Chapter 699 [(*^▽^*)]
Xue Rui began to recall the entire process of arriving at the house last night. He realized that Lin Leyou had opened the door and closed it, and that he hadn't touched the door at all.
So you can't touch this door? Because this house belongs to Lin Leyou, to put it bluntly, it doesn't belong to you. It would make sense if it were nighttime, but it's daytime now.
All the ghosts and monsters will turn into humans and won't even be able to use their abilities... Wait a minute!
Xue Rui suddenly remembered that Lin Leyou had just woven a quilt out of plants, and that he had used his ability to clear everything out of the house.
He used his ability once again, then went to another bathroom to look in the mirror. He saw that he still looked like a normal human and had not turned into a monster.
What's going on? Logically speaking, this shouldn't be possible... Although I don't know why, it's good that it works.
He hesitated by the door for a while, but in the end he didn't go out. He felt that something would definitely happen if he pushed the door open, so he might as well go back to Lin Leyou's side and sleep with him.
In front of villa number 15, the man who became the owner of the villa last night pushed open the door and came out. He wanted to go and see the fountain first, but he still couldn't see the sculpture in the fountain after he arrived at the square.
He also saw several people gathered near the fountain, seemingly observing the situation. He gradually approached and heard what they were saying; they were indeed asking the statue.
His approach drew the attention of the group, and one of them asked, "Do you need something?"
Xue Rui: "It's nothing, I just came here to look for a sculpture. Are you looking for one too?"
They exchanged a glance. "So you're my companions. When did you arrive?"
Xue Rui's eyes flashed. "What happened yesterday?"
"It's nothing. I came the day before yesterday. I didn't expect that the time would be different when I entered..."
Xue Rui said, “This village has a total of 10,000 houses. The houses near the center are luxurious, while the houses on the outer edge are simpler. Each house only houses one person. The number of houses is fixed, so if someone wants to get in, someone has to go missing.”
He said "missing," but they all knew the real story.
"Therefore, there will definitely be a continuous stream of people coming in."
"Does this instance not have a strict end time? After all, as long as there are people... there will be others to fill in, and there are definitely people like us among them."
"In this situation, if there is a fixed end time, wouldn't the players assigned on the end day be doomed to die?"
Hearing their discussion, Xue Rui also considered this possibility. "That makes sense, but do you have any clues about the mission now?"
"Regardless of when the dungeon ends, finding the main quest as soon as possible is the priority."
They were also a little confused, "Does it mean that we need to hunt down ghosts and kill all the ghosts in the village to pass the level?"
"I think what you're describing sounds more like a side quest; a main quest shouldn't be like that."
"What was it like? Tell me."
"I just don't know! If I did know, why would I be here right now?"
"Hey, hey, keep it down, the NPCs are all looking over here."
Everyone then temporarily quieted down, and Xue Rui whispered, "Shall we go somewhere else?"
They looked at each other, and no one objected. The square was indeed too crowded, and it was necessary to move to a safe and secluded place.
Instead of looking for a place in the village, they left the village and went to a small hill some distance from the edge of the village, where they began to whisper and discuss their plans.
"I think the main quest might be related to the missing statue in the village fountain."
How can you be so sure?
"I'm not sure, I'm just saying I think so. And right now, we don't have any other clues, right? In that case, let's see if this clue is right. If it's wrong, then we can look for other clues, right?"
“That makes sense, and I think it’s feasible.”
"I have no objection, I agree."
Xue Rui actually had no objections. He cared a lot about the ring. If he had known, he wouldn't have run away when he saw it that night. He should have just taken the ring with him. This thing was definitely very important.
"I agree, so where should we look? Have you asked any NPCs? Does any NPC know anything about the statue?"
Xue Rui was determined to get that ring, but he didn't know if the group of people had noticed it as well. If they had...
"We didn't ask about that, but we stayed there for a long time, and many NPCs, just like a couple of days ago, would come to the fountain to make wishes and throw a coin in every now and then. But they didn't notice the problem with the statue at all; they probably didn't know about it."
Xue Rui recalled the NPCs who had passed by during the time he was in the square, and it seemed that none of them had shown any concern about the missing statue in the fountain.
Anyone who knows the situation will inevitably complain, "Why are the statues in the fountain gone?"
"Do you have any leads? For example, who might have stolen the statue?"
"How would I know? I just thought the statue was pretty nice, so I glanced at it a couple of times and didn't see anything wrong with it, so I didn't pay much attention to it."
"Why don't we ask the shops around here? The NPCs there definitely know more."
"But they don't open their shops at night, so how would they know who took it? Even if they did, they wouldn't tell us, right? And... who knows if the people living over there are living people or ghosts?"
"In this village, ghosts can transform into humans during the day, making them indistinguishable from humans. If we happen to ask about a ghost, will we be targeted at night?"
"Then let's stay in the same house tonight. We stayed together last night and nothing happened, right? I guess it's not mandatory for each person to stay in their own house."
Xue Rui then remembered that several players had gathered around the fountain yesterday evening. He had only glanced at them a few times and hadn't expected it to be them.
At this moment, one of them looked at Xue Rui and asked, "What about you? Do you want to come along tonight?"
Xue Rui, "Where do you live?"
“We live at number 6,928 in the east of the village.”
Xue Rui was speechless. Nearly seven thousand house numbers—"Is it the best one?"
"Yes, don't be fooled by the price of over six thousand. The house looks alright inside. It's a bit cramped, but there's no problem adding you."
Xue Rui shook his head. "Forget it, I'll stay at my own place. Let's go back to the village first. We'll do what you said before and go ask around at the shops near the fountain."
"No problem, let's go."
They arrived near the fountain again and saw some NPCs throwing coins there. Xue Rui grabbed the clothes of one of the people next to him and walked over there.
As he walked, he kept asking, "Hey, look, where did the statue in the fountain go? It was there yesterday."
The person he grabbed paused for a moment, then glanced at the NPCs by the fountain. After Xue Rui finished speaking, they all turned to look at them. He quickly chimed in, "Yeah, we saw them yesterday, but they're gone today."
"Was it moved?" he asked casually, glancing up at the crowd and seeing people tossing coins to make wishes.
"Hey, do you guys know who took it?"
They were all stunned, exchanging bewildered glances. Finally, one of them said, "What statue? We... haven't seen it before."
Xue Rui and his companions were somewhat surprised. They had never seen ordinary NPCs before. Could the statue possibly become invisible depending on the situation?
"Since you've never seen a statue, how do you throw coins into the fountain to make a wish? You need a statue of a deity to even think about making a wish, right?"
They became even more nervous upon hearing this. "What idol? Don't talk nonsense! There are no idols in our village!"
"As for why we throw coins here to make a wish, it wasn't originally for making wishes. The coins we throw are for the future maintenance of this fountain. Since it's all voluntary, no one minds. Over time, people have come to appreciate the ritual, and it has evolved into throwing coins to make a wish."
Everyone found this reason unbelievable. The coins were thrown in to pay for the maintenance of the fountain, not to make a wish. It was only because the ritual was so meaningful that it evolved into a wish-making activity.
"So there's never been a goddess statue in this fountain?"
They all gave him strange looks. "Yeah, where did this goddess statue come from? It's just a fountain, and a fountain is beautiful enough. There's no need to add any other weird stuff."
After saying that, they left without giving the group another chance to ask questions.
Xue Rui turned to look at them, "What do you think?"
"I find what they're saying strange, unlikely, but... it must be true?"
Xue Rui actually thought it was true. He had an idea in his mind, but he didn't know if his guess was correct, so he wanted to ask more questions.
"Let's go, let's split up and ask in the shops, preferably the shop assistants or owners, they definitely know more."
Xue Rui pointed to the cake shop in front of them, "I'll go over there, you guys pick one yourselves."
They quickly chose the shops they wanted to go to. Xue Rui walked towards the cake shop. After pushing open the door, he found that there weren't many customers inside, which was just right as it wouldn't interfere with the people inside doing business.
But instead of going up to ask right away, he selected some of the more expensive cakes in the cake shop before going to the counter to pay, saying, "I want these."
"Okay, I'll pack it for you."
Xue Rui nodded, then looked outside. From this vantage point, he could see the fountain perfectly. He casually asked, "Where are the sculptures in the fountain?"
The shop assistant was packing the cakes when she heard him ask this question. She blurted out, "They were taken away last night."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
