Chapter 245: 12 Sacrifices and 20 Resurrection Coins
That night, Gao Mengtang was thinking about his parents' plan to put it into the shredder to erase all traces of his existence; he was thinking about the invitation from Xiao Tien's servant; and he was thinking about Yin Mingwu's death and the notes he left behind.
Before going to bed, Gao Mengtang opened Yin Mingwu's notes again and took a look. The language of the other world is very similar to the common language, both are individual characters, but the strokes of the language of the other world are more complex, and the outlines are more strange, like miniature magic arrays.
He didn't understand Esperanto at first, but as he looked at it, for some reason, Gao Mengtang felt that he vaguely recognized the handwriting. It appeared very clearly in his eyes one after another, and he even understood a sentence.
I often watch Wei Wei learning Esperanto, and he may have learned a little bit from him.
Gao Mengtang didn't think much about it, closed his notebook, tilted his head and fell asleep.
Gao Mengtang slept very uneasily that night. He first dreamed about the [black businessman] and their first transaction.
"How about exchanging your ability to deceive yourself and others for it?" asked the black businessman.
Gao Mengtang replied “OK”.
Then his vision gradually became clear, and even without the blueberry, his vision in both eyes could reach 5.0
What a strange deal. What does it mean to deceive oneself and others? Until now, Gao Mengtang still couldn't fully understand it. He turned over, hugged the pillow, and continued to sleep soundly.
This time, he dreamed that the Spear of Azathoth was flying around in the Black Tower, poking the throne of the Wise King and making it clang.
At six o'clock the next morning, Wei Wei prepared breakfast and waited for the two to get up. At nine o'clock, they were still sleeping in. Wei Wei could no longer bear it and grabbed Gao Mengtang first.
"Good morning." Gao Mengtang said drowsily.
Wei Wei frowned, as if a little confused, but the confused expression was quickly replaced by anger.
"How long do you plan to sleep? It's already nine o'clock."
Gao Mengtang: "Well, get up now."
He floated to the restaurant in a half-asleep state. Duan Song was also caught at this time. The two sat opposite each other and drank the vegetable, mushroom and multi-grain porridge that had just been heated up in the microwave.
"Avi, you are a great cook. Breakfast is delicious." Gao Mengtang was still sleepy, her hair was messy and her eyes were only half open.
Wei Wei held up his pipe, his expression still confused: "Thank you. But eating at nine o'clock doesn't count as breakfast."
"There's nothing to do, why do you get up so early?" Gao Mengtang yawned, "You're the only one in the world who would go to bed at 10 and get up at 5 when there's nothing to do!"
Wei Wei's confused expression deepened, and he looked at Gao Mengtang with a frown, as if he had just said something incomprehensible. Duan Song also raised his head, his eyelids fighting each other due to sleepiness.
Gao Mengtang yawned a second time: "What's wrong?"
"Senior, what are you talking about?" Duan Song was very dissatisfied. "Are you trying to make me unable to understand?"
"Eh?" Gao Mengtang blinked slowly, "What don't you understand?"
"Didn't you notice?" Wei Wei stared at him, "You have been speaking Esperanto since you got up."
Gao Mengtang: “Ah?”
He suddenly came to his senses and subconsciously said "How could this happen" in Esperanto, then quickly covered his mouth, as if he had said something he shouldn't have said.
"You learn very quickly." Wei Wei said happily, "Besides sleeping in, you can do a lot of meaningful things."
Gao Mengtang: “…”
He didn't learn it, he just knew how to speak it naturally. It was like... he remembered something he had forgotten bit by bit.
That afternoon, they drove back to Yuefan Base Camp. Outside the gate, Helun and Baijie were sweeping the floor while cursing.
"What's wrong?" Gao Mengtang accidentally spoke Esperanto again, and quickly adjusted himself, "What are these pieces of paper?"
The Yuefan base was built on a green, uninhabited plain. At this moment, countless palm-sized rectangular pieces of paper were scattered on the grass. Gao Mengtang picked up one, turned it over, and saw a broken ring first.
The Broken Ring is the family emblem of the Xiao family. This is the invitation to Xiao Tien’s 700th birthday party.
"This old man, does he know what a mailbox is? A mailbox!" He Lun pointed at the mailbox at the entrance of Yue Fan with a broom and shouted, "There are a hundred ways to send a letter, and he chose the most annoying one!"
The invitation read: Xiao originally wanted to deliver the invitation to the pillow in your bedroom, but the protection system of your camp is so powerful that the invitation could not be delivered, so it had to be placed outside the Yuefan base camp.
：I was worried that you might not receive them, so I sent you a few more. Sorry.
Gao Mengtang was speechless again.
At least it proves that the Yuefan base is impregnable.
The Xiao family's ancient residence is in Xizhou, but the birthday party was held in Beizhou, which surprised Gao Mengtang.
Bai Jie thought it was normal.
"Boss, the birthday parties of wizards are different from your birthday parties," Bai Jie said, "Instead of calling it a 'birthday party', it's better to call it a 'find an excuse to kill and eat people and then offer yourself to the ancient gods' party."
Normal people think that a birthday party should invite a few close friends to have a good time. But believers of the ancient gods believe that when they are born, the ancient gods bring them into this world, and will also bring them back to the realm of gods on a certain birthday.
Therefore, once a wizard holds a birthday party, the most important ceremony is to summon the ancient gods.
Hearing this, Gao Mengtang was very surprised: "Isn't this just courting death?"
Bai Jie nodded vigorously: "I totally agree."
The magic circle to summon the ancient god requires 13 people to activate it at the same time. One position is reserved for the person who hosts the birthday party, who is responsible for drawing the magic circle. The remaining 12 positions require a large group of wizards to compete with each other, and the winner can stand next to the ancient god summoning magic circle.
As for how to select the remaining 12 sacrifices, it depends on the arrangements of the birthday party organizer, which is often accompanied by conspiracy and fighting.
Heron: "What will happen after the ancient gods are summoned?"
"Take the sacrifice away." Bai Jie said as a matter of course, "To be frank, kill the 12 people you chose."
"When the ancient gods are summoned, they will cause widespread damage. In order to avoid razing the old house to the ground, birthday parties are often held in places other than the old house." Bai Jie continued, "So, Xiao Tien, a person from Xizhou, has to go to Beizhou to hold his birthday party."
He Lun was petrified, staring without blinking for half a minute, and yelled, "Are you crazy? You went through all this trouble just to die?"
"They arranged all these fancy ceremonies when they could have just jumped off the building." Wei Wei's tone also revealed his confusion.
Bai Jie shrugged and spread his hands: "So you understand how painful it is for me, a normal person, to be born into a wizard family?"
Wei Wei asked again: "Which kind of immortal will Xiao Tien summon? The half-dead?"
"It must be him." Bai Jie said, "The birthday party only summons the ancient gods that the family has believed in for generations."
"My great-great-great-grandfather in physiology once hosted a birthday party. He selected 12 sacrifices, but failed when summoning the ancient gods. As a result, the Bai family was ridiculed for 100 years."
Gao Mengtang had been determined to go to Xiao Tien's birthday party and figure out the mystery of the black tower, but after listening to Bai Jie's explanation, his determination wavered.
Giving your life for the truth and committing suicide in various ways are two completely different things!
However, the next day, Gao Mengtang and others boarded a plane to Beizhou.
Although such a birthday party is stupid, isn't it interesting to watch a large group of people fighting for 12 suicide spots?
The location of the birthday party is called "Apurun Village" in the navigation. Apurun is the transliteration of "Sleeping Shark" in Esperanto. From the outside, it looks like an abandoned village with no one in it. In fact, if you walk along the frozen soil all the way into the snow-capped mountains and use some black tower magic, you will find a prosperous and densely populated town.
The buildings are a mix of styles from all eras: Gothic, Victorian, modern, and the crooked style of the Black Tower. The roads are narrow and there is no transportation.
From a distance, the town looks messy and crowded, but it has a mysterious dark charm.
"The real Apurun!" Bai Jie looked around excitedly, "I've only heard of this place in private school."
The Apurun people live on the ice field and have been isolated from the outside world for thousands of years. Because they study some otherworldly witchcraft, over time they have embarked on an evolutionary path that is completely different from that of ordinary humans.
"Teacher said that the Apurun people have a longer lifespan, more powerful magic, and cannot speak the common language at all." Bai Jie introduced non-stop, "In order to hunt, they can transform into..."
At this moment, Gao Mengtang's attention was attracted by a fluffy, white, and soft-looking little animal.
"Oh, it's an Arctic fox!" Gao Mengtang lovingly held the little white fox in his arms and rubbed his cheek against its fur.
Before Gao Mengtang could touch the big fluffy tail, the Arctic fox turned into a dark-skinned, hunchbacked old man with a bang. He pointed his bent finger at Gao Mengtang's nose and cursed in a sonorous Esperanto:
"You fools abandoned by the ancient gods will never be redeemed!"
As he cursed, his hair changed color from white to brown and then to blue. When he had cursed enough, he left angrily.
Gao Mengtang continued to hold the white fox in his arms, stunned.
"It can transform into various animals..." Bai Jie was stunned and spoke word by word, "It can also possess the supernatural powers of animals. The Apurun people call it natural fusion."
Wei Wei: "Possessing the supernatural powers of animals? What does this mean?"
Shirakai: "For example, the arctic fox's fur changes color with the seasons. It's white in the winter and brown in the summer. The old man just now had fur that had the ability to change color. His natural fusion direction was the arctic fox."
Gao Mengtang was disliked and felt depressed. Along the way, when he saw little penguins, musk oxen, reindeer and other animals, he no longer rushed over to hug and touch them.
Although the people here are isolated from the world, as believers of the ancient gods, Xiao Tien's name is well-known to them.
Along the way, the festive atmosphere was strong, except that red lanterns were hung in the festivals outside, while skull lanterns were hung in the festivals here. Cheerful and relaxing music was played in the festivals outside, while the music played here was suitable for funerals.
From the perspective of common people's aesthetics, the Apurans are all ugly in the same way, and I believe the Apurans see them the same way.
"Customers, would you like to place a bet?" the store employee shouted at them, "Bet on who will become one of the twelve sacrifices."
A casino employee stopped Gao Mengtang. His skin was covered with bumps and his voice was sharp and weird. "Place your next bet. We have selected the 50 most competitive people!"
He held a list with the ID photos of the 50 most competitive candidates printed on it, and their names in Esperanto below the photos. The employee was short and the list was very long, and the bottom fell on the muddy snow.
The 50 most competitive people? Will I be one of them? I definitely will! Gao Mengtang thought confidently that if he took action, even the elders of the wizard family would find it hard to resist.
"I want to place a bet for myself." Gao Mengtang dragged his teammates into the casino.
There were many Black Tower players on the list, such as Wei Wei, Duan Song and Wei Xiangchen. Wei Wei was ranked first. Gao Mengtang was in a good mood when he saw that his teammates were valued so much.
Then he went through the list from beginning to end, and then from end to beginning again.
Then he scanned from left to right and from right to left again.
"Why am I not here?" Gao Mengtang asked with a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.
The employee's nictitating membrane flashed, and his expression was dull: "You? Who are you?"
Gao Mengtang and him stared at each other, and then Bai Jie reminded him through the mental link: "Boss, the Apurans are like most animals, they distinguish people by smell. And they are face-blind, they look at us like we look at cats and dogs, we can't tell who is who."
"I heard there's a guy called the Blind Man, he's really powerful!" He Lun was even angrier than Gao Mengtang, "Why isn't he on this list? This is an unofficial list!"
Hearing the word "blind", the employee showed an extremely disgusted expression and spat twice: "Get lost! Don't let these two words taint our sacred casino!"
The group was coaxed out onto the street and the door slammed shut behind them.
A strong wind blew, blowing up the accumulated snow and hitting Gao Mengtang's face, which was very cold.
"Look at the bright side," Bai Jie said nervously, "Brother Wei is still number one on the list. They recognize our abilities!"
Before Gao Mengtang could speak, Wei Wei spoke first: "I don't want to go to great lengths to commit suicide, and I don't think it's an honor."
"Chief Gao, long time no see. You still look so welcome. Why are you standing outside the casino?" A young man in a black robe greeted them elegantly. He took off his snow goggles and threw them behind him. The servant caught them in a panic.
After staring at him for a few seconds, Gao Mengtang remembered who this person was: He Suzhi, a believer of the ancient gods, with an ID card of [120 Forensic Doctor]. They had met each other at the Xiao family's ancient house. Among the believers of the ancient gods, he was considered to be a person with a relatively strong sense of justice. Gao Mengtang had a good impression of him.
"Mr. Wei, do the flesh of Bai Ke and Bai Shu taste good?" He Suozhi smiled calmly, "Oh, Bai Jie, you are the only remaining bloodline of the Bai family, protect yourself."
Three words of greeting made three people unhappy. But He Suzhi didn't realize that the ancient god believers seemed to have no emotional intelligence.
He Suzhi shook hands with them one by one: "Want to go to the casino to place bets? Let's go together."
Gao Mengtang sighed and recounted their experience: "I don't know why, the Apurun people hate me."
"Of course! In fact, not only the Apurun people hate you, almost all the ancient god believers hate you." He Suzhi once again demonstrated his amazing emotional intelligence. He also winked mischievously, as if this sentence was humorous, "Except me. I have a good impression of you."
Gao Mengtang looked at him resentfully.
"Thank you for your love!" He Lun said loudly, suppressing his anger, "You are on the list of the 50 most competitive people. I hope you can become one of the 12 sacrifices and die gloriously!"
He Suzhi was still smiling. He didn't hear the aggression in these words at all: "Thank you for your blessing, but... hey... I can only say this to you..."
He looked around for a while, holding Gao Mengtang's arm tightly, as if he was worried about something: "Chief Gao, let's have a meal together. I have something to talk to you about."
*
Restaurant box.
He Suzhi smashed a bottle of potion that could block out sound, then sighed, raised his head and drank a bottle of blood-red wine.
"I don't want to be one of the 12 sacrifices at all. I still want to be alive. I haven't even got my Ph.D. from the University of Humanity yet." He Suzhi said dejectedly.
No one else said anything, they understood completely.
"So, I don't want to attend Patriarch Xiao's birthday party at all. But if I don't fight for it, my father will think I'm useless. He will kick me out of the house or even kill me." He Suzhi poured himself another glass of wine.
He Lun chewed a steak and muttered, "You are the normal person. The rest are a bunch of lunatics. I can't figure out what they are thinking." He Lun thought he was chirping softly, but he had a loud voice, and the sound of the crickets was not small at all. The people in the box could hear it clearly.
"That's wrong!" He Suozhi said in panic, "I don't want to be a sacrifice because I am weak, timid, and greedy for worldly life. I don't have the courage to sacrifice myself for honor. This is not worth promoting..."
"Then you can just muster up your courage," Wei Wei interrupted him gently, "Why did you come to us in private? Do you need a bottle of courage potion?"
He Suzhi stammered, "No, no. My father is here too..."
He explained his purpose hesitantly and evasively.
He Suozhi's father is named He Qiong. The He family inherited the 120-series identity card, which mainly functions as treatment and assistance, and has average combat effectiveness. Therefore, although the He family can make money by selling medicine, their status has always been low.
Therefore, He Qiong has always hoped that there could be an ancient god sacrifice in the family to boost the family's reputation.
Birthday parties are rare events, because only a very small number of people have the confidence, financial resources, and ability to summon the ancient gods. He Qiong waited for more than 20 years and finally waited for a birthday party, and brought her whole family to attend.
At this point, He Suzhi drank three cups of blood-red wine in a row: "I am considered a relatively strong person in the family. My father has high hopes for me. He hopes that I can be one of the sacrifices."
"And I found out in advance that this time, the competition for the position of sacrifice will be a team battle." He Suzhi raised his eyes and looked around at Gao Mengtang and others.
They roughly understood He Suzhi's idea.
He Suzhi wants to participate in this competition, but he is not waterproof. If he loses miserably, it will bring shame to the family.
He can't really win, he still wants to live.
The best way is to find a group of people who don't want to be sacrificed like him, form a team, make it to the semi-finals or finals, and then "lose narrowly". This will not embarrass the family, but will also not cost him his life.
Gao Mengtang smiled helplessly: "Do you want to team up with us? Then you have found the wrong person. We are here just to watch the fun and don't want to participate in any competition. You can find an ancient god believer who doesn't want to die like you..."
"It's not 'don't want to die', it's 'cowardly and weak, greedy for a mediocre life, and don't want to be a sacrifice'!" He Suzhi excitedly corrected Gao Mengtang's words.
"Okay, cowardly, well, cowardly to the point of not wanting to die," Gao Mengtang didn't remember the long string of words, "You should find your own kind."
He Suzhi looked like he was about to cry: "I have already investigated almost all the believers of the ancient gods. They are either strong enough and eager to become sacrifices, or they are just trying to survive and are very weak, which will make me lose miserably."
Gao Mengtang: "There are other Black Tower players. They are not followers of the Ancient Gods. They are strong enough and don't want to die cowardly."
He Suzhi: "...You probably don't know how crazy these ancient god believers are in order to become sacrifices. Ordinary Black Tower players can't compare to them."
"Most of the Black Tower players who are strong enough are not Ancient God believers, so they didn't come." He Suzhi's face was red from the alcohol. He pointed at Gao Mengtang and said, "There are only a few people who like to watch the fun like you."
This time it was Gao Mengtang's turn to remain silent. It made sense! Not interested in the sacrifices at all, but risking his life to come all the way to join in the fun, very few people had the leisure time like Gao Mengtang.
Along the way, only Gao Mengtang and his group wore down jackets, while everyone else wore the wizard family's iconic black velvet cloaks.
"Xiao Tien sent us an invitation, and we came here out of courtesy," Wei Wei said. When he said the three words "Xiao Tien", He Suzhi shuddered. "We don't like fighting and killing."
Don’t like fighting and killing… huh? Even the Yue Fan members couldn’t stand it anymore. They looked at Wei Wei speechlessly, accusing him with their eyes: Think about how many people you have killed!
He Suzhi: "Of course I won't let you help me for nothing. This is a deal, and the reward I offer is very generous."
After he said that, he raised his hand, and a bunch of things fell out of his palm with a clinking sound.
Everyone's breathing stopped for a moment: Resurrection Coin!
A total of 20 resurrection coins!
Since joining the game, all the resurrection coins Gao Mengtang has seen add up to less than 20!
"The He family doesn't have anything else, but we do have a lot of resurrection coins," He Suzhi snatched the last piece of steak from under He Lun's chopsticks, "We have a total of 50 resurrection coins in our family, and we took them all out for this sacrificial competition. My father gave me 20."
This opened everyone's eyes. No one spoke for a long time. He Suzhi continued to say:
"My family are all support players, so we must find strong enough teammates. My father asked me to use these resurrection coins to find some reliable teammates. Chief Gao, if you are willing to team up with me, I will give you the remaining resurrection coins. How about that?"
Gao Mengtang was moved. No one could remain calm in front of 20 resurrection coins, because these were 20 lives. Even Yin Mingwu, the former No. 1 player on the honor list, died because he was short of a resurrection coin.
Wei Wei's voice came from the mind link: "Bai Jie, can you steal all these resurrection coins?"
"Brother Wei, you are putting me in a difficult position! The resurrection coin is the most precious item, and I can't steal even one!"
He Luo stealthily stretched out his arms and legs from Wei Wei's sleeves, and reached out for the resurrection coins, unable to resist the temptation. As soon as the suction cup touched those gray silver round coins, the coins disappeared automatically.
Precious items can only be taken away by killing the player.
"We are very sincere about the deal," Wei Wei put on a standard smile, crossed his hands on the table, and looked very upright and honest, as if he was not the one who proposed to steal the resurrection coins just now. "Now, tell us the details of the team battle."
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