Yu Jiao glanced at the other five bowls on the table and silently put down the bowl in her hand. Just as she was about to return to her room, a female voice sounded behind her.

"Um..."

Yu Jiao paused and turned to see Jiang Xi and Hou Liang standing there.

"What is it?"

Jiang Xi rubbed her hands together awkwardly before hesitantly speaking: "Actually... we just overheard your conversation with Bo Jingmo."

Yu Jiao's expression remained unchanged as she adjusted her glasses. "I see. Anything else?"

Faced with such a cold response, the girl was taken aback. She pursed her lips and took the initiative to continue.

"Those noodles... are they unsafe to eat?"

Yu Jiao gave her a long look, thinking to herself - are these really the two people who could kill Bo Jingmo? She nodded and answered Jiang Xi: "Yes."

Unaware of the woman's inner thoughts, Jiang Xi glanced upstairs before lowering her voice:

"Don't you think it's strange? Bo Jingmo's identity is different from ours. Isn't it possible his mission is different too?"

Different?

Yu Jiao thought for a few seconds before crossing her arms and nodding slightly: "What do you think then?"

"What I think?" Jiang Xi whispered, "Based on my understanding of Bo Jingmo, he's probably the enemy in this dungeon instance. We might need to find a way to eliminate him."

Hearing this, Yu Jiao's eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly.

"Kill him?... But weren't you teammates before? And he's still a player - aren't you jumping to conclusions?"

...Teammates?

Jiang Xi froze momentarily before looking away with pursed lips.

That term belonged to a distant past.

Hou Liang answered for her: "The situation is different now. He wasn't our enemy back then either. And our conclusion isn't baseless - doesn't this bowl of noodles prove it?"

He paused before adding in a low voice: "Besides... he won't really die. He'll just return when the dungeon ends."

Just because he wouldn't die, they could freely experiment on Bo Jingmo.

Yu Jiao let out a meaningful laugh.

"Is that so?"

"You're so certain he won't die?"

"It's not that we're certain, but that's how all previous dungeons worked," Jiang Xi lowered her eyes, avoiding Yu Jiao's gaze. "He attacked us first too. We're just defending ourselves."

They were just trying to survive - nothing wrong with that.

Yu Jiao didn't respond, only looking upstairs. She clearly understood these two were trying to recruit her for cooperation.

But...

Yu Jiao turned toward the stairs: "It's almost ten. I'm going back."

She couldn't agree.

Jiang Xi was startled and tried to stop her: "Wait, Yu Jiao—"

But the woman kept walking upstairs without looking back.

Why? Jiang Xi turned back blankly: "Doesn't she trust us?"

Hou Liang sighed and put a comforting arm around her shoulders: "It's fine. We warned her. If she doesn't want to cooperate, forget it."

"Let's go. It's almost ten."

...

Bo Jingmo pushed open the door slowly while carrying a tray.

Yu Li, lying on the bed, looked up at the sound and put down the leaf she was holding, crooking a finger at the man.

"Come here."

Bo Jingmo set the tray down and knelt on the bed with one knee, causing the sheets to dip under his weight. His tall frame suddenly loomed over her as a faint pine scent drifted to her nose.

Yu Li hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down, tilting her head up to bite his lower lip before rubbing against it with measured pressure.

Her eyes curved as she spoke softly:

"Director Bo, are you getting tired of me? Flirting with others outside now without telling me."

"No!" Bo Jingmo stiffened, his eyes panicked. "Darling, I didn't flirt with anyone."

He hurriedly explained: "That thing can monitor me during daytime and only sleeps at night. I didn't have time to tell you."

No wonder the man had left without a word that afternoon.

Yu Li laughed and released him to lie back on the bed, patting his arm.

"Forgiven."

Bo Jingmo relaxed and gathered her into his arms.

He leaned down to kiss Yu Li's forehead, then proceeded to pepper light kisses on her eyes, nose, and lips in order, murmuring tenderly: "Darling, you're the only one I like."

Yu Li stroked his cheek in response before noticing the leaf beside them and picking it up.

"So what exactly is this thing?"

"It's a yao ghost - a fusion of human and spirit." Bo Jingmo didn't take it, instead nuzzling into Yu Li's neck.

Yao ghost?

This was Yu Li's first time hearing the term.

"Such things exist?"

Bo Jingmo nodded. "That woman died under that tree and possessed it, becoming half-human half-ghost."

His speech quickened slightly as his breathing grew heavier.

The woman had likely just bathed - her scent mixed with shower gel fragrance filled the entire bedroom.

Bo Jingmo couldn't help inhaling deeply several times. His earlier irritation dissipated as he lowered his eyes and murmured: "Darling smells so good..."

Yu Li had been pondering the matter when she suddenly noticed the man's odd behavior.

Wait...

She frowned and cupped his face, staring into those familiar red eyes: "Bo—"

Before she could finish, a faint grassy odor began permeating the room.

Yu Li's tone abruptly turned cold.

"Bo Jingmo, was this body killed by that yao ghost?"

Only then did she notice a subtle plant-like scent clinging to Bo Jingmo - so faint one had to be very close to detect it.

"Mhm." Perhaps affected by the yao ghost's dormant state, Bo Jingmo's mind was somewhat foggy, but he still nodded obediently.

"This variety show was my project. She killed me and wanted to implant vines in my body to control me completely, but your black energy blocked it."

So that's why she had drawn the vine card.

Yu Li's expression turned icy.

What a disgusting smell...

She suddenly reached up and grabbed his hair. "Stop kissing."

Bo Jingmo, who had been happily kissing his sweet-smelling darling, was abruptly pushed away.

He froze, sensing Yu Li's bad mood, and stopped moving, lowering his head to ask gently: "Baby, what's wrong?"

The woman lay on the bed with disheveled dark hair, her bathrobe loosened from their earlier contact. His kisses had left marks all over her collarbones and neck. With reddened eyes and slightly narrowed fox-like eyes that normally exuded allure, she now spoke expressionlessly:

"Bo Jingmo, have you forgotten what I hate most?"

"I dislike the smell on you. It's completely unpleasant."

In that instant, the man's pupils constricted sharply as rationality returned abruptly. He began explaining frantically:

"I didn't - I didn't let her touch me."