Nightmare Forest
The people on the ground were in a coma.
Princess Banyue used a piece of silk to turn him over, revealing his extremely pale face.
Pale and thin, like a vampire who has never seen sunlight for years.
Unfortunately, he is the Daylight Priest mentioned by Princess Half Moon, who can gather the power of elements and create high-value element cards.
The Rainbow of the Valley is the raw material, and the Daylight Priest is the production line. Gathering the two is like An Rou collecting the four major potions, giving the farm an additional lucrative business.
Princess Half Moon smiled and said, "Daytime priests are not easy to find. There are only two in the entire Valley, hidden deep in the tower. It took me a long time to find them. I'm sorry for your absence. Did you encounter any difficulties in the forest?"
They were all profit-seeking, smart people. An Rou didn't bother beating around the bush: "Stop the polite talk, it's boring."
The princess agreed and made it clear, "If you want to negotiate with the major guilds and you can't even protect yourself, I won't bet on you.
"Of course, controlling ghouls is a remarkable skill."
The princess had seen this ability once in the Sky Valley, but the number of ghouls on Floating Island No. 339 was completely different from the number in the Nightmare Forest this time.
The princess had a selfish motive in encouraging An Rou to choose Nightmare Forest as her base for the fifth dungeon. She wanted to test An Rou's ability to control ghouls. As it turned out, she was capable of controlling every ghoul in the forest.
However, this sentence gave her away. When the United Army launched the final charge, she was hiding in the dark and watching.
The princess also realized this and smiled, "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to trick you. If you have the ability to control all the ghouls in the Nightmare Forest, you can first trigger a ghoul tide to stop the joint army's attack. Secondly, you can use the ghouls to create a natural moat around the farm, making the teleportation array the only entrance and exit to the fifth dungeon. Killing two birds with one stone, isn't it?"
When I'm in a good mood, I entertain customers. When I'm in a bad mood, I turn off the teleportation array. It feels really good to open my own shop and be the boss.
An Rou smiled noncommittally: "You've made such detailed plans for the farm. You're worthy of being the second boss."
"It's my duty," said the princess.
It's not that she is thick-skinned, but she has always believed that: as long as you can make money, nothing is shameful.
"The first step of the plan was a complete success. Let's have a drink?" She was drunk.
An Rou looked back outside the farm.
The nightmare tree blocked out the sun and sky, and now even the vision of getting rich was confined to this small space, with no idea of what was happening outside.
The princess stepped over to An Rou and patted her shoulder: "Don't worry, the army has been swept away by the ghoul tide. They don't have the energy to take care of this place for a while, let alone attack."
An Rou was not used to physical contact with people she was not familiar with, and subconsciously wanted to hide, but in front of the second-ranked person, there was no way she could hide, not even with the passive movement speed of the goose feather boots.
Strangely enough, when the princess's hand actually landed on her shoulder, she didn't seem disgusted at all.
Maybe she is not opposed to being ranked second on the list.
As she was thinking, the princess burst out laughing and pointed at the light screen in front of her: "You really are an NPC?"
An Rou's favorability towards her increased by 5%.
An Rou herself was a little surprised that the princess was the first player who made her unconsciously increase her favorability.
"Zhang Wu, turn on the light." An Rou said this with her mind and words at the same time to ease the awkwardness a little bit.
The surrounding buildings and streets were lit up with colorful neon lights. An Rou took the lead and walked towards the dance hall, followed by the princess, not forgetting to wrap the daytime priest in silk.
"Where is that guy?" asked the princess.
"I can't die, so I don't care."
"Since he can't die and you're an eyesore, why not throw him outside?"
"Throw."
A silk gauze rapidly extended towards Chumo, wrapped him up, and then swung hard, and Chumo disappeared outside the farm wall.
An Rou watched coldly and discovered that the princess could actually break the light barrier.
"Did you just rush in?"
The princess blinked and said, "Yes, the nightmare tree is growing wildly. I will definitely get lost if I walk inside. I can only hold my breath and rush in. I don't have time to knock on the door."
An Rou frowned.
The princess smiled and said, "Are you worried that I might bring in hallucinogenic gases? Don't worry, I've done experiments before. I brought a nightmare sapling to the hollow valley. Guess what happened?"
An Rou didn't even need to guess, and immediately cast her gaze towards the stone statue: "Can the Rainbow of the Valley eliminate hallucinogenic gases?"
"As expected of you, smart."
"Does it work at night?"
"The elemental power in the rainbow will die out after sunset," the princess paused, "but the life force will not."
An Rou couldn't help but look at the princess a few more times.
Since the two sides came into contact, although the princess occasionally played some tricks, she generally did not hide anything. An Rou initially thought that she was very familiar with Konggu, but now she felt that perhaps Princess Banyue knew the entire game very well.
"What made you think of doing this experiment?"
Most people wouldn't connect the Nightmare Tree and the Rainbow in the Valley together, right?
"I've been playing for more than 20 years, so I'm just bored."
The princess's answer left An Rou stunned for a while, and she looked at the princess from head to toe again.
Over twenty years...hasn't the Soul-Guiding Song interview only been around for 23 years? Could it be that the princess was one of the first gamers? Then her age...
"Little girl, you can admire my beauty, but it's rude to secretly guess my age."
"……Feel sorry."
An Rou pushed open the door of the dance hall, and the two of them sat at the bar, clinked glasses of wine, and the princess started talking herself.
But Anrou remained silent.
The princess glanced at her and said with a smile, "Aren't you very curious? Why don't you ask?"
It’s not that An Rou doesn’t want to ask, but there are too many questions and she doesn’t know where to start.
The only person who had played Soul-Calling Song from beginning to end, across the entire server, was probably the Princess. She was still a wandering wanderer, her knowledge and experience far surpassed those of the guild players.
It can be said that Princess Half Moon is a humanoid database.
"Ask me whatever you want, it's okay to ask about your age or gender. You are a girl anyway, and I have nothing to keep secret." The princess laughed.
"Why isn't the Soul-Guiding Song server shut down?"
When the question came out, even An Rou was stunned for a moment. The princess' words were like a switch, and the question popped out of her mouth subconsciously.
The princess was also surprised.
She carefully observed An Rou's expression, and after a long while she asked back, "What do you know? Sudden death of the player, or divine revelation?"
"Divine revelation?"
This was the first time An Rou heard this word. She had just left Konggu today, and the sound of these two words made her feel physically nauseous.
The two of them met eyes, trying to figure out what was hidden in each other's eyes.
The princess was rarely serious: "An Rou, you are not an NPC, right? An artificial intelligence that has awakened its self-awareness?"
In her heart, she had of course guessed that An Rou was a real person like herself. But that was too far-fetched, not as plausible as AI.
An Rou is an AI, so she can control ghouls, see through light screens, and find bugs in games that have never had any bugs before.
——This explanation is reasonable, but it also has some unreasonable aspects.
If it is really AI, it should know all the server settings in detail. No matter how hidden the settings are, they are ultimately just codes and data.
An Rou hesitated for a long time, and finally drank the wine in the glass. The sound of the glass hitting the table sounded at the same time as her answer.
"I am a human being."
The princess's expression remained normal, she just took a big gulp of wine, some of which flowed down her beautiful chin.
Are you kidding? — she thought to herself.
"Are you kidding?" she asked.
An Rou shook her head silently.
"What the hell..." the princess muttered, then shook her head. "It seems normal for weird things to happen in a weird game."
An Rou thought she would ask the same question as Paopao, but the princess didn't.
The princess rested her elbows on the bar, supported her cheek with her left hand, and pressed the rim of the cup with her right index finger, turning the empty cup.
There is a hint of melancholy in the laziness.
She took the initiative to bring the topic back to An Rou's problem.
"Why aren't the servers shutting down? I've asked this question many times. I've asked myself and some friends in the guild. I don't have an answer, and neither do my friends. However, their lack of answers has given me an answer. You just came out of the Hollow Valley, so you should know the answer."
The princess' words were a bit confusing, but An Rou seemed to understand them, except that she was missing a lot of details.
The princess completed the details.
"You should know the release dates of the four Soul-Guiding Song dungeons, right? Spirit Realm was the first, Ghost Island and Empty Valley were next, and Cold Soldier City was the last. What if I told you they were all developed at the same time?
"Unbeknownst to each other, the three countries simultaneously came up with the game idea and decided to push forward with development. It's just that China developed holographic technology the fastest, so it got ahead of the game.
"What if I told you that Ghost Island wasn't a dungeon back then, but was launched as an independent game, and Ghost Island players suddenly discovered that there was a spiritual realm in the far south?
"It wasn't just Onigashima; the same was true for Hollow Valley. Soul Song had already been out for two years when the two independent games launched their servers. On that day, the three games merged into a single virtual world through the vast expanse of the inanimate world. In reality, their servers had no connection at all."
"I was already a Soul Guiding Song player at the time, but I happened to be busy for two days and wasn't online, so I missed this miracle. I heard about it later and checked online, but guess what? There was no news at all, not even a single word.
"Then on the third day, I remember it clearly. At eight o'clock in the morning, with our Chinese Lu Group at the forefront, the game officials from the three countries simultaneously issued a statement, saying that Soul Song was a jointly developed holographic game. To ensure the game's stability, it was launched for testing without disclosure. The test was successful, so the merger was officially completed.
"They deceived everyone, including me. After all, no matter how much the gods and ghosts talk, when it really happens, everyone will choose to believe science. Until later, a good friend of mine was promoted to Legend and died in the Ghost Ruins... I discovered the sudden death of players.
"I'm a high-level, hardcore player, and I know a lot of guild leaders, so I quickly found the clues. It wasn't just the players who died suddenly, but also the creators of three dungeons.
"One of them had never made a game, studied art, or even logged into a game... She was just an ordinary middle school teacher, and even she died."
"So Anrou, tell me, why don't you shut down the server?"
The princess stared into An Rou's eyes, waiting for her to give an answer.
An Rou closed her eyes: "God's revelation."
Supernatural phenomena are presented in the form of science and technology, like a mysterious and delicious carrot, attracting the continuous pursuit of senior officials from various countries.
On the surface, it's a great, exciting quest.
In reality, it is a competition among countries where no one wants to fall behind.
No matter how many people die or how much negative impact it has on society, as long as the divine revelation is not cracked, they will be driven by each other and can only move forward.
The worst and most vicious thing is that they packaged the divine revelation into an ordinary but highly playable game, luring the whole society to participate and pursue it.
Maybe they're not the only ones who are bad.
And then there is the Revelation itself.
An Rou recalled Jie Xin's disgusting hypocritical behavior. Depriving people of their luck—the divine revelation's purpose was inherently sinister.
An Rou knew the Ghost King, but the Princess did not. The two of them had different information about the secrets of the Soul Realm. This was actually a great opportunity to exchange information and complete the puzzle, but An Rou chose to keep it secret.
The princess is a living person after all, and she is different from the one who has no way to retreat.
Now, the princess feels she can't change the situation, so she keeps to herself, doing everything for money. If she realizes that the game can really end, and the real world can be put back on track, will money still matter?
Because over the years, the princess didn't earn so much money for herself.
Princess Ban Yue was a hardcore Soul Guiding Song player, having long since reached Super God status and climbed to the top of the Destiny Rankings. Of course, she used a different game ID at the time. While she was striving for Legend status, she happened to discover the phenomenon of sudden player deaths and the existence of divine revelations.
The woman's keen intuition saved her life.
She gave up gaming and shifted her focus back to reality. With money and free time, she began traveling the world to escape the anxieties of the Soul-Calling Song.
The princess suddenly discovered that there were signs of unrest all over the world.
Terrorists, armed violence, border disputes, hyperinflation, chaotic public security in various countries, the shrinking and collapse of normal industries... everything stems from the soul-calling song.
A new social form began to quietly reshape itself with the soul-calling song at its center.
The princess didn't know whether these were negative phenomena associated with the pursuit of divine revelation by various countries, or the ultimate goal of divine revelation.
She stopped at the border of a Central Asian country, not by choice but by force. A local armed group had overthrown the regime and re-established a theocratic state.
That is the country where the Konggu dungeon originated.
The Duozhu religion quickly emerged, and the Duozhu Guild was established, purging all guilds, large and small, from the Empty Valley dungeon. This illusory faith seeped into the game, and its oppressive rule deprived everyone, both online and offline, of their freedom and sanity.
Misfortune befell the princess.
The Duozhu Church discovered her identity and, through a series of means, tampered with her nationality, forcing her to change her appearance and become the first generation of the Duozhu Church's goddess.
The princess herself graduated from a well-known dance academy, and the Dance of the Birth of God was created under such circumstances.
She is a smart person with top-notch gaming experience and level. In order to protect herself and wait for opportunities, she quickly gained the trust of the church elders and became the biggest card and most reliable weapon of the Duozhu Guild.
It was not until two years later that the time was right and the princess escaped as planned.
But she stopped at the border again, this time not because she was forced to stay, but because she wanted to stay.
Because of the children in the war.
The Duozhu Church is not satisfied with its current territory. To the northeast is China, and they dare not move. But it is different in other directions.
Everyone is afraid when religious lunatics start a war. For the past twenty years, the border war has never stopped.
There are displaced orphans everywhere. They have experienced the baptism of fire and blood, but are far from growing up to the age to survive independently.
The princess looked at them and felt that she had found her place. In this confusing and chaotic journey, she found the meaning of life.
She simply stayed in the neighboring country as a donor to the war, and founded a school with the nature of an orphanage to take in these orphans. All the funds came from her gains in the game.
She changed her appearance and climbed to the second place on the Destiny Ranking using the ID "Princess Half Moon". Worried about being targeted, she committed suicide in order to get off the list, and frequently changed her game ID.
The princess did not forget the player who died suddenly in the ghost ruins.
After failing the exam several times and then rushing back to the top of the Destiny Ranking several times, she realized that strangling ghouls was no longer sustainable. If she wasn't careful, her attribute experience would break through the level 99 bottleneck and become a legend.
So, she began to take on missions other than strangling ghouls using various identities.
This idea was correct, and with her strength, she was able to implement it quickly.
As Soul-Guiding Song grew in popularity and player numbers soared, various sovereign and commercial guilds and interest groups sprang up like mushrooms after rain. Competition for game missions became a race for territory and the downfall of rivals.
For example, this time he helped the Xiangyang Guild win the God Competition.
This allowed the princess to earn an astonishingly generous annual salary. From that time on, her rank remained stagnant at 99 for a full 15 years. She had rescued tens of thousands of children.
"Honestly, this is why I'm helping you deal with Duozhu," the princess said with a smile. "However, motives are motives, and the deal is a deal. I won't give up on my compensation."
An Rou nodded and said, "Of course, 40% of the farm's profits will be yours from now on. But that's not why you're helping me deal with Duo Zhu."
The princess looked puzzled.
An Rou said, "The real reason is that you can no longer fight. You are very kind and will help those children instead of letting them take over your job.
"Banyue, you're already fifty years old. You've been fighting and killing for twenty years. Even if the game is fake, you'll always feel tired. You need a stable, generous income. That's why you're helping me.
"Furthermore, whether I can destroy the Duozhu religion is an unknown. Even if I can achieve this, whether the Duozhu religion will make a comeback is another unknown.
"No matter how you look at it, helping me is a gamble. If you choose to gamble, it means you have nowhere else to go."
The princess's expression gradually turned into a helpless smile.
"Tsk, little girl, you have a really hard heart."
Is this hard-heartedness?
If Princess Half Moon knew that there was a possibility that this game would end and she chose to stand by and watch, she would probably be considered cold-blooded, right?
An Rou was silent for a moment, then continued, "You've attacked the United Legion before, and they've probably figured out your identity. This is equivalent to you offending all the major guilds in the game. Now we're all tied to the same rope, and we all share the same fate. I want to give you a suggestion."
Princess Ban Yue pulled herself away from the past and said with great interest: "Tell me about it."
An Rou: "Every time you commit suicide, you lose half of your destiny."
The princess was a little surprised: "Why?"
An Rou thought for a moment and said, "First, let me tell you why you've been stuck at number two on the Destiny Ranking for the past year. You're tired of it, and you're feeling overwhelmed. So you want to use your number two status to get a good price in a private transaction, right?"
The princess did not deny it.
An Rou continued, "Now that you've become the second-in-command of the farm, this excuse no longer holds true. I don't need your number two ranking, I only need your super god status, and I need it long-term. You will be the top player in charge of the fifth dungeon."
"No one will look down on you just because your ranking has dropped. Your status as a wild guest is enough to make everyone remember your achievements and will not shake your deterrent power.
"The fifth dungeon is located in the Nightmare Forest. The Nightmare Forest and the Rainbow Valley naturally attract ghouls, so there will be many quests here in the future. I believe that with your abilities, you have the ability to avoid gaining quest experience and will not accidentally advance to Legend.
"But I don't believe in destiny. Destiny is luck. You're so lucky, no one can predict how mission experience will fall upon you.
"So in my opinion, committing suicide once isn't enough. It would be best if you completely fail the exam. You're very familiar with this kind of thing, so I don't need to explain it further."
The princess smiled mysteriously and glanced at the ground casually.
She said, "I could have died a few times before, but now I have to think twice. You know, destiny isn't just luck, and luck isn't just good fortune. To some extent, it's also strength."
"You don't believe me and think I will let Bao Fu deal with you in order to break the contract?" An Rou easily heard the hidden meaning in her words.
The princess remained silent. She believed that money was the key to success, and that she would get enough advance payment before the transaction. This logic was deeply ingrained in her mind.
An Rou could understand her worries, but she just felt helpless.
“Ban Yue, even if I have no bottom line, I will not lay a hand on you.”
An Rou can use many tricks or methods to control others, but she can't use them when facing a good person like the princess.
However, using sincerity to persuade others is what she is worst at.
The princess stared at her for a moment, then spoke softly, "I'll think about it. Let's get back to the fifth dungeon. How do you plan to negotiate with the guild? The legion just got hammered by a wave of ghouls, and I'm afraid no one will be willing to listen to your demands."
"They asked for it." An Rou said, "Can you please stay calm? There's no point in sitting here and speculating. Let's try sending a message first."
The game communication settings do not have a friend system. If players want to keep in touch for a long time, they will set up temporary team channels, which will not be affected by ID changes.
Everyone's ID is unique, and as long as you know the ID, you can send private messages point to point.
An Rou had originally intended to send the negotiation invitation to Chi Xin, but then Shi Xizheng arrived, so she sent it to him. She had already seen clearly that the other party's ID was "Lü".
After An Rou finished speaking, she looked up without waiting for the princess's response.
The princess frowned and was lost in thought.
An Rou: "What's wrong?"
"I suddenly remembered something." The princess said carefully, "There seems to be something wrong with President Long Yan."
An Rou's heart moved.
When she saw Shi Xizheng, she also vaguely felt that something was wrong - that abnormal sense of familiarity.
"You were controlling the ghoul wave to charge the army. I was trying to avoid the experience points and kept my distance. I happened to see Shi Xi killing a ghoul." The princess carefully recalled the scene shrouded in gunpowder smoke. "He crushed a ghoul with his bare hands."
"No gloves?"
The princess shook her head. "No, he did. The problem isn't the gloves, but the skills. He didn't activate any skills, but he crushed a ghoul to death. Isn't he only at the Great God level?"
The vague guess finally took shape, and An Rou narrowed her eyes: "Yes, but he's been parasitized."
It's not a ghoul, but a ghost king.
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