Chapter 17: Everyone is a Villain

The traces of burning by the flames also had a chronological order.

The causes of death for the workers also varied. There were only a few who burned to death, most choked to death on the thick smoke. It was just that after they died, the fire spread rapidly, burning their bodies along with the machinery of the entire factory. Their bodies became fuel for the flames.

They had already reached the most important part of the factory, but the scenario system remained silent again, as if holding back an ultimate move.

Lao Yoo was trembling his legs in the corner, already starting to get nervous. He was the only one among the players who hadn't answered a question yet. The next question would definitely fall on him.

He wasn't sure if the other players would set a trap for him, nor was he sure if Xie De would save him, so he could only talk up his value to the maximum.

"I have quite a bit of status in the real world. If I get out, I will definitely be grateful to those who helped me in the scenario. I will absolutely treat them with the utmost respect, and even work like a horse or an ox for them."

When he said this, he stared intently at Xie De. His gaze was rather gloomy, making Xie De, whose nerves were already tense, feel a bit awkward.

If he had known, he wouldn't have agreed to him. He had really been blinded by the mention of so much money, stubbornly digging a hole for himself.

Xie De averted his gaze and said concisely, "Let's find clues first."

They could clearly feel the temperature of the flames turning from illusion to reality. Despite the freezing cold weather, it roasted them until the moisture inside their bodies evaporated.

The supervisor they had seen early in the morning reappeared in the flames, his eyes wide open, dutifully patrolling.

Yue Xiamo came over gritting her teeth. Seeing the centipede on Xie De's shoulder, she paused for a moment but didn't ask further. She was very pressed for time this round and didn't avoid anyone. As soon as she came over, her mouth didn't stop as she spilled all the clues she had seen.

"Did you see that supervisor walking around randomly? He was newly hired by the boss, the key point is not on him! During the scene recreation, I hid in the corridor on the second floor and witnessed the boss's wife and Chunju arguing over Wu Yong. The boss's wife told Chunju to keep her boyfriend in check. From this, I deduce that the boss's wife's eventual death has a great deal to do with Chunju."

The boss's wife was that female corpse they had encountered.

Wei Yanchi also quickly recounted the clues he had obtained.

Lao You was currently like a frightened bird, terrified that he wouldn't be able to answer the question posed by the instance. Breathing heavily, he kept muttering.

"Not enough, not enough, the clues are too few, there are still many problems that can't be solved! It's not enough..."

As he spoke, he glanced around wildly inside the factory.

Wei Yanchi was also deep in thought, "This scenario is for us to solve the boss's trouble. What exactly is the boss's trouble?"

Hu Wei interjected coldly.

"The boss's trouble should be why a fire suddenly broke out in the factory. Also, why are the clues we've obtained so far all about their conflicts, and their love and hate relationships? Is the fire related to the background story?"

Xie De wasn't as awesome as them and couldn't make any analysis. He could only do his best to try and find some clues in the factory. However, the entire space was about to be swallowed by flames. Only one staircase extended to the second floor.

Gibberish popped up again with a bad idea, "Host, do you want to go up to the second floor to take a look? Rummage through a few more dorms."

Mentioning the dormitories reminded Xie De of those ghostly hands and feet, as well as the hanged corpse he saw when he first entered this scenario and went into the dorm.

Even though the flames around him were roaring, he felt his hands and feet turn cold.

"Gibberish, you sure know how to come up with ideas. You want me, an ordinary person without the strength to tie up a chicken, to go head-to-head with those weird things? None of these big-shot players have gone; wouldn't I be courting death?"

Gibberish responded timidly.

"Don't say that. They don't know the plot, but I do..."

Before it could finish, Xie De immediately cut it off.

"Your plot isn't complete at all, and it might even be wrong!"

Gibberish hurriedly said, "Listen to me finish. In this scenario, mostly wealth is found in danger. You have to risk it all to possibly get what you want. Host, don't forget you've been unemployed for three months. You still don't even dare to message your family. Finding one item could mean millions or tens of millions. Are you sure you're not tempted?"

"I have to have the life to take it."

"But, Host, I really think you should go to the second floor, because the fire has reached here."

Fck, why didn't this Gibberish guy say so earlier!

The veteran players were still analyzing and had already come up with quite a few guesses. Xie De wasn't clear on them, he just gave a single reminder and lifted his foot to head upstairs.

The second floor was still as bloody and gloomy as before, surprisingly unaffected by the heatwave from the first floor. The thunder outside was still very loud, burying the terrifying wails from the first floor. The ironic patter of the rain made it feel even more bizarre than the first floor.

Xie De stood at the top of the stairs, expressionlessly watching as all the doors opened and various bruised and blackened hands crawled out from inside.

"Gibberish, I feel like I can just pass out for a while first. You mentioned finding clues, but look at this situation. I feel like I'll have to die first."

The veteran players also followed up, but before they could react, the scenario system's voice rang out coldly again.

"Player number five, please answer what the relationship is between Chunju and the boss's wife, and provide an explanation."

Relationship? And an explanation is needed.

Lao You actually appeared extremely at a loss for a moment. The terror on his face was much stronger than when Hu Wei was selected.

"You have 30 seconds to answer."

Lao You became flustered.

"Best friends, friends... no, no, they are frenemies!"

Xie De saw a pair of bruised and blackened hands with very long nails strangle Lao You's neck.

"Wrong!" Lao You shouted, his eyes almost rolling out of his head, "Save me quickly, save me quickly!"

The hands tightened their grip, and Lao You's face also started to turn bruised and black.

Xie De genuinely felt like he was breaking out in a cold sweat this time, "Gibberish, do you know the answer? Lao You look like he's going to die."

Gibberish replied helplessly.

"I don't know. Forget it, if he dies, he dies. Our abilities are limited, we can't save him."

"Then I'll burn some more paper money for him when I get out." Watching Lao You get strangled to death alive right in front of his eyes, Xie De really felt like vomiting.

His hand reached into his pocket and found that he had smoked all his cigarettes, so he could only forcefully suppress the discomfort in his stomach.

After Lao You died, Hu Wei let out a very disdainful sneer, "To think he couldn't even answer such a simple question. The two of them are love rivals."

Xie De looked at Hu Wei in astonishment, only to find that the other two also seemed to know the answer, but none of them had told Lao You.

Yue Xiamo was equally disdainful.

"Trash."

"Heh, so what if he has great influence in the real world? Mr. 39 doesn't need a useless backstabber who bites the hand that feeds him." Hu Wei said as a matter of course.

After speaking, she looked at Xie De as if asking for credit, completely oblivious to his discomfort.

Xie De silently looked elsewhere.

Only Wei Yanchi timely handed over a cigarette. It was the one Xie De had given him, which had been kept in his pocket and never taken out.

"Mr. 39's nicotine craving acting up again?"

Xie De took the cigarette, held it in his mouth, lowered his head to light it, and mumbled, "I'll return one to you next time, thanks."

Based on the clues, it could be concluded that the boss's wife was beaten to death by the boss due to domestic violence. The cause of her death was the rumors circulating in the factory that she was having an affair. And the object of the affair was very likely Wu Yong. Wu Yong and Chunju were a couple, and the boss's wife had once warned Chunju to keep her boyfriend in check, so the boss's wife didn't actually have an affair.

But that didn't stop Chunju from viewing the boss's wife as a love rival.

Guessing their relationship was indeed a very simple matter.