Chapter 12: Interrogations and Stolen Secrets

Yun Shi speaks in the team channel: “It’s here.”

[StarKnight]: Holy sh*t! For real?
[CherryWhatFlavor]: Wind Bro, I’m coming!
[MistInTheView]: I’ll wait a bit, see if anything else pops up.

The village has paths on all sides, and since the plot could start anywhere, the four guard different points.
Hearing Bo He, Cherry and Jiang Shu curb their excitement, agreeing to wait.

Minutes later, with no suspicious activity, the three rush to Yun Shi’s coordinates.

They find the stoic wind user glaring impatiently at a sobbing girl on the ground.

The frail, disheveled girl, seeing them, chokes out, “Help!”

She’s thin, hair a mess, clutching her clothes, face pale and tear-streaked.
At first glance, it looks like a crime scene.

If not for Breath of Life’s strict, wholesome system—banning lewd actions with account bans and legal penalties—Cherry and Jiang Shu might’ve believed Yun Shi did something.

Unaware of her theatrics, Yun Shi calmly shatters her hopes: “They won’t help. They’re my teammates.”

The girl trembles, despair in her eyes.

Though he’s just stating facts, it somehow makes them feel like accomplices in bullying her.

Jiang Shu can’t help it: “Big shot, don’t say it like that…”

The girl looks at him with a flicker of hope, only to hear: “We won’t save you, but we’re not devils!”

Her despair deepens, now mixed with anger at being toyed with.

Yun Shi: …
Cherry: “…Cousin, stop. You’ll push her into a frenzy.”

Jiang Shu: ?? Why?

Bo He crouches, pulling out a handkerchief, gently wiping the girl’s face.
His words are far kinder: “What’s wrong? It’s dangerous at night. Why sneak out?”

Yun Shi briefs Bo He on the NPC.

Named Xiao Yue, a high schooler, she’s a normal survivor like the village’s others.
Yet, this frail girl dares to venture out at night—when even ability-user players fear the wild—heading far toward a cliff.

She wasn’t suicidal but gazed mournfully at Twin Islands’ other island, muttering as if mourning someone.

Yun Shi tailed her, stepping out to question her.
When she saw him, realizing her nighttime escape was caught, she panicked and cried hysterically.
The more he asked, the worse she sobbed, testing his patience until his teammates arrived.

Under Bo He’s soothing, Xiao Yue calms, perhaps realizing they won’t harm her.
She stands, hiding behind him.

Yun Shi, Cherry, and Jiang Shu, now highly suspect: …

Cherry: “Why’s she wary of me too?”

Back to business, Bo He earns her trust and takes the lead.
“Do you know a girl named Yan Ziyun?”

At “Yan Ziyun,” Xiao Yue’s face, just regaining color, pales again, lips clamped tight.

She knows.

The [Find Yan Ziyun] quest, given at sea by the red-haired NPC Yan Ziyu, is her dying wish.
On the island, it’s the only quest in players’ logs.
They’ve interrogated every NPC, even mountain monkeys, but found no trace of Yan Ziyu’s sister.

Xiao Yue, like others, claimed ignorance when asked during the day.

Yun Shi asks Cherry: “No such plot in the beta?”

Cherry shakes his head. “Nope, public release added tons.”

“Are you Yan Ziyun?” Bo He asks.

Xiao Yue startles, then denies it, not seeming to lie.

“So, she’s dead?”

Bo He’s question makes her bite her lip, wrestling with whether to speak.
But she shakes her head: “No, I don’t know.”

“Tch, how can you not know?”
“Yeah, she clearly knows but won’t talk! Bro, coax her more!”

Bo He patiently urges her gently, but she keeps shaking her head, eventually clutching it.

“Don’t be scared,” Bo He says, softly stroking her hair.
“I can tell you feel guilty.
Like my cousin said, we’re not devils.
Tell us, and I promise we won’t hurt you.”

His gentle hand slides to her shoulder, then grips her fragile neck.
A gleaming dagger spins in his other hand, stopping millimeters from her forehead.

His smile remains achingly kind.

Xiao Yue freezes, her faint sobs silenced by fear.

The move shocks not just her but the team.

“Holy sh*t! Star, your bro?? How’s he so gentle and so brutal at once?”
“…Don’t ask. His charm skill’s maxed out, and his real damage is worse.”

Yun Shi, caught off-guard by the shift, gets it.
He was about to get physical too—her stalling was maddening, clearly hiding something.

Under the “non-devils’” pressure, Xiao Yue cracks.

She doesn’t know if Yan Ziyun is dead.
Her sneaking out ties to the Yan siblings, but not from mourning—fear.

A month ago, Yan Ziyu and Wen Fengqi washed up on the island.
Yan Ziyu recognized Xiao Yue as his sister’s classmate and asked about her.

Xiao Yue told him the survivors came from a ship attacked by monsters, destroyed, scattering its people.
Some landed on Twin Islands, others on nearby islands if lucky, or died at sea if not.
Yan Ziyu’s sister was among the scattered.

But it was a lie.

Yun Shi’s group reaches the other Twin Island, home to the [Bear Island] dungeon.

Its entrance is at the edge, easy to find, but they head deeper.

The quest’s target—Yan Ziyu’s sister—lies beyond the mist ahead.

Her brother died never knowing how close she was.

Cherry’s incoherent with excitement: “Holy crap! A hidden dungeon! The first one! Can I stream? This’ll blow up! Please, bros, name your price!”

Yun Shi, strapped for cash, agrees.
Bo He and Jiang Shu have no objections.

With team approval, Cherry has his assistant hype it up and starts streaming.

Viewers flood in, thrilled at the mist marking a dungeon entrance in Cherry’s POV.

Cherry, face flushed, announces, “Let’s dive in and uncover the truth!”

The four approach the mist, but a shadow darts from the side, entering first.

“What was that?” Jiang Shu blinks, stunned.

Soon, four more figures swagger to the entrance, taunting, “Sorry, wind guy, no offense!”

They dive in.

Jiang Shu, slow to catch on, curses, “Damn! Those guys? They stole our hidden dungeon?! What now? Can players even steal it? If they clear, they get the first-kill rewards!”

“Samsara…” Bo He glances back, seeing Yun Shi’s face colder than ice.