After seeing Feng Yu off, when Lu Ban returned home, the living room had already been tidied up.

The kitchen is clean and everything looks brand new.

The most troublesome step of cooking has been done. Lu Ban was quite excited and wanted to cook more often in the future.

But after thinking about it, he decided to give up. After tasting Feng Yu's food and Feng Yu's cooking, Lu Ban felt that his instant noodles were not delicious at all.

Although he was once considered a food blogger, Lu Ban actually only knows the Lu family recipe. The taste of the food he makes can only be described as so-so, mainly due to the good ingredients.

He watched the countdown clock in the Spring Festival Gala and heard the faint sound of countdown coming from the community. It was midnight, the New Year's bell rang, and there was joy and peace everywhere.

The song "Unforgettable Tonight" sounded and Lu Ban's phone vibrated several times. He took a look and saw that they were all blessing messages.

What is rare is that the blessing messages sent to Lu Ban were basically not sent to a group, and it can be seen that they were all typed by hand.

For example, Qin Tiantian came with her family’s New Year’s Eve dinner. Different from the Jiangcheng-flavored dinner that Lu Ban had today, hers was mostly spicy. Even the stir-fried cabbage had pickled peppers, which looked very spicy. Maybe that’s why her skin is so good!

Feng Yu sent a message saying that she had arrived home safely, along with a blessing. It was very simple, but Lu Ban was very skeptical about what she might have encountered that would prevent her from arriving home safely.

As for Song Yunyan, Li Zijian and others, they also sent simple messages.

What surprised Lu Ban was that two police officers, He Youwu and Chen Danshen, also sent messages.

[Motionless]: Thank you for your hard work!

He replied that it was New Year's Day and it was not easy for the two police officers as they might still have to be on duty.

I can't cause trouble to them.

In just over ten minutes, Lu Ban had replied to all the messages.

He has few friends and no family.

Being able to have the New Year’s Eve dinner with Feng Yu today is enough to create the New Year atmosphere.

Nothing happened during the night. After Lu Ban got up in the morning, he checked the system.

【Number of companions: 2/1】

[The conditions for starting the mission have been met]

[Whether to start the task]

[Companions will enter the Land of Silence after confirming participation]

"All in one night?"

If there were two, it must be that both Drizzt and Sia agreed.

Lu Ban was still somewhat touched.

After all, they didn’t know what the mission was yet, so the two of them accepted Lu Ban’s invitation. It seems that there is still true love in the Quiet Place.

"Let me take a look at the mission."

A tattered book appeared on the table in front of Lu Ban. The book was not very thick and looked like a novel bought in a bookstore.

This book is both illusory and real, and seems out of place with the surrounding environment.

"Um?"

Lu Ban felt a little strange. Why was there only one book?

Under normal circumstances, there should be three options for him to choose from.

Could it be that there are different tasks in the opened books?

He glanced at the cover of the book. It showed a man who had fallen into madness. The loss of sanity had changed his appearance. His face was distorted and his body was making movements that were not human. He seemed to be muttering something. Lu Ban seemed to hear the mumbling from the evil god. As long as he looked at the cover a few more times, he would feel dizzy and his heart would palpitate and he would feel dizzy.

Lu Ban opened the book. On the yellowed pages, the system's cold and indifferent words appeared as if they were written in sloppy pen.

【Mouth of a Madman】

[All truth is false, all delusion is reality]

[The upper class society of the abandoned city is of course full of endless banquets, sweet grape juice, and romantic stories]

[The famous novelist left the manuscript of his new book missing. It was a masterpiece that made people crazy and an immortal chapter that made everyone addicted. However, no one knew the ending.]

[You accept the commission to investigate this case, but all kinds of strange atmospheres are suggesting to you that this is not an ordinary missing case]

[Mission Difficulty: Self-Selected]

[Task requirements: Find the missing novelist]

[Task requirements: Witness the ending of the story]

[“A masterpiece, a perfect masterpiece, there is no doubt that this will change the world!”]

Lu Ban turned the page but did not see any other task options.

In a trance, the words on the pages of the book changed again.

[Side quest item detected, quest changed]

[Mission Difficulty: Alienation]

[Task requirements: Find the missing novelist]

[Task requirements: Witness the ending of the story]

[Task requirements: Find Du Danping's melody fragment]

"Is this the place Du Danping has been to?"

While Lu Ban was puzzled, he also confirmed a few things.

"This is in the Ruined City, Drizzt's own foreign land?"

"The difficulty is different, and it's in the abandoned city. I wonder what I will encounter?"

"But it seems that we are in the abandoned city, so we shouldn't be attacked by monsters?"

"Looking for someone, this Xia should be able to find him directly using the reconnaissance technique?"

However, this sudden change in difficulty made Lu Ban feel a little confused.

For him, all levels of difficulty are the same, so just go for it.

But this time he brought teammates with him. If Trist and Xia couldn't bear the difficulty of the alienated mission and something happened, Lu Ban, who invited them, would feel a little guilty.

"At this point, we can only do our best to prepare."

Lu Ban thought.

Since this is a level of difficulty that has never been encountered before, we need to collect more information first.

After all, after refining [Last Words], Lu Ban now doesn't have many Silence Points, and the support he can provide is limited. No matter how many props he buys, it is not as good as Trist's attempt to fire a shot or Xia's magic.

So what Lu Ban can do is to use his advantage to fire a few more [Madman's Knowledge] to get more information about this mission.

According to Lu Ban's experience, after the task is determined, [Knowledge of a Madman] will have a greater chance of drawing the corresponding task, or information about the corresponding task in a foreign land.

After deciding on the strategy, he immediately purchased a Madman's Knowledge at half price.

This time, what appeared in Lu Ban's hand was a human skull, which was no different from the one in the medical textbook.

The skull has a sticky feel, as if it was covered with a layer of grease, but when you actually touch it, it just feels smooth.

There was no flame burning in the bones, nor was there any black mist. It was completely empty inside, like a granary that had been eaten clean by termites.

Lu Ban crushed the skull.

In an instant, countless whispers echoed in his ears.

"…This is the best work, this is the supreme masterpiece. Believe me, as long as you read even one page of this manuscript, you will not refute my opinion…"

"...He is talented, romantic and passionate, but why did he disappear? Could it be that he is tired of the hustle and bustle of the world of fame and fortune and wants a quiet environment..."

"…He is not your father. You don't have such a father…"

"...I think such a manuscript may not have a perfect ending. Do you understand this feeling, the feeling of being tortured by inspiration to the point of madness and helplessness? I believe he is the same. Perhaps this is the reason for his disappearance..."

"...Anyway, I just want to confirm his manuscript. As long as I can ensure the novel, then I can definitely, I can..."

"…I didn't write these stories, but they got into my head. They were already there, and I just happened to pick up these words…"

Countless whispers burned, tumbled, and exploded in Lu Ban’s mind.

The next moment, thick black blood flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. It seemed as if ants were crawling inside his body. His skin swelled and contracted, and his entire body twisted and deformed.

thump--

Lu stumbled to the ground and lost consciousness.