With the blessing of the incense-candle buff, Shangguan Cuihua perfectly completed her dance performance tonight, the silver zen staff still held steadily in her hand. As for Li Si and Nangong Meili…
Honestly, it was quite unfortunate. Even with the buff, Li Si still couldn't write an 800-word essay that could move the Dramatist. She really did try to recall how those full-score college entrance exam essays were written, but after all this time—who would remember!
Nangong Meili, on the other hand, felt that her hands could finally keep up with her brain, but completely recreating the dish was still a bit difficult. Still, she practiced diligently all night, and she believed she could definitely get the magic tool tomorrow.
Yuchi Goudan had gone to the village chief's house to worship at the shrine, offered a performance of the Swan Dance, and also received a buff. Brimming with confidence, he entered the night planning to casually chop down a big tree with his wooden sword to obtain the magic tool—only to discover that after one strike, the tree's bark merely suffered a slight scratch…
…Damn it, with a buff this tiny, there's no way to clear the task in one shot! He still had to keep training! Tomorrow—tomorrow he would definitely work hard at the tavern and try to earn more incense candles!
Those players who hadn't received any buffs continued to be tormented in pain. And as for Wang Erma, who wanted the golden kasaya? He only felt his future grow dim. That bratty NPC wasn't playing Five-in-a-Row today and insisted on playing hide-and-seek instead. With a wave of her hand, she created an illusionary labyrinth and told Wang Erma to be "it."
Hide-and-seek rounds were quick, switching every ten minutes. If Wang Erma couldn't find Xia Fenghua within ten minutes, everything would reset, and Xia Fenghua would become "it." As for punishment, Xia Fenghua didn't want to go too far nor had any intention of harming players; after all, it was just an illusion. Free companions to play with were wonderful! Xia Fenghua had never liked a job so much—she wished she could stay in the illusion every day to play. Thus, the punishment was… if Wang Erma failed a round, he would not be allowed to touch any meat for a full day. (In-game)
After a round of illusions, Wang Erma successfully lost all of the game's meat rations for the next few days. When time was up, he looked despairing yet hopeful as he asked, "Eggs… count as vegetarian, right?"
"That depends on whether they could hatch into chicks," Xia Fenghua said seriously. "And also, I said 'meat' and 'fishy'… Forget it, you'll know once you taste it yourself." Not interested in explaining properly, and with the time limit reached, she waved her hand and kicked Wang Erma out.
Wang Erma jolted awake, only to discover that he had gained a "dislikes meat" buff.
—How could there be such a torturous buff! He already didn't get to eat much meat as it was, and now, for the rest of the game's days, was he really only going to be able to eat vegetarian food?!
But it was meat! Eating meat was such a blissful thing.
Unwilling to accept it, he secretly took a tiny bite of cured meat the next day. The fatty-lean red cured meat, enticingly bright, should have made him savor it and inhale two big bites of rice. But today, the moment it entered his mouth, it was an indescribably sour, rancid, fishy stench! He couldn't even tell how to describe this puke-like flavor and immediately "waaah"—vomited it all out.
While being beaten afterward, Wang Erma finally understood what the NPC meant last night when she said he'd know after trying it…
Zhang San, unlucky as ever, ran all night and still couldn't escape Zhao Qianluo's clutches. Huangfu Tiezhu, meanwhile, was tormented half to death by Li Bolian's illusions, and when it finally ended, he even instinctively crawled forward for a while before realizing what he was doing.
Mu Anqi laughed with pure joy in front of the screen, especially as waves of emotional value continually surged in. This version of the game had undergone major changes compared to the earlier test build—the danger level was greatly reduced, but the degree of player torment had increased considerably. Like those two players working at the tavern—not still trying to find the incense-candle storage point? Of course she would let them find it. Mu Anqi had no intention of eliminating those players. But once they seriously went looking, all they needed to do was turn their heads and they would discover a pair of shoes quietly standing behind them—then, slowly look up to see the expressionless Fang Xunjiu—
Whew, what a huge amount of emotional value.
As everyone knows, it's just like when you secretly hide something at home, finally finish hiding it and relax, only to turn around and see your mom standing behind you with a face that says, "go on, show me what you can do." It's deadly!
Mu Anqi checked the time, touched her chin, and whispered, "If some players are too bad and can't pass no matter what… on the last day… letting up a little won't hurt."
After all, she needed at least seven people to progress into the final storyline.
Sigh, next time she should pull nine or ten people into the game, so at least there'd be some competition for the slots.
In the following period, the players could be said to be giving it everything they had. After the three female players discovered the hidden passage in the village chief's house, they continued visiting often—besides wondering if they could find anything else, they also wanted to ask about the shrine belonging to the village chief's twin daughters. The two male players working at the hotel successfully obtained their second incense candle as well. As for finding one on their own… it wasn't clear whether they were just unlucky or the Fang siblings had hidden the candles too well, but they never found them. At the school, after Zhang San crammed desperately and finally managed to answer Wu Sansheng's questions, he also received an incense candle as a reward.
Wang Erma lived in despair, because the players' progress was truly far from optimistic. He didn't believe he could obtain the kasaya magic tool in just one night. Still, despair or not, every night he had to be little Xia Fenghua's free playmate.
This continued until the night of the fifth day, when Li Si finally gave up on making up fancy, flowery stories. She recalled her life before death and picked up the pen to write her true feelings. Memory is like a sealed iron can—if you don't open it, it won't affect you, almost as if it doesn't exist. But once you think about it, it's as if the surface has been poked full of holes by countless emotions, and sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy feelings all gush out. Li Si thought of the lollipops her grandfather always bought her every time she had to get a shot when she was little, and even after she grew up. And when she walked into that snow-white hospital room, she placed a simple lollipop into that wrinkled old hand with only a layer of skin left.
Memories seem fragmented, like scenes, but with sound. She thought of the fair, tall, thin boy from middle school whose clothes always smelled good. She thought of her friend with the high ponytail, who always said she'd run the 800 meters with her, but in the end, Li Si could only watch that ponytail get farther and farther away as she rushed into the top three. She thought of test papers filled with handwriting, of the bell sound deep in her soul, and the excitement and hope of walking out of the school gates for the last time.
As she recalled more, she remembered many people and events she thought she had forgotten. She thought of her parents' arguments and their hardworking efforts, of the money they transferred to her every month, and her own annoyance at their constant nagging. And afterward? The monotonous, repetitive work; the cold cubicle; the cold files; the always-lit computer; the endless phone calls. While remembering, Li Si suddenly realized—had her parents already become so old the last time she returned home before she died?
It was only then she discovered she had already written over 800 words. Her tears formed oval droplets on the paper—yet they didn't soak through. The Dramatist waved her hand, and the tears dissipated.
"Hm." The Dramatist frowned as she read. This essay… actually wasn't quite to her liking. She hadn't planned to write this kind of story. But looking at Li Si, then at this vessel overflowing with emotion, she nodded. "Not bad. You passed." A piece like this, handed to a ghost of tales, might stir quite a few feelings. She wasn't interested in such stories right now, but who's to say she wouldn't change her style in the future?
Nangong Meili also cleared her task tonight, thanks to the incense-candle buff and her constant diligent practice. When she used all her strength and, at the last moment, presented a full large platter of Stuffed Bean Sprout to Mu Xiaobai, that blank-paper resident didn't even look at the dish—he simply looked at her and gave a small nod. Although the NPC said nothing, Nangong Meili could feel a wave of "praise" from her. She was so excited she swung her fist hard, and it took her a long time to suppress the urge to scream. Was it hard? Complicated? Yet the sense of accomplishment at that moment was indescribable! Who would believe she actually learned to cook a dish inside the game? Although she didn't need to make the Wensi Tofu, she had practiced it during the day as well, and her knife skills had clearly improved.
"I have the talent of a master chef."
Things on the players' side, however, were not so optimistic. Yuchi Goudan still couldn't chop down the tree, and Zhang San still couldn't outrun the shadow. As for Huangfu Tiezhu…
He succeeded!
He rose up, he redeemed himself!
He finally realized the illusion and broke through it!
And the reason… was that Li Bolian, in her madness, mashed all of Huangfu Tiezhu's previous illusions together. This time, she once again simulated Huangfu Tiezhu's childhood memories—but with slight alterations.
For example… Huangfu Tiezhu raised a dog also named "Tiezhu." For example, the female student who sat beside him was also someone Huangfu Tiezhu had been before. For example, the rabbits kept in cages at the market. The eagle that suddenly dove down to snatch his hat. The chimpanzee at the zoo that would roar at him desperately and try to throw nearby stones at him the moment it saw him… Or the elderly man walking a guide dog who accidentally bumped into him.
These people or animals appearing around him all gave Huangfu Tiezhu a strange sense of familiarity. A bizarre feeling, as if they had once been the same person, as if he had experienced everything. He felt something was wrong with his memories, but whenever he asked others, everything seemed normal.
Huangfu Tiezhu did not go crazy. One day, when he abruptly turned around because of someone shouting "Huangfu Tiezhu!"—only to find his dad was calling their dog—that sudden jolt felt just like a sleeping person startled awake. In that instant, he realized something was wrong!
How could this be right!
How could this world have so many Huangfu Tiezhu's!!!
Awakened by a world far too absurd, Huangfu Tiezhu finally snapped out of the illusion. When it shattered, he didn't even know how to look at this wicked-minded NPC—he simply took the magic tool in silence.
He was probably the player with the "richest life experience," wasn't he?