Infinite spooky game

"That's right." Qi Si nodded, the smile on his lips looking spooky under the light, "Straw is flammable, and so are wooden buildings. It only takes a spark and a gust of wind to burn down the entire Yanghua Town.

"General Meng actually put it into practice once before, and it turned out to be quite effective. Why don't we pay tribute to our predecessors? Those letters that seem to have nothing to do with the theme of the dungeon are very clear hints, aren't they?

"If we weren't required to set fire to the town, why would the copy tell us that information?"

Lin Chen listened in confusion, as if thinking about something.

The copy will not provide useless clues. The arson by officers and soldiers has been emphasized repeatedly, which may lead to a feasible route to pass the level.

It is known that this is a team instance, and even if the players are in different camps, there is definitely the possibility of cooperation.

The hostility between "ghosts" and "humans" is based on the fact that the player is hostile to the tiger monster.

As long as Yanghua Town is burned down, the players in the "human" camp and the tiger demon will not interfere with each other, and the "ghosts" will have no need to harm the "humans" who are also players.

If they are lucky... the players might be able to finish the dungeon with everyone alive.

Tang Yu picked up the Qingming dumpling and held it tightly, raised his eyebrows and looked at Qi Si: "In other words, after we confirm that the townspeople are scarecrows, we can actually end the copy?

"All we need to do is give up the main quest and burn down Yanghua Town, so that the main quest is no longer valid, and then we can take the NE route to clear the game?"

He paused and raised a question: "According to what you said, everything can be over today. But the dungeon process is not even halfway through, and we haven't even seen the core NPC Tiger Monster. It's unheard of to clear the dungeon directly.

"I've read many posts on the forum, and even Fu Jue has never done this. Will the weird game really let us go so easily?"

Qi Si said “hmm”, but the smile on his face did not diminish: “So, I didn’t set the fire directly, but told you the idea.”

Tang Yu's expression turned strange: "In other words, if there were no risks, you would have considered setting the fire without consulting me, right?"

Qi Si smiled at him and analyzed slowly: "In my opinion, there are three uncertainties in this matter:

“First, we cannot be sure that the motivation of the main mission is in line with public order and morality, nor can we be sure that protecting the townspeople is the logical starting point of the mission.

“From the beginning to the end, the only one who clearly expressed that he wanted us to kill the tiger demon was Meng Fang. We couldn’t tell whether his request was for the benefit of the townspeople rather than revenge for his mother.

“Secondly, we cannot be sure that all the townspeople are transformed from scarecrows, and we have not yet figured out the reason and mechanism for their identity swapping. There may be huge variables in this, which is enough to push us into a dead end.

“It’s too late to reverse what has been done. If we can’t wipe out all the townspeople overnight, our situation will become difficult. Our TE clearance and main quest will be in vain, and we will have to trigger the guaranteed death toll mechanism.

“Third, we cannot be sure that we ourselves will not be injured by the fire as it spreads.

"Admittedly, I tried yesterday. I existed in the form of a spirit and could not touch the flame. But what happened to Mr. Luo and the others is right in front of us. Before we understand what they went through last night, the outcome of arson is completely unknown."

Lin Chen understood the pros and cons, nodded, and asked: "So Brother Lin, what should we do?"

"What should we do..." Qi Si put his elbows on the table, clasped his fingers together, and held his chin. "First of all, we need to make it clear that before we are absolutely sure, we can't just give up the main task and block the TE's way through.

"Tomorrow's plan remains the same. We will first go to the forest behind the mansion to meet the so-called 'mountain god' tiger monster and test its strength. It would be best if we can kill it once and for all. Even if we can't defeat it, we can still find a way to get out with our stock of items."

Tang Yu nodded in agreement: "What you said makes sense, that's what I was planning to do. Also, I think the three uncertainties you just mentioned cannot be ignored. It would be best if they could be determined, so that we can move forward and backward freely."

“This is the second point I want to make.”

Qi Si looked down at his left hand, stretched out his hand and took off the fate pocket watch on his wrist: "Meng Fang's motivation is related to the world view. When the copy develops to the later stage, it should be presented smoothly.

"As for what happened to Mr. Luo and the others, we'll know almost everything when we go upstairs and read their messages.

"The more difficult part is how to confirm that the townspeople are all scarecrows, and at the same time clarify the mechanism of their identity exchange. However, I have also come up with a way to verify it."

Lin Chen asked: "What method?"

Qi Si gathered his sleeves and lowered his eyes, saying, "You should have had a similar experience last night. When the time reaches midnight, no matter whether you are awake or sleepy, you will fall into a deep sleep uncontrollably.

"All NPCs firmly believe that they must return to their houses before midnight, otherwise they will die at the hands of the evil spirits. In other words, in theory, at midnight, neither the players nor the NPCs can see each other.

"This leaves a lot of room for maneuver. I have reason to suspect that something invisible will happen after midnight, or that there is some unknown secret lurking.

"The point at which the townspeople exchange their identities is likely to be at midnight."

"You want to go out at midnight tonight to observe the changes in the townspeople?" Tang Yu almost crushed the Qingming dumpling, "That's not right -

"At that time, we all fell asleep due to the mechanism of the dungeon. Not to mention whether we could see anything useful, even if we managed to take a quick glance, we would not live to see the next day after falling asleep on the street where a hundred demons were parading at night, right?"

Qi Si said calmly: "I remember you have a prop that can open a door that only spirits can enter. You went in once last night and avoided the harm of ghosts.

"I guess that item can avoid the influence of the dungeon mechanism. The spirit standing inside the door will not fall into a deep sleep even at midnight. Is that right?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Yu took out a long scroll with a landscape painting in ink from the prop column and threw it to Qi Si.

[Name: Ink Soul Scroll]

[Type: props]

[Effect: Open a door that only spirits can enter for 60 seconds, suspected to lead to an unknown dimension (cooling time 24 hours)]

[Note: The unknown poet wrote poems with his soul. He did not know that the creation that exhausted his heart and soul was a ritual, and the work was pollution.]

He looked at Qi Si and said, "This prop of mine can only last for one minute. It may be enough to solve an emergency situation, but it is impossible to guarantee safety for a whole night.

"Even if you can activate the effect while your consciousness is drowsy and enter the scroll, when the time is up, you will either be trapped inside forever and unable to get out, or you will be exposed outside again and be slaughtered by ghosts and monsters."

"One minute is enough." Qi Si put the [Ink Soul Scroll] on the table, raised the fate pocket watch and shook it, "I remember I said that my prop can go back to one minute ago. I just need to make sure that I am not disturbed during the minute I am collecting information.

"Once I have understood everything I need to know, I will immediately go back in time and return to the mansion."

Tang Yu thought for a moment and shook his head: "The premise of this plan is that you can get from the residence to the place where the townspeople live within one minute. Otherwise, no matter how far you go back, you can only go back to the street." Qi Si turned his head to look at Lin Chen: "Lin Ya, you haven't used your [Umbrella of Pain] yet, right?"

Lin Chen had been sitting obediently by the side, listening quietly to the big guys discussing strategies.

At this moment, he was suddenly called upon, and quickly took out the black umbrella and handed it to Qi Si: "Yeah, I haven't used it yet!"

Qi Si took the black umbrella, put it on the table, and motioned for Tang Yu to look at it.

Tang Yu touched the umbrella with his fingertips and successfully saw the refreshed item prompt.

[Name: The Umbrella Full of Pain]

[Type: props]

[Effects: ① Summon the shadow ghost "The Man in the Umbrella" for 60 seconds. Each summon must kill one being (cooling time 24 hours);
② Provide shelter from wind and rain (holding an umbrella on a sunny day has a 1% chance of rain);
③If you want, you can poke people with it. 】

[Note: Every time he felt pain, he wrote a curse with a black pen on black paper; on a dark rainy day, he made a black umbrella out of black paper, imagining that it was a parachute, and jumped... …Now, he’s black, too. 】

After being used in the "Frog Hospital" copy, the effect of this item has been upgraded, and the summoning time has been increased from the original 30 seconds to 60 seconds, which is just enough.

"Summoning items?" Tang Yu couldn't help but look at Lin Chen a few more times.

There are very few summoning props in the weird game, and because they have rich effects and can greatly enhance the player's strength, they attract many people.

Those who can equip summoning items are either extremely lucky or very wealthy.

I didn't expect that this crow, who keeps a low profile, actually has quite a lot of props. His silly appearance might just be a disguise, but he might actually be the one who truly holds the power of speech...

Lin Chen didn't know that he had been labeled as "unfathomable" by Tang Yu.

He figured out Qi Si's plan in two seconds, his eyes lit up: "The shadow ghost moves very fast, it only takes ten seconds to get from the mansion to the center.

"We just need to let the black shadow ghost carry the ink soul scroll and fly over the town. Brother Lin can sit behind the door generated by the scroll and see the whole picture of Yanghua Town."

This plan is theoretically feasible and not complicated. It only requires each player to produce one item.

Tang Yu put down the Qingming dumplings and wiped his hands on his sleeves: "Lin Wen, from what you said, you plan to personally implement the plan you mentioned tonight?

"You know, no one can tell what will happen at night. If you don't have Fu Jue's strength, you are playing with your life."

Qi Si smiled: "I know, but some things have to be done by someone, otherwise neither the main mission nor the NE clearance route can be advanced."

Tang Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and he opened his mouth to say something, then he heard Qi Si say in a matter-of-fact tone: "No matter from which angle you look at it, Lin Ya and I's props are more valuable than your scroll, I don't feel comfortable handing them over to you."

Tang Yu: I am touched, thank you.

Lin Chen hesitated for a while, and said to Qi Si through the soul leaf: "Brother Qi, if it is really that dangerous, can I go instead? You are better than me. If something happens to you, what will happen to the subsequent puzzles?"

"It'll be fine." Qi Si said gloomily, "If I go, there's a high probability that no one will die; if you go, you will really die."

Lin Chen listened to Qi Si's tone, which showed that he obviously didn't have the patience to explain in detail. Although he was confused, he still tactfully stopped talking.

The hour hand of the fate pocket watch slowly passed the Roman numeral eight, and it was eight o'clock in the evening.

Qi Si put the pocket watch back on his wrist, and without hesitation, put the [Ink Soul Scroll] and [Umbrella Filled with Pain] into the prop column.

After deciding who would go out exploring at night, there was no more objection to the division of the rooms.

Qi Si has a separate room, while Tang Yu and Lin Chen have another room. They do not interfere with each other, so even if something happens, the losses can be minimized.

But before returning to their respective rooms, there was one more thing to do.

The three of them went upstairs, gathered in Luo Haihua and his wife's room, and went straight to the bedside table full of papers.

As night fell, the light in the house dimmed and the words on the paper could not be seen clearly.

The three of them took the pages on the bedside table directly out the door, spread them on the floor of the second-floor corridor, and lit them with lanterns.

I saw that it was filled with answers to the questions asked by Qi Si.

[1. Tell us the name and specific date of the dungeon you cleared in the official pool of the Weird Game (it would be best if you are willing to disclose your prop reserves), and we may be able to develop a plan for everyone to survive.]

罗海花：【我和老罗是最近才开始组队的，之前我们通关的副本有《柳荫村》《永生之国》《灵魂容器》《厄里斯的诅咒》……具体日期分别是2035年3月19日、3月26日、4月2日、4月9日，这次是4月16日。

[We have an item called "Ring of the Abyss". If the gem on it turns black, it means that our choice will lead to a deadly situation; red means there will be danger and opportunities next; blue means there is no danger and no important clues.

[We also have a few "photographic negatives" from the previous copy, which can record some scenes and sometimes show things that are invisible to the naked eye.]

【2. Reviewing what happened to you last night may help us understand the cause of "Xi Yi".】

Luo Haihua: [Last night my lantern was knocked over by something invisible, and the flames inside escaped and burned the sheets. I was shocked at first, but after seeing the "Abyss Ring" on my hand turn red, I thought things might not be that bad.

[At that time, I seemed to be at the junction of two spaces. I could see Lao Luo with my left eye, and a lot of messy things with my right eye. I talked to Lao Luo, but he couldn't hear my voice at that time, and the connection of the team ring was also cut off.

[A voice told me that I could choose to enter Xiyi's world. I realized that there might be important clues there, so I agreed. Unexpectedly, Lao Luo saw me disappear in front of him, knocked over his own lantern, and came looking for me.]

[3. Describe the world in your eyes. We suspect that it may contain key clues.]

[Most of the western part of the town was black and empty, with only a few bedside tables and some tattered wooden boards floating in the darkness, looking like a half-loaded, stuck game. The bedside tables and wooden boards had traces of burns, as if they had been through a fire.

【Later, Lao Luo and I tried to walk east for a while and passed through a huge mirror. The surroundings were finally no longer dark. Behind the mirror was also a Yanghua Town, which was the opposite and symmetrical of the Yanghua Town we saw at the beginning. There was also a mansion on the easternmost side. We went up to the second floor of the mansion and looked at it. It was exactly the same as the mansion on the west side of the town!
[And there are many people in this Yanghua Town, not only dead townspeople, but also players who died in this dungeon before. They all have memories of their previous lives, and they live their own lives. Except for not having a physical body, they are completely like they are still alive...] (End of this chapter)