Chapter 57: Yinghu Park (Ten)
Perhaps because it knew that it was useless to do anything, the monster became motionless.
It stood frozen in place, as if it had turned into a weird sculpture.
Xu Dong helped Wang Jia get up from the rock. The two of them stared at it while cautiously going behind it and signaling to Mu Yu and the others in the well. How were they going to get up there?
Mu Yu turned around and was about to discuss a solution with Lu Chongnian when he found that Ye Sui had also followed.
Ye Sui's mouth was also sealed by the flesh buds at this moment. Mu Yu asked in shock: "You?"
Ye Sui waved his hands to indicate that he was fine.
He was holding a bundle of hemp rope in his hand, which seemed to have been found from a pile of weeds nearby.
"We encountered him when we were dealing with that monster just now," Lu Zhongnian explained, took the bundle of hemp rope, put it down, and pulled the other end with Ye Sui, saying, "We handcuffed the monster on the road."
"It seems that the price for monsters to attack players is broken limbs. If their heads hit the players, their heads will rot and grow new ones. The monster just now changed its head like this. The new one grew a face of Lu Bin, and its clothes were also changed into wedding clothes for a groom."
Mu Yu responded: "Can its face switch back and forth between Lu Bin and Qin Jiang?"
"Yes," Lu Zhongnian said slowly, "It may be because both of them were killed by it."
The faces of dead players belong to monsters.
Mu Yu lowered his head and watched Wang Jia and Xu Dong coming up with the hemp rope one after the other. He then asked Lu Zhongnian in a low voice, "What about Jiang He? How do you think he got into trouble?"
Xu Dong has already climbed up by now.
He took a breath and quickly typed on his phone to show them: "The monster just now said that the one named Jiang He met them and put out the fire on them, and then she was attacked by her boyfriend. The two fought and both died."
Mu Yu took a look and frowned, "The process must be fake...but Jiang He's death might be real."
If the monster's head rotted a few more times, perhaps they would be able to see Jiang He's face growing on its neck.
Without saying anything else, they threw down the bundle of hemp rope and ran towards the game base station.
They arrived at the game base station at 11:55, and they ran into Hong Yang, Su Mingyun and Yan Shaowen who had also arrived.
The three men brought back a strange photo.
There is a large ball of red foam in the photo, so much foam that it looks like a whole bottle of detergent has been overturned, and a pair of sneakers is hidden under the foam.
Mu Yu recognized it: "...Are these Jiang He's sneakers? Did he leave his sneakers behind?"
Lu Zhongnian said in a young voice: "Under the red foam is flesh and bones."
Mu Yu took a closer look and realized that the photo was actually of a pair of severed legs!
It’s Jiang He’s broken leg!
Su Mingyun said: "Just a few minutes before the radio broadcast that Jiang He was in trouble, I heard some strange noises."
At that time, she was sitting on a branch and heard Jiang He's voice not far away, as if he was frightened: "You?!"
She cheered herself up, thinking that she could finally be freed from the tree, but what she heard next was the sound of two people fighting, and Jiang He's voice, "I know you are a monster!"
Su Mingyun was frightened at the time, but the sound of fighting did not last long. Soon, someone fell heavily to the ground, and after that, all the sounds disappeared.
"I waited for a long time but heard no sound. I thought both of them were dead. But after a while, I heard footsteps approaching me. After a while, two footsteps left together."
Mu Yu immediately asked, "Two footsteps?"
"Yes!" Su Mingyun touched the goose bumps on his arm and swallowed his saliva, "I feel that the monster has not left. It stood there for a long time without making a sound after Jiang He died. Later, someone came to find it, and then it left with the other person!"
When Su Mingyun thought about the long period of time when the monster had actually been there...
What is it doing? Why is it so quiet?
Is it looking at the dead river, or is it looking at her...?
Su Mingyun felt terrified when he thought of that scene.
"After I came down from the tree, the three of us searched the area and only found Jiang He's feet... The rest of his body was missing."
Let’s look at this photo again.
A living person, but only this little part and a bunch of weird bubbles are left.
The price a monster pays for attacking a player is just broken limbs and a rotten head, but the price a player pays for attacking a monster is direct death.
Human life is indeed cheap in the dungeon.
Yan Shaowen turned his gaze and fell on Lu Chongnian and Mu Yu.
Although he was pulled into the dungeon halfway through, he remained quite calm: "How many monsters have you encountered so far?"
...Mu Yu still had a very strange feeling when he saw Young Master Yan in the copy.
He answered, "Three. One I met when I was still wearing the red veil, and the other two I met at the same time after we met Xu Dong."
"Among the two monsters, one should be the one Jiang He encountered, but what Jiang He saw at that time should be the appearance of the monster when it transformed into Lu Bin. The other one..."
Su Mingyun opened his eyes wide: "——Could it be the one that found me before and left with the Lu Bin monster?!"
Mu Yu pondered.
That's an explanation, but it's strange.
It’s not like the monster can’t find the way back, so why does it have to wait for its companions to come before going together?
But if the footsteps that Su Mingyun heard at that time did not belong to another monster, then whose could it be?
His eyes swept towards the photo of the severed foot in their phone...
Or, the monster that came later didn’t go there to bring the other monster “home”, but to… do something together with Jiang He’s body?
But if this is the case, does it also mean that Jiang He was not in this state when he died...?
Why did the monster...?
Hong Yang glanced at the time and said, "Why don't we go ask the boss for the reward first? Let's see what it is first."
They found the boss who was busy in the wooden house. The boss smiled and said, "Congratulations! Wait here for a moment. I'll bring the prize over!"
He quickly turned back and handed them four envelopes. At that moment, the feeling of impending death that was oppressing them completely disappeared, and the couple's game between the four groups seemed to have come to an end.
They walked to the back of the cabin, each opened the envelope, and found that there was a card inside.
The front of the card was printed with love blessings such as "grow old together", "harmonious marriage", "talented man and beautiful woman", and "heart to heart", while the back was printed with -
As soon as he felt the touch, Mu Yu felt something was wrong. He turned the card over and immediately heard Su Mingyun yell, "Fuck!"
The backs of the four cards were covered with a layer of wet and sticky slime!
It's the Devil's Moon!
This is what they found?!
Each card only has half of the Devil's Moon pattern on it, and they have to put two cards together to get a complete Devil's Moon.
Yan Shaowen's expression was indescribable: "...Is this what the players are looking for in the dungeon?"
Su Mingyun shook his hands desperately and said with a bitter face: "Yes, but why are there two Devil Moons in this instance?"
Lu Zhongnian said calmly, "Look carefully. The color of the single Devil Moon graphic is light and thin, which is different from the ones in the first two copies. We need to stack the four cards together in pairs, and overlap the two Devil Moons, so that we can get a complete monster generator."
Su Mingyun took a closer look and exclaimed, "Really?"
No wonder players had to be added in midway through this dungeon.
Because they must get four cards to pass the level, if any of the eight players dies, the game will be declared game over!
In that case, this instance would be too difficult to proceed, and no one would be able to complete it without anyone dying.
Replenishing people is a necessary setting to maintain this copy game.
Hong Yang asked uncertainly: "So, are we almost successful in clearing the level? As long as we get a complete monster generator and destroy it, we can leave the dungeon, right?"
Ye Sui couldn't speak and could only nod to indicate that it was true.
Yan Shaowen glanced at the time: "So - is it that simple?"
It is only 11:58 now, and there are still 27 minutes left until the final deadline of the copy.
Is this a bit too much?
When he saw Mu Yu and Ye Sui looking so nervous and serious, he thought they had encountered some huge problem, but the result was just like this?
Xu Dong couldn't wait to type on his phone: "Anyway, whether we can leave the dungeon like this, won't we know if we try it?"
Mu Yu was silent and thinking.
He suddenly shook his head and said, "No, I think we should not touch these four cards for now."
He raised his head and said to everyone, "I always feel that there are still many problems in this instance that have not been solved. We'd better sort out the situation. Anyway, there is still time. Let's not rush. What do you think?"
Xu Dong and Wang Jia immediately slumped their shoulders.
Su Mingyun nodded in agreement: "Yes, I also think it's safer to stroke it again!"
Yan Shaowen shrugged and indicated that he had no objection.
Mu Yu asked them, "Besides what we have just discussed, did you find anything else on the way here?"
Hong Yang seemed to suddenly remember something at this moment.
He took out two candles from his pocket. "I just thought these two candles were a bit strange, so I brought them here. I found these two candles where I was waiting for Ye Sui. When I found them, they were already extinguished. I don't know if they were blown out by the wind."
Mu Yu took the two candles and observed them with everyone.
However, just looking at it this way doesn't make any sense.
These two candles look very ordinary and are no different from other candles.
Xu Dong handed over his phone, which read: "The rules of the couple game say we can't blow out the candles, but the park rules say we have to blow out the candles. Could it be that one of the rules is false?"
Mu Yu touched his chin.
"The rules for couples' games target the candles placed by the game group, while the park rules target the candles lit by tourists. The two are not the same."
Only candles lit by tourists need to be blown out, and the rules actually distinguish between the two situations.
Lu Zhongnian turned his head and whispered to him, "The game group should be referring to the boss of the game base station. I met him on the way to find you. At that time, he said he was checking if there were any candles that had not been lit."
After hearing this, Mu Yu was thoughtful.
In other words, there are indeed some unlit candles in the woods?
Mu Yu didn't think that the candles in the woods were really lit one by one by the boss NPC.
This is a copy, and the copy is not that "stupid".
Most of the candles in the woods must have been lit from the beginning.
As for what they discovered later, including the unburned candles found by the boss, they had no idea whether they were blown out by the wind or what.
And could the clues be hidden in these unburned candles?
Ye Sui also handed over his phone: "Were the candles in the woods lit by the boss or the tourists? We can't actually tell the difference. And are monsters considered 'tourists'?"
Everyone concentrated.
- If monsters are counted as visitors, and they can light candles, then they must blow out those candles as well.
Following this line of thought, Su Mingyun frowned: "But if that's the case, then we can only blow out all the candles in the woods to ensure that there are no mistakes!"
But will there be any punishment for blowing out the wrong candle?
——They seemed to have turned into a dead end.
Xu Dong and Wang Jia scratched their heads, their brains were about to explode.
Hong Yang then stood up and said, "How about this, I'll take these two candles and ask the boss to light them. After they're lit, I'll blow them out and see if there's any punishment. If I'm fine by then, then the rule that 'candles lit by the gaming group cannot be blown out' is false."
Mu Yu frowned immediately: "No."
Hong Yang insisted: "We have to try it to know, maybe this is just a trick."
After saying that, he turned around and walked into the game base station.
The others followed immediately.
When the boss saw the two candles that Hong Yang took out, he immediately exclaimed "Ouch" and took out a lighter to light them.
Before Mu Yu could stop him, Hong Yang blew out both candles in one breath.
At this moment, everyone tensed up and stared at him nervously.
However, three seconds passed, Hong Yang looked at himself, turned around and showed them: "Look, it's okay! That rule is fake!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Dong started typing again: "Then should we just blow out all the candles in the woods? If there are really clues hidden in there, we can always find them this way, right?"
Mu Yu always felt that something was wrong.
It was as if there was a ball of tangled thread in front of him. He could not find the end of the thread and could not unroll it straight and smoothly.
What exactly is the problem?
At this time, Lu Zhongnian patted his shoulder.
The boy stood behind him and said calmly to everyone else, "In addition to the forest, there are also 'candles' outside. If you want to consider the problem, you should consider both sides at the same time. Go check the candle array as well."
The group hurried through the gaming base station and out the front door.
At this moment, there are three candles in the candle array that are lit.
Since they all already had the cards, there was no rush this time.
Instead, it was the disappearance of Li Mingke at the park gate that attracted their attention.
Su Mingyun was surprised: "Did he enter the park after midnight again?"
Mu Yu subconsciously glanced at the time on his phone and suddenly became serious: "No, it's already 11:59!"
Everyone was stunned, and then they all reacted -
The 11:22 on their side corresponds to exactly 0 o'clock in the world after midnight.
The time limit of this copy is up to 00:25, so calculating conversely, 00:25 corresponds to 11:47 on their side!
In other words, after 11:47, the corresponding world after midnight no longer exists, and Li Mingke theoretically should not enter the park again!
But it's already 11:59 and there's no one at the gate!
Su Mingyun hesitated and asked, "...then where did Li Mingke go?"
"There are two possibilities," Yan Shaowen said calmly, "either he forgot that he couldn't enter the park after 11:47, and stepped into the future after the copy was closed, and he can't come back."
"Either he went into the park again before 11:47 and died in the world after midnight—"
The atmosphere suddenly became solemn and everyone froze.
...Whichever possibility it is, it seems very bad.
Mu Yu was silent for a moment, then asked them: "Who was the last one among you to see Li Mingke, and when did you see him?"
Lu Zhongnian: "Me, 11:40."
11:40, the corresponding world after midnight is 00:18.
In other words, assuming that Li Mingke had not forgotten the latest time limit for his travel back and forth, and he entered the park within the normal time frame, then they would have to wait at least until 00:18 before they could meet Li Mingke, who had traveled from another timeline, in the park.
And assuming that Li Mingke really died in the future copy world and therefore could not return to their timeline, then what did he encounter in the future?
There must be some very important clues in this copy that they haven't discovered yet!
Can they find clues in time and save Li Mingke?
Mu Yu took a deep breath, walked to the candle array, and half-knelt down.
He looked at the three candles burning quietly and blew hard.
Only one candle was successfully blown out, the other two candles were still burning.
Lu Zhongnian half-knelt down and said slowly: "One of the eternal candles was born at 11:35."
The birth of this candle was due to Jiang He’s mistake.
And when was the other eternal candle born?
In order for a candle to stay burning, the player must blow it out once and then relight it. The birth of this kind of candle must be due to the player's mistake.
And whose mistake was it that led to the birth of the second everlasting candle?
They had just checked all the sticky notes left on the tree branches, and there were no new sticky notes after the one Ye Sui wrote at 11:37.
That is to say, after 11:37, a player came out and accidentally created an everlasting candle, but left without leaving any information.
Mu Yu stared at the two candles and said slowly, "We need to understand what the four situations of candles being lit, candles being blown out, candles extinguishing themselves, and candles being blown out and then rekindled mean."
"First the candles were lit."
"——This situation most likely means that a monster has appeared in the woods. I think everyone agrees on this now, right?"
Although this was the first time they had gathered together to discuss and analyze the game after the couple game began, everyone shook their heads and expressed no objection to this simplest question.
——There is more than one monster in this copy, and candles must be closely related to monsters.
It seems obvious that "every candle that is lit means a monster appears in the woods."
The game starts to get complicated when the NPC lights the candles in the candle array.
Mu Yu continued to analyze: "Before Lu Zhongnian found me, I encountered a monster. After the monster left in front of me, it seemed to disappear suddenly after walking a few steps."
"I can't pinpoint the exact time, but it was probably around 11:30 - Ye Sui, you blew out a candle at 11:37, right?"
Ye Sui nodded.
Su Mingyun immediately reacted: "——When the player blows out the candle, the corresponding monster will disappear?"
So what do the two situations of a candle extinguishing itself and a candle not extinguishing mean?
Lu Zhongnian looked at the two everlasting candles in front of him and said, "We can check the number. How many groom monsters have we encountered so far?"
Everyone looked at each other.
Mu Yu said, "I have one, Xu Dong has one, and the one Qin Jiang and Lu Bin encountered when they were killed might also be the groom monster. What about you?"
His eyes were fixed on Ye Sui.
Ye Sui nodded - they also encountered a groom monster.
There were four groom monsters that they encountered alone, which did not match the current number of unquenchable candles, which numbered two.
Lu Zhongnian asked again: "So how many bride monsters have we encountered?"
Mu Yu: "I have one here."
Su Mingyun: "I have one here too."
No one raised their hand.
——It’s 2. The number of bride monsters that have appeared so far is 2, so this number matches!
Yan Shaowen raised his eyebrows and said, "So, the monsters created when the NPC lights the candles are likely all single groom monsters. If the player fails to blow out the candles in one breath, when the candles are relit, the monster's identity will change from groom to bride?"
The clues were gradually sorted out.
Su Mingyun scratched his head: "Then what does it mean that the candles extinguish themselves? If these self-extinguishing candles are really blown out by the wind, and the corresponding monsters will disappear after being blown out, then is it nature that reduces the burden on the players?"
Mu Yu shook his head and said, "It's impossible for such a good thing to happen."
He pondered deeply, "The candle was extinguished - whether it was blown out by the player or extinguished by itself, the result is likely to be similar, that is, 'the monster disappears'. But the 'monster disappearance' corresponding to the candle extinguishing itself must not be that simple..."
He suddenly thought of something, exchanged glances with Lu Zhongnian, and blurted out: "-If the monster successfully kills the player and seizes the player's identity, will it also be equivalent to 'the monster disappears'?"
Su Mingyun and the others were stunned and didn't understand. Ye Sui, Hong Yang, and Yan Shaowen looked thoughtful.
Lu Chongnian nodded slightly.
"——Monsters have no other facial features except a mouth. When they successfully steal the player's face and transform into the player's face, will they no longer be pure monsters?"
"The number of candles represents the number of free monsters from the beginning to the end. When the monsters have the identity of players, the number of free monsters will decrease, and the candles will go out by themselves!"
Su Mingyun and the others suddenly understood.
All the puzzles have been solved, and the problem has also arisen——
Lu Zhongnian and Mu Yu stood up.
Yan Shaowen smiled with amusement.
"If Li Mingke and I were not present when the candle went out, no one would have seen it."
"Li Mingke is not here now, and we can't confirm with him how many times he saw the candle extinguish itself during the whole process."
He pointed to the two ever-burning candles.
"Who made the second everlasting candle? I guess no one among the eight of us is going to take the initiative to claim it now, right?"
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