NOVEL NEXT Ch. 18
Chapter 18: Turning Hostile
Facts proved that Lu Feng still overestimated these people.
Their thinking couldn’t be called ridiculous—just downright stupid!
If Evil Spirits could be taken out by physical means, then what was the point of this game? Why bother setting so many rules?
Just hand everyone an RPG and an AK, then let Evil Spirits swarm forward in droves while humans only needed to pull the trigger and fire shells.
Whoever got wiped out first lost—that would be the end of it.
Such a simple truth, yet they couldn’t understand it.
That could only mean either they had no brains at all, or they simply hadn’t used them.
To speak of matters of life and death like a child’s game—truly, they must have lived too long.
Lu Feng realized he had made a huge mistake.
From the very start, he should never have attended this so-called gathering.
It was a complete waste of time.
Therefore, after mercilessly spitting out the word “idiot,” he immediately called the others to get ready to leave.
“You stop right there! Lu, what do you mean by that?”
Xiao Zhiquan also realized he had just been insulted.
His face instantly turned red, glaring at Lu Feng with vicious eyes.
“It means you haven’t used your brain at all. What you said was no different from nonsense.”
Lu Feng turned his head, looking at him coldly.
“Think about it yourself. If Evil Spirits could be dealt with by manpower, would there even be a need for these rules? Would this game have any difficulty left to speak of?”
“You’re treating something concerning life and death like child’s play, suggesting everyone gather in the hall? What you’re doing is setting up a buffet for Evil Spirits—whoever they pick is the unlucky one.”
Xiao Zhiquan was left utterly humiliated by Lu Feng’s words.
His face flushed purple, yet his mouth refused to back down.
“Heh, since you sound so high and mighty, then why don’t you tell us how to stop the Evil Spirits?”
Lu Feng shook his head.
“There’s no way. The game rules already state everything. The only way to avoid being killed by Evil Spirits is to end this game as soon as possible.”
“Heh, so you just blindly believe in those so-called game rules?”
“So many incomprehensible things have already happened today—what reason do I have not to believe?”
As he said this, Lu Feng swept his eyes over everyone present, but what he saw in return were mostly doubtful gazes.
Shaking his head slightly, he sighed inwardly.
Rationality told Lu Feng that since sacrifices were bound to occur, then having all these people gathered together was actually beneficial for him.
After all, with such a large target, Evil Spirits would most likely be drawn to them.
But his emotions made him unwilling to do that.
Even if sacrifices were inevitable, at least let everyone’s deaths be more fair, not misled into suicide by someone like Xiao Zhiquan, who lacked even the slightest capacity for thought.
“I only hope you all think this through. Are you really going to act rashly without knowing a thing?”
“I’ve said all I need to. Sorry for interrupting. You all can keep discussing what to do next.”
With that, Lu Feng turned and walked out of the parlor.
Yu Mo, Lin You, and the others followed him, leaving behind a crowd of dumbfounded faces—and Xiao Zhiquan’s expression, darker than ever.
……
Once outside the parlor, Yu Mo and Lin You exchanged strange looks with each other, then at Lu Feng.
In their impression, Lu Feng was the kind of person who almost never lost his temper, whose emotional fluctuations were barely noticeable.
Someone that calm—why had he gotten so angry just now?
“Um… Lu Feng, are you okay?”
Lin You asked worriedly.
Lu Feng, however, turned back with a look of surprise.
“Me? What could be wrong with me?”
“But just now you…”
“Oh, that—”
Lu Feng stopped walking, scratched his head, and gave an awkward smile.
“That was just me putting on an act, to remind the others not to follow Xiao Zhiquan’s nonsense…”
“Whatever he does is his business. But that guy actually wanted to spread his idiotic ideas to everyone else.”
Hearing his explanation, the others finally understood why he had reacted so strongly earlier.
“But… didn’t you say not to have direct conflicts with them?”
Yu Mo looked at him anxiously.
“Now that you’ve completely fallen out with them, won’t that cause trouble later on?”
“Ah… I didn’t want to either, but Xiao Zhiquan just can’t speak without spouting nonsense…”
Lu Feng sighed as he spoke.
“After all, we’re classmates. I couldn’t just stand by and watch them get misled. Should I really let them serve themselves up as an Evil Spirit buffet?”
For a moment, no one knew what to say.
“Then… do you think what you said earlier will actually work?”
Lin You asked.
“It should help, but there’ll definitely still be people who follow Xiao Zhiquan and act stupidly…”
Lu Feng let out a heavy sigh.
“Even if there must be sacrifices, it shouldn’t be like this. I’ve already said what needed to be said. The rest depends on how they choose for themselves.”
Zhang Tong patted Lu Feng on the shoulder in comfort, while Lin You suddenly broke out laughing, grinning broadly.
“Don’t worry about it so much. Anyway, since we’ve already fallen out with them, if they dare cause trouble, we’ll just beat the crap out of them. Honestly, I’ve been sick of them for a while now!”
Then Lin You suddenly remembered something, chuckled twice, and said,
“But Feng Feng, you’re really something. Even cursing people, you do it so skillfully. If it were me, I’d just have gone straight to insulting his mom.”
“I just happened to think of it then… figured ‘idiot’ really suited him.”
Lu Feng smiled awkwardly as Lin You slung an arm around his shoulders.
Behind them, trailing slightly behind the group, Liuli looked at Lu Feng with a complicated expression, letting out a faint, inaudible sigh.
……
After this matter, everyone grew even more uneasy about tomorrow.
So Lu Feng suggested that they not explore the old mansion that afternoon, and instead get some proper rest—after all, tomorrow they would have to endure an entire day without sleep.
The group agreed with his suggestion and returned to their rooms to rest.
Back in his own room, Lu Feng collapsed once again on the sofa.
He stared at the ceiling, pondering one question—
Could Xiao Zhiquan be an Evil Spirit Follower?
After thinking it over, he denied the possibility.
If he were truly an Evil Spirit Follower, he would never deliberately expose himself at the center of everyone’s attention.
That would only increase the risk of being exposed.
So, Lu Feng immediately pulled out that moldy notebook and wrote after Xiao Zhiquan’s name: “Ordinary Player (high probability).”
At present, the notebook only recorded the identities of a few people—
Lin You, Identity: Ordinary Player (basically confirmed)
Yu Mo, Identity: Ordinary Player (basically confirmed)
Zhang Tong, Identity: Ordinary Player (high probability)
Liuli…
Seeing Liuli’s name, Lu Feng hesitated.
He tapped his temple thoughtfully for a moment, then marked a question mark next to her identity.
Lu Feng had never been able to judge Liuli’s identity.
Too many of her actions were simply too unusual, completely unlike the “ghost girl” he had once known at school.
Although he hoped she wasn’t an Evil Spirit Follower, he couldn’t gamble with everyone’s lives.
If she really was an Evil Spirit Follower…
Thinking of this, Lu Feng couldn’t help but clench his fists.
Suddenly, there came a knock at his door, followed by Liuli’s voice from outside.
“Lu Feng, can I come in?”
“Oh, p-please, come in.”
Lu Feng quickly stashed away the notebook as he replied.
Liuli pushed open the door, stepping lightly into the room.
Lu Feng gave her a questioning look.
“What is it?”
Liuli nodded gently.
“Mm… tonight, could you come to my room for a bit?”
To Lu Feng, this seemingly suggestive invitation didn’t sound that way at all.
“Alright, after dinner then.”
He agreed without hesitation.
After all, there were too many things he wanted to know, and Liuli was the one who could give him the answers.