Chapter 113 Night Moon Town (3)
"Fenyang Residential Area?"
"Yes, I suspect there's something wrong with that building."
Gou Wenyan didn't look at anyone else, he just stared at Bai Jin, his eyes filled with longing.
Bai Jin turned to look at Bai Ye, "Dad, should we say yes?"
She has the ability, but whether or not she helps depends on her father's decision.
Upon hearing the words "Fenyang Community," Bai Ye immediately felt goosebumps. This was the most mysterious and unpredictable place in the first instance world.
That blood-red residential building is a nightmare for every player.
"Wenyan, tell me the truth, have you found any clues? Can you share them?" Bai Ye and Gou Wenyan huddled together, speaking to each other alone.
Gou Wenyan glanced at the others behind him, hesitated for a long time, and then suddenly grabbed Bai Ye.
The two stood close together, their heads touching.
"you?"
"Old Bai, I'm only telling you this: I suspect that Night Moon Town is actually Fenyang Community."
"?!"
Bai Ye was utterly shocked. "How could you guess that? When...?"
"The shopkeeper reminded me that his little shop can freely switch between the dungeon lobby and the dungeon itself. You also said that Nightmoon Town is unsafe. Then why can't this rest area also exist in the dungeon at the same time?"
"Then why is it Fenyang Community? We've been to so many dungeon worlds and encountered many communities."
“I’ve been to Fenyang Residential Area, and I vaguely remember a place that looks a lot like the equipment area in Yeyue Town.” Gou Wenyan couldn’t help but sigh. “It’s my fault for not looking carefully at the time; I was too busy delivering food.”
Bai Ye remained silent, frowning as he pondered.
Gou Wenyan thought his good brother was worried, so he said, "The [Personal Visit Card] only provides a view and will not harm Bai Jin, so don't worry."
"I'm not afraid that Xiaobai is in danger, I'm worried about you."
"ah?"
"Fine, I'll go with you."
Bai Ye and Gou Wenyan are preparing to enter the dungeon a second time together. The simultaneous refresh of the dungeon content by the two players could very likely cause turmoil in the dungeon's small world.
In particular, Bai Ye has already completed the first dungeon in the game.
"Brother Bai, you also have a [Clock Ornament]?" Cheng Danyang's focus had shifted, and he looked on with envy. "What kind of luck do you two have? I've never gotten one."
"Can't we buy it at the convenience store?" Bai Ye replied while preparing.
Cheng Danyang waved his hand, "I can buy it, and the price isn't high, but the shop owner just won't sell it to me. You don't know, the shop owner is incredibly stingy. He puts any item card that's even remotely useful into a lottery, and each lottery entry costs 500 ghost coins..."
"So Wenyan won the lottery?" Bai Ye thought of Gou Wenyan's luck and instinctively felt it was very likely.
Cheng Danyang shook his head again, "No, Gou Ge found a useless card in the dungeon game, I don't know what it is, but the shop owner liked it and exchanged it for him. Can you believe it?"
During their casual conversation, the two had already made all the necessary preparations.
Because of her suspicions, Bai Ye shared the possibility with the others, telling them to be prepared at any time to verify her conjectures.
As for him and Gou Wenyan, they didn't separate anymore and went directly to the same instance lobby.
Because Bai Ye had cleared the dungeon, he couldn't directly re-enter, so he went to Gou Wenyan's territory.
This was his first time entering another player's dungeon lobby, and he had assumed it would be exactly the same as his own pure white environment.
Unexpectedly, Gou Wenyan's dungeon lobby was decorated in a fancy way, with even sofas and coffee tables.
"You're living the good life!" Bai Ye sat on the sofa, her gaze sweeping over the several kinds of high-end tea on the coffee table, a hint of sourness in her voice. "It's true what they say, comparison is the thief of joy."
Gou Wenyan chuckled and enthusiastically brewed tea. "This is the rear area of the base, right? I was thinking of staying here for many years, so I made some arrangements."
The two drank some tea. Bai Ye received a call from Cheng Danyang saying that Bai Jin had made all the preparations. Only then did he get up and take out the [Clock Ornament].
Bai Ye and Gou Wenyan each had a card. When the card-drawing platform rose, they inserted the cards together. A white light flashed, and the two of them simultaneously lost sight of each other.
When Bai Ye opened his eyes again, he was standing alone on the street, surrounded by bustling traffic.
It was a familiar scene to him; he had picked up an order from a nearby fried chicken shop when he was a delivery driver.
But Gou Wenyan wasn't around.
Bai Ye immediately turned on the screen, ready to contact the other party, only to find that all of her communication functions were grayed out.
It's broken?
Bai Ye realized something was wrong and immediately asked, "This is strange, what's going on? Why is my player panel restricted?"
[Players who have already cleared a dungeon are not allowed to re-enter it. This player has violated the rules, and related functions on the interface will gradually become unavailable.]
"What's the meaning?"
Players are advised to prepare themselves to live as ordinary people in the second instance until they choose to leave voluntarily.
Bai Ye laughed in anger after hearing this, "Strange, your methods are really clumsy. Now you don't even need to cover your tracks anymore, huh?"
The mechanical sound did not sound again.
After waiting for about ten seconds, the screen went completely black and could not be turned on again.
He was "restricted".
In the small world of a deliveryman, he is now neither a player nor a monster.
He is an insignificant "ordinary person".
"Fine, fine, so you're going to play it this way? I don't believe it!"
Bai Ye reached into his pocket and found a cell phone, the very one used by food delivery drivers.
However, he didn't accept the order this time. Instead, he scanned a shared bicycle and rode directly to Fenyang Community.
Fifteen minutes later, at the entrance of the residential area, Bai Ye got out of the car and locked it.
I looked up and lo and behold! It was someone I knew.
"Brother, you're still working as a security guard here?" Bai Ye greeted him warmly, handing him a drink as he did so.
The security guard looked confused, but that didn't stop him from taking the iced drink. "Delivering food? Shared bikes aren't allowed in. You'll have to carry your food in yourself."
"Okay, then you go ahead and do your thing, I'll go in now."
Bai Ye leisurely walked into the residential area with the remaining two bottles of drinks in hand.
Instead of going directly to Building 13, he strolled around the outermost running track of Fenyang Community.
Gou Wenyan once said that the layout of this community is very similar to Night Moon Town, and he now wants to verify this.
Fenyang Residential Area is not large, but it can be considered a high-quality residential area. A walk around it only takes about ten minutes.
After visiting every place, even the small playground at the fork in the road, I found nothing.
Bai Ye couldn't help but wonder: How could Gou Wenyan be so certain of his judgment when there was clearly no connection whatsoever?
Just then, a voice called out "Old Bai" from behind.
Bai Ye turned her head and saw Gou Wenyan holding a parasol, walking furtively.
The two finally met. Before Bai Ye could even speak, Gou Wenyan grabbed him and they hid in a nearby underground parking lot.
"What's going on? I haven't been able to get in touch with you," Gou Wenyan asked as soon as they met.
Bai Ye said helplessly, "My player identity is restricted; I'm an ordinary person now."
"What's the meaning?"
"I can't use any of my props, and I can't contact any of you."
"Playing this big?" Gou Wenyan was astonished.
Bai Ye shook his head. "It must be because I entered the dungeon a second time and was feared by the [Strange]. Xiao Bai told me before that that power was eyeing me covetously. I never understood what I had that they would covet. Now I finally understand."
"So it is?"
"It's a completed dungeon."
"ah?"
"Each time you clear a dungeon, you will achieve an achievement, which should be the most unique and representative 'accessory' for players."
While pondering, Bai Ye said, "Xiao Bai said that what that power needs most is the vitality of players and eerie death energy. I have 21 pieces of the purest eerie death energy and I also carry 6 completed dungeons."
"In other words, Lao Bai, you are a walking embodiment of life and death?" Gou Wenyan said on Bai Ye's behalf.
After they finished speaking, they both fell silent.
After a while, Gou Wenyan opened his screen, fiddled with it for a bit, and took out three cards.
"The [Unlimited Communication Card], the [Convenience Store Connection Channel], and the [Anti-Monster Squad] are all yours."
After thinking about it, Gou Wenyan felt it was inappropriate, so he took out three more similar cards and handed them over.
Bai Ye was completely dumbfounded. He looked at the cards, then at the person in front of him, and asked, "Dude, just how many item cards do you have?"
"Not many, just a few dozen." Gou Wenyan didn't think much of it. "When you're just trying to survive in the early stages, this is all you can earn. Compared to how quickly your health points increase, I'm pretty bad."
Bai Ye: "..." He was speechless for a moment.
Then, I quietly accepted the six cards without any guilt.
"By the way, what are you doing with an umbrella, a grown man like you? And why are you hiding like that? Did you see something unclean?" Bai Ye finally remembered this.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Gou Wenyan's expression changed.
"Entering the instance for the second time, this neighborhood is really weird. I saw those skeletons moving things with my own eyes. One of the skeletons accidentally tripped and fell, and it all turned into insects."
As he spoke, Gou Wenyan pointed outside, “Look, those insects are flying, and their wings are all blood red.”
Bai Ye turned to look outside. The sky was clear and bright, and apart from the slightly high temperature and loud cicada chirping, everything else was fine.
"Can't you see?"
Bai Ye shook his head.
Gou Wenyan suddenly realized, "It seems the [Personal Visit Card] has already taken effect; I borrowed Bai Jin's perspective."
“I walked around the neighborhood before, but I didn’t see the equipment area you mentioned.”
Bai Ye glanced around from time to time. The environment was supposed to be clean, but now he felt uncomfortable everywhere, as if a bunch of bloodworms were buzzing around him.
Gou Wenyan hummed in agreement, then, holding his umbrella, led Bai Ye towards Building 13.
On the way, the topic came up. "It's gone. That area has been turned into a grove of trees, but I squatted down and checked it carefully. There are signs of renovation."
"So, it was a temporary change of environment? [Strange] They detected that we entered a second time."
"Probably, but there's one thing they definitely can't change," Gou Wenyan said with considerable confidence.
Bai Ye, unaware of what was going on, followed them all the way to the red building.
The moment they entered, a cool and refreshing sensation washed over them, a stark contrast in temperature between the inside and outside.
Gou Wenyan closed his umbrella and pointed to the stairwell, "Old Bai, there are two stairwells. You take one side and I'll take the other, and we'll go up together."
High-rise buildings all have two sets of staircases, but they are duplexes.
Before, when Bai Ye delivered food, he always used the staircase closest to the elevator.
Unexpectedly, Gou Wenyan went around to another place.
"What did you find in the stairwell? Did you mark it?" Bai Ye couldn't help but wonder.
Gou Wenyan nodded, "Yes, there is a big bug. Every five floors there is a transparent layer. By passing through the transparent layer, you can jump and randomly reach any floor... I have marked each transparent layer, and the [super glue] I bought from the shop owner cannot change it."
Gou Wenyan spoke at length, then looked across at his good friend who was silently smiling.
"When you were delivering food, didn't you climb the stairs? Didn't you notice these problems?" Gou Wenyan asked in confusion. "That shouldn't be the case. It's easy to notice, but back then we were just ordinary players, and I avoided them for fear of being attacked by the strange creatures."
Bai Ye: "...Generally speaking, we would choose to take the elevator."
“An elevator? No way, elevators are too scary, they’re full of broken pieces.” Gou Wenyan immediately shook his head.
Bai Ye couldn't help but sigh that even though the dungeon environment was the same, the people were different, and the things they experienced and the experience they gained were also different.
Gou Wenyan is probably not the only one.
Other players will likely have all sorts of experiences in this instance.
In the end, the two decided to go together.
Bai Ye warned that there were abnormal hand bones appearing in the stairwell. "Back then, I was just an ordinary player and thought those hand bones were high-level monsters. Now that I think about it, they were probably second-highest level monsters."
Gou Wenyan had no recollection of the hand bones. He always took shortcuts when climbing stairs. Once he discovered a transparent layer, he would simply pass through it. Usually, he could reach the desired floor after passing through it twice.
"Old Bai, you're really something. You encountered a super strange monster as an ordinary player and still managed to get away unscathed."
"It was Ms. Ruan from the 80th floor who saved me, and she also escorted me downstairs."
At this point, Bai Ye suddenly felt a chill down his spine and grabbed Gou Wenyan's arm.
"What?" Gou Wenyan asked, puzzled.
Bai Ye's voice trembled slightly, and he tightened his grip, "Wen Yan, can you check my back?"
"You got bitten by bugs on your back?"
"Look at my clothes, is there anything there?"
Gou Wenyan looked on with curiosity, turning his head to look in the dim light, and then exclaimed in surprise.
"Holy crap! Lao Bai, what happened to you? Where did such a huge bloody handprint come from?!"
Gou Wenyan gestured with his own hand, his face turning pale. "Huge, really, this bloody handprint is bigger than my face. Where did you get it?"
Bai Ye's heart sank to the bottom. "It's nothing, it's just a bloody handprint from my first dungeon."
Gou Wenyan suddenly realized something and blurted out, "Is it spatial overlap?"
"It shouldn't be." Bai Ye had his own guess. "My instance has already been cleared, so it's impossible for it to reappear. This is your instance's small world. So it can only be a strange overlap."
"What's the meaning?"
"It's the same group of strange creatures again; I'm being targeted once more."
Gou Wenyan clicked his tongue, expressing deep sympathy for his brother. "A walking piece of Tang Monk's flesh! He's only been here a short while, and he's already attracted attention. Is it that hand bone?"
"Maybe not."
Bai Ye's face was very ugly. Thinking of that somewhat socially awkward but quiet girl, his heart sank. "It's that Ms. Ruan."
Who would have thought!
My first time delivering food, and the first customer was a strange, high-ranking individual.
It's ridiculous that I was so naive back then, thinking the other person was very kind.
The second time, they even dared to come to me for help...
"Wenyan, what floor are we on now?" Bai Ye's brain started working quickly.
Upon hearing Gou Wenyan say it was the tenth floor, he immediately pulled people into the so-called transparent layer.
After walking out, the two went straight to the elevator.
Looking up at the night sky, the floor display reads: 36th floor.
He immediately pressed the button for the elevator going up.
"Oh no, we haven't explored all the stairwells yet." Gou Wenyan felt a huge shadow over the elevator lobby.
Bai Ye shook his head. "It's too late. Let's take the elevator up first. We need to find someone to ask for help."
"You still dare to look for people? Everyone living here is a ghost. That Ms. Ruan on the 80th floor, hasn't she left you with any nightmares yet?"
"I need to go to the 100th floor to find Aunt Yao's daughter."
If this entire building is inhabited by eerie beings, then among all these eerie beings, Tao Zhizhi is the only one we can temporarily trust.
In at least two of the smaller instances, Aunt Yao was very friendly to him.
Bai Ye tells Gou Wenyan about Aunt Yao and also mentions Tao Zhizhi's identity.
Just as they were getting into the conversation, the numbers on the elevator suddenly stopped working.
Both elevators were stopped on the 80th floor, completely motionless.
Gou Wenyan pressed the buttons twice, puzzled, "Why aren't they moving? Is something broken?"
Before he could finish speaking, the numbers on both elevators started dropping rapidly.
Bai Ye's face turned ashen, and he grabbed Gou Wenyan and ran.
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