Chapter 117 But it's okay, she's still cheating...
As the ghost on the stage waved its water sleeves, the large lantern suddenly moved, and the ghost inside tore open the lampshade and crawled out, dancing wildly on the stage.
The costume on the ghost on the stage suddenly peeled off, revealing not the appearance of a living person, but the texture of muscles that looked like they had been skinned.
The boy took a few steps back in fright, bumped into several chairs, and fell to the ground.
The other taskers didn't make a move; only this boy had broken the rules. If they were afraid and followed suit, the monsters would kill them all.
Blood kept seeping from the blood-soaked man's body, spreading to the boy's feet. Perhaps facing danger, the boy also burst out with great strength, quickly running and grabbing a stool to swing at the blood that was closing in.
But when those stools came into contact with blood, they were immediately corroded.
He threw down the stool and ran towards the door, running for his life.
But as they approached the gate, the bloody hand that had caught up grabbed their ankles and dragged them back.
As he watched the bloodied figure being dragged toward the stage, he tried to scream, but felt as if someone was choking him, and he couldn't utter a sound.
He felt like he was being choked and couldn't breathe. He tried to grab it, but his neck felt empty, as if someone was lifting him up by the neck.
He swung his legs, desperately trying to break free, and reached out to his companions for help.
He seemed to suddenly regain his voice, desperately pleading with his companions, "Save me! Save me! I don't want to die!"
Before his companions could react, he exploded into a cloud of blood mist, merging into the blood.
After the boy was blown into a bloody mist, the others dared not approach, even though the ghost on the stage had disappeared and the red lanterns had lit up again.
They didn't dare to move, afraid that making a sound would summon the ghost back, so they could only cover their mouths tightly.
Currently, there are thirteen surviving mission participants.
Gao Lin was terrified. Luckily, she hadn't spoken. Who would have thought that such a soft voice could have such a loud echo in the theater?
She covered her mouth tightly and finally sat down on the ground.
Seeing what just happened, I can't calm down at all.
It was terrifying; it was the first time she had ever seen such a horrifying monster.
"What do we do now?" Gao Lin wrote on Xu Yi's arm.
With each announcement from the system, their hearts sank deeper.
In just a short time, several mission participants have already died.
They dared not go out and wander around; they could only stay in the private room and observe the situation downstairs.
Seeing this, the other mission participants downstairs also wanted to hide in the private rooms upstairs, but apart from those who were already in the private rooms, the other mission participants couldn't get up to the second floor at all.
Just like the wall-building trick, no matter which way they go, they will eventually return to the stairs.
This made them panic, and they wanted to hide, but they didn't know where to hide.
This relieved Gao Lin and the others, who were glad they had chosen a private room in the first place, otherwise they really wouldn't have been able to get up there.
Currently, the private room appears to be relatively safe.
It's so lively during the day, I can talk without any problem, but I never expected that at night I can't even make a sound.
This feeling is really unpleasant.
The only thing to do now is to wait until dawn.
It's safer during the day than at night.
They huddled together, taking turns closing their eyes to rest for a while, but dared not sleep too soundly, lest they accidentally talk in their sleep.
Or if they make noise while they're asleep, it would be too unjust for them to die.
Even so, one of the mission members still died that night.
Currently, there are twelve surviving mission participants.
The sky suddenly brightened, and many people sat on the stage, making the theater exceptionally lively.
The people coming and going at the gate look no different from normal people.
What happened last night had left them somewhat wary. They weren't sure if what they were seeing was a hallucination, and remained silent.
It was very noisy outside, and they covered their mouths, not daring to make a sound.
Currently, there are eleven surviving mission participants.
Upon hearing the electronic voice, everyone peered out and saw that it was dawn and someone had entered. They immediately rushed out, but unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out of the theater, they were swarmed by the group of strange creatures outside and torn to pieces.
Those who were originally planning to leave immediately stopped in their tracks.
The opera started playing again on the stage, and you could vaguely see some people on a mission talking. They were probably asking for a private room on the second floor and were walking towards it.
If you can't go out at night and you won't go out during the day, you might as well hide in the private room; at least it's safer than watching from downstairs.
"Shall we go down and take a look?" Yu Jin said. "We won't find any clues here."
They opened the door, only to find the people from the next private room standing there. Judging from their appearance, they must have come looking for them.
"Hello," the other person said, lowering their hand from the door where they were about to knock.
Xu Yi nodded, but did not intend to respond.
There were three people on the other side and four on their side. It's unlikely that they came looking for a fight.
As for other things, Xu Yi wasn't very interested.
The person in front of her gave her an indescribable feeling.
"Let's form an alliance." Seeing that Xu Yi didn't intend to pay attention to him and was about to leave, the other party took the initiative to speak.
"There are eleven survivors left. There are four of you and three of us, making a total of seven. I believe that as long as we form an alliance and work together, we will survive to the end."
The other party introduced himself as Fang Xun, and the two men behind him were his companions. The thinner man on the left was named Shi Wei, and the fatter man on the right was named Qian Jing.
Fang Xun said that they had already cleared six dungeons and had a lot of experience, and that forming an alliance with them would also benefit Xu Yi and his group.
"We can protect you."
Don't trust them; be careful, it might be a scam.
As she watched the words passing by, which coincided with her own thoughts, Xu Yi looked up at the three people.
Especially Fang Xun, who was the leader of the group. He was indeed a mission taker, but his initiative to seek an alliance with them did not seem to be out of goodwill.
She has a cheat code, so she can see more things.
A faint aura, seemingly of death, emanated from these three people.
How can a living person possess the aura of death?
Based on this alone, Xu Yi could not possibly believe their nonsense about forming an alliance.
These three people have cleared so many dungeons; their success is no small feat. Xu Yi didn't want to get too involved with them.
"Aren't the three of you enough? Why do you need to form an alliance with us?"
Fang Xun laughed, "I just think that there's more strength in numbers. And although there are four of you, there are two girls among you. With us protecting you two girls, it will be safer."
“That’s right. Even if you don’t trust the two of us, you should trust Brother Xun. He’s our leader. What kind of leader is a girl? You guys can just stay behind us.” The man named Shi Wei said in a nonchalant manner.
Another person named Qian Jing, although not very talkative, seemed to agree.
Xu Yi twitched the corners of his mouth, the sarcastic words on the tip of his tongue, when scrolling text appeared in front of him.
"Who says girls can't be leaders? We..."
Hearing Gao Lin speak, he reached out and pulled her aside, signaling her to stop talking.
She has a cheat code, that's true, but she has an even more powerful cheat code by her side.
Xiang Bei glanced at the three people and actually found the problem. She quickly told Xu Yi to prevent them from being tricked by the three people.
[Never agree to form an alliance with them. They have a list of scapegoats. If someone writes down the name of an ally, and is targeted by a ghost, the scapegoat will shout out their name, and the ghost will kill the person on the list, thus saving them from certain death.]
Xu Yi never expected things to turn out this way.
Her magic only protects herself, but the list of scapegoats in these people's hands is a way to shift the danger onto others.
These three people were able to successfully pass the previous dungeons, probably because they used this method to harm many people.
The system mobilized its resources, found out about the list of substitutes in the bizarre world, and then transferred the information to Xiang Bei.
This list of scapegoats is not foolproof. If a false name or the wrong name is used, the scapegoat ability will not work and will even backfire on the scapegoats themselves.
Fang Xun looked at them, appearing confident that they would agree. "Don't be afraid. We are really good people. We just think that forming an alliance will make everyone safer and help us clear this dungeon as soon as possible."
To show his sincerity, Fang Xun even took out the rewards he had received for clearing the level, saying, "Here, to show our sincerity, I'll give you this."
Looking at the four rewards handed over for completing the level, Xu Yi understood why Fang Xun and his group were able to successfully deceive others.
They're willing to give away rewards for completing levels, which certainly makes many people believe in their sincerity.
Unfortunately, these things are all death warrants; once you take them, you lose your life.
"Let us think about it first," Xu Yi said, not giving a definitive answer to avoid the three of them getting desperate.
"Okay, I'll come find you again in a bit." Fang Xun nodded, didn't say anything more, and turned to leave.
They retreated back into the room.
"Sister Yi, do we really want to form an alliance with them?" Lu Ziyang asked.
“I don’t think their motives are pure,” Yu Jin said.
"I don't know why, but I always feel uncomfortable when Shi Wei looks at me. And listen to the nonsense they're spouting, saying that girls should be protected by them. They're just plain crazy. Who needs their protection? Can't I protect myself?" Gao Lin said, frowning.
Xu Yi nodded. "They definitely have a problem. Besides the four of us, there are other mission participants. They should all be together now. I just saw them go into a private room. I wonder if Fang Xun and his two companions will try to form an alliance with other mission participants."
Xu Yi paused for a moment, then looked at them and said, "If you really want to form an alliance with those people, remember not to reveal your real name. You can never be too careful. This is a strange world, so we'd better be cautious."
After discussing it, the group decided that what they called pseudonyms were actually just variations of their real names, so that they wouldn't be caught off guard when someone called their names later.
Xu Yi heard from Xiang Bei that Qian Jing had a lie detector, which could detect if they lied.
These three really worked together exceptionally well. Shi Wei acted as the lackey and straight man, while Qian Jing was responsible for checking whether the allies were lying, to prevent any accidents from happening to their scapegoat list.
But it's okay, she's cheating too.
By the way, can this cheat also block for other people?
As long as they don't stray too far from you, it'll be fine; we can keep it a secret.
Having clarified the situation, Xu Yi had a better understanding of the situation.
They planned to go down to the theater first and check out the situation.
Although it was eerie during the day, at least it was brightly lit all around and looked quite lively, which was much better than the night when you couldn't move around freely or make any noise.
Even the backstage area was bustling with activity.
People were coming and going at the gate, and the eerie atmosphere made it seem as if they were actually watching a play.
However, you can't just stare at them, or those eerie creatures will reveal their true forms.
"Sister Yi, are we really stuck here now?" Lu Ziyang pointed to the gate.
"No, you saw what happened just now."
Gao Lin sighed, "So that's why those strange things wanted us to come in before we did. Turns out, once we're in, we can't get out."
"Enough with the talk, let's go backstage and take a look."
They went behind the stage, and the people inside acted as if they hadn't seen them, continuing with what they were doing.
The backstage area was also bustling with activity, as performers were putting on makeup and changing clothes before going on stage.
They didn't even glance at them upon their arrival, as if they hadn't seen them at all.
Gao Lin curiously leaned over for a peek, wanting to see how they did their makeup, but she was startled when she got close and quickly shut her mouth, carefully backing away.
She clung tightly to Xu Yi's arm, not daring to speak, but only gesturing for them to look with her eyes.
The person putting on makeup didn't have a face in the mirror; they were applying makeup to their face.
As they were looking, a face covered in makeup came closer.
How did you guys get in?
The other person was dressed in a theatrical costume. I don't know where they came from, but they came over to talk to me. They had heavy makeup on their face and wore a white undergarment. When they spoke, they were also waving the water sleeves in their hands.
Just as Lu Ziyang was about to speak, Yu Jin tugged at his sleeve, and he swallowed back the words he was about to say.
Rule 1: If a traditional opera performer greets you, please ignore them.
The other person was dressed in a theatrical costume, so they must be performers on stage. The group looked away, ignored the person who had spoken to them, and continued watching inside.
He only looks like a human; if they actually answered his questions, his figure would cease to exist.
Xu Yi and the others didn't answer, and the other person continued to huddle closer, "Hey, why aren't you saying anything? I'm asking you, how did you get in here?"
Yu Jin saw a mirror in front of him and gestured for Xu Yi and the others to look in it.
The person who approached them in the mirror looked completely different. Following their gaze, the person saw their reflection and, as if driven mad, suddenly clutched their head and howled in agony.
Flames suddenly burst from his body, engulfing his entire body. He tried to pat the flames off, but couldn't get rid of them.
Burn marks were visible all over his face.
He reached out his hands to Xu Yi and the others, crying, "Help me! Help me!"
Xu Yi and the others didn't move, and that person was burned to a crisp in an instant, with the smell of burning things still lingering in the air.
"Sister Yi, what's wrong with him?" Gao Lin asked in a low voice.
“That should be what he looked like before he died,” Yu Jin said.
The corpse was a charred carcass lying on the ground. They tried to walk around it, but unexpectedly, the person who had been wailing suddenly stood up and returned to his previous appearance.
He waved his water sleeves and suddenly started singing. As he sang, he suddenly burst into laughter, which sent chills down Gao Lin's spine.
The other person started tearing at their water sleeves again, and after tearing them to shreds, they threw them into the air.
Finally, the person suddenly disappeared, leaving only the water sleeves on the ground. The water sleeves, made of ice silk, were covered with hair, blackened knuckles, and red blood.
The others backstage seemed oblivious to all of this and continued doing their own thing.
Xu Yi and the others looked around backstage for a bit, then went to the other side of the stage.
There are two stages in this opera house, one in the east and one in the west. To get to them, you have to go through a long corridor.
The place where they watched the play was on the east side.
The stage on the west side looks very desolate.
They had inquired outside and obtained some useful information: it was said that a famous actor had gone mad and hanged himself on the stage to the west.
It rained heavily that day. The famous actor was covered in blood, which stained his clothes red. The rain washed away the blood, which then fell onto the stage.
He hung there, rain falling on him, swaying back and forth, and it took a long time before someone finally put him down.
Blood was everywhere, and the audience felt it was bad luck, so they never went to the West Stage to watch plays again.
After that, Xitai gradually fell into disrepair.
Dongtai became increasingly lively, with guests flocking there to show their support.
When they arrived at Xitai, a gust of wind blew by, and the faded paper money in the corner was blown out and floated in mid-air, giving people a chill down their spines.
There were some faint sounds in my ears, as if someone was hanging from the front beam and swaying.
They heard footsteps behind them and immediately turned around to look. The other person also saw them.
After a long silence, the person on the other end finally spoke up, asking, "Are you guests here to watch the opera?"
The two people looked at each other, and no one spoke.
They were all pondering whether to answer the question, even though the person wasn't a traditional opera actor, what if it was some kind of eerie disguise?
This person is definitely not a mission taker; there is no such mission taker among them.
When dawn breaks, the eerie disguise makes them look just like normal people.
Not receiving a reply, the man said nothing, but pointed to the stage on the east side and said, "This side will no longer be open. If you want to listen to a play, go over there."
As they were talking, the man had already walked onto the stage. Only then did Xu Yi and the others realize that the man was walking with a limp, and it seemed that he had a problem with his legs.
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