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

Could this be retaliation for calling her "Xiao Mo" before?

"These monsters all have the ability to switch freely between spirit and physical form, making them difficult to deal with." Du Ruo looked at Li Xian and said, "So, Captain, you also have methods to attack spirits?"

“I’m not trying to hide it. What I just used was my psychic energy, not something I specifically used to deal with spirits, and there are some limitations to its use.”

After explaining, Li Xian turned to look at Mercury and answered his question, "It is indeed possible to annihilate the monsters, but it is unnecessary. It's getting dark, and we need to conserve our strength to deal with the dangers of the night. In any case, we have already achieved our goal of testing the monsters' strength."

Whether you use psionic energy or your talents to fight, it will consume mental energy.

When one's spirit is low, their attack ability will drop sharply, and they may even be unable to use their talents.

The extent of danger within the dungeon is currently unknown, so avoiding unnecessary battles and conserving strength is essential.

"These monsters are quite troublesome. They have the physical attributes of C-level players, a fear aura, the ability to freely switch between spirit and physical form, and their sheer number..."

Du Ruo said with a hint of relief, "Fortunately, they are not very flexible in their conversion between spirit and physical form, otherwise we would not have been able to deal with them so easily."

"They may not necessarily have the ability to freely switch between spirit and physical form."

Fan Xiao then said, "Perhaps they are spirits, but they can create physical blades to attack us."

Freely switch between spirit and physical form... If used well, you'll be just like the little angel Fan Qiqi.

With this ability, there's no need to attack with blades anymore. Just enter their bodies as a spirit, then materialize and burst them apart. Against this kind of attack, all external defenses are useless.

This ability is undoubtedly quite powerful; in the early days, before the Wrathful Scythe was available, the little angels used this method to kill enemies.

Within a 10-meter attack range, she can teleport at will, and once an enemy enters the range, there is no way to dodge.

Of course, the etherealization of a little angel is very different from the transformation of a physical entity into a spirit.

Spirits are subject to attacks based on mental attributes, while the etherealization gained by angels based on the original sin of "pride" is unaffected by any observation or interference.

"If you say so..."

Du Ruo immediately realized: "Hmm... I was being a bit presumptuous. If one can switch between spiritual and physical forms at will, there is indeed no need to use blades to attack, which would seem redundant."

“Their main threat is not their strength,” Fan Xiao shook his head and said, “The way they initially targeted us was through deception. What will happen after we are deceived is unknown, and that is the most deadly thing.”

No one was stupid; after hearing his words, they quickly realized what he meant, and their expressions became extremely serious.

The real danger lies tomorrow!

Due to the dangers of the night, the eight of them had to find lodging separately and could only reunite at dawn.

They had to separate for one night.

So, when the teammates who came to meet up the next day... were they really the original teammates?

Since these monsters can disguise themselves as the scammers they encountered before, they can probably easily disguise themselves as other players or even as themselves.

Even... the monster might be able to disguise itself as a townsman.

If you accidentally fall for their tricks and get scammed, the consequences are unknown... that's the real danger!

What is most threatening is not their strength, but the unknown outcome after being deceived.

Everyone realized this.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Xian, who was running, said, "These monsters know that we beat up the fraudsters. Their source of information is a mystery. Under these circumstances, setting up a code is meaningless. If we want to prove that we are ourselves... the most credible way is to activate and show our talents."

Chapter 348 Li Xian's Psionic Secrets

Activating and showcasing one's talents is indeed a good way to confirm one's identity.

However, this method is not very feasible for Fan Xiao.

His talent is his trump card, but using it for something as trivial as proving his identity is like using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a mosquito.

Doing this kind of thing, especially in a dungeon, is simply insane.

So when Li Xian suggested it, he shook his head slightly: "My talent has a cooldown period and is not suitable for confirming identities."

"Then how will you prove that you are yourself?" Mercury asked.

“As long as the person I’m staying with can vouch for me, that’s fine,” Fan Xiao laughed. “If there really is an imposter of mine, I’ll take care of it myself when I get to the meeting point.”

"If you encounter danger at night, have an accident, or go missing, there is a possibility of being replaced the next day."

Li Xian said, "Otherwise, if we all meet at the same time and place, the chance of being impersonated is very small. If something happens to you tonight, how can you take down your imposter?"

"If something happens to me, not many players in this instance will survive."

As Fan Xiao ran, he shrugged and replied, "It's actually quite simple to verify whether I'm an imposter. If I harbor ill intentions towards you, and we happen to be together, and if I can't kill you all in a second, then without a doubt, 'I' am an imposter."

"..."

Because they hadn't spent much time together, Li Xian couldn't tell if Fan Xiao was joking or just trying to lighten the mood.

He maintained his poker face and said, "Proof of identity is still necessary. Since you can't use your talent casually, tell us something we all know but haven't mentioned in the dungeon."

"This carries certain risks."

Fan Xiao shook his head and said, "Memory scanning shouldn't be too difficult for an evolution game. Maybe the rules in this instance can make it possible."

“You don’t need to confirm that I am me. Just keep doubting me. As long as there is doubt, you won’t be deceived. I will find an opportunity to prove that I am me.”

"and……"

He paused, then cautioned, "Using talent to prove yourself is indeed a good method, but the rules of the dungeon are still unclear. Those unknown 'deceptive creatures' might be able to simulate the effects of our talents."

"The safest approach is to always remain skeptical and never easily trust anyone."

"You're making them sound too amazing," Mercury frowned. "If they can even imitate talents, why didn't they use our talents to attack us just now?"

"Perhaps the talent for mimicry can only be used for deception, not for direct attacks, which is what's known as the 'dungeon limitation'," Fan Xiao laughed. "It's just a guess, don't take it so seriously, just keep an eye on it."

"Let's do it your way." Li Xian nodded.

The eight people stopped talking, quickened their pace, and soon left the wailing monsters behind them far behind.

The reason for not killing them all to prevent future troubles, besides conserving resources for the dangers of the night, is two more important: firstly, it's uncertain whether these monsters will respawn, so they might be wasting resources on futile efforts; secondly, the number of monsters is likely not limited to those currently in sight.

Given the sheer size of the entire Sacrifice Spirit Town and the large number of people involved, it must possess a correspondingly high level of "danger."

In this case, if expending power cannot eliminate future troubles, it is better to save the power for adapting to changing circumstances.

Items are currently unusable. Talents, spiritual energy, and mental power are linked and are essentially consumables for a short period, so they should be used sparingly.

"They didn't catch up."

After running close to the place where they first entered the Spirit Town, Li Xian stopped and looked around carefully: "It's getting dark, it should be night now, let's part ways here."

“Zhizi,” Fan Xiao said to Lu Baizhi, “Qingshan is in your care.”

“Okay!” Lu Baizhi nodded emphatically: “Please rest assured and leave it to me. I will take good care of my younger brother.”

When called "younger brother," Song Qingshan didn't react much.

He disdained arguing with a woman covered in fat; people without muscles were practically invisible to him.

If it weren't for his brother's entanglement with this woman, he wouldn't have given her a second glance.

"Why did you have to find someone so fat? You might as well have let Xiaoyu have her."

Song Qingshan muttered to himself.

Fan Xiao glanced at his younger brother, saw through his thoughts, but said nothing.

Tonight he's prepared to take some risks and explore the secrets of this instance ahead of time, so it's not suitable for Song Qingshan to stay with him. Staying by Lu Baizhi's side is undoubtedly the safest option.

"Xiao Mo, Xiao Song, Xiao Lu, you can go to that one."

Li Xian began making accommodation arrangements, pointing to the house where the woman he had first visited lived.

Mercury, Song Qingshan, and Lu Baizhi all nodded.

Then Li Xian looked at Cao Shuai, Luo Hao, and Du Ruo and said, "You guys go to the one on the right front, it's not far from here."

"The family that has an altar?" Cao Shuai asked.

“That’s right,” Li Xian nodded, “Comparing the two, families that perform ancestral rites at home should be safer.”

"What's the basis for your judgment?" Cao Shuai asked.

"Among the families we visited, the majority did not have ancestral worship rites, while only a minority did."

Li Xian said, "The general logic is that there are more normal people than dangerous people, who are hidden in the environment of normal people and are less likely to be encountered."

"But there is a very high probability that this is a 'ghost town,' so the situation is reversed."

"Based on the background of this instance, this town has existed for a very long time. How many times has the Spirit Festival been held? How many spirits have returned? Have they all left? Or have they all stayed?"

“Let’s consider the worst-case scenario… What’s most abundant in this town, and what’s relatively scarce? Do you understand?”

"..."

Even though it was Cao Shuai who asked the question, Mercury was the first to nervously swallow after hearing the answer.

He's afraid of ghosts, he admits it, but he doesn't feel ashamed.

Some people are even afraid of mice.

"Of course, this logic is somewhat far-fetched. We can analyze it from their words and actions."

To reduce the psychological pressure on the team members, Li Xian continued, "When asked if every family that performs ancestral rites at home does so, they all gave an affirmative answer. I previously emphasized that we encountered families that did not perform ancestral rites, and they said it was impossible. It seems that in their understanding, as long as someone is alive, they will perform ancestral rites at home."

"Families that do not hold ancestral rites at home gave the completely opposite answer, pointing out that families who display portraits of the deceased at home are problematic and dangerous."

"Both sides are denying each other. The difference is that the former is not proactive at all, does not directly throw mud, and does not even take the initiative to mention the relevant situation. They only talk about their own situation, while the latter... almost every family will take the initiative to point out that families that practice sacrificial rituals at home are dangerous."

"From the perspective of 'competing for foreign tourists,' the latter shows a stronger 'aggression,' even resorting to directly smearing the other party."

"Comparing the two, the former is naturally more reliable."

"Hmm...that makes sense."

Mercury seemed to be deep in thought.

Cao Shuai then recalled this line of thought and found that the townspeople's behavior was indeed as described.

"Of course, families that perform sacrificial rites at home are not necessarily absolutely safe. They are only relatively safe, and you should be aware of that."

Li Xian's tone became more serious: "Previously, I thought only one side was lying, and the other side was safe, but judging from their overall performance..."

He frowned slightly and said, "The so-called 'town mayor' they're talking about seems more like a fabricated excuse to cover up some things that are inconvenient to explain, specifically to fool us outsiders."

"With this excuse, we can push all the unreasonable things onto the 'town mayor' and refuse to disclose any information related to the 'town mayor' to form a closed loop."

"I suspect that most of the residents of this town are lying, to varying degrees."

"Families that perform ancestral rites are safer than families that do not, in a broad sense. However, among families that perform ancestral rites, probably only a small portion are truly safe; the rest likely have many problems."

"In short... better to be careful."

"Is the mayor's excuse just a fabrication...?"

Upon hearing this speculation again, Mercury, Du Ruo, Luo Hao, and Lu Baizhi all instinctively looked at Fan Xiao.

It's like a conditioned reflex.

After being focused on by their gazes, Fan Xiao didn't keep them in suspense and said directly, "I also agree with this proposal, based on..."

After tidying up his words, he continued, "A town of this size, with so many 'tourists' coming and going, yet it lacks accommodation facilities like guesthouses, hotels, and inns. Is it because no one in the town wants to get rich, or... is there another reason?"

“We previously speculated that the formation of this instance was related to the victims who died in Wa City. We guessed that they all became ghosts in this instance, while the townspeople of Jiling Town were instance creatures created by the instance based on their relatives in the outside world.”

"In other words, Jiling Town is a town that was forcibly pieced together by many families, like being forced into it. So we can only ask people to stay here; there are no guesthouses or hotels for us to stay in."

"What do you think is the probability of having a 'mayor' in a place where everyone is 'equal', in this forcibly cobbled-together town?"

"Not likely," Du Ruo said. "If it does appear, it's highly likely to be a dungeon boss."

“The mayor doesn’t exist, the townspeople are all lying, and now a large number of intangible ‘liar monsters’ have appeared.” Mercury sighed softly, “It feels like the situation is getting more and more complicated.”

"We also need to be careful of the dangers at night and the Spirit Festival. There are too many things to be wary of in this instance. Stay on high alert for the next seven days."

After reminding everyone, Li Xian turned his gaze to Fan Xiao and said, "Tonight, the two of us will stay at Xiao Chi's house to investigate the situation. They don't perform rituals there, so the danger level is higher. We'll be taking on a greater risk than the others, so you need to be careful about that."

Normally, it would be that he, Fan Xiao, and Lu Baizhi, who are capable of harming spirits, would each lead a team to stay overnight, so that each team would have a "damage dealer" and a basic ability to counterattack.

But the current situation is that Fan Xiao is a key figure who needs special protection, and he plays an extremely important strategic role in the development of the entire country in the evolution game.

Under these circumstances, protecting Fan Xiao's safety must be the top priority.

So even though the current group arrangement is somewhat dangerous for Cao Shuai, Luo Hao, and Du Ruo, he has no choice but to do it this way.