Listening to Sutras in the Meditation Room

Of the four, Sima Mu was the most anxious. He strode up the steps and shoved open the Meditation Room's door.

"Someone's here!"

The Meditation Room was about half the size of a Basketball Court. Several prayer mats lay on the floor, and an incense table stood on the north side directly opposite the entrance.

A Buddhist shrine sat atop it, housing a Faceless Buddha.

There was also an inner chamber on the west side of the Meditation Room.

Lin Baici walked over and swept his gaze around the room, spotting fourteen people.

Every one of them had a Vine Lasso around their neck.

Their expressions were despairing. They had no mood to speak. When they saw newcomers, they merely glanced over before lowering their heads again.

"What's with this thing? Can it strangle people to death?"

Sima Mu roared.

No one answered.

"Fuck, are you deaf?"

Sima Mu gripped his sickle, looking ready to chop someone.

[In the West Wing Inner Chamber lies exquisite delicacies. You absolutely must not miss them, or you might as well delete your account and start over.]

Grrr!

Lin Baici's stomach growled. He was so hungry now that he felt like chewing up the doorframe.

"Why didn't you tell us this place was dangerous?"

Xu Xiu complained. If these people had given them even a warning, she felt they could have gotten away before the vines wrapped around their necks.

A potbellied man glanced at Old Aunt and sneered maliciously. "Why should we warn you?"

"You..."

Old Aunt was furious. Wasn't this harming others for no benefit to oneself?

"Are you asking for a beating?"

Sima Mu looked nothing like an injured man. His temper flared, and he was ready to beat the man up and teach him why flowers were so red.

"Stop arguing. We should be working together now and figuring out how to escape!"

A short Girl tried to mediate.

She wore a blue pleated skirt below and a white short-sleeved shirt above, thin enough for the straps of her underwear to show through.

A red necktie was tied at her chest, and she wore black round-toed leather shoes.

It was a fashionable Sailor Suit Cosplay Outfit.

Lin Baici frowned slightly. "Why does this girl look familiar?"

"Yueyu, leave them alone!"

The speaker was a young woman with short hair, around twenty years old. She was plain-looking and wore jeans, White Sneakers, and a hooded Sun Protection Shirt.

"How can we just give up?"

Hua Yueyu sighed. She was only nineteen, at the most beautiful age of her life. She did not want to die yet.

"Are you Hua Yueyu from Shark Live?"

When Lin Baici heard the Girl in White Sneakers call her Yueyu, he suddenly remembered.

He seemed to have seen this girl streaming games on Shark Platform.

"Yep. Are you one of my fans?"

Hua Yueyu forced out a smile.

Lin Baici shook his head.

Hua Yueyu was a top-tier streamer on Shark Platform, the hottest livestreaming platform at the moment. She mainly made game guides, performed Otaku Dance, sang songs, and occasionally did content such as Outdoor Store Exploration.

At the same time, she was also an Uploader. She posted videos on sites such as Douyin and Bilibili, with a combined following of five million.

"Oh, then you can watch more of my streams in the future. They'll definitely bring you some fun!"

Hua Yueyu took the opportunity to gain a fan, but the thought that she might not survive the day left her listless.

Sigh!

She would never get the chance to earn a hundred million and enjoy life after attaining financial freedom.

"Watch my ass. We're all going to die today!"

Fat Man sneered.

"Do you know what's going on here?"

Lin Baici tugged at the Vine Lasso around his neck.

"When the meteor crashed down, I passed out. When I woke up, I saw a group of people, so Sister Xiao Li, Brother Gu, and I followed them and hid here together!"

Hua Yueyu had a Small Round Face. Whenever she spoke, a Little Tiger Tooth showed at the left corner of her mouth, making her look adorable.

Sister Xiao Li was the short-haired young woman in White Sneakers. Brother Gu sat beside her. He was not very old either, and a Canon Camera hung from his chest. He was obviously Hua Yueyu's Photographer.

"After everyone rested for less than ten minutes, these lassos woven from some unknown grass suddenly appeared around our necks. We found that whenever the lassos tightened, we had to immediately enter that Meditation Room inner chamber, or we'd be strangled to death!"

This was the rule Hua Yueyu had pieced together.

"Can't we run?"

Old Aunt's voice trembled, clinging to her last sliver of hope.

"We can't. The moment we leave that courtyard gate, our necks will be snapped immediately!"

Sister Xiao Li clutched her hair in despair. Nothing was crueler than waiting for death.

"What's inside that Meditation Room inner chamber?"

Jin Yingzhen pressed, "Has anyone ever come out?"

"We don't know!"

Hua Yueyu shook her head. "Since the beginning, seven groups have gone in, ten people each time. Not a single one came back out!"

"They all died?"

Sima Mu's scalp went numb.

"Probably!"

Hua Yueyu was the calmest among them and had observed everything carefully.

A GoPro action camera was clipped to her collar. Unfortunately, no electronic device could function in the God Ruins. Otherwise, she would have checked the footage for clues about escaping.

"Didn't you say people died outside? I didn't see any bodies!"

Lin Baici needed more information.

"The bodies of those who were strangled turned to sand and crumbled into dust in less than three minutes."

Sister Xiao Li cut in.

"Ah?"

Xu Xiu panicked even more and hugged Lin Baici's arm.

"Nothing that happens in the God Ruins is worth being surprised about!"

Sima Mu did not care about the corpses. "The urgent question is how to get this lasso off!"

"God of Gluttony, what do you think?"

Lin Baici asked in his heart.

[Hungry!]

The answer was completely off-topic.

Lin Baici was about to ask Hua Yueyu for more information when a man wearing dark sunglasses sprang up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.

Old Aunt jumped in fright and hurried behind Lin Baici.

"Their lassos have tightened!"

Hua Yueyu touched the lasso around her own neck. It had not tightened.

Whew!

They were lucky and could live a little longer, but this was probably their last chance to escape. If they could not think of a way out, they would have to enter the Meditation Room inner chamber.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Sunglasses Man cursed, but there was nothing he could do. Running outside meant certain death. Entering the inner chamber might still offer a sliver of hope.

The ten unlucky people who had been chosen walked tremblingly into the inner chamber.

Lin Baici had just moved closer to take a look when the door slammed shut.

"Ha, we get to live a few more minutes!"

Fat Man revealed a self-mocking bitter smile. Still, he did not want to die, so he took the initiative to speak to Lin Baici. "Hey, do you have a way?"

He could tell that the newcomers looked to this handsome Male Student as their leader.

"No!"

Lin Baici walked to the Buddhist shrine and examined the Faceless Buddha while considering the dangers they might encounter next and how to respond reasonably.

Jin Yingzhen bravely walked to the inner chamber door and pressed her ear against it, but she could not hear anything.

"I've done everything you're doing. I didn't find anything!"

Hua Yueyu sat down, drew up her legs, wrapped her arms around her knees, and rested her chin on them.

Sigh!

They were all ordinary people trapped in the God Ruins. Yet I expected them to descend like gods and turn the tide. I'm such an idiot!

Lin Baici carefully inspected the room once more. Just as he was about to check the courtyard, the lasso around his neck suddenly tightened.

Pain spread from his neck, accompanied by a faint sense of suffocation.

"Baici!"

Old Aunt burst into tears again. She had heard that when people were strangled to death, their tongues would stick out a long way.

"It's our turn!"

Brother Gu stood up, stroked the Canon Camera on his chest, and was the first to walk into the Meditation Room inner chamber.

"Let's go. We don't have a choice!"

Hua Yueyu took a deep breath, forcing herself to perk up as she prepared for one final struggle.

Lin Baici raised his wrist and glanced at the Rolex he had picked up.

Six minutes had passed since those people went in.

"Baici, let's enter the Meditation Room!"

Sima Mu called out.

Jin Yingzhen and Old Aunt had already gathered around him. They felt safer staying with Lin Baici.

Fat Man's eyes shifted when he saw this. He jogged over as well, following behind the four of them.

The Meditation Room inner chamber was not large and held no furnishings, only a prayer mat that a monk would sit on while chanting sutras.

The prayer mat was old and slightly yellowed. A fist-sized Incense Burner sat on it, with three Incense Sticks burning inside.

A strange fragrance filled their nostrils.

Once everyone entered, the Vine Lassos around their necks immediately loosened.

"What do we do now?"

They looked at one another, completely at a loss.

"Is this Incense Burner a God's Taboo Object?"

Lin Baici stared at the Incense Burner, waiting for the God of Gluttony to give a Gourmet Review, but there was no voice in his mind.

Creak!

The door closed automatically.

"Look!"

Jin Yingzhen cried out urgently.

The white smoke rising from the burning Incense Sticks transformed into a faint line of words.

'Sit Cross-legged Sitting and listen to my sutra. Those who can remain silent as before, calm and unperturbed, may reach the Other Shore!'

The words appeared for three seconds before quickly dissipating.

"What does that mean?"

Fat Man looked utterly confused.

"Seems like we have to listen to sutras?"

As Hua Yueyu spoke, she hurriedly sat down and assumed a Cross-legged Sitting posture.

The floor was a little cold, making the Female Anchor shiver.

"Listen to sutras? Who the hell knows how?"

Fat Man despaired. He was an ordinary man who loved rich food and, every few days, liked to visit saunas and get foot massages. He did not have a shred of Buddhist nature in him.

The moment he finished speaking, the Vine Lasso around his neck tightened once more. Terrified, he hurriedly begged, "I'll listen, I'll listen! Please start chanting already, okay?"

Not only Fat Man's, but everyone else's Vine Lassos except Hua Yueyu's also tightened, bringing on a feeling of suffocation.

"What's happening?"

Sister Xiao Li panicked.

"Sit down, quickly! Assume the Cross-legged Sitting position!"

Seeing that Hua Yueyu was fine, Lin Baici understood.

Everyone had to follow the instructions left by the Incense Sticks, or they would not escape death.

"What is Cross-legged Sitting?"

Fat Man sat on the floor and crossed his legs, but the lasso kept tightening. He was so anxious he could spit blood. "Who the hell understands this stuff?"

"Like me. Put your left foot on your right thigh first, then your right foot on your left thigh!"

Hua Yueyu demonstrated.

Because she made a living off her looks and wanted to stay beautiful, she had learned yoga and meditation and knew something about this sort of thing.

"Baici, follow me!"

Xu Xiu knew it too, though a fitness coach had scammed her out of six thousand yuan. After three months, she had learned only a few poses.

But now that she could help Lin Baici, Old Aunt suddenly felt the six thousand was money well spent.

I'm finally useful!

Xu Xiu had worried that she was too much of a burden and would be abandoned by Lin Baici. But before she could be happy for more than a few seconds, she saw that Lin Baici could do Cross-legged Sitting too.

"Oppa, can you get into the position?"

Jin Yingzhen could do it as well. She looked at Lin Baici worriedly and even planned to help him herself.

"No problem!"

Lin Baici had read plenty of miscellaneous books and possessed a broad range of knowledge.

Fat Man finally managed Cross-legged Sitting, and the noose around his neck loosened. But before he could sigh in relief, melodious chanting began to echo through the Meditation Room.