CHAPTER 342: THE NEW ARBITER

After Transmigrating into a Novel with My Boyfriend, He Turned Out to Be a Native Villain

When Yu Li and Bo Jingmo returned, the sofa was already packed with people.

Moreover, there were far more than just three guests present.

Yu Li casually pulled up a chair and sat down, her gaze settling on the newly appeared masked figure. The person was dressed identically to Bo Jingmo, with an almost identical build, except for the white mask covering their face.

She glanced at Bo Jingmo, who also seemed momentarily stunned before giving her a slight shake of his head.

Yu Li rubbed her chin, her thoughts unreadable.

The next second, the familiar mechanical female voice echoed from the broadcast.

"Now commencing the third round of team formations. Due to anomalies in the previous pairing session, a new referee has been added for this round. We hope all guests will abide by the rules. Next, the new referee will announce the rules for this session."

As soon as the announcement ended, the white-masked referee stood up, their monotone mechanical voice emanating from behind the mask.

"I am your referee, codenamed 11. I will now announce the team formation rules for this session. Pairings will be determined by drawing lots. Each bamboo stick has a different color underneath—those who draw the same color will form a team. Once paired, you will proceed together to the next activity. Any objections?"

Yu Li pondered for a moment before suddenly raising her hand.

"Actually, yes. I don’t know the new guests here. Just because I arrived late doesn’t mean introductions should be skipped, right?"

At this, 11 glanced at her, his ink-dark eyes devoid of emotion.

He replied coldly, "The introductions were completed before you arrived. If necessary, you can get acquainted after forming teams. Should we delay everyone’s progress just because of your tardiness?"

His words were blunt, and the others on the sofa immediately fell silent.

"Ah..." The woman sighed dramatically, leaning back in her chair. "So it’s that serious, huh? You’d think this was a survival game. I just wanted to know their names—is that really too much to ask?"

11 paused mid-motion when a large hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder. A man’s icy voice sounded from behind him.

"Referee 11, guest requests take precedence above all else. Disrespecting a guest is a violation of the rules."

"I..." 11’s voice stuttered. "I was just following protocol. She was late—even she admitted it..."

"So being late counts as breaking the rules?" Yu Li sighed. "But no one told me what counts as 'late.' Does arriving later than others qualify?"

Her words brought 11 to an abrupt halt.

After a long silence, he finally spoke. "That’s my mistake. I apologize and accept any punishment."

To everyone’s surprise, Yu Li just smiled. "No need. Knowing when you’re wrong and correcting it is enough. Besides, we can get acquainted now just the same."

11 paused slightly before coolly withdrawing his gaze. "Very well. I’ll grant you an additional ten minutes to introduce yourselves."

The newcomers on the sofa turned to Yu Li. One woman spoke up first. "Hello, I’m Wan You. Pleased to meet you."

The other two men offered faint smiles.

"Fang Wenlin."

"Guang Yi."

Hearing their names, Yu Li gave a slight nod. "Yu Li."

Her expression remained politely cheerful, but her peripheral vision never left the white-masked referee. A shadow flickered in her eyes.

Her instincts told her—the face behind that mask was identical to Bo Jingmo’s.

Unlike the split-soul phenomenon from the last instance, this man carried no familiar aura, which was why she hadn’t recognized him at first. Only when their eyes met did she sense something off.

And clearly, he didn’t seem to like her very much.

The reason wasn’t hard to guess. This referee and the three new NPCs were likely all extensions of that yao ghost.

Tch.

Yu Li leaned back, recalling what Bo Jingmo had last told her.

His heart was still with that yao ghost.

Which meant she couldn’t act recklessly just yet.

...

After the simple team draw, Yu Li ended up paired with Tian Jianmu, while Yu Jiao got matched with the NPC Fang Wenlin.

Jiang Xi teamed up with Hou Liang, and Hao Lan and Huang Ya were each assigned an NPC.

On the surface, everyone appeared amicable—but beneath that, ulterior motives lurked.

Teaming with players was at least somewhat reliable, since both sides shared the goal of survival. But with NPCs? That was a different story.

The white referee then began explaining the next task’s rules.

"To test the dedication between partners, all guests will venture into the woods with their assigned teammate to search for treasure. We’ve placed markers at each treasure location. Complete the task on the marker, and you’ll receive a silk scarf. After four hours, any team failing to obtain a scarf will be penalized."

Here, 11 paused before adding tonelessly,

"A friendly reminder—each treasure site only has one scarf."

Huang Ya raised her hand. "Um... how many scarves are there total?"

11 turned to her and slowly uttered a number.

"Five."

The room tensed instantly.

So only one person per team could survive?

What kind of "dedication test" was this? It was practically a life-for-a-life trade!

11 checked his wristband. "Myself and the other referee will oversee the entire process. Please follow the rules. Any violations will be met with penalties. The countdown starts now."

With that, he approached Bo Jingmo, his masked gaze dull and lifeless.

"I’ll monitor Yu Li. You handle the other four teams."

Then, under his breath, he added,

"That’s an order from *him*."

Bo Jingmo gave him a sidelong glance but, unusually, didn’t argue. He merely replied with a faint "Mm."

Yu Li remained seated, her eyes sweeping over the group. When they landed on Yu Jiao’s NPC partner, the corner of her lips curled almost imperceptibly.