Chapter 40: Carnivore (XII) Attending the Meeting

The players gathered in a circle around the well, craning their necks to look down.

The well cover, inscribed with the words “There is a God in the Well,” had disappeared, and they could only see the darkness below, seemingly capable of devouring everything.

For a few moments, a narrow line of golden light seemed to flash, like a taut chain, or a golden serpent.

Zhang Licai clapped his hands, “Oh my, it looks like there’s a big guy down there. We’re not going to have to go down again, are we?”

Zhao Feng narrowed his eyes, “Don’t even say it, some ancient tomb mechanisms are made like well openings. I’ve seen quite a few in real life…”

“Two grown men whining, if you want to go down, then go!” The Tattooed Woman glared at them both and mumbled, “This old lady isn’t scared anyway. If you really want to know what’s down there, let’s just go down together.”

“I’ll pass.” Zhang Licai chuckled, “With my build, I’d probably get stuck halfway down. Then none of you would be able to go down or come up.”

Qi Si stood on the periphery, looking at the scrawny back of a player, and suddenly felt like giving him a push.

A-Xi had thrown Zhao Feng’s meat into the well and visibly gained benefits; what if a living person was pushed into the well?

Qi Si raised his eyelids and saw Zhou Yilin’s peripheral vision subtly glance at him. Allen, tall and burly, stood opposite, able to see his every move with just a glance.

He regretfully put his hands in his pockets and softly speculated, “Could this well be the exit of this instance? I’ve seen many instances in the Forum where the exits are wells and cellars.”

“Maybe.” The scrawny man in front of him echoed, “If that’s the case, it would be great. I really don’t want to stay here anymore.”

All sorts of conjectures had their reasons and evidence. Without more definite clues, and with no one daring to go down the well, the players ultimately couldn’t come up with anything conclusive.

Yang Yun dong said faintly, “Let’s go to the village chief’s house first, resolve the God Meat issue, and then consider other things. The task is to survive for five days. Let’s first ensure we can live, then consider other things.”

The players had no objections. After all, for most people, prematurely deciphering the worldview and ending the instance were illusory.

Rather than risking their lives for vague clues, it was better to think less about unnecessary things, strictly follow the instance requirements and rules, and take the safer NE route to clearance.

“Can I not go?” Zhou Yilin suddenly spoke timidly, “I can stay here and search the main house while Granny Su is away…”

“Sister, if you don’t go, where will you get God Meat?” Zhang Licai couldn’t help but persuade, “Even if the rest of us agree, if something happens, we might not be able to look out for your share.”

Zhou Yilin raised her hand and frantically wiped her eyes, her voice tinged with a sob, “I really don’t dare to go out… You don’t have to worry about me, just let me stay here, okay? I’ll try my best to search for clues!”

Leaving the main group would most likely lead to an early death due to isolation, but there was a very small chance that the main group would encounter misfortune during exploration, and the one who stayed behind would survive, triggering the minimum death toll mechanism for clearance.

Zhao Feng irritably ruffled his hair and spat on the ground, “Damn it, all you do is cry all day. Who spoiled you? Go or don’t go, just go die somewhere!”

Zhou Yilin was startled by his roar and bit her lip, not daring to speak anymore.

Zhu Ling stood between her and Zhao Feng and smiled, “It’s normal for newcomers to be scared. Everyone goes through it. Yilin is already doing very well.”

Yang Yun dong looked at Zhou Yilin, whose eyes were red, and sighed, “If you don’t want to go, then stay. Don’t wander off, and don’t act rashly if you encounter a confusing situation.”

He stopped bothering with the crying girl, adjusted the plain blade on his back, and pushed the door open to leave.

Qi Si timely raised an objection, “Brother Yang, let Yilin act with us. Everyone moving forward and retreating together, with the minimum death toll mechanism, is far safer than splitting into two groups.”

He paused, implying, “And if something happens, whether we can look out for each other or not, it’s easy to create unnecessary suspicion and cause discord within the team for no reason.”

He used lines from Shen Ming and Ye Zi in “Rose Manor,” and his empathetic attitude was particularly touching.

In the Eerie Game, players couldn’t get global information, so they naturally couldn’t trust each other one hundred percent.

Leaving Zhou Yilin alone at Granny Su’s house, it was hard to guarantee that no one would worry about her secretly causing trouble, leading to a series of problems.

Yang Yun dong stopped, turned, and gave Qi Si a deep look, “What you said makes some sense. Everyone should still go to the village chief’s house together. You need the God Meat yourself, so you have to go get it yourself.”

Zhu Ling opened her mouth to say something, but the Tattooed Woman directly grabbed Zhou Yilin’s arm and dragged her out the door.

She held Zhou Yilin and shouted, “Little sister, what’s there to be afraid of? Sister will protect you later!”

Now no one had any reason to say anything else. Zhou Yilin was teary-eyed, being held by the Tattooed Woman like a chick, and the group of nine majestically left the house.

Outside the courtyard, a fog had risen at some unknown time, and the distant scenery was completely submerged in the rolling thick fog, as if covered by layers of white gauze.

The road to the west of the village was vast and hazy, the swirling mist congealing into a tangible wall, blocking the westward path. The road to the east of the village was much cleaner by comparison, at least the distance could be seen.

Following the main group to the village chief’s house in the east seemed to be the only option.

A gust of wind came, and the courtyard gate behind them slammed shut with a “clang,” as tightly closed as when they arrived. The fallen couplets danced wildly in the wind, making a rustling sound of paper flapping.

The mist was blown by the wind, swirling and coiling into various shapes in the air, like white-clad Ghosts dancing a pre-revelry feast around mortals who had strayed into a ghost domain.

“Everyone stick close, don’t get separated. Don’t panic if you encounter danger, run to me, I’ll handle it.” Yang Yun dong led the way, holding his plain blade horizontally in one hand and a map in the other.

The players dared not delay and followed closely behind him.

The village roads were winding and dusty, with no paved stone. Perhaps due to many days without rain, the wild grass by the roadside was dry and pale, devoid of life.

The crooked houses on both sides were dilapidated and crumbling, clustered together haphazardly like piles of garbage.

Dark, empty windows were embedded in the walls, and the yellowed paint peeled off in large patches, accumulating like old skin on the blackened ground, nourishing scavenging fungi in the shadows.

The players’ team had originally been scattered, with groups of two or three. After walking for only a short while, they all unconsciously gathered together.

Although there were quite a few people, appearing in a dense crowd at first glance, it didn’t dispel an iota of fear. In the vast village, it seemed only the nine players were alive.

After walking a bit further and circling a pond, they reached the location of the village chief’s house marked on the map.

The village chief’s residence was a bit larger than Granny Su’s, but equally dilapidated. Most of the paint on the exterior walls had peeled off, revealing the dull brick and stone wall.

The roof tiles were shattered, and perhaps startled by footsteps, they suddenly slid down with a rustling and crackling sound.

Under the jagged eaves, the mottled main door was tightly locked, its position slightly skewed, just missing the morning sun.

Zhu Ling frowned, took a few steps to the left and right of the main gate, and said, “Facing south and north, near water and in the shade, the feng shui of this house is extremely poor. Even the most ignorant feng shui master wouldn’t choose such a site.”

Zhao Feng sneered, “That’s not necessarily a House for the Living. If it’s a House for the Dead, the feng shui could be very good. For the dead, it needs to be away from the light.”

Allen, listening to their conversation nearby, poked his head over, “Eastern feng shui! Cool! I’ve always wanted to study it!”

Qi Si didn’t understand feng shui, having only glanced at it a few times at a friend’s place, and wasn’t very interested.

He walked to the main door and looked at the lock hanging on it—it was the most common type of mechanical lock. Although rust had already crept into the keyhole, it could still be opened.

So, he directly pushed Yang Yun dong, who was about to kick the door, aside, pulled a wire from his wristband, and fiddled with the keyhole a couple of times.

The iron lock clicked open and fell to the ground, making Yang Yun dong’s eyes, standing nearby, deepen a few shades.

Qi Si stepped back, letting Yang Yun dong go first, “Brother Yang, please go ahead.”

Yang Yun dong nodded slightly and pushed the door open.

The other players followed a few steps behind. Seeing that Yang Yun dong, who was leading the way, didn’t encounter any danger, they dared to cautiously step over the threshold.

This residence seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time. The huge black canopy overhead, meant for shade, was loose and sagging, and it was unclear when it would succumb to the weight and fall like a silkworm shedding its skin.

Strangely, this aged canopy’s shading effect was quite good. The huge shadow it cast enveloped the entire courtyard, and frost-white weeds grew wildly along the cracks in the ground, adorned with strange dewdrops, dense like eyes.

The low houses on both sides had long since collapsed, with scattered broken bricks everywhere, making a creaking sound when stepped on. Only the main house directly facing the gate wall was still intact, its windows covered with paper, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

Yang Yun dong held his plain blade in hand and walked step by step towards the main house.

Qi Si held a blade between two fingers, following closely behind.

A faint, fishy smell permeated the air, and the wind carried an eerie tune, like a broken bamboo flute being played, desperately emitting sharp glissandos.

Qi Si suddenly heard his own heart pounding, and inexplicably realized that he was feeling fear.

The long-lost emotion, born out of nowhere, was forced into his heart, undeniable, like a wild beast in the jungle encountering its natural enemy. Every cell trembled, and the ingrained terror triggered an instinct, clamoring “run” and “escape”… but that fear didn’t belong to him. He didn’t even know the reason or the process, yet the corresponding physiological reaction had occurred.

In the upper right corner of his vision, the red and black Identity Card flickered wildly. Tendrils and gray mist surged like a tide, and the crimson eyes interspersed within blinked like blooming and wilting flowers.

He heard someone speaking, countless voices converging into one, saying the same words—

“Let’s eat Him,” they said.