Chapter 37 Returning Home 7 Wind Orange Village
Wu Wangwang glanced at the nearby doors out of the corner of her eye and said, "It's nothing..."
She wanted to say that someone was watching them, but Ling Yuanshan pulled her downstairs before she could finish her sentence.
Once downstairs in the hotel lobby, besides the owner, there was no one else there. Ling Yuanshan then said, "I know they were there. Did nothing really happen last night?"
No wonder Ling Yuanshan was able to survive so many dungeons; his perception ability is indeed stronger than that of ordinary people.
Wu Wangwang lowered her voice and said, "Tian Ji came by last night and wanted me to ask you if I could accept his advances, just to appease him in the dungeon so he can clear it."
Ling Yuanshan's expression was somewhat puzzled after hearing this, and then he asked, "Besides this, there's nothing else?"
"Also, he showed me some chat logs on Tian Ji's phone. It's strange, I don't like the tone of those people's conversations. It doesn't sound like they're trying to pursue Mei Su, but rather like they're looking for your most expensive nanny. I remember her salary is 50,000, but Tian Ji doesn't plan to pay her." Wu Wangwang replied with a wrinkled nose, looking like she didn't understand but was very disgusted.
“My most expensive housekeeper costs more than 50,000…” Ling Yuanshan replied subconsciously, then realized something was off and quickly coughed lightly, “I’m getting off-topic. What I mean is, did he come to you because of these chat logs on his phone? Did you pay attention to the time? When exactly did they chat?”
Unfortunately, Wu Wangwang didn't understand Ling Yuanshan's unintentional flaunting of wealth. She directly recalled the chat history page: "Now that you mention it... it seems that most of the records are before the dungeon, that is, before August 6th, but the new messages start from August 8th."
At this point, the player has taken over the NPC's position. In principle, unless necessary, one should avoid communicating with people the NPC used to know to avoid being discovered as not being the real person. This was the case for the first two instances when Wu Wangwang replaced the original character, and she only revealed herself to the player.
Today is August 10th. Player Tian Ji has been chatting with the NPC list for at least two days, and started acting impulsively yesterday. He has a hard-to-describe sense of urgency, as if he will fail to complete the game and die immediately if Wu Wangwang does not agree to him.
Ling Yuanshan kept a close eye on the stairwell to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. He carefully said to Wu Wangwang, "Then I understand. The past in this instance may affect the players' minds. Lei Fu, Jing Jiang, and Tian Ji have all been affected. Once they lose their rationality, they will become ghosts. Now only Guan Lian and Wei Dong are left. I don't know if they have resisted the temptation."
Wu Wangwang didn't quite understand. Seeing that she looked like she had never seen anything like it before, Ling Yuanshan had no choice but to get breakfast first and then explain this special instance to Wu Wangwang.
"You mean that in this type of dungeon, there is a source of pollution. If players get close to this source of pollution, they will gradually lose their minds and be unable to make accurate judgments about the current situation. In severe cases, they may go crazy and become part of the source of pollution? Isn't that a 'Chang Gui'?" Wu Wangwang, a proper Chinese ghost, immediately found the corresponding item.
Ling Yuanshan thought for a while before remembering the origin story of the Changgui. He nodded and said, "You can understand it that way. However, the corrupted players don't die immediately. It's like a glass of water; they only die when it turns completely black."
Wu Wangwang understood: "I understand. At first, they act as accomplices to the tiger, but when the tiger feels they are no longer useful, it will actually eat the accomplices and then let the accomplices lure new humans back. It's about the same thing."
Upon closer examination, they are indeed similar things, but modern people rarely use similar terms to describe them. The Western setting used in the references has given rise to new terms.
It was enough that they both knew they were talking about the same thing. Ling Yuanshan didn't necessarily want Wu Wangwang to accept his explanation; he was more concerned about what the source of the pollution was, or where the tiger was.
“You understand the settings, that’s fine. What I’m worried about now is what exactly is the source of the pollution. Judging from Tian Ji’s condition, it seems like a cell phone, but I also feel that just a cell phone doesn’t make sense. You have a cell phone, but your mental state is perfectly normal.” Ling Yuanshan had used Mei Su’s cell phone these past few days and hadn’t noticed anything wrong with it.
Wu Wangwang took out her phone and scrolled through it, then a thought flashed through her mind: "Ah! Could it be the content? The old content, Mei Su deleted all of that stuff, even the games I just downloaded yesterday, her phone is cleaner than the one I'm using now."
The original owner's phone was a cheap one. Although the game gave her some money, she sent it to her parents and had very little left. She had been using an old second-hand phone that was incredibly laggy. Wu Wangwang didn't need this kind of phone, so she didn't buy one. Later, it was Madam who sent her a new one when she planned to have her visit Ling Yuanshan at school.
When you get a new phone, it's completely empty. Mei Su's phone only had the pre-installed apps that she couldn't get rid of.
Moreover, Tian Ji's phone does indeed contain a lot of past chat logs, which Wu Wangwang finds very uncomfortable to look at, even by herself. Once Tian Ji enters this instance, he will definitely have to repeatedly check the contents of those phones to find a way to pass the level. Repeatedly watching things that are malicious makes it difficult for him to remain rational.
It's like someone staying in the toilet for too long; they can't smell the stench themselves, but they're already covered in it.
Ling Yuanshan nodded in agreement: "Yes, you also said that the content on Tian Ji's phone made you uncomfortable, and didn't you say that this instance was supposed to be relaxing? It was supposed to be a relaxing travel instance, but it's been raining outside, and it's easy for people to have mental problems."
The more you can't relax, the more easily you'll be swallowed up by the rules of the instance.
On rainy days, people enter a period of heightened depression. In the past, it was also called "March disease," which refers to the phenomenon of mania that occurs when people are in low spirits due to the continuous dampness and rain in spring.
Ever since they entered this instance, there has been more rain than in the instance of the promise made by Wu Wangwang. The heavy rain every day makes it hard to breathe and very uncomfortable. In addition, players are used to looking for ways to pass the instance from the daily life of NPCs and watching the dark content of the past again and again. How could they not go crazy?
Today is August 10th, and the rain outside is even heavier, and the time of dawn has been delayed once again.
Wu Wangwang put away her phone and asked worriedly, "What do we do now? If you and I aren't included, half the players have gone crazy. If this continues, they'll turn on us sooner or later."
Moreover, it was an open attack. Killing her would be fine, since the referee vouched for her and she wouldn't have to worry about her identity being exposed. But what about Ling Yuanshan? He was just a mortal, and Wei Dong was using him as a shield; he could easily die.
Ling Yuanshan glanced back at the stairwell. No players had come down yet, but they had clearly been spying on him and Wu Wangwang nearby that morning. Who knows what they might be plotting now.
"Ignore them, just focus on your own safety. They're not that easy to kill me," Ling Yuanshan replied coldly. "By the way, what's the plan for today?"
The list was updated after Wu Wangwang's accident last night. She took it out and looked at it: August 10th, the weather forecast said it might rain today. She wanted to go wild fishing, but it seems that wild fishing is not allowed in the rafting area of Fengju Village. At least, she could sneak a peek at the fish.
This request is really difficult to fulfill; the villagers won't allow them to go up the mountain.
Ling Yuanshan hesitated for a moment, then sighed: "Let's go secretly. Besides, if we go to such a dangerous place, they probably won't be able to sit still. Fortunately, the list doesn't specify who should go. I guess Mei Su knows that her request has a lot of ulterior motives. She probably just wants to go out and have some fun on her own."
Since they were going to the mountains secretly, they couldn't let others know, and it was even more inappropriate to bring a large group of people. After breakfast, Ling Yuanshan bought raincoats and set off with Wu Wangwang.
Ling Yuanshan had already run through the area when he was looking for Lei Fu. He knew which road could bypass the villagers and that involved climbing a mountain path, but it was very difficult to walk. There was a stream on the mountain that should have been very clear and was usually used for rafting by tourists, but now it was very murky and full of mud.
As Ling Yuanshan was putting on his raincoat at the hotel entrance, he casually asked, "Wu Wangwang, didn't Mei Su bring any other clothes or shoes?"
Wu Wangwang paused for a moment and said, "Hmm, she didn't carry much, like she was on the run. She's wearing these, I can walk."
Despite saying that, the village is actually flooded everywhere now, a far cry from the first day in the instance. Back then, when Wu Wangwang walked over, the water wasn't even up to her ankles, and her leather shoes were somewhat waterproof. Now, as soon as she left the inn, the water was over her ankles, and her leather shoes were definitely ruined.
The white socks were stained a dark brown from the mud. Wu Wangwang shook them off with some disgust, making sure Ling Yuanshan didn't see it.
Ling Yuanshan led the way, glancing back at Wu Wangwang every now and then to make sure she was keeping up.
Once outside the village center, the surrounding scenery was actually quite beautiful, with clear waters, lush mountains, and misty rain. If the environment weren't so unsuitable, Wu Wangwang would have liked to praise the scenery. However, the dungeon was fraught with danger, so such praise would have been inappropriate.
There weren't many people in the village. Ling Yuanshan led Wu Wangwang around two streets and they arrived at the foot of the mountain. The area was full of mud and rocks washed down by mudslides, and it didn't look like a road.
Ling Yuanshan helped Wu Wangwang up the stairs, and said with a frown, "When I came to find Lei Fu a couple of days ago, this place hadn't collapsed this badly yet. It was only because the dungeon set up a dividing line that it was damaged. Otherwise, given the severity of the damage, the village would have been gone long ago."
Wu Wangwang stood on higher ground to wait for Ling Yuanshan. She felt as if her legs were buried in the mud, and every step she took was like pulling her legs out of a radish.
"Will there still be fish?" Wu Wangwang looked up with some concern.
"It's hard to say. If we go to a higher place, we might find a cave or a pool of rocks, and maybe we'll get lucky and find some fish that haven't been swept away." Ling Yuanshan spoke in a daze, not daring to exert too much force, afraid that he might collapse the hillside.
The path didn't get any easier after going up the mountain. Wu Wangwang's skirt was a short skirt, and she had a raincoat to cover it, but it still got splashed with mud.
After sinking into the deep mud once again, Wu Wangwang clung to a nearby tree and struggled to climb up. Out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to see something and suddenly turned around.
At this moment, she and Ling Yuanshan had reached the halfway point of the mountain. No matter whether they looked up or down, everything was shrouded in mist and they couldn't see clearly. Even the village was only faintly visible.
Ling Yuanshan, who was walking ahead, didn't hear any movement for a while. He turned around, glanced at the scene, and quickly came back to help: "Why didn't you call me? Did you get stuck again?"
Wu Wangwang was pulled out of the mud by Ling Yuanshan. Her gaze remained fixed on the foot of the mountain: "No, I think I saw something."
But the feeling disappeared instantly. She doesn't rely entirely on her eyes to see, so she shouldn't experience blurred vision.
Ling Yuanshan helped Wu Wangwang up and led her forward: "Don't think about it. It's normal for anything to happen. If I were another player, I would have been misled by that information and would definitely want to find a place to kill us. The mountain is the best choice."
On rainy days with frequent mudslides, you can hide behind someone and secretly push them down. You don't even need to deal with the body; the rain washes away the traces, and the mudslide buries the body, making it a perfect crime.
They continued uphill, indirectly fulfilling Mei Su's expectation of climbing the mountain. After reaching the top, the rain did not lessen, but the scenery was even better, especially—Wu Wangwang found a very small puddle near the top with two tiny fish fry in it.
Wu Wangwang squatted down beside her and threw down two leaves: "Mei Su's wishes have all come true. Although I'm soaked, I'm very happy."
Reaching the summit as a human being was a unique experience. She thought she had grown tired of seeing the sun and moon in the mountains, but she never expected that from a different perspective, climbing up on her own two hands and feet would bring a sense of satisfaction that could never be compared to flying up.
Ling Yuanshan was watching her with a smile, about to say something, when suddenly a dark figure darted out from the side, aimed at Ling Yuanshan, and pushed him toward the cliff.
Wu Wangwang reacted quickly. She immediately grabbed Ling Yuanshan, and before the two could stand up, she turned around and saw Wei Dong with a ferocious smile on his face. Just as she was about to question him, the stone under her feet suddenly collapsed.
The next second, Wu Wangwang, Ling Yuanshan, and Wei Dong all fell off the cliff together.
In the instant the mountain collapsed, Wu Wangwang saw the referee not far away. He nodded, signaling Wu Wangwang to relax.
Helpless, Wu Wangwang sighed inwardly, reached out and hugged Ling Yuanshan, using her own body to shield him from the fall. She dared not let Ling Yuanshan be her cushion again; Ling Yuanshan was human, and he would die if he were used as a cushion.
During the fall, Ling Yuanshan tried several times to switch positions, but he couldn't win against Wu Wangwang. He watched as Wu Wangwang crashed into the tree again and again, and his eyes reddened.
Wu Wangwang ignored Ling Yuanshan's condition. When she sensed Wei Dong falling, his props took effect, transferring wave after wave of damage to Ling Yuanshan.
Wu Wangwang, who was already wary of him, wouldn't let him succeed. She placed her hand behind Ling Yuanshan's back and directly transferred the prop's effect to the Japanese soldier she could spawn every day. Then, she let the Japanese soldier possess Wei Dong and return the damage to him.
They fell and finally came to a stop near a deeply rooted tree, where all three of them stopped.
Ling Yuanshan disregarded the danger Wei Dong was in nearby and hurriedly checked Wu Wangwang's injuries: "Wu Wangwang, are you alright? You can't be hurt, you absolutely can't be hurt! Props, yes, I have props, they can definitely save your life—"
Before he could finish speaking, Wu Wangwang grabbed his arm and said, "Don't waste my time, I won't die."
The person who had just stopped breathing actually got up again. Ling Yuanshan looked worried and asked, "Wu Wangwang, how are you? Is it hurting anywhere? I... I have to help you stop the bleeding."
Wu Wangwang waved her hand, casually spat out a mouthful of black blood, and then let out a long breath: "I'm fine, it doesn't hurt. Go check if Wei Dong is dead."
"Whatever he did, he deserved to die!" Ling Yuanshan cursed under his breath, carefully wiping the blood from Wu Wangwang's mouth with his shirt sleeve. "Are you really alright?"
Seeing Ling Yuanshan's extreme nervousness, Wu Wangwang simply stood up and turned around, saying, "I'm really fine. If you already know what's going on, just pretend you don't know. I'll tell you after the dungeon is over, okay?"
Ling Yuanshan carefully examined Wu Wangwang's complexion, then looked at the bones in her limbs. They had clearly been broken when he touched them just now, but now they had all recovered. A certain suspicion in his mind became more and more obvious, but since Wu Wangwang wouldn't say anything, he would listen to her and pretend he didn't know.
"Okay, remember to tell me if you feel unwell. We've used the props, there's no waste. We can always earn more later," Ling Yuanshan said with concern.
Wu Wangwang nodded in agreement, then looked at Wei Dong not far away: "What about him? He's not moving at all; he must have fallen to his death."
Wu Wangwang carefully protected Ling Yuanshan during the descent, which is why Ling Yuanshan didn't die. If she were just an ordinary person, even with the referee's protection, Ling Yuanshan would have died from Wei Dong's props even if she hadn't died in the landslide.
Ling Yuanshan glanced indifferently at Wei Dong's corpse and said, "Never mind him, he's a piece of trash with bad intentions. If he hadn't pushed me, we might not have fallen even if we had encountered a landslide. Let's go."
Wu Wangwang didn't care and listened to Ling Yuanshan. The two of them went down the mountain, one foot in the mud and the other in the water. They were originally having a good time on the trip, and even though they got stuck in the mud countless times, they were still happy. But with Wei Dong's incident, all their good mood was ruined.
When she finally got back to the hotel, Wu Wangwang's dress was completely soaked. She took off her raincoat at the door and realized that she was covered in mud and filthy. Her dress was obviously ruined.
Just as Ling Yuanshan was about to tell her to hurry back and take a shower, Guan Lian came out of the lounge area. She asked in a strange tone, "Oh? Where did you guys go? Swimming in the mud?"
So far, Guan Lian's behavior has been normal, and Wu Wangwang has a good impression of her, so she explained, "We went to see the fish and accidentally fell into the pit."
"Look, fish?" Guan Lian said, emphasizing each word, her tone quite strange. "Do you guys really treat this instance like a vacation? Why do you have to date now when you can't date?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Wangwang looked up and exchanged a glance with Ling Yuanshan, both feeling that something was amiss.
Ling Yuanshan tentatively said, "Anyway, the referee said that we just need to go home after this trip. We rarely get to relax together, so this is a good opportunity to treat it as a honeymoon."
As Ling Yuanshan spoke, Guan Lian's expression grew increasingly grim, eventually turning almost dark: "Everyone has their struggles, so why can you all be so carefree?"
Before Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang could say anything, Guan Lian, as if targeting Wu Wangwang, said to Ling Yuanshan, "Besides, she's seduced so many people because of her beauty, and they all want to be nice to her. Don't you think you're wearing a bunch of green hats?"
Now Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan were certain that Guan Lian had also been brainwashed by the old information from the NPCs. She was only listening to what she wanted to hear, and no amount of persuasion could change her mind.
"What do we do now? I feel like she's about to come and stab me to death," Wu Wangwang whispered to Ling Yuanshan.
Ling Yuanshan didn't have any good solutions either. The dungeon didn't specify whether players could be killed, and besides, he didn't want to fight players. He wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible.
So Ling Yuanshan escorted Wu Wangwang back to the hotel and took her to room 502 to change clothes and rest. Fortunately, Guan Lian did not stop them again, but just hung her head, seemingly lost in thought.
A new little blue dress and white leather shoes had already been placed in the room. Ling Yuanshan was stunned when he saw the brand-new dress, but he didn't ask anything. He just urged Wu Wangwang to take a shower.
They returned in the afternoon, both starving. Ling Yuanshan waited until Wu Wangwang had finished showering before taking her back to his room to get clothes to wash. Now they dared not be separated for even a moment longer.
It was only a little past five in the afternoon after they finished showering, and it wasn't dinner time yet, so Ling Yuanshan went down to the convenience store and bought instant noodles. The two of them ate some noodles in the restaurant first, and then it would be time for dinner.
As darkness fell quickly and night descended earlier, a limping figure suddenly emerged from the rain.
Wu Wangwang ate in silence. Ling Yuanshan looked at the clock and got up to go to the kitchen to bring the food over when it was time. But as soon as he turned around, he saw Wei Dong returning from the rain. He was covered in mud and blood and looked disheveled.
Ling Yuanshan was certain that Wei Dong had indeed died on the mountain today. He blocked Wu Wangwang's path, patted her shoulder with his other hand, and reminded her to be careful.
In fact, Wu Wangwang knew when Wei Dong approached the inn. She wasn't surprised. There weren't many survivors left among the players. They all seemed to be like Mei Su, returning after death due to some kind of obsession.
After being reminded by Ling Yuanshan, Wu Wangwang finished the last sip of instant noodle soup and turned to look at Wei Dong.
When Wei Dong returned, he didn't look at them. He walked up the stairs step by step, seemingly having lost all interest in them. He went upstairs in silence, probably to go back to his room.
Only after confirming that Wei Dong had disappeared down the stairs did Ling Yuanshan relax slightly. He looked down and asked Wu Wangwang, "Why did he come back?"
Wu Wangwang rested her chin on the back of the chair: "Didn't Lei Fu come back too? That day you said you couldn't find him. I think he was already dead at that time, which is why you couldn't find him. Since he came back later, he must have his own obsession. Wei Dong's obsession... should be leaving the game, right?"
Ling Yuanshan felt that Wu Wangwang's words made sense: "I guess so. Now, the only ones left who are still alive are Tian Ji and Guan Lian. Jing Jiang should also be alive, but ever since she was frightened by Lei Fu, she's probably not quite normal. I haven't seen her since yesterday morning, right?"
"Hmm, I wonder if something might happen to her hiding in her room. Should I go check on her?" Wu Wangwang asked casually.
"Let's not, let's just focus on our own lives. Speaking of which, what is my source of pollution?" Ling Yuanshan was starting to worry about his identity. He had no cell phone, no identity, only a name he used when booking the hotel room, and he didn't even know who booked the room for him.
Wu Wangwang reached out and lifted his shirt sleeve, finding that the scars on it were almost invisible: "This, wasn't this the only information you received when you came?"
If Ling Yuanshan were someone who cared about scars, he would probably investigate why he had so many scars and become entangled in the tragedy of this NPC's past. However, he never paid attention to the scars on his body and instead followed Wu Wangwang to complete the travel list every day, and the scars gradually disappeared.
Ling Yuanshan looked at his arm and suggested, "I have a guess. Why don't we secretly smash the phones of the remaining players tonight and see if we can get them out of their 'Chang Gui' state? I remember that destroying the source of pollution can also save the corrupted players, and we won't have to worry about being murdered by them every day."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wu Wangwang saw a row of heads peeking out from the stairs. From Lei Fu, the first to die, to Wei Dong today, five players appeared at the edge of the floor at the same time. The five heads were neatly arranged, all staring at her and Ling Yuanshan with strange eyes, their eyes filled with a desire whose specific meaning could not be analyzed.
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Author's Note: [End of Chapter]
Wu Wangwang: No need to smash anymore, we're already surrounded by the changgui (a type of evil spirit). [Shrug]
Ling Yuanshan: [resting chin on hand]
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