Mu Qiu noticed his lip-pursing action and felt a bit strange about it.

Cheng Zhirang always maintained gentlemanly manners, looking at others in the eye while speaking, even though people often couldn’t meet his gaze.

He didn’t find it offensive nor did he force others to do the same. Perhaps because many people couldn’t look him in the eye, he’d sometimes make small gestures when they looked away.

For example, he would lower his head and smile when she wasn’t paying attention. If she hadn’t seen him do it in the mirror a few times, she wouldn’t have noticed.

Why was he pursing his lips?

Did Shen Zhousong’s situation really mirror Guo Yin’s, disappearing without a trace?

Where did the production team take Shen Zhousong and Guo Yin?

It seems we need to speed up the game.

"The first monster has been activated, and we don’t even know what the monster or the archives card looks like, yet we’ve already lost two people," Mu Qiu calmly analyzed.

"The only thing we know is that the person who activated the archives card must be among us."

"Then let’s each briefly go over what we’ve encountered to figure things out," Shi Yuhuai suggested.

Shu Ran: "We’ve been with Mu Qiu and them all along, went to the hotel to look for the archives card, and stayed inside since it was activated, hearing someone outside forcefully knocking but didn’t dare to go out. So it can’t be among us."

"Nor is it among us," Guan Yu placed her hands on the table, slightly leaning forward in a defensive posture,

"The four of us finally found an even-numbered room to enter, without closing the door. After less than five minutes of searching, the alert sounded, and Chu Qiu said he saw a shadow rush past outside, but when we went out to check, no one was there."

Suspicion fell on the remaining Cheng Zhirang and Li Yang.

Li Yang quickly leaned back: "It’s definitely not me; Guo Yin is the victim, we’re teammates!"

"Who knows whether you’d sacrifice a teammate for victory? This could very well be part of your plan," Zhao Yu suddenly interjected.

That statement woke everyone from a dream.

Mu Qiu seemed to understand what Cheng Zhirang’s subtle action meant.

The disappearance of Shen Zhousong was definitely suspicious.

"Brother Cheng, could it be you?" she asked, "If none of us did it, then you’re the only one left. It can’t be that Brother Shen and Guo Yin activated the archives card and accidentally killed themselves."

Cheng Zhirang turned to look her in the eye, his face unchanged: "It wasn’t me."

"How can you prove it?"

"Having pre-prepared answers isn’t proof; it’s evasion. I say it wasn’t, so it wasn’t."

Oh my, that’s quite bold.

"Then everyone could just say that, meaning no one here is the traitor?"

He blinked playfully: "Someone’s lying, but not me. If you don’t trust me, I don’t trust you either."

"......" Mu Qiu opened her eyes wide, "You’re suspecting me of being the traitor?! I was under Sister Shu Ran’s and the others’ scrutiny, I had no time to commit any crime!"

Guan Yu, opposite, was causing a ruckus, looking very excited: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Mu Qiu turned to glare at her, then turned back, continuing to stare at Cheng Zhirang: "You’re definitely changing the topic, trying to divert our attention from you. Brother Cheng, you’re even more suspicious."

Cheng Zhirang leaned forward, shifting from a relaxed sitting position to sitting upright, crossing his hands on the table like a boss.

"To add guilt, no words are needed."

"......"

Pissed off his girlfriend, planning to deal with him after the show today!

A group of people on the other side tutted, with Guan Yu like a CP fangirl, grinning widely.

"Okay, we know you suspect each other but can’t convince each other, right? Don’t worry, you guys keep pecking at each other, one out at a time."

Mu Qiu turned to glare at her: "I’ve suddenly got the feeling Sister Guan Yu, you’re the most suspicious."

"...Are you guys relying on subjective judgment to find the suspect? Switching so rashly!"

Proven to be not the rashest, even more reckless things were yet to come.

This round of statements was simplified a lot, skipping many processes. After about ten minutes, they were ready to "go their separate ways."

Just as they were about to leave, Guan Yu remembered something, shouting loudly, "Stop a minute."

"Director, haven’t you been inactive for a long time? Haven’t you forgotten something?!"

The director, lazily lounging in the fast-food joint, waved his hand vaguely, meaning—

Dear stranger, what’s the matter? Whether anything or nothing, please quickly move along.

Guan Yu questioned word by word: "Director, an hour ago, I asked to use MVP privileges to trade for water, and you didn’t agree.

Agree or not, that’s fine, but you should at least tell us what the privileges and mobile NPC penalties are, right? Are you forgetful due to old age?!"

The director suddenly remembered, coughing, sat upright, and searched for his tattered megaphone.

"The MVP privileges and mobile NPC penalties have been in play from the start, but they have activation mechanisms."

Guan Yu smoothly finished the sentence: "You just forgot to mention it, right?"

The director, exposed, felt annoyed, his voice turning sharp and filled with resentment.

"Due to the differences between this episode and the last, this time the MVP privileges and mobile NPC penalties activate through triggers.

An MVP can only enjoy privileges while wearing a red armband, possessing an end-of-the-world fate aura, enjoying favorable biases in everything.

The mobile NPC, conversely, experiences a loss of fate while the MVP enjoys the aura’s conveniences.

In plain terms, if there’s a monster, you’re 70% likely to encounter it; for good things, just 30%. Some monsters might even crawl to harm you."

"......"

Damn, how could there be such a vicious penalty model?!

Mu Qiu didn’t say a word, standing up and rushing outside.

"Don’t hold me back! Let me go! Just let me wander alone, this world is not worth it!"

Li Yang: "Wait for me, I’m coming too!"

Guan Yu laughed foolishly from behind: "I will definitely not hold you back, you go ahead, one word of pleading and I’ll lose! Hahahahaha, laughing to death!"

The other MVP, Mr. Shi, didn’t mock, but from his relaxed expression, it was clear he was only satisfied with enjoying privileges, showing no sympathy for others’ plight.

No sympathy is roughly equivalent to sitting and watching the show, almost equal to a laugh.

Mu Qiu really wanted to collapse at the door and cause trouble for the production team. This lousy rule shamelessly revealed out, totally insulting to those wishing to reform and strive for the top!