Chapter 288: Inhuman (96) (1st + 2nd) [VIP]

"But what does this have to do with us?" Yuan Shanming changed the subject. "[Mirage] has been triggered. We can't stay in Port N for long. If we can't find Shi Pang, we will leave as soon as your [A Thousand Miles a Day] CD arrives tomorrow morning and go directly to Area W."

Yuan Shanming's expression has become extremely intriguing since he discovered that this strange story was triggered. Anyone can see that his familiarity with N Port is definitely not as superficial as he said that he had spent some time there "in the early years".

The water in N Port seems to be very deep.

If there are still a large number of teams here, then perhaps we can see something from the attitude of those team leaders towards Yuan Shanming.

But now, N Port has almost become a deserted city. As long as Yuan Shanming doesn't want to say it, no one knows what his relationship with N Port is.

And...Bai Jinshu and Guan Hongyan looked at each other and subtly shifted their gaze away.

Yuan Shanming's speculation has a fundamental error -

That means there really is someone pretending to be the Gu King in N Port.

There really is a Gu King in N Port.

The two people who knew the situation had a subtle hint of guilt on their faces.

Given the existence of Lu Changfeng, it was certain that there were two of their own people in N Port [0106].

Now it cannot be confirmed whether Xu Zichen condoned this impersonation and used the help of this team leader to spread the information that there is a Gu King in N Port to the entire Novice Village and contact them, making the water even more confusing.

Or Xu Zichen was also looking for who was using the name of the Gu King to kill people, which led to two "Gu Kings" operating in N Port, speeding up the escape of a large number of newcomers.

But what is certain is that before they arrived here, things about Port N were definitely not as simple as Shi Pang said.

So is Shi Pang an unlucky leader who escaped with the main group or...

Participants?

Jin Ling typed a long paragraph on the phone and put it in Guan Hongyan's hand.

"Nian Yu said," Guan Hongyan glanced at the screen and paraphrased her words, "This is unreasonable."

"According to Shi Pang's statement, someone secretly triggered the [Mirage] in Port N, and put all the blame for the deaths of newcomers on the Gu King, causing the news of the Gu King to spread throughout Port N. Wouldn't everyone here have run away? How could we have enough people?"

If all the people run away, where will there be enough lives to fill the second stage?

You can't just rely on the fish all over the ground, right?

Besides, even if my life is enough this time, what about next time?

Just like the second stage that is currently going on, if the team here has not all run away, then the triggerer only needs to continue killing people to trigger it directly.

"It makes sense," Yuan Shanming said, resting his chin on his hand. "It makes sense because they never thought about sustainable development. They never thought that they would fail after triggering the strange story."

The leader's idea was that as long as it could be triggered, it would be fine even if everyone ran away. If everyone ran away, no one would find out that the rumor about the Gu King was actually spread by him, and it would just cover up the fact that so many people died just to activate the [Mirage].

He didn't expect that they failed after triggering the ghost story for the first time. Their failure caused [Mirage] to automatically return to the second stage and start absorbing vitality again to accumulate power for the next appearance.

Now there is only one possibility.

The ghost story failed, and the person who triggered the ghost story is not dead, so the team that triggered the [Mirage] must be in Port N now.

Almost at the moment of realizing this, Xiao Tang looked around nervously: "Damn, I feel a chill on my back. Don't scare me, I'm timid. There shouldn't be anyone around us, right?"

The subway station is the only way for teams from other areas to enter Port N. If the team still wants to find the next opportunity, they will definitely wait here and try to wait for other teams to come to Port N.

"No one," Bai Jinshu replied quickly, "There was no one around when we came here."

N Port was indeed empty, and no trace of any other team was found except them.

Even Xu Zichen and Lu Changfeng, Bai Jinshu suspected that they were no longer here.

Xiao Tang's nervousness was everyone's subconscious first reaction. The subway is the transportation hub of the entire Novice Village. If Xu Zichen and the others still have the awareness that "teammates will come to join them after the news of Gu King's arrival in Port N spreads", then at least one of these two people will leave one person here to guard.

Including the team leader who wanted to trigger the [Mirage] and Shi Pang who was waiting to be found because of "strange things".

Anyone in N Port who still wants and needs new teams to appear in N Port will definitely not ignore the important place of the subway station.

There is no one around here, which only means that there is really no one in Port N.

In other words, the people who were still in Port N were being held back by other more important things.

The only people who might still be in N Port now, apart from Shi Pang who left a message asking them to come, are the team that triggered the strange story.

"Brother Yuan..." Huang Mao said cautiously, "Captain Shi won't..."

Could it be the team that triggered [Mirage]?

The first person who brought them the news that there was a Gu King in N Port was Shi Pang. It was also Shi Pang who said that he had to come back because he had some unfinished ghost stories. If he was the leader who spread rumors and killed people, it would not be surprising.

But... Shi Pang doesn't look like someone who would do such a thing?

The other people in his team don’t look like that either?

"I don't know," Yuan Shanming answered calmly, "I just know Shi Pang. I'm not a worm in his stomach."

"Besides," he added with a shrug, "I don't think the people on his team can beat you."

Don't forget, they have a strange story here.

Huai Jiamu's presence really gave everyone in the team infinite courage. Even Huangmao, who was a little worried, felt relieved when he remembered that there was a strange story in his team.

"Since no one is near the subway station, it is estimated that Shi Pang and the others have either left, or been delayed by something, or have absorbed too much vitality in the second stage and cannot move." Yuan Shanming raised his hand to check the time, "Let's find a place to stay first. At this point, the wind is going to pick up in the Raging Waves Harbor."

As if to verify his words, shortly after he finished speaking, the sound of whistling wind was heard from the distant seashore.

The wind at the seaside is strong to begin with, and the wind here is even stronger. Xiao Tang, who was wearing the least, shivered, touched the goose bumps on his arms, and quickly put on his shawl: "Hiss... The wind is so strong, luckily I didn't lose my shawl."

"It's even louder at night," Yuan Shanming replied, "Hurry up and change clothes with me first, otherwise you and Xiaohong will freeze to death here."

*

There are not many people on the streets of Raging Harbor.

Led by Yuan Shanming, they entered a place that looked like an apartment building, stepped over the dead fish on the ground and went up to the third floor. They watched Yuan Shanming forcibly pry open the door of the guest room and lead them in. They found the air conditioner remote control panel and turned the host's closet upside down to find a few coats. Finally, someone couldn't help asking, "Brother Yuan, is this someone else's house?"

"Where? Here?" Yuan Shanming looked back at him and said casually, "This is my room, but I just threw away the key."

To put it bluntly, Port N is just a port. In the beginning, it was just a small village where fishermen gathered. Later, due to the gathering of S-level ghost stories, a large number of newcomers entered.

With a large number of newcomers, the local residents, who originally made a living by fishing, had to start developing in other directions.

However, S-level ghost stories are a field that most teams cannot reach. After the initial novelty wore off, the number of teams coming here dropped sharply, and many of the buildings that were originally built to accommodate a large number of newcomers have been abandoned.

These buildings later became the permanent residences of some N Port team leaders. Most of the team leaders who often led teams here would clean up a room for themselves, so that the team members would have a place to stay after they arrived, and it would also be convenient for them to prepare or accumulate some supplies here.

"I originally thought that someone else would use this room after I left. After all, someone has cleaned it up, which is much more convenient than starting a rough house. It seems that there hasn't been a new leader in N Port in recent years." Yuan Shanming searched for a long time, took out two windproof jackets from the closet and threw them to Xiao Tang. He also threw away several dehumidifier bags that were full of water, and then took out a bag of ginger tea from the cabinet to check the date. "It's been expired for more than ten years? Then I'll go to the next door and get a few bags."

He rummaged through the drawer for a long time without any hesitation, then found a bunch of keys, picked out one of them, and directly opened the door of the next room.

It seems that this house really belongs to him.

Everyone looked at each other. Xiao Tang put on the jacket that Yuan Shanming found and looked out the window: "Shall we wait until the wind dies down to look for Shi Pang?"

The apartment is in a good location, and Yuan Shanming put a lot of thought into choosing the rooms. All of his rooms have sea views. Looking out the window, you can see the layers of waves on the sea and the waves that are blown to the shore by the wind.

The fishermen, who were used to the weather, packed up their boats early and tied all their boats tightly to the piles on the shore.

Looking from here, you can see the rough waves at the seaside, and the ships on the seaside are constantly rising and falling with the waves. Sometimes a few ships are swept into the deep ocean by the waves. Thanks to the strong enough chains holding them tightly, these ships are prevented from being swept into the waves and then broken into pieces by the waves.

No wonder the full name of N Port is the Port of Raging Waves.

After everyone put on the windproof jackets that Yuan Shanming said were originally prepared for newlyweds, they took a cup of fresh hot ginger tea that he got from the cabinet next door and stood by the window looking out.

There was no one on the street now. If they were to enter a state where the whole world was empty again, they probably wouldn't even realize it.

Yuan Shanming said that every evening there would be strong winds in the Raging Harbor, and the winds would get stronger and stronger, until in the end they could even blow people up into the sky, so during this period not only the newcomers but also the indigenous people would try not to go out.

Of course, if you really have to go out, that's not impossible.

"Take this with you when you go out." Yuan Shanming pointed to some "meteor hammers" that looked like some kind of weapons downstairs when he went upstairs.

It is an iron ball with a chain tied to it, an ingenious double-layer nested structure. There is a closed track on the central sphere, and a corresponding groove on the outer nested shell, which allows the chain to go around the world without obstruction.

"What is this?" Guan Hongyan asked curiously.

"This is a counterweight," Yuan Shanming explained. "If you want to go out in the wind, you can hang a counterweight on your body so that you won't be blown away by the wind. The weight of the counterweight varies. Generally speaking, it is selected according to your own weight. The lighter you are, the heavier the counterweight you need to hang."

"It feels like some kind of torture device," Xiao Tang gestured at the weights, "What's the difference between this and the shackles in the prison? Can you walk with such a heavy thing hanging on your hands?"

"If you want to hang it, you have to hang that one," Yuan Shanming pointed to the large counterweight. "This chain can wrap around the ball, so when you walk, it's not really like you're carrying the ball, it's more like you're pulling a wheel."

"I can't imagine it..." Xiao Tang twitched his lips, "What if there are too many people and the chains get tangled together?"

Yuan Shanming: "...Don't worry, there won't be that many people going out when it's windy."

And now, apart from them, there seems to be no one else in the entire N Port.

The wind in the Port of Raging Waves will blow from dusk to night, and during this period no one can go out. Even those who can go out will move very slowly because of the presence of the counterweight.

Yuan Shanming meant to wait until night and look for Shi Pang tonight. If he can't find him, forget it and just go to Area W.

Moreover, if he knew that the [Mirage] had been triggered to the second stage, he would not have come to ask Shi Pang even if something strange like knives raining from the sky happened.

"We can't stay in Port N for too long after the second stage of [Mirage] is activated," Yuan Shanming said as he instructed Xiao Tang to boil some water. "Once the second stage is activated, the vitality of everyone in the area will be sucked away to trigger the ghost story, including ours."

Whether there will be any malicious teams in N Port that will attack them is one thing, and whether they will be drained dry if they stay here for too long is another.

If it weren't for the fact that "A Thousand Miles a Day" had a twelve-hour CD, and if all of them left together by subway there was the risk of being recognized when entering customs, Yuan Shanming wouldn't want to stay here.

"Shi Pang is either in Port N or in the mirage now," Yuan Shanming made himself a cup of hot ginger tea and said as he sat by the window looking at the sea view, "If it's from the ghost story... I guess he has been sucked dry by now."

"What if we were in N Port?" Bai Jinshu took the ginger tea that Xiao Tang had refilled with water.

"If they were in Port N..." Yuan Shanming thought for a moment, "then it is very likely that they underestimated the speed at which the second stage absorbed life, and were sucked dry without paying attention, and lost the ability to move."

"The smaller possibility is that they encountered some trouble, and they might have been killed by the team pretending to be the Gu King. But since there is no one outside the subway station, I don't think the team pretending to be the Gu King is still there."

"What does the [Mirage] look like inside?" Xiao Tang also became curious.

Yuan Shanming looked up at her, but instead of answering her directly, he asked, "Why? Are you interested in this strange story?"

"Ah..." Xiao Tang dragged out his tone, "I am a little interested, but in the second stage, even if I kill all of you, it won't be enough."

She pointed at everyone in the room and made a gesture under the inexplicable look of Huangmao: "Especially Huangmao's kind, he would die as soon as I stretched out my hand. The problem is that even if he dies, it will be useless."

"Sister Xiao Tang, don't scare me..." Huangmao said weakly.

"That may not be useless," Yuan Shanming touched his chin and joined the team to intimidate Huangmao. "If there are people trapped in the ghost story now and can't get out, they will definitely do their best to complete the second stage, and then hope that the ghost story will be successfully triggered and they can get out. At this time, if a few more people die outside, it will also help to start the ghost story."

"But it's not certain whether these people have used all their strength..." He stopped while he was ahead and changed the subject, "If Shi Pang and the others were in the ghost story, it has been two days and one night since they last left the teahouse, they would have been sucked dry long ago."

"[Mirage]..." Bai Jin thought for a moment and added a modifier, "A second-stage mirage absorbs life force, is it like a radiation source? The closer you are to it, the stronger it absorbs? Then why do fish die and rot quickly, but humans don't?"

"The lifespan of fish is shorter than that of humans..." Yuan Shanming held up the cup. "The lifespan of a person who can live for another 30 years and a person who can only live for 30 days are both being drained at the same rate of one minute per day. The person who can live for a shorter time will definitely die first. By the time the person who can live for another 30 years dies, the person who can live for 30 days will have become smelly."

"Otherwise, why would the person who triggered the [Mirage] become the public enemy of all members?" he said casually. "After all, most team leaders, like me, live by paying points every month. After the second stage is triggered, the [Mirage] sucks away the vitality, which is a disguised way of sucking points. If you have enough points, it's easy to deal with, you just need to pay early next month. If you don't have enough points, you will die if you can't pay."

No wonder.

There was a flash of understanding in everyone's eyes.

It seems that leading a team can also be life-threatening, such as in the second stage of [Mirage], or at night in the City of the Dead and the City of Violence, but compared to the newcomers who have to enter the ghost story, most of the dangers for the leaders can be avoided.

Guan Hongyan asked curiously, "What if we fail to interrupt them in the first stage, causing the second stage to be triggered, and everyone doesn't want to die, and they don't want the ghost story to be completely triggered? What should we do?"

Yuan Shanming: "There's nothing to do. Either kill a lot of other lives to fill the gap in the second stage, or run away. At worst, you can go to other areas for fifteen days, and then wait for someone to solve this weird story before coming back. After all, no one wants to die. So no one really triggers this weird story. It's one of those rare bombs that everyone knows how to trigger, but no one touches it."

"Okay, the wind has stopped," Yuan Shanming glanced downstairs, "Time for chatting is over, we have to start looking for someone. I hope Shi Pang is still in Port N, and it would be best if he didn't die in the [Mirage]."

"But speaking of this strange story about [Mirage], most people only know that once the second stage is triggered, people will die. In fact, not many people have actually seen the second stage, let alone people who have actually seen it triggered to completion." He closed the door of the apartment and walked in front. As if he suddenly remembered, he said casually as he walked, "So most people don't know that after [Mirage] is completed, a bead will drop."

"Beads?" Huang Mao was curious, "What are they for?"

"I don't know, and there's no name for it," Yuan Shanming shook his hands. "There was no description of the item in the live broadcast room, and I didn't know what it was used for. I thought it was trash at first, but after leaving the Novice Village, I found out that it could be exchanged for points directly. One bead was worth 100,000 points. After the exchange, the investment bank took it back."

It seems that Yuan Shanming has experienced this strange story which is said not to be triggered under normal circumstances.

Not only had he entered it, he had also completed it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known that items were dropped here, nor would he have known that these items were not displayed in the live broadcast room and could only be used to exchange points.

Yuan Shanming didn't seem to be shy about mentioning this matter to them, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it too much. How much he said depended on his mood.

After the wind died down, it was already night in Raging Harbor.

Not far away, the frequency of waves hitting the harbor gradually decreased, and the sea returned to calm.

After being in the Novice Village for so long, this is the first area where he can walk on the street at night without getting into trouble. At first, Xiao Tang looked around with great interest, but after searching several streets, he began to get a little impatient.

"Can we really find this?" She kicked open the door of a shop on the street. "Shi Pang! Shi Xiuzhu! Shi Xiulan!"

No one.

The house was empty.

"Still no one." She said.

"Then let's go to the next place," Yuan Shanming looked around, "If we can't find it anymore, Shi Pang is probably gone."

N Port itself is not a big city like the City of the Dead and the City of Violence. Its area is much smaller than those two cities, and is not even as big as Purple Street, a slum in the City of Violence.

When there are many teams, it can be quite lively here, most of the team leaders know each other, and the life of the indigenous people is simple.

With fewer people, the smallness of N Port becomes particularly obvious.

It didn't even take a whole night, the entire N port was searched in a few hours.

"Really not here?" Yuan Shanming's face also showed a trace of doubt, "Could it be that they wanted to take advantage of the situation, so they followed that team into the [Mirage], but they didn't expect to be trapped inside?"

"What should we do then?" Bai Jinshu raised his eyebrows, "Shall we leave tomorrow morning?"

He himself didn't really want to leave.

Putting aside other things, since we have finally come here, we must find out about Xu Zichen’s situation no matter what, right?

But on the other hand, if you stay here too long, there is a real risk of being drained.

Since Shi Pang is not here, their trip was in vain.

Moreover, Jin Ling's fixed attributes were severely affected by the debuff here. Except for the few Gu Kings in their hands, all the insects in the entire N Port had died.

During the whole process, the insect that had been unusually well-behaved before was trembling slightly. Bai Jinshu suspected that if they stayed here for too long, the insect would die.

Yuan Shanming naturally knew nothing about their little private actions. Since he couldn't find Shi Pang, he hurried back home. Yesterday, when the rapid progress was triggered, it was around four or five in the afternoon. That twelve hours would be around four or five in the morning. But in order to prevent anything from happening in the W area that he had not been to, Yuan Shanming set the alarm for 6:30 in the morning after the sun rose.

After ensuring that they could reach Area W after sunrise and return to their room at night, Yuan Shanming roughly tidied up the furnishings in the house, divided the rooms into four according to gender, and waved his hand and went to his room.

Yuan Shanming's house had been uninhabited for many years, and the quilt gave off a faint musty smell. Xiao Tang was a little disgusted, so he spread out the bed and curled up on the sofa in the room to sleep.

Everyone followed suit and learned.

At three o'clock in the morning, an extremely crisp knocking sound from the next room suddenly woke Bai Jinshu up.

He jumped off the sofa and heard Guan Hongyan's voice: "There's an attack!"

"Who!" Xiao Tang reacted faster than him. He rushed directly into Guan Hongyan and Jin Ling's room and turned on the light.

The next second, a surprised voice sounded: "Xiao He!"

It was Xiao Tang's voice.

Bai Jinshu quickly opened the door and looked over.

Guan Hongyan lay prone on the ground, with the knife in his hand piercing directly into the man's neck.

A large area of ​​blood had splattered on the ground; the man was dead.

But that’s not the point.

Bai Jinshu's gaze slowly moved towards the man's face.

It’s Xiao He.

Xiao He from Shi Pang’s team.

The author has something to say:

Ahhh, I reinstalled the driver on my computer today, and it was too late to reinstall the program. The first 40+ random 20 woooooo