Chapter 329: Beware of the Rabbit (Part 3) Escaping Rabbit God Town

【Name: Rabbit God Statue】

【Type: Item (Cannot be taken out of the instance)】

【Effect: The holder can use it to enter the space-time where Rabbit God Town is located】

【Note: A game played by many students at Hope Middle School. The mission objective is to rescue ## (Data Deleted). Unfortunately, no one has cleared it yet.】

Four lines of item description refreshed on the rabbit wood carving in Reiko’s hand.

Qis scanned it back and forth and fell into contemplation.

The “Rabbit God” should be the source of divine power in this instance. His next step might be to meet the “Rabbit God” first and see if he can seize the divine power.

But how should the divine power be transferred? Sign a contract? Judging by the rules and the bloody food chain of the gods, surely he wouldn’t have to eat the Rabbit God, right?

As for Rabbit God Town, as the name suggests, it is where the Rabbit God resides, but what does it have to do with a game played by middle school students? Could Rabbit God Town be a location in the game?

Qis couldn’t make an accurate judgment immediately, but he could understand the word “rescue” in the note—this game requires players to rescue a certain entity, and many predecessors have failed.

Qis hated rescue missions as always. The memories brought by *Shuangxi Town* were bad enough, and he had long decided that if he encountered such missions again, he would turn the rescue target into a corpse and take it away.

But this instance is clearly not suitable for overly violent methods of solving it. Firstly, the instance is categorized as a puzzle, and most of his items are sealed. The 【Clock of Destiny】 can at most save his life, and no matter how many times he rewinds time, he still can’t defeat a god.

Secondly… he has only just found a clue about the god. Ending the instance too early might not leave enough time for further contact, which would be equivalent to wasting this opportunity for nothing.

Qis silently put away the blade he subconsciously held between two fingers, raised his right hand to point at the Rabbit God Statue Reiko was holding, and forced a nervous expression: “Reiko, this thing in your hand looks like… the Rabbit God Statue?”

He looked around, lowering his voice mysteriously: “I seem to have heard a rumor that by paying the price of one person’s life, the Rabbit God can grant the supplicant’s wish… “So Reiko, are you trying to summon the Rabbit God?”

“Summon the Rabbit God?” Reiko was full of confusion, her puzzled expression not seeming fake. “I’ve never heard of that, and how could anyone have such an intense wish that they would sacrifice someone’s life to achieve it?”

Qis recalled that in the *Colosseum* instance, Chang Xu risked his life to kill him, and Chu Xun and Fan Zhanwei died for some unknown wish.

He curved his lips and said, “Maybe I was overthinking it. Reiko, I still think this statue is a bit strange. Can you let me take a closer look at it?”

Reiko didn’t suspect a thing and placed the Rabbit God Statue into Qis’s hand.

The moment his fingers touched it, Qis felt a cold breath pierce through his fingertips into his skin, permeating every capillary.

Time stood still in an instant. Reiko’s action stopped at the moment she handed over the statue. The air became viscous, and countless golden and red fragments flowed around him, rising above his head like reversed rain before rustling down.

They were strips of damaged prayer ribbons, the writing on them blurred by stains, making the specific content indistinguishable.

The boundary between the past and the present seemed to be eroded by light and shadow, no longer clearly discernible. A figure in white silently appeared before Qis, flickering like a ghost.

Qis saw that the person had a face exactly like his own, with an indifferent expression.

“Welcome to the game I created, *Escape from Rabbit God Town*. The mission objective is yet to be explored. Friendly reminder: Beware of the rabbit.” The person said calmly, opening his hands and gesturing.

The floating prayer ribbons in front of him interwove to form lines of text.

【Game Name: *Escape from Rabbit God Town*】

【Mission Objective:???】

【Friendly Reminder: Beware of the Rabbit】

【Save Point: None】

【Start Game?】

An instance within an instance, it looked like the kind of visual novel game on the market that allows saving and loading.

Qis stared at the young man in front of him and asked with interest, “Who are you?”

The young man, who looked exactly like him, said woodenly: “My name is ‘Lu Ming,’ and I am another you.”

Qis smiled: “I don’t think I would be such a low-taste and boring person, creating this kind of loadable visual novel game and sitting here waiting for others to play it.”

The young man seemed not to have heard him, asking stiffly, “Start game?”

Qis almost understood. This young man was different from the one he saw in the Glazed High Tower in the *Colosseum* instance; he didn’t have Qis’s memories, his personality was different, and he merely possessed Qis’s appearance.

This was like a poorly made puppet. Its existence might only be to conveniently explain that *Escape from Rabbit God Town* was a game “Lu Ming” made for himself.

Qis looked around. Reiko nearby stood like a statue, and the colors of the corridor, stairs, and offices were mottled as if soaked in water, looking like they might melt at any moment.

He walked to the windowsill and looked down. Students in school uniforms were frozen as if a pause button had been pressed. Running and jumping boys hovered half a centimeter above the ground, casting small shadows.

Only he and the young man could move in the entire campus. The hands of the Clock of Destiny were stopped at five o’clock in the evening. The instance process was stuck, and the NPCs were standing by.

The whole world seemed to exist because of him, waiting for him to make a choice.

Qis walked back to the young man and asked, “Can I ask what form this game takes?”

The young man answered expressionlessly: “You will enter the space of Rabbit God Town, play the role of a child living in Rabbit God Town, investigate the mysteries, and complete the mission. External time will be suspended during gameplay.”

Qis asked again, “Can I refuse to start the game?”

The young man nodded: “Yes.”

It seems that this game called *Escape from Rabbit God Town* is not mandatory.

If a player has no interest in achieving the True Ending (TE) or deciphering the world setting, they can choose to abandon the game directly, cautiously spend the next seven days in Hope Middle School, and clear the instance via the Normal Ending (NE) route.

Unfortunately, Qis not only had ambitions for a perfect clear but was also quite interested in the Rabbit God. Regardless of his goals, he was destined not to bypass this step.

He rubbed his chin with great interest and smiled, “Then let’s start a round of the game.”

All the surrounding prayer ribbons sank, covering the ground layer upon layer, and golden and red flowing text floated up:

【*Escape from Rabbit God Town* First Playthrough, Start】

For a moment, Qis felt a dizzy spell. The scene before him gradually blurred, like a palette of mixed watercolors, a riot of color.

In the haze, someone softly whispered a strange ballad in his ear: “August seventh, Fireworks Festival, the seventh day ghost returns…”

The song was mournful and lingering, full of sorrow and complaint, but it was quickly obscured by the noisy crowd, leaving only a clamorous din.

Qis saw two interfaces suspended high in the upper left corner of his vision.

The newly appeared interface was positioned lower, a small golden box marked with blood-red characters for 【First Playthrough】, 【Friendly Reminder】, 【Save】, 【Load】, and other information. The 【Mission Objective】 field was blank.

Two lines of text slowly refreshed on the original system interface:

【Main Quest Triggered】

【Main Quest: Attend the Fireworks Festival seven days later】

Seven days, seven days again.

There are seven days between August 1st and August 7th. Reiko’s note said she only had seven days left… It seems that “seven days” is not only the instance time limit but also the countdown to a major event about to happen.

The mission objective of *Escape from Rabbit God Town* is still unknown, but if it requires him to escape, as the game name suggests, it is undoubtedly contrary to the Main Quest.

Unless he leaves immediately after attending the Fireworks Festival on the seventh day.

But if he attends the Fireworks Festival, will he really be able to leave?

Qis was deep in thought, his right hand involuntarily tightening around the Rabbit God Statue Reiko had given him.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but after entering the game, the colors of this statue were much brighter, with clear definitions of black, white, and red. He could even see the gilt vine patterns on the black clothes.

—It reminded him of a certain unlucky Evil God.

Qis put the statue into his embrace, raised his hand to rub his temples, and finally emerged from the dizzy state.

Before him was a lively market street, with men and women in kimonos coming and going. Red or white lanterns hung in front of the shops on both sides, and the tassels hanging from the top fluttered in the wind.

Between the shops, rows of red silk threads formed a net of lanterns spanning the street. Dense red silk banners hung from it, with golden text written in various fonts on the red silk.

Judging by the style, these were the same prayer ribbons that Qis had seen floating between heaven and earth before entering Rabbit God Town, just not yet worn out.

This place was undoubtedly closer to the opening CG of the instance than Hope Middle School. Both had a Japanese style, both emanating a strangeness where gods, ghosts, and humans mingled… Qis stood right in the middle of the street, wearing a dark red long kimono. The wide cuffs were embroidered with blue and black cloud-crane patterns, and the hanging golden tassels swayed gently.

Beside him was a girl wearing a red and white kimono. Golden butterflies adorned the vermilion lapel, making her skin appear fair and bright.

She looked only eleven or twelve years old, with a beautiful and delicate face.

A very familiar face. Although her attire and demeanor were completely different, it was still clear that this girl was Reiko, the small corpse in the pit, and a student from Class 10, Grade 9 at Hope Middle School… A system prompt appeared, and Qis thus knew that she was also named “Reiko,” the same character, the same name.

Lu Ming put Reiko into the game he created and even arranged a death ending for her where she was buried in the dirt and turned into a rabbit. What kind of psychology was this… Qis opened his mouth to speak but found he couldn’t make a sound. The “Speech” function seemed to be disabled; he could only passively watch the game CG.

Reiko was perfectly alive at this moment, acting no different from anyone else, and completely oblivious to Qis’s abnormality.

She looked around curiously and exclaimed, “This year’s Fireworks Festival is sure to be lively!”

Judging by her expression and tone, she seemed very familiar with the character Qis was currently playing, at least as a companion they often played with.

Just like Reiko and Lu Ming at Hope Middle School.

Qis heard the character he was playing respond: “The Fireworks Festival is still seven days away. How do you know it will be lively, Reiko?”

“Xiao Qi, did you forget? The Rabbit God Lord will descend this year, and everyone must come to the Fireworks Festival!” Reiko said with a smile. “When there are more people, of course it will be lively! I wonder who the God Lord will be this year.”

People came and went nearby. The fragrant air mixed with sweat induced a slight intoxication, and the faces of the pedestrians immersed in it were filled with joyful smiles, lost in fascination.

Qis suddenly realized he could speak.

His voice rising at the end: “God Lord?”

Reiko said, “Don’t you know? A God Lord is chosen every eighteen years to reside in the Rabbit Shrine’s Divine Residence and serve the Rabbit God Lord.”

Combined with the opening visuals of the instance, this doesn’t sound like a good thing… Qis lowered his voice and tentatively asked, “Reiko, can you tell me about the things related to the Rabbit God?”

Reiko stopped and looked earnestly into his eyes: “Everyone here knows the legend of the Rabbit God Lord, and Xiao Qi, you’re the best storyteller among us. Why do you need me to tell you?”

Her tone was gentle and her smile sweet, but Qis sensed a dangerous aura from it.

He was currently playing “Xiao Qi” and couldn’t let the NPC detect any anomaly, or it might lead to game failure.

The street was getting more crowded. Although not shoulder-to-shoulder, the market was packed, and occasional bits of gossip drifted over.

“I heard that Lord Kannabi is seriously ill and probably won’t live past August…”

“Don’t talk nonsense… Alas, a family head as generous and benevolent as Lord Kannabi is rare. How could he contract such an illness?”

“We must make this year’s Fireworks Festival a success to pray for Lord Kannabi and hope the Rabbit God Lord blesses him!”

Qis could clearly hear the pedestrians’ discussions. Those voices seemed to be part of the background information of the game, needing to be learned by the “player.”

He really seemed to be playing a visual novel game. Gray dialogue boxes kept popping up in front of him, with white text writing out lines for the game characters.

“Xiao Qi, what’s wrong? You look very different today. Is it because you were unhappy playing *Kagome Kagome* yesterday and were always forced to be the demon?

“Next time we play, I’ll be the demon. If they insist on making you the demon, I’ll quietly stand behind you and tap your shoulder…”

Reiko in front of him was still smiling and staring at Qis, her lips becoming more prominent, and dense rabbit fur seeping out of her cheeks.

Her eyes were saturated with red, dripping blood, and her hands, with sharp nails, rested on Qis’s shoulders, conveying a cold dampness through the fabric.

Qis stared at the *Escape from Rabbit God Town* game panel for a long time but couldn’t find the 【Exit Game】 option. The word 【Load】 was also grayed out.

There was no other way. He immediately drew a blade from his specialized wristband and swiftly sliced it across the girl’s neck.

Blood blossomed on the fair skin. The rabbit fur on the girl’s face retracted back into her skin. The world was suddenly filled with gray, presenting the texture of an old black-and-white photograph.

Lines of white text were handwritten in the void before his eyes:

【*Escape from Rabbit God Town* First Playthrough Ended】

【Ending Achieved: Seed of the Evil Spirit Who Committed Murder】

【You, who consort with evil spirits, revealed your true colors while browsing the market and were coincidentally discovered by Reiko, your companion. To continue hiding, you cruelly murdered Reiko, disregarding your friendship.】

【The crime committed in broad daylight could not be concealed. The pedestrians who witnessed your murder escorted you to the Rabbit God Temple. Lord Kannabi, upholding righteousness over family ties, passed a fair judgment upon you before the Rabbit God.】

【You are imprisoned in the jail behind the Rabbit God Temple and will be executed after the Fireworks Festival. No, perhaps there will be no “after,” but your death ending cannot be changed.】

【You can never escape…】

【Obtained Save Point: “Suspicious Question”】