​​Chapter 186: Filial Piety

​"It's too dangerous!" Lu Caiwei stopped Li Zhi, her face pale. "What if she's waiting right outside the car?"

Getting off now would be like delivering herself to the ghost.

The others in the car didn’t speak, but their expressions showed clear disapproval. Yan Yingrui even subtly shook his head at her. Forget the female ghost—with five Tianwen members in the car, if they suddenly attacked while she was outside, the situation would become even more perilous.

Li Zhi called out, "Brother."

The siblings shared an unspoken understanding. Li Feng gave a calm nod before turning to the driver. "Get out. I'll drive."

The driver, still paralyzed by the horror of having run someone over, was practically dragged from his seat by Li Feng. He collapsed into the passenger seat, sobbing uncontrollably.

Li Feng took control of the driver’s seat and pressed the door release button. With a click, the minibus’s front door slid open. He glanced back at his sister. "Be careful."

Li Zhi nodded, summoning her curved blade with a flick of her wrist as she moved toward the door.

Li Feng didn’t stop her. He knew what kind of person his sister was—and what she was thinking.

What if Lu Xiangyang was still alive?

If he was, and they drove away without even trying to save him, that wasn’t something Li Zhi could live with.

From beginning to end, her reverence for life had never wavered.

In a world where death had become commonplace, where most people had grown numb to it, she clung all the more fiercely to every living soul.

Lu Caiwei gritted her teeth. "I’ll go with you."

Li Zhi, already at the door, shook her head. "Stay in the car."

Their eyes met, and Lu Caiwei understood. If she left too, Peacock would be at a severe disadvantage in numbers. They still had to protect their useless boss—they couldn’t afford to be reckless!

Reluctantly, Lu Caiwei sat back down.

A frigid wind rushed through the open door, plunging the temperature inside the car. Everyone shivered, goosebumps rising on their skin.

Li Zhi jumped out, sweeping her flashlight around. There was no sign of the woman. Blade in one hand, flashlight in the other, she moved toward the back of the bus. Weeds crunched underfoot, their rustling loud in the silence.

The engine was still running, exhaust fumes thick in the air, mingling with the stench of gasoline. Crickets chirped in the darkness.

The rear tire was slick with blood, mud-streaked gore dripping from its treads. Bloody tire tracks stretched behind the bus. Li Zhi followed them with her flashlight, spotting Lu Xiangyang’s body ten meters back, sprawled on the gravel road.

The woman in the black dress stood beside him.

Her arms hung limp at her sides, head bowed, hair obscuring her face. She wore red high heels, one foot twisted unnaturally, as if her ankle was broken.

When the flashlight beam hit her, she vanished again.

Li Zhi didn’t react, walking calmly toward Lu Xiangyang.

Blood pooled beneath his body. His face was frozen in that eerie grin, eyes wide, blood vessels burst. Li Zhi crouched beside him, clamping the flashlight between her teeth to check his carotid artery.

He was dead.

She closed his eyes, then grabbed his collar and dragged him to a weed-choked ditch by the roadside. Thick grass swallowed his body. Li Zhi scooped up a handful of dirt and scattered it over him.

Those who died in the dungeon couldn’t even rest in peace.

Back in the car, Li Zhi accepted the tissues Xing Qingyue handed her, wiping the blood from her hands. The driver, his face streaked with tears and snot, stared at her in horror. "Dead… he’s really dead… I killed someone…"

"It wasn’t you," Li Zhi said. "That ghost killed him." She asked, "Did you see the woman in the rearview mirror earlier?"

The driver shook his head despairingly. "No, I didn’t. But no one will believe that…"

Tianwen’s Zhong Yun suddenly spoke up. "You didn’t kill anyone. No one died. That guy got off the bus on his own. We all saw it." She turned to the others. "Right?"

The other players caught on quickly, nodding. "Yeah! He got off by himself. No idea where he went."

Their mission was to complete the film shoot. If the driver reported a death, it could disrupt the entire production, making their task harder.

The driver, unaware of players or missions, only knew he’d run someone over. With everyone covering for him, he’d be even less likely to confess later.

To finish the film smoothly, the crew couldn’t afford any deaths. If more players died, they’d have to cover those up too.

Everyone realized this was part of the mission. If too many deaths halted production, they might never escape the dungeon.

Tianwen’s Shi Ziliang cursed under his breath.

How were they supposed to target Peacock and Li Zhi now? Wouldn’t that just sabotage their own mission?

Damn system. Sometimes it encouraged players to turn on each other; other times, it forced them to cooperate. It toyed with them like ants, finding cruel amusement in their struggles.

Li Zhi glanced at the rearview mirror, now wrapped in Li Feng’s jacket, then returned to her seat. "Brother, let’s go."

The bus rumbled back to life. No one looked outside. Lu Caiwei changed seats, settling beside Li Zhi. "Did you see the ghost when you went out?"

Li Zhi nodded. "Yeah." She recalled the high heels. "It’s the same one from the restroom."

From inside the bus, their view had been obscured. Through the grimy rear window, Lu Caiwei had only glimpsed a blurry figure. Confused, she asked, "If she could kill Lu Xiangyang, why did she let us escape in the restroom?"

All that banging and crawling—why go through the theatrics just to let them go? To scare them?

Li Zhi narrowed her eyes, picturing the funeral home’s restroom. The pieces finally clicked. "Because there were no mirrors in the restroom."

"Mirrors?"

Li Zhi understood the ghost’s killing rules. "She was summoned when the crew filmed her cremation. The camera acted like a mirror—she can only kill through reflections. Lu Xiangyang saw her in the rearview mirror and panicked, which triggered her. Without mirrors in the restroom, she couldn’t touch us."

Dungeon ghosts couldn’t kill indiscriminately—they followed strict rules.

Everyone on the bus had seen the ghost waving by the roadside, but only Lu Xiangyang died.

Li Zhi reasoned, "Her kills likely require two conditions: first, the victim sees her in a reflection; second, they’re frightened by what they see."

Mirrored surfaces were everywhere in life. If you glanced into one and suddenly saw a ghostly figure beside you, terror was inevitable.

Though Lu Caiwei knew Li Zhi was sharp, seeing her deduce the death conditions so quickly still stunned her. She couldn’t help feeling grateful Li Zhi was on their side. Facing her as an opponent would be a nightmare.

Their leader was truly wise!

Suppressing her excitement, Lu Caiwei whispered, "I’ll pass the info to the others. As for Tianwen…" She winked. "Let them fend for themselves."

Li Zhi smiled.

The bus drove smoothly until streetlights finally appeared, marking the outskirts of a town. Following the driver’s directions, Li Feng parked at the hotel where the crew was staying. The lot already held Ning Xue’s van and other production vehicles.

After shutting off the engine, Li Feng patted the driver’s shoulder. "Get some rest. Don’t overthink it. You’ll be fine."

The driver nodded numbly.

The town had no luxury hotels, but this one was decent. Inside the lobby, a receptionist slurped instant noodles behind the counter, not bothering to look up. "Your crew already paid. Take a key if you have a card." He added, "Max three per room."

Yan Yingrui and Jing Da took a key and ushered Lu Ao away first. To avoid exposing herself, Lu Caiwei asked Li Zhi and Li Feng, "Can I room with you guys?"

Li Zhi grinned. "Sure, if you don’t mind my brother’s snoring."

Lu Caiwei gaped at Li Feng. "Someone with his physique snores?"

Li Feng shot his sister a long-suffering look. "I don’t snore."

Li Zhi said mildly, "That year you came home on leave, Shuangshuang couldn’t sleep all night because of you."

Li Feng: "...That was after drills. I was exhausted."

Lu Caiwei burst out laughing, linking arms with Li Zhi. "No worries, I sleep like a log. Brother Feng, lead the way!"

Players quickly paired off. Li Feng grabbed an extra blanket from reception. Their room was on the third floor, musty with dampness as they entered.

Two single beds took up most of the space. Lu Caiwei moved to open the window for air, but when she pulled back the curtains, she noticed the glass reflected the room behind her. She quickly closed them again. "Don’t open this. The window works like a mirror."

Li Feng acknowledged, tossing the blanket onto the floor by the window. "You two take the beds. I’ll sleep here."

Though dated, the room was spacious, with a large bathroom featuring a dust-coated tub. Li Zhi eyed the mirror above the sink, then asked Li Feng for his jacket to cover it.

With the mirror concealed, the bathroom was safe. Lu Caiwei inspected the bedside phone, dialing Yan Yingrui’s room. To her surprise, it connected.

Saved a trip outside. She whispered, "Hey, Yanwang, it’s me."

After relaying the death conditions, she hesitated before calling the neutral players’ rooms too. Once done, Li Zhi teased, "Aren’t you worried some might be Tianwen plants? Telling them means Tianwen knows too."

Lu Caiwei sniffed. "Then they got lucky."

Li Feng emerged from the bathroom in a black tank top, toweling off his hair. "Zhi, it’s free."

Lu Caiwei’s eyes lit up at the sight of his muscles. She fake-drooled, whispering to Li Zhi, "Hey, would you mind if I became your sister-in-law?"

Li Zhi laughed, giving her a thumbs-up. "Go for it."