I loaded the dream game

Yang Nai thought hard in his heart.

I just took a bath, I can’t go back and take another one, right?

As for snacks, they had just eaten them... Maybe Eluko and Shubi were fine, but ordinary people like Yukino and Natsuori definitely couldn't finish them. Moreover, they had to save some space for the temple fair later.

and so……

"Want to play a game?" she suggested.

Xia Zhi had no objection. Although the combination of Yang No, Ai Lu Ke and the game would remind him of some memories that he didn't want to recall, but... as long as he didn't play that game, it would be fine, right?

"As for multiplayer interactive games...how about Russian roulette?" Xia Zhi tilted his head to the side, thought about it, and gave his suggestion.

"..."

"..."

Are you still thinking about that "game"? Yukino sighed slightly and thought to herself.

"Speaking of the Obon Festival, it is related to 'ghosts' after all, right?"

Ignoring the unreasonable suggestion made by her brother, Xia Zhi thought for a moment and then spoke.

After all, in folk culture, the Ullambana Festival... or the Zhongyuan Festival, is also known as the Ghost Festival. There is definitely nothing wrong in saying that it is related to ghosts, right?

"In that case, let's tell ghost stories!" she suggested excitedly.

She didn't notice that Yukino, who was standing by and heard her words, suddenly froze in place... Dragon...

……

PS: I have opened a collection post in the comment section, which can be regarded as a benefit to everyone. I am going to ask for two more avatars, and I plan to let everyone decide on one of them... Please see the comment section for details (if you cannot comment yet, you need to wait for the review to pass, and I can't restore it here

PS2: Also, seeing that some friends don’t know how to save pictures, here is a reminder that you can download pictures directly from the mobile web and computer terminals.

Chapter 430: The hymn of humanity is the hymn of courage (Story Limited Edition)

In the dim room, the flickering candlelight slightly illuminated the surrounding scene, but there were still large shadows hidden in the darkness.

...Although it is still daytime, as long as the doors and windows are closed and the blackout curtains are drawn, the light from outside can be blocked and a night scene can be created.

With the addition of the candle borrowed from the store, a simple atmosphere suitable for telling ghost stories was created.

"That's a legend that dates back hundreds of years. According to the locals, it's a true story that happened on this land..."

A deliberately subdued voice rang out in the room. Several people sat around a candle. The flickering candlelight cast strange, swaying shadows on the wall.

Perhaps it was because of the atmosphere that Xiazhi felt a bit crowded even though the space was not narrow.

He lowered his head and glanced to his left, and saw Eluko, who was hugging his arms tightly, seemingly looking scared, but with excitement and interest shining in his eyes.

Rather than saying that she was afraid, it would be more accurate to say that she simply thought it was fun to do so.

Completely different from another person.

Xia Zhi glanced at his right side, and saw Yukino, who was sticking close to him, pursing her lips and saying nothing, but just from her clenched hands one could tell how nervous she was. He thought to himself.

It's really cute that Yukino, who is usually rational and smart, would be scared by something like this.

"If you're scared, it's okay to get closer." After thinking about it, he whispered to the girl.

Yukino glanced at him with a slightly hesitant expression, as if she was really considering the feasibility of doing so.

203 "Legend has it that in that chaotic and war-torn era, when people had their own ambitions, there existed a strange woman in a country that ruled over the land that is now adjacent to this place..."

On the other side, Yang No didn't notice... or rather, she noticed, but didn't pay attention to the little movements between the two. After a slight pause, she continued:

"That woman relied on her beauty that could drive men crazy to get close to the ruler, was favored by him, and gradually controlled the entire country... Later people discovered that the woman was actually a monster."

Is it not a supernatural story, but a ghost story? Xia Zhi thought to himself.

"Because she is a monster, it is natural that she can use witchcraft. The princes of neighboring countries were bewitched by her one after another, and for her ambition, they attacked the countries close to this land..."

"Those princes are so useless." Xia Zhi couldn't help but sigh.

Is this the point worth paying attention to? Xueno couldn't help but think to herself, but she also knew that the boy was helping her relieve the tension in her heart, and her tense body relaxed a little.

"Since they know witchcraft, ordinary humans certainly can't resist it, right?" Yang Noi didn't care about the boy's interruption, smiled and continued: "At the same time, because of the same reason, the people of this country are trapped in a bitter battle, being beaten back step by step, and are about to fall."

"When people are desperate, they usually seize every possible opportunity and try every possible means to have hope... At that time, the people on the verge of collapse finally tried to pray to the gods and heaven, and unexpectedly they actually got a response and obtained a magic sword that could fight monsters."

"In the end, people used that sword to repel the monster. Without the magic, the soldiers from the neighboring country retreated, and peace returned to the land... That's it."

After the story ended, Yang Noi spread his hands and said.

The room fell into a brief silence.

How should I comment on it...Rather than calling it a ghost story, it's more like just an ordinary legend, right?

Let’s not talk about Xia Zhi and the others for now, look, even Yukino is no longer afraid anymore.

Xia Zhi complained in his heart.

"It's hard for me to come up with a scary ghost story all of a sudden. I just happened to hear this legend before coming here, so I'll help you guys understand the popular story of this town... After all, it's said that the festival at night is held to commemorate the people who died protecting the country in this story."

This is how Yang explained it.

I just don’t know if she really thinks so, or if she is just taking care of her sister’s emotions... or both?

Just as Xia Zhi was thinking this, Yang Nai's voice came to his ears.

"The next one should be your turn, Xia Zhi, right?"

"Is it my brother's turn?" Xia Zhi's face showed anticipation. She had never heard her brother tell ghost stories before.

"Xia Zhi, come on!" Ai Lu Ke held his little hands tightly and cheered him up.

Although this was not something that required encouragement, Xia Zhi still rubbed the girl's head to thank her for her encouragement.

Then he turned around and met a pair of slightly nervous ice-blue eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't tell stories about ghosts and monsters." After thinking for a while, he assured the girl.

Can any scary ghost story be told that doesn’t involve ghosts and goblins?

Xia Zhi tilted her head slightly, feeling a little confused.

"...Xia Zhi, just do what you want. There's no need to consider my feelings." Even though she was afraid of these things in her heart, the girl was still very stubborn and strong-willed.

Yukino-san is still very cute even when she looks like this.

but……

"Like what Yang No said just now, (bidc) it's very difficult for me to change the story at the last minute."

Xia Zhi gave such an answer.

"Don't worry, I'm just simply explaining a theory and giving a guess."

Theory? Conjecture?

Xia Zhi didn't quite understand what this had to do with ghost stories, but... it was indeed her brother's style.

After a brief pause, Xia Zhi continued, "Excuse me, have you ever heard of the 'Uncanny Valley Theory'?"

This theory was proposed in the last century and became widely known with the popularity of zombie culture. Now there should be few people who have not heard of it.

"I don't know." Ai Luke raised his hand and replied.

Oh, except for people from another world.

In order to take care of Ai Lu Ke, Xia Zhi cleared his throat and gave a brief introduction to the theory:

“To put it simply, it means that when something is very similar to a natural, living person, but not exactly the same, it will produce an emotional reaction of disgust and aversion in people.

…People naturally like things that are similar to themselves, but before the similarity reaches 100%, this liking suddenly drops. The more similar something is to a human, the more disgusted and fearful it becomes. The liking drops to the bottom, which is called the uncanny valley.

Hubie blinked at that and looked down at himself.

Xia Zhi probably knew what the girl was thinking, but how to put it... Judging from the appearance alone, rather than saying that Hubie was a robot, it would be better to say that she was more like a human girl with some mechanical elements added to her body. From a human perspective, people would still subconsciously regard her as a human, and naturally there would be no uncanny valley.

The same goes for beast girls.

When it comes to the typical example of the uncanny valley effect, it has to be the traditional zombies.

If we see them in daily life, they would probably be various dolls and puppets, right?

Ailuko showed a slightly puzzled expression, as if she still didn't quite understand... There was nothing she could do about it, after all, she was not a human, but a star god.

Xia Zhi rubbed her head and continued, "The reason why this theory was discovered and integrated into a theory is because it is widely present among humans. Basically everyone is more or less affected by the uncanny valley."

Otherwise, zombie movies wouldn't be so popular.

Come to think of it, perhaps the fear of ghosts and corpses is more or less influenced by this theory?

"However, this psychological effect, which almost everyone has, is rarely observed in other animals... Why is that?" Xia Zhi thought to himself and raised his own question.

Yeah, why?

A slightly puzzled expression appeared on Natsuori's face, but Yukino seemed to realize something and her body became slightly stiff.

After a brief pause, Xia Zhi lowered his voice a little. Although his tone was not particularly gloomy, it made people feel nervous and a little inexplicably fearful.

"Does this mean that... in ancient times, humans once feared and avoided certain things that looked very similar to humans? This fear was so strong that it was deeply engraved in their genes. Even after millions of years, it still did not fade away, but remained in this way?"

"Thinking further...are those things really gone?"

"Ah! Woo…"

As soon as the words fell, several people heard a clear but quickly suppressed scream of a girl.

However, this was not uttered by anyone present.

A trace of doubt arose in Xia Zhi's heart. Just as he was about to raise his head to look around, the next moment he felt someone holding his right hand tightly.

"..."

This is really...

Looking at the two girls hugging him on both sides, Xia Zhi felt a slight headache.

Can you stop being so arrogant? I only brought this set of clothes...

Chapter 431: What is the highest level of purification technique?

Fortunately, Xia Zhi's clothes were of good quality and were not torn.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know where to buy clothes in this strange town, so I could only ask the store to send a set over.

After all, he was the only boy among the people present. You couldn't ask him to wear Xia Zhi and the others' clothes, right?

"Xiazhi, it's not like I haven't worn it before..."

Holding the juice straw in his mouth, Eluke muttered incoherently.

"If you want to speak, swallow what's in your mouth first." Xia Zhi tapped her head gently and said.

"Besides, when did I ever wear anything like that?"

He didn't recall having any memories like that.

"It was before, when Xia Zhi was in my body?" After swallowing the juice in his mouth, Ai Lu Ke raised his head and looked at him and said.

"..."

Could you please not say things that could be easily misunderstood?

Fortunately, Natsuori and Yukino were not around, otherwise they would look at me strangely again.

"That's you wearing it." Xia Zhi corrected.

"But... isn't mine the one for Xia Zhi?" Ai Lu Ke asked doubtfully.

Although this is the case...

Xia Zhi was thinking about it and suddenly realized something very serious.

According to the eternal contract, Eluko shared everything that belonged to her with himself. Therefore, to some extent, she and himself can be seen as closer than partners connected by souls, closer than relatives connected by blood, even beyond the reach of entangled quantum states of mutual entanglement and interdependence. They can almost be regarded as the same entity.