When Zhao Feng found A-Xi and handed him the meat, still speckled with blood, the latter revealed rows of shark-like teeth and giggled.
The Ghost Child tilted his head and said in a sweet, childish voice, "Thank you, big brother. I'll tell you a story."
Zhao Feng's eyes lit up, and he could barely hide his delight.
No wonder the Ghost Child couldn't be killed. It turned out he was an NPC who provided clues.
The preliminary hint said that the truth was hidden in the villagers' words, and that speaking the truth would let players resist the villagers' attacks. In other words, verbal clues could be like a lifeline at crucial moments.
Trading a piece of his flesh for a lifeline wasn't a bargain, but it wasn't a loss, either.
Qi Si stood silently to one side, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
Well, Zhao Feng had traded a piece of his flesh for a clue. Not only was it no loss, it was a great deal.
A-Xi cleared his throat and recited the story in the singsong rhythm of a nursery rhyme:
[An older sister and younger brother went to Grandma's house. Children's flesh was tender, their bones crisp, and Grandma was so hungry she drooled.]
[That night, the older sister heard a crunching sound. She asked Grandma what she was eating, and Grandma said dried fava beans.]
[The next day, the younger brother was gone. The older sister searched and searched, until she found a pile of broken bones in the corner.]
At this point, A-Xi giggled, then ran off with the meat, hopping and skipping, leaving Zhao Feng standing there in a daze.
Zhao Feng looked around and saw Qi Si standing nearby with the Tape Recorder in his arms, his expression unreadable. He instinctively asked, "Brother Chang, what does that story have to do with our instance?"
"I don't know," Qi Si answered honestly.
The story A-Xi had told was very ordinary. At first listen, it was just another horror story about eating.
Qi Si had heard another version, called "White-Clad Granny."
It was about a monster called the White-Clad Granny, who would disguise herself as a grandmother, sleep beside her grandchildren, then secretly eat the children.
Qi Si hadn't found the story particularly frightening. Now, looking back, what he remembered most vividly was the older cousin who had told it to him.
That girl, who always dressed to the nines, loved jabbing him in the eyes with her bright red fingernails and viciously cursing him. "You little jinx, you little burden. Why hasn't the White-Clad Granny dragged you away yet?"
The vicious, foolish girl had meekly endured the malice of the outside world, then vented her resentment on her cousin, who lived under her family's roof. After being bullied by her classmates, she believed some local superstitions and ghost stories, then hanged herself in a red dress... What a clumsy, tacky little tragicomedy.
His long-faded memories flashed vividly for a moment. Qi Si casually pressed the button on the Tape Recorder in his hand, and his smile grew a little gentler.
"An older sister and younger brother went to Grandma's house..."
The nursery rhyme, mixed with static, echoed through the air. Perhaps the recording had distorted it, robbing the voice of its childish clarity and leaving it low and hoarse. It sounded so sinister that it sent a chill down the spine.
Zhao Feng twitched the corner of his eye and asked, "Brother Chang, where'd you get that Tape Recorder? What's it for?"
Qi Si's smile faded as he answered honestly, "I grabbed it from the bus. No idea if it'll be useful, but I might as well take it."
Zhao Feng suddenly understood why Qi Si had so many items on him.
Wasn't that just like someone from Sariel? He stripped everything bare...
In the center of the courtyard, the players had gathered with their gear. Aside from Yang Yundong carrying a Pu Saber and Zhu Ling with a dagger tucked at her waist, none of the other players had any obvious weapons.
Qi Si said coolly, "Let's go over, too. If we show up late, it might arouse suspicion."
For no particular reason, Zhao Feng glanced at his left arm, wrapped in bandages and still seeping blood.
Although he couldn't feel much pain now, whether because of the instance's mechanics or for some other reason, he still thought that showing up among the others with a wound like this would easily draw their attention.
Then he heard Qi Si say matter-of-factly, "We'll go separately. Feeding the monster flesh and all that is your business. I never triggered a task like that, did I?"
Zhao Feng: 6.
By the woodshed, Granny Su had somehow gotten hold of a wooden bucket. She had hooked it onto a pole and was getting ready to leave.
The bucket gave off a strong smell of blood. Its lid sat loosely on top, making people inexplicably want to lift it and see what was inside.
Zhu Ling stepped forward and asked, "Granny Su, where are you going?"
Granny Su didn't hide it. "I'm going to pay my respects at the Ancestral Hall. Someone died, so I have to go there and pray for protection."
So you know someone died, then?
Zhu Ling gave a light cough and tentatively said, "You've worked hard looking after us. If there's nothing particular to it, I can help you."
Granny Su's expression changed, and she shook her head again and again. "No. You broke one of my plates just yesterday. I wouldn't dare let you help again!"
A plate? What was that about?
The corner of Zhu Ling's eye twitched. She smiled apologetically. "I'll be careful. I won't touch anything you tell me not to. I just want to go with you and help carry something."
Granny Su's voice grew even colder. "No. Outsiders aren't allowed in our Ancestral Hall."
The players exchanged glances, each reading the others' thoughts.
The map clearly listed the Ancestral Hall as a location to explore, yet Granny Su was openly forbidding the players from going there.
It seemed they had to visit the Ancestral Hall, but they would need to avoid the NPC.
After Granny Su left, Yang Yundong let out a breath and said, "Let's go to the Village Chief's House first and deal with the God Meat. Then we'll check out the Village History Museum and see if we can find the story behind this instance. We'll go to the Ancestral Hall last, so we don't run into Granny Su."
As he spoke, he looked around at everyone. "Any objections?"
The second rule required players to "plan their own sightseeing route," and Yang Yundong was clearly following that instruction.
The players knew it, too, and all voiced their agreement.
"No objections!"
"We'll follow your lead, Brother Yang!"
Without a doubt, Yang Yundong had now edged ahead of Zhu Ling and become the backbone of their group of eight.
He had taken Allen, a newcomer, out for the whole night and still returned alive, which was proof enough of his ability. On top of that, he always put himself first whenever anything happened. The others were happy to let him lead, explore, and test the waters.
Zhao Feng stood beside Yang Yundong, his eyes narrowed as he stared off into space. Qi Si lingered at the edge of the group, hidden just beneath the eaves in the shadows and attracting little unnecessary attention.
Noticing Zhao Feng had rejoined them, Yang Yundong turned to him. "Zhao Feng, where'd you go just now? You didn't even come for breakfast."
Zhao Feng had always felt that Yang Yundong didn't care whether he lived or died. Now, his tone was hostile. "Where do you think? I was trying to figure out how to deal with that brat. We have to find meat for him today, but you're not in any hurry. I sure as hell don't want to sit around waiting to die."
Yang Yundong furrowed his brow, his gaze falling on Zhao Feng's left arm.
The white bandages wrapped around it were stained bright red, and the faint smell of blood hung in the air. It was obvious what had happened.
If Yang Yundong still couldn't figure it out now, he'd be an idiot. A thousand tangled thoughts knotted into a chaotic mess. It was frustrating. He felt around in his pocket, but couldn't find a cigarette.
When Zhao Feng saw him stay silent, he sneered. "Do you and that kid need meat, too? Are you planning to cut off your own, or someone else's?"
The air seemed to freeze for an instant as the players exchanged glances.
Their imagined sense of security shattered, and most of them instinctively followed the path of reasoning that led to "cutting someone else's flesh."
After all, cutting their own flesh would cause injuries and reduce their ability to move, which only increased the risks. And in the Eerie Game, reduced mobility often meant death.
They judged others by themselves, then judged themselves by others. Trust between people was fragile to begin with.
Qi Si said casually, "It's only the first day, and three people have already been tasked with finding meat for monsters, including Brother Yang. There are still four days to go. Who knows how much more meat we'll need..."
He lowered his eyes, showing just the right amount of hesitation. "If everyone cuts their own flesh, then everyone's mobility will be reduced. We'd be shooting ourselves in the foot. We all rely on Brother Yang, and we can't let him waste his strength on something like this, no matter what. The best solution might be..."
He didn't finish.
The players here had all spent decades immersed in a law-abiding society. The common values they'd grown up with were deeply ingrained, and wouldn't disappear all at once.
Their thinking was confined to the comfortable boundaries of morality, making it hard for them to see the options hidden in its blind spots—options that weren't encouraged, but were nonetheless practical.
They only needed a catalyst to gain a new perspective, a new way of looking at the problem.
The players all thought of the best solution Qi Si meant.
It was simply to choose a few people as sacrifices, so everyone else could stay in peak condition and solve the instance.
But who would be willing to sacrifice themselves?
Yang Yundong gave Qi Si a long look, then slowly swept his tired eyes over the other players. "There are some things you just can't do. You have to know that Heaven sees everything you do."
It was a familiar platitude, and in the Eerie Game, where death was always just around the corner, it inevitably sounded hollow.
A few players looked disdainful, but none of them dared to argue.
Qi Si smiled apologetically. "Sorry for the trouble, Brother Yang. Thanks for setting me straight."
A profound look shone in Yang Yundong's weary eyes, but in the end he said nothing more. He only said coolly, "Let's go. We'll head to the Village Chief's House first."
This might be the only update today. I've received a lot of feedback, so I'm planning to revise the earlier chapters a bit ( ).
Before you continue