Chapter 94.2 Crimson Sunset Expedition
Shortly after, Xiao Hua and the others started to come out as well. They had encountered different ghosts inside the mirror, leading to a variety of experiences.
Xiao Hua seemed somewhat serious, using an anti-eavesdropping item. “I encountered someone named Lu Bai.”
A completely unfamiliar name.
Wen Shi looked at Yu Xingzhou, who explained, “A player from the Deep Space Guild, the same guild as Xiao Min.”
Despite being part of the same guild, the Deep Space Guild was vast, and the two people weren’t really familiar with each other. Xiao Min had entered with them earlier, but his expression wasn’t great at the moment. “I didn’t come across Lu Bai, but I saw a player from another guild.”
Whether the data was fictional or not, it at least indicated that a member from the group that had previously been wiped out had made it here.
Yu Xingzhou: “Did you manage to get any information?”
Xiao Hua shook her head.
Ghosts took pleasure in killing, making normal conversation quite challenging.
“But I saw a patient’s wristband on his hand, and it didn’t match the name on his badge.”
Xiao Min: “The player I saw had the same situation.”
Yu Xingzhou considered a possibility. “The wristband might have been stolen. Maybe they intended to use the wristband to infiltrate the hospital for some reason.”
Xiao Hua nodded in agreement.
“Here’s the weirdest part: looking back at our gameplay so far, there hasn’t been any connection to wristbands, let alone a chance to steal them,” she furrowed her brow, “It’s as if the previous batch of players differed in some way from our game.”
Wen Shi recalled the surprised expression the proprietor had upon seeing them, as if he was about to carve “SO MANY PEOPLE” on his face. In fact, both players and shadows had suffered considerable casualties by then, so the proprietor’s surprise seemed quite abrupt. The tour guide’s involvement in resource distribution on the train was a partial factor, but the tour guide never posed a threat to the shadows on the train. In contrast, the proprietor seemed as if he had never encountered such a large number of tourists before.
“If that’s the case, it does make sense.”
His words drew the attention of a few others.
Wen Shi spoke slowly, “Starting from when we got off the train, our side quests have had almost no rewards. Now it seems the game sequence might be reversed, with the wristband being related to the hospital. Following the original sequence, after getting off the train, perhaps we were supposed to engage in a main quest battle related to the hospital.
“During this process, we might lose a lot of things, then comes the most ruthless skill-sealing House of Screams, and finally encounter ‘Spirit Summoning.’ The distinctive feature of this interactive activity is borrowing lifespans.”
“Makes sense,” Xiao Hua rubbed her chin, “Borrowing lifespans is for those about to die, not for ghosts.”
Wen Shi’s gaze seemed to darken. “Imagine if the things we lost before included lifespans. To survive, we’d have to borrow others’ lifespans. Our ‘Spirit Summoning’ gameplay and the previous batch of players’ experience would inevitably be different.”
The latter’s gameplay likely revolved around lighting the candle, while in their case, the candles were lit automatically. They entered the mirror to play games with the ghosts, but even winning yielded no benefits.
Just thinking about it, one could sense the terror that borrowing lifespans would lead to.
A shiver ran down everyone’s spine.
Yu Xingzhou spoke solemnly, “Shadows exist in the early stages to help players maintain rationality. Entering team battle too early wouldn’t be conducive to the game’s progression.”
If the original body got injured and the shadow died, it would trigger consequences, similar to what happened with Burnt Player.
Hence, Wen Shi’s conclusion should be accurate. The real battle was saved for the final stage–borrowing lifespans. It tested human nature. After this stage, even if rationality was lost, players could still complete the instance.
“So that’s why we’ve had fewer rewards for tasks and no main quests…” Xiao Hua swallowed hard. “Because the starting point and the endpoint were reversed?”
What an unbelievable realization!
Wen Shi’s eyes held a rare hint of displeasure. “What exactly is the game up to?”
Yu Xingzhou wanted to rub his forehead but realized he was wearing a mask and lowered his hand.
What are you thinking? Can’t you figure it out?
Upon careful thought, he really couldn’t figure it out. This person didn’t understand the significance of being a true spirit’s incarnation. An incarnation was like an essential button in the game, either playing the role of a start or an end.
This button hadn’t been pressed yet, but instead, it seemed like he had started moving on his own. Could the game even begin like this?
Sensing the complex gaze lingering on him for a while, Wen Shi was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Xingzhou turned his face away. “Nothing.”
Earlier, he had been hesitating whether both newbies were incarnations or just one of them, but now he leaned towards both being incarnations. The other one was likely playing the role of a safety net. There were quite a few side quests before the train stopped. It was practically impossible for two newbies without abilities or points to survive.
An incarnation was like a blank canvas. The fear they experienced before dying and their hatred for the world provided excellent nourishment for true spirits. Song Yan was one thing, but who would have thought that a newbie with limbs broken and even his tongue cut off would survive?
Especially during the parkour section, Pei Wenwei had thought of everything, even transforming them into wormkin, just to keep them alive.
While Wen Shi was grumbling and complaining about the game’s lack of maintenance, a sudden thunderous sound echoed outside, so loud that it seemed like all the mirrors trembled for a moment.
Wen Shi jumped at the sudden thunder.
Yu Xingzhou remained expressionless. “Well done.”
Wen Shi: “?”
The game was just too much, even causing the big shot to talk nonsense.
As the anti-eavesdropping item’s effect faded, everyone stood quietly in a corner. Yu Xingzhou took a step to find Li Nan, who had just come out of the mirror. They whispered for a while and both glanced in Wen Shi’s direction.
Unaware of their conversation, Wen Shi was openly discussing his insights from the last instance with Song Yan, marveling that the game hadn’t crashed yet.
The segment “Spirit Summoning” had been turned into something unlike its original intention, and the aspect that was supposed to play a gruesome role, borrowing lifespans, didn’t come into effect at all. On the players’ team, one player died, and on the shadow’s side, another person died.
Mid-sentence, Wen Shi suddenly remembered something.
The proprietor began counting the harvest, and the tour guide stared absentmindedly at the mirrored ceiling. Suddenly, almost reflexively, her radar detected Wen Shi stealing a glance at her.
What is this damn troublemaker up to again?
Wen Shi floated ghost-like to her side, “Miss Tour Guide, may I ask you a question? Is the travel route of the tour group fixed?”
The tour guide felt a bit guilty. “What if it’s not?”
From the NPC’s perspective, it was a different story. First, she disliked it when Wen Shi saved people on the train. Then, once off the train, her irritation was further provoked by the turtleguy. Therefore, that very night, she took them to the House of Screams and lured the group into attacking Wen Shi.
Generally, the most eccentric person in the team would be the one voted out.
To prevent any surprises during the long night, on the first evening after Wen Shi’s skills were sealed, the tour guide tried to lead him to the museum. Unexpectedly, her efforts were in vain.
The most unfortunate part was that she had battled her own shadow all night yesterday, and this morning the tour guide decided to take it easy and brought them to the House of Mirrors. The House of Mirrors was the proprietor’s domain. She didn’t need to give explanations and could take a temporary break.
From the evasive expression on her face, Wen Shi roughly understood what was going on.
“So it’s you.” These words were squeezed through his teeth. “It’s actually you!”
He finally realized the reason the game had gone this far without crashing: the tour guide was consistently maintaining logical coherence.
On the train, she had said something—
“Never call me by my name directly.”
Initially, Wen Shi hadn’t taken that statement to heart, as NPCs often had peculiarities.
Now, thinking back, he wouldn’t rule out that the tour guide might also be one of the true spirit’s incarnations. Not being directly addressed by name seemed to be a deeply ingrained obsession for true spirits.
As for Song Yan, he had to take on the role of a newbie, which naturally required a name.
The tour guide was the key NPC in this instance. She was responsible for planning tourists’ iteneraries, and as long as she saw no issues, there wouldn’t be any problems.
Wen Shi and Yu Xingzhou hadn’t achieved comprehensive information sharing.
Otherwise, they would have a clearer understanding. The tour guide acted as the third safety net. The other true spirit found joy in killing tourists, and even if newbies survived the train, as long as the tour guide was there, the trip would continue, waiting for someone to die.
The true spirit probably never imagined that game after game would pass, even finishing the final game, yet the true main quest couldn’t be initiated.
“Can’t even play with Matryoshka dolls properly.” Wen Shi inwardly gestured and criticized the true spirit.
After the proprietor finished cleaning up, he led everyone outside.
There wasn’t much post-disaster joy. At this moment, most were nervously waiting for the arrival of the main quest.
Team battles inevitably boiled down to a life-or-death struggle. This time wouldn’t be an exception. Thankfully, in “Mirror Person,” two female players died on the shadow team, which balanced out the numbers between the two teams. If it came down to a desperate fight, the players might not necessarily lose out.
“Attention all players, the side quest ‘House of Mirrors’ has been completed. The main quest is about to begin.”
The game didn’t allow them to continue speculating and presented the final challenge directly.
【Competing Teams: Players; Shadows】
【Location: Crimson Sunset Cosmetic Surgery Clinic】
【Time Limit: Starting from tonight at midnight, a twelve-hour survival countdown will begin】
【Quest Objective: Choose one out of three】
【Dear tourists, you’ve invested a hefty sum to participate in this trip, and Crimson Sunset Travel Agency guarantees to put your money to good use. Sunset Town is renowned for its cosmetic surgery. How could you come here and not experience beauty treatments?
As tourists, you have three choices:
1. Shadow Hunter. Arrive at Crimson Sunset Cosmetic Surgery Clinic before midnight. If you can eliminate shadows within the hospital’s confines, once you leave, your strength, agility, and intelligence will experience a qualitative leap.
2. Burglar. Arrive at Crimson Sunset Cosmetic Surgery Clinic before midnight. If you can steal a bottle of Divine Evolution Potion within the hospital, upon exiting the instance, you will randomly unlock a shapeshifting skill.
3. Carefree Rest. Be in bed at the inn before midnight. Have a peaceful slumber. Board the return train the next day, concluding this journey.】
【Note: You can only choose one of the above tasks. Once chosen, it cannot be changed.】
【Remaining Decision Time: 2 h】
Silence fell among the group one after another.
What they feared had finally come. It was time to make a choice. Wen Shi glanced towards the shadow team. They must have received the quest as well. Though unaware of the specifics, given that “Shadow Hunter” was an option for players, it was certain that shadows also had an option involving killing players.
As they walked out of the House of Mirrors, not a word was exchanged among the group.
This team battle quest thoroughly diminished the element of mutual combat, placing the decision-making power in the hands of each participant.
Opting for an easier route, lounging at the inn, sounded good. However, the allure of the first two choices was too strong. One could enhance overall qualities, while the other was equivalent to gaining an extra skill point.
Qian Laiye’s breath quickened uncontrollably, and he noticed Wen Shi yawning calmly. He whispered, “Aren’t you excited?”
Wen Shi: “Excited about what?”
Qian Laiye thought about the array of skills the other possessed, including shapeshifting abilities, and promptly fell silent.
“……” This guy was in a drought, and yet also caught in a flood. Qian Laiye hesitated for a moment, then asked, “How do you plan to deal with the shadow team?”
He figured that the game must have offered compelling choices to the shadows as well.
At Qian Laiye’s question, Wen Shi turned his gaze towards the teenager.
Just before reaching the last stretch where they could finally see daylight again, the teenager spotted the girl standing by the door, craning her neck and anxiously searching. Her eagerness resembled that of a novice parent bringing their child home for the first time.
The teenager unconsciously quickened his pace.
Observing this, Wen Shi’s lips curved slightly. Being waited for was a luxurious indulgence. As long as there were people who cared, decisions wouldn’t be made solely centered around oneself. The next moment, sunlight spilled in, and on the other side of the entrance, without any warning, an octopus head poked out.
“……” His smile froze abruptly.
What a massive head!
Not only that, beneath the head were eight long tentacles, a few of which were clinging to the door frame. The octopus, sporting a gentleman’s hat, extended another tentacle and waved: Hello~
***
~ヾ(＾∇＾)
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