Deep beneath the sea, in the center of R'lyeh City, stood a stone statue with an octopus head, a plump body, and two bat wings.
The statue looked bizarre, but it gave off no signs of life. Only an oppressive aura hung over the entire area.
The level 999 Seafood had powerful stats and had long since adapted to this oppressive pressure. They did not find it particularly frightening.
But the moment the statue suddenly opened its eyes, everything changed. The lifeless object abruptly filled with an immense force of life.
An indescribable mist shrouded it, preventing the Seafood from making out the statue's appearance.
Terrifying pressure swept over them like an overwhelming tidal wave, slowing their movements.
Ke Meng opened his eyes and gazed at R'lyeh City, a city built from enormous green stones. He felt calm and believed there was no malice in his gaze.
But to R'lyeh's new visitors, a pair of horrifying eyes had suddenly appeared in the center of R'lyeh City. Malice pierced deep into their skulls and invaded every nerve.
The Seafood that could not withstand it descended into madness, their minds clouded and their wills lost in chaos.
Some of the more fragile Seafood had their brains burst.
Ke Meng watched R'lyeh return to its former order and remained inwardly speechless for a long while.
Was Great Cthulhu's tedious daily routine about to start again? Great Cthulhu wondered.
Just then, a decaying, shadowy ghost flew out of a corner of R'lyeh City.
It had arrived while Cthulhu's consciousness was asleep. Unfortunately, Great Cthulhu had not yet awakened then.
The Ancient God Seal was immensely powerful, locking away many lethal powers. While asleep, Great Cthulhu was almost indistinguishable from a statue.
But Great Cthulhu was too powerful. Once he awakened, his terrifying power awakened with him. The Elder Gods could only restrain and weaken him, not force him into submission.
Now that Great Cthulhu was awake, the Ghost Apostle felt that familiar pressure and immediately flew over to report its recent gains.
Ke Meng steadied himself and listened carefully to its progress report.
Watching its cautious, trembling figure gave him the distinct impression of a new employee reporting to the boss.
The Black Ghost reported to him that all the adventurers had returned.
At first, the Black Ghost had been bewildered and uncertain, unable to determine whether they had returned because the sacrifice had failed or for some other reason.
The ghosts had conducted a thorough investigation. Through beguilement, coercion, torture, and other methods, they had learned the reason behind the mass disappearance from a tiny handful of adventurers.
It turned out that some higher-dimensional game rules restricted their personal freedom. When the game's maintainers announced a maintenance shutdown, they all had to comply unconditionally and leave. Only after the game reopened could they teleport back to the adventurer town through a special passage.
The Black Ghost and its companions had limited knowledge and struggled to understand what the adventurers told them. They could only interpret it as follows:
Some unknown deity controlled the adventurers' personal freedom. Their collective disappearance and reappearance were inseparably linked to that unknown being, whose number of followers was astonishingly vast.
Thus, infiltrating that town any further would mean encroaching upon the unknown deity's followers within its own domain, which would inevitably attract its attention.
The Black Ghost faced a dilemma. On one hand, it coveted the resources offered by so many adventurers. They were clever and cunning, utterly ignorant of what it meant to die, and could continually resurrect at the town's altar while retaining the memories of their previous lives. Though weak, they were undeniably promising prospects. They were of no use now, but over the coming decades, they would surely be able to help Great Cthulhu and offer useful sacrifices.
On the other hand, it feared attracting the unknown deity's attention. Unknown beings were always unpredictable. This one might be weaker than Great Cthulhu, or it might rival the Elder Gods and be capable of sealing the great Cthulhu.
Thus, the Black Ghost raised the most important issue of the day, hoping Great Cthulhu would point the way forward.
The Black Ghost knew that Great Cthulhu was sealed and could not speak, but he could use Control Fear to give it hints on a mental level and convey his wishes.
Ke Meng stared at its violently trembling figure, and a stir of emotion rose within him.
Players could actually tell NPCs about the virtual game.
Sure enough, NPCs couldn't understand what players said. They could only replace the explanation of game maintenance with one involving a deity.
Encroaching upon an unknown deity's followers? They were just players. There was no deity behind them.
Great Cthulhu did not hesitate-or rather, there was no need to hesitate at all.
Players were a better source of followers than NPCs. Their levels were low now, and they had nothing good, but once their levels rose, they would inevitably have good things.
With such an easy opportunity laid before him, how could he possibly turn it down?
Ke Meng gazed at the Black Ghost and used the power of Control Fear, instantly taking control of its body.
The Black Ghost trembled all over, feeling an immense will press down upon its entire body. Fear forced it into submission, leaving it unable to entertain even the slightest thought of disobeying.
Before long, a vague, indistinct sound that threatened to shatter its mind rang out in its consciousness.
It could not make out the exact content, but it broadly grasped the will the great being wished to convey-infiltrate!
The Black Ghost understood. The great Cthulhu had decided to challenge this unknown deity with its vast base of followers and seize them.
The tide of fear quietly receded, and the Black Ghost's own will was no longer suppressed. Yet the lingering might he had left behind continued to batter its body again and again, deepening its aura of decay.
Before long, the humble apostle struggled its way out of R'lyeh.
Great Cthulhu watched until it disappeared. He discovered that these black ghosts were quite fond of being tormented and of madness.
He remained speechless for a long while.
The deranged Seafood fought in the city, slaughtering one another in a frenzy.
Great Cthulhu was a little bored and did not want to watch them fight. He had already grown tired of it, so he might as well find something to do.
From the moment he descended upon R'lyeh, he had vaguely sensed a Reincarnation Dream beginning somewhere.
But because of the Black Ghost's arrival, Ke Meng had not rushed to investigate the distant dream.
Now that the Black Ghost was gone and R'lyeh had once again fallen into its endless, tedious routine, Ke Meng focused on listening and tried to grasp that sensation.
There were many faint connections, none as strong as his connections to White Milk and Sweetness Fills the Air.
Ke Meng spent more than ten minutes trying to grasp them before finally perceiving scenes from dreams in a distant place through Synesthesia.
There was a cluster of reinforced-concrete buildings. A soaking-wet man stood in the middle of the road, his face filled with bewilderment and uncertainty.
In another cluster of reinforced-concrete buildings, a woman shouted in the street, asking whether anyone was there.
There were several other dreams as well, showing forests, farmland, and mountainous regions.
This time, Ke Meng sensed many dreams. It was not just one person dreaming, but a group of people having the same dream.
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