Corpse Recovery Diver

Li Zhiyuan replayed the words he had said earlier in his mind.

No, when he narrated, he was actually following his usual habit of passing the conversation to Tan Wenbin.

Because of Tan Wenbin's presence, he could say less. After Tan Wenbin understood some things, he could help Li recount them to others.

But this time, when he handed over the conversation, Tan Wenbin responded, but in an extremely normal way of joking and laughing it off.

And yet he felt no sense of abnormality at all—was it because the other's acting was too good?

Or was it that the other was not acting at all?

Li Zhiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang and asked, "Brother Liang, think back, when you were on the tractor coming back, what did you talk about with that 'me'?"

Xue Liangliang: "To you—I mean, to that fake you, I talked about a lot of my discoveries on the construction site, and then that fake you also said a lot to me."

Li Zhiyuan: "Did that 'me' tell you about the Miao village matters?"

Xue Liangliang gently patted his forehead, deep in thought.

Lin Shuyou said: "It seemed like some things were said..."

Li Zhiyuan looked at Lin Shuyou: "What was said?"

Lin Shuyou frowned: "A little bit, and then there was talk of explaining it in detail after returning."

Xue Liangliang stopped patting his forehead, opened his eyes wide, and spoke with emphasis: "That you said a lot to me, but not much was useful!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhiyuan nodded, this was indeed the case.

Xue Liangliang asked puzzled: "It shouldn't be like this. Thinking back now, it seems strange, but at the time, I didn't sense any inconsistency at all; I never doubted that you were fake then. How did he deceive me?"

Li Zhiyuan pointed at the glass shards on the ground and said: "It's not it deceiving you, but you deceiving yourself."

The young man stood up and picked up the fire tongs, poking at the glass shards on the ground:

"I don't know how they were made.

But they are truly like a mirror, only, whereas an ordinary mirror reflects one's true self, this mirror reflects the person you perceive in your mind.

Take me as an example.

The best mimicry is not about becoming an exact copy of me.

Rather, it just needs to mimic the image of me in your eyes, then it is the real me, even more real than myself."

Xue Liangliang: "No wonder."

Lin Shuyou, somewhat sheepishly, echoed: "Oh, so that's how it is~"

Run Sheng took out a pack of compressed biscuits and started eating. He didn't like partaking in the brain-churning parts, and besides, he was genuinely hungry.

Xue Liangliang: "So in my eyes, how the real you would respond to me, that fake you would react in the same way, in reality, is just me deceiving myself.

Is there really such a bizarre existence in this world?"

"There are lots of bizarre things in this world, like..."

"Okay, no need for examples." Xue Liangliang raised his hand quickly, "Then what's her purpose in doing this?"

Lin Shuyou chimed in: "Yeah, Brother Xiao Yuan, this thing doesn't seem to have much attack power. Just now, when I jabbed it with the trident, it shattered."

Li Zhiyuan spoke up:

"I suspect that while we're investigating her, she's also investigating us."

At this moment, footsteps sounded from outside the house, and Tan Wenbin and Yin Meng appeared at the doorway.

Tan Wenbin's face was flushed and he carried the scent of alcohol, he must have drunk a lot, but he wouldn't get drunk; his mind remained clear.

"Hey, everyone's back. Brother Xiao Yuan, I have an important discovery to report!"

Lin Shuyou threw over his dagger and said: "Draw some blood first."

"What?" Tan Wenbin caught the dagger, looking puzzledly at everyone, finally resting his gaze on Li Zhiyuan.

The young man nodded and pointed to the blood bowl sitting next to him.

"Alright." Tan Wenbin used the dagger to cut his fingertip, found a bowl, and as he let the blood drip in, asked, "Was it that dirty thing impersonating us, just like what was mentioned in Cui Hao's diary?"

After the blood was collected, Tan Wenbin handed over the bowl, then sucked on his fingertip wound.

Yin Meng, on her end, also quickly finished the dripping.

After confirming identities, everyone sat back down, and Lin Shuyou began narrating the earlier events.

But Ah You narrated awkwardly, his speech was unclear. For every three sentences he said, Tan Wenbin had to ask two questions. In the end, Xue Liangliang took over and began recounting the story.

After listening, Tan Wenbin clicked his tongue: "This trick is truly wicked. Is that thing trying to gather all our secrets? And then what?"

Lin Shuyou stated matter-of-factly: "Once she knows us and herself well enough, she can make a move against us."

Tan Wenbin spread out his hands: "Then why didn't she take advantage of today, when we split up, to make a move directly?"

Lin Shuyou paused and said: "Maybe she's being cautious?"

Tan Wenbin lit a cigarette: "But, if it were me, I'd choose to first take the chance to find a pair that's isolated and attempt to strike, to see if two could be taken down first."

Convinced, Lin Shuyou nodded: "Oh, right, I would also first try to make a move to see how it goes."

Tan Wenbin took out Zhiyuan's talisman paper and stuck it to the glass shards on the ground, but the paper didn't change color: "The talisman paper can't detect it?"

Lin Shuyou: "Brother Xiao Yuan's array doesn't react to them either. Fortunately, they don't have much attack power, and even their threat level is very low."

Tan Wenbin: "Then why go to such great lengths for this performance, what's her goal? It's not like killing is more than just touching the ground; is she trying to show off her skills to us?"

Li Zhiyuan: "Let's first summarize the information each group has gathered today. Perhaps her true purpose is hidden within that."