far, Xu Xi felt a sudden sense of clarity.
He suddenly realized this instance shared a remarkable similarity with his first one.
In the first instance, his perspective was the little boy; the boy's wish was to have a complete birthday, so the clearance method was to celebrate the birthday.
In this instance, although he wasn't from the victim's perspective, it still related to the victim's wish.
Just then, a sudden male voice interrupted Xu Xi's train of thought.
"Hey, that kid over there, what are you doing standing there motionless? Come over here and change clothes!"
Xu Xi looked up to see the slovenly man looking at him with displeasure, and beside him, the ten foreign players wore varied expressions.
[Why is that Hua Nation player just standing there with his head down like an idiot? (ip Hans Nation)]
[Daydreaming at a time like this isn't a good sign. (ip Maple Nation)]
All the players were following the Director's lead, only the young man from Hua Nation stood quietly in place, lost in thought about something.
This abnormal scene immediately caught the attention of netizens from various countries in the live stream.
[Was he scared by that ritual? (ip Li Nation)]
[Doesn't seem like it. He seems to be thinking about something. (ip Garden Nation)]
Hua Nation netizens, however, reacted differently.
[What on earth could possibly make our Master Xu Xi think for so long! How audacious! (ip Hua Nation)]
[Didn't you hear what Brother Luo said? Maybe the master is modeling and simulating scenarios in his head. (ip Hua Nation)]
[Alright, looks like everyone here is a veteran viewer of Master Xu Xi. That puts me at ease. (ip Hua Nation)]
Meanwhile, at Hua Nation's Central Television.
The four people who had been discussing simultaneously fell silent.
"Has Contestant Xu Xi thought of something from that earlier ritual?" Yao Han asked curiously.
"It seems so." Luo Zongyun also had a strong desire to explore. "We just don't know what he's thinking about."
Both he and Lin Miao held a high opinion of the young man.
Logically, during the show, they should selectively withhold some of their praise.
However, the young man's strength was indeed evident to all; the fact that the vast majority of netizens weren't worried about him failing at all was proof enough.
Among the many players, this kind of blind trust was only reflected in the young man.
He wasn't sure if the young man could continue to live up to this trust later on, but for now, he was willing to believe the other wouldn't fall so easily here.
He thought Lin Miao felt the same way.
And the young man under intense focus on the screen finally moved the next second.
He stepped towards the staff member distributing the prison uniforms.
The young man didn't walk fast, even appearing somewhat casual.
After walking up to the staff member and casually picking up a prison uniform, he suddenly asked, "Excuse me, what's the date today?"
The East Asian young man's inquiry came abruptly, catching the staff member opposite him off guard. He instinctively replied, "The 2nd."
Just as expected.
Xu Xi continued asking, "Where did that rebel leader commit suicide?"
Everyone in the show/production team had done their homework before coming, so the young staff member naturally knew the answer. He replied without hesitation, "Records state it was in the dungeon."
Faced with Xu Xi's questions, he didn't overthink it, simply assuming the other wanted to learn more about the camp's history before entering.
Xu Xi nodded and turned to leave.
Everything matched up.
Tomorrow was the massacre day. At noon, the rebel leader would awaken in the dungeon, and at that time, the fate of everyone on the island would mirror that of the former victims.
And that Blue Monster who had survived the massacre was their only path to survival.
Xu Xi hadn't avoided the others when asking, so the ten other players standing beside the slovenly man heard everything.
Their expressions first showed surprise and doubt, then they quickly reacted.
These two questions were clearly a deeper confirmation of the instance's background.
They instinctively began assessing the value of these two pieces of information.
The East Asian young man had asked about today's date and the rebel leader's suicide location.
The first thing they thought of was that this instance would recreate the original battle royale.
But there was a problem.
Buriman took a deep look at the young man walking towards them, then turned to the slovenly man beside him and asked, "Director, what was the date those island residents met their demise?"
If he was the first to notice such minute details, how could he have missed this more critical question?
Just as Xu Xi stopped before the group, the slovenly man spoke up, "The 3rd. Tomorrow is the memorial day, so we'll officially start the challenge from tomorrow. Tonight is for you to rest."
"I've had people clean all the cells inside. Choose whichever you like. Single rooms, you know."
Hearing this, the players' expressions instantly turned extremely grim.
Tomorrow?!
They never expected time to be so tight!
If not for the young man's two questions, they would have truly been misled by that so-called three-day challenge.
"Okay, everyone. I've said all I needed to say and won't repeat it. You may now enter the camp." The slovenly man clapped his hands, signaling the staff to open the camp's main gate.
At that moment, something that made everyone take notice happened: the East Asian young man spoke up again.
"Sorry, I need to go take care of some personal physiological needs first."
