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The 19 trapped Lulute people were instantly petrified with fear.

Already overwhelmed by the vast disparity in cultivation levels, and with their leader out of the picture, they instantly lost all ability to fight. Bound by vines, they hung suspended in midair.

Qiyu: “Why does it feel like they’re even easier to kill than mutated creatures?”

He walked to the spot where the Lulute person’s corpse had turned into a beam of white light and vanished, only to find the area completely empty.

On the ground lay only a few silver coins packed into a small pouch.

This wasn’t the loot dropped from a kill in a survival game; it looked more like the Lulute person chieftain’s personal belongings.

The group of Lulute people hanging in the air saw his movements and spotted the money pouch as well.

A group of little dwarves immediately cried out:

“The chieftain secretly hid the money bag!”

“The chieftain lied! He just said he didn’t have a single silver coin left!”

“Liar! Whatever!”

“……”

Qiyu:.

It seems there isn’t much camaraderie among this race—not a single Lulute person felt sorry for their chieftain.

The vines trapping them swayed slightly.

Qiyu: “I ask, you answer.”

A group of Lulute people scrambled to speak: “Honorable Mage, just ask whatever you like—we’ll tell you everything!”

“Yes, yes! Please forgive us. Your domain is so bountiful—it needs us to tend to it even more.”

“We’re willing to voluntarily enter into a master-servant contract.”

Qiyu: “Shut up.”

The noise in his ears finally subsided.

Qiyu asked, “Where are you from, and how did you find your way here?”

A Lulute person replied, “We used to live in the Forest of Stars. It snowed, our homes were destroyed, and we had nothing to eat, so we set out wandering. As we walked, we discovered your domain.”

A Fireball spell struck, and the Lulute person who had spoken followed his leader, vanishing in a flash of white light.

Qiyu said coldly, “Lies.”

His gaze swept over the group, one by one.

“You say your homes are gone, and you have nothing to eat, so you’ve come out to wander. Yet there are only twenty martial artists here—are there no ordinary people, no elders, and no children in your tribe?”

“You claim to be wandering, yet you carry only weapons and rations—no supplies for survival.”

He had seen refugees fleeing in the past; they would never willingly abandon even the smallest possession they could carry.

The Survival Game was right—this race has a very low IQ. Even their cover story is riddled with flaws.

From the very beginning, Qiyu hadn’t believed a word they said.

Upon hearing Qiyu’s words, the group of Lulute people was stunned.

“So there were actually that many loopholes?”

“The chief even claimed he was the smartest in the tribe—looks like he’s just as much of a fool as the rest!”

Qiyu heard them start arguing among themselves again, throwing in a few curses at their leader while they were at it.

“Shut up, all of you!”

He said coldly, “If you don’t want to turn into a flash of white light right now, you’d better behave yourselves and tell the truth.”

Realizing they’d been seen through long ago, the group quieted down.

“We really do live in the Forest of Stars.”

“But we didn’t wander here by accident. We heard a rumor that many new residents have arrived in the Forest of Stars. Their territory is safe and prosperous—they don’t have to go hungry.”

Clearly, these “new residents” were the players.

Qiyu remembered that when Duo Ju first appeared, he had also described himself as “a new resident who had just moved into the Forest of Stars.”

When he asked where they’d heard this news, the group of Lulute people all looked bewildered.

Given their intelligence, it was highly unlikely they could pull off such a consistent act, so they probably really didn’t know.

Thinking the worst: these “original residents” of the Star Forest likely already knew about the rumors surrounding the “new residents.”

Qiyu continued, “Tell me, what does the Star Forest look like in your memories?”

When he asked this question, he didn’t really hold out much hope.

And the result was exactly as he’d expected: this group of Lulute people once again displayed a perfectly uniform look of bewilderment.

Combined with the fact that they don’t leave behind physical bodies after they die, but instead turn into white light.

Qiyu thought to himself that these “indigenous inhabitants” of the Star Forest might not actually be real living beings. Rather, like the two farmhands in his own territory, they might be entities akin to “half-human, half-NPC.”

“Do you have any other members of your tribe?”

“No, we don’t,” said the leader of the Lulute people. “Our homeland became uninhabitable, and carrying those dead weights would slow us down, so we left them all behind.”

As he spoke these words, his tone was very casual, and the other Lulute people also looked completely at ease, showing no sense that they had done anything wrong.

Qiyu thought to himself that the survival game’s evaluation wasn’t thorough enough; it should have included the word “cold-blooded.”

“Next question,” Qiyu asked them. “What is the Star Forest like after dark?”

During the day, even while he was in his territory, he could still use his mental energy to monitor the movements of this group of Lulute people.

But as soon as night fell, that was no longer possible—he had already experienced the terror of the Survival Game’s night more than once.

Yet these Lulute people could survive effortlessly in the darkness.

He was genuinely curious about what lay in the darkness.

“What’s it like after dark?” The Lulute person looked puzzled, clearly not understanding the question.

He replied blankly, “When it gets dark, it just gets dark—you can’t see anything. Other than that, it’s no different from daytime.”

Qiyu thought for a moment, then set the Lulute person who had spoken down and focused a strand of his mental energy on him.

“Now step outside the territory and take a look.”

The Lulute person thought Qiyu was going to let him go, and was overjoyed.

He even seemed a bit reluctant: “Master Mage, your domain is so warm—much more comfortable than the icy wasteland outside.”

Qiyu watched as he walked to the gate; in the next moment, the Lulute person’s body vanished completely into the darkness.

The thread of mental energy he had left behind also vanished.

Qiyu called out, “Where are you now?”

A voice came from the darkness, clearly not far away: “I’ve just taken five steps away, Master Mage.”

It seemed that rules like “darkness is dangerous” and “do not approach” were only meant for players to follow.

Qiyu: “Come back.”

Soon, the figure of the Lulute person appeared once more within the territory.

Flames erupted out of nowhere, and both the intruder in midair and the Lulute person who had just entered were instantly reduced to a flash of white light.

The demon vine had been watching the entire time from the sidelines; upon seeing this, it swayed slightly in a somewhat anxious manner.

Qiyu stroked the listless vine and fed it a bit of magic: “Good boy, we don’t eat this filth.”

Even if they were just NPCs, these intelligent, talking beings were, after all, something special.

That was why, back on the Winter Ice Plains, he’d been so shocked when he heard that Ice Demon speak.

After dealing with this group of Lulute people, Qiyu opened his character panel.

He posted about the Lulute people’s late-night attack on him in the 01 Survival Squad group chat.

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Holy crap! Is there really a “villainous native” setting?】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: I know that if you’re posting, Boss, it means the situation’s already been resolved. But I still have to ask—are you okay, Boss? You weren’t hurt, were you?】

【I Love Survival Game: I’m fine. I don’t trust them.】

【Civil Engineering Brother: You’re a true gaming pro! It’s only because this group of natives found your territory—if it had been me, I probably wouldn’t have stood a chance.】

【I Love Survival Game: After they’re killed, their bodies turn into a white light and vanish—they don’t drop anything.】

This remark caused a moment of silence among several people in the group.

Need A Little Money To Save Me: …

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: That’s our boss for you! Decisive and ruthless!】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Thank goodness. I was worried you wouldn’t dare pull the trigger.】

Qiyu: ?

【 Love Survival Game: What made you all misunderstand me like this?】

He’d been wanting to ask this for a while—his friends in the group, as well as players in the regional channel, had been acting strangely toward him lately.

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Hahaha, it’s probably because they saw your appearance and age.】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes‌: I’m guessing you’re the youngest in our group, so everyone subconsciously treats you like a kid.】

Most players in the regional channel probably feel the same way.

【Civil Engineering Brother: Yeah, not to mention the teacher—I’m just a corporate drone who’s already graduated. Looking at you really is like looking at a kid.】

【Dare Not Open My Eyes: Corporate drone+1.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: So I’m probably the youngest here besides the boss? It kind of pisses me off when I think about it—I finally got into grad school, only to end up in a survival game.】

Qiyu:…

【I Love Survival Game: I’m 19.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Whoa, you’re so young!】

【Civil Engineering Brother: Just as I thought. Your “good friend” Er Shen is probably about the same age as you, right? Come to think of it, this survival game is really cruel—you two have barely come of age, and already you’re stuck in such a dangerous place, fighting for survival.】

Qiyu wanted to say that back home, 19 isn’t young at all.

For as long as he could remember, he’d always carried a knife; he’d even forgotten when he first killed a mutated monster.

But in the end, he simply said:

【I Love Survival Game: Survival game isn’t a curse—I’m here, and I’m having a great time.】

Everyone else: “……”

Qiyu also posted in the region chat that the native inhabitants would attack players, which, as expected, caused quite a stir.

【Liver Emperor: So, these native inhabitants aren’t necessarily on the good guys’ side. They’re intelligent, capable of leveling up, and killing them doesn’t drop any loot.】

【Liver Emperor: They’re not even as good as the mutated creatures—at least those drop loot.】

Amid all the commotion, “My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens” suddenly popped up:

【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens: You went into such detail—did you kill all those native creatures? @I Love Survival Game】

【My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens: So you’re just as much of a killer as the rest—why are you pretending to be such a goody-two-shoes?】

【I Love Survival Game: ?】

【Irritable Brother: Wait, how come you haven’t been taken down yet? He’s so hard to kill—I guess “evil endures for a thousand years,” huh?】

【Liver Emperor: I really want to request a block feature. Seeing your posts is such a downer.】

【Reaching for the Moon in the Heavens: @My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens—just because a top player snatched the #1 spot from you, you’ve held a grudge this long? Now that you’ve lost #2 too, are you going to hate me for that as well?】

The players in the channel were actually speaking up for him.

Although this wasn’t exactly the first time, Qiyu still found it quite surprising.

【I Love Survival Game: I’ve always been willing to kill.】

The flood of messages in the regional channel suddenly fell silent.

【I Love Survival Game: If player territories weren’t isolated from each other, do you really think you’d still be alive? @My Fate is Determined By Me, Not The Heavens】

He usually didn’t like spouting this kind of “tough talk”—he preferred to just take action.

He said this because he sensed that players in Server 01 might have the same misunderstanding about him as those in his small group.

However, after he posted it, it didn’t seem to have the effect he’d imagined.

【Cockroach Taste Is So Weird: Oh my, this idiot has actually pushed our top player to the point where he’s spouting tough talk.】