Infinite spooky game

The cemetery of the Holy City is ancient and dilapidated. The tombs on both sides have collapsed, and the broken earth mounds reveal rotten coffins. Occasionally, broken bones are scattered from the cracks, and when the wind blows, they roll on the ground.

Rows of crosses stood like guards at the outskirts of the cemetery. Dried corpses were hung on the broken wood, the flesh on the surface had been eaten away by animals, leaving only bones with tendons and veins connected to form a human shape. The hanging leg bones swayed in the wind, making crackling sounds when they collided.

As soon as Giles stepped into the cemetery, he took the initiative to propose to explore it separately with Fran. The reason was very good: only by visiting more places would there be a chance to trigger more side quests and accumulate enough fire.

Fran didn't doubt him and readily agreed. Giles watched his back disappear into the depths of the cemetery, then turned and walked towards the western block of the Holy City.

Ever since he entered the dungeon, he had a strange feeling. The representatives who teamed up with him seemed to have become strangers. Their gestures and words had not changed, but he just felt that a large number of them were not normal.

Was it because he was too exaggerated, his logic too confusing, or his thinking too slow, constantly rambling on about irrelevant things? He couldn't tell the exact doubts, it was more of an intuition of a sense of disharmony, just like waking up one day and seeing an identical familiar face, but suddenly remembering the strange story about "fake people".

Giles suspected that something had changed in the delegates. Even if he was just overthinking it, these people were definitely hiding something. Were none of them pagans? Did they really not know the whereabouts of the "Fallen Savior" card?

After much thought, Giles didn't know who to trust. After analyzing them one by one, only the woman named "Julie Margaret" seemed more reliable.

This representative is from Maple Leaf County. Before entering the weird game, she was a well-known sociologist. In the past five years, she has been hiding her identity and is responsible for coordinating the various departments of the Weird Investigation Bureau and studying the direction of public opinion in the forum. If even she has problems, then there is no one trustworthy among the other four.

Giles made up his mind, holding the team ring and silently saying in his heart: "Miss Margaret, I found some clues, and I may need to meet with you alone."

"Oh? What clue is that? We have to meet in person. Can't we just tell him?" The woman's voice was just the right amount of confusion. "If it's a physical clue, maybe we can hold another discussion meeting and let everyone study it together."

"No." Giles took a deep breath and exhaled, saying in a deep voice, "I feel that some people's conditions are problematic. They may have been unknowingly tricked by the dungeon's mechanism, or by other players' tactics."

The woman laughed: "Sir, you are too nervous. We are all top players. What dungeon or player can do something to us silently and let us fall into the trap without knowing it?"

"What if that person is Fu Jue?" Giles looked up at the sky. The orange-yellow sky without the sun looked like a crudely made stage set.

He and other representatives were on the stage, while someone was standing behind the scenes watching coldly. Undercurrents were surging in the shadows, and it was unknown when the final outcome would come.

The silence lasted for half a minute, and the woman pondered and said, "You also think Fu Jue is not dead?"

"Also?" Giles caught the key words in the words and raised his eyebrows slightly.

The woman said, "I think so too. He is Fu Jue. How could he die in a place like this?"

She paused and sighed: "It's a pity that I don't have any evidence, so I can't speak nonsense in public."

"Yes, there is no evidence to prove that he is still alive, and there is also no evidence to prove that he is dead..." Giles repeated, narrowing his eyes, "So, don't you think their reaction is strange?

"She chose to believe without a doubt that Fu Jue was dead. When I proposed another possibility, she tried every possible means to refute it."

"It's really strange...you mean?"

"I suspect some of them are controlled by Fu Jue."

"control?"

Giles said: "The effect of the [Fallen Savior] identity card was reported by Fu Jue himself, and it has not been used once. No one knows whether it is true or not. I don't believe that the effect of such a high-ranking card is just as simple as 'reviving a dead person'."

"I understand what you mean." The woman's tone became serious. "I think we need to meet. Where are you? I'll come find you."

Giles turned his head to look into the distance. The street was crowded with people. Priests and believers were coming and going. Some were holding glass jars, and some were carrying crosses. It seemed that a grand ceremony was opening.

He looked at them silently for a while, then said calmly, "See you in the North District."

……

In the Kita Ward, Yuko Asakura and Vider walked side by side on the street, weaving among the crowd.

This urban area is generally cleaner than the East District. The yellow-green smelly water flows peacefully in the gutters beside the road, and the men, women, and children walking on the street are all wearing neat cloth robes.

They lined up in a long snake-like queue in front of the two priests, but their eyes were as lifeless as those of the people in the East District. There was a shrinking and bewildered look in their eyes, and their movements were as stiff as those of the walking dead.

The priest held a transparent jar filled with meat and handed the dagger to the believer in front of him. Pieces of blood and flesh fell into the jar and tangled into a wriggling ball of flesh.

Seeing this, Wade muttered quietly, "That's not right. The people who share the power of the Holy Lord are the people of the East District. Why do believers from other places also want to donate? Their meat is just ordinary meat. What use can it have?"

Asakura Yuko stared at the scene in front of her, and the same doubts arose in her heart. The effect of [Forbidden Scholar] continued to take effect, and she heard countless wailing and crying, which surged in the bottom of her mind.

"It hurts so much, it hurts so much... There's so much blood... I'm going to die, I'm going to die..."

“My mom is dying… woooo… She can’t donate anymore, she’s just got bones left…”

"I'm so scared... I don't want to die... Will the Holy Lord really save us?"

As the voices became louder and louder, bloody and horrifying scenes began to emerge in Asakura Yuko's eyes. Skeletons with their flesh and blood peeled off stood around her, and blood and pus were dripping like rain; faceless children were sitting on the ground howling, their eyeballs falling out and rolling around in the sand and gravel.

As if they had sensed her gaze, their eyeballs turned towards her. The skeletons also turned their heads stiffly, with their empty eye sockets facing her face, and their bony arms reached out to grab her.

She didn't want to read any more, so she simply picked up a pen and paper and began to record: [The believers living in the northern district of the Holy City are richer than those in the eastern district, but under the rule of the Holy Lord and the priests, the difference between the rich and the poor has been eliminated to the greatest extent possible, and everyone must participate in the donation, even if they will lose their lives for it...]

Wade suddenly raised his hand and patted her shoulder, suggesting: "Yuko, do you want to hold another believer hostage to ask about the situation? I always feel that this donation is probably not normal. Look, they don't have any wounds on their bodies..."

Asakura Yuko put down her pen and looked at the line of believers. The robes of the believers who had just completed the donation were soaked in blood, and their wounds were hideous and bloody. They had never healed spontaneously like the believers in the East District. They had never carried the authority of the Holy Lord, so naturally they had no self-healing ability. Several people had already fallen on the street due to excessive blood loss. If they had made donations before, they would not have had wounds on their bodies.

Asakura Yuko stroked her glasses and asked, "Why do you want me to go? I remember you defined yourself as a force player."

"Because you have already held a believer hostage yesterday. As the Eastern saying goes, 'The more debts you have, the better.'" Wade spread his hands and grinned. "Who knows if doing this will cause trouble? Instead of the two of us sharing the risk, it's better to control the risk on you alone."

This is not without reason, but it is strange that he said it without acting, and it is so blatantly selfish. Asakura Yuko couldn't help but look at Wade for a second time, then left him and walked to the blind spot in the corner of the block, grabbed a believer who was unconscious on the ground, and raised his hand to wake him up.

"Hello, excuse me. All the previous donations were from the East District. Why do we suddenly need our flesh and blood today? I arrived late and missed a lot of information. Can you tell me what happened?" Asakura Yuko did not intend to follow Wade's wishes and use force to coerce him, so she asked politely and patiently.

Then the believer in front of him showed a look of fear and disgust on his face, and muttered: "You don't even know... You are a pagan..."

Asakura Yuko sighed softly, pulled out a short knife and put it against the believer's neck: "Okay, now you can answer my questions."

……

In the East End, Giles sat on a rooftop, watching the goings-on to the north.

The team ring was given by Fu Jue. He was not sure whether there would be any monitoring or positioning backup in it. At the same time, he was not completely sure that Julie was okay.

The previous conversation through the team ring was a deliberate test by him. He would not go to the North District for the time being; after the communication, he deliberately left the team ring in the West District.

Time passed minute by minute, and Giles estimated that the time was almost up, so he grabbed the [Eye of Hermes (right eye)] from his arms and activated its effect at the same time.

[Name: Eye of Hermes (right eye)]

[Type: props]

【Effect: ① After placing the left eye in a certain space, you can see what the left eye sees and hears through the right eye;
②During the transmission process, the vigilance and perception of nearby players can be greatly reduced.]

[Note: God knows everything, Hermes said so]

Last night he went out to explore, and every time he passed a place, he would place an [Eye of Hermes (left eye)] high up. Although he didn't know how many left eyes survived the tumor after a night, it was still possible to use it to understand the movements of each area.

The image in his right eye showed nothing unusual. Julie appeared in the North District at the right time, looking around with a worried look on her face. Giles felt relieved. Although there were still many potential dangers that could not be eliminated, if he continued to be timid, he would not be able to accomplish anything big.

He jumped down from the roof and rushed left and right in the narrow alleys. The floor plan of the Holy City was roughly formed in his mind. He had a good sense of direction and soon arrived at where Julie was.

The tall figure of the woman stood at the foot of the low wall, casting a narrow shadow on the gray wall. Hearing the footsteps, she turned her head to look at Giles, her brows slightly relaxed: "You are finally here, I thought you had an accident on the way."

"I took a detour on purpose because I was afraid of something going wrong." Giles said humorously, his eyes falling on the white ring on the little finger of the woman's right hand. "Take off the team ring first. You have to be cautious with things given by Fu Jue."

The woman took off the ring and threw it into a corner. She smiled and said, "I am more cautious than you think. On the first day I got the ring, I handed it to the materials room of our branch for inspection."

"That's good. But that's Fu Jue, no one knows if he has any hidden tricks." Giles said, his heart startled.

He didn't understand how he had ended up becoming an enemy of Fu Jue. He clearly once admired Fu Jue so much and had even entered the same dungeon with him. How could he suddenly become hostile and hateful towards him?

The memory is blurry and dissipates into colorful bubbles at the slightest touch. In a flash, even the trace of doubt cannot be salvaged.

He pressed his aching temple and continued to talk to himself: "Let's go to the cemetery. We mentioned the North District in the team ring before. If it is true as I guessed, the North District may not be safe now."

"Indeed, this is also my judgment." The woman said with a smile.

The two walked straight towards the cemetery. The population on both sides became increasingly sparse. A cold wind blew between heaven and earth, causing bones to fall to the ground with a crackling sound.

Endless tombs stretch out like mountains, and countless pairs of eyes seem to be hidden in the dark caves, spying on passers-by with ill intentions.

The woman walked in front, and Giles lagged behind her half a step, crushing the broken bones on the ground.

After stepping over a stone wall with a statue of a god carved on it, he suddenly felt cold. The temperature around him suddenly dropped, and a chill flowed from his heart to his limbs and bones. His body quickly lost temperature, as if he was trapped in an ice cellar, and even his vision became blurred as if covered with thick frost.

Suddenly, a white shadow flashed before his eyes, and darted forward eerily. Giles stepped back quickly and looked closely. It was a zombie wrapped in shrouds, with scarlet eyes staring at him through the bandages, full of greed and desire.

There is danger! Giles skillfully moved the props bar. All weapon props were banned. He only pulled out a silver-white spider silk. The prompt text showed that it had the effect of controlling thoughts and restraining actions.

This is undoubtedly a powerful item, with a price that is in short supply, and its effect is unquestionable. However, because it is too evil, Giles has never risked using it before. However... can this kind of item for players really be used to fight ghosts?

The woman was still walking forward, as if she was completely unaware of the danger. More and more zombies crawled out from all directions, surrounding the two of them, their claws covered in corpse oil stretched longer and longer, their bodies moved closer and closer, bringing with them a nauseating stench.

Giles stared at the back of the woman's head not far away, and suddenly realized that this was a carefully planned trap.

The triggering of the death point could not have been without warning. He had not encountered any danger when he passed by here before. There was no reason for him to go back to the old path and fall into crisis.

Yes, he was deceived. Julie was probably Fu Jue's man... He was led here by this woman and killed to silence her because he showed his suspicion of Fu Jue...

Giles stepped back quickly, throwing the spider silk in his hand towards the woman's back. The woman seemed to have expected it, dodged sideways, and flicked the black gauze from her sleeves towards his face.

All disguises faded in a second, Giles ducked to avoid the black veil, and manipulated the spider silk to strangle the woman's neck. He saw the woman's ferocious expression and the poisonous hatred in her eyes, and his heart felt even colder.

Fu Jue and Zhu Li teamed up to kill him, but he couldn't beat them, not to mention that they controlled some of the ghosts in the copy through unknown means... What should he do? (End of this chapter)