Chapter 100 Xiawei Temple, Two Watches Combined
Yu Naixin: "...?!"
Looking at the butter-flower monk in front of her, whose posture was almost bowing to the dust, Yu Naixin moved aside and refused this overly solemn, even extremely heavy, gift.
She hadn't done anything yet, nor had she decided whether or not to do anything.
[I'm incredibly confused. The more I look at the butter monk, the less he seems to be spouting nonsense; he genuinely wants the female guest to kill him!]
[The guest character in the dungeon couldn't commit suicide?! I've been thinking about it and I haven't heard of any guest character in the dungeon dying by suicide. This news must be true?]
Those who become guests on the show are unlikely to lack willpower; they are all focused on improving their abilities to break free from the constraints of "Heartbeat 1000%".
[The part where the little witch avoids the deep bow of the butter flower monk really touched me... I don't know how to describe it best, but it feels like she's both clear-headed and rational, yet still humane. The butter flower monk didn't have much malice towards her, so she also showed him kindness. If it were one of those male guests who tried every means to hunt her down, the little witch probably wouldn't have avoided him at all; she would have directly stepped on his shoulder and made him kneel down before her.]
[Hilarious! I can already picture it in my mind!]
The request from the butter-flower monk was completely unexpected by Yu Naixin.
By killing all the guest characters in the same instance of the show, the guest characters essentially complete the cleansing of the entire instance in a special way, a point that Yu Naixin is quite aware of.
After all, she had personally tried it during the simulation of the previous dungeon show.
However, Yu Naixin did not expect that the butter monk would explain these pros and cons so clearly, and even gave her a completely new message.
As the person who was asked to commit suicide by the butter flower monk, Yu Naixin could feel more clearly than anyone else how firm the monk's determination to die was.
For a moment, Yu Naixin felt as if she was facing not a young-looking, long-lived male ghost guest, but an old man who had experienced many vicissitudes and was frail and old.
The idea of the butter sculpture monk was definitely not formed overnight; it must have been something he had been thinking about for a very long time.
Seeing that Yu Naixin hadn't responded for a while, the butter monk seemed a little anxious.
It's incredibly difficult for the guest contestants to die in "Heartbeat 1000%". The butter monk couldn't even end his own life. Yu Naixin caused all four male guests to kill each other during the final simulation of "Swan Castle", which is unprecedented and has been unanimously certified by the many viewers in the live broadcast room.
With a little thought, it's not hard to understand that the contestants in the same program's scenario don't have a significant difference in strength. Killing each other would come at a huge cost, but with little benefit. Even devouring the other would result in forced mutual destruction, which is entirely detrimental.
Having finally met a program guest like Yu Naixin who is so pleasing to the eye, the butter monk didn't want to miss the opportunity.
With a long sigh, the butter-flower monk remained in his posture and continued to add more leverage to persuade Yu Naixin: "Is Benefactor Yu concerned about these three west wing rooms?"
"It contains some of my past experiences, and is intended to help 'program guests' like you understand me and make it easier to 'win over' me."
"They are essentially worthless, and obtaining them would require the sacrifice of two lives, so they are not very meaningful."
"I promise you that once you kill me, I will give you all the goodwill I can offer, which is several times more worthwhile than risking my life to get here."
[What?! You have to pay the price of two lives to enter this west wing?! Is this house a cannibalistic place?!]
Even if they could use surrogate straw men, they couldn't afford such extravagance. One surrogate straw man costs 1000 Sweet Coins, and the entry cost alone is 2000 Sweet Coins. How can the show's guests afford that?! And with such a terrifying entry fee, there are probably many more places where you'll need to spend Sweet Coins to buy special props after you get inside. This is outrageous!
I still really want to know why the butter flower monk was so determined to die... What triggered him?!
Yu Naixin: "..."
Yu Naixin narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression becoming somewhat serious.
The monk, who had gone to such lengths to beg Yu Naixin for help, still refused to mention a word about her past, which clearly showed how much he resented it.
Otherwise, the butter-flower monk could have simply told her the information contained in the west wing, satisfying Yu Naixin's longing for this information and completely cutting off her idea of going in to see for herself.
Since the monks who made butter flowers were so resistant, Yu Naixin didn't insist on forcing them.
She took out a piece of jade and white bone mahjong from her inventory and handed it to the butter flower monk: "If you want me to grant your request, Master, please accept this mahjong tile first."
The Jade Bone Mahjong set not only has the function of controlling the opponent, but also allows you to peek into some memory fragments in the opponent's mind. Yu Naixin previously used it to obtain a lot of information from several male guests on "Swan Castle".
It's okay if the monk who made butter flowers doesn't want to mention it; Yu Naixin can see for herself.
From the moment Yu Naixin started taking the props, the butter monk's mood visibly improved.
Although it's unclear what the prop's purpose is, props given by show guests are unlikely to benefit the other guests. Whatever Yu Naixin's plans are, the fact that she used the prop on him already indicates that she intends to harm him.
For the butter flower monks, as long as the result is death, the method of death is not important.
[...Before clicking on this live stream, I never dreamed that I would one day see a guest in a dungeon begging the show's guests to kill him...]
Help! Seeing the butter monk like this makes my heart ache...
[I initially thought this episode was too slow-paced and boring, but it turns out all the calm before the storm was just setting the stage for something much bigger later?!]
The butter-painted monk happily accepted the mahjong tiles from the little witch...
"Thank you, Benefactor Yu." The butter-flower monk finally changed his posture from a deep bow, but still bent over to Yu Naixin and respectfully accepted the jade and white bone mahjong tile with both hands.
Without the slightest hindrance or even a second of hesitation, the moment the butter monk's hands touched the jade and white bone mahjong tiles, the tiles turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished without a trace.
The monk himself, who made butter sculptures, also lost focus in an instant, like a puppet waiting to be manipulated by his master.
Yu Naixin paused for a moment as she gathered the threads of spiritual energy in her fingers.
How eager was he to face his own death?
Then, Yu Naixin skillfully manipulated the spiritual energy threads and began to take over the body of the butter flower monk.
All of the data of the Butter Flower Monk was instantly revealed to Yu Naixin. He had not lied before; the Butter Flower Monk's spiritual power coefficient was 144.
When she treated other male guests this way before, Yu Naixin only had a spiritual power coefficient of 10, while the other party's spiritual power coefficient started at 180. The time she could operate was basically only a few tens of seconds, and more than a minute was considered too much.
Yu Naixin's spiritual power coefficient has now risen to 113.6. The butter monk's spiritual power coefficient is also lower than that of the male guests. According to Yu Naixin's calculations, she should be able to control the butter monk for about ten to fifteen minutes.
However, once Yu Naixin got the hang of it, she discovered that she could only control the butter flower monk for a full hour and a half.
This surprised Yu Naixin for a moment.
What does this mean? It means that the butter monk had no resistance towards her, surrendering his entire being to her and allowing her to do as she pleased.
If it weren't for the difference of several dozen points in spiritual energy between the two of them, and the fact that the Jade White Bone Mahjong set itself had its limits, Yu Naixin estimated that she could control the Butter Flower Monk for as long as she wanted, until the end of time.
Yu Naixin: "..."
Yu Naixin gently pursed her lips, not spending too much time or energy on this matter, and instead used her spiritual energy threads to explore the depths of the butter flower monk's memories.
This process took a full half hour.
While doing these things, Yu Naixin simply closed her eyes to avoid being distracted by her own vision, and focused intently on the search.
For Yu Naixin, this was a project that was extremely demanding on her mental and physical strength, leaving no time for relaxation. However, for the viewers watching the live stream, it was extremely tedious and boring.
All they could see was Yu Naixin standing still with her eyes closed, making no other movements except for the occasional slight movement of her fingers. The butter monk opposite her was completely still.
[Holy crap, I almost thought I was watching a still image!]
The two of them were standing in a spot completely devoid of any moving objects, and the set didn't seem to be very windy. It was as if the game had been paused for ages, with no change whatsoever!
[I'm so anxious! What is the female guest doing? I only remember her defeating the vampire in the last episode with this mahjong set? Is she planning to use this mahjong set to kill the male guest?!]
[The little witch used mahjong tiles to knock the vampire unconscious. Mahjong tiles aren't very lethal, are they?]
Yu Naixin used the Jade Bone Mahjong set quite a bit during the three simulations of "Swan Castle," but in the real-world instance, she only used it once against the Vampire Duke. The viewers in the live stream had no idea what the function of this special artifact was.
Half an hour later, Yu Naixin slowly opened her eyes.
All the viewers in the live stream saw the glistening tears in Yu Naixin's eyes and the faint redness in them.
【What?! What did I just see?! The little witch is crying?!】
[Wow! This is the first time I've ever seen this female guest cry! My goodness, I thought that a guest with such an outstanding mental state wouldn't even know what crying is!]
[Wow! So this is the embodiment of "a pear blossom in spring rain"?! Such a face, eyes brimming with tears, so touching and so endearing!]
[It seems the female guest was more angry than sad! Although there were tears in her eyes, her gaze was as cold as thick ice!]
[I've carefully summarized the information we have so far. Could this special prop, resembling a mahjong tile, possess the ability to acquire the user's memories? So, after the Butter Flower Monk mentioned that his past was contained in the west wing, the female guest immediately used this mahjong tile on him. Her current behavior is likely due to seeing the Butter Flower Monk's memories.]
Some analytical viewers in the live chat have already deduced the truth.
Yu Naixin cleanly and efficiently withdrew her spiritual energy threads from the butter flower monk's body.
She closed her eyes again and took a few deep breaths.
Yu Naixin couldn't describe how she felt at that moment.
When Yu Naixin first saw those apathetic villager NPCs in "Cocoon Village," she felt like she was in hell on earth. But compared to everything the butter monk had experienced, it was nothing.
The villagers in "Cocoon Village" are essentially just a string of data, but the butter monk experienced them, and they were all vibrant lives!
Yu Naixin finally understood why the butter monk avoided talking about these things and why he was so determined to die.
The effects of the Jade Bone Mahjong set wore off, and the Butter Flower Monk finally regained consciousness.
Being able to determine Yu Naixin's approximate spiritual power level simply by holding hands, and being able to add such a small amount of spiritual power to the vegetarian meal, the butter flower monk's perception of spiritual power is certainly not weak.
Although he was completely unconscious just now, based on some traces remaining in his body, the butter monk was able to roughly deduce what Yu Naixin had done.
He couldn't help but smile wryly: "...Very well, since Benefactor Yu has personally checked it, this saves this humble monk from racking his brains to figure out how to speak."
When Yu Naixin spoke again, her voice was somewhat hoarse: "...Does this situation also exist on the side of the headless stone demons?"
“I’m truly sorry, this humble monk was unaware of that.” The butter flower monk shook his head. “However, the fact that Lord Headless Stone Ghost was able to share a dungeon with this humble monk suggests that he must have some hidden difficulties.”
【…??? What are you two talking about? Can't you just say something I can understand?!】
[The expert's analysis above was correct; this mahjong game allows the female guest to see the male guest's memories!]
So what exactly is memory? Either of you guests, please reveal something!
Yu Naixin nodded: "Okay, I understand."
Then, Yu Naixin took out the substitute straw doll she had bought at the beginning of the simulation from her inventory and immediately ignited it with her spiritual power.
Judging from Yu Naixin's current spiritual power level and the Butter Flower Monk's spiritual power level, once this explosion is triggered, it will not only cause serious injury to the male guest, but will also directly kill the Butter Flower Monk.
Yu Naixin fulfilled the request of the butter flower monk by killing him.
The moment the substitute straw man was set ablaze, the butter flower monk sensed Yu Naixin's intention through the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the prop.
Butter Monk: "...!!"
A relieved smile tinged with a hint of joy appeared on his face. A tear slid down the corner of the butter monk's eye, and he choked out, "My sins... can finally be somewhat cleansed!..."
His eyes were closed, his hands were clasped together in front of his chest, and his expression was as devout as if he were worshipping the highest god.
[Congratulations, female guest! The male guest "Butter Flower Monk" has reached 100% affection for you!]
You will receive additional generous rewards during the settlement process after this program ends!
But soon, the butter-flower monk realized that something was wrong.
"...Benefactor Yu?!" The butter monk suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Yu Naixin who was standing still without moving, his face full of anxiety. "You are still within the range of this thing's lethality! Please dodge quickly!"
As he spoke, the butter-flower monk was so anxious that he tried to push Yu Naixin away.
However, Yu Naixin simply said two words: "No need."
Using a substitute straw man as a bomb is no joke; the 1000 points of spiritual power in it are no joke.
Even though Yu Naixin's spiritual power has increased significantly and she has the Priest's Folding Fan, a special spiritual artifact at the Domain Lord level, igniting the substitute straw doll is a very delicate task. Yu Naixin can only do it if she has the substitute straw doll in her hand, which inevitably puts her in the very center of the explosion, and she can't run very far away.
Yu Naixin had roughly calculated that if she had tried to escape as quickly as possible the moment the surrogate straw man was set on fire, she would have had a good chance of saving her life, but serious injury would have been unavoidable.
The healing medicines from the system's special shop will come in handy; Yu Naixin will take such measures if needed in the future.
This time, however, Yu Naixin was prepared to die with the butter monk.
After both male guests die, the "Heartbeat 1000%" program team will definitely send her the message: "[It has been detected that all four male guests in this episode have died. Your task in this episode has been completed in a special way. Do you want to end this episode now?]"
Based on Yu Naixin's experience in "Swan Castle", after she chooses to refuse, she should be able to freely explore the program's instance for a period of time, and then be forcibly sent out of the instance by the system after a certain period of time.
There are still quite a few parts of Xiawei Temple that haven't been explored. The butter flower monk clearly stated that she, as a pilgrim, came from "down the mountain," indicating that there is at least some space outside the temple.
However, these are already low on Yu Naixin's priorities.
The most urgent thing now is for her to end this simulation directly, return to the beginning of the real-world instance, start the second simulation, choose the headless stone ghost as her ideal male guest, and find out what kind of information the headless stone ghost is hiding.
The explosion of the scapegoat did not slow down because of anyone's emotions.
Amidst the deafening explosion that reverberated throughout Xiawei Temple, the viewers in the live stream were completely stunned.
【!? I was just about to tip Sweet Coins to congratulate the Little Witch on reaching the Butter Flower Monk's maximum favorability, how did it suddenly turn into this?!】
【What?! Why didn't the female guest take any precautions?! Was she planning to catch a bomb in her face?!】
[What exactly did the butter-flower monk say about his sins?! It's only been a few seconds! How can there be so much information so densely packed?! My brain is about to freeze!]
[Wasn't the thing the female guest was holding a straw man for scapegoating?! How did that thing turn into a bomb in her hands?! Is this even possible?!]
[I'm totally dumbfounded! Wasn't this female guest about to successfully complete the challenge? Why would she want to take the male guest down with her?!]
Many viewers didn't even have time to send their comments before the live stream went completely black due to the owner's death.
When her vision returned, Yu Naixin heard the gentle and tolerant voice of the butter monk opposite her: "Benefactor Yu, please make your choice."
With a barely perceptible sigh, Yu Naixin began her second simulation in this episode, taking two steps forward and standing in front of the headless stone ghost.
"I choose this male guest," Yu Naixin said, looking at the headless stone ghost. "Could my favorite male guest speak and communicate with me?"
During the last simulation, although the headless stone ghost could only utter interjections most of the time, Yu Naixin had an outstanding memory. She remembered that he said the syllable "kill" several times, and once he also uttered the syllable "different".
Therefore, in theory, the headless stone demon should be able to utter some very simple words or even phrases.
Furthermore, Yu Naixin also felt that the production team of "Heartbeat 1000%" must have had some considerations in creating the "Heartbeat Instance Guest" format.
She didn't choose the headless stone golem before, but chose its competitor, which meant she was naturally on the opposite side of it. The headless stone golem itself doesn't have very good thinking ability, so it's possible that it simply and crudely judged her as the enemy.
Now that Yu Naixin has chosen the headless stone ghost, the two guests are temporarily on the same side, so the headless stone ghost's attitude towards her should not be as hostile as before.
As it turns out, both of Yu Naixin's deductions were correct.
The headless stone ghost looked at Yu Naixin, who had walked up to it, seemingly unable to understand what had happened. After a long while, it hesitantly uttered a deep, hoarse voice from its neck: "You... your heart... is... moved... by me?"
His tone was hesitant and stuttering, like a child who had just learned to speak, or a patient who hadn't spoken in a long time.
However, Yu Naixin has always had a strong comprehension ability. She understood the messy word order and phrasing of the Elf Prince, so she could understand the headless stone goblin even more easily.
Last time, after Yu Naixin chose the Butter Flower Monk, the Headless Stone Ghost disappeared. But this time, Yu Naixin even talked to the Headless Stone Ghost, while the Butter Flower Monk was still there.
The butter-flower monk stood with his right hand raised in front of his chest, silently watching Yu Naixin and the headless stone ghost, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.
This female benefactor is in considerable danger being with the headless stone ghost.
The butter-flower monk genuinely wanted to step forward and persuade Yu Naixin to change her mind.
But in the end, the butter flower monk was unable to defy the rules of the program and could no longer do anything. His figure disappeared into this small space.
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Author's Note: Wow, it's already a hundred chapters! It feels like ages since I last wrote a book with over a hundred chapters!
This book definitely doesn't get many readers, but I really love this story. I've already finished the framework for several other chapters after "Xiawei Temple," and I'm really looking forward to writing them!
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