As the footsteps faded into the distance, the world fell quiet once more. Clutching her teddy bear, Yingying sat obediently on a roadside stone, her head lowered and her cheek pressed against the bear's face. The posture left her long hair hanging loose and disheveled, concealing her features and making her look both somewhat eerie and pitiful.
Ding Shi searched for kindling within the beam of the car's headlights, while Mumu squatted before Yingying. Brushing aside the girl's hair, Mumu asked softly, "Don't be afraid, Yingying. How about I tell you a story?"
Yingying nodded.
Mumu said, "Fifty years ago, a series of disappearances occurred in a certain city. All the victims were young girls. Although the authorities kept urging everyone to stay vigilant, the number of missing people continued to rise. So an off-duty policewoman put on plain clothes and wandered around the spots where the girls had frequently vanished.
"One day," Mumu continued, "she came across a little girl who had taken a tumble. Covered in muddy water, the girl was limping along. The policewoman went up to ask if she was all right and offered to walk her home. When they entered an alley, the little girl slipped. The policewoman stepped forward to check on her, only for the little girl to pull out a bottle of liquid and spray it straight at her face. Moments later, the policewoman passed out.
"Yingying," Mumu asked, "why do you think that little girl was so wicked?"
Yingying's eyes darted back and forth. "Because bad people made her do bad things?"
Mumu shook her head. "Wrong. It was because she wasn't a little girl at all, but a woman in her thirties."
Yingying finally lifted her head to meet Mumu's gaze. Her left hand left the teddy bear for the first time, thrusting a dagger straight toward Mumu's heart. But Mumu's left hand clamped securely around her wrist. Looking at Yingying, she murmured, "Let me let you in on a little secret, Yingying... Big Sister Mumu is a cop too."
With that, Mumu gripped Yingying by the shoulder, slammed her hard to the ground, snatched the dagger from her hand, and patted her down from head to toe. She found nothing else.
Pulling out Yingying's shoelaces, Mumu bound her hands. Sensing something was off, she glanced back—only to see Ding Shi tending a fire by the roadside, entirely unconcerned with what had just transpired.
"Hey," Mumu called out.
Ding Shi looked over. "Yeah?"
Mumu gestured toward Yingying. Ding Shi pondered for a moment, failed to find the right words, and gave her a thumbs-up. "Awesome."
"You knew all along she was a dwarf?" Mumu asked.
"More or less," Ding Shi replied.
Mumu said, "You knew she was dangerous, which was why you suggested either you and Chu Yu go look for her parents, or you stay behind alone. Wasn't that to prevent her from attacking our teammates?"
Ding Shi didn't deny it. "Yes."
"I was less than fifty centimeters away from her just now, while you were ten meters off gathering dry wood," Mumu said. "Did you think she wouldn't attack me, or did you assume I could handle her?"
Ding Shi gave a direct answer: "I knew you were a cop."
Surprised and suspicious, Mumu asked, "Really? My hair's dyed and I'm dressed like an emo rebel. How could you ever guess I was a cop?"
"No comment." Just an undercover rookie—he had seen right through her long ago. Presumably, when Mumu was pulled into Yita World, she happened to be in the middle of an undercover assignment.
Mumu set Yingying down on the ground, walked over, and studied Ding Shi by the glow of the fire and headlights. Smiling, Ding Shi reminded her, "Big Sis, this is Yita World."
Mumu looked at him. "Can I take it that we're the two best fighters on this team?"
Ding Shi disagreed. "Brother Kai should be pretty capable, shouldn't he? He's a private detective, after all. And Ritian's a giant. Plus, Captain Chu Yu seems to have had professional combat training."
Squatting by the fire, Mumu asked, "Another question: why did you suggest going with Chu Yu to search for Yingying's parents? Why not go alone, or take the guys with you?"
Ding Shi replied, "No particular reason."
"You suspected we would ditch you and drive off without you," Mumu stated.
Ding Shi asked curiously, "What makes you think that?"
"Just a hunch. Am I right?" She looked at him.
"Of course not," Ding Shi replied.
Mumu said, "One last question. Would you abandon your companions to clear the instance alone? By 'companions,' I mean the four of us. I specify that because I'm not entirely sure you even view us as companions."
Ding Shi asked curiously once more, "Why ask something like that?"
Mumu replied, "I believe you have the ability to reach Jibei Province on your own, even if you lose us. You knew from the start that I was a cop, yet when we split into groups, you didn't stop me from staying behind. That shows you wanted to keep a low profile—and that you don't care whether the others live or die."
Ding Shi said, "You're thinking too poorly of me. Besides, what are you really trying to get at?"
Mumu glanced back at Yingying. "I need someone who can pry her mouth open. You know I can't do it, and neither can Yuyu or the others. You understand? Even if someone has the skill to kill, crossing that psychological barrier isn't something done on the spur of the moment."
"I can't either," Ding Shi said.
Mumu said, "You'd rather let the team fall into danger than reveal your hand."
Ding Shi countered, "How do you know I can?"
"I can't say for sure, but you know whether you can."
Ding Shi said, "Even if she's a dwarf, she looks no different from an ordinary little girl. Suppose I did pry her mouth open—how do you think Chu Yu and the others would view me? They'd think I was dangerous, ruthless, and they'd abandon me at the first opportunity."
"They wouldn't, because we need you," Mumu said.
"I don't think so. It may look like we're short on fuel money, but in reality, players can be found in every city. Holding a massive amount of Yita coins, Chu Yu stands a very good chance of exchanging them for whatever travel funds we need."
"You know how to read maps," Mumu pointed out.
Ding Shi said, "Before we set out, you and Chu Yu planned the route to Jibei Province. Chu Yu can't read maps, so the one who actually understood them was you. The only reason I ended up navigating back then was that your seating position was inconvenient. And you had already coordinated with Chu Yu; she agreed to let you conceal your identity. That way, if internal trouble arose within the team, you—who appeared to be the weakest link—could assist Chu Yu in resolving it."
Ding Shi added, "You volunteered to stay behind not purely because of the fake Yingying, but also to figure me out. May I ask why?"
Mumu said, "Like I said, you have the ability to reach Jibei Province on your own. So what's your answer?"
Ding Shi answered, "I'll do my best. I won't betray my companions."
Mumu stared into Ding Shi's eyes for a long moment, then produced a small flashlight. "I believe you. So, are you going to back them up, or should I?"
Taking the flashlight, Ding Shi stood up. "I'll go."
Watching Ding Shi disappear into the dark, Mumu was lost in thought. Ever since Ding Shi proposed taking Unnamed Road, she had been on guard. She didn't know what his true motive was. Was it really just to solve their lack of travel funds?
Ding Shi's thoughts: *A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit—that's what exploring an instance is all about.* Exploring this instance alongside Chu Yu and the other three, if only one person could survive, Ding Shi believed his own chances were fairly high. That was the real reason he hadn't suggested exchanging more instance coins at the testing center, but had instead proposed taking the non-signal zone.
Chapter 46