NFM Chapter 13

It was the second day since everyone had entered the villa, and there were still two days left until the end of the Game.

The room couldn’t accommodate all eleven people, so they moved to the living room. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Huang Lu opened the app.

The order history interface was just as crude as the purchase interface. Next to the screenshot of the leather bag, the words “Delivered” were displayed in bold, blood-red letters. Huang Lu clicked on the order, and the product snapshot still showed the original description of the item.

【Product Name】Genuine Leather Handbag

【Product Description】A very spacious backpack.

The first two lines were in black, Song font, displayed on the upper half of the screen. Lin Huai stared at the interface for a long time before asking Huang Lu, “Sister Huang, do you mind if I use your phone for a moment?”

Huang Lu nodded. Lin Huai then pressed his finger on the blank screen, and soon, a light blue selection box appeared.

He clicked “Select All” and pasted the content into a notepad. Only then did everyone see the true nature of the hidden remark.

【Remark】I’m genuinely mischievous, and people can be stuffed in too.

“I didn’t see this line yesterday…!”

“In the Game, even a small oversight can be fatal.”

Huang Lu felt a pang of regret. From start to finish, she had been the one leading the team, and it was her who proposed the purchase plan on the first day. She never expected that she would be the second one to be caught off guard.

They used the same method to check the other items purchased yesterday and, unsurprisingly, found that the small fan belonging to Ye Xian also had a similar remark: “Can’t get a grip? Then use your brain.”

“If you don’t read the details when shopping, it’s easy to end up with counterfeit or substandard products,” Chu Tian squatted down to comfort Ye Xian, who was sulking in the corner. “At least you’re still alive, that’s something to celebrate.”

Ye Xian: “I don’t feel the least bit happy about it…”

Chu Tian then suggested to the group, “Let’s divide the tasks now. We’ll recheck the items previously categorized as Second-class safety items, compile the results, and create a safe list.”

Everyone agreed. Despite the overwhelming variety of items in the ghost mall, with all eleven people working simultaneously, it took less than an hour to identify all the truly safe items.

The safe list had shrunk again. Now, there were only about twenty items available for each person to purchase. This meant it would barely suffice for this morning and the next, and that was assuming no one bought extra products in violation of the rules.

By the last day, if all eleven people were still alive, some would inevitably have to purchase first-class or Third-class items with unknown effects. At that point, their fate would truly be left to chance.

But that wasn’t the end. The Game’s task was for each person to spend 998 yuan. By the fourth day, those who hadn’t met the target amount would have no choice but to buy more ghost items to bring into the villa.

And…

“And we’re not sure if there are any hidden traps left in these twenty-plus so-called safe items,” Ni Xiao pointed at the list. “Although we’ve used transparent text copying and a new round of keyword filtering to narrow it down to these twenty-something items… let’s not forget, there’s still an Insider among us. Who knows if they’ve slipped in something we can’t detect yet?”

“Good point,” Huang Lu said. “…Given this trend, we’ll still have to buy ghost items on the fourth day. Based on our current spending, each person will need to buy one or two ghost items.”

“This is giving us no way out…” Yu Fu said with a bitter expression.

“But at least we still have two days of safety, right?” Peng Xuan suggested. “In these two days, we focus on identifying the Insider, and then…”

“What if we don’t identify them?” Ni Xiao countered. “If we don’t, by 8 PM on the fourth day, when a dozen ghost items enter the villa, will we even survive?”

“What’s the difference between a dozen ghost items and a few?” Scene Kid scratched his head irritably. “It’s death either way… I think Aunt Peng is right.”

Ni Xiao rolled her eyes. “No long-term vision.”

“Oh, and you have long-term vision? What’s your game, pushing us to buy ghost items now? I think you’re the traitor!” Scene Kid jumped up in anger.

“Idiot.”

“You dare call me an idiot? Not even my dad dares to say that to me!”

“Enough!” Zhang Lu screamed.

Throughout the discussion, she had been sitting on the couch, hugging a pillow in silence. Only now did everyone notice her presence. Seeing her sallow face, Scene Kid reluctantly shut his mouth.

“What’s the point of arguing? Those who are meant to die will still die,” Zhang Lu said. “If you want to keep arguing, go ahead.”

With that, she stood up and prepared to leave. Huang Lu, seeing her like this, called out, “Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom.”

She replied indifferently. Ni Xiao, watching her back, felt uneasy. She grabbed Ye Keke and said, “Keke, let’s go with her. We can’t let her be alone.”

The three women left the room, and the others fell into a temporary silence. Finally, Yu Fu spoke up, “You’re all capable people. Why don’t you tell us what we should do next?”

No one answered, so he kicked the trash can in frustration. “Damn that Insider!”

With his kick, the trash can, originally placed in the center of the living room, rolled out and fell to the ground, spilling its contents. Everyone was too agitated to care.

There were still twenty minutes until 8 PM, and everyone fell silent. Only Ye Xian noticed that two pieces of black, charred paper scraps had flown out of the trash can and landed near his feet.

The scraps seemed to have been burned, with only the edges revealing a hint of their original red color.

“What’s this…”

“Young man, move aside,” a voice came from behind. “You’re blocking me.”

“Oh, sorry,” Ye Xian quickly stepped aside. Peng Xuan, holding a broom, gave him a kind smile and swept the trash into a dustpan, then dumped it into the trash bin.

“Littering is never good,” she muttered. “Don’t worry, everyone, we’ll find a way.”

Yu Fu sighed in despair. Scene Kid, seeing Peng Xuan cleaning up, pulled out a bag from behind him. “Auntie, can you throw this away for me?”

The bag was yesterday’s express packaging. Last night, almost everyone had only taken the items back to their rooms, leaving the packaging in the living room.

“So, can we send the packages to another location?” Huang Lu suggested.

“No, I tried that yesterday,” Tang Wen denied. “The order gets automatically canceled.”

Yu Fu also nodded; he had tried the same method yesterday.

This was truly a headache. As the clock approached 7:50, Zhang Lu returned to the living room, accompanied by the two women.

She still looked unwell, her face pale. Ye Xian couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times.

“Since we’re at an impasse, let’s vote. We’ll purchase the bare minimum of daily necessities and focus on identifying the real ghost within the next two days,” Tang Wen said. “Those who agree, raise your left hand.”

Apart from these options, there didn’t seem to be a better solution. Everyone raised their hands. Tang Wen was counting when she noticed Chu Tian and Lin Huai remained motionless.

She frowned, “What’s the matter with you…?”

“Unfortunately, I’ve always hated waiting, whether it’s queuing for milk tea or waiting for a table at Hot Pot,” Chu Tian leaned back on the sofa, lazily playing with his phone. “Instead of that, I’d rather trust my luck.”

His phone screen was on the 500 yuan Lucky bag interface.

Tang Wen turned to Lin Huai, “And you?”

For Lin Huai, choosing between the two options didn’t make much of a difference. After calculating his remaining funds, he said, “I don’t want to buy the Lucky bag…”

…Actually, he couldn’t afford it.

Tang Wen’s expression softened slightly, but Lin Huai added, “However, I’d like to try buying a Third-class item.”

“You…”

After he said this, Zhang Lu, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“I want to buy the Lucky bag,” she said.

“I’ll take the gamble,” she said fiercely. “I want to win.”

Her finger remained on the red power button.

---

Author’s Note:

*Censored references:

Taobao: An app that didn’t pay for advertising, so it was mercilessly censored by the author.