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

Tanya waved as she turned and walked forward.

Mongo and the burly man's eyes glazed over, as if their souls had been stolen. They walked forward stiffly, following Tanya, whose back was to them.

The two quickly left the thatched hut and continued heading northwest.

As we walked, a somewhat ancient temple came into view.

Peach trees grow around the temple, their irregular branches spreading upwards like sharp claws reaching for the sky.

With a creak, the door of the ancient temple opened automatically.

Looking through the open gate, one could see a statue of a woman with a red veil covering her head, holding a pair of twins.

The statue is dressed in a bright red wedding gown, and in front of the altar are meat and fruit that have long since rotted.

This place seems to have been abandoned for a long time, with no one coming to clean it... or perhaps no villagers dare to approach it.

Whoosh—a gust of wind blew in from outside the door, causing the red wedding dress and red veil to sway slightly, as if the statue of the Ghost Goddess had come to life.

Despite seeing this, Mongo and the burly man showed no hesitation and stepped into the wide-open temple.

Bang—the door suddenly slammed shut.

A moment later, two screams echoed from inside the temple.

……

Hongcun.

The weather has changed from overcast to sunny for the second time.

Fortunately, Fan Xiao and his group of nine had already gained experience and made preparations.

After some maneuvering, the nine successfully fooled the villagers in Hongcun who were holding umbrellas, and quickly found the village chief's house after the weather changed.

After a polite knock on the door, a middle-aged man with a slightly gloomy look and a beard welcomed them into the tiled house.

The village chief's living conditions are much better than those of the other villagers.

“You’ve come too early,” the village chief said, shaking his head at Fan Xiao and the others. “The worship of the Ghost Goddess can only be performed on the day of the wedding. I can’t preside over the ceremony now so that you can receive the Ghost Goddess’s protection and leave this place.”

"When is the wedding procession?" Owen asked curiously.

"Two days later at dusk," the village chief replied.

"With the protection of the Ghost Queen, we can leave here safely?" You Guo posed the question as a reminder: "The fog outside has the function of confusing people's sense of direction, so it's not easy to get out."

"Don't worry, strangers," the village chief said with a devout expression. "The protection of the Ghost Goddess will allow you to see through the effects of the miasma, but you'll have to deal with the mountain spirits in the fog on your own."

After saying that, he waved his hand, giving the order to leave: "Alright, come back when the wedding day arrives. I have things to attend to."

At this moment, Fan Xiao took a few steps forward and stood in front of the group of players.

The village chief's gaze immediately shifted to him.

Fan Xiao remained composed and smiled as he said, "Who said we were leaving? Village Chief, we all love Hong Village very much."

"This place is far from the hustle and bustle of the city, perfect for lying down and living a peaceful and carefree life, undisturbed by the bright lights and bustling city outside."

“We are actually a group of people who escaped from big cities and were looking for a place to settle down and live a leisurely life. Hongcun is paradise for us! It has everything we need, so we unanimously decided to stay and live here.”

At this point, he revealed a look of mixed expectation and teasing in his eyes and said, "Village chief, do you have any pretty girls in our Hong Village? Introduce a few to us old bachelors. We all want to get married in the village and settle down here."

village head:"……"

Ah... This is the first time he's encountered a situation like this.

For a moment, I didn't know how to respond.

After a few seconds of silence, the village chief said, "If you want to stay, then stay."

"So you're saying you want a few more of us to die before you talk?" Fan Xiao said, his expression unchanged. "Or is it that the village has a limited number of people scheduled for marriage, and we've exceeded the quota, so a few more people have to die?"

"..."

The village chief's eyes narrowed.

Chapter 540 The Village Chief Encounters a Scammer

"Outsider! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"

The village chief frowned and looked at Fan Xiao: "What do you mean I want more of your people to die?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiao glanced at the lackey, Owen.

Owen immediately understood and stepped forward, saying, "But the truth is, we've already lost two of our companions! None of you here have told us the truth. There are clearly rules that must be followed in Red Village, but you say there aren't. You're all a bunch of liars!"

"What are you lying about? You must have unintentionally offended the Ghost Goddess, which is why you suffered divine punishment!" the village chief said. "Our Red Village has always been safe, and no one has ever been harmed. What does your death have to do with us? That's your own problem!"

"Village chief, are you sure there aren't any rules to follow here? We're not as easily fooled as we were when we first arrived in the village."

Fan Xiao, without any reservations, said directly, "If it's a sunny day, you need to use an umbrella; if you see a red shadow... oh no, I mean, if you see villagers from Bai Village, you have to attack. Aren't these the rules?"

"Besides that, there must be other rules like not sleeping or not eating, right?"

"After all, the people here are all ghosts. Ghosts don't need to sleep or eat. They eat human flesh!"

"...What do you mean?" The village chief's face darkened.

"Those umbrella-wielding monsters that appear on cloudy days are all villagers from Red Village, right? It's not hard to figure that out."

Fan Xiao met the village chief's glaring gaze and said, "I think the villagers' friendliness in their normal state doesn't seem to be faked. I estimate that when they turned into monsters, they had no subjective consciousness and acted entirely on instinct."

"Let me guess... In the legend of the Ghost Goddess, your ancestors in Red Village were granted power by the Ghost Goddess, who drove away the mountain demons. That monstrous form must be the form they took after being granted that power, right?"

"So... you were originally villagers of White Village, but somehow entered Red Village and turned into monsters like you now?"

"Nonsense!" the village chief frowned. "What White Village? I've never even heard of it. There's only Red Village here!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished speaking yet."

Fan Xiao continued, "After you become monsters, you need to eat human flesh... Oh, this is just a guess, but I think it's quite likely, after all, you've already eaten two of us... No, over in White Village, we've probably lost our companions too, so it's not just two players who have been eaten."

"Judging from your attitude now, you guys are clearly still hungry, right?"

"We players and the villagers of White Village are all living people, and we are all food for you people of Red Village. Naturally, you don't want to harm your fellow villagers in White Village, so... you want more of us players to die? Once you've eaten your fill of players, you won't instinctively attack the villagers of White Village anymore, right?"

"..." The village chief's expression turned serious.

This guy……

He realized that Fan Xiao was not someone to be trifled with.

After a moment of silence, the village chief's expression became more serious and authoritative: "Young man, don't you know that wise people choose silence at the right time? Some secrets are taboo and cannot be revealed. Crisis often lurks in the act of speaking recklessly!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiao grinned and said, "That's really unfortunate. Village Chief, you probably don't know what it means to be skilled and bold. I've never been afraid of anything since I was a child."

"Hmph, we'll see!" the village chief roared. "Get out of here, all of you! You're not welcome here! Get out!"

"What if we don't leave?" Fan Xiao ignored the other party's attempts to shoo him away.

"You can try," the village chief sneered.

"Judging from your reaction, it seems you really want me to make a move?" Fan Xiao chuckled. "Then I'd better be careful."

village head:"……"

Ignoring the other party's slightly angry expression, Fan Xiao continued, "Village chief, you may not know this, but the nine of us have decided to break into your villagers' rooms tonight and imitate your behavior one-on-one."

"We also plan to wait for the weather to clear up and the sun to appear. Once we encounter Red Shadow, we will chase after her, pretend to attack her, and at the same time, we will reveal the information to Red Shadow."

"Although we don't know which of the red figures are players, if we reveal it too often, we'll eventually get the information across. Heh... then everyone will be on guard, and we'll see who you can take advantage of next."

"..."

The village chief's expression changed; he was no longer composed.

Fan Xiao continued, "And you just mentioned the wedding day... While Red Village is having a wedding, White Village is very likely having a funeral. The people Red Village is going to marry are those dead people from White Village, right?"

"For the wedding procession, we definitely need to bring the bride back, so... on the wedding day, Red Village and White Village will be completely connected in space, right? At that time, there will be no restrictions on what you Red Village people eat, right?"

"If you've eaten your fill before this, the villagers of Bai Village will naturally be safe. But if you haven't eaten your fill... alas, I wonder how many people in Bai Village will die then, it's truly pitiful!"

“…Enough!” the village chief snapped.

Fan Xiao ignored the rebuke and grinned, "The initiative isn't entirely in your Red Village hands now; we've gained some control as well. So... I'll give you one more chance to rephrase your statement. Does Red Village really have no rules to follow?"

Faced with the obvious conspiracy before him, the village chief fell silent once again.

He's only been in the village for a day, so where did this guy get so much information from?

You're cheating, aren't you!

and……

The village chief was unsure whether to judge this guy as clever or reckless.

To guess so much key information so quickly is undoubtedly a sign of intelligence.

But why would a smart person come over to threaten him... Although this guy didn't make any direct threats in terms of actions or words, he had already stated the stakes, and he could no longer ignore it.

This guy... isn't he afraid of triggering a crisis ahead of time?

Aren't you afraid he'll turn on you on the spot?

Aren't you afraid of being besieged by the entire village of Hongcun?

The village chief observed Fan Xiao's eight companions and found that they were all on high alert, each one in a state of combat readiness.

This scene made him even more puzzled by Fan Xiao's recklessness.

After a moment of silence, he spoke: "You've only been in the village for a day, yet you've gathered this much intelligence. I admit you're quite intelligent..."

He shook his head: "But some things cannot be solved by wisdom alone; the most crucial thing is strength."

“Is that so… I’ve already hinted at the power to you, village chief.”

Fan Xiao chimed in, "I just said I was highly skilled and daring, but it seems you didn't take it seriously at all, Village Chief."

“You seem quite confident,” the village chief said. “Wouldn’t mind showing off your skills?”

"How do we demonstrate it?" Fan Xiao asked with great interest.

“One of the rules of Red Village is that attacking villagers will be punished by the Ghost Queen’s subconscious,” the village chief said. “Since you are confident in your strength, why not try attacking me? If you can survive the danger, I will tell you the truth about everything.”

"Subconscious?" Fan Xiao grasped the key word.

"The Ghost Goddess is in a deep sleep and will only awaken after a sacrificial ceremony is held."

The village chief offered an explanation, then said, "You can begin now. Prove it to me."

"If you tell me to prove it, I'll just have to prove it. Wouldn't that make me lose face?"

Fan Xiao curled his lip and said, "You can't easily believe the words of a liar like you."

Where does a liar get sincerity?

Everything can be acted out.

He is quite experienced in this area.

"Heh, you don't even have this much courage, yet you want to seek the truth?" the village chief sneered.

“Smart people never put themselves in danger; they always keep the initiative in their own hands.” Fan Xiao shrugged. “Besides, even if you don’t say it, I can probably guess some of it.”

"Is it?"

The village chief wasn't provoked this time.

He sat leisurely on the wooden chair, crossed his legs, and looked at Fan Xiao, saying, "Tell me about it."

"The guesses I just mentioned had nothing to do with showing off or revealing the progress of the exploration; they were simply to test your reaction. After all, many things are guesses and may not be correct."

Fan Xiao laughed and said, "I didn't expect your reaction to be so accurate. It confirmed a very crucial point for me—although you Red Village people don't have subjective will when you transform into monsters, you are aware that you are harming White Village people."

"Based on my previous deduction, the people of Red Village are actually the people of White Village who received the 'blessing of power' from the Ghost Queen. If they had a choice, who would willingly become a monster that harms and feeds on their fellow villagers?"

"Your transformation was either due to being deceived or being forced involuntarily."

"The relationship between you and the Ghost Goddess is definitely not a simple one of faith; there must be a considerable degree of conflict, right? It's just that... you dare not speak out against it."

At this point, he said with some emotion, "This land is cursed. The curse here must refer to the Ghost Queen, right?"

"There are coincidences in the legends of the Ghost Goddess. From a conspiracy theory perspective, perhaps the mountain ghost disaster was orchestrated by the Ghost Goddess herself."

"You villagers of Red Village are too short-sighted. Players can help you break the curse, but you turned your malice on the players first, killing your own hope."