Fear comes from the unknown. The players had no idea what that suddenly appearing figure that followed them represented. Was it a ghost they had attracted on the mountain? Was it some kind of curse? The humanoid figure didn't attack them, it just followed them… Could it be that something had originally been sealed on the mountain, so a ritual was needed to reinforce the seal, and because they walked halfway up the mountain when the seal loosened before the ritual… they attracted this thing?
If they just walked back to the village like this, would they bring this existence into the village as well?
There weren't many shrines left for them to pass, but the players stopped, not daring to move forward rashly.
They turned around and saw that dark shadow quietly watching them beside the previous shrine, inexplicably creepy.
"What if… what if we accidentally let it out?" Nangong Meili said anxiously. She couldn't help reaching for her storage ring. She had some items, but she never expected to run into something this tricky so soon. The main problem was they didn't know what that dark shadow was at all, leaving them in a completely passive position.
"No, we didn't touch it, and we didn't touch the shrine. Since it has been following behind us and has not attacked…" Shangguan Cuihua shook her head and analyzed seriously, "Perhaps it can't leave this mountain. Now that it keeps appearing behind us, maybe it's pressuring us to touch it or touch the shrine!"
"But what if it's following the 'living human' aura on us, trying to cling to our life force to slip past some kind of seal and go down the mountain?" Huangfu Tiezhu voiced the concern every player had — the very reason they had stopped walking.
The situation fell into a stalemate.
After the silence, they looked back again. The dark shadow was still quietly standing next to the shrine, watching them perform.
"We can't delay anymore. If we don't go back… all seven of us disappearing together and coming up the mountain together could trigger a huge OOC scene. Who knows how the NPCs will react? And the mountain will definitely be more dangerous at night." Li Si sighed and stepped forward decisively. "Let's take a stand. Those who want to turn back and fight the ghost stand on the left, those who want to go straight down the mountain stand on the right!"
This was majority rules. The stalemate couldn't continue; the players had to make a decision.
After speaking, Li Si immediately stepped to the right. Nangong Meili and Shangguan Cuihua hesitated for a moment, then also walked to the right. Zhang San and the other four male players exchanged glances, then looked at the dark shadow that had only followed without attacking. Gritting their teeth, they said, "Let's go, straight down the mountain! At the last shrine we'll slow down a little — we can't miss any changes!"
Even though they had made their decision, the players' emotion values rose even faster. On the remaining path, they became exceptionally silent, and though it was only a two- or three-minute walk, they walked with the aura of facing death. In the silence, in the unknown fear and mutual suspicion, the players generously provided a continuous surge of emotional value.
"Not bad, not bad. The ghost in the urban legend should get a raise." Mu Anqi was very satisfied. As for the setup here — it wasn't as complicated as the players imagined; it was just meant to scare them. An evil spirit? Back in the ghost's own black-mirror vortex, this shadow-like lunatic had been dealt with easily; its combat strength wasn't high. But simply following the players created enough pressure and tension to terrify them.
The first shrine at the foot of the mountain was also the last shrine before the players left. Heaven knows how much courage they had to muster, how much anxiety and fear they felt for what might happen next… but they finally took that step, leaving the bounds of the mountain. After walking a bit farther and turning back, they saw the dark shadow quietly standing at the last shrine, watching them, making no other move.
Bet right?
One step, two steps… until the players could no longer see the shrine or the dark shadow, only then did they suddenly breathe a sigh of relief. The dark shadow had remained by the shrine, watching them, without any movement. Which meant… it should be safe.
"Hurry! Everyone quickly go home and report your safety, and do whatever you're supposed to do!" After relaxing, the players quickly slipped back into their roles, sprinting back to their respective homes and doing everything they could to avoid OOC behavior.
They had never played such a troublesome game before! God, why! When they were alive as children, they had never been this diligent or obedient, yet in this game they had become hardworking, tireless little angels? Most importantly… even though their homes clearly had plenty of fish and meat, and smoked bacon and sausages, their in-game family just refused to cook them! They insisted on eating plain, bland meals! Looking at the "hard goods" hanging in the courtyard, the players' mouths leaked undeserved "tears."
Fortunately, these NPCs didn't continue tormenting the already exhausted players. After all, in Mu Anqi's eyes, all emotions must be used in moderation. Letting the players relax a bit now would help squeeze out more emotional value later.
So, did the players feel relaxed? Maybe a little. But when they thought about how on the first day they had done nothing and almost made a huge mistake… they really couldn't feel happy.
Especially when each player lay on the not-soft wooden bed, tossing and turning, filled with endless fear about the unknown tomorrow.
What was the dark shadow on the mountain? Were the villagers in the village really normal? What was the ritual? How would they obtain the magical tools? What did the mountain god look like…
One question after another surrounded them, accompanying them into sleep.
The illusion of reality and fantasy began at this moment.
"Huh?" With a startled and uncertain exclamation, Nangong Meili discovered she was no longer on the bed in the village! This, this was…
The mist under her feet was extremely soft, as if she were stepping on cotton. White fog swirled around her, making her feel like she was in a celestial realm. In the distance, golden light flickered, and waves of obscure scripture flowed into her ears. Although she couldn't understand what was being said or what language it was, she inexplicably felt a sense of peace. Under this sound, her soul seemed to settle, her whole being uplifted and purified.
Could this be the Pure Land? For a moment, countless bits of knowledge flashed through Nangong Meili's mind, though she didn't understand much of it.
Instinctively, she walked toward the golden light.
She could not clearly see the huge figure shrouded entirely in gold light; she could only faintly see the outline of a great Buddha. Within the golden radiance, six arms were raised high, and each hand held an object.
A pure silver monk's staff. A beeswax Buddha bead bracelet. A glass thumb ring. A coral bracelet. A tridacna wrist bangle. An agate bracelet.
Most of those ornaments—Nangong Meili didn't actually know what materials they were made of. She could only get a rough sense. She carefully counted and found only six items. Just as she wondered about the missing one, she saw the small pure-gold statue in front of the great Buddha.
Seven.
Somewhere deep inside, instinct told her that these were the seven magical artifacts they needed!
But weren't the artifacts only obtainable within the illusion of reality and fantasy? Was this that illusion? …She only had to sleep? Then didn't that mean… she only needed to walk over and take these seven artifacts, and clearing the game was within reach?
Excitement. Longing. This illusion of reality and fantasy was too bright, too radiant, giving the players an overwhelming sense of safety. And it wasn't only Nangong Meili who saw this—every player saw the same scene. In that instant, Mu Anqi harvested wave after wave of nearly limitless "greed" emotions.
Greed, desire, delight, longing—those were the emotions that instantly surged through the players the moment they saw the seven magical artifacts.
Mu Anqi watched the emotional fluctuations of these players from the control room, then glanced at the current game earnings so far. She couldn't help but nod in satisfaction. No wonder—this was a game that had hired extra staff and even brought in many player-NPCs. It was only the first day, yet there was already so much emotional value. If the game ended smoothly, how much more could she earn? No wonder the ghosts in those other fragment-mirror games were tormented so miserably by players but still had to go to work every day.
Mu Anqi guessed that the management of those fragment-mirror games probably counted the emotional value of their ghost employees as part of the game's total earnings.
Watching the players in the illusion as they desperately tried to approach the Buddha and steal the artifacts, Mu Anqi couldn't help shaking her head. She turned to Ji Huaichu: "General, bring over the bun shop owner. I see he steamed a lot of meat buns today—what a waste if they're thrown out. Let everyone have some. I want a few myself."
The bun shop used real pork, and with the owner bound by restrictions, he didn't dare play any tricks. When the ingredients were normal, the buns from this urban-legend bun shop tasted absolutely top-notch!
"Mm. Want something to drink?"
"Anything. I'm not picky."
It wasn't long before the general returned with a dozen meat buns and two cups of mango pomelo sago. The buns came from the bun shop; the drinks were "borrowed" from Mu Xiaobai. When she had gone to the bun shop, the owner had been so terrified he dropped his knife, frantically reviewing in his head where he might have slipped today—where he might've gone OOC, what detail a player might've noticed, which damn player he'd have to secretly take revenge on tomorrow—only to realize that this god of slaughter had merely come to get buns. And she even told him to distribute buns to everyone, so they wouldn't go to waste.
Bun shop owner: Are ghost kings nowadays all this frugal and domestic?
Eating her late-night snack while watching the players' performance, Mu Anqi leaned back in her chair. This was truly enjoyable!
Meanwhile, the players were risking their lives sprinting toward the golden light, only to find that the golden Buddha and the artifacts always maintained a fixed distance from them—never too near, never too far. They couldn't see through the Buddha, couldn't approach the light, and certainly couldn't take the artifacts that seemed right before their eyes.
They even used their skills! Mu Anqi even saw a certain player surnamed Zhang strike a pose toward the golden light and "biu"—shoot out a light beam. She almost dropped her bun.
What the—someone actually had a skill that could shoot a "dynamic light wave"? [T/N: ..I was thinking of iron man or some other heroes at first but NO! it's from f**king Shinchan!! LOL!]