LWGP - Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Delaying

"Um, Lord Wang, are you mistaken? He was in our team, he even spoke."

"Yeah, if he's not a player, but a native, how could he do that?"

Everyone found it both unbelievable and terrifying.

Wei Yuan smiled without speaking, as if to say her logic was flawed.

It was Tan Yingzhou who calmly said, "I don't know if that Diao Guang you made a deal with ever mentioned that the item he traded you came from a Goblin Trader. If I recall correctly—one of the items in the Goblin Trader's treasury is called a Social Disguise Gem. It allows a native or someone of another race to perfectly blend into social situations, and even share some resources after paying a participation fee."

Tan Yingzhou was also a top-tier talent, and had clearly memorized a good portion of the Goblin Trader's inventory. Otherwise, with so many special items, he wouldn't have been able to think of it so quickly.

Of course, Wang Jiu was clearly such a person as well, because she was the first to bring up suspicions about Wei Yuan during their private chat last night, and she mentioned Diao Guang, which happened to coincide with Tan Yingzhou's thoughts.

With his background exposed, Wei Yuan's gaze darkened.

Xie Jiang sneered again, "When doing business, especially the business of being an inside man, who would reveal all their cards? Of course that Diao Guang wouldn't mention this to you. But I'm actually quite curious, you couldn't have truly identified him based on the existence of this item alone. So how exactly did you confirm his identity?"

He was asking Wang Jiu.

Wang Jiu: "The Social Disguise Gem's abilities don't include all of a player's system functions, like trading between players. After we left the secret room, I initiated a mass trade, targeting everyone in their team. I sent each person one BYT, but for only one person, the system prompted that the trade was not possible."

Uh, that was a pretty cunning move.

Especially sending a BYT.

Luo Sheng subconsciously replied, "Huh? I didn't get one."

Wang Jiu glanced at her. "In the trade process for a valid target, there's a final confirmation step. It's a measure the system has to ensure items aren't sent to the wrong person."

Luo Sheng: "You canceled it? You're so stingy."

Wang Jiu: "I was just afraid you'd misunderstand. If you all accepted, it would be too much for me."

Who would misunderstand? Who! Are we that kind of people?!! And the way you used "too much for me" was just so clever and profound.

The socialite once again felt humiliated.

Many people imagined what they would do if Wang Jiu suddenly traded them a BYT. Would they accept it or not?

They'd probably blush, complain, condemn, despise, and refuse... then reluctantly click confirm.

Hehehe.

The Social Disguise Gem's abilities were indeed limited, and Wei Yuan was of course aware of that.

As everyone had their moment of realization, Wei Yuan pondered and suddenly understood. "In the secret room, you and Lin Guiwan said those things on purpose, just to make me…"

He frowned, probably because he'd thought of his own blunder.

Time had been too tight, and his plan had a flaw.

Xie Jiang glanced at him and sneered, "What did those two women say? That they suspected Zhang Jue? So you planted a notebook under Zhang Jue's corpse? Didn't you know that if it had really been pressed against the body for that long, its surface would have adhered to the frost on the corpse? When it was picked up, we knew it had been placed there later."

And quite a few people saw through it.

But they all tacitly kept it to themselves.

Every one of them was a master actor.

It was at that moment that Wang Jiu not only confirmed he wasn't a player, but also that he was from the Research Institute.

"Then, you deliberately cooperated, letting me successfully kill those few people to shift the suspicion onto Wang Jiu? Honestly, what's the difference between you and me? At least I'm a native, acting only in self-defense against your invasion. But you people, seeking fame and reputation, don't you also casually sacrifice your own companions in the end?"

These words were meant to strike at their hearts, and also to undermine Xie Jiang and Tan Yingzhou's leadership positions.

As for Wang Jiu, it had no effect. Really, no effect at all.

Xie Jiang: "A counter-espionage scheme?"

Tan Yingzhou, however, still cared about this and explained, "Don't flatter us. Even though the three of us talked all night and confirmed you were a problem, we also confirmed you wouldn't be easy to deal with. That's why we held back and played along with your plan. We truly didn't expect you to be so formidable—our team members weren't killed by anyone. They actually died of their own accord."

Died of their own accord? What did that mean?

Everyone was shocked and suspicious.

"You're not the only one who can set up surveillance. After suspecting you, we placed a hidden surveillance item in our respective team's resting rooms. Even if we ourselves passed out, we could find out what happened last night by reviewing the footage from these devices. The three of us checked our own, and we also exchanged the recorded videos to watch. No one on Wang Jiu's team was harmed, but the two members from my team and the Cai Market team died directly in their sleep. There were no signs of an attack throughout the entire process—the most sophisticated secret room murder is self-destruction, leaving no trace behind."

"It was because of this that we were wary of your abilities and had no choice but to continue the act."

"To be honest, it's not that we're cruel, but that you're too powerful, and we were helpless."

Tan Yingzhou had already sent the video to the other team leaders, who then forwarded it to their team channels.

Was Wang Jiu cleared? It wasn't that important. She was too infamous to be whitewashed. The main thing was that Tan Yingzhou didn't want to take the blame.

The Shenzhen team still wanted a bright and brilliant future; the 'infamous is still famous' route didn't suit them.

But everyone was more concerned about something else.

"Dying from self-depleting HP? Is it this poison in our bodies?!! Fuck!!"

Everyone panicked, feeling uncomfortable all over.

Wei Yuan suddenly smiled. "Scared now? You don't have to be. The ones who died were those who were most deeply poisoned and had low HP. You won't be in danger. Most importantly—I never planned to kill you."

He reached for a tray of laboratory instruments, where a set of required materials and equipment was already laid out.

"Players… such a detestable existence. Just like in a game, you can start over, and you can have countless resources. Isn't this a form of eternal life? To us pitiful natives, you're like saints with your own halos. But after killing you, nothing is left behind. Even if your HP is cleared, your resources won't be left for me—just because I'm not a player."

"If Diao Guang hadn't sold me an item, I wouldn't have been able to get any benefits at all."

Seeing him pick up forceps and a scalpel, Wang Jiu raised an eyebrow. "You want to experiment on us, install a control system, just like with those other people, and in turn control us to get a continuous stream of resources transferred to you from the game system."

"You're so clever. Did you figure it out from the bodies of the other researchers? Oh, right, you even touched their eyeballs."

As Wei Yuan spoke, he also touched Wang Jiu's eye.

This was the second time he had touched her.

Everyone's heart pounded—it seemed Wang Jiu was his first test subject, and the control system was installed in the eye?

This was probably a disgusting act, but Wang Jiu had no extreme reaction. She let him touch her, allowing him to determine where to make the incision. Only when he brought the scalpel close and it actually rested on her soft eyelid did she say, "You were already exposed back at the Underground Research Institute."

This statement startled Wang Shu and the others, who were already extremely anxious.

The blade paused. Wei Yuan stared at Wang Jiu. "Stalling for time?"

Wang Jiu's expression was indifferent. "During the system settlement for the Lycanthrope, the Social Disguise Gem allowed you to get the rewards you deserved for your participation, but your data showed a discrepancy—your experience didn't increase at all."

Wei Yuan pursed his lips. He had forgotten about that. After all, he wasn't a real player. It was probably especially difficult to deceive someone like Wang Jiu, who had a mind like a labyrinth.

Out of so many people, did she really observe and analyze every single one?

But it didn't seem strange. If she had suspected an inside man back then, it would be standard procedure to investigate everyone while also being suspicious of Diao Guang.

"Is that so? In that case, you must have later noticed that I never dropped any of the items I'd obtained after I died."

"It's a helpless situation, really. Because I don't have an inventory or a mailbox, you can't trade with me. Naturally, the items the system allocates to me can only land in the disguise gem. If none of you were around, I could collect them and take them into the real world without arousing suspicion. But since I've been with you all this time, I haven't been able to extract them, so naturally, there was nothing for me to drop. You confirmed your suspicions because of this, right?"

He extrapolated so effectively. Then, he used the flat side of the scalpel's thin blade to stroke the corner of Wang Jiu's eye, gently tracing the contour down her fair, smooth skin, fully displaying the perverse curiosity of a plastic surgeon.

This scene was shocking. Lin Guiwan and the others who were locked up were also extremely worried. Especially when he suddenly pressed the scalpel against Wang Jiu's neck, turned the blade flat against her throat, and used his other hand with the forceps to lift her chin.

"So, what other preparations have you made? For you, who is not one for idle chatter, to go to such lengths to stall for time."

Honestly, Wei Yuan was truly too "fond of" and fixated on Wang Jiu. Even though Xie Jiang and Tan Yingzhou were also master strategists, he just loved to pick on Wang Jiu and question her.

Getting to the bottom of things, desperate to have her explain.

And he was so damn handsy.

Wang Shu and the others gritted their teeth. That bastard!

Actually, Lin Guiwan felt this was probably due to the competitive spirit between two of a kind—Wang Jiu's professional category had struck a chord with Wei Yuan's nature.

The latter was a person with an immense desire for control. Wang Jiu repeatedly slipping from his grasp violated his authority, yet as a researcher by trade, he had a natural curiosity for the unexplained.

Just like Wang Jiu, who was always checking data and studying loopholes. Her meticulous mind was also something cultivated over time. If not for this habit, she wouldn't be so difficult to deal with.

Ever since cooperating with Wang Jiu's act in the secret room, Lin Guiwan knew that Wang Jiu was playing a game of equals with the other party.

"You really want to hear it? Aren't you afraid I'm stalling for time?" Wang Jiu asked him back.

Wang Shu and the others felt that if Lao Wang was really being this talkative, she must be stalling for time—but how could they solve the problem of the poison in their bodies? Was someone coming to rescue them? Or was there an antidote?

If not, they were doomed. No amount of stalling would help.

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