Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Yinhuai Village 4
After seeing the message in the group, all the players became anxious and wanted to return to the room as soon as possible to discuss the matter.
However, even if the seven players gathered together now, the fact that Yinhuai Village had been closed could not be changed.
Since the tour guide was still in the group, it was inconvenient for them to communicate, so several players still seized the time to complete tasks, check in at scenic spots, and continue to interact with fellow villagers.
Tian Tian clicked on each player's avatar in the group interface and shook her head at the pink-haired Xiang Tianyi.
"Yiyi, no, the phone in this instance can only send messages in group chats, not private chats."
They had tried it once before in Teacher He's room, but it didn't work now. It seemed that this strange copy clearly did not allow communication between players.
Xiang Tian nodded. She found a hair tie at some point and tied up her long, tender pink hair.
"Tian Tian, I have an idea. Do you think the background of this village should be different from previous copies? I'm leaning towards the 1980s and 1990s."
"Are you referring to the decoration style in our room?" Tian Tian asked.
“But we have cell phones.”
"No, no, no." Xiang Tianyi waved his hand.
"You remember our room, right? It had a bathroom, but the green tiles and the decor in our room were almost all from the pre-millennium era in reality."
"Do you remember the front desk at the farmhouse? There was no computer, no cash register, and they still used pens to register. The same thing happened in the restaurant. It was very rural, and they used keys."
“The strange dungeon settings we experienced were closely related to the environment.”
"When our team came out, we noticed that there were no promotional notices or travel guides at the front desk of the farmhouse. At that time, everyone thought the copy was deliberately not giving us any clues."
"But what if we change our perspective and imagine Yinhuai Village as a secluded village where productivity and customs are stuck in the past 20 or 30 years?"
"Have you noticed that, apart from the tour guide, no one else in this village has a cell phone?"
Xiang Tianyi stretched out a hand and gently gestured to Tian Tian to look at the villagers at the entrance of the village.
Tian Tian didn’t think much of the old van, isolation belt, and wooden and iron road barriers just now, but now she looked at the villagers again. They had clearly already set up the interception points, but they were just standing there chatting, and no one had taken out their cell phones.
"Interesting." Tian Tian murmured at this moment.
"The tour guide is a guiding NPC. She lives with us in the farmyard. According to her role, as a tour guide, she must know this village better."
"I think the key to getting more information about this dungeon is to have a good chat with the tour guide."
Xiang Tianyi narrowed her eyes slightly. The dungeon would not include useless details. In her personal experience, many times, noticing these details was often the key to saving lives.
"Let's go back and find the tour guide." She made a quick decision.
The two of them came directly to the village entrance, and this is all the information they can obtain.
The tour guide’s message in the group just now clearly showed that he knew the village would be closed, but if the players hadn’t asked, the NPC probably wouldn’t have proactively informed them.
And these information that are not actively told often play a vital role in the copy!
Anyway, Tian Tian and Xiang Tianyi have already completed today's check-in requirements. Even if they can't find the tour guide when they go back, they will still have time to go into the village to find other NPCs.
The two hurried back to the farmhouse and saw the skinny Zhang Wei already at the front desk. When he saw Tian Tian and Xiang Tianyi, he immediately came over to greet them.
"You guys are back too? I just saw your message and wanted to find the tour guide, but I knocked on the door and there was no one inside!"
"Do you have any other clues at the village entrance?" he asked very quickly.
"No." Tian Tian shook her head.
"We also want to ask the tour guide for more information."
"Have you finished checking in at the attractions? Why are you back?"
Skinny Monkey slapped his head and said, "Stop talking! I went to the village store and saw two NPC ladies arguing at the door. I heard it sounded like they were arguing about a ritual or something, so I hurried over."
"When I went over, the two ladies left immediately. I asked the store owner about it, but he wouldn't tell me. He only told me after I had helped him deliver the goods."
"Look, I just happened to be delivering something to this farmyard. I have to hurry back now. This NPC is really good at ordering people around."
Zhang Wei left in a hurry, and Tian Tian quickly called out to him: "Don't forget to check in at the scenic spot."
"I know. I'll remember that."
He hurried back and left in a hurry to work hard for clues to the village ceremony. Tian Tian and Xiang Tian looked at each other.
"Are we going to the village too?"
"Let's send a message to the tour guide first." Xiang Tianyi asked.
[Xiang Tianyi]: @Guide Luo Qing, are you not in the room? I'd like to ask what the group plans are for tomorrow?
The tour guide didn't respond for a long time. I don't know if he didn't see it or was pretending not to see it.
The two waited for five minutes, but there was no message from the tour guide. However, Liu Yanran replied.
[Liu Yanran]: We are going up the mountain tomorrow, and there are three experience projects to choose from. The tour guide's phone was spilled with tea and now it won't turn on.
"Sister Liu is actually with the tour guide!" Tian Tian said in surprise.
"Tea, are they in that teahouse?" Xiang Tianyi guessed.
"Should we go over there too?" Tian Tian asked.
"No, we have limited manpower. We should find more channels to get more information. I'll leave the tour guide to Sister Liu."
"I guess Sister Liu sent a message to the tour guide. It's hard to say anything in detail."
"What a coincidence that the tour guide's phone got soaked in water." Tian Tian couldn't help but complain.
"My phone is really... awful! What kind of luck is this!" Luo Qing was speechless at this moment.
She was originally chatting with the villagers in the large group in Yinhuai Village, but she was not satisfied with chatting on the phone and there were too many people. Luo Qing thought that the tourists in the group had all gone out and her husband was still counting locust trees on the back mountain. Since she had nothing to do, she strolled over.
She hadn't been here for a few years, and Yinhuai Village had really changed a lot. The villagers' homes had all been renovated. When Luo Qing entered the village, she met a familiar villager, who took her into his home to have a look.
As we walked and chatted, we met a group of elderly people basking in the sun under a locust tree.
The team said that the opera would start on the village stage at three o'clock, so they hurried over and there was free tea to drink.
Luo Qing just didn't know the plot of this newly-written play, so he just followed along.
What I never expected was that I would run into a member of my own group here, um, the one I just spoke to.
The stage in the village is an open-air one and looks very old, but Luo Qing knows that there was no such place in the village three years ago. Now it has been renovated with an ancient style and a bit dilapidated, and it really looks like an "ancient stage".
The teahouse is a shed built under the stage. It is made of bamboo and is furnished with wooden tables and chairs, which gives it a very charming atmosphere.
At this moment, Luo Qing and Liu Yanran were sitting at a table, one on the left and one on the right. On the table between them were covered bowls of tea, two plates of nuts, and a long pot.
The culprit who caused Luo Qing's phone to be soaked in water was herself.
She had just finished drinking tea and was refilling her teapot. Because she was not familiar with the tea kettle, she poured it all over the table and spilled it in her own teacup, which happened to be drunk by the phone.
Luo Qing came out with only a small bag on her back. She used a handkerchief to absorb the moisture from her phone, but she still couldn't turn it on.
She sighed and said, "Just watch the show. I'm going to the village chief's house to find a stove and see if I can dry it out."
This is really a failure at the critical moment. People are in the village and if the mobile phone does not work, it will not make it difficult to move around, but Luo Qing is a tour guide and needs to contact travel agencies and tourists!
"Ms. Liu, if the team members have anything else to say, please help me tell them in the group." Luo Qing greeted Liu Yanran. Fortunately, she had a familiar team member here.
Liu Yanran wanted to go to the village chief's house with Luo Qing, but the play on the stage in front of her could not distract her!
At this moment, the play being performed on the ancient stage is called "The Moon and the Locust Tree Appear", which is obviously the core plot of this copy.
She gritted her teeth and said, "No, I can't leave! Passing the dungeon is the most important thing."
Luo Qing walked back helplessly with her phone in her hand, “I don’t know if the fan can dry it,” she muttered.
"Let's borrow a cell phone from Lao Meng first."
The farmhouse was owned by the village chief and had an old landline phone. Luo Qing borrowed a small sunshade and used the village chief's cell phone to call his lover to inform him of the situation. He then began to try to "dry" the phone in the room using an electric fan and the small sunshade.
Luo Qing has been using this phone for many years. Apart from sending messages and taking pictures, he doesn't have much need for it. Now he thinks that if he can't dry it, he will have to buy a new one.
Around five o'clock in the afternoon, the six players returned to the farmhouse one after another and gathered in Teacher He's room again.
Liu Yanran finished watching the whole play, and it was already past five ten when she came back, but at this time, Plaid Shirt had not come back yet.
"Why hasn't he come back yet?" Zhang Wei was a little anxious.
"Did he get delayed? I saw he checked in at some tourist spots in the group chat. Let's wait a little longer." Teacher He had just returned to the farmhouse. He was in a dishevel and was comforting the other players.
"The attractions that programmers check in are Huaiquan and the century-old locust tree forest." Liu Yanran's face looked unhappy.
No one remembered Plaid Shirt's name, it was very difficult to pronounce. We only remembered that when he introduced himself he said he was a programmer, so we just called him that.
"Murphy, didn't you also check in at Huaiquan? Did you two separate there?"
"I know Huaiquan. It's in the back village, close to the back mountain. When I was asking for information in the village, I met a student who came back to the village to attend a ceremony." Murphy explained hurriedly.
"After the programmer and I arrived in the village, we found it too big and decided to separate. We didn't go to Huaiquan together."
"That is to say, you separated, but chose the road to the back village at the same time. This century-old locust tree forest might be on the back mountain." Xiang Tianyi said.
Time passed by minute by minute, and the time originally scheduled for discussing clues was used to wait. The message sent to the programmer in the group received no reply, which made the six players feel extremely tormented.
"I hope nothing will happen to him." Zhang Wei knew that he shouldn't say discouraging words at this time, but he really couldn't help it.
"I'm going to find a tour guide. I wonder if there are any taboos in the mountains behind the village." Liu Yanran took the initiative to ask.
"The tour guide's cell phone is broken, which means we have lost contact with the outside world. This guy has bad intentions." Zhang Wei sat dejectedly on the bed.
"Let's go together." Murphy said.
When the teams were divided in the afternoon, Teacher He suggested that they be formed into teams of two. The programmer was in the same team with him, and if they had not been separated, perhaps the accident would not have happened.
Luo Qing was fiddling with her dried-out cell phone. She even launched verbal threats in an attempt to wake it up.
"I'm telling you, if you don't turn on your phone, I really don't want you anymore! I'm going to get a new phone!"
Even so, the white phone on the cabinet remained silent. She was sighing when she heard a knock on the door.
When Luo Qing heard the tour members say that a traveler had not returned, her face changed immediately and she didn't care about her broken cell phone.
"What was his last message? Where is it?"
Oh my god, if a tourist gets missing and can’t be found during a two-day tour, it would be a disaster.
Wouldn't she run into any member of the group who was out to commit suicide?
The players were a little surprised by the tour guide's anxious tone and expression, as they thought the NPC wouldn't care.
"A century-old locust tree forest. I don't know if I got lost. These are the photos I sent half an hour ago." Liu Yanran handed over the phone.
Hearing this, Luo Qing blinked, and she felt a little relieved. "I'll go make a phone call and look for him in the village."
She opened the door and hurried to look for someone.
"The tour guide was more friendly than I thought, as he mobilized the villagers to look for people," Tian Tian said in a low voice.
"No."
“Unfriendly.”
Liu Yanran and Teacher He spoke at the same time. They looked at each other and Liu Yanran made a gesture of invitation.
Teacher He said in a low voice, "Just because the tour guide helps us find someone doesn't mean she's friendly. Don't forget our mission. We must attend the village ceremony. In the past, when there were fewer players in the dungeon, the NPCs would ignore it."
"My personal guess is that the tour guide couldn't afford to lose any of us before the village ceremony began. That's why she's so anxious. I'm afraid tomorrow will be a tough battle."
Teacher He's words made everyone look even uglier. Luo Qing came back in a hurry, "We've already arranged for someone to look for him in the back mountain. He was still wearing a plaid shirt when he went out, right?"
After receiving a positive answer, Luo Qing glanced at his watch and said, "It's half past five. You should eat first. It's not a good idea to just sit there and wait."
"I will arrange for his meals to be prepared, don't worry." Luo Qing comforted the passengers.
When I was leading tour groups in the past, it was common for guests to leave the group and make other tourists wait together. This way, they could wait while we moved to other attractions, and we wouldn’t have to go hungry when we ate.
At Luo Qing's urging, the six players entered Box No. 1 for lunch, where the dishes were already served on the revolving table.
The delicious food was placed on the table, but no one had any appetite.
"Let's eat first. Everyone has been busy all afternoon. Replenishing energy is the most important thing because tomorrow is the tough battle." Liu Yanran said.
Zhang Wei sighed at this moment, "It's like the last meal before execution. I was wondering why the food in this dungeon is so good."
Murphy glanced at him, took a corn steamed bun from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, "Eat it, and shut your mouth."
What kind of players are the scariest to encounter in a dungeon? Those who are clueless and disobedient, those who secretly have their own agendas, and those who spread negativity and blame everyone else.
Everyone was already a little worried and discouraged, but this guy couldn't see that the atmosphere was getting worse and worse, and he was only concerned with venting his own emotions.
Zhang Wei's mouth was blocked by him. He took the steamed bun and was about to refute, but he heard Teacher He sitting opposite him speak.
"Zhang Wei, eat and stop talking."
Liu Yanran looked at him, thought for a moment, and then said, "Everyone, I know there's no news about the programmer right now, and everyone is a little worried. It's normal to have emotions, fear, and panic."
"At times like this, expressing one or two emotions can be relaxing, but excessive venting is just meaningless emotional garbage. After all, we're all adults in a dungeon. We need to calmly resolve issues first. Discouraging words only lower morale."
She spoke slowly and methodically, leaving Zhang Wei stunned for a moment before nodding silently, "Got it."
The six people ate in silence without saying a word, and the atmosphere was a little heavy for a moment.
A little after six o'clock, only a noise could be heard outside the restaurant. The players had finished their meal but were still waiting for news in the private room.
Teacher He, who was sitting at the outermost edge, immediately went out to check what was going on and exclaimed in surprise, "He's back! He's back! The programmer has been carried back."
The other five players also hurried out, only to see that the programmer's plaid shirt was a little dirty, his eyes were dull, and he was being carried on the back of a tall man, and his leg seemed to be injured.
"No...it's good to be alive." Zhang Wei just opened his mouth and quickly changed his words.
The tour guide looked over at this moment and said: "Um, Mo Fei, you two are in the same room, right? Send him inside first."
A moment later, a group of people gathered in the small double room shared by Murphy and the programmer.
"He got lost in the back mountains and fell, and his phone fell into a grass pit." The speaker was a tall man wearing outdoor clothes and a pair of hiking boots. He had a slightly dark complexion, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and short, messy hair that didn't reach his ears. In real life, he would be a man that people around him would praise as "upright and neat" at first sight.
Liu Yanran noticed that the hiking boots on the man's feet looked familiar.
"He's still in this state...? Is there a medical clinic in the village?" Murphy asked.
"The wound on his leg has just been bandaged. It was probably because it was dark and he didn't know the way, so he fell and was a little dazed. Give him some hot water and let him rest for a night, and he'll be fine." Yan Fufeng said.
He casually glanced at the players in front of him, gave a few instructions and left.
As soon as the man left, the tour guide came in with a thermos. "You're all here. I've told the restaurant to leave some small portions in the pot. They'll be delivered right away."
"I asked the village doctor, and he said his leg was scratched by a vine in the woods. He fell but didn't break any bones."
"I'm fine." The man in plaid shirt said weakly.
"Please pour me a glass of water. Tour guides, please go back first. I'll change my clothes."
"Everyone is very enthusiastic." Luo Qing looked at the other tour group members gathered here and felt that this group of outsiders were very united.
"Then I'll go back to my room first. If you need anything, just knock on the door."
The three female players pretended to go with her, and after confirming that the tour guide had entered the room, they immediately turned back.
At this point, the first formal meeting of the seven players in the Yinhuai Village dungeon began.
Plaid Shirt took out a set of clothes from the dungeon space. He hadn't changed yet, so Murphy helped him roll up his trouser legs so that other players could see the wound.
"Little brother, what's going on with you?" Teacher He said.
Plaid Shirt gave a bitter laugh, "I felt like I almost died."
"After Murphy and I separated, I saw an NPC carrying water on a shoulder pole, so I went over to ask if he needed help."
"The old man said no, he was going to the village behind to fetch mountain spring water, and he had already returned home. When I heard the word 'mountain spring', I wondered if it was a tourist attraction. The old man said it seemed to be, called Huaiquan, so I went there."
"When I arrived at Huaiquan, I completed my first scenic spot check-in. It was the back mountain of the village. I could see the road leading into the mountain. I thought there must be some scenic spots on the mountain. It was still afternoon. I thought I would send you a message if it didn't work out. I didn't expect..."
As Plaid Shirt spoke, he was lost in memories.
When he walked to "Huaiquan", he saw the clear mountain spring, but did not dare to drink it. He just looked at the source of Huaiquan from a distance, which meandered from the mountain wall behind.
He just went up the mountain.
The man in the plaid shirt had a good plan and just walked along one road. If he couldn't find the scenic spot, he would just turn around and go down the mountain.
But as he walked, he realized that the jungle on the mountain was extremely dense, with locust trees one after another, and it seemed that they were everywhere in his sight.
It’s in front, it’s behind, it’s on the left, it’s on the right.
East, west, south, and north, there were thick locust trees everywhere, and I gradually lost my way.
He was a little panicked. He clearly remembered that he was walking strictly in a straight line, and there should be a road behind him. Plaid Shirt tried his best to calm himself. He only knew that he was on the mountain, but he was not sure of the specific location. In order to inform other players, he thought of checking in.
He took a photo of the surrounding locust trees, and it really worked! The dungeon prompted him to successfully check in at the [Century-Old Locust Tree Forest], and he shared it with other players.
Being able to share his location information with other players, Plaid Shirt felt relieved, but only a little.
Since all the players were strangers, they might not come looking for him. He started thinking about saving himself.
Plaid Shirt wanted to look up at the sun to determine the direction, but the locust trees were so dense that he couldn't tell north, south, east or west.
But when he looked up, he really discovered something extraordinary.
The crowns of the locust trees are towering, and the branches that extend out are forked and crooked, with dolls hanging on them, swaying slightly in the wind.
Plaid Shirt has excellent eyesight. To be more precise, every player has excellent five senses and physical fitness. His extremely strong eyesight even allows him to see clearly at a glance!
It was a little puppet with carved facial features, hair, clothes and a smiling face!
At this moment, the mouth outlined by the line smiled at him in the wind. As it swayed, the puppet's mouth opened wider and wider, and he seemed to hear the sound of something laughing.
The man in the plaid shirt was so frightened that he fell to the ground and quickly stepped back. When he looked away, he saw that there were more and more puppets on the locust tree.
No, no, no!
On every branch of the locust tree was a puppet swaying! He ran and crawled, trying to find a way back to the village.
He was panicking and wandering around in the locust tree forest until his foot tripped again. He stumbled and fell in front of a locust tree, his eyes fixed on a tombstone standing at the root of the locust tree.
There are three big characters "Tan Qiuju" engraved on the tombstone, as well as a black and white photo.
"Who is Tan Qiuju? A villager?" Tian Tian spoke at this moment.
The man in the plaid shirt had an expression on his face that looked as if he was laughing or crying.
"The face in the photo is the auntie who served us food at noon."
"As I looked around, I saw a villager's tombstone under every locust tree around me."
Zhang Wei's already dark face was now almost devoid of any color. His voice trembled, "So, we are now in a village where everyone is dead?!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
