The yao ghost could sense that Tian Jianmu wasn't someone to be trifled with. It cursed under its breath.
No good—there were too many people around now. It had gone too long without absorbing nutrients, and its energy wouldn't last much longer.
The yao ghost's eyes hidden within the vines darted around before finally settling on the unconscious man on the ground.
At any rate, it had to take Number 11 away!
With this thought, the yao ghost spoke angrily:
"Damn you, Yu Li. Just you wait."
Having said that, it swung its vines and—before anyone could react—scooped up the man on the ground and instantly burrowed into the earth.
Watching the vines and the man disappear before her eyes, Yu Li slowly lowered her gaze, her fingers absently rubbing the recording button on the megaphone as if lost in thought.
Tian Jianmu exhaled deeply and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He had naturally noticed Number 11's abnormal condition earlier and had been secretly shocked, wondering who could have tortured him so brutally.
Then he heard Yu Li say calmly, "Nothing much. I did it."
Incredible. Somehow, he wasn't surprised at all.
Yu Jiao added the context from the side: "That Number 11 had the same face as Bo Jingmo, and according to Yu Li, the heart inside him should also belong to Bo Jingmo. That's why we took action."
Hearing this, Yu Li raised an eyebrow slightly and gave her an inscrutable look.
This was the first time Tian Jianmu had heard this explanation. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So Bo Jingmo's heart is with the yao ghost, and the yao ghost used his heart to create a fake Bo Jingmo? But why?"
Yu Li crossed her arms and explained matter-of-factly:
"Simple. Because Bo Jingmo has been helping me, the yao ghost thinks he's betrayed it. Since its goal is to kill all the guests, naturally it would want to create a new capable assistant."
After speaking, she turned to Yu Jiao: "Am I telling the truth?"
Yu Jiao paused before nodding slowly. "You are."
And indeed, the current facts supported this.
Having received confirmation, Yu Li toyed with the black energy in her hand and continued, "Bo Jingmo has been under the yao ghost's control all this time, likely because of that heart. We need to deal with that yao ghost, otherwise this variety show will never end—it can just keep creating new guests."
Yu Jiao strongly agreed with this point.
Those newly arrived guests were clearly sent by the yao ghost.
She looked at Tian Jianmu: "I killed Fang Wenlin, but the blood flowing from his body wasn't normal red—it was dark green and smelled like plants. I suspect all the NPCs come from the yao ghost."
Hearing both women say this, Tian Jianmu initially wondered if they might be colluding, but then he remembered how Yu Li had eliminated Gao Chaoyang from deva right at the beginning.
If they could still cooperate after that, it would be truly unbelievable.
He said thoughtfully, "That does seem to make sense. And the mission does say we need to survive until the variety show ends."
But what exactly constituted the end of the show? They hadn't been given any information about that.
[Do they really think Bo Jingmo is one of the good guys?]
[I've noticed something—Yu Li only says the yao ghost is bad, but never mentions Bo Jingmo's misdeeds.]
[If I didn't know Bo Jingmo's character setting, I'd almost believe he was a good person.]
[But Yu Li just saved Yu Jiao. Whose side is she really on? Could she have been deceived by Bo Jingmo too?]
[No idea. On the first night when they were dating, that damn system didn't let us watch—it just skipped straight to the next day.]
[Given the scale of their interactions in previous instances, it must have been some adult-only content.]
[Damn it, now I want to see it even more =) ]
Yu Jiao nodded in agreement with Tian Jianmu: "If we had more time, we could go look for them together. But right now our top priority is completing the mission—we can't give the yao ghost any excuse to kill us."
No matter how much the yao ghost hated them, as long as they didn't break any rules, it couldn't make a move.
Hearing this, Tian Jianmu froze, his expression suddenly stiffening. He slowly raised his head and cleared his throat.
"Oh, right. There's one more thing I haven't told you. Actually, I've already found the treasure's location."
Yu Jiao stared at him for several seconds: "...Isn't that good news?"
Why are you blushing like that?
Tian Jianmu coughed. "Didn't we have to complete one mission? I saw what that mission was."
Yu Jiao and Yu Li exchanged glances and frowned: "What is it?"
Why was he being so mysterious about a simple mission?
The man looked meaningfully at Yu Li and slowly said, "Find a big tree, then... kiss your partner under it."
Yu Jiao instinctively glanced at Yu Li, only to find the woman still standing there with her arms crossed, her expression so calm it seemed had nothing to do with her.
Noticing both of them looking at her, she raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me? Neither of you can complete this mission—it never intended for you to get the scarf."
Then, under their puzzled gazes, Yu Li continued slowly: "Who are your partners?"
As a dating show, everyone had come here single. And since the show wasn't over yet, their current relationships couldn't be considered partnerships—at most they were ambiguous acquaintances.
This requirement was fundamentally impossible to fulfill.
Yu Jiao thought carefully and realized this was indeed the case. Her brow furrowed. "So the yao ghost wants to kill us. It seems our only option is to fight it."
Yu Li was silent for a long moment before suddenly lifting her gaze to speak:
"I can get the scarf."
Yu Jiao was taken aback. "You mean your partner? But aren't you a guest now? Real-life relationships don't count..."
Then, remembering Limu's most frequently used tactics, her pupils dilated slightly.
She thought she understood what Yu Li planned to do.
Yu Jiao said nothing, merely pursing her lips silently and clenching her hands at her sides.
The previous question no longer needed asking—the answer was obvious.
But at the same time, she clearly understood.
When Limu helped people , it was either because they were someone she wanted to protect.
Or because her goals were far more complicated than they seemed.