Lucky billion players, you've never seen one before / I can accumulate my own luck

As for the idea that bullying and beating up fraudsters would earn you the favor of ghosts... he just said it offhand.

If you can get safe so easily, this dungeon is way too easy.

"Fan Xiao, that..."

Lu Baizhi looked at Fan Xiao, her cheeks slightly flushed, and hesitated to speak.

"Want to go up and join in the fun?" Fan Xiao asked.

"Do you think... I should go up there?" Lu Baizhi asked in return.

She wasn't entirely opposed to beating up a fraudster for her own safety, but she felt it was somewhat indecent and...shameful.

"Let's flip a coin and see," Fan Xiao said.

"Oh, I'll give it a try."

Lu Baizhi skillfully took out a coin and tossed it, receiving a negative result.

It seems this method won't work.

Of course, it's also possible that she wasn't lucky enough to get the answer to this question, and whether the result of the coin toss can be trusted is uncertain.

This is the downside of cheating by luck—there's too much uncertainty at times.

Fan Xiao noticed Lu Baizhi's hesitation, reached out and patted her on the back, saying, "It wouldn't hurt to give it a try. It's safer than shameful."

……

After finishing his work and returning, Li Xian suggested... or rather, gave an order: "From now on, if we encounter any ordinary people, we'll kill them one by one. But don't go too far. People who die in this instance may turn into vengeful ghosts and return on the day of the spirit sacrifice to cause us trouble."

"Captain, I think..."

Mercury scoffed, "If they really become ghosts after they die, they definitely won't let those of us who hit them go. Whether we go all out or not seems to make no difference?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xian glanced at him and said, "Let me correct you. Not actively killing people to create vengeful ghosts is secondary. What we should pay attention to is not stealing other people's prey."

"As for whether the fraudster will return to take revenge on us on the day of his death... there are two possibilities."

He held up two fingers and said, "The first one, yes, but there's no need to worry too much about it."

"According to our estimation, the number of ordinary people involved this time is negligible compared to the number of ghosts that will return on the day of the spirit festival."

Whether the enemy numbers 10,000 or 10,100, it doesn't make much difference to us, since we can't defeat them anyway.

Mercury: "..."

Damn, that makes a lot of sense.

"The second possibility is that we will still be retaliated against."

Li Xian withdrew one finger and continued, "But unlike the first case, our act of beating up the fraudster was approved by the 'native monsters'."

"In this way, we will have 10,000 fewer enemies, which will undoubtedly be a huge benefit to us."

"Comparing fighting and not fighting, it is naturally more worthwhile to fight."

"..." Mercury: "Anyway, we're going to be retaliated against, right?"

“Yes,” Li Xian added, “provided that people who die in this instance really do become vengeful ghosts.”

“I feel like you guys are pretty much like vengeful ghosts right now,” Fan Xiao complained, “to ordinary people.”

"These people are all liars who have directly or indirectly caused the deaths of many people."

Cao Shuai thought Fan Xiao was being overly sympathetic, and couldn't help but remind him, "There's no need to be polite to them..."

He suddenly stopped before he could finish speaking.

Because he remembered the nickname Fan Xiao had been marked in the Special Affairs Bureau's database—the Butcher.

He was actually worried that Fan Xiao would become overly compassionate...

Cao Shuai fell silent and said nothing more.

Fan Xiao glanced at him, feeling that this guy was thinking something very rude to him.

Having decided on their plan to beat up ordinary people, the group didn't delay any longer and moved closer to the house with thick smoke rising from its chimney.

Jiling Town is like a microcosm of the past era. Most of the houses are built with mud bricks, sand and gravel, and tiles, giving them an old-fashioned feel that evokes the countryside of the past.

However, the scale of Jiling Town is incomparable to that of rural areas, giving people a sense of incongruity and disharmony.

Chapter 343: Human or ghost?

Despite the slight sense of incongruity, Fan Xiao and the others did not slow down. As they approached the front door of the house, Li Xian, the team leader, stepped out and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the wooden door opened, and a middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway, looking out.

The woman's skin was slightly dark, her hair was disheveled, and she wore little makeup. She was dressed like a weathered peasant woman, giving off a sense of simplicity.

"Are you here to stay also?" the middle-aged woman asked.

“Yes,” Li Xian asked instinctively, “Has anyone been here before us?”

"Three people came by and asked just now, and then left without saying whether they wanted to stay or not."

The middle-aged woman replied, "If you're like that too, then hurry up and leave, don't waste my time."

Her tone was tinged with impatience, probably because she was annoyed by the constant knocking and questioning.

At this moment, Fan Xiao stepped forward and handed over a bag in his hand: "Hello, elder sister. It's a pleasure to meet you. This is just a small gift, nothing special."

The bag contained a small case of drinks and some snacks. Upon seeing this, the middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment, then took it.

She said, "If you want to stay overnight, we have three empty rooms, but we can only accommodate three people."

“No rush,” Fan Xiao said with a smile. “Could we come in and have a drink of water? We’ve walked quite a distance to get here.”

"Okay, come in."

The middle-aged woman led Fan Xiao and the others into the living room: "There are chairs over there, please sit wherever you like. I'll go get you some water."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Instead of sitting down as the woman suggested, Fan Xiao and his companions carefully observed the room.

The furniture in the house was arranged somewhat casually and clutteredly. The dining table and chairs were in the living room and looked a bit old. The air was filled with a pungent and rather choking smell.

Following the scent, everyone looked toward the innermost wall of the living room and saw a small shrine-like pavilion. In front of the pavilion was an incense burner, and inside was a black and white portrait of a young man, probably in his twenties, with a hearty smile on his face.

The young man's eyes looked very bright, and when you stared at him, you had the illusion of making eye contact.

Mercury quickly looked away, silently saying "no offense intended," before turning to Fan Xiao and asking, "Why do you carry snacks and drinks with you?"

"It's always good to have more things on hand," Fan Xiao said. "Better safe than sorry."

"Judging from the age in the portrait, he should be the family's son," Du Ruo guessed. "Could it be that he was tricked into going to Wa City and died there?"

There shouldn't be any Wa City in the instance; this guess doesn't seem logical.

However, everyone knows that the monsters in the "Utopia" instance are likely based on the victims who died in Wa City after being deceived, now just with different identities and backgrounds.

Although their identity has changed, some essential things may not have changed, such as their hatred for scammers.

Therefore, this guess is barely plausible.

"There must be very few people who keep a portrait of their deceased loved one at home and burn incense," Mercury said. "I've never seen one in my entire life."

"Customs vary slightly from place to place, but I've seen quite a few people who perform ancestral rites at home when I travel around the country."

Looking at the portrait, Fan Xiao said, "Perhaps this is part of the sacrificial ceremony in the Spirit Town. The first quest in the instance requires us to complete a sacrificial ceremony. Do you think it might involve lighting incense?"

"You're thinking too simply," Mercury said speechlessly. "To think you can clear this dungeon just by lighting incense is to seriously underestimate it."

Even so, he still kept his guard up.

What if it works?

Even if it doesn't work, lighting incense won't hurt you, and you might even gain favor with ghosts... etc. You can't assume that doing this won't hurt you.

Perhaps offering incense is the condition that triggers some kind of danger.

From this perspective, why did Fan Xiao specifically say such things? Was he perhaps trying to get others to step into the trap for him?

Mercury stared silently at Van Shaw, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

“I think I know what you’re thinking,” Fan Xiao said speechlessly. “Some people have dark thoughts in their hearts, so they misinterpret what others say as conspiracies and schemes. That’s an illness that needs to be cured.”

"Ha ha……"

Mercury argued, "I was just wondering whether we should drink the water they offer us later. In some horror movies, ghosts use water as a medium to cause trouble, so we have to be careful."

He wasn't lying; he was genuinely worried about whether or not he would drink water.

A few seconds after Mercury finished speaking, the middle-aged woman who had gone to the kitchen came out again, carrying a stack of plastic cups and a pot of water.

While she was pouring water, Fan Xiao asked, "Is this your son?"

He pointed to the portrait.

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, the middle-aged woman replied, "Yes. He passed away early, three years ago."

“These days, very few people set up sacrificial altars at home,” Fan Xiao continued, “Is this a custom of the spirit town?”

"Didn't you do any research before coming here as tourists?" the middle-aged woman asked suspiciously. "Most tourists come here because they are attracted by the customs and legends."

"Oh...this is indeed a custom?" Fan Xiao confirmed. "Does every household hold a ceremony at home to commemorate their deceased relatives?"

“Of course,” the middle-aged woman said seriously, “that’s our rule here.”

"Then..." Fan Xiao asked a bombshell question: "Has your son ever come back?"

This question not only surprised the middle-aged woman, but also made Mercury and the others subconsciously hold their breath. While admiring Fan Xiao's courage, they all pricked up their ears.

The middle-aged woman quickly snapped out of her daze, chuckled, and said, "You outsiders love to believe in all sorts of superstitions. The dead can't be brought back to life, so how could they possibly come back?"

She glanced at the portrait and sighed, "It's just something to remember me by."

“Is that so…” Fan Xiao said, “Before I came here, I heard that some people here had seen their deceased relatives and even talked to them, and there were quite a few of them.”

"It's just a rumor," the middle-aged woman said speechlessly. "Do you take myths as fact?"

"As you said, people always need something to look forward to. It would be good if the deceased could come back."

Fan Xiao laughed and said, "By the way, when is the memorial day? Are there any activities? We outsiders are very curious about it."

"The Memorial Day for the Deceased?" The middle-aged woman shook her head and said, "Then you've come too early. There are still six or seven days until the Memorial Day for the Deceased. Besides, the Memorial Day for the Deceased is a day to commemorate the deceased, not some festive occasion. What kind of activities would there be?"

After saying that, she placed the poured water on the table and said, "You can help yourselves, I won't serve you all individually."

"..."

Fan Xiao and the others did not move.

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman asked in confusion, "Didn't you want water?"

Asking for water was just an excuse to get you out of the way and then take the opportunity to observe the situation inside the room... Fan Xiao glanced at the water glass and picked it up from the table.

He didn't go for a drink right away, but changed the subject to divert the woman's attention, saying, "Regarding accommodation, the eight of us don't really want to split up. Are there any guesthouses, inns, or hotels in this town?"

"Where would you find these things in a small town?" The middle-aged woman waved her hand and said, "Forget about it. Here, you can only find someone to stay with. Are you going to stay or not?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiao and the others exchanged glances.

Finally, Fan Xiao said, "There's still some time before dark. We'd like to go out and explore first. We've come all this way, and we're very curious about the Spirit Sacrifice Town."

"Go out for a stroll..." the woman frowned and said, "If other people come to stay later, I won't save you a place."

"We'll hurry up."

After replying, Fan Xiao asked curiously, "Are all the people in Jiling Town as hospitable as you? You agree to let anyone stay at your place?"

"The policy that the town mayor came up with, which allows outsiders to stay overnight, is beneficial to us."

The middle-aged woman replied.

Upon hearing this answer, Fan Xiao and the others were somewhat surprised, and at the same time, they truly realized that the background of the dungeon was not just a few lines of text.

Even though the residents of the town were created from copies, to them, this was a real world that had existed for a long time, not some newly formed game space.

After the questioning was finished, everyone said a brief goodbye to the middle-aged woman.

Before leaving, Mercury suddenly said, "May I offer him incense?"