I’m Not a Player…That’s the Problem

The staff member was speechless.
How exactly was she supposed to be responsible for her own death?

After a brief silence, the staff member nodded, tacitly allowing the pink flip-flops to set foot in the Village Committee office.

Su Lai: “Thanks for your cooperation.”

Staff member: …
‘Am I the staff member here, or are you?’

After locking up his e-bike, Su Lai made a show of supporting Bai Ke as he helped him into the office, his expression resolute.
“Cousin, don’t be afraid.
Sure, you’re sick, but you still have me, your little cousin, around.”

Bai Ke muttered quietly.
“That’s enough.
I’m a mental patient now, not Parkinson’s.
My legs don’t shake.
I can walk.”

Five people were already standing in the office.
Four men, one woman.
Among them were the older and younger duo who had beaten them to renting 47 Lotus Pond Lane last night.

The scarred middle-aged man still had a toothpick between his teeth.
He tilted his head, giving Su Lai and Bai Ke another once-over.
Finally, he gave a humourless smile.
“Oh, you two made it out alive?”

Su Lai looked at the toothpick rolling around in his mouth.
He wondered if it was the same one from yesterday.
‘This guy really has no hygiene,’ he thought.

Bai Ke felt extremely uncomfortable under the scarred man’s stare.
Su Lai, however, seemed completely oblivious.
“I said see you later.
I don’t ghost.”

The young man wore only a vest.
Whether he was afraid of the heat or showing off his toned muscles was unclear.
He stared at Su Lai for a couple of seconds, then shifted his gaze to the pink flip-flops.
He said nothing.

Among the remaining people, two were sitting on the office’s reception sofa.
One was a strikingly attractive young woman with a low ponytail and a crocheted hairband.
She gripped her phone, which had long lost signal, her brow slightly furrowed as if worried about something.

The other person on the sofa was a man with a pockmarked face and a stern expression, like a teaching director.
He sat there unsmiling, as if he were the leader of this office.

Then there was a young man who smiled and nodded at everyone he saw.
He appeared very friendly, but his small eyes, hidden behind thick lenses, made it hard to remember his face.

The staff member glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Everyone’s not here yet.”
Three minutes remained.

As her words faded, another man and woman entered.
This pair had already changed into floral shirts sold at the local night market.
They looked integrated with the locals, but an air of shrewdness and experience emanated from them.
Their gazes swept swiftly over everyone present.
Without uttering a single word, they merely nodded very discreetly.

To have obtained local clothing under such restrictive conditions last night was no small feat.
They were probably two fairly experienced players, Su Lai thought.

Among them, the man in the floral shirt’s gaze lingered on Su Lai.
A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.

Su Lai noticed.
He didn’t pretend otherwise.
He stared right back with the same intensity.

He was curious.
What exactly about him had caught the other’s attention?

At this point, the floral shirt man’s gaze grew more vigilant.

His female companion noticed the situation.
She proactively took two steps towards Su Lai and said in a joking tone.
“Don’t mind him.
My brother thinks you’re good-looking.”

The floral shirt man shot his companion a light glare.
“Don’t offend him.”

The woman shrugged, her smile composed.
“I’m Qi Mu, my brother here is Qi Mao.
Pleasure to meet you?”

Su Lai wasn’t shy either.
He introduced himself generously.
“Wang Xiaosi.
I run a delivery service.
Delivering goods and people.
If you have any needs, feel free to contact me directly.
No platform commission deductions.
Discounts for bulk orders.
Yearly and monthly packages available.”

As he spoke, he casually picked up the pen and paper on the Village Committee office desk and wrote down the landline number at Wang Chunying’s house.

The siblings seemed not to have expected Su Lai’s move.
Both were momentarily stunned.

Qi Mao finally withdrew his gaze.
His eyes ultimately settled on Su Lai’s flip-flops.
He took the phone number and nodded.
“Opportunity to cooperate.”

He said it lightly, almost dismissively.

“And this is…?”
Qi Mu turned to Bai Ke beside Su Lai.

Su Lai: “My cousin, Wang Xiaoer.”

Qi Mu: “…”
She wouldn’t point it out, but names like Wang Xiaosi and Wang Xiaoer were far too sloppy.
It was as if they were afraid others wouldn’t know they were using fake names.

Qi Mao patted Qi Mu’s shoulder.
Qi Mu understood.
She leaned in and lowered her voice.
“A Mao, what’s wrong?”

Qi Mao: “The numbers don’t add up.
That flip-flop guy isn’t a player.”

Qi Mu’s expression froze for an instant.
Then she clicked her tongue softly.
“And the other one?”

Qi Mao nodded.
“He’s human.
Probably a semi-new player.”

Qi Mu: “What do we do?”
She knew Qi Mao’s judgment was unlikely to be wrong.

Qi Mao glanced sideways at those conspicuous pink flip-flops.
He didn’t answer immediately.

Next, everyone in the office gave brief introductions.
The young woman was called Bei Yao.
The pockmarked man really was some Director Jia.
The perpetually smiling young man was Hu Xiang, a fresh graduate who had just been through the wringer of society.

The staff member checked the time again.
She tapped her knuckles on the desk.
“One minute left.”

Would anyone else come?
Almost everyone looked out of the office door, puzzled.

Hu Xiang: “What happens if someone’s late?”
At his real-life company, every latecomer had to send a 200 kuai red packet to the company group chat.

The staff member curled her lips.
“To maintain public order and stability in Spring Breeze Community, all external personnel must arrive punctually and cooperate with Spring Breeze Community’s work arrangements.”
She simply repeated the host’s words.
Saying it was the same as saying nothing.

With twenty seconds left until 7 AM, a young man in a hoodie rushed into the village committee office.

He wore earmuffs.
Under the hood was a head of green hair.
It clashed completely with this rundown urban district.

The youth didn’t even glance at the people waiting in the office.
He found a corner and crouched down, pulling his hood further over his face.
He seemed to be an extreme social phobe.

Director Jia muttered discontentedly.
“Keeping so many people waiting, not even a word of apology.
Young people these days…”

“Time’s up.”
The corners of the staff member’s mouth pulled down slightly.
Her gaze swept across everyone.
“There are quite a few outsiders this time.”

Excluding Su Lai as a variable, a total of nine outsiders had checked into the urban village last night.

“Welcome to our Spring Breeze Community.
All of you come from different places.
I hope you can find a sense of belonging in our community family.”

The staff member couldn’t avoid a few pleasantries.
After the opening remarks, she cut to the chase.
“Recently, residents have reported peeping incidents in our community.
To protect everyone’s privacy and safety, I need you to investigate discreetly.
Before 7 PM each day, find the peeper in the community.”

Upon hearing this, several players immediately furrowed their brows.
Having outsiders who rented here investigate a peeper—did this staff member come up with tasks using her toes?

But as players, they could only follow the assigned tasks.

Hu Xiang cautiously asked.
“Can you tell us specifically what these peeping incidents are?”

Staff member: “That’s something you need to investigate yourselves.”

“What’s the punishment?”
Qi Mao asked flatly.

Where there was a task, there must be punishment.
And of course, rewards as well.

The staff member’s answer was evasive.
“If the peeper isn’t found, or if the submitted answer is wrong, the original residents will select one person from among you for punishment.”
“Does everyone understand?”

Instantly, the crowd fell silent.

After entering the instance, their first main quest was [Become a Resident of Spring Breeze Community].
Their second main quest was to survive here for [Seven Days and Seven Nights].

Based on the type of main quests, it was basically determined that this was a survival instance.
Under normal circumstances, survival instances weren’t too difficult.
Competition among players wasn’t that fierce either.
But if a mandatory side quest was added, it was hard to say.

The staff member’s phrase “the original residents will select one person from among you for punishment” left plenty of room for blame-shifting and backstabbing.

“Hey, you didn’t answer this guy’s question.”
Su Lai broke the silence in the office.

Qi Mao had clearly asked about the punishment content.
But the staff member only stated the conditions for punishment.

She glanced at him.
“I answered questions within the scope of my job duties.”

Su Lai: “Oh.
Job duties that involve answering beside the point?”

The corner of the staff member’s mouth twitched.
She barely maintained her professional composure.
“… Wang Xiaosi, please cooperate with the village committee’s work.”

Su Lai was already taller than everyone present.
Bai Ke looked up at him, the respect in his eyes deepening.
His cousin was the first person who dared to sarcastically question a instance staff member and challenge their work competence.

Su Lai nodded.
“I’m very cooperative.”
“Then I have a question.”
The man in flip-flops raised his hand, like the class troublemaker picking a fight with the teacher.
“If the submitted answer is wrong or right, who gets punished, and who makes that call?”

Staff member: “The village committee has fair and impartial judgment criteria.”

Su Lai: “But not transparent?”

Staff member: “…”
She chose silence.

Su Lai shrugged.
“Fine.”
“I have one last question.”

The staff member almost lost it.
“Speak.”

Su Lai: “Don’t you get off work at 6:30?”

Good question.
The staff member’s lips pressed into a straight line.
“During the search for the peeper, staff volunteers to work an extra half hour.”

The word “volunteers” was practically ground out through gritted teeth.

Su Lai expressed sympathy.
“Oh.
That’s really tough.”

Staff member: “…”

Qi Mao and Qi Mu immediately exchanged glances.
It seemed this Wang Xiaosi was quite familiar with the staff member.

What kind of existence was Wang Xiaosi?
A variable?
Or a trap set by the instance for players?

What exactly did the community peeper signify?
Was the collective task truly just literal?
The staff member emphasized that the original residents would choose someone from among the players for punishment.
Did that include this suspicious Wang Xiaosi as an original resident?

Qi Mu’s voice was extremely low.
“This should be pretty interesting.”

At that moment, Bei Yao, who had been sitting on the sofa, suddenly raised her head.
She said decisively.
“I have a lead.”

So fast?
The crowd looked at this young female player with a mix of doubt and curiosity.

“My landlord was peeping at me all night last night.”
She was concise, speaking very rapidly.
“I found the rental info on the bulletin board.
The landlord is a bald middle-aged man, around fifty, surnamed Xu.
He told me to call him Brother Xu.”

“He’s familiar with the layout of every room and the positions of the windows.
The room I rented has a window facing his balcony.
I think he arranged it deliberately.”
“Last night before sleep, I saw a shadow moving around on the opposite balcony.
So I took a few more looks.
He must have sensed I noticed.
Then he had no shame.
He poked his head out from behind the clothes drying on the balcony and said some disgusting things…”

Bei Yao’s voice dropped.
The male landlord’s words and actions made her sick.

Qi Mu pressed further.
“What did he say to you?”

Bei Yao frowned.
After a brief silence, she answered.
“He said: ‘Little sister, why aren’t you asleep yet?
Can’t sleep?
Watching some naughty movies?
Want to chat for a bit?'”

Director Jia: “But we don’t have evidence right now.
Relying solely on one side of the story probably won’t work.
I think it’s better to be cautious.
Maybe it’s a misunderstanding…”

Qi Mu glanced at Director Jia.
She knew Director Jia had rented from the same landlord as Bei Yao.

Qi Mu found it ridiculous.
Her tone was cool.
“Your landlord is this blatant, and it could still be a misunderstanding?”
Her words carried a double meaning.
“The staff member didn’t ask for evidence either.”

Director Jia choked.
“I’m just offering a perspective.
After all, disrupting neighbourhood harmony does us outsiders no good.
It would only escalate the conflict.”

Bei Yao: “I have evidence.
I recorded the peeping process last night.”

With that, Bei Yao opened her phone’s photo album.
It clearly contained a video of the male landlord peeping from the opposite balcony.

“Then it’s simple.”
Director Jia immediately changed his attitude.
He leaned forward slightly, speaking with great gravity.
“Reporting someone requires special communication skills, especially when we’re outsiders.
The original residents will definitely close ranks.
I’m quite skilled at handling personnel issues.
I have plenty of similar experience…”

Seeming already accustomed to this, Qi Mao observed without comment.
Finally, he yawned, showing little interest.
He said to Qi Mu.
“Going out for a smoke to get some air?”

The Qi siblings couldn’t be bothered to listen to the old director ramble.
The unhygienic older-younger toothpick duo also lacked patience.
After receiving the collective task, they dispersed.

The hoodie-wearing socially phobic youth had rushed in just in time and then slipped away without a word.
No one even noticed when he left the office.
He left almost no impression.

Director Jia seemed particularly disapproving of the hoodie youth.
Noticing he was gone, he muttered again.
“Young people nowadays have no manners.
Only live in their own worlds.”

He didn’t dare criticize the Qi siblings.
He didn’t dare provoke the fierce-looking toothpick duo either.
He only dared to pick on someone he perceived as weak.

Bai Ke remained on the sidelines, observing.
Not long after, Su Lai patted his shoulder.
“Cousin, I’m heading off first.”
“Forgot something very important.”

As he spoke, Su Lai’s brows were furrowed.
He wore an extremely grave expression.

Bai Ke immediately tensed up.
“What did you forget?!
I’ll go with you.”
He had never seen Su Lai display such an uneasy expression.
He started panicking too.

Su Lai strode quickly to his e-bike.
His tone was as if the sky were falling.
“Forgot to charge the bike.”

Bai Ke: “…”
‘This…?!’