Breach!

That evening, both Brother Justice and the Hospital Director advised the Temple Abbot of his grief and offered to arrange accommodation for him.

The Temple, completely destroyed by fire, is clearly no longer habitable.

But the Temple Abbot ignored him completely, and with all his might, he planted the ancient Golden Demon-Subduing Staff into the ground, where it was buried three-tenths of an inch deep.

He sat cross-legged on the spot, chanting scriptures aloud for the sake of his three Little Monk disciples, the sound echoing through the mountains.

Flocks of birds had long since scattered in fright, while the raging flames of the Temple illuminated the surroundings, stretching everyone's shadows infinitely long, swaying left and right with the firelight, just like their restless and uneasy hearts.

The Dead Man in Box Town have become increasingly perplexing and difficult to contain.

That night, Yimo followed Brother Justice's car back to her residence.

I took a shower, then sat alone on the chaise lounge by the second-floor window, wearing a bathrobe. There was a piece of paper on the coffee table and a pen in my hand.

"Cannot accept any 'person's' invitation, or invite any 'person' into one's 'residence'?"

On the first day of the Game, Du Yu from the Bai Ye Group was very enthusiastic and invited me to visit Deep Mountain Castle.

On the Third Day of the Game, Bai Ye, the Young Lady of the Bai Ye Group, invited her to her residence. After she declined, she said she would come to visit her home in person.

So far, I have not been attacked.

Is accepting the invitation a trigger condition, or one of the trigger conditions, for being attacked?

In short, it is extremely dangerous.

Yimo witnessed Third Young Master Qianjiang and others accepting Du Yu's invitation to visit the New Town District the next day. However, the death toll is currently three, and it is still impossible to determine the exact number of deaths. Further assessment will be needed based on the number of deaths.

"The deceased was suffering from severe anemia, with no obvious injuries on the body surface, and post-mortem blood tests showed no abnormalities."

Symptoms: During the illness, the patient resists treatment, may exhibit completely incomprehensible behavior, and may even be highly aggressive.

Today, a woman killed three Little Monk with a knife at the Temple, set the Temple on fire, and finally committed suicide. She was the Wu Family Daughter-in-Law, a patient who had been forcibly sent to the Temple.

The notebook found in the attic of the deceased Tian Mazi's house the next day was filled with the words, "I'll be coming to find you soon!"

The patient suffers from mental distress?

Was it a hallucination, or was he being controlled?

Uncertain.

However, given that Wu Family Daughter-in-Law did not struggle even when engulfed in flames, it can be concluded that she had lost her sense of pain.

"Some of those who died from illness are truly dead, while others... are still alive?"

According to a conversation overheard by staff at the funeral home on the Third Day, cremations did take place, but the number of cremations was incorrect.

Based on what was seen through the crack in the sealed window, it was determined that...

"Let's assume the Bai Ye Group is the ghost."

"How does the attack cause illness?"

"Physically conventional? Non-physical, unconventional, supernatural?"

Both are possible; it's impossible to say for sure at the moment.

"If the Bai Ye Group is the ghost in this Game, are there any Player are on the same side as it?"

It's impossible to determine at this time, but based on Player behavior, if such a person exists, "Juzi" is the prime suspect.

He deliberately cultivated good relationships with other Player, repeatedly asking to enter his residence.

Be wary.

Does Boyfriend Privilege mean she has to tell him proactively?

The timing is not right; further observation is needed.

"Death Game Player Progress: Du Lingran has the highest progress, but Unknown whether his preparations surpass mine."

Thinking of this, a Guangmang flashed in Yimo's eyes, and she said calmly, "Du Lingran has already obtained Special Item at the Temple..."

"His lack of interest in becoming the Temple Abbot tonight proves that the Temple connection is no longer significant to him."

"Hehe... then I'll take over the Temple storyline."

Thinking of this, Yimo glanced at the Mithril Cross on the table.

This is Special Item he obtained from Pastor Ren at the Church. It has system prompts and the item description clearly states that it has a fatal effect on some beings that defy Fatality sense.

Now, it's less of one of his trump cards and more of a crucial life-saving tool.

"Only..."

"The victory condition of surviving for 15 days in this Game seems almost impossible to achieve..."

The Unknown "ghost" doesn't actually pose a particularly great threat to Yimo.

The greatest threat is those who are sick, have mental problems, and are still alive!

"If every patient possesses a degree of aggression..."

"So, at the end of the Game, what will the surviving Death Game Player face...?"

"I'm afraid it's Sick in the entire Town?"

Hehehe...

"This level of difficulty... is truly..."

"It's all... something to look forward to..."

Yimo, Yimo covered her face and couldn't help but laugh in a somewhat morbid way.

I don't know why, but it was clearly a life-or-death situation, Death Game on the edge of Cliff, where any wrong step could lead to utter ruin.

But the excitement that Yimo was trying so hard to suppress was stronger than the fear.

It was as if the Death Game itself existed solely for him!

This feeling was familiar, as if it had appeared in my mind more than once.

Yimo knew for certain that this feeling of excitement was something he had never experienced before in his memory!

I... am also experiencing some mental health issues...

Yimo, rubbing her temples hard to calm herself down, her gaze turning cold.

"Defense?"

"No, no, no... whatever the Game..."

"If there's an opportunity to take the initiative, then take it!"

"You must always keep the initiative in your own hands..."

"The layout... is already half complete..."

"What remains to be done is to uncover, one by one, those things that are still uncertain!"

"Then... Jingjing wait for the right opportunity..."

"Conquer this Game in one fell swoop!"

"Du Lingran, try your best to live on..."

"I'm reminding you simply because..."

"If you die, the Bai Ye Group will target me completely..."

Yimo wrote it down on the paper.

"The effects of Special Item are far from sufficient to complete the Game."

How can a Mithril Cross possibly deal with all the "ghosts" we might face in the future?

Besides, are the sick considered "ghosts"?

Rather than its practical function, it's more accurate to say that Yimo learned something through the Special Item.

The method to kill the demon is probably not that simple.

Those who are sick can be burned to death or commit suicide, Yimo to be different from "ghosts".

"The most important thing right now: find the demon's weakness."

While other Death Game Player were still figuring out how to survive for 15 days, Yimo had already spent Heavenly Timing deducing quite a few rules that were suspected to be undisclosed by the system.

And they're figuring out how to eliminate the threat to Player in this Game —those "ghosts."

After summarizing the information, Yimo burned the paper filled with it, then took out the pile of parts he had redeemed in the Game Store and began trying to assemble a gun.

In the days leading up to the Game, Yimo had already researched a lot about guns.

After the Game started, Yimo would try to assemble the gun whenever he had free time in the evening. The Game system gave him a "gun" that could only be redeemed with Points, but he failed every time.

The Village Chief's Little Sister once said that all high-attack items, although they might not be able to be brought into the Game after being purchased from the Game Store, can be crafted through some special means.

And she told Yimo that it seemed only she could do it.

Yimo was initially skeptical, but after actually trying it, she realized just how difficult it was.

The materials he prepared all had some problems; they seemed to be different from what he had purchased, making it impossible for him to assemble a usable gun.

Thinking about it carefully, the Village Chief's Little Sister's gun looks like a toy gun, and it doesn't seem to be firing bullets.

After trying to assemble it for a long time without success, Yimo finally gave up.

He also lamented that, as things stand, there is indeed a huge gap between his understanding of the Death Game and that of the Village Chief's Little Sister.

"Looks like I'll still have to get weapons from NPCs..."

"Without a gun in hand, one can never truly feel at ease."

Just then, Maaya, wearing a nightgown, her eyes still blurry with tears and clearly not Zhenling awake, came up. She looked at Yimo, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch, rubbed her eyes, and said, "Outside the Courtyard gate, your sweetheart, Big Bear Sister, has been staring at the house with her big eyes, blinking repeatedly, as if she's looking for you."

"Also, it's so dark in here, aren't you going to turn on the lights?"

"Your expression is a bit strange, like you're up to no good, like you're plotting something big..."

Upon Yimo, Yimo turned her head to look out the window and saw that Juzi was standing at the gate of the Courtyard, blinking her big eyes. She wondered how long she had been waiting for her. Their eyes met.

Yes, Juzi must have noticed that I was looking at her.

Yimo rubbed his head, feeling it was a bit dangerous to see her at night, as Unknown happen, so he drew the curtains shut and shook his head at Zhenling, saying, "Don't worry about her. I don't like her. Trying to control her would only give her hope and Torment her."

"She gave up, so she stopped coming."

"Indeed, a grand plan is brewing, but it's about saving the townspeople, and also saving ourselves."

"The environment is good; the lights in big cities are too bright, and everyone is wearing a mask—it's all so fake."

"Only when there are negative aspects can people take off their masks and let their guard down."

Hearing this, Zhenling looked troubled. She sat down on the tatami mat, shook her head, and said, "Ah! Love is so troublesome, I don't understand it at all!"

"I don't know if Sakamoto is Good Person or a bad person."

"It's clearly hurting Big Bear Sister, but it also seems like I'm doing her a favor. I really don't understand!"

"Compared to you city folks, I'm so naive!!!"

"So annoying!"

"You keep saying how bad things are in the city, it's making me almost not want to go anymore."

"But now the Town is completely in chaos, which is even worse."

Zhenling spoke, she slumped weakly onto the coffee table, looking at Yimo and saying, "However, Sakamoto is very genuine, not fake at all."

Upon Yimo chuckled and said, "Hey, what's there to act out with a heartless little brat?"

"You've slept all day, are you feeling rested?"

Hearing Zhenling pouted and said, "Pretty much."

"And who's the little brat?"

"I'll be an adult next year, okay? I'll be a big girl now!"

Yimo shook her head and smiled, "Let's talk about it when you're an adult. Here you go."

Yimo spoke, he pushed the Mithril Cross on the table in front of Zhenling: "Here you go. Tomorrow, go and help me with what I told you last night."

Zhenling was stunned by his words, her eyes widening in surprise. "No way? You went through all that trouble to get this, are you really going to destroy it?"

Yimo stopped looking at Zhenling, looked down at the ashes of the burned paper in the trash can, and said calmly, "No destruction, no construction; destruction precedes construction."

"Nothing can be fully calculated."

"If it's a do-or-die situation, then it's better to burn our bridges All In."

Upon hearing this, Zhenling raised her hand and tapped her head, saying, "You just said Sakamoto was real, and now you're saying something completely incomprehensible and nonsensical..."

"Never mind, if you don't understand, you don't understand. I'll do it for you."

On the other side, Du Lingran returned to the hospital with the Hospital Director.

The Hospital Director sat in his office, deep in thought, under immense pressure. He didn't even have time to shave his stubble, caught in a huge internal conflict.

Is this really a disease?

"Anemia, natural death, severe mental health issues..."

"Is this... really an illness...?"

"Could it be... really... a ghost?"

The current situation has completely exceeded the Hospital Director's expectations, constantly shattering his preconceived notions and even causing some mental abnormalities.

Du Lingran was also in the office, but instead of comforting the Hospital Director, he fell into deep thought.

He had indeed obtained a Special Item with system notifications at the Temple.

However, based on his assessment of the Game and the potential threats it posed to him, that item was simply insufficient for him to complete the Game and achieve victory.

In some ways, he and Yimo are the same kind of people. They prefer to take the initiative and attack rather than passively defend themselves!

Only...

He couldn't think of a way to completely defeat those Unknown beings.

He has been staying at the hospital at this moment, hoping to find out the weaknesses of those "ghosts" and "patients" through the Hospital Director, so as to launch a counterattack.

However, progress has stalled and it's impossible to move forward at all.

This made him wonder if he had chosen the wrong path.

Why did Sakamoto remind himself not to accept any invitations from anyone?

Is it intentionally misleading oneself, or simply trying to help oneself?

Etc!

Could it be that he's made significant progress in the Game, but isn't fully prepared and needs to continue battling those Unknown entities, attracting their attention to help him complete the Game?

"Hateful!"

Thinking of this, Du Lingran couldn't help but groan softly, feeling as if he had lost to his opponent.

He has played over 20 Death Game, and he has encountered opponents stronger than himself.

But this feeling of being evenly matched, yet always falling behind the other side, is just too painful!

This further fueled Du Lingran's fighting spirit.

Should I avoid taking a risky gamble and deliberately accept Sakamoto's invitation to launch a preemptive strike?

I have Special Item.

In that case, all the mysteries can be solved!

After considering this point, Du Lingran quickly rejected the idea.

"No, now is not the time to go all in!"

"Don't let Sakamoto distract you; the key is to conquer this Game," Du Lingran muttered to himself, secretly alarmed, feeling that he had almost been led astray by Sakamoto.

"But... their weakness..."

"What exactly is it...?"

Du Lingran simply couldn't deduce it accurately!

At this moment, both the Hospital Director and Du Lingran were in the office, their faces showing distress, and the atmosphere had become extremely tense.

But just then, someone pushed open the door and entered, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"Hospital Director! My uncle is sick!"

"No matter what I said, he refused to accept treatment..."

"I... knocked him unconscious with Wooden Stick..."

"Let's go together and get him to the hospital!"

The person who came was Xiao Rou, who had returned home to rest. She looked terrible and was even trembling slightly, but she bit her lip and her expression was incredibly firm.

She also wanted to find a cure for the disease that had spread from the small town as soon as possible!

Upon hearing this, both the Hospital Director and Du Lingran stood up immediately, without the slightest hesitation. "Let's go!"

The Game walkthrough, which had been stalled, suddenly seems to have found a breakthrough due to an unexpected event!

P. S. "Demon-Subduing Staff": The name of Sha Wujing's weapon in "Journey to the West".