Chapter 2450: Lies
Yang Tian didn't answer Bubble Bean's question, instead asking, "Who brought me back?"
"It was me," the big man said. "When I found you, you were poisoned, wrapped up by a mutant plant like a chicken roll. If it weren't for me, you'd be dead."
"But your leg..." He looked down. Yang Tian had been sitting on the camp cot the whole time, and his leg really seemed immobile now. "Probably the poison was too deep. I'm not great at this stuff—I gave you a bottle of WD306 antidote, but it didn't do much."
The big man then reached out and shoved Chi Cai in front of him. "This kid gave you another shot, that's why you woke up."
Yang Tian's gaze shifted between their faces, then looked at the others. He sat alone while the rest stood or sat, but all eyes were on him, and they had conveniently surrounded him. As if fearing this confrontational posture, every muscle in his body tensed, and his teeth ground together audibly...
Suddenly a pretty face appeared before him—it was Painting Woman, who had leaned in close. She waved a hand in front of his eyes, then asked, "Did you go stupid?"
Yang Tian immediately broke free from his predicament. He looked toward Xu Huo, who was sitting at the back of the group, as if hoping to get an answer from him.
Xu Huo nodded at him. "They really did save you. If Big Money wanted to harm you, he wouldn't have bothered bringing you back. As for Chi Cai injecting you with the antidote, we all saw it. They genuinely saved you."
Only then did Yang Tian relax. His hand unconsciously went to his leg. He thanked the big man and Chi Cai, then began recounting what had happened when he returned to the village.
He had gotten lost. But this wasn't the same aimless wandering as before when he was searching for the village. He felt like he had been circling some place. He tried to force a path by cutting down trees, but before he could achieve any results, he suddenly lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was already back.
"You don't even know how you got caught?" The Yin-Yang Master raised his voice slightly, practically writing "useless" on his face.
"I'm completely in the dark too," Yang Tian said. "If I knew, I wouldn't have ended up poisoned and waiting to die in the forest."
"No one called out to you?" the green-haired female player asked. "This sounds a bit like you were targeted by the Hidden Friend."
Yang Tian shook his head. "I didn't see anyone during the day."
The people present exchanged subtle glances. Bubble Bean said, "Counting yourself lucky to have escaped with your life is good enough. As for your leg, figure something out later. It's getting late—rest a bit, so you don't have trouble keeping your eyes open tomorrow night."
After that, Yang Tian kept trying antidotes, but with little effect.
Painting Woman had more energy than the others. After watching some cartoons for a while, she asked Xu Huo for food. Xu Huo took out tools and ingredients from the luggage compartment and let her cook for herself.
While imitating the barbecue from the cartoon on her communicator, Painting Woman typed: "That person is lying. Should we beat him up to make him tell the truth?"
Xu Huo shook his head slightly. Everyone present could tell Yang Tian wasn't telling the truth, but since he refused to speak, the others couldn't directly force him—unless someone could subdue him instantly. Earlier, because the big man and Chi Cai had stopped them, the others hadn't been able to restrain him first, and now it was even less likely.
As for what he was hiding, judging by how he had gotten himself into this state, it probably wasn't anything important. And if he had become an impersonator, with his immobility, he posed no threat to anyone else.
"Why hide it?" Bubble Bean was secretly conversing with the green-haired female player.
Neither the middle-aged man nor Yang Tian really had any reason to hide things. If they had truly encountered the "Hidden Friend," after escaping danger the first time, they should have been more willing to cooperate with the other players. What benefit was there in hiding? Could it be that after being attacked by the Hidden Friend, they became impersonators?
"...Is that possible?" What had started as a casual remark made several people freeze at the same time.
"The possibility is very small," the green-haired female player interrupted their wild thoughts. "If that were the case, why would he leave in the middle of the night?"
If the middle-aged man were an impersonator, he should have chosen other players as targets instead of immediately distancing himself from everyone else upon returning. Besides, he had seemed lucid when he left, but who could really know for sure?
"I think he was more like trying to run away but failed," the Yin-Yang Master said. "I could tell when he came back during the day. He probably couldn't make it out and had to turn back to the village, which is why he returned later than everyone else."
"If that's the case, Yang Tian's situation should be similar—both got lost first," the eyebrow-pierced man said.
"Is this random attacks, or were they targeted by the Hidden Friend for some reason?" the missing-ear player typed on his communicator, confronting the eyebrow-pierced man. "You came together. Did you kill someone? Or do something else?"
The eyebrow-pierced man's expression soured. "We just met on the road. We're not close. You should ask Yang Tian that question."
The missing-ear player actually went to ask Yang Tian.
"No. I haven't killed anyone since entering the instance. In fact, I've been attacked several times and nearly died," Yang Tian said. "I only managed to survive by fleeing back to the village in the end."
Xu Huo, Bubble Bean, and the others had all witnessed the eyebrow-pierced man and the middle-aged man chasing him. If not for Xu Huo and Painting Woman, he would have been dead for sure.
"Why were you chasing him?" The missing-ear player turned back to ask the eyebrow-pierced man.
The eyebrow-pierced man frowned. "What else could it be? A figure appeared in the woods. Wouldn't you immediately suspect it was the Hidden Friend? He said it wasn't—would you believe him?"
This led to a dead end. No one could subdue others in an extremely short time. With evenly matched strength and no way to achieve even temporary peace, they had to settle things by force. Two against one gave the eyebrow-pierced man an advantage, so trying to restrain him first wasn't wrong.
Yang Tian, on the other hand, kept insisting he wasn't an impersonator. He believed that the eyebrow-pierced man's attack had little to do with whether he was an impersonator—it was simply a matter of strength. The eyebrow-pierced man and his companion saw an opportunity and took it.
At this point, there was no need to continue the conversation.
Among the players, there was no mutual trust or cooperation. Even the words spoken were half-truths.
"Asking so many questions is just a waste of breath." The Yin-Yang Master slammed the table and stood up. "Anyway, the instance time is still long. I don't believe anything can go wrong if we all stay together. Whether there's an impersonator or who it is—anyone who wants to clear the instance will eventually slip up!"
This was their only way to break the deadlock for now.
"Doesn't matter. I can't move my leg anyway, so I'm not going anywhere." Yang Tian looked around at everyone, then smiled. He raised his hand, and a black metal bead appeared in his palm. "Space interference device."
With that, he slit open his wrist, stuffed the interference device inside, and sewed the wound shut with a needle:
"Since we've reached a consensus, then none of us will be using any space teleportation items to leave."