Cursed Buddha Infant

The tourists looked up in unison, gazing at the dark Buddha.

"Hmph!"

The dark Buddha let out a cold snort, clearly finding such attention disrespectful.

Many tourists shivered and quickly lowered their heads.

Lin Baici didn't avert his gaze.

The dark Buddha rested its hand on its chin, cast a playful glance at Lin Baici, and then closed its eyes.

"What does that mean?"

The Old Aunt was anxious. Could they live or not, just give them a straight answer!

"It must mean the prayer was successful. Didn't you see it stopped spewing those sparks?"

Sima Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, can we leave now?"

Sister Xiao Li didn't want to stay here any longer; it was too dangerous.

"Probably not!"

Hua Yueyu knew without even thinking that the trouble wasn't over.

The tourists were all whispering amongst themselves. Some wanted to leave, but no one wanted to be the first to step forward.

"Thank you for your help just now. I'll remember this favor. Once we're out, I'll transfer ten million to you immediately!"

Jiang Hong was a shrewd person.

He emphasized the words "favor," "ten million," and "immediately," both praising Lin Baici to please him and dangling money to pique his interest.

This young man, facing a life-or-death crisis, was calm, intelligent, decisive, and most importantly, kind, which made him easy to manipulate.

Jiang Hong understood that his survival this time depended on this young man's performance, so he had to win him over and build a rapport.

"This great Buddha suddenly closed its eyes. I don't know what it means. How about this: let's select a few people to try and see if they can walk out of this grand hall?"

Jiang Hong suggested.

"Who do we choose?"

Sima Mu sized up the real estate businessman.

Slightly overweight, with a belly, his face exuded shrewdness.

"After the crisis just now, everyone's lives were saved by you. They will definitely listen to you. Whoever you choose, they won't have any objections."

Jiang Hong's attitude towards Lin Baici was humble, elevating him greatly.

"Oppa, don't listen to him. He's using you as a shield!"

Jin Yingzhen found this guy detestable.

The people chosen would be cannon fodder. If they died immediately after leaving the hall, it could be said that Lin Baici sent them to their deaths.

Even if they miraculously survived, they would no longer trust Lin Baici.

"That's not what I meant!"

Jiang Hong lowered his voice: "I've heard some things about the horrors of God's Ruins. There are no God Hunters here. If we want to survive and avoid Rule Pollution, we have to use human lives to test the waters!"

"To put it bluntly, even though you saved them, many of these people will definitely die in these God's Ruins later. Rather than dying without knowing why, it's better for them to be our stepping stones."

"Don't worry, when it's time to get our hands dirty, I'll get them dirty with you!"

Jiang Hong said at the end, patting Lin Baici on the shoulder.

Hua Yueyu stared at Jiang Hong in shock.

This person was so vicious.

Sima Mu remained silent, glancing at Lin Baici to gauge his reaction, as what Jiang Hong said was the optimal solution for the current situation.

"Survival of the fittest is the law of this world. Moreover, you've already saved these people once. Isn't it more valuable to use their lives to achieve something?"

Jiang Hong tempted.

The sparks that the dark Buddha had spewed from its nostrils earlier had burned four groups of people, about three hundred in total. The remaining five hundred or so survivors were all saved by Lin Baici.

The Old Aunt felt that what Jiang Hong said made some sense. After all, these people owed Lin Baici their lives.

"You be the leader. Although some people will die, some will still survive. If you don't take charge, these people will absolutely die!"

Jiang Hong left one thing unsaid: those who were close confidants of the leader would naturally have a higher chance of survival.

"Boss Jiang, everyone's life belongs to them. They decide how to use it. I won't interfere!"

Lin Baici stared at Jiang Hong: "Also, don't try to influence my judgment with your words. I'm not that stupid!"

Jiang Hong gave an awkward smile, feeling troubled in his heart.

This kid, wasn't easy to fool!

Too bad I can't drink, or else at the drinking table, five bottles of Maotai down, I could make you kneel and call me Dad!

"Oppa, look quickly!"

Jin Yingzhen tugged on Lin Baici's jersey.

An old woman in her sixties, possibly terrified, stumbled towards the mahogany main door, trying to escape this place.

She stepped over the foot-and-a-half-high threshold and headed straight for the stairs.

Just as everyone thought they were safe and could leave, a semi-transparent Buddha palm suddenly descended from the sky, as if swatting a mosquito, and slapped her onto the floor.

Bang!

By the time the Buddha palm disappeared, a pool of blood and flesh remained.

"So we really can't leave the main hall!"

Every tourist felt both fortunate they hadn't rashly tried to escape and helpless.

What should they do next?

Everyone subconsciously looked at the student who had just helped them through the crisis.

But in the next instant, their faces contorted in horror, and they all took a step back in unison.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Baici frowned. What was with them?

He also felt a strange heaviness on his shoulder.

"Oppa, your right shoulder..."

Jin Yingzhen gasped.

"What's wrong with my shoulder?"

Lin Baici turned his head to look at his right shoulder, and a pair of dark, large eyeballs met his gaze.

"Holy crap!"

Lin Baici yelped in surprise.

What the heck was this?

On his shoulder, an infant-sized black Buddha statue was perched, staring at him with a blank expression.

"Ah, Yingzhen, you have one on your shoulder too!"

Hua Yueyu trembled, quickly looking around and discovering that many people's shoulders now had one of these Buddha Infants.

These Buddha Infants were naked, their skin black like asphalt, and they exuded a foul stench.

"What is this thing?"

Jiang Hong reached out to grab the Buddha Infant perched on his shoulder, intending to tear it off and discard it.

The Buddha Infant's mouth opened wide, revealing a set of black teeth, and it bit down fiercely on his wrist like a wild dog.

"Ah!"

Jiang Hong cried out in pain.

In just a dozen seconds, these Buddha Infants, like ghosts, had silently climbed onto the tourists' shoulders, leaving no one unaffected.

Hua Yueyu felt disgusted and instinctively reached out, trying to get rid of the ghastly thing.

Snap!

Lin Baici grabbed her wrist.

"Everyone, don't touch the thing on your shoulder!"

Lin Baici roared, his voice echoing through the Great Hero Hall.

Some people listened, but others didn't.

After all, who wouldn't be terrified of being possessed by such a thing?

"Auntie, Sister Xiao Li, don't touch it, this ghastly thing will grow!"

Lin Baici urged.

The Rule Pollution had started again; trying to remove this ghastly thing by hand was definitely impossible.

"Grow?"

Jin Yingzhen then noticed that the Buddha Infants on Jiang Hong, Old Aunt, and Sister Xiao Li's shoulders were noticeably larger than the ones on Lin Baici, Hua Yueyu, and Sima Mu.

She quickly realized, "Are you saying this thing grows the more you touch it?"

"Probably!"

Lin Baici estimated that when this Buddha Infant grew to a certain size, the player's death would be imminent.

Panic erupted in the hall, accompanied by incessant crying.

Although some people had been burned to death earlier, it hadn't happened to them directly. While they were scared, they hadn't completely lost their minds. But now it was different; every single person had a shoulder-perched Buddha Infant, meaning they could die at any moment.

"Handsome, what do we do now?"

"You're not letting everyone touch it, do you know what this is?"

"Wuwuwu, I don't want to die, I haven't lived enough!"

The tourists swarmed around Lin Baici, begging him for help.

"Quiet down, everyone, be quiet first!"

Lin Baici yelled a few times before managing to somewhat quell their panic. "I found the key on the murals earlier. Everyone, look for it, and also search the main hall again to see if we missed any important information!"

Everyone immediately looked towards the murals on the wall, like playing a matching game, their eyes wide as they carefully searched for clues.

"Oil lamps!"

Hua Yueyu suddenly shouted, as if she had discovered a new continent. "Everyone by the murals has an oil lamp next to them!"

Lin Baici saw it too.

"Then what are we waiting for? Go get them quickly!"

Sima Mu urged.

Behind the Buddhist altars on the east and west sides of the main hall were rows of purple-painted wooden shelves, holding a line of unlit bronze oil lamps.

Lin Baici ran to the wooden shelves but didn't immediately grab one.

He wanted to observe if there were any differences between the oil lamps.

"They all look the same?"

Jin Yingzhen also didn't grab one, but Old Aunt and Sister Xiao Li were less cautious and snatched one up first.

"Yeah, there shouldn't be any difference!"

Lin Baici picked up a lamp.

The oil lamps were all the same in design: a tray at the bottom, and above it, a lotus bud the size of an apple, shaped as if about to bloom.

Inside the bud, there was no lamp oil, only a wick as thick as a chopstick.

Lin Baici had performed impressively earlier, being the great hero who saved everyone, so his every move was closely watched by the crowd.

Seeing him pick up an oil lamp now, everyone anxiously rushed towards the purple-painted wooden shelves, grabbing one regardless of whether it was useful.

"I saw this one first!"

"What are you snatching for? Aren't they all the same?"

"Damn it, who pushed me?"

The tourists started to conflict over the oil lamps, arguing and cursing. If not for the Buddha Infant clinging to their backs, someone with a short temper would have started fighting on the spot.

Old Aunt held an oil lamp in her hands and asked everyone with hope, "Did the ghost thing on my back disappear?"

"No!"

Sister Xiao Li said dejectedly, it seemed it had nothing to do with the oil lamps.

Others also discovered that after getting the oil lamps, the Buddha Infants on their backs did not disappear.

"The oil lamps of these people in the murals are all lit!"

Hua Yueyu shouted. "Everyone light the wicks and see!"

It wasn't just Hua Yueyu; others had also noticed this.

Jiang Hong and Sima Mu both had lighters, but after taking them out, they didn't light the wicks.

Jin Yingzhen glanced at Lin Baici.

She remembered that after they offered incense money and escaped from Merit Buddha, they encountered a ground full of corpses, and Lin Baici had picked up many things.

Among them were several lighters. Why wasn't he taking them out?