Chapter 117 Paper Town
Players can actually own shrines?
Qiao Song thought that the function of the shrine might be to serve as a portal between the Twelve Committees, but she forgot that the reason this thing was called a shrine was because it was originally used to worship certain things.
Offer sacrifices, burn incense for your beliefs and love.
Whose are the three existing shrines in the paperweight?
Are the villages divided into four parts, namely the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest, really four copies?
Aunt Huo continued, "I went to investigate the raw materials that Xiaoju and the others used to make the shrine. They were Polygonatum odoratum recycled by NPCs."
The environment in West Village is harsh. The bamboo there grows close to the boundary with South Village. The number is very small. In addition, the paper beast rewards given by NPC in daily tasks are very high, which leads to few people doing bamboo tasks.
“Bamboo in the desert?”
She could understand why the shrine was made of bamboo, after all, the monster's original skeletal frame was made of bamboo.
But bamboo needs a lot of water to grow. West Village was covered with yellow sand, and only a small patch of Polygonatum odoratum grew where it met South Village.
The NPC's accommodation tasks are fixed: chopping bamboo, killing monsters, or spending soul coins.
The little bit of bamboo in Xicun is definitely not enough to complete daily tasks. Xiaoju and the others don’t know how they got the materials from the bamboo forest bit by bit.
Aunt Huo cherished the box in her hand very much. It would be more accurate to say that she regarded it as a gift rather than a shrine.
"The shrine, let's call it that. After this thing was born, I feel that the relationship between me and Xiaoju and the others has become more complicated."
Most of the players' abilities are varied, including real-life occupations, but they do not entirely depend on the occupations people engage in in reality. They may also be personal hobbies and the greatest concern left in their hearts.
Even so, there are almost no people like Aunt Huo who bring small animals with them.
"Before, I could only use their abilities one by one. Now with the shrine, Xiaoju and the others can hide somewhere other than my body. They have become freer individuals."
"To put it more directly, now I feel that even if I am gone one day, they can continue to be nurtured in the shrine."
The cats at my feet suddenly started to meow one after another. A few kittens were clinging to Aunt Hua's trouser legs, wagging their tails, seeming a little dissatisfied.
"Okay, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to say that this will be your second home in the future. Okay, I know. I won't say that again." After comforting the kitten at her feet, Aunt Huo stood up and continued, "By the way, Qiao Qiao, the moment I touched the shrine, the system prompted me and gave me an invitation from Zootopia."
She pulled out an envelope with a special pattern from the shrine. The wax seal in the center was a circular pattern with silhouettes of several different animals around it.
The moment Qiao Song looked over, all the animals in the silhouettes squirmed, and there seemed to be double images in front of his eyes. Various roars were hidden in the shadows of those animals, and the moment they came into his eyes, they directly pierced Qiao Song's brain.
【Zootopia, waiting for your arrival】
Qiao Song touched the envelope lightly and quickly let go. He felt a great burning sensation at his fingertips and the animal roaring sound in his ears disappeared.
The invitation letter is bound to your real name and cannot be transferred.
Qiao Song asked Aunt Huo to put away her things: "Does the invitation letter specify the time you should go there?"
Aunt Huo nodded: "The next copy is it."
Gao Chengcheng had mentioned to them before that once the invitation was received, the map would automatically guide the invitees to the destination. No matter how long the journey was, the destination would always be Zootopia.
A player once said that if there was a way to leave the game, it must be hidden in Zootopia, which looks too much like the ultimate copy.
All promising and capable players will eventually enter there. Although they have a chance to leave alive, it seems that they will be bound to this city for life.
It is only the third day in the Paper-Zha Town, but Aunt Huo said that she can leave the copy and go to Zootopia at any time.
But it is not suitable to go to that place too early, this is the consensus of every old player.
"Also, if I hold the shrine and the invitation letter, a window-like thing will appear in front of me. There is a very narrow sign on the windowsill with 'Zootopia' written on it. I will also hear a system prompt directly in my ears, asking whether to teleport to the shrine and enter the dungeon directly."
Then it makes sense. Qiao Song had seen a similar scene at the bottom of the lake before, except that the shrine at the bottom of the lake clearly had 12 spirit tablets, which should be able to teleport to 12 different copies, 4 of which were in Zhazhi Village.
Moreover, there is no copy name on any of the signs on the underwater shrine, and it is simply dark.
According to Aunt Huo's situation, the invitation letter is the key, which means that the guys invited by the copy owner can go directly into the copy through the shrine?
Is this also the special feature of the Twelve Committees, that they can be freely transmitted with the permission of the copy owner?
As for the four copies related to the Zhazhi Village, you can jump freely through the shrine even without an invitation letter.
No, it’s not free either. At least for now, it seems that no one can do this except myself.
This should be the biggest secret of the Zhazhi Village. What are these four villages competing for?
Qiao Song thought for a moment and said, "Since Zhazhi Town can warm the soul, try to stay here for a while longer. Aunt Huo, can you feel the incense? Besides Xiaoju and the others?"
The NPC in this copy has a habit of burning incense. Qiao Song has seen the two little boys and girls lighting incense upstairs more than once.
Every time that happens, the air in the village becomes much more fragrant, as if there is some energy hidden in the air.
Anyway, Qiao Song himself really likes the smell of this.
Aunt Huo nodded: "Yes, but it is different from the incense offered to me by Xiaoju. As long as the NPCs don't light incense, I can't absorb any smell. Although the incense offered by the cats is not much, it is very continuous."
As long as the cats continue to love her, Aunt Huo will always be able to feel the thread that connects them.
That kind of positive emotional feedback will always nourish her.
It's amazing, it feels like being fed by my own children.
Qiao Song felt a little itchy after hearing what Aunt Huo said. She would definitely build a shrine if she had the chance. However, she didn't know whether it had to be set up by others or she could do it herself.
Aunt Huo translated the cats' words uncertainly: "Others must come, but Xiaoju and the others said that you may not need it."
But why is it not necessary? The cat scratched its head and couldn't explain it.
Qiao Song thought, maybe the little guys have smelled the underwater shrine that I clean every day.
If that's the case, then she really doesn't need it. She can just drain the original shrine's incense in the copy. How cool it would be to get it for free.
Qiao Song patted his chest and said to the cats, "Don't worry, I won't touch my people's things."
Xiaoju tilted his head: Meow?
That’s not what meow meant.
Aunt Huo also had the same idea: "What are you and Xiaoxiao planning to do? Are you going to continue waiting for the invitation?"
Qiao Song still planned to continue to visit other villages.
Qiao Song: "If that's the case, Aunt Huo, you should get through the customs safely and don't go to Zootopia too quickly. Since you can stay in Paper Village for a few more rounds, try to stay."
Gao Chengcheng had said before that Qiao Song should be able to get an invitation letter in the next two copies, but she didn't expect Aunt Huo to achieve her goal first.
"Come to think of it, I heard some very strange noises in the shrine on my first day. I even felt that the system signal was not very good. Maybe my invitation will arrive soon."
Every time she entered the shrine, she could feel the system's prompts becoming stuck. Perhaps when the signal got better, the invitation would come.
In Cyber Village north of Zhazhi Town, Fan Heng, who was scratching his head in front of the chessboard, suddenly sneezed.
Fan Xi on the opposite side raised his finger and easily crushed Fan Heng's carefully thought out and self-proclaimed "brilliant" move.
Fan Heng immediately turned a bitter face: "It's no fun if you keep saying I'm a bad chess player, why don't you go easy on me."
Fan Xi took a sip of the tea brought by the mechanical servant and said, "I'm still letting the opponent win in this game. I might as well go find Tong Yao and the other two kids."
After a pause, Fan Xi asked again: "How is the shrine?"
Speaking of this, Fan Heng's expression became even more bitter. He held his chin with one hand and sat cross-legged, not even thinking about playing chess. "I don't know where the 'God of Plague' came from. Although I intercepted the signal in the shrine, if it was a little later, that guy would have been directly thrown into Zootopia by the backdoor of the system."
"The shrine has no effect on her?"
"Not at all. She was even able to grab the sacrificial offering with her bare hands and almost ate it as if it were a scallop. Now there is not even a gatekeeper at our shrine, but the situation in other villages is not much better. As for the West Village, perhaps if we win again, the passage will be completely secure."
He clicked his tongue and said, "In order to keep the concentration of incense in the dungeon increasing by 13 percentage points every day, I have prepared a lot of incense and placed it upstairs in advance. It is not enough for that lady to consume."
Soon, he began to gloat again: "According to the time, she should go to the small puddle in the East Village tonight, right? If everyone is harmed, it would be good for everyone to start from the same starting line."
Fan Xi on the opposite side remained silent, holding the chess piece in his hand, and soon held his breath and looked at the chessboard intently. As the water ripples flowed, a picture appeared on the chessboard.
The picture was changing rapidly, and it was actually replaying the movements in the copy from a few hours ago.
Not only the Cyber Village where they were, but also the four villages in the entire copy, including the movements on the top of the mountain, Fan Xi could actually monitor them through a tiny chess piece.
Seeing her frown, Fan Heng suddenly had a premonition: "What did she do again?"
Sure enough, I heard something that was unexpected but reasonable.
"She participated in the game on the top of the mountain. Now she is heading to the South Village with the owner of the shrine in the West Village. It seems that she is preparing to hunt paper beasts, or go into the water to test the shrine's teleportation mechanism."
"Progress is going smoothly. Isn't that a good thing? Why are you sighing?"
"Her flesh and blood grows too fast. The managers of the other dungeons are not fools. They will sooner or later target her. As for the player who already has the shrine, we need to speed up the progress. The rhythm of this dungeon has been disrupted. You supervise Tong Yao and Tong Nan. This may also be their chance."
Fan Xi stood up and took a box from the mechanical slave behind him. Inside it were two wooden boxes placed side by side.
She cut her finger, and the blood that flowed out was not bright red, but as thick as ink, and you could even see tiny stars in it.
The blood was absorbed by the two wooden boxes, emitting a rich scent in the air that far exceeded the smell of ordinary incense.
There were two small wooden plaques in the two wooden boxes, each with the name of the boy and girl.
A special ghost between the dead and the player, whose identity can only be changed in this way.
They are bound to this game world and cannot leave, but these two children can.
Fan Heng glanced at her, then at the box, and sighed: "Leave the rest to me, you go and have a rest."
Fan Xi, who had lost too much blood, nodded and stopped talking. He quickly turned into a stream of light and disappeared into the chessboard. Fan Heng was silent, his expression much more serious than before. He went to the study with a stack of new paper. This time, even if the boys and girls cried for their parents, they had to work overtime to practice.
Meanwhile, Qiao Song and Aunt Huo were on their way to South Village. Tonight they were leaving the Cyber Village in the North Village and heading east to the Ancient Sword Village through the shrine. She knew last time that the shrine could only move forward and not return, so she wanted to try if the shrine in South Village could still be used.
only……
Seeing Qiao Song suddenly stop and look up at the sky, Aunt Huo asked, "What's wrong?"
Qiao Song withdrew his gaze.
"fine."
I just had a feeling of being spied on, similar to when I was watching the live broadcast of the competition on Hearse Entertainment.
This copy should not have a live broadcast mechanism, so, is there anyone observing her?
They soon arrived at South Village. Qiao Song went to the lakeside as she was familiar with the route. She visited almost all the villages except West Village which did not have a shrine. During the day, there were paper beasts outside the villages, but at night the paper beasts would besiege the houses in the villages. This was a perfect time for strolling.
The prerequisite is to return before dawn.
The lake area of South Village is larger than that of Gujian Village in the east. She had seen from afar several groups of people gathering nearby.
The water ghost brand is really effective. Many players have been lured over. Apart from attending classes, these players are usually on quests, so there are some minor frictions as expected.
Qiao Song also saw Tang Xiaoxiao and her "new companions" among them.
"Wait, if it's this lively, it would be too conspicuous if we just go over there, right?"
At this moment, a hawksbill turtle gently touched her, and in an instant, Qiao Song and Aunt Huo disappeared into the woods by the lake.
[Of course, I am best at playing hide and seek! 】
[Cat owners cannot take their eyes off their cats for even a second, especially when they turn around to close the door. The moment they look away, the cat disappears right before their eyes, disappears into the cabinet doors and drawers that you forgot to close, and when the cat wants to hide, no one can find it! ]
The hawksbill turtle held its tail upright and stayed close to Qiao Song, covering her and Aunt Huo's progress. Next to the not-so-dense bushes, the two of them were moving forward as if in shadows, and they were actually not discovered. Gradually, they heard the sound of an argument by the lake.
"I've already said it. The question now is what to do if there really is a water ghost. The puppets we released earlier have disappeared. Even if you want to take advantage of it, don't drag others to die with you, okay?"
"Idiot, you've already played a round of the game, and you still believe in water ghosts. Even if the puppet disappears, it may be the sacrifice in the shrine that took action. That thing is the shells in the river where the cloth is collected. Haven't you all seen them? Those shells can eat anything, let alone a newly-made puppet. The most ridiculous thing is that you still believe in water ghosts. I would rather believe that it's the old players who are playing tricks."
"But everyone in the previous round has been checked, and none of them have the ability or opportunity to go into the water."
They don't care about new players. From the moment they enter the game, their competitors are all the losers who did not leave after the bonfire party in the previous round.
The old players monitored and supervised each other, so they soon found out that the water ghost incident was not done by them.
If I could have escaped unscathed from the shrine, I wouldn't have failed in the last round.
Someone next to him continued, "I also think someone is behind this."
Jin Jiaqi was upset. The puppets that went into the water were all taken from her. Seeing that they hadn't found out anything, this group of people actually wanted to ask her to return the money. It was impossible: "You are so talkative, then why don't you go down? You don't trust the puppets, and then ask the puppet seller to return the money. There is no such a cheap thing in the world."
The girl on the other side rolled her eyes. "We spent money to buy your puppet, and you don't allow me to refute it if the quality is not good? What I want to ask now is, are you sure that no one else has come to this lake recently?"
Jin Jiaqi has many abilities, but the cabin she lives in is closest to the lake, and she can usually monitor this area with a hot air balloon. Now, after buying her puppet to investigate in the water but to no avail, it's hard not to suspect that she staged this act herself to confuse people.
"Miao Tingting, are you doubting me? Most of the people in our village are cooperating with you now. What's the matter? I'm the only one left, so you want to find a reason to feed me some poisonous insects."
The girl called Miao Tingting frowned. She looked very strange. Her entire head had almost grown back. She had shiny ethnic minority silver ornaments on her head and a robe embroidered with various special patterns on her body.
But below the chest cavity, it was still in a state of bones, and one could even see distinct ribs through the half-covered robe, and below the leg bones there was no flesh at all.
Before Miao Tingting could say anything, someone nearby was already arguing with Jin Jiaqi: "How dare you tease others for using poisonous insects to control their companions? What's that hairpin on the hair of the girl next to you? Don't think we don't know."
Seeing that everyone was looking at Tang Xiaoxiao and the plastic sister flower hairpin in her hair, Jin Jiaqi's face showed a trace of panic. She turned around and saw that the high school girl didn't react. She said sweetly, "Sister Jiaqi, it's okay, I believe you." Only then did Jin Jiaqi quickly calm down.
"Miao Tingting, just tell me what you want to do, don't throw dirty water on me. If you want to go down and take a look, then stop bargaining. Since the paper beasts we made last round can't go down, and we can only rely on my puppets, don't think about getting it for free. Or, do you still plan to let your precious bug go into the water?"
Miao Tingting finally couldn't stand it anymore and said bluntly: "I don't even bother to talk about the quality of your broken puppet. I only have one request now. Either you produce another batch of puppets for free, or you have to send one person to go with us tomorrow."
She raised her palm to Jin Jiaqi directly, and said in a clear manner: "Don't pretend to be distressed. You are dreaming if you let us get into trouble for nothing."
Jin Jiaqi gritted her teeth, knowing that this matter could not be resolved peacefully, otherwise the other people would probably break up with her. Even if Tang Xiaoxiao had a good relationship with her now, the two of them could not beat so many people.
Miao Tingting, this stinky Gu breeder, somehow managed to win over other new and old players.
"Okay, tomorrow is tomorrow, we will also send someone out."
tomorrow?
When Qiao Song heard this key word, he was puzzled. This group of people had been confronting each other for so long, and the result was to talk about the flood tomorrow. Can't it be done today?
Tang Xiaoxiao concealed the phone in her pocket and gently tugged at Jin Jiaqi's sleeve: "Sister Jiaqi, why does it have to be tomorrow? Aren't we already by the lake? There are still a few hours before dawn."
Jin Jiaqi looked at Tang Xiaoxiao and spoke in a much gentler tone: "There is a shrine under the water now. We players cannot touch it directly, or our souls will be captured. You will know it after you finish learning Painted Skin tomorrow. By the way, you don't know what a shrine is yet, right? I will tell you when we get back."
After the people by the lake had discussed everything, they finally decided to leave. They had other things to do during the day, and the village was not safe at night, and they couldn't work around the clock.
"We'll do the monitoring this time."
From Miao Tingting's side, a tall boy with dark skin soon walked out with a yellow safety helmet on his head. Soon, a circle of iron fence appeared out of thin air at the edge of the lake.
【Civil Engineering Wall Construction】
[Iron fence (new) consumed X100, remaining 1358, please pay attention to timely recycling, after depreciation, no longer classified in the same warehouse]
Then another player with a badge from XX Power Grid Company on his body took an electric wire and plugged it into the wall, sparks flashed instantly.
"If there are any living creatures trying to climb over the wall, even if they are not electrocuted, we will be able to sense it. Similarly, you are still the one monitoring your side. No matter which side has the problem this time, no one should blame others."
Jin Jiaqi looked at the circle of iron fences with some envy, obviously knowing that this was the ability of the new player. Miao Tingting could only use bugs, but how come she was so lucky that there were always people with strange and useful abilities joining her.
If we want to get the shrine this time, we must find a way to get rid of this number one rival.
Jin Jiaqi gritted her teeth, took off a backpack from her back, and this time she was prepared to bleed heavily, so she directly scattered a handful of old-fashioned iron clockwork frog toys.
"I'm watching the frogs here. If any living thing comes close, they will attack directly."
The two sides looked at each other, which was considered as a mutual communication.
No matter how much they quarreled, they hadn't seen the shrine yet, and the water ghost hadn't been dealt with yet. It wouldn't be worth it if they started fighting among themselves, as they still had a common enemy to deal with.
"As for the other villages, don't worry about the Cyber Village in the north. They always have the lowest progress and the fewest players. The ones in the east are not as good as us. The most troublesome are those guys in the west. The game on the top of the mountain was opened early today, and they have a lot of old players. We can't let them win again."
Regarding this point, Jin Jiaqi, who had already participated in the mountaintop mini-game today, agreed: "The cowboy's guild has two new members, and there are three players in the strategy group over there. It will probably be difficult on the bonfire day."
In fact, there was another player who was also very strange. That guy's progress was faster than all the new and old players. Cowboy even suspected whether he was a player who stayed to participate in the third round, or if he was really just a newcomer who was growing rapidly.
Either answer is too far-fetched.
But Jin Jiaqi didn't want to share this situation with Miao Tingting, so she kept it in reserve so that she could maybe trick the other party later.
After solving the lake problem, the two groups of people, each with their own ulterior motives, returned to their respective residences, looking back every few steps.
Qiao Song watched as his beloved water ghost brand was taken off, and then the lake was divided into two areas, either a large iron fence that seemed to be emitting electricity, or a small area of sharp-toothed jumping frogs.
It's so heartbreaking. I can't get into the water myself, but I want to block other people's way.
Fortunately, we have our own people in all four villages.
A few minutes later, Qiao Song saw a circle of jumping frogs surrounding a book that Tang Xiaoxiao had quietly left behind.
【Nine-subject encyclopedia, self-made version】
[A nerd who can't ask questions is not a qualified nerd. After using this skill, you can ask any question within the scope of high school subjects in the exercise book on the spot. The targeted person must complete the answer within the specified time. Those who fail to answer the question will be forced to copy the wrong question book.]
How can a group of tin frogs solve problems?
I was trapped with a head full of question marks and could only go around in circles miserably, copying the wrong answers with my big feet with great difficulty.
Taking advantage of this gap, Qiao Song and others immediately ran to the lake and dived into the water quickly.
Originally, Qiao Song didn't want to let Aunt Huo get involved. Now he basically understood that the old players in the last round of the game were so afraid to touch the shrine directly. It can be seen that he might have some special attributes when facing the shrine.
But Aunt Huo said: "I seem to be able to sense that underwater."
In the past, when you saw dots of light in the night sky, you would think they were stars. But when you lit a lamp in the dark, you would naturally notice other lights of similar colors in the dark.
Aunt Huo noticed the lights at the bottom of the lake.
"That is an incense that is a hundred or a thousand times more powerful than mine. It shouldn't reject me."
Since Aunt Huo said so, Qiao Song went down with her to try it.
At the bottom of the deep lake, the small wooden box emitted a faint light, like an extremely narrow door. After Qiao Song stretched out his hand and touched the inside of the shrine, he was quickly sucked in, just like before.
What was different from the previous times was that this time, when she stood firm, she was surprised to find that Aunt Huo had also come in.
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