Awakened Game? (2-in-1)

The Naglfar about twenty meters long and has a huge Gorgon Banshee. Its flagpole is rotten and its sails are tattered like a vagrant's underwear, making one wonder if the ship will sink into the sea at any moment.

Of particular note is that the entire Naglfar was shrouded in a layer of fog, with only its external outline visible and nothing on board.

Most people wouldn't dare board such a ship, but Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi were seasoned veterans who had seen their share of storms, so they naturally weren't afraid.

Taking advantage of the rising tide, the Naglfar docked, and a platform was laid out in the fog.

The waves gently caressed the earth; apart from the sounds of the wind and the waves, there was not a single human voice.

This scene is undeniably unsettling.

Bai Xiaowen grasped Li Shuyi's hand and calmly stepped onto the step.

The two passed through a layer of fog and arrived on the ship.

"This boat is just as dilapidated as I imagined," Li Shuyi said softly. Indeed, even the planks were dark and damp, as if it had been soaking in water for a long time.

Bai Xiaowen frowned, watching the sailors coming and going on the ship.

The sailors came from different groups, mainly humans and Snakefolk. According to the history of the Black Tide Plane Bai Xiaowen had researched, humans and Snakefolk were enemies. Unexpectedly, they got along well on this ship and became crew members.

Moreover, these sailors had a rather peculiar appearance. Many of them had deathly white skin with slight swelling and wrinkles, as if they had been soaking in the water for a long time. They also had shells and seaweed hanging from their shoulders and behind their ears.

Bai Xiaowen squinted. He thought of a pirate movie he had seen in another time and space, in which there was a Ghost Ship that looked exactly like this ship and its crew.

Just then, a sailor in human form passed by, Bai Xiaowen gently patted him on the shoulder. "Hey buddy, where is this ship headed?"

The human sailor turned his head.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi were both surprised.

The sailor's eyes were empty and unfocused, not at all like those of a living person! When Bai Xiaowen patted his shoulder, he turned his head, which was just an instinctive reaction. When he opened his mouth, seawater mixed with saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth.

After instinctively turning his head, the sailor mechanically turned his head back and continued working.

"A corpse?" Li Shuyi's ponytail nearly stood on end.

"A ferry that travels between the realms of Yin and Yang..." Bai Xiaowen pondered as he looked at the words on the Abyss Party Invitation. "It's not surprising that there are sailors like this... We can first see what clues are on this ship."

After Bai Xiaowen finished speaking, he walked towards the Banshee statue at the bow of the ship. He had already noticed that in front of the Banshee statue, there was a row of rectangular boxes standing upright, like coffins standing up. Moreover, there were two tall, dead sailors standing in front of the boxes, seemingly guarding them.

However, Bai Xiaowen was stopped as she stepped onto the gangway at the bow of the ship. A dead sailor stood expressionless in front of them.

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"Warning: The Naglfar has set sail. Any guest who does not follow the rules will be thrown overboard and disqualified from participating in the Abyss Party."

"It seems the Spirit Realm Rules forbid us from prying into the secrets of this ship," Bai Xiaowen said. "I used my Insight Talent to examine these corpse sailors; their attributes are very weak, equivalent to high-level Standard Template monsters. I suspect there must be a secret in the vertical coffin in front of the figurehead."

Li Shuyi said, "Since the Spirit Realm Rules have issued a warning, let's be patient for now. We'll deal with it when the main quest is triggered."

After Bai Xiaowen used the invitation, the second main quest was not triggered immediately. Instead, he was given a code to take a boat to Night Owl Wharf. According to Bai Xiaowen's deduction, the second main quest should only be triggered after arriving at the target area.

In other words, they are still within the Free Exploration Time provided by the first main quest, and both are safe until they accept the second main quest.

The Naglfar silently across the black sea like a Ghost.

After driving for about an hour, the fog ahead dissipated, and the view suddenly opened up to a vast expanse. The ocean, bathed in the morning light, was tranquil and boundless, with the sky and water merging into one.

"Look!" Li Shuyi suddenly exclaimed, "What's that?"

The sea ahead suddenly became turbulent, forming a huge whirlpool with a diameter of over a thousand meters! And the Naglfar sailed straight toward the whirlpool.

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"You have arrived at the target area: the Glimmering Abyss."

"[Main Quest: The Secret of the Shadow Labyrinth] Begins."

"[Mission Objective: Open the central chamber of the Shadow Labyrinth and obtain the Prophecy Tablet.]"

"[Task Difficulty: Data Disorder, unable to calculate]"

"[Task deadline: Data Disorder, unable to calculate]"

"[Task Reward: Data Disorder, unable to calculate]"

Before Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi could recover, another notification message appeared:

"[Main Quest: The Awakened Game] is now available."

"[Mission Objective: Join the Guardian Order / Profaner Faction and win the Awakened Game.]"

[Task Difficulty: S]

"[Task deadline: 10 days]"

"[Task Reward: Wishing Pool Usage Use * 1.]"

"How could two main quests appear at the same time?" Li Shuyi said in surprise. "And... both main quests are very strange. Which one should we choose?"

"These two main quests shouldn't conflict; there's no 'choose one' option!" Bai Xiaowen frowned and said, "Comparatively, I think the latter main quest is a bit strange. What does ' Wishing Pool usage count' even mean? It doesn't make sense at all—"

Suddenly, the Banshee statue at the bow of the ship emitted an eerie purple light.

In an instant, Bai Xiaowen felt as if his soul had left his body, as if a powerful force was pulling his consciousness out of his body.

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"You have been affected by the Abyssal Gaze; your Willpower Check has failed, and your soul consciousness is being stripped away..."

At the same time, Bai Xiaowen felt a sharp pain in his left eye, and the red light in his eye suddenly became Blazing Heat, like a demonic eye burning with flames!

"Unknown factors are interfering, Data Disorder..."

"Unknown factors have interfered, deducting 100,000 Psionic Points. You can now break free from the Abyssal Gaze and leave the Black Tide Plane. Yes/No?"

Bai Xiaowen gritted her teeth, looked at Li Shuyi beside her, and used Insight.

Li Shuyi stood at the bow of the ship like a wooden stake. Her appearance was still beautiful, but her eyes had lost their luster, like a white jade statue.

Following Li Shuyi's name, a status message appeared. "Soul-Body Separation."

[Soul-Body Separation: The target is in a state of suspended animation, which will last for seven natural days. If the soul does not return to the body after the suspended animation ends, the target will die immediately.]

"Hold..."

Bai Xiaowen's facial muscles twitched. He forced himself to calm down and refocused his gaze on the two main quest options, pondering the situation and the oddities surrounding the two main quests.

One-hundredth of a second later, Bai Xiaowen focused his consciousness on the previous Spirit Realm Rules prompt message: "Deduct 100,000 Psionic Points and leave the Black Tide Plane," and directly selected "No!"

He took a deep breath, raised his slightly trembling left hand, and covered his left eye.

His right eye was fixed on the Banshee of the Gorgon, which emitted an eerie red light, and the terrifying feeling of his soul being ripped away surged up again.

Bai Xiaowen uttered the last two words, her voice low and almost a murmur:

"Bring it on..."

Bai Xiaowen's soul was instantly ripped out. In his last instant, he "saw" two dead sailors open the upright coffin lid and stuff his and Li Shuyi's bodies into the coffin.

The field of vision rapidly widened as the Naglfar plunged into the depths of the whirlpool.

When Bai Xiaowen woke up again, the first thing she saw was that she was in a magnificent hall.

Looking up, I saw a magnificent golden dome, with a chain hanging down and candlelight flickering gently overhead.

In the center of the hall was a giant round table, around which sat twelve people, including Bai Xiaowen, all wearing black cloaks. Behind each person was a standing coffin, its surface carved with animal reliefs—chickens, dogs, monkeys, pigs, and many more.

In the center of the giant round table was a clear pool containing colorful stones. The faint light reflected from the stones created a rainbow that appeared and disappeared through the water.

Bai Xiaowen immediately checked his status. He tried to open the attribute panel but received the following message:

"You are in a state of soul separation and cannot open the attribute panel."

Bai Xiaowen was not discouraged. He looked through the latest notifications from the Spirit Realm Rules.

"You have been affected by the Abyssal Gaze, and your Soul-Body Separation Soul-Body Separation. In this state, you are unable to attack, use skills, or items. Please return to your body within seven natural days; otherwise, you will die instantly."

"You have entered the Glimmering Abyss: The Shadow Labyrinth."

"You have automatically accepted the main quest: The Awakened Game."

Bai Xiaowen quickly checked the task information and found that of the two main tasks that had been triggered, only one was automatically accepted, while the other task, "The Secret of the Shadow Labyrinth," remained unaccepted, with the yes/no selection box flashing and showing that it would disappear in a few tens of minutes.

Bai Xiaowen's consciousness chooses to accept the main quest "The Secret of the Shadow Labyrinth".

After completing this step, Bai Xiaowen raised his head and scanned the other eleven people in black robes and cloaks sitting around the round table in the hall, all of whom looked exactly like him.

Upon seeing the figure in a black robe and cloak opposite him, Bai Xiaowen felt a sudden tremor in his heart. He could clearly sense that it was Li Shuyi. Or rather, it was Li Shuyi's soul.

Behind Li Shuyi, the coffin relief features a rat and the Roman numeral "1".

Bai Xiaowen looked back and saw that the relief on the coffin behind him was a sheep, with the Roman numeral "8".

Suddenly, a white light rose from the very center of the round table, accompanied by a grand voice that echoed throughout the hall:

"The awakenings should all have been successful. Welcome to the Abyss Party, to participate in the Awakened Game."

"The winning side will give everyone a chance to use the Wishing Pool."

"Most of you have gone through multiple rounds of elimination to sit here for this final battle. You should all be very clear about the rules of the Awakened Game."

"Of course, to be fair, I will transmit the specific rules of the Awakened Game into your consciousness."

A stream of information flooded into Bai Xiaowen's mind. The expression on Bai Xiaowen's face, hidden beneath his cloak, quickly became quite interesting.

This Awakened Game is called "Resurrect the Dragon".

First, let's look at the background of this game.

Long, long ago, under the protection of the Guardian Dragon, the world was at peace. People worshipped the Guardian Dragon and even established a "Guardian Order".

Later, the Guardian Dragon fell, and demons invaded. These demons, capable of Incarnation human form and skilled at sowing discord, quickly plunged the continent into war.

The followers and priests of the Guardian Order, carrying the dragon's relics, have endured countless hardships to reach the Shadow Labyrinth, preparing to perform a sacred ritual to resurrect the Guardian Dragon. If the dragon is resurrected, the demons will face annihilation.

However, the secret operation of the Guardian Order was discovered by the devil, who infiltrated the group. If the resurrection ritual is interfered with by the devil, not only will the ritual fail, but the devil will also Desecration the remains of the Guardian Dragon and absorb its Dragon's Strength, leaving the continent without any hope.

Therefore, the Guardian Order must first find and eliminate all the Profaner —that is, the devils—before they can perform the sacred ritual. In gaming terms, the victory condition for the "Guardian Faction" is to eliminate all the "Profaner."

However, the ritual to Resurrect the Dragon requires at least one priest to guide it and one ordinary believer to provide pure faith power to complete it. If all the priests or all the ordinary believers die, the ritual to Resurrect the Dragon will be declared impossible, and the devil will Desecration the remains of the Guardian Dragon —in other words, the victory condition for the "Blasphemer Faction" is to eliminate all the priests or all the ordinary believers.

The game is divided into "night" and "day".

Nighttime is the domain of the Blasphemer Faction. Every night, Profaner can gather together to discuss and kill a member of their group (including Profaner).

Daytime is the Guardian Faction's domain. Every day, all members of the squad gather together, take turns speaking and discussing, and vote to identify a suspicious member and eliminate them.

It should be noted that the good people in the Guardian Faction only know their own identities; they do not know each other's. This gives the devil room to take advantage of the chaos, even to sow discord, frame others, and commit other malicious acts. The person eliminated by the daytime vote might be a "good person" from the Guardian Faction.

"This Awakened Game... looks so familiar?"