The good news is that Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun found the green road with ease.
The bad news is that another elderly person collapsed on the roadside, but this time it was an old man.
The group walked over helplessly. "Grandpa, do you need to go to the hospital?"
It's the same familiar tune.
Easy peasy!
The three of them officially entered the Green Passage.
They just left a little while ago...
Swish--
Fall back!
"What's going on?" Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun were completely confused.
Everything good that needed to be done was done, so why did this happen?
"Could it be that other elderly people have fallen nearby that we haven't noticed?" Yue Renchun looked around.
Look over there!
Following Hu Jiu's voice, Yue Renchun looked over.
A young man rode by on a bicycle, wobbling as if he had just learned to ride and was about to fall.
"You need to help with this too?" Yue Renchun muttered under his breath, but still made Ye Songlan run over to help.
After seeing the cyclist off, Yue Renchun continued on his way, cursing under his breath.
Swish--
Fall back.
Yue Renchun was shocked. "I was just cursing in my mind, and that's against the rules?"
Hu Jiu immediately retorted, "Impossible. I've cursed you countless times in my heart, but nothing happened."
Yue Renchun rolled his eyes. "Then why this time?"
There was no one else on the straight road, so why did it suddenly reverse?
Three pairs of eyes scanned the surroundings, finally settling on the same spot.
On the ground, a one-cent coin that had long been out of circulation lay quietly.
Hu Jiu's lips twitched violently. A penny on the roadside—that's classic!
"I don't know why, but I suddenly felt extremely ashamed."
Yue Renchun wholeheartedly agreed. He flicked his finger, and Ye Songlan ran over, picked up the coin, and took a deep breath. "I found a penny on the side of the road and gave it to the policeman..."
Amidst Xiao Lan's half-dead singing, the group delivered the coins to the police station.
By the time I got back to the Green Passage, it was almost dark.
After that, they repeatedly backed away because of scraps of paper on the ground, injured stray cats, lost old Deng, and so on.
Ultimately, they realized that this path was a dead end, and countless troubles seemed to await them ahead, the situation being far more complex than they had imagined.
A man was walking past several people in such a hurry that he didn't notice the small stones on the side of the road and tripped over them.
The man clutched his ankle in pain, looking at them with pleading eyes.
"Clear."
Ye Songlan walked over.
The man reached out and grabbed Ye Songlan's arm.
Snap!
The man was pushed aside, and Ye Songlan took his phone. "I'll call an ambulance for you."
The man stared wide-eyed in surprise, as if he had a thousand words to say. Shouldn't they have just helped him up? Why call an ambulance?
Bad review!
Ye Songlan glared at him, "It's just a scrape, and you expect someone to help you up? I think you're clearly trying to take advantage!"
The man's eyes changed again. "You're not going to help me up, huh? Then I'm not moving! As long as I don't move, you're not leaving either!"
Click--
The man's arm and leg were broken.
"Oh dear, you're injured. I'll call an ambulance for you." Ye Songlan dialed the number expressionlessly.
"You're finished! You dare to hurt someone intentionally, you'll never leave here for the rest of your life!" the man howled and cursed until he was completely exhausted.
Hu Jiu slowly stepped forward. "You did this on purpose, didn't you? Deliberately causing trouble and preventing us from leaving?"
The man's expression changed slightly. "Don't talk nonsense! I'm a very good person. You clearly refused to help me and even maliciously injured me..."
Hu Jiu calmly gestured to Ye Songlan: "Keep hitting him, keep hitting him until he's willing to tell the truth!"
The man appeared panicked, but a hint of anticipation unconsciously flickered in his eyes.
"Wait, let me do it!" Yue Renchun pushed Hu Jiu aside, his palm glowing with a vibrant pink light.
The man's expression shifted repeatedly, sometimes appearing clear-headed, sometimes confused.
"There was definitely something wrong!" Yue Renchun sneered. He had sensed something was amiss before. As a handsome man who had been good-looking since childhood, he was always the center of attention wherever he went.
But ever since he entered Yuezhao City, he seems to have lost his charm. The old ladies, little girls, and strange young women he used to meet all look at him the same way they look at a passerby!
Narcissism may be one thing, but it also suggests that the residents of this city are abnormal!
The passive charm of the Peach Blossom Sha is not something everyone can resist. At this moment, Yue Renchun activated the power of the Chang Ghost within him, and the man in front of him actually resisted for a few seconds, which is enough to show the seriousness of the situation.
In no time, Yue Renchun had another puppet.
Late at night, a mysterious chat group...
"Two new groups arrived today; I wonder how long they can last."
Someone immediately replied, "One of the groups is about to fall."
"So fast? What did they do?"
"Killing someone in the street! I was just hiding behind passersby and making a comment, who knew they would be so impulsive, they got enraged so easily, and even killed the wrong person."
"You took too much risk." In the hospital, an old woman smiled and fiddled with her phone. "You could have just deliberately fallen on the road; there was no need to put yourself in danger. There aren't many people left alive."
"Exactly! Helping elderly people is an insanely difficult task; it's a huge waste of time and energy, and doing it a few times can drive a person crazy."
This statement received countless praises; it's said that if an elderly person lies down near a crossroads, traffic will be paralyzed!
"I'm so envious! I want to try it too!"
"You're not good enough. You're too young and don't meet the minimum standard for 'helping the elderly.' You can only control one person."
The residents still living in this city have long since figured out some of the rules. Some "good deeds" must be done and everyone must comply, while others do not require everyone's participation and can be done by one person.
It's easy to avoid being bound by rules: simply pretend to be a vulnerable person in dire need of help, and you can then coerce others into helping you!
"Everyone, take action! We can't let them get away with this!"
"Once you're here, you're not leaving!"
"Yuezhao City is a place where people come but never leave!"
Amidst this frenzied online discussion, a question suddenly emerged, "Why are we doing this? Why are we causing trouble for outsiders and preventing them from leaving?"
There was a moment of silence in the group chat, followed by a righteous and stern reply, "We're all doing this for their own good!"
"We are helping them improve their moral character and become saints with lofty ideals!"
Such comments flooded the chat interface.
On the other side, Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun both saw the above conversation. The phone was kindly provided by the passerby. Clearly, the residents of this city were just looking for trouble.
"Answer me, why did you deliberately cause trouble for others?" Yue Renchun questioned.
The man under his control replied woodenly, "Helping everyone improve their moral character is my duty."
No matter how he was questioned, the man persisted in saying the same thing.
Yue Renchun shook his head regretfully. "Their thoughts and will seem to have been corrupted."
Having said that, he took out the Ghost Inquirer Necklace around his neck. Even in the dim light of dusk, the gemstone still reflected an eerie blue flame. Under the blue light, the passerby's face regained some liveliness.
"Answer me, why are you deliberately causing trouble and preventing others from leaving this city?" Yue Renchun asked the question again.
"It's not that we're deliberately trying to cause trouble, but this Green Passage has been riddled with traps since the day it appeared, and no one has ever been able to get out successfully! We don't know who created this path, nor who set the traps, but everyone will fail anyway. We're just deliberately causing trouble to find some amusement in this inevitable failure!"
The man's expression became hysterical, and he gradually became incoherent. "I'm trapped here, never to get out! Why can others leave? Why can they escape this misery, while I can only struggle here? I refuse to accept this! We're all compatriots, we should share joys and sorrows, haha..."
Yue Renchun gasped in shock; his heart had been broken!
As an antagonist, he could understand this mentality, but what he couldn't understand was whether everyone in the entire city shared the same mindset? Just because they were unhappy, did they have to drag everyone else down with them? Surely, if those broad-minded and insightful people united, at least a few could break free from this path?
The man quickly answered his question.
"When the number of rule violations accumulates to a certain point, they will be transformed into a noble, pure, and morally upright person, free from base desires! They will become flawless moral exemplars, never to leave this path again."
Upon hearing this, Yue Renchun's eyes widened, and he immediately thought of the doctors and nurses he had encountered in the hospital.
Their bodies are perfectly normal; they can talk, laugh, walk, and eat. They can do everything that ordinary people can do. However, they are not normal people; they are... NPCs.
The perfect nurses, like pre-programmed robots...
The game "Rules of the Strange" isn't devoid of punishment mechanisms; rather, the punishments are subtle and easily Neglect. There's a limit to the number of rule-breaking actions each person can take, and reaching that limit will result in becoming an NPC. Furthermore, each rule violation will likely deduct different amounts from that limit, depending on the severity. Littering and murder can't both be counted as rule violations, can they?
There are too many traps on the Green Passage; one careless step and you'll fall into one, ending up ruined before you even get halfway there.
"The Supernatural is always harmful to humans!" Yue Renchun suddenly exclaimed.
"The strange rules of Yuezhao City, on the surface, are beneficial to social order, and I believe that those who initially formulated these rules must have had good intentions. However, these rules were created by Supernatural forces, and under Supernatural influence, good intentions only come in distorted forms."
"It doesn't matter." Hu Jiu didn't care about other people's lives at all, coldly analyzing the current situation. "There are probably three types of people in this city—NPCs who have completely transformed into 'saints,' living people who still retain some self-awareness but whose humanity has been distorted by the Supernatural, and us outsiders."
"If the administrative offices of Yuezhao City were entirely composed of NPCs, then it would be understandable why Headquarters is completely unaware of the situation here. Ordinary people cannot contact Headquarters, and those who can communicate with Headquarters have all become puppets of the rules."
"The few who are still alive, affected by the combined effects of the terrible reality and Supernatural forces, have all become psychologically disturbed, wanting only to drag others down with them."
Improving moral standards by forcing growth has given rise to two bizarre types: NPCs who have lost their sense of self and villains who exploit morality for evil.
"Where is the Source Ghost? Or rather... where is the Ghost Tamer sets the rules behind the scenes hiding?" Yue Renchun believes that the strange rules and legends of Yuezhao City are most likely created by humans, and it is unlikely that Fierce Ghost without intelligence would come up with such naive rules.
"When the strange rules first appeared, what was the first problem that arose?" Hu Jiu suddenly asked.
After a moment's thought, Yue Renchun said decisively, "Criminal!"
"When the rule is implemented, those committing crimes are immediately violating it, and given the severity of their offenses, they will likely soon reach a certain threshold and be transformed into NPCs."
"With all the criminals 'reforming' in such a short time, the police should have noticed something amiss. Theoretically, Headquarters shouldn't have been completely unaware. Given the current situation, could it be that the mastermind behind this has already targeted the law enforcement and administrative personnel of Yuezhao City?"
Hu Jiu nodded. "Perhaps."
The Ghost Book continued to stir, the two pieces of the Vengeful Ghost Puzzle attracting each other, so he wasn't in a hurry. Even if he didn't go looking for it, the ghost or the Ghost Tamer would come to him on its own.
Boom--
A piercing explosion came from afar, and the Ghost Book bounced restlessly in my arms.
"Let's go take a look!"
Hu Jiu took the lead and headed towards the direction of the explosion.
Swish--
Fall back.
"I forgot there's still some trash left to clean up," Hu Jiu said with a sinister look at the man who had lost an arm and a leg.
In the dark and secluded room, the girl held a strange Feather Pen and kept writing on a diary filled with messy handwriting.
Her expression was somewhat blank, her skin was deathly pale, and only the occasional movement of her eyes proved that she was still alive.
The once neat handwriting in the diary is gradually fading and disappearing, replaced by distorted, Ghost-Drawing Talisman characters that slowly cover up the original strokes...
Why do bad things?
Why won't you just be a good person?
Why bully honest people?
"Why, why, why..."
The girl's murmurs echoed in the room. The Feather Pen trembled, as if trying to break free from her grasp, but in the end, it was held tightly in her hand.
"What's wrong?" she asked softly.
The Feather Pen guided her hand and wrote a line in the diary.
After reading it, the girl smiled, "So that's how it is. You need to complete yourself. Only when you are whole can you truly make your words law and establish rules that never disappear."
The smile on her lips grew even more exaggerated. "I want it. Then I can bring salvation to a wider world. I can write rules all over the country and even the world!"
"I want to create a world where only good people exist!"