Manual for Survival in a Strange World

Feng Yushu shifted her gaze away from Ning Zhe and remained silent for a long time.

After realizing that the ghost’s method of identity theft was tied to “recognition,” many past events suddenly became clear—such as the deaths of Xie Sining and Gu Yunqing, Zhang Yangxu’s ordeal, and Ning Zhe’s earlier intentional taunts and sarcastic remarks toward Ye Miaozhu.

The more she understood, the harder it was for Feng Yushu to suppress the fear and chill creeping through her heart. Looking back with her newfound knowledge, she found that nearly every inexplicable action Ning Zhe had taken was rooted in sound logic and a clear purpose. Every seemingly reckless decision was made with unwavering confidence.

Ning Zhe seemed to have no concept of fear or doubt. He examined each person’s death with a detached perspective, approached seemingly absurd situations with absolute rationality, unraveled the knotted threads of chaos to find the key to resolving them, and painted the image of an elephant in a darkened room.

What kind of person was he…?

The more she thought about it, the more unfamiliar Ning Zhe felt to her. He seemed less like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old adolescent and, more unnervingly, not entirely human.

“You deliberately provoked Ye Miaozhu, causing her to lose control emotionally, and thereby making her a target for the ghost,” Feng Yushu asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “Did you use her life to test your theory about the rules?”

“What else?” Ning Zhe smiled faintly. “If I were the ghost, to activate my killing mechanism, my first choice would be to target someone isolated—especially an emotionally impulsive fool. They’re the easiest prey.”

If he hadn’t found a way to separate the group, allowing them to remain vigilant together, the ghost would have struggled to find an opportunity to strike. Ning Zhe’s theory about the ghost’s killing rules would have remained untested.

Fortunately, Ye Miaozhu was emotional and reckless enough to use her own death to confirm Ning Zhe’s hypothesis.

“The puzzle is solved. What comes next is systematically breaking down the rules here.” Ning Zhe released his grip on Feng Yushu’s hand, lightly patted her tear-streaked cheek, and turned to walk into the house.

Watching his leisurely retreating figure, Feng Yushu suddenly came to a realization.

Rules are rigid, absolute, and devoid of ambiguity. Black is black, white is white—there is no gray area. This entire world operated under a set of immutable rules, where adherence to them was the prerequisite for survival.

“Not even gods are exempt,” Feng Yushu murmured to herself. “Yes, any existence must obey the rules—even gods are no exception…”

She pulled out her phone to check the time. It was a little after 7 a.m., still far from lunchtime.

Ning Zhe walked into the room housing the Serpent God’s image. This time, Feng Yushu no longer doubted his intentions. She now understood what Ning Zhe was doing, though Ning Zhe had always known himself.

Imagine this: if Ning Zhe continued his rampant spree of sneaking into houses and eating the Serpent God’s offerings, what would happen?

By noon, when the villagers, as per tradition, brought a small bowl of food to place before the Serpent God’s image before eating, they would find that the offerings they’d left in the morning had been eaten. Who ate them?

What would they think then? A stray cat? A mischievous child? Or…?

Ning Zhe couldn’t control what people thought, nor could the ghost. All he could do was expand the sample size, tirelessly going from house to house, stealing the Serpent God’s offerings to maximize the probability of “that event” happening.

“As long as one household—or no, just one person—believes that the offerings might have been eaten by the Serpent God after seeing them consumed…”

Ning Zhe gazed at the Serpent God’s image, picked up a piece of green bean with his chopsticks, and chewed it. “Then, I have a chance to win.”

Of course, this was an ideal scenario. He couldn’t be certain if his actions were meaningful or if this method would work. But in this bizarre world governed by rules, finding even a “possible” path to victory was rare enough. Even if that path led to an abyss, he had to walk it.

Walking at the edge of the abyss, as though treading on thin ice.

Ning Zhe’s expression was calm, his hollow gaze lifeless, like a stagnant, deathly still pool of water.

But the next moment, his face contorted, and his hands flew to his throat in pain.

“Dammit! So spicy!”

A few minutes later, Ning Zhe walked out of the Serpent God’s shrine and called for Feng Yushu to join him as they headed to the next house.

Women are naturally observant. Feng Yushu noticed that Ning Zhe’s eyes were slightly red, as if he had been crying but had quickly wiped away the tears.

For some reason, seeing this brought Feng Yushu an unfamiliar sense of comfort. Perhaps it was because she had finally caught a glimpse of Ning Zhe’s vulnerability—his human side.

So he could feel fear, too. He could be scared, cry quietly in solitude, suppress his emotions, and pretend to be strong…

“So you cry, too?” Feng Yushu mused softly in her heart. Her gaze at Ning Zhe’s shoulders softened.

Meanwhile, Ning Zhe was exhaling sharply, still reeling from the sensation. What he thought was a green bean had been a green chili disguised as one.

“If I were the Serpent God, I’d convict you of blasphemy…” Ning Zhe cursed inwardly.

With their separate thoughts, the two continued their quiet journey through the village, going from house to house, eating the Serpent God’s offerings. Though they only took small portions each time, the cumulative effort began to take its toll. Even a growing teenager couldn’t stomach this forced “stuffing.”

But to maximize the sample size, Ning Zhe pressed on, refusing to stop.

While sneaking bites of offerings, both he and Feng Yushu remained highly alert, never letting the other out of their sight.

“The ghost has demonstrated an ability to ‘teleport’ within the boundaries of Hejia Village. We can’t let our guard down,” Feng Yushu thought nervously.

She dared not let Ning Zhe leave her sight for too long. Who could guarantee that the next time she opened a door, it would still be him?

Ning Zhe, however, was preoccupied with another issue.

“The two puzzles of Hejia Village—only the one about the ghost has been accurately solved. My hypothesis about the Serpent God remains unconfirmed.”

“…What if I’m wrong?”

Moreover, would the ghost really allow him to continue unimpeded without taking any countermeasures? Would it simply wait to die?