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

The middle-aged woman said the same thing as Xiaochi and his daughter—that any family in this town that dared to hold a sacrificial ceremony at home was problematic and dangerous.

Because unclean things will be attracted.

The middle-aged woman added that these unclean things do not only appear on the day of the spirit offering.

It might be tonight.

It's also possible... right now.

Fan Xiao wasn't particularly afraid. He smiled and asked, "Aren't you afraid of scaring me and my friends away by telling me all this?"

This was one of the things that puzzled him.

Based on their background, they should be classified as tourists from abroad.

Under these circumstances, if the local residents of Jiling Town wanted them to stay overnight, they shouldn't say anything frightening or putting psychological pressure on them.

Unless... the people in town know about the Evolution Game, know they are players, and know they cannot leave the Sacrifice Town for seven days.

"Scared away?" The middle-aged woman said with a strange expression, "Don't you tourists know that vehicles leaving Jiling Town are suspended around the time of the Sacrifice Festival?"

"The vehicles have stopped operating?"

Fan Xiao seemed to be deep in thought.

Is this what they consider "inherent cognition"?

Of course, it's also possible that they're lying.

“Yes,” the middle-aged woman nodded, “vehicles will only resume operation after the memorial day is over. If you want to leave, you’ll have to wait six or seven days.”

"I see, no wonder you dared to tell us these things."

Fan Xiao nodded.

At this moment, Xiao Chi, who was standing next to her, sighed softly and said, "We can't just tell people the specifics. Revealing the truth to the outside world will bring disaster. So we can't stop tourists from coming to the Spirit Sacrifice Town. This is all we can do to help you."

"Don't belittle yourselves, you've done a great job," Fan Xiao said with a smile. "At least you've shown us how to travel safely here. By the way..."

Changing the subject, he asked, "The town of Jiling is known as a 'utopia' outside. Is that just a rumor?"

"Utopia..."

Koike was silent for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "Actually, it's not exactly a rumor. It mainly depends on your perspective."

"For the dying, for those who have just lost loved ones, the Spirit Town is indeed a utopia."

"Because here, the dying may live on in another way, and mourners may see their deceased loved ones, or even live on this land like them."

"Everyone will die, everyone will lose loved ones, what else is this but a utopia?"

"but……"

She shook her head slightly and continued, "There's too much legend surrounding this. Nobody knows the truth. If everything were so perfect, how could danger have arisen?"

“Hmm…that makes sense.” Fan Xiao agreed, “The reality might not be so rosy.”

"Um..." Koike asked, "You guys didn't come here with this purpose in mind, did you?"

“No, that’s not it,” Fan Xiao said with a smile. “As for us here… well, after participating in the Spirit Festival activities, we will return, but we have no intention of staying.”

It's so troublesome not being able to lie! I have to think through every word before I can say it with peace of mind... He couldn't help but complain to himself.

After touring the kitchen and confirming that the food, utensils, and kitchenware were all real and that there were strong signs of daily life in the kitchen, Fan Xiao and Xiao Chi returned to the living room.

As soon as he came out, he saw the middle-aged man angrily shouting at Li Xian and the others to shut up.

It seems they've been quite troubled by their problems.

Li Xian quietly gave Fan Xiao an "OK" sign, and Fan Xiao understood and moved closer.

Chapter 346 The Forbidden Town Mayor

After Fan Xiao approached, Li Xian said to the middle-aged man with an annoyed expression, "It's getting late, we need to go find another place to stay."

"Get out of here! It's not like anyone's asking you to stay." The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "You all have so many questions! If you don't leave, I'm going to be driven crazy by you."

“I’ll go too,” Fan Xiao said. “Since there’s danger tonight, I’ll have to help you thoroughly check where you’re looking for lodging.”

“I’ll go too,” Mercury said, seizing the opportunity. “I need to confirm where you’re staying before I feel at ease.”

"When are you coming back?" Xiaochi suggested to the two of them, "It's almost time to eat, let's eat before you leave."

"Time is a bit tight, let's skip dinner for now," Fan Xiao said. "Xiao Mo and I will come back after we've settled my friends in."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "We might not come back if we find a more suitable place to stay."

"Hmph, you outsiders are really shameless!"

The middle-aged man said, "They've been hosting us for half a day, and now they're saying they might not let us stay. Give us a straight answer, whether they'll let us stay or not! It'll save us the trouble of preparing rooms in advance."

"They'll most likely come back to stay the night, don't worry."

Fan Xiao didn't speak definitively, after all, he couldn't lie.

The middle-aged man was a little angry and wanted to curse, but Xiao Chi persuaded him to stop.

The understanding Xiaochi said to Fan Xiao and Mercury, "It's alright, it doesn't matter where you stay, but please remember what Dad and I just reminded you. If you want to come back to stay, please do so as soon as possible. We will close the door after dark and will not open it until dawn. We will not answer any calls from anyone who comes looking for us or knocks on the door during that time."

"Oh?" Fan Xiao asked, "Is there any particular reason behind this?"

"No, it's just a simple risk avoidance measure."

Koike sighed softly, "The danger at night isn't just for tourists; our local residents are also at risk. Everyone basically keeps their doors and windows tightly closed at night to prevent accidents."

"Okay, we'll hurry."

Fan Xiao nodded, then briefly said goodbye to Xiao Chi and his daughter.

After leaving Koike's house, the eight of them quickened their pace and traveled a distance until they arrived at an empty, deserted area.

Mercury turned the air into steel, creating temporary defensive and soundproof spaces.

Fan Xiao and the others gathered together and exchanged the intelligence they had just gathered.

"There is another person in the kitchen, Xiaochi's mother."

Fan Xiao said, "When I went in, she was cooking. The food was fine and real. I can confirm that there was no mental interference involved. For example, the food might look delicious on the surface, but in reality, it might contain cockroaches or dead rats."

"You've watched a lot of horror movies, haven't you?" Mercury teased.

Fan Xiao ignored him and continued, "There are strong signs of life in the kitchen, it doesn't seem fake, at least there are no obvious flaws on the surface."

"I had Luo Hao search all the rooms carefully, but we didn't find any sacrificial tables or portraits of the deceased."

Li Xian then said, "The things in the house are all very common household items, and there are strong signs of daily life. There are no obvious flaws."

"Then...they weren't lying?" Du Ruo's tone leaned slightly towards trust.

“At least on the surface, he wasn’t lying.” Li Xian shook his head: “We were cautious at first and didn’t investigate that woman’s residence, which was an oversight.”

“We can also go back and investigate again now,” Luo Hao suggested. “Using my flesh-and-blood worms, it should be no problem to do it silently.”

"That's too risky. That woman has an altar at home," Mercury reminded his old teammate. "According to Xiaochi and his daughter, that thing attracts ghosts. If we go back now, we might just run into the evil spirits they've summoned. Of course..."

He paused, then continued, "It's also possible that we were deceived by the Xiaochi father and daughter. Families that set up sacrificial altars at home are the safest. However, they didn't seem to be lying at all, and that uncle was even trying to get rid of us. Personally, I think... the Xiaochi father and daughter's house is safer than that older woman's house."

“Rejecting us and kicking us out might just be a way of subverting expectations.”

Fan Xiao reminded him, "This isn't exactly new. It's often used in domineering CEO novels, like... This woman actually rejected me, and even dared to slap me. She's so special, so unique, so different from those flashy, cheap women out there. This woman is damn sweet."

"..."

Everyone glanced at him instinctively.

Fan Xiao shrugged: "Just an example."

Song Qingshan frowned and said, "Brother, do you usually watch this kind of thing?"

"Actually... it's... it's quite pretty."

Lu Baizhi muttered something under her breath.

As a seasoned homebody, reading novels is one of her hobbies.

“Everything has its uses,” Fan Xiao said, glancing at his brother. “Don’t go off-topic. We’re discussing who we should trust.”

"that……"

Lu Baizhi said, "I feel that the first lady is more trustworthy."

"What's the reason?" Li Xian asked.

“Because…because her family was the first family I found,” Lu Baizhi explained. “I’m luckier than most people.”

“Such an important matter cannot be judged by mere luck,” Li Xian said. “Even if you are really lucky, can you be sure that you made the right choice this time?”

"This... I'm not sure either."

Lu Baizhi answered truthfully.

That's the awkward thing about relying on luck.

"Perhaps... we can find a breakthrough by talking to the mayor."

Du Ruo suddenly suggested, "Whether it was the older woman at the beginning or the father and daughter from Xiao Chi just now, they both mentioned the existence of the town mayor."

"Moreover, they only mentioned it and didn't want to talk about it in detail. It's obvious that the mayor has some secrets that no one knows about."

"Finding the town mayor and talking to him might help us understand this place more deeply."

"There's no need to rush the mayor's matter."

Li Xian said, "Xiao Chi and her father were vague about the mayor's affairs, and we don't know if the other townspeople will tell us any relevant information."

"If they all choose to hide it, we'll have to find them ourselves... The town of Jiling is so big, we don't have enough time to search."

“We can go to the town center first,” Cao Shuai, who was standing next to Li Xian, said. “Maybe the mayor’s house is there.”

“You’re being too presumptuous,” Mercury retorted, then added, “But we can give it a try.”

“Let’s check with a few more households to confirm the situation,” Li Xian said. “Our priority is to solve the problem of finding lodging. The mayor’s matter can wait.”

"Looking for lodging..."

Upon hearing this word, Lu Baizhi subconsciously looked at Fan Xiao and asked, "Fan Xiao, you and Xiao Mo aren't really going to stay with Xiao Chi and his daughter, are you?"

Mercury wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say, so he could only sigh in his heart.

Even a high school girl has started calling him Xiao Mo. Does he have no authority at all?

"about this issue……"

Fan Xiao thought for a moment and replied, "We can't determine where we'll stay for the time being; it depends on the progress of the investigation."

"Currently, we have only identified two types of households: those who perform ancestral rites at home and those who do not. We need to continue our visits to confirm whether there are any other types."

"If in the end we confirm there are only these two possibilities, but we can't confirm who is safe..."

He grinned and continued, "Then let's test both and see which one is the safest."

“A test would require staying overnight, and no one knows what dangers we might encounter,” Mercury said. “I didn’t expect you to propose such a radical plan?”

"It is a bit radical, but doing so will allow us to grasp the situation more quickly."

Fan Xiao glanced at Lu Baizhi and said, "I believe in Zhizhi's luck. The first household should be safer."

"If we're going to test the waters, we'll have to leave the task to someone with strong abilities and the ability to protect themselves... Hmm, I'll take care of it."

"I'll go and test the waters," Li Xian said.

“No need to argue,” Fan Xiao said with a smile. “Anyway, they’re hosting two people, so let’s go together.”

"I won't argue with the captain."

Mercury chose to withdraw voluntarily.

After agreeing on the plan, the group continued to visit other people's homes.

After visiting six households, Fan Xiao found that the situation was indeed as Xiao Chi and his daughter had said: a larger proportion of families did not perform sacrificial rites at home.

Although the townspeople had different personalities, their stories generally followed the two patterns they had encountered before.

Moreover, the townspeople had one thing in common—they were all vague about the mayor's detailed information.

When asked, they either give a vague answer or simply don't say anything.