It was quiet all around.
Su Er breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally calmed down." Then he scratched his head embarrassedly: "I'm not very good at coaxing people, but fortunately it worked."
"…"
To be frank, Zhang He had originally felt sorry for him. Entering this game at such a young age, he could lose his life if he wasn't careful. At least they were a few years older, had enjoyed life a few more years. But now... there were actually benefits to playing games. Otherwise, with his behavior, he probably wouldn't even be able to find a girlfriend by the time he was forty.
Li Li was a little apprehensive: "After all this twists and turns, do we still have to find a way to kill the monster?"
"Unkillable." Su Er shook his head: "If I'm not mistaken, the crazy obsessions of these cultists before their death are entangled together, forming an independent space."
That's why Mr. Rose had such a big reaction when he threw the child out. If the child had died outside, this world would have collapsed in an instant.
The unfriendly gaze lingered on him again. Sur looked up and smiled at the murderous gentleman, Yueji: "I don't ask to be born on the same day as the same month, but I ask to die on the same day as the same year."
The other party was not moved at all and even gave a warning to be on his own.
"Ghosts have no emotions," Su Er said, turning away and reminding everyone, "Don't be blinded by the warmth you see before you in the future."
Zhang He couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he forced himself to correct the subject: "Staying any longer would be a threat. You should think about how to get out."
Su Er turned to Xuanyuan Ao Yu and said, "I remember you said you saw a lot of things promoting cult ideas. Where are they?"
Xuanyuan Ao Yu was stunned for a moment, then turned and walked into the small room and took out a stack of booklets from the drawer.
Su Er flipped through the books one by one and finally found a book introducing the theory of Nirvana.
Xuanyuan Ao Yu hesitated and asked, "Could this be what he wants to hear?"
Su Er nodded slightly.
"Isn't that a bit hasty?"
The things were stuffed into the drawer blatantly, without even a hint of concealment.
Soul looked toward the shadows and abruptly changed the subject: "Most names have connotations. If 'rose' represents the flower by his ear, why add the suffix 'gentleman'?"
"..." Is this even a question? Perhaps it's just for the sake of eloquence.
Su Er glanced at Xuanyuan Ao Yu faintly: "Reading comprehension is very important. The teacher said that every word can be picked out and savored individually."
Xuanyuan Ao Yu wanted to say something, but Zhang He stopped him and said softly, "Understand, he brushes five threes every day."
Xuanyuan Ao Yu cast a sympathetic look.
"Gentlemen have good morals and rarely tell lies," Su Er turned a deaf ear and looked at Mr. Rose. "And every word he said was true."
When their eyes met, Mr. Rose smiled strangely.
"As he said, this game is simple," Su Er sighed.
It just takes time to collect clues. If the members are smart enough, except for the unlucky guy who tells the story first, the other three can all survive.
He laughed at himself when he said this: "Who would have thought that the real 'storybook' is placed in a drawer where everyone can see it."
"Yes!" Gentleman Rose nodded in agreement, his smile tinged with murderous intent. "Who could have imagined such a simple game? I almost died in the line of duty the next day."
"…" Suer pretended not to hear, walked to the child's bed, and waited for the next time the child cried.
The smell of blood on the bedding permeated the air. Soul covered his mouth and nose and said in a negotiating tone: "Since you are pretending to be asleep, you might as well cry now. If you get off work earlier, we can retreat earlier."
"…"
Without receiving a response, Su Er continued to lobby patiently. As time went on, the gentleman in the shadows felt like he was watching a noisy crow. Finally, he couldn't help but remind him, "The crying time is set by the rules. He has no right to resist."
Soule pointed out the logical flaw: "But this child was absent from work this morning and didn't cry, yet he wasn't punished."
This system is imperfect!
His words were like a pebble sinking into the ocean, barely a ripple visible. Gentleman Rose didn't respond, so Su Er could only wait.
Because they saw hope, the atmosphere was more lively than usual and everyone began to discuss more practical issues.
Li Li: "The brochure says you can leave once you accumulate 10,000 points."
It sounds like an unattainable number.
"It's better to enjoy life while you can." Zhang He was more open-minded. "I'm going to have a good sleep after we get out of here." He turned his head and asked Xuanyuan Aoyu, who was closest to him, "What about you? Do you want to have a drink together?"
The latter shook his head and said, "I need to change my name first."
He deeply suspected that it was this arrogant name that harmed him.
"Besides accumulating points, there's another way." Su Er suddenly spoke, his finger lingering at the end of the page: "Obtain twenty-four achievement points."
As for what the achievement points were, the brochure didn't mention it. But now, Mr. Rose took the initiative to speak: "Human power cannot do it."
Su Er said seriously: "How can you know if you don't try?"
"Wow--"
The crying sounds that usually sound like life-threatening now give people the illusion that they have finally waited for you.
As a practitioner, Su Er sighed before reading the pamphlet: "If you fail, you will die under the peony flowers tonight."
Suddenly, I regretted not portraying Pan Jinlian more beautifully when telling the story. Clearing his throat, he slowly began to recite, "The God of Nirvana grants strength to those in distress. He is constantly searching for the most devout apostles..."
The child's hollow eyes held a hint of yearning, as if bathed in sunlight. When Soul finished reading half a page, his withered face was filled with deep fascination.
Several people felt uncomfortable watching this scene. It was clearly the cult that harmed them, but even as ghosts, these dead souls had never felt the slightest remorse. What even made them become ghosts was their obsession with not becoming the so-called messengers of God.
"The God of Nirvana will be with the world." After reading the last sentence, Su Er reached out and closed the child's eyes. With a blank expression, he said, "You are all messengers chosen by God."
This time the child was no longer pretending to be asleep. Instead, he calmly folded his hands on his abdomen and began to dream a beautiful dream that he had longed for and never wanted to wake up from.
Zhang He said sarcastically, "This is probably what they mean by refusing to repent."
Soul took the photo out of his pocket: "Maybe one of them regretted it."
The woman in the photo wept tears of blood, which pooled on the ground and slowly flowed toward the child's crib. More and more blood formed, almost soaking the photo itself. Soul frowned and tossed the photo onto the child's crib. The next moment, the photo was absorbed into the child's body, leaving only a faint trace of blood to prove its presence.
Zhang He: "What a shame about this prop."
Soul didn't feel the slightest bit of regret: "It's unlikely that a conscious ghost would be allowed out of here."
As a girl, Li Li is more emotional: "She already has regrets, why does she choose to be swallowed up and sink into the false dream world?"
Xuanyuan Ao Yu shrugged: "I have invested so much, and my family has been destroyed. How can I easily admit my mistakes?"
Without giving them much time to sigh, Mr. Rose stepped out from the shadows, bowed, and said the closing words: "Congratulations to everyone on having a great time playing this game."
It wasn't just a misconception; when he said the word 'happy,' he gritted his teeth. As a seasoned host, the scene at the end of every game was the same: the players who had managed to survive, with expressions of relief on their faces.
But now... Sur sat on the sofa and seized the time to read the brochure. He studied alone and inspired the other three. In order to survive, they all began to absorb the key points in the brochure like sponges.
"…"
Feeling someone staring at him, Su Er raised his head: "What's wrong?"
Mr. Rose couldn't help himself after all, and slowly uttered one word: "Get lost."
Just like when they came, several beams of light enveloped everyone's bodies. People including Sur clearly saw their shells slowly dissolving. Based on where they were standing, the last thing they saw before their facial features disappeared was a child sleeping quietly in the child's bed.
The water curtain has disappeared.
Sur stood again at the place where he had just entered this world and saw several unfamiliar faces.
"It's been a long time since everyone survived." A complex sigh came over.
Su Er looked over and saw the gentle lady he had first met. On her left and right stood two people dressed in strange clothes, one of whom was carrying a long knife.
"To make a long story short," the gentle lady began, "My name is Gu Yan."
After saying that, he handed a flyer to Suer and others one by one.
The brochure mentioned that when an organization is interested in recruiting a member, it would distribute a flyer containing an introduction to the organization. The flyer also served as an application form. Suhr received the most flyers, but he didn't have time to examine them all.
At this time, a Shamatte stopped in front of him and handed him a wrinkled flyer. There was no introduction on it, just two large black characters printed on it: Return to the Grave.
"Think about it carefully." Shamatte yawned.
Soul: "Is this a threat?"
Shamatte: "It's advice." He wasn't afraid of offending anyone, so he said casually: "You have good observation skills and are quite calm, but you have a tendency to stir up trouble. Normally, conservative organizations wouldn't be willing to recruit this type of person."
Suer looked at the stack of flyers in his hand thoughtfully.
"They gave you the flyers because they wanted to know how you managed to walk out of the host's room alive." Shamatte spread his hands: "Although our boss is also very curious, he can protect you."
"How do you win the host's favor?" Hearing this, Su Er sneered: "It's simple, just lower yourself and seduce her."
The Shamatte narrowed his eyes, and his aura suddenly became fierce: "No one is stupid, your little tricks can't be hidden."
During the tense confrontation, Soul noticed that the dark clouds in the sky were growing thicker, like thick ink gathering into a ball. Then, a chilling mechanical notification chimed in: [Congratulations to player Soul for unlocking a new method of exorcism and earning the achievement 'Femme Fatale'.]
As the announcement ended, the chest badges of all players changed. In addition to the previous force value and spiritual value, a new column was added to the lower right corner: charm value.
A force value of 150 can slightly distort space, and a spirit value of over 80 can be possessed by a ghost. What the hell is this extra charm value now?!
Shamatte took a deep breath and gave Su Er a complicated look: "...We misunderstood you."
"…"