Chapter 163 The Tragedy of Xiahe Village: One-Sided Approach Leads to Two-Sided Obstacles, Utter Chaos...

The two, who were originally in the gym, were suddenly teleported to a small village.

The ground beneath my feet was damp earth, and a moist river breeze swept over me, carrying a faint fishy smell.

This is a small village by the river, where you can see the river flowing quietly in the distance. Houses with gray tiles and white walls are scattered along the banks, and several wooden boats are moored to crooked wooden stakes, swaying gently with the ripples. Further away, a fishpond glistens in the sunlight, stretching across the fields.

Looking at this unfamiliar scene before them, Da Song and Xiao Song felt utterly hopeless.

...The situation is exactly the same as yesterday.

Last time, when I opened the car door, I was teleported to a strange abandoned classroom.

This time, while at the gym, I was teleported to a strange little village.

Due to their professions, both Da Song and Xiao Song need to exercise regularly to maintain their figures.

The reason they came to the gym so early was because it was owned by two brothers. They came not only to work out, but also to check the equipment before it opened to see if there was any damage.

It was at this moment that Da Song discovered an unfamiliar cell phone on the treadmill.

The phone must have been left here by a guest. Although the model looks outdated, the phone doesn't appear worn or scratched. It's clearly been carefully preserved and probably has some special meaning.

So Da Song gave the phone to Xiao Song and asked him to put it in the lost and found at the gym.

However, as soon as Xiao Song picked up the phone, the two of them were teleported directly to this village.

Looking at his empty palm, Xiao Song remained silent for a moment before saying, "Brother, I heard that the Bureau of Supervision built a new City God Temple that's quite effective. If we manage to get out of here alive, let's go and pray there."

The phone disappeared... It's very likely that it was because of that phone that they were transported here.

Da Song was also exasperated, scratching his head vigorously: "Didn't the landlord say that once we signed the rental agreement and became apartment tenants, we wouldn't be bothered by supernatural phenomena? What's going on now?"

Xiao Song sighed, "I guess they're not sincere. Brother, let's cancel the lease on the apartment in the city center when we get back."

"Look at us, we rent an apartment in the city center and another one in Liwan Apartments. How is that any different from a scumbag who's two-timing?"

Da Song paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that what his younger brother said made a lot of sense.

"Fine, the rent in the city center is too expensive anyway, I've been thinking about moving out for a while now. Once I move out, we won't ask for the deposit back, we'll just terminate the lease directly."

After saying that, Da Song looked around and said, "I think this village is quite normal. There are villagers outside, and smoke is coming out of the chimneys. It looks like an ordinary fishing village, not as scary as the abandoned ghost school we saw last time... Why don't we try to leave here first?"

"Let's not. The way we got here is too weird. This place might just look safe." Xiao Song shook his head. "Let's wait for the landlord to come. He'll definitely be able to tell we're in danger. After all, he's the one who rescued us from the haunted school yesterday."

Da Song nodded.

Just as the two were talking, they suddenly noticed something unusual beside them... A thin figure materialized and slowly appeared beside them.

The two brothers stared in shock at the figure.

She was an extremely thin girl with long hair, sunken cheeks, and pale skin.

She was wearing a soft, comfortable bear-patterned pajama set, the long sleeves and pants of which hung loosely on her. Her overly slender legs looked even thinner than Da Song's arms, making one wonder how such thin legs could support her standing up.

Yin Xi, who had just gotten up and was about to go to the bathroom to wash up, looked at the scene in front of her and began to question her life.

She was in her apartment room, so what force could ignore the landlord's protection and forcibly move her here?

After witnessing the landlord's terrifying power on the hospital rooftop a couple of days ago, Yin Xi felt that there was nothing in this world that the landlord couldn't do, and no ghost or monster would dare to snatch someone right under his nose.

So there's only one possibility that she was suddenly teleported to this strange village—the landlord sent her there.

Yin Xi looked at the two unfamiliar men beside her and tentatively asked, "Are you new tenants of the apartment? I live in room 205..." As she spoke, she took out the room key hanging around her neck.

Da Song and Xiao Song's eyes lit up at the same time, and they quickly took out their room keys and said in unison, "That's right, we are the tenants who just moved in yesterday!"

Da Song looked at Yin Xi expectantly: "Boss, are you here to save us?"

Although this girl who suddenly appeared didn't seem to be very capable in combat, as the old saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover—her way of making an appearance was so unusual, and she had moved into the apartment a long time ago, so she might have some unknown powerful abilities.

Yin Xi fell silent.

She didn't even know if she had come to save them.

She's not good at fighting ghosts, but she's very good at luring them over... Could it be that the landlord actually wanted her to kill these two people?

As the three were talking, two more figures appeared.

Judging from their attire, they are two investigators from the Bureau of Supervision.

The two brothers, Da Song and Xiao Song, who had been somewhat tense because of Yin Xi's silence, suddenly relaxed.

That's great, it's an official, finally I have someone to rely on.

The one with darker skin among the two investigators was not only taller than Da Song, but also looked more robust, which made him seem very safe.

I don't know why, but this person's eyes are green. When you're stared at by those green eyes, you get the feeling of being watched by a wild beast.

Because he had been busy with the Bureau of Supervision for the past two days and forgot to go back to his apartment at night, the cat-like phenomena in Hong Zhong not only did not recover, but worsened.

However, the only side effect was that his appearance became a little strange, and Hong Zhong had already gotten used to the strange looks from others.

Moreover, this change also makes it easier for him to go on missions.

Hong Zhong's five senses have all been greatly enhanced. His eyesight can see farther, his sense of smell and hearing have become more sensitive, and he can automatically control the retraction of his finger bones like a cat extending its claws... His finger bones are very sharp and useful. Now, even without weapons, he can tear apart vengeful ghosts with his sharp finger bones.

Although there have been changes in my appearance recently, and I've also developed a liking for raw meat, overall the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

He brought Duan Wenyu out this time because of Duan Wenyu's promotion to a permanent position.

Duan Wenyu's internship is almost over, but just like internships require evaluation, becoming a full-time employee also requires an evaluation.

—Duan Wenyu is to independently investigate and seal a C-level vengeful ghost.

Hong Zhong was his examiner, and he needed to score his actions and ensure his safety.

Since all the ghosts and monsters in the city had been cleared away, the two of them went to the suburbs.

The assessment went smoothly. Duan Wenyu did not use the protective power of the ghost in the apartment room, but only used the standard equipment distributed by the Supervision Bureau to easily seal a C-level vengeful ghost.

Just as the two were about to return to the Supervisory Bureau, Duan Wenyu suddenly noticed a cell phone on the roadside.

The detection equipment revealed that the phone was emitting strange, eerie fluctuations.

Thinking that sealing off one or two would be the same, and that this road was the only way into the city, Duan Wenyu picked up the phone with his still-open mechanical hand to prevent the supernatural object from harming passersby.

He planned to seal it away and take it back to the police station for the research department to study.

However, as soon as Duan Wenyu manipulated the robotic arm to pick up the phone, he disappeared, even though he hadn't touched the phone.

Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Hong Zhong instinctively took a step forward. Only after noticing the unusual movement beneath his feet did he realize that the cell phone had somehow reappeared at his feet.

Hong Zhong was then teleported here as well.

Although Hong Zhong had never met Da Song and Xiao Song before, Miao Zheng had met them yesterday. Miao Zheng was a paranormal news anchor contracted with the Paranormal Investigation Department, and he would report the tenant growth in the apartment to the Supervision Bureau.

Five tenants gathered in the village, looking like they were having a team-building event.

The last time such a grand occasion occurred was in Fengrao Village.

Hong Zhong felt that things were in a bit of a predicament.

Because his five senses had been greatly enhanced, he was able to clearly perceive the physical qualities of the other four people.

The twin brothers' muscles were all from working out; they had very low body fat and looked great, but it was all just for show. They probably didn't have any real fighting ability; they were just physically stronger.

Duan Wenyu is still a newcomer; with his current equipment, he can only fight C-level vengeful ghosts alone. As for Yin Xi, forget about fighting vengeful ghosts; her blood might even attract them.

The situation is very dangerous.

Hong Zhong looked at the seemingly normal village with a serious expression.

His keen senses gave him a very bad feeling, a sense of danger even greater than encountering a troublesome A-level ghost... This village was definitely not as normal as it seemed on the surface.

Just as he was pondering which direction to investigate to find a way out, a strange blood-red light suddenly covered the entire village.

Blood-red crimson engulfed the village sky like a tidal wave, distorting the bright morning sunlight into an ominous dark red.

The next instant, an invisible giant hand tore open a terrifying rift at the location of the sun, and blood mist gushed out from the rift, rushing down like an inverted river of blood.

The surging blood mist supported a huge shrine, which transformed into a slender human figure the instant it left the gap.

It was a pale-skinned man, his loose black clothes billowing in the blood mist, outlining his thin and upright figure.

He stood in mid-air, slowly walking towards the ground surrounded by blood mist. His overly long bangs were blown aside by the falling wind, revealing his deep, lifeless eyes... A faint blood color flowed through those dark eyes, containing a cold killing intent, like a ghost or god crawling out of the deepest hell.

Seeing this scene, which resembled the arrival of a world-destroying demon king, both the old and new tenants of the apartment breathed a sigh of relief.

The long-time tenants were already used to the landlord's bizarre entrances, while Da Song and Xiao Song had become accustomed to the blood-red sky of the past two days—subconsciously, they felt that the blood-red sky was also safe, given that the blood rain protected humanity from eliminating ghosts.

The other villagers seemed oblivious to the strange scene and continued with their own tasks.

Zhou Fangdong used Xiao Song as the medium for his [True Form Descends] this time, and the effects of his physical abilities were not as good as those of Yin Xi and Miao Zheng. His own power seemed to be suppressed a lot.

...Perhaps because the older tenants have lived in the apartment for a longer period of time and have a closer connection with the apartment, they can use the skills more smoothly?

However, Zhou Fangdong had no time to consider the skill issue. The most important thing now was to expel this ghostly domain and bring his tenants back.

Before dealing with the ghost realm, Zhou Fangdong habitually activated his [Heavenly Eye] skill to assess the current status of his tenants.

After reading it, Zhou Fangdong's expression turned even uglier.

These five tenants were actually under a deadly curse, which was related to the Ghost Realm. Because they were in the Ghost Realm, the curse did not take effect.

In other words, if he directly uses a kerosene lamp to forcefully break the ghost realm, the tenants' fatal curses may immediately erupt once the ghost realm's suppression is lost.

Ghost realms are created by the obsessions of ghosts, mostly their most hated and unforgettable memories from their past lives, forming a hell that traps both themselves and their enemies. Like the charred corpse ghost in room 301, her ghost realm is constantly replaying the day her family of three had a car accident.

Some ghost realms are manifestations of resentment, primarily for the pure torment of enemies, such as the pregnant ghost in room 401, whose realm consists only of walls of flesh and blood and the enemies she turned into ghost infants.

In fact, there is no difference between the two; they are both punishment hells created by ghosts and monsters.

Judging from Zhou Fangdong's experience in the ghost realm of Room 301, ordinary people who are drawn into the ghost realm need to make a choice, and then the vengeful ghost that created the ghost realm will judge your choice.

Zhou Fangdong made the wrong choice back then; the Ghost Realm is just starting the cycle again from the beginning.

He suspected that this was because he was the one in the ghost realm at the time. If it were an ordinary person who was caught up in the ghost realm and made the wrong choice, it wouldn't be as simple as just resetting.

Judging from the deadly curses on the tenants, choosing the wrong place in this village would likely result in an immediate death from the outbreak of the curse.

The current situation is that the ghost realm is suppressing the curse... The ghost's idea is probably to let the tenants experience the ghost realm first, and then determine whether the curse will break out based on their choices.

However, directly dispelling the ghost realm would definitely cause the curse to erupt and the tenant to die.

In this situation, it is impossible to forcefully break through the ghost realm using a kerosene lamp.

However, staying in the ghost realm for a long time can be life-threatening. If you make a wrong choice and anger the ghosts, you could very well die.

A single-minded approach can lead to a double bind.

It's also difficult to find the ghost that creates the ghost realm in the village, because the village is cluttered with too many things and there are many villagers around.

The yin energy in the ghost realm is exactly the same as that of ghosts and monsters. Entering the ghost realm is equivalent to entering the body of a ghost or monster, making it impossible to find the existence of the ghost or monster based on the source of the yin energy.

Only in a scene like Room 306, with only white mist and a few items like a bench, can the ghost that created the ghost realm be found through exhaustive search without dispelling it.

The best approach right now is to have the tenants do nothing, buy time, and then use clues in the village to find the ghost hiding in the ghost realm based on its obsession with ghosts.

Once the ghost is killed, the curse on the tenants will also disappear.

Ugh, I hate puzzle games the most.

Zhou Fangdong only wanted to provide military assistance... He had just gone up to the 16th floor, and because of the blood mist, he still had a headache and didn't want to think about anything.

Finding clues is enough with Nightmare Clone; we can't waste the [True Form Descend] duration here, otherwise even the combined skill time of the five tenants wouldn't be enough.

After briefly inquiring about how his tenants had been transferred, Zhou Fangdong bought a large number of amulets and talismans from the system store, as if buying in bulk, and distributed them to the five tenants present, instructing them not to move around and to stay where they were and wait for him to return.

Then he created five more nightmare clones, which surrounded the tenant.

...Let them lose their sanity points, it'll only be for a short while anyway, the safety of the tenants is the most important thing.

After settling the tenants in, Zhou Fangdong immediately deactivated [True Form Descent] and returned to the apartment.

According to the [Linjiang City Map], the village where the five tenants are currently located is called Xiahe Village. Although there are still people active in the village in the Ghost Realm, in reality, Xiahe Village is an abandoned and desolate village.

Back at his apartment, Zhou Fangdong immediately contacted the director of the supervisory bureau, asking him to help find information on murder cases and paranormal events related to Xiahe Village.

The director of the supervisory bureau was very quick; he sent over all the relevant information about Xiahe Village in just over 10 minutes.

This village had never experienced any supernatural events, only murders. It became a deserted village because a ghost baby appeared in the abandoned baby tower of the neighboring village, and the entire village was affected, dying at the hands of the ghost baby.

Zhou Fangdong quickly reviewed the case file.

Xiahe Village is very suitable for fish farming because it is close to the river.

Even so, most villagers could not afford the initial investment and could only make a living by fishing. Only one outsider had contracted a fishpond in the village.

This out-of-towner borrowed a total of 850,000 yuan through rural credit cooperatives and online lending platforms to set up a fishpond. The five-year lease of the fishpond required 300,000 yuan, and of the remaining money, 250,000 yuan was used to buy fish fry, 200,000 yuan was used for equipment, and 100,000 yuan was used as working capital for eight months.

...It will take eight months for the first batch of fish fry to grow up, after which he can break even.

Because of financial constraints, the out-of-towners didn't hire any help; the whole family worked together to run the fishpond.

Unexpectedly, a few months later his daughter suddenly fell seriously ill and was hospitalized. His wife went to the hospital to take care of her, leaving him to manage the fishpond alone.

Even if one person works around the clock, it's difficult to keep an eye on the fishpond.

Ever since his wife and daughter left the fishpond, villagers have frequently come to the fishpond to secretly catch fish and use electricity to fish.

Even if it's caught on camera, it's useless. The fish thieves are all elderly people, and he's from out of town. The village officials all side with the villagers, using the excuse of "the law doesn't punish everyone" to favor the villagers.

After persisting for several more months, with villagers secretly fishing, the number of fish fry dwindled, and the yield wasn't even enough to repay the loan. Coupled with the pressure of his daughter's medical expenses, the outsider decided to clear the pond, sell the remaining fish ahead of schedule, and transfer the pond to another owner.

Just then, a streamer who had left the village learned of his plight.

This livestreamer became famous for his videos, but villagers began filming him 24/7 to gain views, even climbing over his walls to film him while he was using the toilet or changing clothes. When he refused to be filmed, they would bang on his door. Furthermore, relatives and friends borrowed money from him under various pretexts and refused to repay it. Left with no other option, the livestreamer eventually moved away from Xiahe Village.

He learned about the fishpond because the out-of-towner who had contracted it posted a complaint. The post included the name 'Xiaohe Village' and, due to its high level of discussion, it was featured on his homepage.

Xiahe Village was, after all, where this streamer grew up. Although the villagers behaved badly, he didn't want his hometown to become a place universally reviled. Moreover, this outsider's experience was truly tragic, so the streamer decided to help him.

Thanks to the streamer's existing fanbase and the traffic generated by the post, the number of viewers in the live stream quickly reached 50,000.

There are still many netizens with a sense of justice. The streamer also explained in advance that the fish would be priced higher due to transportation costs, but many people still bought fish in the live stream.

Because of the "catch and sell immediately" model, the pond clearing process is relatively slow.

During the live broadcast, the roar of the water pump attracted the attention of the villagers.

The villagers didn't notice the streamer was broadcasting live; they jumped into the fishpond and started openly catching fish, fearing they wouldn't be able to profit from it anymore.

The live stream was interrupted during the villagers' looting.

The out-of-towner lost everything. Although the streamer gave him all the gifts and tips he received during the live stream, it was just a drop in the bucket.

Later, unable to pay his daughter's medical expenses and loan payments, the man from out of town committed suicide by jumping off a building after his daughter's death.

Because the streamer exposed the villagers' ugly behavior in his live broadcast, the streamer was also hated by the villagers.

Then one day, a group of radical villagers kidnapped the streamer, not only stealing all his money but also brutally murdering him.

Although the murderer was eventually arrested, the life of the streamer could not be brought back to life.

This was the only case that resulted in a death in Xiahe Village before it was abandoned, and the ghost that created the Ghost Domain was most likely born because of this incident.

Who exactly is the ghost in Xiahe Village? Is it the murdered livestreamer? Or the outsider who contracted the fishpond?

Another strange thing is that if the ghost is really among these two people, then the murder occurred before the supernatural event. Why did it only happen after so many years and the village had been abandoned?

It also dragged five people who had nothing to do with the matter into it.

Just as Zhou Fangdong was pondering, a warning came from his Nightmare clone: ​​someone in the Ghost Realm was approaching his tenant.

Zhou Fangdong focused his consciousness on a clone and discovered that the people approaching the tenant were not dressed as villagers, but three young men.

Ordinary people were actually caught up in this? Was that ghost killing indiscriminately?

Zhou Fangdong habitually used his [Heavenly Eye] skill to assess the three approaching individuals, and then saw something above their heads...

[Player A, pretending to be a native of the cost world, in an infinite flow game]

[…Infinite Flow Player B]

[…Infinite Flow Player C]

Zhou Fangdong fell silent.

Wait, is this the Ghost Realm or the God Realm instance?

That's not right. If it were a main god instance, the system would directly tell him, "A tenant has entered the main god instance. Let him use the ghosts in the tenant's room to corrupt the instance," instead of a pop-up warning him that the tenant is in mortal danger.

Moreover, the main god didn't release the supernatural dungeons but directly released the players... Without dungeon range restrictions, isn't it afraid that the players will run away and never return to the main god space?

Zhou Fangdong rubbed his temples vigorously.

Everything's in complete chaos. The Ghost Realm hasn't even figured out which ghost caused it, and now the Main God has gotten involved... How annoying.