Infinite spooky game

The colorful prayer flags fluttered in the wind, reflecting a grayish color under the black sky. Bai Ma held a whip and drove the sheep up the mountain, leaving a series of black footprints on the thick snow.

She suddenly started singing. Her loud voice echoed among the mountains, hitting the ice wall and bouncing back. The layers of echoes floated in the air, as if countless people were singing along.

They sang: "Om Ah Hum, the savior protects all living beings; Om Ah Hum, the god of fortune bestows blessings; Om Ah Hum, the god of the graves protects the dead..."

Lin Chen followed Bai Ma, Lu Li and Xu Yao mixed in the flock of sheep, and Qi Si fell behind the flock, leaning on a trekking pole and moving forward laboriously.

The wind on the mountain was freezing cold, and the cold wind mixed with ice chips blew out from the canyon, scraping on the face like a blade, bringing dense and stinging pain.

The blood-red cloak was blown backwards by the wind, making a strange "swish" sound, slowing down the pace of people and animals.

Qis was only wearing a set of suit pants. The clothes he exchanged in the game store did not have much lining. The cold had already penetrated into his bones, and he seemed to hear the "cracking" sound of bones rubbing against each other with every step he took.

For no reason, he thought of the scene he saw in the mirror in the inn last night.

The man in the mirror seemed to be walking in the snowy mountains in the wind and snow. I don’t know whether that was Zhou Ke in another time and space, or his future.

The group walked past the foot of the mountain where prayer flags were hung, and walked forward for an unknown amount of time. When they looked back, they could no longer see the prayer flags.

A vast expanse of white spread between the sky and the earth, burying all the colors of the world. The soul becomes empty in an instant, and even the most emotional heart will inevitably become dead silent.

The connection with the human world seems to be completely severed at this moment. This is a forbidden area that belongs entirely to death. All human joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are taken away, and the route to the final destiny is limited.

Go forward, climb over this snowy mountain, or stay on it forever.

Bai Ma stopped and looked back at the players, his eyes as calm as an eternal iceberg.

"We have reached the snowy mountain," she said. "The Mother Goddess is sleeping on the top of the mountain. Her dream covers the entire snowy mountain. If we continue to move forward, we may disturb her sleep."

"Oh!" Lin Chen nodded seriously in agreement and asked, "Then what should we do? Set up camp on the spot?"

This is what everyone thinks.

Even without considering the Mother Goddess, climbing the snowy mountains at night is a challenge for players who have not received professional training.

Not to mention that the cold temperature almost froze everyone who didn't have time to prepare clothes before entering the dungeon, the impact of the dark environment on field of vision and visibility was extremely fatal.

The ice cracks are hidden under the cover of snow piles, and the space below may be as high as more than ten meters. Falling injuries are enough to cause death. Even during the day, it is possible to step on empty space if you are not careful, let alone at night.

Bai Ma lowered a finger, pointed at the ground under his feet and said, "Let's rest here."

She put two fingers to her lips and whistled, and the goats gathered around her as if they had heard a command. Then, each goat lowered its head, raised its arches, and began to dig at the snow on the ground.

The white snow covering the ice was scraped aside and piled into a grave-like hill, exposing the transparent ice surface underneath.

Black shadows lay side by side under the solid ice, like scars growing on a snowy mountain; looking more closely, they were clearly stiff corpses, with their hands crossed on their chests, their eyes closed, and they were sleeping peacefully.

Lin Chen had been watching the sheep's movements in confusion, and suddenly he bumped into the corpse and almost jumped up.

He remembered the principle of not falling behind, took two deep breaths to suppress the urge to shout, and said in a hoarse voice: "There are a lot of corpses here. There are... corpses under our feet."

Xu Yao looked down for a while and shrugged: "What's there to be afraid of? It looks like it's been dead for a long time. There's not even a ghost, so it can't hurt anyone."

"Yes, we don't have to worry, this is not a death point." Lu Li made a calm judgment, "The dead buried on the snowy mountain from all over the world are preliminary information that can be inferred from the existing clues.

"When we arrived, the passengers on the bus were to be buried in Shangri-La. When I looked out of the window of the guest room last night, I could see the bodies buried in the ice."

This is true. There is a huge group of corpses buried under the snow-capped mountains of Shangri-La. People can't help but calculate how many dead people can be stuffed into the cavity of this mountain, and then guess whether the souls of the dead from ancient times to the present in the world will gather here.

The goats dug the ground silently for a while, clearing out an area of ​​about 20 square meters. A mass of corpses lay crowded together under the ice, and this place was a natural ice box.

Bai Ma whistled again, and the flock of sheep dispersed and stood at the edge of the open space, with their horns facing outward, in a guarding posture.

Bai Ma pointed to the ice under his feet again and said, "You can stay here."

The expression "stay" seems a bit strange in this situation, but if you look closely, there is no big problem.

Four players and an NPC stood in a circular open space surrounded by the sheep. Lin Chen took the folded waterproof tent cloth from the goat's back and unfolded it in the cold wind.

The ice particles hit the fabric with a sporadic and crisp sound, and the edge of the tarpaulin was blown by the wind, making it almost impossible to grasp. The four people scattered to the four sides to grab the tarpaulin, and their fingers became less flexible due to the cold.

This copy reduces the physical fitness of both humans and ghosts to the same level. Even the most powerful players in the game are essentially fragile lives that are restricted by the harsh environment.

Qis took out [Ghost Attraction] and gave each person a stack of pages. After the effect was activated, everyone temporarily possessed the state of a ghost and finally became able to move more freely.

Lu Li threw a few steel nails onto the ice, and Xu Yao picked them up and nailed a corner of the tarpaulin into the ice. Lin Chen propped up the bracket and took the nylon rope from Qi Si to fix it.

The tent was finally set up with the concerted efforts of the players. It was just an insignificant speck in the vast snow-capped mountains.

The sky was terrifyingly dark, and the cold wind did not stop but grew stronger. The newly-set up tent was swaying from side to side, as if it would be blown down at any time.

"Please go to sleep as soon as possible." Bai Ma said to everyone with a smile, "If you are lucky, you may enter the dream of the ancestor god and get a revelation of your destiny."

Entering the dream of the ancestor god? Qi Si did not think this was a sign of "luck" at all. On the contrary, it could be regarded as complete misfortune for him.

Of course, although he did not want to encounter the Ancestral God too early, he would not subjectively avoid the mechanism of the copy.

"Thank you for your good words." Lu Li smiled and walked into the tent first. Following closely behind him was Xu Yao.

Lin Chen took half a step inside, turned around and saw Qi Si still standing outside, so he retracted his steps and waited anxiously.

Qisi seemed to have suddenly thought of something, looked at Bai Ma and asked, "Excuse me, do you have any blankets to keep out the cold? It seems to be getting colder on the mountain."

Lin Chen heard this and pretended to take off his coat: "Brother Qi, if you feel cold, I can give you my clothes. After setting up the tent, I don't seem to be cold anymore, not at all."

Isn't it cold? Qi Si glanced at Lin Chen, who looked so sincere that he didn't seem to be pretending. He exhaled white air while speaking, but his face gradually became rosy, as if he was no longer affected by the low temperature.

He suddenly felt strange. The four people in the group were obviously not wearing much, but he was the only one who was troubled by the cold from beginning to end.

It was a low temperature that seemed to be able to freeze the soul, penetrating into tens of millions of years of time and space, transcending reality and illusion, as if he had been born with it.

"No need, I don't think a coat can do anything." Qis rejected Lin Chen and turned his gaze to Bai Ma again.

Bai Ma turned his head and looked at him, his pale ghost-like face reflected in his dark eyes, and his voice was as faint as a ghost's words: "You are incomplete, incomplete people are rejected by the snow mountain." "Incomplete", this expression again... Qis remembered that in the Ruins of Sunset, he could not open the door of the abandoned temple because of "incompleteness", and he didn't expect that he would be restricted in the final copy because of this.

Before he could ask more questions, a bunch of folded clothes appeared out of thin air in Bai Ma's hands. Even in the dark night, the bright colors could be seen.

The woman held up the clothes with both hands and handed them to Qis: "I can give you a piece of snow mountain clothing. If you put it on, maybe you will be accepted by the snow mountain temporarily."

Qi Si raised his hand to take the clothes. It was a set of intricately decorated Tibetan robes, a red top with a white plush coat, and several layers of colorful beads hanging on it. It looked very warm.

He put the robe over his red suit, raised the corners of his lips slightly, and said sincerely: "Thank you very much, it fits me very well."

Lin Chen listened to the conversation between Qi Si and Bai Ma, and felt something unusual. He asked softly, "Brother Qi, is there something wrong? What does 'incomplete' mean? Is it because of 'no heart'?"

"It's nothing, come into the tent, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Qi Si said perfunctorily and pushed Lin Chen into the tent.

He was about to step in when he suddenly caught a glimpse of ochre out of the corner of his eye.

It should have been a bright red, but it was rendered dull by the dim light. A sticky liquid gushed out from under the nails that fixed the tarpaulin, emitting a faint smell of blood.

Qi Si half-crouched down, took out a flashlight from his backpack, turned it on, and shone it towards the nail hole.

The sharp steel nail penetrated the ice and pierced into the forehead of the corpse below. Blood flowed out of the wound, filling the hole and then bubbling up onto the ice.

After a person dies, the enzymes in the body will quickly break down the blood cells, so dead people do not bleed; but how could someone be alive after being sealed under the ice for so long?
Qi Si observed for a while and was absolutely sure that the person under the ice was indeed a corpse that was deader than dead, and the bleeding was probably just a cliché plot in horror novels.

He tore off a corner of his sleeve, bent down to wipe the blood that had spilled over the ice, and crumpled the rag into a ball to block the ice hole.

The fabric of the red suit is the same color as blood. Even if it is completely soaked, there is no obvious color change, which makes it seem like a whitewash and an attempt to cover up something that only makes the truth worse.

Bai Ma stood among the sheep, watching Qi Si's movements calmly, and suddenly said, "Why are you afraid of blood? I clearly saw a lot of blood on your hands."

Her tone was emotionless, as if she was just asking casually without any purpose, and whether she could get an answer was not something she considered.

Qi Si tilted his head and thought for a moment, then answered seriously: "I'm not afraid of blood, I just think it's dirty."

He lowered his eyes to look at his hands. His originally clean and white palms were actually covered in blood, which seemed to be endlessly leaking out from between his fingers and dripping onto the ice surface.

He couldn't remember when the blood got there. He had clearly wiped it clean, so why was it still there?

He felt instinctively annoyed and subconsciously wanted to find a towel to wipe them off, or at least cover them up.

But what about the towel? Where did he put it?

Amid the sound of dripping water, the corpses under the ice opened their eyes at some point. Their lifeless eyes stared straight at the young man with blood on his hands above them. One by one, they opened their mouths to catch the falling blood...

……

On the other side, Dong Xiwen was lying in the tent, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Too much information happened today. First, Zhou Ke used hymns to mobilize ghosts all over the city, and forced Lin Jue to activate the effect of [Dark Judge] with crazy behavior that was almost suicidal.

Then Lin Jue chose to judge himself, adding an optional main quest for everyone, and the group inexplicably set out to climb the snowy mountain...

And then...the famous Fu Jue appeared.

Dong Xiwen studied it many times but still couldn't figure out what the mechanism of this copy was.

Zhou Ke is just an old scoundrel. He uses him and Zhang Yiyu as tools and doesn't reveal any key information. If he wants to survive, he can only rely on himself.

"Hey... Zhou Ke, can I go out for some fresh air?" Dong Xiwen said with empty eyes, "Lying here like a corpse won't help me pass the level. I have elderly parents and young children to take care of, I want to live a few more years..."

What he said afterwards was completely nonsense. Zhou Ke didn't know whether he was too lazy to pay attention to him or what the situation was. He closed his eyes and said, "Go ahead."

Dong Xiwen unzipped the tent and walked out as if he had been pardoned.

He knew that he was not the only one who chose to go out and explore at night. Lin Jue had said in advance that he would look around, and the people from the Ark would most likely follow their president.

I hope I don’t get beaten up when we meet on a narrow road... But if I do get beaten up, begging for mercy would be useful, right?

Dong Xiwen was lost in thought as he walked slowly forward, leaning on the trekking pole he had bought from Zhaxi.

After walking for a while, he saw a white figure embedded in the snow. It was Lin Jue.

It was strange that the others did not come out with him; but given his personality, it was understandable that he refused to drag others to die with him.

When Dong Xiwen thought of this, he felt bitter.

No matter from which angle you look at it, the Ark Guild headed by Lin Jue is truly upright, or figuratively speaking, "ridiculously fashionable"; and he and Zhou Ke have undoubtedly got the villain script, and according to routine literature, they are bound to die at the hands of the upright to appease the audience's simple sense of justice.

Dong Xiwen felt that he was innocent. Emotionally, he was inclined towards Lin Jue. He thought that Lin Jue was definitely a good leader and a good companion. He would not treat people as disposable items like Zhou Ke did.

However, he made a single misstep that brought him eternal regret, and was tied to Zhou Ke's pirate ship. Even though he had an "audience" card and was just watching Zhou Ke do things from beginning to end, he inevitably got contaminated with some sins. It was truly an unprovoked disaster.

Not far away, Lin Jue squatted on the ground, reaching out to touch the snow pile, as if observing something under the snow.

Dong Xiwen walked over as if possessed by a ghost, stretched his neck and looked around.

Lin Jue heard the footsteps, turned to look at him, and greeted him with a smile: "Dong Xiwen, are you here to look for clues too?"

Dong Xiwen was a little surprised. He thought that after the little episode with Zhou Ke, he, as Zhou Ke's companion, should have been classified as an "enemy" by Lin Jue. However, he didn't expect Lin Jue to be so kind to him.

"Yes, I couldn't sleep and thought it was a waste of time to just lie there, so I came out to try my luck and see if I could find any useful clues." Dong Xiwen answered truthfully.

He thought about it and apologized out of politeness: "I'm sorry about what happened during the day. Although I know it's nonsense, I still want to explain that I don't agree with all of Zhou Ke's actions..."

"I know." Lin Jue interrupted.

The young man in the white suit turned to face him, with a gentle and kind smile on his lips, and stretched out his hand to him: "I can see that you and that poor girl have been coerced by Zhou Ke, and I have also heard about the actions of the massacre flow players.

"I hope I can help you. If fate is still on my side, I think we might be able to work together to clear this instance. What do you think?"

Dong Xiwen: “Huh?” (End of this chapter)