Infinite spooky game

When the individual and the collective are placed on both ends of the scale,
The choice to sacrifice or save has already been decided by others.

——"Volume 4: Alone and in Groups"

It was a moonless night with only a few stars hanging high above my head and a cluster of green ghost lights floating in front of me.

The forest was shrouded in fog. Gray smoke was wriggling between the branches of the trees, blurring the ghostly shadows in the distance.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and saw a mirror, which was shining silver in the thick night, reflecting his image.

He was dressed in a dark grey robe, with his long hair tied behind his head with a cloth ribbon. He held a lantern in his right hand and a wooden medicine box in his left hand, looking like an ancient doctor.

The mirror flashed away like an apparition.

Lin Chen held the lantern pole in his mouth and reached out to open the lid of the medicine box. He saw a letter placed on a pile of unrecognizable herbs. It had been opened and folded.

He pulled the letter out of the envelope with two fingers, shook it open and spread it flat. With the help of the lantern light, he could clearly see the ink words on it:
[Personally from Dr. Lin…]

This letter was written in classical Chinese, and the gist of it was to ask "Doctor Lin" to go to a place called "Yanghua Town" to treat an old lady from a wealthy family surnamed Meng.

A map was attached to the letter, saying that Yanghua Town was located deep in the mountains and forests, and the road was difficult to find. He hoped that "Doctor Lin" would be careful not to take the wrong path. If he entered the maze of the mountain spirit, there would be no way to save him.

Just over a hundred words provide the background of this dungeon. On the one hand, it explains why the players appear here, and on the other hand, it also implies a warning of crisis.

Lin Chen put the letter back into the medicine box and picked up the lantern again, feeling that everything was suspicious.

In ancient times, people usually sent someone to seek medical advice. If the road was difficult to travel, they would ask a trusted family member to lead the way.

Only a letter is sent. Regardless of whether the doctor can be summoned or not, just considering the speed of delivery, if the host is suffering from an acute illness, the person will be gone by the time the letter is delivered.

This so-called "Yanghua Town" is probably problematic. They lure people here but our purpose is unknown.

Lin Chen touched the red ring on his right ring finger, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

Logically, he should have come in with Qisi, but where are the Qisi people?
This copy is said to be a team survival copy, but why can't I see anyone around? Is he the only one alone?
Lin Chen held up the lantern to illuminate the surroundings.

Under the dim light of the candlelight, green bamboo poles were crisscrossed, and a few little straw figures were crookedly inserted on the mound of earth at the roots of the bamboo, with a smile painted in red in place of their faces.

The candlelight flickered for a moment, and when the little man was illuminated by the light again, the smile on his face became even more exaggerated, almost reaching his ears.

Lin Chen subconsciously took a step back, only to see that little man turned half a circle and his smile returned to its previous size.

It turns out that the scarecrow has faces painted on both sides, which will turn when the wind blows. At first glance, it seems that the expression changes by itself, which is quite scary.

But... in this land, even the fog is as solid as a substance and does not dissipate for half the night. How can there be any wind?
"Roar--"

A strange sound came from deep in the forest, like a landslide, thunder, or the roar of some huge monster.

The sound caused the earth to tremble, and the bamboo forest suddenly shook, and a shower of raindrops fell on Lin Chen's head.

Is it water accumulated on the bamboo leaves, or water droplets condensed from mist?
Lin Chen wiped the liquid that flowed down the back of his neck. It felt sticky and slippery.

"Gululu..."

A round object rolled down from the slope behind him and stopped at Lin Chen's feet.

The stench of blood drifted into his nose, and Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat. He lowered the lantern and looked down.

It was a bloody human head!

“Tick-tock…tick-tock…”

The rain was still falling overhead.

Lin Chen stiffened his body and slowly raised his head.

A half-eaten corpse, which had been eaten by some unknown creature, was hanging upside down on the bamboo shoot, swaying back and forth like bacon.

The corpse was headless, and there were hideous wounds on the neck, with blood still flowing from the bowl-sized wound.

A drop of blood mixed with pus fell on the tip of Lin Chen's nose, sliding along the wing of his nose to the side of his lips...

[Dungeon name: "Ghost"]

[Copy Type: Team Survival]

[Preliminary reminder: When a person dies, he becomes a ghost. When a ghost dies, he becomes a genie. When a genie dies, he becomes a xi. When a xi dies, he becomes a yi.]

Three lines of silver-white text refreshed on the system interface, and a strange voice narrated in my ears:
[The ghost of a person who dies after being bitten by a tiger is called a 'clan'. He serves the tiger and dares not go anywhere else. He often lures people to open their doors in the middle of the night and lets the tiger eat them.]

【Yanghua Town has been plagued by tigers for a long time, and it is difficult to eliminate the disaster. Those who have been trapped by tigers near and far have all died in the tiger's mouth, and turned into ghosts, lingering in the town.】

The voice sounded like chanting or reciting, with a shrill tone and mixed with "hehe" laughter, which made people think of the clown in Peking Opera.

The floating clouds in the night sky suddenly dispersed, and the cold white moon cast a beam of light, illuminating the bamboo forest.

Lin Chen maintained his upward angle and stared at the corpse hanging from the bamboo branch.

He stepped back step by step, and at the same time calmly took out a crumpled medical record book from the prop column and held it in his right hand.

[Name: Psychiatrist’s medical record]

[Type: props]

[Effect: ① Randomly summon a patient's ghost for 30 seconds (cooling time 24 hours);
②Observe and record new cases, which may increase the duration of summoning or reduce the cooling time.

[Note: Mentally ill people have broad mindsets. If you encounter uncertain situations, maybe you can ask them? ]

This is the reward item that Lin Chen obtained after the "Frog Hospital" dungeon was completed. It is a summoning item like the [Umbrella Filled with Pain], but its effect is slightly milder and there is no risk of backlash against the player. It is enough to deal with less dangerous situations at the beginning of the dungeon.

The text on the system interface is still refreshing.

[You are a famous doctor in Yangzhou City. One day, when you were returning from a medical consultation, you saw a crow carrying a letter, asking you to diagnose an illness.]

[You are surprised, but as a kind-hearted doctor, you cannot bear to leave it alone; you are also curious and want to find out the truth.]

[The next morning, you happily set out, following the instructions in the letter, and finally arrived outside Yanghua Town after midnight]

[The main mission has been refreshed]

[Main Quest: Enter Yanghua Town and cure Mrs. Meng's illness]

Lin Chen paid attention to the system prompts while being alert to any unusual situations around him. He waited for a long time but saw no further movement.

It seems that the smiling scarecrow, human heads and corpses are not ghosts related to the death point, but are just the scare points and clues at the beginning of the copy.

"Lin Chen, I finally see you... Come over here..."

In the silence, a familiar voice suddenly spoke intermittently. The voice was erratic, as if it was blown from afar by the breath of the mountains, and it seemed to be rang directly in the bottom of the mind with the help of the team ring.

Lin Chen clenched his right hand, touched the ring on his ring finger with his thumb, and said silently in his heart: "Brother Qi, where are you? I'm in the bamboo forest outside Yanghua Town and can't find the way. There are some weird scarecrows and a corpse here."

"I'm here... Just walk along the path and you'll see me..."

Qis's voice was diluted by the mountain fog and slightly distorted, but fortunately it no longer surrounded him like before, but had a clear direction.

Lin Chen looked in the direction where the voice came from.

At first glance, there was a narrow crack in the bamboo forest that seemed to be tightly closed, but it was wide enough for one person to pass through. The mud there was more solid than elsewhere, and the grass on it had been trampled flat, revealing a man-made path.

On the path, there is a white stone every half step, big and small, as if guiding people.

Did this road suddenly appear? Why didn't he see it before?

Lin Chen had a feeling something was wrong, so he swallowed and said tentatively, "Brother Qi, you sent me a text message before entering the dungeon, and it seemed to mention something important, but I can't quite remember it."

Qi Si seemed to have noticed his concerns and smiled approvingly: "You are quite alert. Are you suspecting that I have been replaced by a ghost?"

Lin Chen remained silent.

Qi Si continued to talk to himself: "Well, my pseudonym in this instance is Lin Wen. If they still want to find out, just say I'm your cousin. Have you thought of your pseudonym?"

"I've thought about it. My name in this copy is Lin Ya, the 'Ya' in 'crow'." Lin Chen said.

He had no more worries at this moment. He followed the guidance of the white stone and went into the narrow gap between the bamboo forests.

After all, it is impossible for a copy to arrange an unavoidable death point at the beginning. If there is a real risk of life, you have to wait until the next day.

After walking for a while, the view became wider, the bamboo forest receded into the distance behind us, and a few clusters of flames appeared in front of us.

In the dim light, the towering archway looked like a hill, with several figures standing or leaning below, and judging by their postures, they must be players.

Without exception, these people changed into ancient costumes under the effect of the copy and held lanterns of the same style in their hands.

Lin Chen immediately saw Qi Si leaning against the stone pillar, with his long, somewhat messy hair hanging down and his blood-red robe dragging loosely, making him look listless.

When he saw Lin Chen, he frowned slightly, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and threw it over.

Lin Chen reached out to take it, and quickly wiped his face and hands to clean up the blood stains.

Qi Si looked away and said no more, as if handing the handkerchief to Lin Chen just now was just a small favor to a stranger.

Lin Chen understood, walked over and smiled nervously but friendly at the few people: "Hello, my name is Lin Ya, and this is my eighth time entering the dungeon with the novice pool.

“My birthplace is in the bamboo forest. There are many scarecrows with smiling faces and human remains there. However, it should not be the place of death, but just a clue to scare people.

"My identity in this instance is a doctor in Yangzhou City. I received a letter seeking medical treatment yesterday, so I rushed to Yanghua Town to treat Madam Meng. Haha, my main mission is to enter Yanghua Town and cure Madam Meng's illness."

"What a coincidence, I also received a letter." The speaker was a young man in black, with a sword on his waist, looking like an ancient knight. "The letter said that Yanghua Town was in trouble with tigers, and they wanted to recruit heroes from all walks of life to subdue the tigers, and offered a reward of 100,000.

"My main quest is 'Kill the Mountain God'. Teacher Luo said that 'Mountain God' is another name for tiger... By the way, you can call me 'Tang Yu'."

The person called "Teacher Luo" is a middle-aged woman named "Luo Haihua". She is short and slightly plump, full of energy, and has two dimples on her face when she smiles.

She claims to be a high school Chinese teacher. In this copy, her identity is a scholar who is lost in the mountains. The main task is to find a way out of Yanghua Town.

She was wearing a royal blue straight-hem dress and a cloth crown. She looked very heroic under the decoration of the replica. If she didn't speak, you couldn't tell that she was a woman at all.

Luo Haihua came in as a team with her husband, and both of them were peripheral members of the Jiuzhou Guild.

The husband's surname was also "Luo", and his name was "Luo Jianhua". He was tall, with a serious expression, a wooden face and little to say. He only briefly introduced his occupation and main tasks.

Well, this person is a high school physics teacher, and he is a failed scholar. He got lost together with Luo Haihua, and the main task is to leave Yanghua Town.

The girl in the purple skirt had been silent until now, but now she introduced herself: "My name is Qiu Xin, I major in Chinese medicine. In this copy, I came to Yanghua Town to get a precious medicinal herb to save people. The mission is to 'kill the mountain god.'"

The girl looked to be in her early twenties, with an inexplicable sadness in her expression, and a sense of loss: "I know there is a lack of logic between my identity setting and the mission. You suspect I am lying, but I can't help it. I don't want to explain. This is a team instance, there is no need for me to lie."

Tang Yu frowned: "What's your attitude? We haven't said anything yet, and you assume that we suspect you?"

Luo Haihua smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Right, this is a team instance, and our main quests must be related in some way. We need to cooperate with each other and share information to clarify the key points. There is no need to doubt it - it's useless to doubt it."

Qiu Xin glanced at her and said nothing.

While everyone was talking, Qis had already asked Lin Chen for all the narration and prompt information that the latter knew, through the communication method of "ostensibly a team ring, but actually a soul contract".

He stood up straight, walked to the middle of the players, and said calmly: "Lin Wen, specimen maker, ninth copy.

"In real life, I have a friend who is a Taoist priest. I learned a little from him. In this instance, I am a Taoist priest who was invited to deal with the ghosts."

The young man had an indifferent and distant look and a nonchalant attitude, and he looked like a senior expert who was difficult to get along with.

"My main mission is to cure Madam Meng's illness. The Meng family suspected that Madam Meng's illness was caused by a ghost, so they sent a crow to deliver a letter to me, hiring me to exorcise the evil spirit for a large sum of money."

Lin Chen was listening nearby and had nothing to complain about.

It would be fine if the missions were the same, as other players’ missions were also divided into groups of two; but even the method of delivering the letters was the same… Is this weird game too lazy to write the script?
"I forgot to say that my letter was also delivered by a crow." Lin Chen raised his hand and added.

Tang Yu raised his eyebrows: "What a coincidence, my letter is also."

Well, the crows are pretty busy.

After waiting for a while, no one came. Luo Haihua smiled and said, "My husband and I's main mission is to leave Yanghua Town. Since the dungeon has just started and there are few death points, let's go take a look around."

Tang Yu raised his hand to stop him: "Don't do that. It's late at night. We haven't experienced much of the plot and don't have any clues. We will definitely not be able to find the way. Even if we don't die, it's a waste of energy. It's not worth it..."

"Yes, what you said makes sense." Luo Haihua looked at the dark town behind the archway, "Then let's go to Yanghua Town tonight and find a place to stay."

She was quite brave and walked into the town with ease. Luo Jianhua nodded to the other players before following them.

Tang Yu followed behind the two of them, and Qi Si and Lin Chen also followed silently, standing side by side with him.

The moment he crossed the boundary of the archway, Tang Yu suddenly exclaimed "Oh shit".

Qi Si also stopped and narrowed his eyes.

The town behind the archway was not as dead silent as it looked from the outside. It was as if it had suddenly come alive and was filled with the feel of human life.

The peddlers coming and going, the shopkeepers and waiters hawking their wares, the heavily made-up women, and the scholar in a green shirt and with a white fan, all move happily and vividly before one’s eyes.

The weird thing is that when the players were outside it was clearly night, but in the town it was actually daytime! (End of this chapter)