A Long Night Ahead-Let's Have Some Fun

For many, many years, the nights in the Underground City have been the domain of ghosts.

At first, some believers, unaware of the seriousness of the situation, would open their doors at night out of curiosity. Unsurprisingly, they were nowhere to be found in the dining hall the next day.

Drill faintclounder

We'll never see each other again.

Over time, the rule of not going out at night has become an ironclad law known to everyone in the Underground City. Besides, opening a door already requires a certain amount of effort, and given how dangerous it is, the believers who have learned their lesson will not waste their energy on that wooden door again.

Therefore

The wandering ghosts haven't seen a "human" in a long time.

Initially, they came looking for food and outlets for their resentment; the fear of "humans" was the best way for them to generate more power.

Later, having lost their target and unable to enter the houses, the ghosts learned to entertain themselves. At least they could set foot in the places they resented and felt wronged, which was a kind of comfort, wasn't it?

Yes, they feel it's unfair.

They are all ghostly creatures nurtured by the Ghost Tree, so why are those living in the Underground City allowed to act like humans, and why do they always show a hostile and terrified expression whenever they are seen?

They are all the same, equally filthy and filthy, equally negative, and equally not living people.

Hypocritical, unfair—why should the so-called believers chosen to live in the Underground City be treated like living people?

Why don't they have this kind of luck? Why are they turned away from the Underground City? Perhaps these believers living in the Underground City don't even realize that they are not human at all.

But it's so frustrating! They can't see the believers, and even if they did, they have no mouths to express their grievances or let the lucky ones see the truth.

Because they are born underground, they do not need to communicate with their mouths and tongues, and have long forgotten the ability to speak, unlike the ghosts on the ground who linger around humans and can still express their pain.

... Some of them seemed to be able to talk, such as the group of creatures that left behind only human heads hanging in the deeper parts. But the Ghost Tree seemed to be consciously keeping those heads far away from the Underground City. If they hadn't been constantly moving among the branches and flesh, they might not even have known about the existence of those heads.

In any case, nighttime is when they defile the believers' dwellings, and they are happy to do so even if it serves no purpose.

Tonight would have been the same.

But what's going on now?

This... is a human, right?

The ghosts near the dining room fell silent; before they could unleash their curses and threats, their first reaction was to freeze in shock.

In particular, the human greeted them as if they were old friends, without showing any fear on his face.

Seeing that none of the ghosts made a move, Yu Xing sighed inwardly, wondering why the ghosts in the dining room were so stupid, not as clever as the one who had just knocked on the door.

He took a few steps forward and came to the door of the dining room. This door, which originally had no lock and could be pushed open at will, was sealed tightly after nightfall, just like the house itself, by a curse.

From the outside, the dining room looks like a crudely built tin shack, shapeless, just a large, flat box.

Yu Xing placed his hand on the door. At that moment, the big-headed ghost he had just passed finally reacted, let out a shrill howl, and pounced on him.

The features on the big head were enormous, especially the mouth, which took up a third of the entire face. When it opened, the sharp teeth were stained with blood, and several strips of meat were hanging from them.

Yu Xing felt the sound of wind breaking and deftly dodged to the side. Among his physical attributes, strength was not his greatest advantage; speed was.

After leaving the gaping maw of the big-headed ghost, he glanced at the spot where the big-headed ghost had just been squatting.

A lump of minced meat lay on the ground. Judging from the eyeballs rolling around and the five or six mouths on the meat, it was clear that just a few minutes ago, the meat was an ugly-looking ghost. It was killed by the big-headed ghost, who ate a small part of it and then vomited it all up.

The big-headed demon, having missed its target, stood there gloomily, its eyes, indistinguishable from those of a human, fixed intently on Yu Xing.

Beneath the thin neck was the body of a child from a famine, emaciated, yet with a protruding belly, not because of hunger, but simply a peculiar deformity.

It was probably one of the most powerful ghosts here. With it making the first move, the other ghosts that were itching to attack held back for the time being and did not all rush towards Yu Xing.

Yu Xing neither got angry nor retaliated. If it were any other ghost, he would probably be helpless and could only try to find a way to eliminate the ghost at its source according to the rules of the world. But here, the power of the curse was the source of everything. This place might be his graveyard, or it might be his paradise.

He simply didn't intend to resolve such an interesting matter by force.

Yu Xing knocked on the door, speaking to it in a friendly, buddy-like tone. "Ancient traditional hungry ghosts, right? Big mouths and big bellies, forever in a state of extreme hunger, but throats as small as pinpoints, unable to swallow anything they eat, only able to vomit, and then still hungry."

"You were summoned here, it seems, because a branch of the Ghost Tree has extended into the world of Don't Starve."

The big-headed ghost, also known as the hungry ghost, didn't really care about what Yu Xing said.

Even if those are all true, in the mind of the ghost, there is no "pain point". It is not a vengeful ghost with Karma and resentment existing in the city. It is just hungry and only wants to be full.

The humans in front of it looked delicious; it didn't care whether it could actually eat them or not, they just smelled wonderful...

The hungry ghost opened its mouth wide, as if it wanted to swallow Yu Xing whole.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Even if you tear me into countless pieces, you still can't swallow me. I feel sorry for you, so let's make a deal." Yu Xing smiled and easily dodged again. From the ghosts' stunned expressions earlier, it was clear that these ghosts, as byproducts of the Ghost Tree absorbing nutrients, had been nourished by the Ghost Tree for countless years and had evolved the ability to think.

He preferred dealing with intelligent ghosts, and since the night was long and he was rather bored by himself, it wouldn't be bad to find a few ghosts to keep him company.

"I was just thinking of going into the kitchen to take a look. Why don't you come in with me? If there are any ingredients inside, I'll make you a liquid meal. I guarantee you'll get to eat it. How about it? This is a rare opportunity. Even if you wander here for another thousand years, you'll never have the chance to eat again." Yu Xing licked his lips and said in a low, seductive voice.

"And you guys too." He turned his head, looking at the restless ghosts around him, "Don't you want to take a look at the dining room? It's a free tour for a limited time today!"

Chapter Ten: The Long Night, Let's Make Some Fun!