Chen Xiaomeng thought about it and agreed with Jiang Cheng. Images of Lee Lu and Yu Man appeared in her mind.
“Stop wasting time. We’ll find out the truth soon enough,” Jiang Cheng paused. An Ping Inn had entered his view. There were not that many three-story buildings in town. The time flow of this world became more corrupted. The night became incredibly long and the day suspiciously short. They didn’t spend that much time inside the topography centre, but it was already noon when they exited it.
The pedestrians acted strangely, like they were soulless puppets. Even the hawkers by the streets were like the moving dead. One might not be that strange but the whole world was acting like so. Jiang Cheng had experienced this before. It always happened when the mission was about to end.
The two stopped when they were a certain distance from An Ping Inn. The inn gave off a strange vibe. They moved to a spot where they could look at the front of the inn. The inn’s front door was closed, and all the windows were shut. A sign that said that the inn was resting for the day could be seen. Clearly, something was out of sorts.
“The village head might have hurried here.” Chen Xiaomeng observed the surroundings. She turned to Jiang Cheng, “They might be waiting for us inside.”
Jiang Cheng suddenly asked, “Where do you think our friend might be now?”
“Friend?” Chen Xiaomeng instinctively wanted to reject that term, but she couldn’t deny its veracity. “She might have already been captured,” She said directly. Since the culprit, Qian Jianxiu, was hiding here, An Ping Inn was the final destination for all the nightmare realm travelers. The village head would surmise as much.
“Not necessarily,” Jiang Cheng thought about it. “From the fact that she has torn off that page, she might be hunting the surviving players like us.”
Chen Xiaomeng raised her brow, “What is your point?”
“But she is not you.” Chen Xiaomeng refuted him directly, “I don’t think she’ll give up such a precious opportunity. Both of us know that the longer this drags out, the more dangerous it is for all of us.” Chen Xiaomeng had a point. Once the village head gathered enough people to set up an ambush, it would be impossible for them to do anything to survive. The mysterious woman would know that too.
“In that case, you can go ahead. I’m not going!” Jiang Cheng acted timidly.
Chen Xiaomeng was annoyed. The man before her was cautious, but overly cautious would be the death of him. No matter what, when she noticed this flaw in Jiang Cheng, she sighed in relief. Finally, he was acting like a normal person.
“Then, you can wait here for death to come!” That was the last thing Chen Xiaomeng told Jiang Cheng before she left.
Jiang Cheng harrumphed with dissatisfaction. Even though Chen Xiaomeng planned to enter An Ping Inn, she wouldn’t do it without preparation. Jiang Cheng’s words were not senseless. She walked around the inn and didn’t find any trace of their ‘friend’ or the villagers. Then, she sneaked over to a wall beside the inn. After ensuring there was no one around, she pushed the window. To her surprise, the window opened.
The room was dark. She let her eyes get used to the darkness before leaping in. She was very agile. Incidentally, this was the private booth the travellers first gathered when they arrived. The space was small. A round table was placed in the middle, surrounded by seven chairs. However, the door was closed, hence the darkness.
She didn’t move once she landed. She didn’t make any sound as she perked up her ears. Her advantage was her powerful hearing. When it was absolutely quiet, she could even hear the heartbeat of the people around her. This almost-superhuman ability enabled her to survive many missions.
She stayed quiet for a minute. Other than the wind outside the window, there was no other sound. It was as if… the place was dead.
She held her breath and slowly moved to the door. She eased the door open for a small gap. The lobby was deserted as well. Even the door to the kitchen was closed. She wondered if the boss had heard wind of the situation and had escaped with his sister.
As she planned her next move, she heard a sound coming from behind her. She immediately whipped around. A head poked through the window.
Jiang Cheng looked around sneakily. He, too, was surprised by the darkness. Then, he seemed to notice Chen Xiaomeng. His cheeks turned ruddy. His leg crossed the window, followed by his whole body. After he landed, he snaked over to Chen Xiaomeng and said with concern, “I thought about it. I’d be so worried if you’re in here all alone.”
This instantly reminded Chen Xiaomeng of what Jiang Cheng had said earlier, “If I were her, I would have stayed nearby and waited for some idiots to explore the inn for me first. I’ll go after I’m sure the place is safe.”
Chen Xiaomeng didn’t want to admit it, but the truth was right before her eyes. She had done so many preparations and even chose a secluded spot to infiltrate the inn. She didn’t expect Jiang Cheng to be so shameless.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the door. Then, he whispered to her, “Don’t be scared.” He continued, “Ladies first. I’ll follow behind you. I’ll watch your back.”
Chen Xiaomeng stared at the clay pot underneath the window they had just hopped through. She suddenly had the urge to slam it into Jiang Cheng’s head.