Chapter 116 still feels a bit creepy. ...
Seeing that the other mission takers had all entered the theater, Xu Yi remained standing still, which puzzled the others.
"Aren't we going in?" Lu Ziyang asked, puzzled.
Xu Yi looked up at the sky, where the eerie figure hovering above seemed to have solidified even more, and it even looked up at him.
People passing by looked on curiously as they saw them standing at the entrance of the theater.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't block the way if you're not going in," someone said, expressing their dissatisfaction.
They moved to the side, and Lu Ziyang leaned closer, saying, "These NPCs can actually see us."
Generally speaking, these people are no different from the background figures.
He thought he was speaking very softly, but to his surprise, the NPC suddenly turned his head and looked at them, baring his fangs. Lu Ziyang was so frightened that he took two steps back.
The NPC then sheathed his fangs and walked into the theater.
"Strange, what's with their reaction?" Gao Lin asked, puzzled.
"We probably didn't enter the theater and didn't break any rules, so those ghosts couldn't do anything to us."
Gao Lin walked over to Xu Yi, her smile somewhat forced, "According to what you're saying, I don't really want to go in now, I'm a little scared."
After recovering, Lu Ziyang said, "Actually, it's not that scary. It's not like we haven't seen monsters that are even scarier than them."
After he finished speaking, he found that everyone around him had fallen silent. Not only were Xu Yi and the others looking at him, but even the people on the road stopped and looked at Lu Ziyang.
Several of them even shed their human forms and instantly appeared before Lu Ziyang.
"You're telling me we're not scary?"
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."
"Believe it or not, I'll eat you right now."
"No!" Lu Ziyang cried out in terror, covering his head.
The ghost reached out to grab Lu Ziyang. Xu Yi, holding a dagger, was about to make a move when the ghost above the opera house suddenly opened its eyes. The ghost then retreated and returned to being a passerby.
Gao Lin reached out and nudged Lu Ziyang. "Hey, it's okay now."
Lu Ziyang looked up and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"It can't be that bad, I didn't break any rules."
Yu Jin pushed up his glasses. "You've been too talkative. You can say the monsters in the bizarre dungeon are bad, but you can't say they're weak."
“Exactly, if you say there are other monsters that are more powerful than them, of course they will be angry,” Gao Lin added.
"Huh?" Lu Ziyang was stunned. He was about to say something, but when he saw the strange things around him, he silently swallowed his words.
He was thinking, "Is Gui Ye really that stingy?"
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.
If he were to say it out loud, he might lose his life in this instance.
Seeing the "people" around him start moving again, Lu Ziyang was still a little scared.
"Sister Yi, all the other mission takers have gone in, let's go in too." Lu Ziyang was genuinely scared, afraid that those monsters would pounce on him again.
"No rush, let's find out what's going on here from the people around here first," Xu Yi said.
As NPCs in the instance, they can probably get some clues out of you. As for whether you can believe their lies, that's up to your own judgment.
Gao Lin and Yu Jin agreed, so they went to inquire about it separately. Anyway, the rules didn't say that they couldn't ask people outside the opera troupe for information.
As for what clues they find out, that depends on their own abilities.
Before they could even ask what was going on, the electronic voice broadcast the announcement.
Currently, there are sixteen surviving mission members.
Did someone who just went in die?
"Breaking the rules so quickly? That's really unlucky," Lu Ziyang said with a surprised look.
However, I still continued to inquire about this place, at least to have some idea of what this theater was all about.
Luckily, I didn't rush in. All the rules are explained inside this theater.
Looking back at the theater, the gate looked like a giant beast trying to devour them, with NPCs from this instance coming and going.
I was indeed scared when I first entered the dungeon, but the Lu Ziyang of today is no longer the Lu Ziyang who was afraid of everything.
People are stuck here and can't leave at all.
Since we're already here, how can we not venture into the dungeon and give it a try?
Lu Ziyang quickly tried to cheer himself up, but when he turned his head, he was met with a strange face. The strange face had eyes that were about to bulge out, and its mouth was bright red, making it look like it had just eaten someone.
"That's weird." Lu Ziyang was so frightened that he quickly retreated to Yu Jin's side.
"Don't be so startled." Yu Jin ignored the ghost and looked around the crowd.
The four of them went to inquire separately, and then met up and shared what they had found out.
"It seems there's nothing wrong here so far," Gao Lin said.
Lu Ziyang clicked his tongue. "Are you stupid? This is the Ghost Realm instance. How could there be no problems? The fact that we're here already indicates a big problem."
Gao Lin glared back, "You're the stupid one, you're so stupid that you provoked those monsters."
Turning their heads, they saw the monsters standing there motionless, their eyes fixed on them.
"Sister Yi, why are they staring at us like that?" Gao Lin was also a little scared by the eerie stares.
As they spoke, the monsters swarmed around them.
"They...they're not going to eat us, are they?" Lu Ziyang said in a trembling voice.
Xu Yi glanced back and said, "No, they probably want us to go inside this theater."
Yu Jin nodded, agreeing, and said, "That's right. This time, we're asked to find the arsonist. Based on this reasoning, the arsonist should be someone in the theater. If we don't go in, we won't get any clues."
"Shall we go in and take a look now?" Lu Ziyang said.
The three of them turned to look at Xu Yi. Gao Lin said naturally, "Sister Yi, what do you think?"
All three of them unconsciously prioritized her opinion.
Xu Yi's demeanor was remarkably calm. She remained just as composed in the previous two instances, as if nothing could frighten her.
A person who remains calm and composed at all times is truly suited to be a leader.
"Go check out the situation inside first. Remember, don't break the rules," Xu Yi instructed.
They weren't really there to solve the case; they were there to complete a dungeon.
Breaking the rules can lead to death.
Even if you mistake the arsonist, you can still die.
Although she won't die in the dungeon, she now has three more teammates, and even without being explicitly stated, Xu Yi is everyone's de facto captain.
She had already put herself in the position of captain, so naturally she couldn't let her team members get hurt.
The four people observed from the doorway for a while. Their dawdling behavior displeased the monsters outside, who then surrounded them again.
After Xu Yi and his group entered, the people in the theater warmly greeted them, "Please come in, gentlemen? Would you like to sit in the main hall or in a private box?"
"What does this mean?" Gao Lin asked softly.
Yu Jin explained, "He was asking whether we should sit here or go upstairs to our room."
Lu Ziyang felt his pocket, grabbed some money, and handed it over. "Private room."
After they took the money, the man treated them even more warmly, as if he were really entertaining them.
I followed that person to a private room on the second floor, where there were windows offering a direct view of the stage outside, providing an excellent view.
After everyone left, Lu Ziyang couldn't help but say, "It feels like time travel, as if we've really gone back to the Republic of China era."
Gao Lin scoffed, "Don't joke around. Fairy Tale Town is just like a fairy tale; it's still very dangerous. We were almost strangled to death by a ghost back then."
Lu Ziyang fell silent.
When he thought of the fairytale town, he thought of his long hair.
His past is especially infamous for wearing a gothic dress and speaking in a high-pitched voice.
I don't want to talk about it now.
The only thing that gave him some satisfaction was that he felt his singing voice was particularly beautiful at midnight.
"At that moment, I felt like I had all five notes of the pentatonic scale."
Xu Yi looked at him speechlessly, "Don't be so confident, you sing terribly."
"Impossible." Lu Ziyang recalled that he still thought his singing was beautiful.
But upon closer reflection, something seemed off. How could someone who is tone-deaf sing such beautifully?
Was he under some kind of supernatural control back then?
Thinking of this, Lu Ziyang couldn't help but tremble.
"Alright, alright, it's all in the past, let's not talk about it anymore," Lu Ziyang said with an embarrassed smile.
The waiter brought over tea, and cheers erupted outside. Everyone turned to look at the stage.
The performers on the stage were still singing when Gao Lin suddenly grabbed Xu Yi's arm, holding it tightly, and looked very nervous.
After the waiter left, she spoke in a trembling voice, her lips quivering, "That actor on stage, he seems to have no feet."
The three of them followed Gao Lin's gaze and happened to see the person on the stage also looking up. The person's eye sockets were dark, and there were no eyes at all.
They had no expression, trying hard to maintain a calm demeanor, afraid that if anything unusual happened, the ghost would notice and they would be in danger.
The audience below was still clapping and cheering, and they joined in, with smiles on their faces, as if they were really watching a play.
But what they saw was that the opera singer grabbed a panicked mission participant from downstairs and then tore the mission participant to pieces.
The tasker was so frightened that he exposed himself and was discovered by the ghost on the stage.
Currently, there are fifteen surviving mission participants.
Gao Lin clapped even more enthusiastically and joined the others in cheering, "Good, well sung!"
Actually, my calves were shaking.
This ghost was too sharp; it cleaved the man in two with its bare hands. Blood splattered on the heavily made-up face, and its empty eyes scanned all the mission participants present.
Although it has no eyes, it can still sense that something is wrong with the mission takers.
That's terrifying.
When Gao Lin turned her head, she found that Lu Ziyang wasn't doing much better. Having someone with her when she was scared made her feel instantly more at ease.
Yu Jin, however, did not seem to be afraid.
However, you can really tell that Xu Yi is very calm.
"Sister Yi, you're amazing!"
Xu Yi glanced at Gao Lin blankly. She had felt that the scene was very impactful, so she switched her perspective. Now, from her perspective, everything seemed so harmonious.
She wasn't afraid of ghosts, but she couldn't stand the ghosts staring at her, especially with this immersive experience, which always gave her a creepy feeling.
The entire theater looked eerie, and there was a faint smell of fire in the air.
This reminded Xu Yi of the first instance she experienced, where the people in the neighborhood also died in a fire.
She switched to the perspective of the avatar, and what she saw were normal people, so she remained calm.
I switch back occasionally to check the situation.
The performers on stage had to apply a thick layer of powder to their faces, so it was hard to tell what was going on at first. All that could be seen was that their facial features looked very blurry, their eye sockets were empty, and they didn't have feet.
I didn't notice anything else.
Xu Yi leaned out the window and looked around. When she turned her head, she saw someone staring at her.
It was the girl who had been watching her before she even entered the theater.
He looks about the same age as her.
When Xu Yi looked over, the other person looked away.
"Sister Yi, do you two know each other? I noticed that girl looking at you before we entered the theater," Gao Lin asked, leaning closer.
"I don't know her, I've never seen her before."
"You don't know her? But she seems to know you."
Xu Yi smiled and shook her head without saying anything.
The girl had already returned to the private room.
After the play just finished, some people threw things onto the stage—all sorts of things, including some that hit the actors.
"He was singing quite well, so why was he throwing things?" Lu Ziyang was very puzzled.
"This is a way to tip for traditional opera, and it's also a way to acknowledge the performance," Yu Jin explained.
Lu Ziyang couldn't help but laugh, "Brother Yu, you're like an encyclopedia, you know everything."
"I just happened to have done some research on it before."
The cheers from below continued, but they had no interest in watching the performance on stage.
I still feel a bit creeped out.
Xu Yi looked at the program list on the table and studied it carefully. She didn't usually listen to opera, so she didn't know anything about opera.
“I know a little about this. My grandparents like to watch the opera channel, and I listen to it every time,” Lu Ziyang said.
The performers on the stage changed, but the opera continued. However, as night fell, the audience gradually disappeared.
The sound of the opera echoed through the empty theater, creating a rather eerie atmosphere.
In particular, the people on stage have no feet; they practically float on the stage.
Late at night, they were putting on a ghost story, and the performer looked like a paper effigy.
He was originally facing away from them, but suddenly he turned around and started laughing.
Only his head turned; his body was still facing away from them.
The shrill laughter echoed through the theater, making their hair stand on end.
They got up to leave, but one of the mission participants, out of sheer fear, ran out the door. A scream was heard, and the mission participant lost his footing and fell straight into the abyss. After the scream disappeared, not a sound was heard.
A cold, electronic voice rang out.
Currently, there are fourteen surviving mission participants.
Coupled with that laughter, it created a chilling, eerie sound.
Those mission takers who had run to the door stood there dumbfounded, staring into the darkness. The street they had come from was no longer visible. Now, if they took just one step out, they would be met with an endless abyss.
No one expected that once they entered the theater, they would never be able to leave.
If the real culprit cannot be found within the rules, then all of them will be trapped and die in this place.
Xu Yi and the others retreated with solemn expressions.
After thinking for a moment, I decided to go back to the private room on the second floor. I walked up the stairs quietly, trying my best not to make a sound.
Gao Lin covered her mouth, about to speak, when she saw Xu Yi shake his head at her.
Gao Lin didn't speak, but gestured with her hand, and finally wrote in Xu Yi's palm, "Do you want to stay here forever?"
The ghosts on the stage have vanished, the candles have gone out, leaving only a few lanterns. Now the entire theater is eerily quiet, with strange red glows on the lanterns, green lights in the corridors, and some mist, making it look like the underworld.
Xu Yi shook his head and wrote something in Gao Lin's palm: "Don't speak, take a look first."
Although communication was a bit troublesome, Xu Yi still wrote a message on each of the other people's palms.
It's best not to make any noise at this time.
The group nodded, intending to observe the situation from the second floor. They remembered the original rules and were naturally extremely cautious.
Rule 5: Do not make loud noises in the theater at night.
Xu Yi didn't know what the definition of "noise" was. After all, the rules were set in stone, and even in such a quiet atmosphere, accidentally making a little noise could be defined as noisy.
Therefore, it's best not to speak or make any noise.
They were on the second floor, and there were also mission personnel returning from the opposite compartment.
After the mission takers returned downstairs, they were also searching around for something.
After all, the rules state that the only way out now is to find the real arsonist.
A boy in the stands below accidentally kicked a stool while walking.
He hugged his knees and exclaimed in surprise. Although his voice was not loud, for some reason, his voice echoed in the theater.
That voice even echoed over and over again.
Upon hearing this voice, all the mission participants tensed up.
Even though the boy had covered his mouth, he couldn't come.
Suddenly, a person dressed in opera costume appeared on the stage, standing there blankly, his face fixed on the direction he was looking, blood tears streaming from his empty eye sockets.
Dark water seeped from the stage beneath their feet, and the air was filled with a murmur of blood and a strong smell of burning.
The ghost stood quietly on the stage, its face somewhat distorted, while the large lanterns hanging on either side of the stage emitted a dim light.
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