In the cave.
The god was still screaming wildly in their minds, ordering them to kill the two NPCs.
Although they don't like the feeling of being at the mercy of others, since they are still in the copy, they have no choice.
The two kidnapped people hesitated and asked, "Can we go first this time? We have no experience with these dungeon games. If we can awaken our shadows, maybe we can protect ourselves."
Everyone has no objection.
They had observed before that there was still a long way to go and there must be many caves. Today was enough time for them to awaken several people, so there was no need to rush.
When the two kidnapped people approached the NPC tremblingly with daggers in their hands, Lu Chenfei walked over to Xia Jing and Song Yang.
He lowered his voice and said, "If the shadow is our weapon, the mysterious person should find a way to awaken it as soon as possible, right?"
He scratched his head and said, "Although I am also a suspect, I don't seem to be in the right position to analyze this with you."
Xia Jing looked at him with a smile.
Song Yang said: "Not necessarily. The shadow is a projection of a person's inner self. If the mysterious person is not sure about the form of his shadow, in order not to reveal his identity, he may not dare to go on stage easily."
Lu Chenfei thought about it and agreed.
He looked at his companions who were watching from the sidelines and said, "Actually, when I watch TV shows and movies, I hate the idea that 'the most unexpected companion is the biggest villain'."
It's so hurtful.
After hearing this, Xia Jing looked at Song Yang jokingly.
Song Yang understood the meaning of this look. It probably meant that if "the most unexpected partner is the biggest villain", then he, Song Yang, was the biggest suspect.
Song Yang, who had been on edge since entering this dungeon, couldn't help but laugh at this moment.
He's really this guy who's in the mood to joke with him at a time like this.
He whispered, "I'll awaken and show you later."
He was never afraid to show Xia Jing what his shadow would look like or what his inner projection would be like.
It can even be said that he hopes Xia Jing can understand him better.
Xia Jing narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Wait and see, Doctor Song."
Lu Chenfei was choked by the two people's disgusting words. He wiped his face and was considering whether he should stay away from them. Then he heard Xia Jing talk about business lightly: "Song Yang, I believe you. In fact, I also said that I believe in the partners you choose."
Xia Jing folded his arms, looked at the other companions, and said softly, "I don't think your vision can be wrong."
Song Yang's expression became slightly restrained.
In fact, he didn't think he would misjudge someone.
The partners who are here now are united because of their trust in each other.
Lu Chenfei was stunned for a moment and said, "So what you said before..."
Xia Jing smiled at him and said, "Actually, there is another possibility."
…
The two kidnapped people finally finished dealing with the NPCs.
Although the NPCs were not real humans but mere phantoms, they had never even killed a fish in their daily lives. After all the hassles, the two men were sweating profusely.
One person's shadow is "a clumsy and honest elephant," and the other person's shadow is "a cunning and calculating fox."
The latter's face turned green when he heard about this shadow form, and he hurriedly explained to them: "I usually do business not very, cough, honest... Honest people tend to suffer losses in business, cough cough cough! But I will never betray you. If I do anything wrong, you can kill me immediately. Brother Lu's shadow is a bow, so let him shoot me to death with an arrow!"
Everyone was shocked and asked him to stop immediately.
Not really.
Looking at the cave opposite now, one person from Chai Feng's group has also awakened.
The candidate should be assigned by Chai Feng.
He did not let the two psychics take the stage for the time being, but instead asked the remaining entrepreneur Ye Shui and two bodyguards to nominate a candidate themselves.
As a result, Ye Shui started fighting with the two bodyguards.
At this point, it is impossible to ask the bodyguards to obey their employer Ye Shui.
How could Ye Shui, a middle-aged man who stayed in the office all year round and was weak as a kitten, possibly fight against the bodyguard who was full of tendons and muscles? He was knocked to the ground in a few moves and hit his head heavily on the ground.
Ye Shui was so angry that he jumped up and took off his hat.
——He probably wanted to touch the back of his injured head, but after completing this conditioned reflex action, he froze there.
Because at the beginning of the copy, the NPC said, don't take off the hat.
Ye Shui panicked.
He tried to put the hat back on his head, but it seemed as if it was coated with lubricant and would not stay on his head no matter what.
You Ye pondered deeply, "Without the hat, he can't hear the gods' instructions. If he wants to awaken his shadow again, the only way is for someone else to convey the gods' words to him."
However, at this juncture, who wouldn't want to protect themselves first? How could they possibly choose to help Ye Shui?
The victorious bodyguard dealt with the NPC, awakened his shadow, and turned around with satisfaction.
The next second, he froze in place.
He faced Chai Feng, like a machine that had suddenly crashed, and stood there in a daze.
Feng Shi immediately asked, "Did Chai Feng control him?"
Song Yang said calmly, "It's not surprising that this development has occurred. He didn't choose to control the others before this, most likely because he was afraid that once the players were controlled by him, they would lose their souls. Without a soul, there would naturally be no shadow."
"In fact, even if he waited until this point to control the bodyguard, it would still be a question whether the bodyguard's shadow still exists," Song Yang said, "He has to wait until night to verify this."
Fei Shengxiao thought for a moment and whispered, "But I heard that Chai Feng's control ability isn't that strong. If the remaining people could be more vigilant, perhaps Chai Feng wouldn't be able to control them anymore? They probably don't want to become puppets, do they?"
"That's the theory," Bian Ya said softly, "but a friend of mine once said that Chai Feng's ability is like a current of air. Even if you know this guy is going to plot against you, if you're not prepared, this current of air will have already blown through your soul before you even realize it."
"My friend was almost controlled by Chai Feng once, and he still can't describe the feeling," Bian Ya thought for a moment and said, "It's almost like there's no 'touch' at all. If you want to avoid being controlled, you must first keep your distance from him, and second, you must remain steadfast from beginning to end."
Of course, after the players knew about Chai Feng's special abilities and became wary of him, the number of people who fell victim to him was much less than before.
Xia Jing overheard the conversation and suddenly turned around and whispered, "'Almost no feeling'?"
Bian Ya was startled, then nodded and said, "Yes."
Song Yang seemed to suddenly think of something.
Xia Jing turned his head and lowered his eyes to think for a moment.
Then he turned his head and looked at Song Yang.
Song Yang frowned and fell into deep thought.
…
After that, the two groups left each other's caves and continued to climb up.
After going up twenty meters, the corridor suddenly split into three paths.
Chai Feng and the others crawled straight to the leftmost side.
Song Yang and his men had already made preparations to split their forces into two groups.
Xia Jing, Song Yang, You Ye, Feng Shi and one of the hostages walked towards the middle road.
Li Mian, Fei Shengxiao, Lu Chenfei, Bian Ya and another hostage formed a group and walked towards the road on the far right.
They used props to secure the ropes to their respective routes.
Xia Jing and his team swung along the rope to the middle. Both groups climbed into the branch as quickly as possible, then stopped and conducted an experiment.
Feng Shi shouted to the right wall, "Can you hear us?"
Soon, across the wall, Lu Chenfei's clear response came from the other side: "I can hear you!"
It's good to hear it.
After that, they can continue to communicate in this way.
If these three forks in the road eventually converge into one main road, then needless to say, they will reunite.
If it turns out that these three forks in the road will continue to diverge, then they will need to discuss at the appropriate time whether to break down the wall and reunite.
Anyway, the "God" didn't say that they can't destroy the dungeon environment in this dungeon.
…
As he climbed, You Ye took in the unchanging scenery around him and panted, "How strange! What on earth does this underground world mean? This strangely structured dungeon environment must have a deeper meaning, right?"
Feng Shi asked, "Could it be related to Jiang Ying's inner world?"
The one who knew Jiangying best among them was naturally Xia Jing.
However, Xia Jing gave a straightforward answer to this question.
There was no relevant clue in his memory.
Song Yang climbed to the front and listened to the discussion for a while before saying, "Actually, I think that even if this copy is a manifestation of Jiang Ying's inner thoughts, we don't have to pin all the clues on him."
The man's voice was steady. "Jiang Ying is dead. The replicas created with his power will reflect his thoughts to a certain extent, but after absorbing the emotions of countless players and transforming them into power, this entire power no longer belongs solely to him."
"The 'thoughts' of the dungeon world aren't necessarily entirely Jiang Ying's will."
Xia Jing chuckled and said, "That's right."
They soon arrived at a new cave.
Five people rolled in.
As the cave welcomed its guests, it began to transform into a magical scene.
"Jiangying" stood at the door of a convenience store, hunched over and timid.
The owner of the convenience store drove him away, telling him to get out and not come in, just like he was driving away a fly or a stray dog.
After seeing the same scene so many times, the complex emotions of several people gradually changed to extreme calmness and objectivity.
These continuous illusions seemed as if Jiang Ying was constantly trying to tell them how miserable his life was, how understandable it was that he hated all of humanity, and how natural it was that he would later "punish" humanity as a god.
What did he do wrong?
Even the NPCs who were crying and laughing gradually became like actors in a play - actors incarnated by Jiang Ying himself.
You Ye took out a long knife from the space bag.
She walked towards the NPC with grace.
"The player's mission is always to explore the map, find clues, get answers, and defeat monsters," You Ye said lazily. "This is a purely rational game. Don't try to brainwash us."
NPC fell to the ground.
Jiang Ying turned around, faced You Ye, stared at her, and said, "You are a rose covered with thorns. Is there really anyone who likes you?"
You Ye smiled.
She didn't care about what Jiang Ying said at all. She turned around and said, "My shadow is too weak to fight. It's up to you guys from now on."
They continued to climb.
Arriving at the next cave, Feng Shi asked, "Doesn't Xia Jing need to awaken his shadow first?"
"No need," Xia Jing said with a smile, "Although my body is much weaker now than before, its defense is still stronger than that of an ordinary human. You need shadows more than I do."
Since Xia Jing said so, Feng Shi didn't ask any more questions.
The shadow of the seal is "a huge umbrella".
"Jiang Ying" said that he "can shelter from the wind and rain, but he is really a boring soul."
The kidnapped person who followed them twitched his lips: "Why are you complaining?"
Feng Shi walked back in a strange mood, and You Ye teased him, "It's not that boring actually."
Seal: "..."
It has no comforting effect at all, instead it feels like being stabbed in the back.
Seeing his reaction, Song Yang was surprised and asked, "Do you care about this review?"
This wasn't the first time Feng Shi had been called boring.
He is handsome, comes from a wealthy family, and is smart, but because he is quiet, doesn't like making friends, and doesn't like to laugh, he has not had many friends since he was a child.
This kind of eccentric existence is often even rejected by the collective.
Of course, with Song Yang as a friend, he would always be able to make more friends as long as he was willing to work with Song Yang.
But Feng Shi actually doesn't care what others think of him.
Be he boring or a freak, he always lives at his own pace and only one or two friends are enough for him.
This seemed to be the first time Song Yang saw him look a little shocked when faced with the evaluation of "boring".
Feng Shi paused.
He thought of someone across the wall, tilted his head uncomfortably, and said, "...No."
They continued to climb.
In the next cave, Song Yang awakened the shadow.
His shadow is "a wolf eyeing its prey."
When "Jiang Ying" said this, his eyes flickered as he looked at Song Yang.
Song Yang walked back towards Xia Jing, who smiled faintly, "He's afraid of you."
The fear that "Jiang Ying" showed when looking at Song Yang's back was something he had never shown even when facing Chai Fengshi, who was a "bear".
You Ye and Feng Shi on the side looked at the two of them.
It is actually normal for "Jiangying" to feel afraid of Song Yang.
After all, among the people present at this moment, the one who most wanted to build a fortress to protect Xia Jing and eliminate all dangerous factors outside the fortress was this man.
This strong will was burning to the point that everyone could feel it even when the copy was advanced to this point.
Of course, Song Yang is a wolf, but that doesn't mean he is very ferocious.
Show strength when facing enemies, show loyalty when facing partners, and show loyalty and protection when facing lovers.
This is the soul essence of this wolf.
Song Yang walked over and held Xia Jing's hand.
He laughed and said, "As long as you are not afraid."
Xia Jing smiled like a fox.
Forget about being afraid of him, this fox-like young man simply held him in the palm of his hand with ease.
It's okay as long as Song Yang is willing to do it.
So far, except for Xia Jing, everyone in their group has awakened their shadow.
Feng Shi probed outside the cave and said, "There is another cave above, but it is diagonally opposite."
They had been crawling along the right side, and the cave was on the earth wall on the left side of the passage.
To reach the cave, they had to swing across on the rope again.
It is also worth noting that the extension of the right side wall of the passage seems to end there, above the horizontal plane where the cave is located.
——This also means that the two passages of them and Lu Chenfei's team are likely to be opened up, and they can reunite into one corridor.
Song Yang said quickly: "Hurry up and go over there. I feel like there may not be much time left during the day."
Song Yang's estimation of time was very accurate.
Almost as soon as they climbed into the cave, the god said, "It's getting dark, take a rest."
The light suddenly disappeared.
The surroundings fell into darkness.
After a while, a beam of light came from the opposite side.
Everyone tensed up immediately.
Looking across, they found that it was the light coming from Fei Shengxiao's flashlight, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
With the light, they can naturally see each other's shadows.
You Ye raised an eyebrow: "Wow."
Everyone's shadow actually floated behind the back of their head, like a strangely shaped black hydrogen balloon.
Lu Chenfei is a bow, needless to say.
The shadow of the cliff looks like a tangled rope.
Li Mian's shadow looks a bit like a doll wearing a small tie.
Fei Shengxiao's shadow is in the shape of a dagger.
Everyone looked at each other's shadows, and no matter what was in their minds, they nodded and greeted each other at this moment.
They never dared to shout to each other, for fear that Chai Feng and the others in the other passage would hear them.
After all, it's still unclear whether shadows can pass through walls.
After confirming that his friends were in good condition, Fei Shengxiao turned off the flashlight, and the whole world fell into darkness again.
The people on both sides sat down in their respective caves.
Let's get through this night first, and we can discuss any issues tomorrow.
Song Yang found a place at the entrance of the cave and sat down.
He pulled Xia Jing over and let Xia Jing lean on him to rest.
This has become their habitual way of getting along. Xia Jing sat down next to him and Song Yang put his arm around him.
As a result, the two were very close and could easily communicate in whispers.
Right next to Song Yang's ear, Xia Jing whispered, "What do you think?"
Song Yang was silent for a moment, then said, "There are three people's shadows, and I'm a little concerned."