Infinite spooky game

Lu Li and Xu Yao also walked out of the tent, and at first glance they noticed two completely different shadows under Qi Si's feet.

Xu Yao observed for a while and said in amazement: "Qisi, have you provoked the shadow ghost? But I don't feel the presence of other ghosts here."

"Shadow ghost?" Qi Si raised his eyebrows slightly.

Lu Li explained: "The shadow ghost is a kind of ghost that only exists in ancient strange novels. It will disguise itself as a human shadow, gradually devour the real shadow, and gradually replace the owner of the shadow."

After showing off his knowledge, he denied this conclusion: "In my opinion, your abnormality may not be caused by ghosts. It may be related to your ID card. As I remember, you have more than two ID cards."

"Is that so? Maybe." Qi Si smiled and looked away from the ground. "I suddenly want to go back to the inn to see how Fu Jue and the others are doing."

Lu Li smiled and said, "We won't be able to see them even if we go back. They should have already gone up the mountain by now."

Lin Chen listened to the confusing conversation between the two and suddenly remembered that he also had two identity cards, but did not encounter any unusual situations. He subconsciously wanted to ask a question.

But he soon realized that Lu Li was not strictly speaking one of their own. On the contrary, he was closer to Fu Jue. It would be better not to spread the news that he had two identity cards.

"Did you have any dreams last night?" Qi Si asked suddenly.

Lin Chen forgot about the shadow and started to think about this problem seriously, and then he found out... he didn't seem to have dreamed about anything last night.

It is obvious that he has always been a person with a rich imagination. From childhood to adulthood, he has always had all kinds of magnificent and fantastic dreams, from being chased by monsters to exploring the fairy tale kingdom. Even his parents would laugh when he told them about them.

But last night, lying in the tent, the unfamiliar environment should have been the most likely to cause nightmares, but he slept more soundly than ever before, and the moment he opened his eyes and closed them it was dawn. He had no recollection of what he dreamed about or whether he was dreaming at all.

"I was just about to tell you this." Lu Li looked at Qi Si with a bitter smile, "Last night I dreamed of all the people who died because of me over the years. Their states were very strange, somewhere between humans and ghosts, and they were obsessed with seeking revenge on me."

"I dreamed about it, too." Xu Yao raised her hand. "When we were in Shuangxi Town, they were clearly scared to death of me, but in my dream, they weren't afraid of me anymore."

Qi Si skipped Xu Yao and asked Lu Li: "Who did you dream about last night?"

Lu Li understood what he meant and said calmly, "I dreamed of all the dead people in the Hopeless Sea dungeon, Xu Ruozi, Bai Yanduan, Hans, Ye Linsheng and others. I didn't expect that they were all here."

Qi Si nodded in understanding: "I just didn't dream about any of them. It seems that their corresponding sins have been attributed to you. From now on, they will all be your ghosts."

"That's my judgment, too." Lu Li said, "I've figured out a line of logic now. Everyone is guilty, and the sins we commit will become dangers to us on the snowy mountain. The reason why players are required to atone before climbing the mountain is to avoid being hunted down by ghosts.

"Of course, since we all have some life-saving items on us, as long as we are not afraid of being chased by ghosts, we can naturally force our way up the mountain before completing our atonement."

He paused for a moment and frowned. "I just don't understand. According to the information I've obtained in the past, sin is a resource that supports the operation of the weird game and the world. The game encourages players to commit sins, so why should players be punished for their past behavior on the snowy mountain?"

"It's not a punishment." Qi Si had an idea and shook his head slightly. "I think it's more like a threat. Some higher being hopes that we can retreat in the face of difficulties, because fear is swallowed by sin, so we will no longer take the initiative to commit sin, or even worse, directly withdraw from the Snow Mountain arena. In this way, it will be easier for Him to win."

Lu Li pondered for a moment and said, "What you said is possible. However, there are too few clues at present, and any inference is just a guess. Let's wait another day to see if the dream tonight will change."

Lin Chen listened to their discussion and silently sent a message to Qi Si in his heart: "Brother Qi, I didn't seem to have any dreams last night."

Qi Si wrote down the clue without making any comment.

Lin Chen also had two identity cards, but he did not have two shadows, nor did he dream of ghosts. Qi Si did not think that this was because he had never harmed anyone since he was a child.

"Everyone is guilty" is the basic rule of the weird game. Before players complete atonement through the "Saving People Sutra", they are more or less guilty, which is the core mechanism of this copy.

Sometimes it is not necessary to harm others directly with subjective malice. It may be that just surviving to the end as a survivor in a copy with a fixed survival probability will make you bear the sin of failing to save everyone.

It is difficult to prove one's innocence, but there are thousands of reasons to accuse someone of guilt. Therefore, the reason why Lin Chen did not dream was probably because he triggered another mechanism of the copy - turning into a child.

People tend to believe that children are innocent and pure, and are naturally isolated from evil. Even if they do something that violates public order and morality, they will not be considered guilty but only ignorant.

Judging from this copy, this seems to be a point that can be exploited.

"Travelers, the wind and snow have subsided, let's continue to climb the mountain." Bai Ma got a small red flag from somewhere and waved it to the players.

It was daytime, and there was no reason to stay here any longer, it was time to set off. The tent was packed up and placed on the goat's back, and the trekking poles and climbing ropes were taken out.

There was a large glacier ahead, and if you were not careful you would fall into an ice pit. The players tied the climbing rope around their waists, tied them together and walked slowly forward following the footprints left by Bai Ma.

The mountain in the shape of a reclining woman was getting closer, towering like a city wall blocking the end of the road. This seemed to be the back of the mountain, and the shadow it cast was like a monster covering the top of the head. It was clearly daytime, but it showed the gloom of evening.

Bai Ma waved a red flag like a real tour guide, while introducing to the players: "After the Mother Goddess fell asleep, her body turned into a huge snow mountain, and her milk turned into snow water that flowed into hundreds of rivers, nurturing all things in the world. We are all her children.

"To thank the Mother Goddess for her gift, we held a grand sacrifice for her and offered precious sacrifices. You see, the temple dedicated to her is just ahead, and the lamas will be waiting for the travelers there."

The players followed Bai Ma around the glacier, and just as she said, a colorful temple appeared on the white snow. Bright prayer flags were hung on the wooden roof, and colorful wind chimes under the eaves were blown around by the wind, making pleasant sounds.

After resting all night in the snow, the fear of nature and bad weather was engraved in everyone's heart. It was a feeling of loneliness, far away from the world, exploring a remote place. It seemed that one could die without knowing it at any time, and the corpse would become a monument marking the danger.

Now that they have finally seen human buildings, even though they know they are still in a dungeon and that the suddenly appearing temples are likely to be filled with ghosts and hidden traps, players still inevitably feel at home and relaxed.

Lu Li asked Bai Ma: "We are foreign travelers. Do we also need to participate in the sacrifice to the Mother Goddess?"

Bai Ma smiled and said, "You can participate or not. Of course, if you can offer sacrifices that satisfy the Mother Goddess, you will have a chance to receive her blessing."

"Gift?" Qi Si asked with interest, "What kind of gift is it? Has anyone received it?"

"A gift... It could be opening a door to leave the snowy mountains, or it could be gaining the authority of the Mother Goddess. The more sacrifices you make, the more you will gain."

"So what kind of sacrifice do we need to offer?"

"Cattle, sheep, people, everything you can think of can be offered to the Mother Goddess."

Bai Ma's smile remained unchanged. When she mentioned the word "people", she looked at Qi Si with a strange light in her eyes: "The people who died because of you and the sins caused by you will all be the sacrifices that the Mother Goddess wants." Qi Si laughed: "You actually know what the Mother Goddess wants."

"Of course I know." Bai Ma turned his back and stretched out his hand to push open the temple door. "The Mother Goddess has been waiting for you for a long time."

Qis retreated quickly, but the danger he had imagined did not happen.

Behind the door was an empty courtyard with no statues or incense tables. There was only a huge ice pit in the center, which seemed bottomless at first glance.

The four of them walked into the temple. A skinny lama wearing a monk's robe sat with his back to them and asked, "Are you here to offer sacrifices?"

Lu Li stepped forward and said with a smile, "Yes, we came here specifically to worship the Mother Goddess, but we don't know what the specific steps are and what we should do?"

"Offer the sacrifice, sing the hymn, and the sacrifice is complete." The lama turned his head, and maggots were crawling on his skinless skull. He grinned and sneered, "Besides, haven't you already offered the sacrifice?"

A teeth-grinding "crunching" sound was heard in the air, accompanied by a strong smell of blood and rot. The scene before my eyes was changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The originally empty ice pit was suddenly covered with layer upon layer of skeletons, all of which were facing upwards with their limbs twisted in strange ways, leaving deep and shallow finger marks on the ice wall.

They struggled to climb up, but the ice wall was too smooth. They fell down again after climbing only a few centimeters, and were crushed by new corpses underneath.

The bodies of these skeletons were completely decayed, but their heads and faces were intact. Qis saw familiar faces: Liu Ajiu, Zou Yan, Yang Yundong...

The skeletons looked up at Qis, their mouths opening and closing, repeating the same words: "You killed us... You killed us..."

Time passed minute by minute, and the number of corpses stopped increasing until it exceeded the center line of the ice pit.

The lama spread his hands, smiled and said: "When the bones fill the sacrificial pit, your sacrifice will be completed, and the Mother Goddess will bless you."

Lin Chen stood there since the temple door opened, staring at the hellish scene before him. Countless corpses lay in the ice pit one after another, with resentful and unwilling looks in their eyes, and it was obvious that they had died a violent death.

The most terrifying thing is that Qi Si, Lu Li and Xu Yao turned a blind eye to the horrific scene before them, as if they had become accustomed to death and cruel murder.

The lama's words, the corpse's wailing, his companions' calm attitude...all clues pointed to a possibility he was unwilling to believe.

"Brother Qi, these corpses..." Lin Chen asked hesitantly, his soul leaves trembling slightly.

Then he saw the young man looking at him sideways, with a faint smile on his lips: "Yes, I killed them."

……

On the other side, when Zhou Ke returned to the tent, Lin Jue and Dong Xiwen had already been sitting in the camp for some time.

The sky was still dark. Tashi suddenly called up the yak and gestured to the players, "Everyone is here. We can continue our journey."

Dong Xiwen's eyes widened. "No way! It's still dark, and we can't even see the road clearly. If we miss a step, won't we die early?"

Zhaxi glanced at him, then without saying a word, led the yak and walked deeper into the snow-capped mountains. His meaning was clear: either follow him or stay where you are and wait to die.

Alexei yelled in dissatisfaction: "Hey! What's your attitude? We are the employers, okay?"

Chu Yining sighed and patted the back of his hand: "Okay, okay, this should be the rule of this dungeon, and the NPC can't disobey it. It's better not to argue when you go out."

Everyone packed up and followed Tashi, who was leading the way, without saying anything. The yaks silently left a trail of footprints on the snow, and the players also held their breath and walked forward in the wind and snow, fearing that they would disturb the ancient gods of this place.

Zhang Yiyu was at the end of the team, closely followed by Zhang Hongbin, who was suspected to be her father. Looking at the long line of people in front of her that was blurred by the wind and snow, she inexplicably felt a sense of inexplicable sadness.

Judging from the results, Zhang Hongbin will stay in this copy forever, and history cannot be changed, otherwise it will cause a paradox. So what about her? Will she survive?

The strange game was truly cruel. It had already taken her father's life, and unexpectedly chose her again, bringing the same misfortune upon two generations...

"Little girl, you look so bad, are you okay?" Zhang Hongbin asked with concern.

"No...it's okay." Zhang Yiyu gathered her thoughts and said, "I was just wondering if we can pass this instance and leave alive."

"Since we've already entered the dungeon, there's no point in thinking about this. Everything will work out when the time comes." Zhang Hongbin said humorously, pointing to Lin Jue at the front of the team. "And you don't have to be afraid. Our President Lin has cleared thousands of dungeons and has never failed."

This is nonsense. Zhang Yiyu was shocked: "It is because he has never failed that he came to this instance alive. Aren't all of us the same? If we had failed in any instance before and failed to pass it, we would not be here."

"It's still different." Zhang Hongbin said mysteriously, "Someone told the president's fortune and said he is the most likely to clear the final dungeon."

That person is a liar, right? Zhang Yiyu complained in her heart, but she didn't tell Zhang Hongbin that in 2035, Lin Jue's portrait was enshrined in the Great Hall of the Weird Investigation Bureau.

Zhang Hongbin seemed to have seen through her thoughts and added: "Little girl, don't disbelieve me. I'm telling you in secret that the person who read the president's fortune is the holder of the [Doomsday Prophet] identity card, and he never makes mistakes."

"Haha, is that so?" Zhang Yiyu covered her face and laughed dryly.

If she remembered correctly, the card [Doomsday Prophet] was in Xiao Fengchao's hand. Judging from the result, this guy couldn't save himself...

It seems like this team has too many buffs, I'm afraid they're going to be in trouble...

"Something's wrong." The team in front suddenly stopped. Lin Jue frowned slightly and turned around to look at everyone, "Have you noticed that this night is particularly long, and it's still not dawn after such a long time.

"Moreover, we are clearly heading towards the mountain, but the mountain is getting farther and farther away from us..."

Everyone looked up into the distance. Indeed, as he said, the mountain that had been pressing down on the players' heads was now located at the end of the field of vision, so low that it was just above the head of a yak.

There were vast expanses of snow in front and behind the team. It didn't feel like they were in the mountains, but rather in a different dimension made of ice and snow, isolated from the world. (End of this chapter)