Chapter 30: Eating Flesh (Part 2) The Village

The woman who called herself "Zhu Ling" carried herself with poise and grace, clearly accustomed to the bizarre and unfazed by the game. Her relaxed attitude effectively broke the oppressive atmosphere and eased the players' tension.

Several people showed clear expressions of relief. In a team instance, having a teammate skilled at dealing with the supernatural genuinely boosted everyone's survival odds.

"It would be a lie to say I'm not scared. From what I know, many players stumble at the third instance, and I have no idea what level of difficulty awaits me next," Zhu Ling said with a sincere tone. "However, I believe that as long as we are willing to unite, we can tackle any challenge and clear this instance."

"Yeah, yeah! There are eleven of us. If we stick together, surely we won't fail to gather all the clues?"

"Little girl, I don't understand anything. You're a capable person, I'll listen to you."

The players chimed in one after another, completely avoiding any mention of the "minimum guaranteed death toll."

The self-introductions continued in order from front to back, left to right.

Like Zhu Ling, the man wearing a heavy military coat was also entering an instance for the third time. Named "Yang Yundong," he was a retired veteran holding a sinecure in the Public Security Bureau.

The young white man who had just entered the game and was only now figuring out the situation was called "Alan." He was an outdoor livestreamer specializing in extreme sports, and at the moment, his excitement far outweighed his fear.

Another newcomer, a girl named "Zhou Yilin," was a freshman at a prestigious university, shivering like a rain-drenched quail.

The remaining players were all on their second instance. On average, their apparent skill level was about the same as players in the first instance.

When it was Qi Si's turn, he kept his expression unchanged and said, "Chang Xu, taxidermist, second instance."

Zou Yan had said that when players died in an instance, they didn't die immediately in reality; they still had half an hour of lingering breath left.

Qi Si had no desire whatsoever for someone to post "Beware of Qi Si" on the forum after he sabotaged his teammates.

Choosing the pseudonym "Chang Xu" stemmed from a certain dark sense of humor. In Qi Si's view, linking the victim's name to the perpetrator's malicious deeds was absolute fun.

Zhu Ling glanced around at everyone and said with a smile, "Did everyone see the preliminary prompt? This instance might involve a massive amount of text-based puzzle-solving. Is anyone among us good at that?"

Amidst the silence, Zhou Yilin sniffed and spoke timidly, "I'm in the reasoning club at my university, and I often play murder mystery games and turtle soup puzzles. I wonder if I can help?"

Coupled with her tear-stained face, her words carried a slightly comical air, and a few players let out snorts of disdain.

Zhu Ling, however, looked at her earnestly and said with a smile, "Then Yilin, we'll be counting on you for the puzzles from now on. By pooling our wisdom, we'll definitely survive this instance."

Seeming encouraged by her gentle smile, Zhou Yilin immediately clung to her like a little bird and asked plaintively, "Zhu... Sister Zhu, can I really survive? I don't know how to do anything..."

Zhu Ling patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you."

The bus braked without warning, interrupting the tender scene. Amidst a harsh screech of friction, all players lurched forward due to momentum.

Zhou Yilin was thrown right back into her seat by coincidence, her back slamming against the soft cushion; Zhu Ling had no time to react, her shoulder striking the plastic seatback with a loud "thud" as her expression distorted in a flash of pain.

Qi Si reacted quickly, shielding his face with both arms to narrowly avoid injury; the chubby man beside him was not so lucky, as his plump face smacked directly into the seat in front, leaving a faint white imprint.

When the shaking subsided, the players awkwardly steadied themselves and peered forward.

A dilapidated village appeared outside the windshield.

It was likely dusk, and the sky was a hazy gray with no sun. Constructed from crooked, subpar bricks and stones, the village was shrouded in gloom, exuding the lifelessness of an elderly person at the end of their days amidst the wind-blown dust.

A stone tablet stood by the dusty mud road at the entrance of the village, with the three characters "Su Family Village" neatly inscribed in calligraphy.

This was the place where everyone was meant to survive for five days.

"Destination reached. Please disembark immediately."

The bus doors opened with a "click," and a raspy, neutral recorded voice emanated from the driver's seat, accompanied by the "static" of electromagnetic interference, its tone full of urgency.

The players dared not dawdle any longer. They scrambled to their feet as fast as they could and jumped off the bus one by one.

Qi Si nestled in his seat, waiting until everyone else had alighted before casually strolling over to the driver's seat to take a look.

A small cassette recorder lay quietly on the driver's seat, and nothing else.

Qi Si picked up the recorder on a whim, shoved it into his coat, and stepped off the bus with a slight sense of disappointment.

Behind him, the bus automatically closed its doors and sped away, kicking up dust.

At the same time, an enthusiastic male narrator's voice sounded from the depths of his mind, reciting a background introduction akin to a tour guide's speech:

[Su Family Village was once a poor little village. Every year the harvest was poor, everyone went hungry, and they often had to drag their families to neighboring villages to beg for food.]

[During the years of famine, disasters struck everywhere, yet a deity took pity on Su Family Village and bestowed divine flesh to help them tide over the crisis.]

[Many years passed, the village elders died one after another, but the legend of the divine flesh was told over and over again, attracting tourists from all over.]

[You eleven are tourists who have come out of admiration, and you will live in the village for five days, tasting the divine flesh and experiencing the local customs and practices.]

[Have a pleasant stay.]

Have a pleasant stay? You'd die fast, more like.

Several players were already complaining inwardly.

Ever since entering the instance, Qi Si had been immersed in an inescapable drowsiness, showing little interest. He only perked up slightly when he heard the words "deity."

It was already known that the supernatural game had a main god, and the "Rose Manor" instance featured a deity pulling strings behind the scenes. He just wondered what kind of entity the god in this instance was.

"Taking pity on Su Family Village and even bestowing divine flesh? For this 'divine flesh' to still be edible by tourists after so many years, I somehow feel there's something fishy going on..." Qi Si silently chewed on the narrator's information, and a sentence inexplicably surfaced in his mind—

"God does not love the world."

Did this instance have a different setting from the last one, or was it just the same filth draped in a facade of peace?

It really made one... unable to help but care.

Zhu Ling tied her ponytail into a bun and timely offered her perspective: "Regarding the so-called 'divine flesh,' I happen to think of a story. Legend has it that Shakyamuni once encountered a vulture chasing a pigeon on the road. The pigeon sought His protection, but the vulture would starve to death without meat to eat, so the Buddha cut off His own flesh and fed it to the vulture as compensation."

"If that's really the case, this god isn't half bad." The chubby man, still bearing the white imprint of the brake impact on his face, rubbed his bald head and said cheerfully, "I wonder if I can pay my respects to him and have him bless me with a fortune."

Qi Si remembered this person was called "Zhang Li-cai," a cross-talk comedian whose wish upon entering the supernatural game was to pay off his high-interest debts and own a house of his own.

A young man wearing glasses nearby chimed in after hearing Zhang Li-cai's words, "In the past three days, I've read thousands of posts on the forum, and the most important conclusion I've drawn is never to trust the goodwill of the supernatural game. When encountering settings like deities, presuming they are the villains is always correct."

He changed the subject: "By the way, did any of you manage to find any guide posts related to this instance? I have zero impression of this map."

Everyone shook their heads, and Qi Si also remained silent.

He had only read those guide posts that explored essences and patterns; as for analyzing specific instances, he hadn't read a single word.

For no other reason than that the time cost far outweighed the benefits. In Qi Si's view, not making a profit was a loss—he hated losing business transactions most in his life.

At the very front of the crowd, Yang Yundong, who had been wearing a forbidding expression all along, seemed to want to say something. He almost habitually reached into the pocket of his heavy military coat.

Realizing he touched nothing, he sheepishly lowered his hand, a hint of irritability adding to his face: "This is a new instance. In the beginner pool, there were originally only thirty-two instances starting with the letter 'S'; this is the thirty-third."

Yang Yundong's tone was unwavering, and coupled with his identity as a veteran player and former soldier, his conclusion instantly won the trust of the others.

The players' complexions turned rather ugly, and a few were already cursing softly under their breaths.

Information and precautions for each instance were hard-earned lessons paid for with the lives of generations of players. The first wave of players to receive a newly opened instance were undoubtedly cannon fodder sent to clear the mines. Blind to everything, the extent of their success depended entirely on fate.

Zhou Yilin had already been shaking like a sieve, and feeling the shift in atmosphere, she started crying again: "I don't want to die, wuwu... I really didn't know that clicking 'Yes' would bring me in..."

"What are you crying for? Crying is worth shit!" The slovenly man standing behind her could no longer hold back and roared, "If you fucking cry again, get lost, don't get in my way!"

Zhou Yilin jumped in fright, instantly falling silent as she choked back her sobs, her shoulders trembling. Zhu Ling hurriedly went over, embraced her shoulder, patted her gently, and whispered soothingly.

Qi Si stood aside with a listless expression. Just moments ago, he had realized that although the players in this instance were also on average experiencing their second instance, their quality was far inferior to those in the previous instance.

—At least Lin Chen hadn't cried continuously for half an hour, Chang Xu hadn't berated a newcomer, and Shen Ming and Ye Zi certainly hadn't worn all their emotions on their sleeves.

"Stop arguing. What kind of ability is it to bully a little girl? If you have something to say, talk about it after we get into the village." Yang Yundong timely interrupted the useless quarrel, then shot a warning glance at the slovenly man.

The slovenly man looked left and right, and seeing no one supporting him, he resentfully shut his mouth.

Then, Yang Yundong looked at Zhou Yilin and said, "He's right. Since you're already in, what use is crying? If you want to cry, wait until you survive and get out."

Zhou Yilin wiped away her tears and stayed quiet. The first dispute was resolved by striking a balance of blaming both sides equally.

Halfway through the show, the fun was over. Qi Si appropriately lowered his gaze, putting on a worried expression: "Brother Yang, rashly entering the village might be dangerous. We might as well wait outside for a bit and see if a guide shows up."

Hearing this, the players expressed their agreement one after another.

"Yeah, who knows if we step foot into the village one second, we'll bump faces with a ghost the next!"

"That makes sense. Who's going to go into the village first and scout the way?"

This was a veiled form of coercion. Yang Yundong gave the speakers a deep look, then strode straight ahead into the village without a word.

The sky had long since grown dim, and steam rose from not far outside the village, where clusters of hazy shadows could faintly be seen swaying, easily triggering dreadful associations. The mist formed a circle, slowly and steadily shrinking its range, rolling in toward the players.

Remaining outside the village undoubtedly meant danger. With someone taking the lead, the others hesitated no longer and successively followed Yang Yundong.

Qi Si lagged at the very back of the procession, silently reviewing everyone's reactions from the past few seconds in his mind.

Eleven people—too many and too chaotic. Standing in the center of the crowd too early would only make one a target for everyone's hostility.

He needed to find a way to trim the numbers to better execute his plans...

He plotted with full malice, wearing a genuine smile for the first time since entering the instance.