Mr. Shuhai is serious and taciturn. He is like a dignified elder, making people dare not act rashly.
As for Sur, he only took a second look at the achievement points marked on the other party's badge. After their eyes met, he looked away and continued to stand in the corner.
Trillion: "It's still early, let's go our separate ways."
No one objected. Players set out in groups of two or three, seemingly all acquaintances. Su Er raised an eyebrow and asked, "Could it be that they all used team-building items?"
Ji Heng: "Shen Jiangbei and Wan Yi were mostly used, the others were just coincidences."
Some organizations focus on the number of people, and the quality varies. The advantage is that it is easy to meet team members in the dungeon and take care of each other when there are not many conflicts of interest.
Outside, one could see many of the town's residents, most dressed in simple, modern attire. People rarely interacted with one another, but when they saw an elder, they would immediately stop and move aside. Children, held by their parents, would only gaze longingly at the colorful candies on the roadside, not daring to ask for anything.
Everyone is polite, but the scene created is lifeless.
Su Er followed suit, not only making way for the elders but also bowing his head in a respectful manner. Sure enough, he received praise from passersby. When they reached a less conspicuous spot, he spoke again, "The host has communicated with the Chief of Guards, so he must have a legitimate position here."
Ji Heng nodded: "That's normal. In the last instance, the host played Zhao Sanliang's grandfather."
"…"
The position of Chief of Guards was considered an honor, and countless people wanted to run for the position. Almost every distance one walked, one would encounter someone canvassing for votes through speeches. Sur stopped to listen out of curiosity:
"I had strict upbringing since I was young. I remember when I was eight, I refused to study, so my father broke half of my arm to make me remember..."
The distorted educational concept actually received warm applause from the onlookers.
Su Er frowned when he heard this: "Overcorrection is a pathological condition."
Ji Heng had been through so many dungeons that he was no longer surprised by anything. After inquiring along the way, he found that there were currently three people who were most likely to succeed the Chief of Guards. Interestingly, they were three brothers named Li Youzun, Li Yougui, and Li Youju.
After collecting the information, I returned to the dilapidated yard just as the sun was setting.
Su Er and Ji Heng came back first. Looking at the setting sun, they suddenly asked, "I wonder how the people who entered the game with me are doing now?"
Ji Heng: "You're lucky. The players in the novice field are all of good quality. But that doesn't mean all players in the game are like that."
Soul nodded: "I know."
Since ancient times, we must always be on guard against others.
Ji Heng: "The game prohibits players from directly killing each other, but there are countless ways to kill someone with someone else's knife."
As they were talking, people started to come back. Wen Buyu was thoughtful and brought back several snacks to satisfy their hunger.
Ge Xuyan was carelessly gnawing on a chicken leg, and halfway through, he said casually, "By the way, I saw someone I've never seen before talking to you in the alley."
Everyone couldn't help but look in the direction of Wen Buyu. The players had met each other before. According to Ge Xuyan, the person who was talking to Wen Buyu was most likely a native of the town.
Choosing an alley specifically usually means talking about secret matters, and there must be information to be discovered in it.
Wen Buyu smiled and said nothing.
Ge Xuyan: "We're all in the same game, there's no need to be so polite, right?"
Wen Buyu sat aside, showing no intention of answering him.
Ge Xuyan cursed, threw away the half-eaten chicken leg, got up and went back to his room to rest.
The meal ended on a sour note. The remaining people remained silent due to the tense atmosphere. Wen Buyu deliberately cleaned up the garbage on the table before leaving with a female player named Bai Yan.
Soul: "They don't seem to have a good relationship."
"They both belonged to an organization called Dongfengwu," Wan Yi watched Wen Buyu leave, his thoughts etched in his mind. After a moment, he spoke, "The original captain of Dongfengwu was Wen Buyu's husband. He died in a dungeon, and Wen Buyu took over. Ge Xuyan believed women couldn't accomplish anything, and he always wanted to replace Wen Buyu."
Su Er raised an eyebrow: "Sex discrimination?"
Wan Yi chuckled: "It's just a reason to want to get promoted. Dongfengwu is just a very small organization, not very cohesive."
Shen Jiangbei then spoke up: "Wen Buyu has some skills, and Ge Xuyan's martial arts skills are barely adequate. Their fight might affect the mission."
Wan Yi narrowed his eyes and said, "As long as the fire doesn't burn us, it's fine."
Shen Jiangbei had no intention of continuing this topic: "Let's all go back and rest early."
Su Er was the first to get up. As he was walking out, a voice suddenly came to his ear: "Where are you sleeping?"
Su Er looked at Ji Heng with a puzzled expression and took out a small piece of paper with everyone's information recorded on it: "It says on it that I live in the north room."
Ji Heng: "That's not what I asked."
"…"
The voice just now was emotionless. Su Er came to his senses and looked at Mr. Shuhai.
"Where do you sleep?" the other party asked in a serious tone.
As the host, he must know everyone's room, so this sentence must have a deeper meaning. Su Er hesitated for a moment and asked Ji Heng: "Is he inviting me?"
Ji Heng calmly asked, "So do you want to agree?"
Su Er was silent and shook his head: "Sorry, I don't have that idea for the time being."
The host stopped talking and stood quietly in the shadows, like a wooden sculpture without any emotion.
The two walked out side by side, and Ji Heng suddenly asked, "Do you feel it?"
Su Er nodded. The host had murderous intentions towards him. If he had agreed just now, even with the electric shock device, he might not have survived tonight. "I just don't know the reason."
Ji Heng: "Authority."
Su Er began to understand a little. His actions, which had humiliated Mr. Yue, were clearly a provocation. After a while, he found a way to make a joke and said, "It's better to set a trap in secret. I'm not stupid for such an open invitation."
"There are always some people who are so self-important that they agree without thinking." Ji Heng stopped and said, "I'm here."
The door of the room he lived in was just a decoration, and it didn't even close tightly. Ji Heng didn't care. He gave a few instructions and walked in. Su Er's own room was not much better. There was a tile missing from the roof. Fortunately, it didn't look like it would rain tonight, otherwise he would have to find a way to repair it.
It was like a silent understanding. No player asked to live together. There were many dirty things in the medium and high difficulty dungeons that could create hallucinations, and there were countless cases of possession and cannibalism.
Night falls silently. Tonight the moon hides behind the clouds and the surroundings are eerily quiet.
At this time, even the sound of cicadas and frogs would be good. In the extreme silence, it seems that some terrifying footsteps will be heard at any time.
Soul lay in bed, debating whether to go to sleep. He was a good sleeper, and if he couldn't hear a noise, it would be very troublesome. However, he still had several days to stay, so not sleeping seemed unrealistic.
While he was still making a decision, someone was already preparing to go to sleep.
In the west house, Ge Xuyan lay in bed, preparing to fall asleep. The first night was the least dangerous, so he had to seize the time to accumulate energy.
"That bitch Wen Buyu." He turned over and muttered.
Ge Xuyan knew in his heart that neither he nor Wen Buyu were good people and they would do anything to survive. The problem was that Wen Buyu was too good at putting on a good front and could plot against people just by smiling.
He couldn't help but curse a few more times before sleepiness overtook him and his eyelids gradually closed. The chicken drumstick he had eaten that afternoon was a bit salty, and the water in the house had a strong smell. Ge Xuyan had been thirsty before falling asleep, and even after falling asleep, he subconsciously breathed with his mouth open.
An unknown amount of time passed before a chill came over him. The sense of crisis cultivated from countless life-and-death experiences made him open his eyes immediately.
The moon, which had been hiding behind the clouds, appeared at this moment, and the bleak moonlight illuminated everything in front of him clearly: facing him was a young girl, and there was not a single spot on her lips that was healthy. She was smiling, and the tender flesh that had just scabbed was instantly torn and bleeding again.
Ge Xuyan took a deep breath. This girl was obviously not human.
His strength was far from enough to fight against the ghost, so the best way was to find a way to escape. It was a good idea, but unfortunately the cold was biting, and it hurt so much that he gritted his teeth, making it impossible for him to move forward.
He was almost there. As long as he could pass this dungeon, his strength would reach 150. By then, he would be able to barely fight against the demons and become the new captain. Reluctance and resentment erupted in an instant, but he was dragged back after running only two steps. At the last moment, Ge Xuyan screamed in despair: "Help!"
The ghost girl's smile suddenly widened, as if she had been waiting for this moment. She stretched out her skinny fingers and suddenly grabbed Ge Xuyan's tongue. Under his horrified gaze, she pulled it out little by little.
…
The sun has not risen completely yet, and the shadow of the moon still remains faintly on the horizon.
Most of the players had already woken up and gathered in the courtyard after a simple wash. Ji Heng walked over and frowned when he saw that there was no sign of Su Er in the crowd.
"It's only the first night, nothing will happen." Wen Buyu said softly and walked towards Suer's room together.
Bai Yan looked around: "Ge Xuyan is not here either."
After a while, I figured it out myself. The danger wasn't great on the first day, and the other party might just want to get some more sleep to rest up. This is a very common practice.
In comparison, the possibility of something happening to the newcomer Suer is greater.
Wen Buyu knocked on the door, but Wanyi's method was simpler. He walked directly to the window and peeked inside, unable to help but curse. Bai Yan, curious, also came over to see, and was shocked at the time: "Dead or alive?"
There were a lot of strings wrapped around Su'er, and the other ends were tied to the doors, windows, and other entrances, even to the beams and roof. At first glance, he looked like a puppet.
The person on the bed heard the noise, slowly opened his eyes, turned his head, calmly untied the string in his hands, and came out to open the door.
"Good morning."
Bai Yan looked at the threads in silence: "Aren't you afraid that a ghost might come and you won't be able to escape?"
"It's not tied tightly enough. It will break if you pull it," Su Er demonstrated. "I'm just worried that I'll sleep so soundly that I won't even notice someone coming in."
"I'm glad you're okay." Wen Buyu said softly, "Ji Heng was a little worried when he saw that you didn't come."
Soul: "I know."
Wen Buyu laughed. "Actually, wrapping the string around it isn't very useful. When a ghost comes, the temperature and environment will change, and you can sense it. As for people... it's unlikely they'll come by late at night."
"Nothing is absolute." Su Er looked at Ji Heng: "He came last night."
Several eyes converged on him, and Ji Heng said calmly: "I heard some noise, but I wasn't sure where it came from, so I came to take a look."
The big tree outside blocked the moonlight, so in order not to disturb the sleep of the people inside, he went up to the roof.
Soul pointed to the missing piece of the roof and said, "We looked into each other's eyes through that gap."
Everyone couldn't help but shudder when they imagined that scene.
Although the scene was horrifying, Suer was actually quite grateful. Although Ji Heng was a little cold, he was a qualified captain.
Bai Yan swallowed, thought for a moment, and then said weakly, "...Should we go check on Ge Xuyan?"
Five minutes later, everyone stood in front of the door of the house where Ge Xuyan lived. Before entering, they could sense that something was wrong, and the smell of blood hit them.
Wan Yi had no scruples, he looked at Shen Jiangbei, nodded, and pushed the door open.
There was a half-tongue by the threshold, and Wan Yi almost stepped on it accidentally. Ge Xuyan, lying on the bed, was covered in blood, but the bloodiest spot was on his head. He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, walked closer, and looked for a while: "The tongue must have been pulled out."
Wen Buyu was slightly startled and looked at Ji Heng: "So the noise you heard last night was most likely..."
"Maybe." Ji Heng's expression was indifferent.
Wen Buyu said softly, "Actually, you can stop it."
If we arrive in time, we might be able to save the person.
Without waiting for Ji Heng to speak, Wen Buyu quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I was not in the right mood. No one here is obligated to take the life of another."
Death in the gaming world is perfectly normal. Just as the topic was about to fade away, Ji Heng suddenly asked, "Don't you know how he died?"
Wen Buyu uttered an "ah" and after a brief moment of confusion, he became angry: "My relationship with Ge Xuyan is not good, but we are from the same organization..."
"Don't talk while eating and don't talk while sleeping." Ji Heng's eyes were as sharp as knives, and he interrupted her with six words.
As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone noticed a detail they had overlooked, and their expressions suddenly turned sour. In this small town, etiquette was very important, and in some places, talking while eating was considered impolite.
Yesterday, Ge Xuyan not only cursed at the dinner table, but also left without finishing his food. Considering the tragedy of death from tongue pulling today, there is probably some connection between them.
The anger on Wen Buyu's face dissipated, and he turned pale. It was obvious that he had also thought of this. He was completely stunned: "How could this happen?"
Her expression was so genuine that it was hard to tell if she was acting or just being careless. After all, chatting over a meal is a common practice among modern people.
Wan Yi was not so good-tempered. The snacks were brought back by Wen Buyu on his own initiative, and they all ate around a table. If Ge Xuyan had not spoken first, no one knew who would have suffered today.
"I hope you really didn't mean it." Wan Yi glanced at her, otherwise this scheme would be a little scary.
When there's only one player left in the game, the difficulty of the dungeon will automatically decrease. Many people encounter high-difficulty dungeons and, seeing that there's no hope of clearing them, resort to unorthodox methods.
Wen Buyu's eyes turned red with anger.
The current dilemma is how to deal with the body. If it is buried hastily and discovered, it may be suspected of murder and hiding the body. Suer noticed that Mr. Shuhai, who had been in the shadows, had disappeared at some point, and when he reappeared, he was following the captain of the guard.
The veteran player had some basic acting skills, and Wanyi quickly adjusted himself to a frightened expression: "Someone's dead!"
The guard saw the tragedy in the room and his face turned grim: "What happened?"
Wanyi pretended to be dumb and his words revealed that he knew nothing.
Mr. Shuhai spoke up at this moment: "Last night the deceased wasted food and used foul language at the dinner table. Perhaps he was being punished by heaven."
After hearing such an absurd reason, the captain of the guard actually believed it a little.
Mr. Shuhai said sternly, "There's no etiquette for eating. It's better not to have this mouth."
The guard faced the corpse and immediately revealed an expression of deep disgust. "What an uneducated child! I'm going to have this reported in the newspaper so it can serve as a warning to others."
He muttered to himself and walked out with his hands behind his back, as if he really wanted to find someone to write the article.
Bai Yan bit her lip and asked, "What do you think? Is this guard chief a human or a ghost?"
Who would be indifferent to seeing a dead person and still want to publicize it?
Trillion: "Who knows."
While everyone was paying attention to the captain's actions, Ji Heng noticed that Suer was observing his surroundings.
"Not afraid?"
Soul: "If you really encounter a ghost, just don't open your mouth and howl."
Ji Heng: "It's not easy to do."
Su Er glanced at him and said, "I'm not afraid anyway."
Ji Heng raised his eyebrows.
Soul said mysteriously: "Actually, I discovered a secret."
Their eyes met, and Ji Heng waited quietly for what was to come.
"The ghosts here seem to have an unimaginable obsession with etiquette," said Sur. "If it dares to come, I will destroy its innocence even if it risks my life."
Ji Heng's expression changed slightly.
Su Er sneered: "Isn't it just a tongue-pulling ghost... As long as I have breath, my mouth will not die."
He also forcefully kisses people, which is scary.