It appeared that this fiery figure had directly merged with the Fire Chain!

At this moment, no trace of that Fire Chain could be seen on the giant flaming figure.

However...

This giant flaming figure itself was even more eye-catching and flamboyant than the original Fire Chain.

The flaming figure itself seemed to have noticed this as well.

A series of "hmph hmph" sounds emanated from within the flames, and then the entire giant flaming figure abruptly shrank.

In the blink of an eye, it transformed from a giant flame into two mechanical eyeballs pressed close together.

Yet...

In this form, the Fire Chain, which had vanished within the fiery body, abruptly reappeared, taking on the appearance of a fiery iron chain restraining a pair of mechanical eyeballs...

The mechanical eyeballs restrained by the fiery iron chain rubbed together, emitting a series of "click-clack" sounds, carrying a hint of suppressed anger.

Then, that pair of fire-chain-restrained mechanical eyeballs shot straight towards the depths of the Forest of Oddities at light speed.

While the speed of ordinary mechanical eyeballs was indeed comparable to the Light and Shadow Escape,

when mechanical eyeballs sped through the Forest of Oddities, the mist's shielding effect meant they didn't attract much attention.

However, that pair of mechanical eyeballs with the fiery chain...

was truly just as Li Ku had described—like wearing an exceptionally conspicuous tracking device!

Originally, other players in the Forest of Oddities had only noticed the great fire igniting and then burning out...

Daunted by the terrifying aura emanating from the fire, few players had the courage to investigate the burnt-out site in the short term.

But now, a pair of mechanical eyeballs with a fire chain was speeding through the Forest of Oddities...

That blood-like fiery color, that unique and prominent aura... was far too obvious!

The key was, the mist of the Forest of Oddities seemed to have no shielding effect on the Fire Chain at all.

Not only did it lack a shielding effect, it even seemed to have its own promotional effect.

Many players, even from a distance, saw a red fiery light shooting towards the depths of the Forest of Oddities through their vision-limited mist...

Previously unable to confirm anything, now witnessing this scene, almost all players concluded—

The burnt-out fire probably left behind some treasure, and someone was picking it up!

Thus, within the Forest of Oddities, those with even a bit of ambition flocked like moths to a flame, chasing the direction of the fiery light and charging towards the depths of the Forest of Oddities...

And this situation truly unfolded just as Li Ku had predicted—

Chaos, conflict, stirred up by the winds of profit!

In contrast, the group of players who had taken refuge in the Blood Pool and Forest of Flesh space...

had indeed, almost completely avoided all risks.

To be honest, when the Cheng Lin-version Jiang Ye's Doll was brought back into the Blood Pool and Forest of Flesh space by Chen Cang, he felt somewhat apprehensive deep down.

After all, previously in the Blood Pool and Forest of Flesh space, the Formless Leaf transmitted by the Exile City clone seemed to have been taken away by an invisible force.

Preventing him from binding the Formless Leaf within the Blood Pool and Forest of Flesh space...

And now, in his Doll state, to some extent, perhaps he could be considered an advanced version of the Formless Leaf?

Because that Doll was indeed forged from the Formless Leaf by that bizarre fire.

He was somewhat worried—would his "Formless Doll," this advanced version of the Formless Leaf, also be directly taken away by an invisible force like the previous Formless Leaf?

However, the reality was, his worry seemed unnecessary.

This "Formless Doll" remained stored on Chen Cang and did not disappear.

Simultaneously, this Blood Pool and Forest of Flesh space had also undergone some changes compared to before.

First, the Blood Pool Water appeared increasingly red, bordering on black.

Moreover, the water surface bubbled and gurgled, as if it were boiling water.

Apart from that, the most obvious change was—

The smell of something burnt in the air!

Previously, when entering the Blood Pool, the burnt smell wasn't very noticeable.

But now, the Blood Pool was clearly emitting that burnt odor.

For players like Li Ku and Lin Dong who were entering the Blood Pool space for the first time, naturally, this burnt smell didn't seem particularly special.

After all, they all knew that the hair tree connecting the entire Blood Pool space had experienced a bizarre fire.

Since there had been a fire, it seemed perfectly normal for the space to have a burnt smell.

Only players who had entered the space before and noticed the burnt smell paid special attention to this change now.

Chen Cang was essentially the last to enter the space. Seeing that all the players who had entered before him were safe and sound, without any signs of conflict, he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

After all, that Li Ku was too sinister. He couldn't even handle Qi Lin, so facing Li Ku, he naturally had even less confidence.

Fortunately, this Li Ku's emotional intelligence was more than just a notch higher than Qi Lin's.

Previously, Chen Cang had hesitated and been unwilling to enter the space. Now, he was essentially forced into the space by a powerful enemy...

His pride was actually somewhat bruised.

He was afraid Li Ku would mock him, or even simply ask him what made him change his mind—Chen Cang would have found that embarrassing.

Yet, Li Ku actually asked nothing, not even offering any excessive commentary...

This attitude barely made Chen Cang feel somewhat at ease.

He cleared his throat lightly, not mentioning his encounter with a powerful enemy, and instead asked Li Ku with neither humility nor arrogance:

"After entering this space, are we just taking refuge? Perhaps... could we also do something?"

Li Ku only gave a slight nod but did not answer directly.

His gaze briefly fell on He Yuliang, then turned to Du Yuheng, saying meaningfully, "Your appearance here shouldn't be a coincidence, right?"

Du Yuheng remained silent for a moment, also not answering directly, and instead abruptly remarked, "Your appearance here... couldn't be because you were following us, could it?"

After saying this, his gaze swept over the five-member group of youths: "It's also strange. Generally, Sun People players don't dare to set foot in that area after the fire. Yet you five Newbies... actually dared to come and join the excitement."

"Should I say you're fearless due to ignorance? Or... is there another reason?"

Du Yuheng's words clearly carried deeper meaning.

And Jiang Ye understood from his words...

Those five youths seemed to be the five Newbies briefly mentioned by Du Yuheng and He Yuliang when recounting their school experience—the ones who also used "comrades" as a code word and had sought "Zhou Qiming" for support.

Newbies?

As Du Yuheng said, they didn't really look like Newbies.

Not to mention, Jiang Ye sensed a familiar feeling from them...

For a moment, gazes fell upon the five Newbie youths.

Chen Cang pondered briefly, then deliberately adopted a relaxed tone: "Since we've all chosen to hide in this space for refuge, we'll have a fairly comfortable period of free time."

"Why not take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and get to know each other again?"

Saying this, he deliberately stroked his chin in thought for a moment, then smiled at the five youths:

"As everyone knows, in this world where the strong are revered, fists are harder than reason."

"So, let's introduce ourselves in order from the softest fists to the hardest... I assume no one has any objections?"

Of course, there were no objections.

In a world where the strong are revered, the weak being exploited is perfectly normal.

With so many people, the five weakest youths would introduce themselves first anyway.

The others, at least until it was their turn, naturally had no objections.

Thus, this time, the gazes directed at the five youths clearly carried the oppressive aura belonging to the strong.

Lin Dong had also seen these five youths before.

Previously, he hadn't paid them any mind, but now, reminded, he realized the issue.

Especially since the "Adolescent Personality Reconstruction School" had already, according to plan, admitted a large batch of robots as new students.

And having personally witnessed Li Ku's transformation...

Lin Dong and the others vaguely realized—

Some players might still look the same on the outside.

But the core inside... who knows when it might have changed...

The person you know, the people around you—it's hard to say if they're human or ghost!

And this kind of unknown was probably even more terrifying than foreseeable dangers!

Thinking this, the gazes of Lin Dong and the others who knew the five youths grew increasingly profound and inscrutable.

The state of the five youths was also somewhat tense.

Standing their ground? They definitely couldn't.

Perhaps, the only one who might be able to stand their ground...

Four of the youths tentatively looked towards the Glasses-wearing Youth.

Clearly, they were letting the Glasses-wearing Youth make the decision.

If he could stand his ground, then they would.

If he couldn't, then he would have to be the one to come clean.

The Glasses-wearing Youth, feeling the mounting pressure, remained silent for a moment before his gaze settled on Chen Cang.

He directly uttered the name: "Chen Cang."

Then he looked at the dying He Yuliang on the ground and uttered his name as well: "He Yuliang."

With just these two utterances, Chen Cang instantly realized something.

However, he didn't make a sound, signaling the Glasses-wearing Youth to continue.

Next, the youth finally confessed: "This body of mine is named Yi Min."

"And I am named Lin Jing."

Saying this, he touched his own Prison watch:

"When I first arrived in this world, it should have been in a kind of soul state."

"I accidentally picked up this youth's Prison watch, put it on myself, and I became him."

After saying this, Lin Jing looked at Li Ku: "I remember before, that Sun People player also gave your watch to a pair of mechanical eyeballs to wear..."

"I think his intention in doing that was to have the soul of that mechanical eyeball replace you."

"That mechanical eyeball obeyed him, so he thought that if he made you choose 'Trust' during the trial, you would definitely choose 'Trust'."

"But it seems something happened. You didn't appear to obey that Sun People player. So, a situation emerged that was beyond that Sun People player's expectations."

This Lin Jing truly seemed unafraid of death. After saying all this, he continued speaking eloquently:

"Based on my speculation, there are three possible reasons why you didn't obey him—"

"The first, the most intuitive possibility, is—you are powerful enough, so you weren't robbed of your consciousness by that pair of mechanical eyeballs. Instead, you seized the opportunity to advance and become a Sun and Moon Person."

"Then, disguised as a Sun and Moon Person, you superficially obeyed orders, but in reality, during the trial, you backstabbed that Sun Person."

"The second possibility: that pair of mechanical eyeballs provided by that Sun People player might have another master."

"So, it was that pair of mechanical eyeballs that didn't obey that Sun People player."

"As for the third possibility..."

"Perhaps that Sun People player had other plans. So he feigned one thing while secretly doing another, meaning—"

"On the surface, the command he gave you was to choose 'Trust'. Then he was backstabbed by you..."

"But in reality, your backstabbing might have been his plan all along. You two performed a play together... or more accurately, he directed and performed this play himself—making us think he died, and you stole his ability."

It must be said...

Lin Jing was truly daring to speak!

Actually, in Jiang Ye's mind, he also had these three possible speculations.

But this "Li Ku" was still alive! He hadn't dared to voice his guesses directly.

Yet Lin Jing... he actually dared to say these things right in front of Li Ku!

Moreover, what shocked Jiang Ye even more was...

Lin Jing... wasn't he trapped within the Three Life Stone back in the black ice domain?

Yet... not only had he also come to this era, but he had also changed bodies!

What about the Three Life Stone? What about the Three Life Stone Staff?

And the other four youths with him...

Jiang Ye could vaguely guess—

That Rebellious Youth was likely the previous punk, what was his name... Liu Re.

Besides that, among the other three youths, perhaps one might be Wang Lingling?

What about the remaining two? Who could they be?

Jiang Ye was an observer, so naturally, he had the mind to ponder these things.

But the atmosphere at the scene grew subtle because of the "three possibilities" Lin Jing proposed.

The first two possibilities were fine...

It was mainly the third one.

That directly implied—the Li Ku before them was actually still Qi Lin!

He had just changed his skin!

And the players' mindset towards facing Qi Lin was far from as calm as facing Li Ku.

Especially Chen Cang, who had been tied up and mocked by Qi Lin!

So, the villain he thought had died instantly had actually just changed his skin?!

For a moment, Chen Cang was inwardly horrified and secretly asked Witch Gui Jiang Ye: "Senior, of the three possibilities Lin Jing mentioned... which one do you think it is?"

"What's the deal with this Li Ku... what exactly is his situation?"

Jiang Ye thought to himself: Who are you asking me for?

But to maintain his imposing aura, he deliberately lectured: "The parties involved, Li Ku and Lin Jing, aren't reacting much. Why are you making such a big fuss? Can't you just watch the show?"

"..." Alright.

Chen Cang thought about it. Indeed, as the protagonist, he should be composed and calm. No need to get all flustered.

So, he truly acted like an outsider, adopting an air of serene detachment, his gaze shifting back and forth between Lin Jing and Li Ku.

Li Ku's facial paralysis face indeed made it difficult for him to show much expression.

However, his sharp eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

His piercing gaze scrutinized Lin Jing carefully for a good while before he said in a deep voice:

"Which one do you think it is?"

Lin Jing pondered for a moment and answered directly: "I think it's the first one."

This answer seemed to have a hint of flattering Li Ku.

However, Jiang Ye felt...

This was Lin Jing's sincere answer.

Meaning, he believed Li Ku had the capability, as a Moon People player, to take down a Sun People player!

This answer made Jiang Ye examine Li Ku more closely again.

Despite the facial paralysis, he too seemed slightly surprised by Lin Jing's answer.

After a moment of silence, Li Ku nodded in acknowledgment, also essentially admitting to everyone present:

"It is indeed the first one. I am still Li Ku."

Saying this, he turned to Lin Dong: "If you're still willing to believe in the agreement between us, then you should be able to recognize—I am still Li Ku."