Chapter 168 Scarier Than a Ghost: Being an NPC in the Main God's Sub-Dungeon

Xiao Yi is an A-level infinite flow player, and he is currently clearing his last supernatural dungeon.

After successfully clearing ten A-level dungeons, each A-level player will be eligible to enter an S-level dungeon once.

The Supreme God said that as long as you clear the S-level dungeon, you can become an S-level player. From then on, you can freely enter and exit the real world and the Supreme God's space without any restrictions, and there will no longer be any hard requirements to clear the dungeon.

Although he had never seen an S-level player in the God's Space, he could understand it by putting himself in the God's shoes—after all, they had broken free from the God's control, and if it were him, he would never come back in this lifetime.

He had long been fed up with endlessly clearing supernatural dungeons, so after gaining the qualification to enter an S-level dungeon, Xiao Yi immediately upgraded all his skills to the highest level and exchanged all the remaining points for supernatural items.

He had waited far too long for this; it was a matter of success or death.

Upon entering the instance, before Xiao Yi could even observe the environment, he saw the instance description and requirements provided by the points system, and his heart sank.

This S-rank dungeon is called [Faith].

Instance Description: Unwavering Faith

[All supernatural items and skills are disabled in S-rank dungeons; the points system's storage space is temporarily frozen.]

Players only need to survive in this instance for three days to clear it.

Putting aside the strict conditions for banning skills and items, the survival guide for this S-rank dungeon is only four words: 'Firm Faith'.

Generally speaking, the way out of a dungeon is all in the dungeon description, and there will definitely be traps in the description of dungeons of grade B and above. They may be ironic, so you need to carefully distinguish them.

This was the first time Xiao Yi had ever seen a dungeon description with only four characters. He couldn't tell at all whether this 'firm faith' was a path to survival or the exact opposite—a death trap.

Furthermore, all items and skills are disabled in S-rank dungeons... The main god really can't afford to play this game.

It was daytime in the instance, a bright and sunny midday, but Xiao Yi felt a chill run through his body.

He had a vague sense of unease and had already guessed why no one had ever seen an S-level player in the God Space.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yi rallied and began to survey his surroundings.

He was now sitting on a sightseeing bus, which was a completely metal frame structure with no doors or windows, and no side panels, only a large sunshade on top.

Although it looks very unsafe, once the surrounding panels are removed, the interior view is very open, and you can clearly see the scenery outside.

They were the only vehicle traveling on the dirt road. The air was filled with the fragrance of unknown tropical flowers. Tall palm trees lined both sides of the road, and in the distance was a large rice paddy where many villagers were working. Further away, the outline of a village could be vaguely seen.

Xiao Yi looked away and turned to the people in the carriage.

The carriage had two rows of seats, and besides him, there were three other people with similarly somber expressions sitting on the train.

The group exchanged glances and instantly understood each other's identities.

Looking at the three players with bitter and resentful expressions, Xiao Yi knew that their dungeon descriptions were probably similar to his; they had all been tricked by the main god.

Although there were only four players in total, they did not have any intention of exchanging information about the dungeon. They remained silent and were taken to a guesthouse by the sightseeing bus.

Xiao Yi didn't say a word... because he had encountered a similar situation in a B-level dungeon before.

There were only three players in that instance, and they assumed that with so few players, the game wouldn't create any conflict between them. However, after exchanging information, they discovered that the three of them actually belonged to three different factions.

The subsequent dungeons were quite chaotic. As his identity was revealed, the chaotic battle that was supposed to happen on the last day appeared directly on the first day. If it weren't for Xiao Yi's strong survival skills, he probably would have perished in that dungeon.

From then on, Xiao Yi learned to first observe other players' actions in the dungeon to determine if they were in the same faction as him before sharing information.

I imagine other players probably share the same thought as him.

The guesthouse that the tour bus arrived at was located at the end of this dirt road, backed by a rubber plantation.

The guesthouse is a stilted house made of dark teak. The house is supported by several square wooden pillars and is more than a meter off the ground, forming a spacious open space. Several rattan tables and chairs and some miscellaneous items are placed under the open space.

The wooden staircase leading to the main house is decorated with intricate traditional patterns carved on its handrails and balustrades.

The four of them went up the stairs into the stilt house.

Upon entering, there is a spacious lobby. To the right, there is a check-in counter, and a local uncle is standing behind the counter looking at the ledger.

Above were exposed wooden beams, which intersected to form a triangular dome structure. Several chandeliers woven from palm leaves hung from the beams, with clusters of frangipani flowers dangling from the edges of the lampshades.

To the left is the dining area, where a set of low tables and chairs are placed by the window, with the tabletops and chair surfaces covered with indigo tie-dyed fabric.

On the wall in front of the dining area, near the beam, there is an embedded niche containing a palm-sized Buddha statue.

Just as Xiao Yi was about to examine the Buddha statue closely, the guesthouse owner standing behind the counter noticed their presence.

The guesthouse owner was a dark-skinned man dressed in a colorful striped ethnic costume. Upon seeing the customers arrive, he took out four flower wreaths from under the counter and warmly greeted them.

"Welcome! You must be the guests who just booked the room?" he said, placing a flower wreath around the necks of the four people.

The players suppressed their urge to retaliate, silently lowered their heads, and let the old man put the flower wreath around their necks.

Although skills and items have been disabled, the physical strength that players have developed over the years by clearing supernatural dungeons remains.

However, they also knew that even if the guide NPCs at the beginning of the dungeon were ghosts or monsters, they wouldn't attack on their first meeting. Therefore, when the innkeeper touched their necks, a vital area, they all restrained their urge to attack, lest they miss any important clues by killing him.

The owner helped them check in, and just as the four players got their keys and were about to go back to their rooms to look for clues, the owner called them back.

He took out four more items wrapped in red cloth from the counter and handed them to the four players. His expression was solemn and serious, and he said in a slow, low voice, "This... is for you. These are very ancient amulets, and they are also the guardian spirits that protect our village. Please be sure to carry them with you at all times; they will protect you and keep you safe."

Xiao Yi opened the red cloth and found a white Buddha statue inside. The statue didn't feel heavy and didn't seem to be made of stone; it looked like some kind of hard wood.

The Buddha statue's face was completely different from the usual benevolent-looking Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. Although the Buddha was smiling, the smile was extremely eerie and unsettling. The crescent-shaped eyes were entirely white, without any carved pupils. Even more bizarrely, the Buddha's hands were in a twisted posture, as if grasping at something or casting some kind of curse.

The Buddha statues held by all four players looked the same.

Xiao Yi stared at the Buddha statue in silence for a moment, then looked up at the niche high up opposite the dining area.

The Buddha statue they held was exactly the same as the one in the niche.

...Do they really want to carry this strange-looking thing with them all the time?

In previous instances, you could use items to test whether the Buddha amulet was dangerous.

But in this instance, they can only risk their lives, so they need to think carefully before making any decisions.

Firm faith... Xiao Yi suspected that if the dungeon prompt was correct, then in this dungeon, what players needed to do was choose a god or Buddha statue to protect them and then firmly uphold their faith.

If there might be any pitfalls involved, it would be in the choice of which deity or Buddha to follow.

If you choose the wrong object of your faith and then persist in it, you will only face death.

The amulet that the guesthouse owner provided them with should be their first choice of faith in the game.

Xiao Yi quietly put the amulet away and decided to go to the surrounding area later to gather more information, investigate the information about this ghost Buddha, and whether there were any other beliefs in this area.

The guesthouse is located near a village. When he arrived by sightseeing bus, he saw villages in the distance and many busy villagers in the rice paddies.

Before that, however, he needed to search his own guest room to see if there were any useful clues.

After seeing that the four players had accepted the amulets, the guesthouse owner smiled with relief. He put his hands together, bowed to the players, and said, "Buddha will bless you." Then he went back behind the counter to continue looking through the ledger.

The four players looked at each other, but ultimately remained silent.

The conditions for this S-rank dungeon are too demanding; they dare not trust the NPCs in the dungeon, let alone other players.

A narrow wooden corridor connects the lobby and guest rooms, and Xiao Yi was the last to enter this corridor.

The walls on both sides of the corridor were made of openwork wood panels, which were carved with many folk patterns and a lot of characters he did not recognize.

Xiao Yi's phone is also in the system space, so it can't even translate.

He sighed. Although he couldn't read the text, communication wasn't a problem. If he couldn't even understand what the NPCs in the dungeon were saying, he would be completely doomed.

Xiao Yi found his room using the key in his hand.

The door was low; he was only 1.75 meters tall, but he still had to duck to get in.

Upon entering, there is a semi-transparent white gauze curtain. After lifting the curtain, you can see a traditional four-poster low bed.

The four bedposts were carved with lotus bud shapes at the top, and a yellow gauze canopy hung from the ceiling with tassels at the four corners. The mattress was thick and soft, covered with a crimson silk sheet, and several cushions embroidered with blue elephant patterns were folded on top.

Opposite the bed was a built-in wooden cabinet. Xiao Yi noticed that there was also a small Buddhist niche above the cabinet door. This niche looked more exquisite than the one in the front hall, and inside it was a white Buddha statue with a strange smile.

...Can you really fall asleep while facing something like this?

Xiao Yi began to search the room carefully.

Neither in the lobby nor in the guest rooms can you find any modern electrical appliances... there isn't even a place to charge them, let alone computers or mobile phones.

Xiao Yi had originally thought that before interacting with the NPCs in the dungeon, he could look for any paper or electronic records to learn about the local customs and taboos, so as to avoid offending them when talking to the locals.

But now it seems that this path is blocked. To investigate the local folklore and guardian deities of the instance, the only option is to bite the bullet and ask the innkeeper or villagers.

Xiao Yi was the first player to return to the lobby from his guest room.

When he saw the guesthouse owner standing behind the counter, he was taken aback.

The dark-skinned middle-aged man behind the counter was gone, replaced by a young man in his twenties.

The man didn't look like a local at all. He had delicate features and pale skin. Despite the tropical climate, he was wearing black long-sleeved shirts and trousers, and the loose clothing made him look even thinner. If we were to use objects as a metaphor, if the uncle we just saw was a simple, rough, colorful pottery jar, then this man was a white porcelain bottle that was placed on a high platform and would break at the slightest touch.

In short, someone who should absolutely not be here.

Out of place, so strange.

Although it felt strange, this was, after all, a supernatural instance where anything could happen, so Xiao Yi simply greeted the young man naturally: "Hello, you must be a helper at the inn. Excuse me, innkeeper, do you know where that dark-skinned uncle went?"

“He went out again, so I’m watching the shop for him.” Zhou Fangdong said, leaning on the counter with both hands, while kicking the things underneath to push the already ghostly corpse of the uncle further inside the counter.

After entering this main god instance, Zhou Fangdong discovered that there was a loading time for him to personally erode the instance... During this time, in order not to attract the attention of the main god, he had to act as an NPC in this instance for a period of time.

Fortunately, the time flow in the God Realm is faster than in the Apartment, and the loading time is short, so it shouldn't take up too much time.

Zhou Fangdong made no attempt to conceal his actions, and Xiao Yi noticed out of the corner of her eye that a familiar hem of clothing seemed to flash past under the counter.

But he dared not say anything, dared not ask anything, he just stiffly smiled at Zhou Fangdong, and then left the stilt house as quickly as possible.

...The guesthouse owner had just said that the amulet could protect them, but then he himself vanished in an instant.

Xiao Yi found a tricycle next to the guesthouse, which was probably used by the uncle to haul goods.

He jumped in, stepped on the gas, and drove towards the village.

However, on the way to the village, Xiao Yi discovered to his despair that, whether it was the villagers working in the fields or the villagers carrying loads on the road, although their clothes were different, their faces were all slowly turning into the appearance of the young man at the guesthouse counter.

After finally flooring the gas pedal, we arrived at the village. But before we could even exchange a few words with the villagers, in the blink of an eye, they had all transformed into the young man from the guesthouse.

Xiao Yi was so sweaty that his clothes were soaked.

Why is he everywhere?!

Could that young man be the ghost in the dungeon? Is its ability to assimilate all the dungeon NPCs and prevent players from obtaining information?

We've only just entered the dungeon, and such a terrifying anomaly has already occurred. This is truly frightening; is this the power of an S-rank dungeon boss?

Xiao Yi dared not linger in the village any longer, so he jumped onto the tricycle and left the village.

It is now confirmed that the ghost in this S-rank dungeon is that young man.

However, what does the message "firm faith" from the instance mean? Does it mean they should believe in this young man and have unwavering faith so that he won't harm them?

Or perhaps they need to find a deity in this guesthouse to protect them, strengthen their faith, and keep them safe from that young man?

What a terrifying dungeon boss! And such a complex dungeon mechanic! No wonder it's a legendary S-rank dungeon...

Looking at the villagers on the road, who resembled a clone army, Xiao Yi's expression grew increasingly desperate.

He couldn't give up hope; there must be other ways out... Assimilation might have only started around that young man; the more distant areas might not have been affected yet. He needed to go and see what was happening further away.

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Author's Note: Bonus chapter at 9 PM tonight.