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

Upon hearing this, Su and the others wanted to snort and make sarcastic remarks.

Save the people of Baicun?

They just laughed!

The life-or-death crisis these past few days has left them with a belly full of resentment and anger. The people of Bai Village wanted to harm them from the beginning, and now they actually expect them to save people... Where do they have the nerve?

Tanya frowned, suppressing her negative emotions as she asked, "The Ghost Queen is a curse?"

"This story goes back a long time."

Old Chen noticed Tanya and the others' emotions, and his sighs grew louder. However, he still kept his promise and said, "I'm sure the other villagers have already told you about the story of the earth dragon turning over and the mountain spirit crisis breaking out, right?"

"The story is true. This place used to be called Baicheng, and there were many people in the city. Baicun was an affiliated village of Baicheng, but it wasn't called Baicun back then. After the mountain ghost crisis came, Baicheng was destroyed and countless people died. The survivors fled to this village and were protected by the ghost goddess. They survived the crisis. In commemoration, the village was renamed Baicun."

"The Ghost Queen did indeed save many villagers, but unlike the legends, she is not a deity; she is a mountain spirit, and she also...eats people!"

"The Ghost Queen...eats people?" Su hurriedly asked, "Those umbrella-wielding monsters also eat people. What is their relationship with the Ghost Queen?"

"The monsters with umbrellas... if I'm not mistaken, they should all be villagers from White Village, former villagers."

Old Chen said in a low voice, "At the beginning, the Ghost Queen was not very strong. She was even at the lower level among the mountain ghosts. She couldn't possibly keep an entire village to herself and enjoy her alone."

"She didn't directly help Bai Village expel the mountain spirits, but instead used a special ritual to transform some of the Bai Village residents into secondary mountain spirits. The villagers who were transformed into secondary mountain spirits drove out the mountain spirits that had invaded the village."

“The people with umbrellas you see are all secondary mountain spirits. They have lost their minds and, like the real mountain spirits, will instinctively attack living people.”

"How exactly does a secondary mountain spirit transform?" Tanya asked. "What is the ritual?"

She felt that the ritual was related to clues for passing through the checkpoint.

It concerns how to escape from here.

"I'm not entirely sure how the ceremony was conducted either."

Old Chen shook his head: "I heard it from the village chief. I heard that in Bai Village at that time, according to the Ghost Goddess's request, a dead person was chosen, and then the whole village held a burial ceremony for him."

"The day after the ceremony ended, a person appeared in the village carrying an umbrella on a cloudy day... who was the first secondary mountain spirit."

"Afterwards, the burial ceremony was repeated, with more and more dead being selected each time, and more and more people holding umbrellas appearing. Once a certain number were reached, all the mountain spirits that had invaded the village were driven out, and some of the mountain spirits were even killed."

"Shortly after that, you players started coming here frequently, and those umbrella-bearers disappeared from White Village, only appearing on cloudy days."

"The umbrella bearers are those chosen dead from White Village, is that just your guess?" Tanya asked.

"Although it's just a guess, it's practically a certainty in White Village."

Old Chen said, "The umbrella-wielding person doesn't attack living people every time it's cloudy. Over time, we've figured out the pattern."

"Once they have consumed seven living people, they will stop eating people for a short period of time."

"Otherwise... today is the day of burial, and the umbrella-bearers will definitely appear during the funeral procession. Moreover, the day of burial is different from usual; they won't disappear until they've eaten their fill of people."

"Seven... You White Village people wanted to save yourselves, so you chose to betray us players?" The middle-aged male player with sparse hair sneered. "Six of us have died, and we're still short one. Are you disappointed?"

"Every time the burial day arrives, there's usually no shortage of people. Not just from White Village, but also from players who go to Red Village, those who get eaten are counted in the 'seven'."

Old Chen said, "Red Village is where the people with umbrellas stay. It's not in the same space as our White Village. The two spaces only connect briefly during burials—this is a conclusion we've drawn by combining information from players who came in before."

“You’re wrong about one thing. The six people who died on your side weren’t all eaten by the umbrella-wielding man. What came out at night to attack the living was the subconscious of the Ghost Queen.”

"However... if we include the players who died in Red Village, we should have seven by now."

"The Ghost Queen's subconscious?" Tanya asked. "Why subconscious?"

"The Ghost Goddess is usually in a state of slumber and will only awaken after the burial ceremony is completed."

Old Chen said in a serious tone: "Before the ritual is completed, the Ghost Queen will only move around in the village in her subconscious form, instinctively hunting and attacking players who are villagers, as well as people who do not follow the rules at night."

"It's dangerous, but it can be avoided. The real danger comes after the burial!"

"Is that so... You just said that the Ghost Queen is very weak, so weak that she can't even directly help the people of White Village drive away the mountain ghost."

Tanya asked in confusion, "If she is so weak, why do you say that the real danger lies in her awakening?"

"The Ghost Queen was indeed very weak at first, but now she has become the strongest mountain spirit. Just by sleeping in White Village, she has made the mountain spirits outside the village afraid to enter."

Old Chen replied, "The mountain spirit eats people to satisfy its appetite, and it doesn't directly increase its strength, so we don't know how the Ghost Queen became stronger."

"However... we have a guess."

"According to the observations of the people of Bai Village, the number of people carrying umbrellas on cloudy days has not increased over the years. Sometimes, even though we have held many burial ceremonies, the number of people carrying umbrellas has actually decreased... We speculate that the Ghost Queen may be able to devour secondary mountain spirits and absorb their power to become stronger in this way."

Upon hearing this answer, Tanya immediately understood.

If sharing her power with the villagers would not bring them any benefit, why would the Ghost Goddess continue to hold burial ceremonies?

She's a mountain spirit; there's no reason for her to go and save people on her own initiative.

So... the power that's lent out can be "incrementally recovered"?

What was recovered was not only their own strength, but also the souls of the villagers.

After a moment's thought, Tanya asked the question that players cared about most: "How do we get out of here?"

"As a 'deceased,' I participated in the burial ceremony presided over by the village chief and became a secondary mountain spirit under the Ghost Goddess." Old Chen replied, "Only mountain spirits can move normally in the mist outside the village; living people cannot leave this area."

At this point, he glanced at the two male players in Tanya's team.

Seeing that both of them had white cloths on their heads, he shook his head and said, "You two can't leave. You can only stay in White Village until your... well, I mean, your survival time is over."

"What……!?"

The middle-aged man with thinning hair was startled and quickly asked, "Won't becoming a lesser mountain spirit mean losing your mind and turning into a man-eating monster? What's the difference between that and being dead? How come we were wrong to choose to be alive?"

"The transformation process of the secondary mountain spirit is not completed instantly. According to the experience observed by the people of Bai Village... After the ritual, your free will should remain unaffected for one night. Take advantage of this night to escape from this place."

Old Chen looked at the two men wearing white cloths again and shook his head: "As for you... after you put on your mourning clothes, you'll have to stay in Bai Village for the next few days."

"After the burial ceremony, the Ghost Goddess will awaken, and the danger will be different from before."

"The Ghost Queen might decide to eat someone at random to satisfy her appetite. No one can guarantee that they will avoid being chosen as the extra food. Like the other people in White Village, if you are lucky, you will live until the Ghost Queen falls asleep again. If you are unlucky... you will probably be eaten in the next second."

"Or perhaps, you are strong enough to kill the Ghost Queen?"

At this point, he gave a self-deprecating smile: "Many groups of players have already entered White Village. Of those players who stayed in White Village after the burial day, only a very small number were lucky enough to survive until the Ghost Queen fell asleep and was teleported away."

"The rest of them were all eaten. They tried to resist, but... I heard from the old folks in the village that the first group of players didn't have the strength to resist. After that, the Ghost Queen became stronger and stronger... Now, trying to resist is simply a pipe dream."

Whether the two of you survive depends on luck.

Upon hearing this, the two quickly removed the white cloths from their heads.

Old Chen sighed, "It's no use. Once the burial day arrives, the identities of the living and the dead will be permanently locked and cannot be changed."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

The middle-aged man with thinning hair looked furious.

If it weren't for the fact that attacking the villagers would trigger a subconscious attack from the Ghost Queen, he would have loved to punch the guy in front of him to death.

On the other hand, Old Chen did not answer the question.

He glanced outside the door, then said something unrelated: "In fact, not many people survived in Bai Village; now there are only a handful left."

"Most of the villagers, including myself, are outsiders, or even outsiders, who were forcibly drawn into this hellish place."

“Our family is from node G05. One day, we were suddenly swept into this place. More than two months ago, our daughter was a little slow running when it got cloudy, and she was surrounded and eaten by a group of people with umbrellas. Now, only my wife and I are left…”

"What are you trying to say?" the middle-aged man sneered, seizing the opportunity. "Do you expect us to pity you? Humph... you've really screwed us over! Why didn't you remind us about wearing white cloths sooner!"

Old Chen glanced at him and said, "A long time ago, the people of Bai Village didn't deceive the players. They were even willing to sacrifice themselves to become food, giving the players a chance to survive and fight the Ghost Queen. Unfortunately... the players either couldn't win or they just ran away on their own. Over the years, the people of Bai Village have never succeeded. Everyone has become numb to it."

He then looked at Tanya and continued, "Players who can survive to the day of burial without wearing a white cloth are all quite capable. Even if they don't listen to what I'm saying, they should have no problem escaping from here on their own."

“In Bai Village, revealing things that shouldn’t be revealed has very serious consequences. We’re telling you these truths in advance, partly to build a good relationship.”

"I hope you won't hate the other villagers, they..."

He shook his head and sighed, "Everyone... is a pathetic bunch."

“Every time a player enters, the village chief will arrange for the ‘death’ in advance, and will also arrange for an additional villager who is willing to reveal the truth to the player.”

"This time I volunteered to the village chief to be the informant, but I'm... a little tired."

At this point, he suddenly smiled and said, "I hope that our twisted goodwill can be considered goodwill in your eyes."

"If any of you three possess abilities that defy the heavens... please help the survivors of White Village to break free from this curse."

"If you're already exhausted just from living to your burial day... then take care of yourselves and do everything you can to escape."

Upon hearing this, Tanya and the other two remained silent.

They were almost swindled to death by the villagers here, so they couldn't feel much sympathy for them.

Saving people... I'm already struggling to take care of myself, how can I save others?

Nobody even considered it.

"I've said enough, you can leave now..."

Suddenly, Old Chen's voice faltered, and a pained expression appeared on his face.

He glanced one last time at his wife on the bed, forcing a smile, and said, "Looks like my time has come..."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body began to tremble.

The shadow beneath his feet wriggled and twisted, detaching from the ground and spreading onto his skin, gradually enveloping him.

The sound of chewing came from the dark figure, along with Old Chen's shrill screams.

Tanya and the others were all startled and quickly retreated away.

After a short while, the sound subsided, the dark figure shrank back to the ground, and there was no more movement.

At this moment, the bedridden wife struggled to get out of bed and collected the tattered, blood-stained clothes that remained on the ground.

Her expression was calm, her eyes were somewhat vacant, showing no sign of sadness, as if she had long been numb.

Tanya spoke up, "Old Chen...he..."

“He has already told you that revealing things that shouldn’t be revealed will be severely punished,” the woman said. “You can go now. Remember to go to the village chief before dusk to participate in the burial ceremony.”

"You're all alone..."

"Aside from the punishment of revealing the truth, the deceased will not face any other danger on the day of burial."

The woman waved her hand, shooing Tanya and the others away.

After leaving the thatched hut.

Tanya looked up at the clear sky, the sunlight warm on her face, but her mood was somewhat gloomy.

However, she quickly composed herself and said to Su and Jian, "You heard what Old Chen said. Tonight is our only chance to escape from here! Get ready."

"Instead of running away, let's fight!"

At this moment, the middle-aged man with sparse hair on his head said, "After obtaining the identity of a lesser mountain spirit, one can only move around normally in the mist."

"Those mountain spirits still exist in the mist, and they're not necessarily easier to deal with than the Ghost Queen."

"How about we join forces and go after the Demon Queen? There must be some players who survived in Red Village, so we have a significant advantage..."

"Hmph! Now that things have come to this, don't even think about having any wicked ideas!"

Su snorted, "You can't get out yourselves, and you want to drag us down with you? The captain warned you before not to wear white sheets, but you didn't listen?"

"..."

The middle-aged man's face was somewhat gloomy.

Tanya glanced at him and said in a low voice, "From now on, survival depends on your own abilities. You heard what Old Chen said. If you're lucky, the two of you can survive to the end of the dungeon without taking any damage."

"But……"

"There are some things I'll only say... no, I'll only warn you once!"

Tanya interrupted the other person, saying, "If someone tries to drag others down with them, I don't mind getting rid of that trash before the ceremony begins!"

After saying that, she turned and left with Su and Jian.

……

Hongcun.

Wedding day.

Around noon, the village chief of Hongcun took the initiative to find Fan Xiao and others and invited them into his home.