108 A Feast of a Hundred Mysteries (2)
44, an exceptionally auspicious number
Throughout the entire incident, he never stopped the cub from "killing" the baby.
He just watched coldly, and if you looked closely, you might even be able to read a hint of cold mockery in his eyes.
The bullet comments gradually changed from blank silence to text.
[...Suddenly, I remembered those descriptions from the last dungeon where they said streamers who are too soft-hearted and kind won't go far.]
[Waaaaaah, this little bird can talk, guys! It can talk, and it even calls the streamer "Dad"!?]
[Given: The streamer is not human; also known: The streamer's chick is a bird; therefore, we can conclude that the streamer's true form must also be a bird!]
[A bird with green vertical pupils???]
[That's strange, give me the formula so I can calculate it again...]
[...So, is nobody really paying attention to the new dungeon?]
"This is a vicious-level dungeon. Stay away from that killing god. He looks like someone you don't want to mess with. All his companions were burned to death by his cubs!" A player forcefully pulled over his curious companion, his voice inevitably a little louder than usual.
Qin Fu'an heard this and noticed that the other players had also tacitly distanced themselves from him, so he knew that they all thought he was the strange NPC in this instance.
He almost laughed, but when he caught a glimpse of the well-behaved, fluffy little thing on his shoulder, his smile faded.
Now that the little guy had calmed down for the time being, Qin Fu'an took the opportunity to observe the strange people around him.
There are about eight players. Players who can be matched into the Evil and Demonic dungeon are definitely not bad. Most of them are players who have had special encounters in the dungeon or are very powerful.
The rest are all strange creatures.
And as the shadows swelled, these eerie creatures were gathering in ever greater numbers, and every inch of the surrounding air was distorted and filled with a chilling aura.
They not only covet the players, but also their own kind.
But perhaps due to the limitations of the instance rules, all the ghosts are maintaining a delicate balance, except for the unfortunate ghost that was burned alive by the little phoenix because it couldn't control its appetite.
During the observation, a distinct flapping sound suddenly rang out in the pitch-black night.
Everyone instinctively looked up in the direction of the sound.
Soon, a jet-black raven with crimson eyes and half its body already rotted into bones pierced through the darkness, flew over the heads of the crowd, and landed precisely on a rose branch on the castle gate. Then it lowered its head and silently surveyed the people and the monsters below with its crimson eyes.
The surroundings fell silent, so quiet that the players felt their heartbeats and breathing were too loud, worrying that they might disturb these strange creatures and provoke them into a killing spree.
As the people and monsters looked up at it, the rotting crow's eyes twitched, as if it were laughing.
The next second, a hoarse and shrill scream almost pierced everyone's eardrums, and even the many strange creatures gathered around cried out in pain.
The moment the crow made a move, Qin Fu'an had already used his spiritual power to envelop himself and the little creature on his shoulder, successfully blocking the ear-piercing sonic attack. He then noticed that the little phoenix was still staring intently at the crow.
"What, want to go up and make friends with it?" The boy was particularly sarcastic towards the stray he had picked up.
The little phoenix puffed up its wings, tilted its head, and chirped softly twice in its father's ear. With its hands on its chubby hips, it proudly declared, "Dad, my chirping is much better than itss!"
The little fellow was completely unaware of what a life-or-death trial this place was. He was bewildered and innocent, yet beneath that innocence lay the pure cruelty unique to a great demon.
Qin Fu'an chuckled, flicked the crow with his finger in annoyance, and as the crow flapped its wings again and landed on another rose vine, he stepped forward, and under the gaze of all creatures, reached out and gently pushed it—
The castle gate, which was not locked to begin with, was silently pushed open by him.
At the same time, the system notification finally rang in the players' ears:
[Congratulations, player, for triggering the main quest]
Main Quest: Attend the banquet and escape Rose Castle alive.
Then came endless silence.
The players held their breath and waited for a long time until the monsters crowded into the castle. The players, who were standing outside the door like dumb geese, had no choice but to accept reality in astonishment.
As we all know, the simpler the task, the more difficult it is.
This time it's a bizarre and dangerous dungeon, and the quest is so simple and straightforward...
You hardly need to think about it to imagine how cannibalistic this dungeon is.
But with only a few of them, is it really worth it to start this bizarre-level event?
Filled with immense unease and a few unanswered questions, the eight players standing outside exchanged glances for a moment, then silently walked inside together.
We're all veteran players who've been through several dungeons together, so we have this unspoken understanding.
But when they actually entered the castle, they found that the unspoken understanding they had shared during their eye contact was completely useless.
-
Qin Fu'an pushed open the door and stepped into the castle first.
But the moment he actually entered, the space in front of him began to reverse and distort. When the surroundings stabilized again, he looked up and found himself standing at the entrance of a narrow and dimly lit passage.
A waiter, seemingly guarding the door, smiled and bowed, saying to him, "Honored guest, please show your invitation mask for the dinner."
mask?
Qin Fu'an had a sudden thought, and a mask appeared out of thin air in his hand.
The waiter took the item for inspection and handed it back to him, his formulaic smile suddenly becoming much more genuine. He respectfully said, "Sir, this Hundred Ghosts Night is a grand banquet specially hosted by Mr. Lambeth, the owner of the castle, for all of you distinguished guests. The banquet will feature a magnificent ball, an endless supply of food, and the most attentive waiters, etc..."
Instead of explaining the banquet schedule, the waiter didn't say much. After piquing the guest's interest, he smiled mysteriously and patiently said, "Mr. Lamb will also be at the banquet tonight. He has specially set up many interactive games for this banquet, and in the end, he will use his immense wealth to grant the most outstanding guest of the evening a wish."
"Aside from the rules of the game, there is only one requirement for our distinguished guests at tonight's banquet: they must not remove their masks."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Qin Fu'an's shoulder, paused briefly, then smiled again and politely asked, "Guest, in order to maintain a certain level of mystery, please try not to let your pet appear in front of everyone. It will expose your identity and cause you a lot of inconvenience."
"Of course, we can also provide you with storage services here. We hope you understand."
Despite the phoenix's angry glare, the waiter maintained his smile and finished speaking.
Qin Fu'an pondered for a moment, then nodded with a light laugh: "Of course, I won't cause any trouble for your work, and I certainly don't want to ruin the dinner that Mr. Lan Bai has carefully prepared. I will make proper arrangements for it."
Upon hearing this, the waiter even bowed to him with a grateful expression and said, "Thank you for your understanding. I won't take up any more of your precious time."
He gestured for him to come in, his tone sincere: "Guest, have a pleasant evening."
Qin Fu'an put on the mask and walked towards the end of the passage, watching him go.
After turning a corner, his appearance and attire, including the little phoenix on his shoulder, kept changing.
After rounding the corner, a lively atmosphere came into view, and the audience in the live broadcast room was finally able to see his appearance clearly.
A somewhat familiar face, probably a dungeon monster he had seen in his live stream before.
His original attire had also changed, becoming more ancient and mysterious. Upon closer inspection, one could even see that the dark gold embroidery on his black robes depicted not only dragons and pythons but also ancient mythical dragons. Even the black pendant that he originally wore on his earlobe had been transformed into a long snake totem climbing behind his ear.
And the fierce, fire-breathing, unidentified little bird that had been perched on his shoulder had turned into... a serious-looking crow.
Indeed, viewers looked left and right, up and down, and even compared previous screenshots, and they all felt that the eerie crow perched on Qin Fu'an's shoulder was exactly the same as the crow that had just flown out and perched on the rose branch at the castle gate.
Even the rotten bones were indistinguishable.
[...Who says no two leaves in the world are the same? Look!!]
[I have this feeling that this little bird looks like it wants to kill someone, is it just my imagination?]
[Of course! If you went from a round, cute, fluffy creature to a rotting crow, you'd want to kill someone too.]
[The streamer's outfit... I'm just speechless! Wearing a mask doesn't affect the streamer's looks at all; in fact, it makes things even more intriguing, waaaaaah...]
[Damn it! I used to be a die-hard fan of the streamer and Xiaoyunduo's pairing, but now I'm suddenly at a loss for whether to envy the streamer for having Xiaoyunduo, or be jealous of Xiaoyunduo for having the streamer!]
[This outfit is absolutely stunning and amazing! I hope the streamer can stick to this look forever, so that even if you just give me a cold laugh, I'd be ready to shower you with money!!!]
[Sigh, everyone around me is wearing masks, so why does this streamer seem so outstanding? "A crane among chickens" wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?]
[Hilarious! Didn't you guys notice that these eerie NPCs in the lobby are starting to try and kill the streamer with their eyes? Several of them are already drooling over him. I wonder if they're lusting after his body or something else?]
[On the profound and extensive nature of the national language.]
"Father! I don't want to be an ugly crow!!" The little phoenix, the king of birds, was so angry he wanted to cry.
But when it opened its mouth to protest, the sound it made was exactly the same unpleasant sound as the previous crow, making it want to cry even more.
Qin Fu'an ignored his son's resistance and stood at the entrance, surveying the people and ghosts already present in the banquet hall.
Yes, it already exists: humans and monsters.
Qin Fu'an could clearly tell that the players inside were definitely not the same group as those outside the castle.
This also means that there are definitely more than just the eight players outside this instance.
Although the people and ghosts here all wear masks that conceal their facial features or even alter their physical form, Qin Fu'an could see their soul forms first when he looked at them.
Therefore, the mask's function completely failed in his eyes.
If you do the math, there are a total of 43 players here and outside.
With myself added to the mix, I was matched with 44 players in this event.
44 is an exceptionally auspicious number in this game.
At this moment, Qin Fu'an suddenly felt a little regretful, because Xie Zeyuan was no longer in this instance.
Otherwise, we could find out if there are any similarities or interesting aspects between this "Feast of a Hundred Ghosts" and the Ghost Festival's "Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts".
[Author's Note]
Yes, this is a large event book.
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