These words were like a reassurance to everyone, and even players who had previously doubted Castin couldn't help but cast hopeful glances at him.
Everyone waited in silence for his next words.
"First of all, I want to apologize to everyone."
Unexpectedly, the detective lowered his head, a hint of melancholy flashing across his face.
"I couldn't stop Yang Er and the others from getting involved."
Yang Er was the leader of the group that broke into the farm earlier.
In the morning, when all the players were gathered in the hotel in a panic, they were the first to calm down, but instead they pointed their guns at the others, forcing them to hand over all the items in their backpacks.
This group is a scourge in the game. Their usual fun is ruining the game experience for other players, such as repeatedly killing players at their respawn point or stealing other players' clues. They have been reported countless times.
However, Blood Town is a game with competitive elements. It is played by teams of 1-4 players, and only the person who finds the clues first and breaks the curse is the winner. The rest will be swallowed up by the thick fog of Blood Town.
Therefore, the game's official stance is not to prohibit players from fighting each other, and even uses it as one of its selling points, which allows Yang Er and his gang to continue committing evil deeds within the game.
Unexpectedly, this group of people turned out to be a gang of criminals in real life. After confirming that the game had come true, their first reaction was to "rule the mountain" in this place where the law could not reach.
Although they are few in number compared to the other players, the fact that they can wield guns is enough to make them fearsome.
Although Blood Town is a holographic game, in order to pass censorship, the guns and weapons are not made too realistic. Players only need to press the trigger to fire, and operations such as loading and unloading bullets and changing magazines are all done by the system.
Therefore, once everything became a reality, even just holding the weapon, the sheer weight of it was enough to frighten these players living in a peaceful world.
But Yang Er and his group seemed quite adept at it, and after one player mustered the courage to refuse their request—
He was shot dead on the spot.
Blood stained the hotel lobby floor, and until now, no one dared to clean it up.
But everyone saw the body being taken away by the police, and until the very end, they never saw the light representing resurrection appear in the game.
Even now, the thought of those scenes is terrifying.
Someone swallowed hard.
"...That's not your fault, since you had already gone to the police station by then."
"Yes, and they left quickly after taking the weapons, without harming us again."
"Speaking of which, I wonder where they went? They haven't shown up for so long, could it be that they found some clues to escape?"
When this last suggestion was made, everyone became eager to participate.
Castin, however, did not confirm this optimistic speculation.
"I told everyone to scatter and try to find clues from the NPCs. Who went?"
The atmosphere in the room froze, the discussion came to an abrupt halt, and after a long while, two people hesitantly raised their hands.
Castin glanced at one of them, who looked somewhat embarrassed.
"I went downstairs to chat with the hotel owner for a bit..."
All I got were trivial, mundane conversations about the other person's daily life.
The other person wasn't much better off than him.
“I went to the backyard and played with the owner’s youngest daughter, Lily—no, I chatted with her for a while.”
The child knew nothing when asked, but he had a good set of teeth and ate all the candy in his bag.
Everyone cautiously peered at Castin's expression, only to find that he showed no disappointment whatsoever, but instead nodded calmly to indicate that he understood.
Then the topic continued:
"Then you probably haven't gone out to see anything."
He turned his head to look out the window. Perhaps to create an atmosphere of private conversation, someone had drawn the curtains tightly shut, preventing any sunlight from getting in.
His voice was somewhat unsteady.
"Yang Er and his gang randomly killed people on the streets and smashed up shops all over the streets and alleys."
It was precisely because of this that he, a newly recruited police officer, had the opportunity to go out and carry out missions.
There's really no one left in the bureau.
A gasp of cold air filled the air.
"They actually dared to..."
"I actually heard faint gunshots, but I was so scared that I covered myself with the blanket and didn't dare to look out..."
"Do they still think they're in a game...?"
"Actually, this is a good thing."
Someone muttered something under their breath, which drew everyone's attention to him.
He was startled, only to realize that the surroundings had become quiet at some point, so much so that his words echoed in the air and everyone heard them.
The player first looked around in a panic, then his face turned red.
"What I said isn't wrong! If we don't kill these NPCs, won't they kill us tonight?"
"Besides, they're just NPCs, not real people."
"Haven't you killed any NPCs before?"
Someone frowned, wanting to object, but Castin stopped them.
"Let's not discuss moral issues for now. After all, if we're really being chased at night, it's only reasonable to fight back."
"Now I'm going to talk about the consequences of what Yang Er did."
As he spoke, he actually got up and pulled open the curtains.
Then, he stepped back and turned to show everyone the scene outside.
The townspeople emerged from their homes in twos and threes, and people were already beginning to clean up the previously chaotic streets. A faint weeping sound, coming from somewhere, reached their ears on the wind.
As if noticing the commotion, someone looked up.
Then, as if infected, one after another, everyone on the street stopped what they were doing and looked toward the hotel.
The kind smiles on their faces had vanished; everyone was pale, expressionless, and inhuman.
"We have angered them."
"Whoosh—"
One player finally couldn't take it anymore, stood up and slammed the curtains shut, the movement so forceful it looked like he was going to tear them down.
Castin did not stop him, but slowly walked back to his seat.
"Now that you...you've already guessed this, what should we do next?"
One player spoke up timidly, finally bringing the others back to their senses, and they all turned their attention back to the detective.
Castin smiled reassuringly at the crowd, then looked at one of them.
"I remember there were some players among us who successfully completed the game, right?"
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