The players, led by Tang Yu, walked towards the direction of the mansion with a knife in one hand and a keychain and lantern in the other.
Qisi fell at the end of the team, held the lantern under his arm, shook out "The Record of the Netherworld" from his sleeve, and tore off the bloody part without leaving a trace.
He started tearing the paper when he first got the book, tearing it when he got the chance, and kept tearing it until now, and finally it was almost clean.
"Brother Qi, I saw some information on the forum, copies of "Hopeless Sea" and "Red Maple Leaf Boarding School", you and Chang Xu..."
Lin Chen walked in the team In the middle, he held the ring on his ring finger and silently recited questions, but stopped talking.
Once again, he was used to communicating with Qiss through his consciousness, and he always thought that this was a side effect of the team ring.
"Yes, Chang Xu and I met twice more." Qisi scattered the scraps of paper in his hand on the ground and answered vaguely, "There were some misunderstandings before, but the misunderstanding was resolved later."
"Misunderstanding?" What kind of misunderstanding can lead to life and death?
Lin Chen just felt that there was too much to say and nothing to say. No matter how you look at it, this seems to be perfunctory, right?
The next second, he heard Qisi’s quiet voice at the bottom of his mind: “Have you ever heard of the Gamble of the Gods?”
This vocabulary is no stranger to Lin Chen, who often collects information and memorizes knowledge in forums.
He said hesitantly: "I have heard a little bit. This is one of the popular hypotheses about the nature of the game twenty years ago. It is said that the strange game is a huge chessboard, and all players are gods. The chess piece..."
"Yes." Qisi said lightly, "This is a gamble involving the past, present and future. The evil god who fell in Ragnarok bets everything, and Chang Xu and I are both. It’s the chess piece that they bet on.
“If there is a winner in the chess game, the gods must want me and Chang Xu to be hostile. It is not difficult for existences at that level to control fate and create a life-or-death situation.
“But I don’t want to be controlled by the gods, and I believe he is the same. So strictly speaking, he and I are now grasshoppers on the same rope.”
The young man's tone was solemn and solemn, and Lin Chen couldn't help but be touched by it. Suddenly, he seemed to see the identity card in the upper right corner of his sight trembling, as if he was trembling at the secret he accidentally learned.
After binding the identity card, Lin Chen studied the corresponding records and knew that the identity card, as an existence closely related to the gods, would naturally resonate with some important secrets.
The abnormality of the identity card did not surprise him. What shocked him was——
Qisi was even willing to tell him about this level of things, and his trust in him was gone. Has it reached such a high level?
Lin Chen fell into a downtime, stopped making any sound, and even slowed down his steps.
Chiss didn't take the opportunity to plant any more hints in the tool man's heart.
He is actually not very used to participating in games as a ghost.
Being unable to feel the bright light and heat makes it difficult to naturally generate emotions. This also weakens the intuition for the attitudes and intentions of others. Many perceptions and expressions that are taken for granted in daily life require complicated processes. Only steps and precise analysis can be obtained and made.
Even if he was already familiar with Lin Chen's thinking model and psychological model, he could only barely read "Lin Chen was suspicious of the wrong information he provided in the past" and "Lin Chen hoped to hear something that would dispel his suspicion." "Message" and "Lin Chen hopes to feel trusted", and then gave a generally good answer.
It’s just... quite troublesome.
"We're here, this should be the residence." Tang Yu, who was walking in front, stopped and raised the knife in his hand.
Looking from a distance, the small building, which looks as dark as a monster, is right in front of you. The houses are lined up closely next to each other, casting a cold shadow over the heads of the players in the dusk.
The broken tiles and window lattice were thickly covered with dust, and the wood of the walls, eaves and stairs were dull and decayed and filled with mildew. Several doors have long lost their keyholes and door panels, as if they had been abandoned for a long time.
“I will die if I live in this wretched place at night.” Qiu Xin said listlessly, “These doors and windows will open after a few hits. Even if there is no ghost in the house, the ghost outside will come in. It’s not difficult.”
“There is no other way. Let’s try to choose a room with intact doors and windows. After choosing, check whether there is anything hidden in the room.”
Luo Haihua suggested and looked at the key chain in Tang Yu's hand: "Xiao Tang, can you tell which key corresponds to which room?"
Tang Yu glanced at the mansion, which was exactly the same except for the degree of dilapidation. , looked down at the key carved out of a mold in his hand, and became entangled.
Luo Jianhua said: "Try one by one, there is no rush."
Just when the players came over, the sky darkened another degree, and all the buildings in the distance disappeared. In the darkness, only the rough outlines could be seen.
The lanterns in the hands of the players are on tirelessly, and the firelight seeps through the paper lampshades. It lights up and goes dark as the candle flames turn on and off, acting as a light source for illumination.
The shadows of objects swayed under the bouncing light, but only the shadows of people were missing. It reminded people of ghosts wandering at night with lanterns in horror stories.
There is still some time left before the ghosts appear in the ion time, but the night is still enough to brew the fear of foreigners in a foreign land.
Tang Yu said: "Let's move quickly. It's not difficult to find six habitable houses."
He carried the key chain and walked straight to a small wooden cabin on the far left side of the mansion.
Luo Haihua followed him, not forgetting to smile at the other players: "That's right, when the time comes, one person will enter the room, so don't grab or pick. My husband and I will be in the rear, so it's fine. ”
The atmosphere relaxed a lot. Lin Chen and Qiu Xin followed Tang Yu one after another, with Qisi following at a distance as usual.
Tang Yu stood in front of the wooden house door, holding the knife in front of him with his right hand, holding the key in his left hand and inserting it into the keyhole of the wooden door.
With a "click", the door opened lightly.
Even Tang Yu himself had a flash of strange color on his face and took half a step back unconsciously.
"Who wants this room..."
He was halfway through speaking, and the subsequent words were stuck in his throat.
The wooden door opened wider and wider before he reached out to pull it, and the "crunching" friction sound was like a monster chewing bones.
A lamp was lit like a bean on the low table in the house. The dim yellow light spread out in the small space, reflecting a short shadow on the ground.
The little old man wearing a bamboo hat and black robe grinned and came out of the house with yellow teeth: "We have a few foreigners, we will share a room with you tonight. Share a room with me."
From appearance, body shape to voice, he was exactly the same as the old man who was killed by Tang Yu not long ago, but there were no scars on his body, and his movements were not abnormal at all.
He seemed not to remember that he had been killed once. The shadow cast on the ground floated under the light, always in the shape of a human being.
What is going on? Is he a ghost left in the world, or is he the brother of the dead old man?
But even if they are brothers, they won’t be so similar, right?
The players stood still for a long time, and you could hear needles dropping in the air.
The little old man seemed unaware and turned back to the house. When he came out again, he was carrying a bunch of keys in his hand, which was exactly the one Tang Yu originally carried.
The bunch of keys in Tang Yu's hand turned into a bunch of white stones tied together with leaves and grass stems in the blink of an eye, reflecting the cold light.
As if waking up from a dream, Tang Yu swung the white stone to the far corner, raised the big knife with his right hand, and slashed at the old man.
The old man's head flew out, leaving behind a corpse with a bowl-sized wound on his neck, which fell to his knees with blood gushing out.
He seems to be the most pure human being. He can be killed with one knife and does not pose much of a threat.
But when it appears in a copy of a weird game, players cannot be careless or underestimate it.
Tang Yu kicked the old man's body out of the room and stabbed it several times before bending down to pick up the key chain and looking back at everyone: "There is a dead person in this room, do you still want it?" No one said anything for a while. , It’s not that the room with the deadliest person is unlucky, but the old man’s situation is too unbelievable.
In the silence, I heard a "squeak" from the door of the wooden building next to me, followed closely by the "clatter" of a keychain.
The players turned their heads in response.
The intact little old man walked out with the key chain and grinned: "A few foreigners, two of us will share a room tonight. Share a room with me."
The newly deceased corpse was lying at the door, still gurgling with blood.
The little old man didn't seem to notice, he just stared at the player, his sunken eyes looked like rays on his back: "If they don't accept you, I will accept you; if I don't accept you again, I will accept you." You guys, you’re going to get into Grandpa Mountain God’s belly.”
It seems there is no room for change.
No matter what, tonight the players must live in the mansion with two people sharing a room and follow the rules of the game played by the townspeople.
In the stagnant atmosphere, Qisi put a smile on his lips: "Okay, then we will have three rooms, thank you for your hard work, old man."
He paused for a moment and tilted his head: "I just don't know how to divide the rooms? Should we decide who will share a room with whom, or will it be up to you, old man?"
In terms of emotion and reason, the details of housing Arrangements should be decided by the guests themselves.
The old man smiled and said: "As long as two people share a room. When you decide, I will take you to choose a room."
The players did not respond. I don't understand the reason why the old man came back from the dead, so I don't dare to mess around; on the other hand, I am also silently thinking about the room allocation issue.
According to the tradition of distinction between men and women, Qiu Xin should live with Luo Haihua, but Luo Haihua and Luo Jianhua are husband and wife, and they may not be willing to separate...
"People with the same main missions live in one room. There are exactly three main missions, each corresponding to two players, right?"
Qisi looked sideways at the players, suppressed the smile on his face, and returned to A peaceful indifference.
“According to the rules, the number of dead must be an even number. Even if only two people die, if their main tasks are different, it will leave a tricky situation of four people taking on three main tasks.
< br>"Fortunately, people who live in the same room live and die together. In this case, it is better to let the main task go into the grave with the dead.
“By the way, I suggest that whether you are a 'ghost' or a 'human', you should take out the props in the props column before you die. Others should help return them to the deceased's respective guild after using them. Or friends.
"Rather than letting them disappear with the death of the deceased, it is better to leave them to the living to increase the probability of survival. If you are worried, my skills are related to 'Oath', which can help you swear under the witness of the rules."
< br>Zis’ suggestion is not indifferent, but it is the most rational and economical choice.
When death is inevitable, only by maximizing the value of an individual and minimizing losses can the collective survive better.
Unfortunately, not everyone can make decisions based on rationalism after all. Until the end, no one raised the issue of the ownership of props after death.
However, compared with the outrageous proposal of "leaving props as a legacy", the proposal of "letting players with the same main mission die together" seems much easier to accept.
Luo Haihua and Luo Jianhua share a room, Qi Si and Lin Chen share a room, Tang Yu and Qiu Xin share a room - in the later stages of the weird game, there is not so much emphasis on gender.
The old man looked on with a smile. After the players made their decision, he turned around and walked into the wooden building.
The players did not dare to neglect, and followed the old man into the musty and grease-smelling space one by one, and climbed the creaking stairs to the second floor.
Under the shadow of the lantern, wooden doors are arranged like tombstones.
The old man used the key to open three of the doors, revealing a tomb-like room at the back.
Qisi walked into the middle door. Although Lin Chen hesitated, he walked in and closed the door.
With a click, the door was locked behind him, blocking out all sounds.
The two of them were apparently imprisoned inside, and they had to wait one night to clear themselves of the suspicion of being "ghosts" before they could get out.
The room was sparsely furnished, with two side-by-side wooden beds with quilts leaking out of lint, and a rickety bedside table with a small corner missing leaning against the bedside.
The surrounding light is obviously much dimmer than the outside world. Even if the lantern in his hand is lit tirelessly, it is only enough for the person holding the lantern to see the general outline of things, as if it is a restriction set by some mysterious force. Advent marks the end of the day.
At sunset, all things will rest, mortals will fall into dreams, and ghosts and gods will appear and disappear.
Chis placed the lantern on the wooden table and sat down by the bed.
Lin Chen had been absent-minded since Qisi said those extremely rational remarks, and now he followed them in a daze.
Then, I heard Qisi speak abruptly: "Lin Chen, who do you think is the traitor?"
Lin Chen came back to his senses, thought for a moment, and shook his head: "I don't know, but I feel that the three people who didn't write letters, Luo Haihua, Luo Jianhua and Qiu Xin are all suspicious.
"There is no evidence to prove their explanation of why they entered Yanghua Town, and no one can guarantee that they were not driven in by tigers."
"Not bad." Qisi nodded slightly and looked. Looking out the window, "But have you ever thought that having a letter with you does not rule out suspicion?"
"Ah?"
"The scholar said that foreigners who come from afar have He may have been killed by a tiger and became a ghost."
Qi Si suddenly turned his head and looked directly into Lin Chen's eyes: "Do you think there is a possibility that I died at the beginning of the dungeon? Sneaking into the player's team as a ghost? ”
This is undoubtedly a joke.
From the moment Lin Chen met Qisi, he was confused by the latter's indifferent attitude, and his doubts accumulated.
Listening to the young man talking and joking, he suddenly regained the feeling in his memory and couldn't help but relax a little.
"It should be impossible." Lin Chen grinned, "The dungeon won't arrange a certain death situation at the beginning, haha. The tiger's harm to people is definitely not small, so many players are present, It's impossible not to notice it."
"Who knows?" Qisi lowered his eyes and reached for the lantern on the table, "The current situation gives me a confusing feeling, to be honest. , I can’t trust anyone, including you. After all, you arrived last, and I don’t know if anything happened.”
Lin Chen was startled, and then heard the young man continue: "Of course, you can't trust anyone, including me. After all, you have no way of knowing what we encountered before you arrived, and whether there was any plan."
Lin Chen blinked: "Qi...Brother Qi, that's not it. If we are all alive tomorrow morning, we can eliminate the suspicion together."
Qi Si was silent. , raised the lantern and shined it at the window.
There are several holes in the paper windows, which shine brightly when illuminated by lanterns.
Through the holes, you can see the scene behind the wooden building.
In a huge pit, densely packed human bones were piled up layer by layer, protruding into towering hills. Some were still rotting, and some were only skeletons.
The two corpses placed at the top were the old men who were hacked to death by Tang Yu! (End of this chapter)