"There’s a place by the sea called Haizhu Village, but it doesn’t appear on the map because no one lives there."
"Supernatural events often occur here. The client has asked us to investigate! He offered a generous reward!"
The girl’s clear voice echoed in his mind, accompanied by countless mixed memories.
"Congratulations on getting into Hayata University! It’s one of the top universities in the country, so make sure to study hard."
"Welcome to the Paranormal Folklore Research Club! This is our president, Chishima Kei."
"...Have you heard of Haizhu Village? Summer vacation is just around the corner, and I received a commission... Let's go to Haizhu Village together!"
Gu Zhan listened carefully and quickly understood his identity in this instance.
He was a student at Hayata University, named Akiyama Natsumi.
After enrolling, he joined a paranormal folklore research club.
Just before summer vacation, President Chishima Kei said she received a commission that could earn them a lot of money. Their club was small, and funding had always been tight; completing this commission would provide enough funding for their projects in the next semester.
Thus, a group of them came to this remote area to find the so-called Haizhu Village...
After processing this information, Gu Zhan opened his eyes, and a flickering flame dazzled him.
It seemed to be dark already. He was sitting with a group of people around a bonfire.
The people next to him should also be players.
Once everyone opened their eyes, one of the girls said, "I'm Chishima Kei... the president of the Paranormal Folklore Club. You all should know me, right?"
The others nodded in agreement.
Chishima Kei continued, "Let’s introduce ourselves."
According to the rules of the instance, if players are given identities, they should interact with others using those identities.
In the previous instance, all players lost their identities at the beginning, and everyone shared their real names—whether they were actually real names was impossible to verify.
After Chishima Kei spoke, a boy next to her said, "I'm also a club member. My name is Nakano Asaka."
Another girl added, "I’m Morinaga Shizuko, also a member of the folklore club."
Gu Zhan then introduced himself.
Once all the club members had shared their names, everyone turned their attention to the other two individuals. One girl said, "My name is Takagawa Ayaka. I’m not a student at Hayata University. I met Chishima Kei online, and I've been very interested in Haizhu Village. When I heard you were coming, I decided to join."
"Yeah, I’m also interested in Haizhu Village," said another boy. "I’m Miyamoto Satoshi. You all should know me; I’m the owner of the café at the school gate where you often hang out. I overheard you discussing your trip to Haizhu Village at my café and casually asked if I could join you."
Indeed, both of them spoke correctly. Before coming, Chishima Kei had informed Gu Zhan about Takagawa Ayaka’s identity, and Gu Zhan's memories included Miyamoto Satoshi’s request to join.
After everyone had shared their identities, Chishima Kei said, "It seems we all have the same information, so there are no problems."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After getting to know each other, they began to look around their surroundings.
At that moment, they were camping on a hillside. It was completely dark, and the only light came from the bonfire in front of them. There were two tents set up next to the bonfire.
To the east of the hillside was a cliff. Standing at the edge, they could see a village in the valley below—this should be Haizhu Village, the place they were headed to.
Further away was a pitch-black area, and the wind carried a salty, moist scent; they could vaguely hear the sound of waves.
The sound of the waves was heavy and deep. Given its intensity, it wasn’t a lake; it should be the sea.
The village nestled in the valley looked strange. It wasn’t very large, but a layer of black mist enveloped it, preventing the moonlight from penetrating. Just looking at it from afar made one feel suffocated and oppressed.
Chishima Kei couldn’t help but say, "We’re not resting at home during summer vacation, but instead, we come to explore a place like this? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?"
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, "Indeed, in situations like this, we’re not far from danger."
As soon as he finished speaking, the others shot him disapproving glances.
Miyamoto Satoshi chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head, saying, "Sorry, sorry."
This group of players clearly had no newcomers among them; everyone was quite composed.
After observing Haizhu Village, Chishima Kei said, "We plan to go there tomorrow. The village is right below us, but it should take some time to get there... Let's go back and rest while discussing what to do tomorrow."
They returned to the campsite from the cliff.
Chishima Kei said, "Since we all have identities, we should also have some personal belongings. Let’s see if we can find anything related to Haizhu Village."
There were three males and three females in total, with two tents set up, clearly one for boys and one for girls. Gu Zhan casually lifted the flap of one tent, revealing that the luggage inside had already been unpacked, with a dress laid out on top.
This was a girl’s tent.
The three boys headed toward the other tent.
Upon entering the tent, another boy who had been silent cautiously said, "Seeing how calm you all are, you must have gone through many instances before, right?"
Miyamoto Satoshi smiled, "Well, I’ve done about ten instances."
Nakano Asaka said enviously, "That's impressive! This is only my third time going through an instance, and I don't even know how this one will go."
Turning to Gu Zhan, he asked, "What about you?"
Gu Zhan replied nonchalantly, "I forgot."
"Wow!" Nakano Asaka immediately became even more envious. "You must have done so many that you can’t even remember! You're a pro! We’re counting on you this time!"
Gu Zhan: "…"
Gu Zhan simply didn’t want to attract trouble. In the last instance, he revealed he was a newcomer, which resulted in the scenario targeting him.
But he didn’t want to lie, so he had to "politely" say he forgot.
Unexpectedly, Nakano Asaka misunderstood him.
Forget it; he couldn’t be bothered to explain.
Gu Zhan shifted the topic. "Let’s see how to divide the luggage."
"Okay." Miyamoto Satoshi, looking friendly, walked over to the pile of luggage, squatted down, and said in surprise, "Hey, you two have tags on your bags."
He pulled out two backpacks.
The two bags looked very similar, apparently issued by the school, and indeed, they had the names of the two individuals on them.
Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka each picked up their respective bags.
The remaining small suitcase belonged to Miyamoto Satoshi.
He opened the suitcase, which contained some clothing, and underneath the clothes was a box of concentrated coffee powder. He took out the coffee powder and remarked, "I guess I really am a café owner."
Gu Zhan opened his backpack and found, besides clothes, a handwritten notebook and a stack of unfamiliar talisman papers.
Nakano Asaka’s bag was filled with daily necessities and snacks. Besides that, there was a folklore guide, which looked brand new and showed no signs of being flipped through. Nakano Asaka pulled out a protective amulet and said, "I guess my character is quite timid. I heard we were going to a ghost village, so I went to a temple to get this talisman."
He held up the amulet with a grin and said, "Perfect! I’m also quite timid, so this belongs to me."
Miyamoto Satoshi glanced at him and joked, "Aren’t you afraid that this is a trap in the instance? Wearing it might attract ghosts!"
Nakano Asaka jumped in fright and immediately threw the amulet away. After throwing it, he realized Miyamoto Satoshi was just joking, and he complained, "Big bro, I really am very timid. Don’t scare me!"
Miyamoto Satoshi laughed.
Nakano Asaka didn’t dare touch the amulet again. He stuffed it back in his bag and pulled out a homework assignment.
"I guess I don’t have anything useful here."
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, "I don’t have anything useful either."
Gu Zhan took out the notebook, laid it open on the ground, and the three of them looked at it together.
"July 15th, Chishima is very excited. She said we got a commission from someone who wants us to go to a place called Haizhu Village and perform a summoning ritual there, recording it on video with our phones to send to him."
"For each summoning ritual we perform, the client will pay us ten thousand. Is this what they call a foolish person with too much money? Chishima has already discussed with him to do at least three rituals, and she wants me to find a way to summon spirits… She just throws everything at me."
"Besides the traditional spirit-summoning methods, we can also use mirrors. It’s said that at midnight, if you light a white candle in front of a mirror and start peeling an apple, you can summon a spirit… Why an apple and not an orange or a pear? Are we summoning the apple spirit?"
"We need to prepare two full-length mirrors; standing in the middle can also summon spirits… Full-length mirrors are too cumbersome to transport; let’s change that, change that..."
It seemed he hadn’t found other summoning methods yet, as the diary entry abruptly ended here.
The three of them looked up and fell into silence for a moment.
Nakano Asaka and Miyamoto Satoshi wore similar expressions, both thinking that this Akiyama Natsumi had gone mad.
Summoning spirits!
Not only were they going to a mysterious village, but they also had to summon spirits inside it—wasn’t this like the beginning of a ghost movie where the expendable characters were asking for trouble?
Nakano Asaka said, "Can we not do this…"
Before he could finish his sentence, a loud thunderclap suddenly erupted outside, shaking the ground as if it were right above their heads.
"…"
It seemed they had no choice; he quietly withdrew that thought.
After a while, a girl's voice came from outside, "What were you guys doing just now? Why did it thunder outside?"
Gu Zhan lifted the tent flap and found the girls were all outside.
There wasn’t enough space inside the tent, so they had all gone out.
Chishima Kei was holding a phone and said, "I have chat records with the client on my phone. It seems he asked us to do something... Do you all know about it?"
Gu Zhan handed her the notebook and said, "He wants us to hold a summoning ritual in the village."
"Ah..." Upon hearing about this ominous activity, the girls responded similarly.
Nakano Asaka immediately added, "I wanted to avoid doing it, but then it thundered. It seems we have no choice; this commission must be completed. It's the storyline of the instance."
Chishima Kei: "…"
Even though she wasn’t the one who accepted the commission, hearing this still made her feel uneasy.
What kind of behavior was this, deliberately seeking death?
Nakano Asaka pulled out the folklore guide again and said, "Besides that, we seem to know nothing about this place."
On the girls' side, Takagawa Ayaka said, "I actually have some information about Haizhu Village."
She took out a tablet, which had a dedicated folder for materials related to Haizhu Village.
Takagawa Ayaka said, "This is an abandoned village that hasn’t been marked on the map for a long time, but there are various legends about it, claiming that a deity lives here. If one can summon him, he can grant wishes... To be honest, my character is a student who wants to attend Hayata University, but she failed the entrance exam and ended up in a low-tier school."
"She has always been a believer in the metaphysical. This time, she’s focused on Haizhu Village because she thinks that if she can summon the deity, her wish to become a Hayata University student can come true. She’s been posting everywhere online until she met you all."
Nakano Asaka couldn’t help but say, “If you want to get into Hayata University, you can just retake the exam. Why do you have to seek a deity?”
Takagawa Ayaka sighed, “Is it possible that for this person, relying on themselves to get into university is less appealing than praying to gods?”
“...Alright.” This was something Nakano Asaka hadn’t considered.
“And besides, gods and ghostly spirits are not the same concept, right?” Miyamoto Satoshi said. “If you want to seek a deity, why come to a place like this?”
Takagawa Ayaka replied, “Our names are quite special. Have you all done other dungeons with similar worlds? In this type of world, the distinction between gods and ghostly spirits seems minimal. Many things, once infused with a wish, can transcend to become spirits or deities, simply fulfilling the desires of mortals. Ghostly spirits are sufficient for that.”
Nakano Asaka chimed in, “I get it, I get it! It’s that kind of world where any random pot or bowl, once worshipped, can become sentient.”
Chishima Kei said, “In any case, based on the information we have, we definitely have to go to Haizhu Village... Let’s all rest for now. We’ll set out for Haizhu Village tomorrow.”
She was right; speculating further here wouldn’t change the fact that the dungeon's storyline couldn’t be violated.
The dungeon had just begun, and there were many unclear things. It was useless to rush.
The group then dispersed, each returning to their tents to rest.
Once back in the tent, Miyamoto Satoshi said, “I want to go for a walk. Does anyone want to come with me?”
Nakano Asaka replied, “It’s pitch black outside; what’s there to see?”
Miyamoto Satoshi said, “Not necessarily. The main battlefield of this dungeon is definitely the village, but who knows if there are clues outside the village? If we wait until we enter the village tomorrow, it might be too late to think of them.”
He made a good point, and Gu Zhan also stood up, saying, “I’ll go with you.”
“…” Since Gu Zhan was going, Nakano Asaka had no choice but to follow. He didn’t want to be left alone in the tent.
As soon as they stepped outside, they found the girls from the opposite tent had also come out.
Miyamoto Satoshi laughed, “Looks like we all have the same idea.”
It was better with more people, ensuring that no one hid any clues.
However, it was already dark, and the surroundings were filled with rocks and trees. They could only find a small path, and using the dim light from their phone flashlights, they walked along the path for a while without discovering anything.
No wonder this group chose not to continue walking and instead set up camp.
At night, the conditions were unclear, making it easy to encounter accidents.
After walking in circles without finding anything, Chishima Kei suggested, “Let’s head back. We should rest early to conserve energy for tomorrow.”
The others agreed, and they all returned together.
As they prepared their sleeping bags, Nakano Asaka sighed, “We don’t even have proper lighting equipment, yet we remembered to bring tents and sleeping bags. It’s just…”
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, “This shows we know that this village is remote; it might take a whole day of walking just to return… Didn’t Chishima Kei say there’s a client? That client probably knows about this village, but they didn’t explain the village’s origins to us.”
Nakano Makoto lay down in his sleeping bag and said to the other two, “Goodnight, see you tomorrow. I hope I can still see you both tomorrow.”
After saying that, he closed his eyes.
Miyamoto also opened his sleeping bag and crawled inside.
Nakano Makoto fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, and his breathing gradually grew heavier.
Seeing that Gu Zhan was still awake, Miyamoto said, “Hurry up and sleep; otherwise, you’ll be kept awake by his snoring.”
Gu Zhan paused and replied, “Thanks.”
Then he lay down as well.
Once he lay down, the surroundings grew quiet. Nakano Asaka’s snoring mixed with the sound of the waves outside... gradually merging into Gu Zhan's dreams.
He had a dream in which the sea was boundless, yet turbulent and dark.
Beneath the pitch-black surface of the sea, something was churning... as if it could break through the surface of the water at any moment...
Before dawn, Gu Zhan woke up.
The two boys beside him were still asleep, especially Nakano Asaka whose snoring was thunderous.
Lying next to him was a form of torture, so Gu Zhan decided to get up.
The air outside was slightly cool. When Gu Zhan opened the tent, the sea breeze nearly knocked him over, so he went back to grab a jacket.
Haizhu Village looked murky and unclear at night, with thick fog, making it seem like it could be haunted at any moment. However, during the day, it was refreshing with the sea breeze and clear skies.
The mountains were not too high, allowing Gu Zhan to see the arrangement of houses in the village clearly. It seemed like no one had lived there for a long time; the roads were overgrown with weeds, and the walls of the houses were covered in green moss.
The sea was further away from the village, separated by a mountain.
Haizhu Village was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a small road leading out of the village.
That road forked near the village entrance; one path went up the mountain, while the other wound down toward the sea.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? This village is by the sea, yet there are no boats or docks,” Miyamoto’s voice came from behind.
Gu Zhan turned around and saw Miyamoto rubbing his forehead, looking pained. “I knew it! He snores so loudly; it’s too noisy.”
He approached Gu Zhan, with the cliff and the village below them, and the sea further away: “What I said just now might have sounded a bit abrupt; I apologize. Before coming here, my family lived by the sea. I used to go fishing with my father since I was a child, and right after school, I would go to the beach to collect shells and crabs... So, I find it strange that in a place so close to the sea, there aren't any boats going out.”
Gu Zhan replied, “You’re right; I also find it strange.”
Miyamoto Satoshi asked, “What about the others? Are they up yet?”
Gu Zhan shook his head, “I don’t know.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the tent next to them opened, and three girls emerged, all dressed and ready.
Seeing the two of them, Chikaoka Kei said, “You’re both up! Have something to eat; we’re preparing to head into the village... Huh? Where’s Nakano?”
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, “I’ll go wake him up.”
—
Nakano Asaka clearly had a serious case of morning grumpiness, but he was still called out of bed by Miyamoto Satoshi.
A group of them had a little something to eat before preparing to descend the mountain.
The cliff was very close to the village, but the rock face was steep, and there was no path, making it impossible for them, ordinary people, to navigate.
They could only take a detour, going down the mountain and then into the village.
This detour took them all morning, and it was just before noon when they finally entered the village.
Each of them had their mobile devices, but it was clear that there was nowhere to charge them in this place.
Moreover, since entering the village, their phones had no signal.
They first wandered around the village; most of the houses were unlocked. Occasionally, there were some locked, but they had been eroded by the sea breeze for years, and the locks were so damaged that they would fall off with a light tug.
Inside the houses, there were fruit bowls and pots, and even bedding was present. Some houses even had dining utensils laid out on the table, with bowls containing uneaten food that had rotted and weathered over the years, leaving only a vague black mass.
“Ugh, in a place like this, with walls letting in wind, how can we hold a summoning ceremony?”
Morinaga Shizuko waved away the nearby spider webs in disgust and said, “Do we really have to stay here for several days?”
Miyamoto Satoshi replied with a smile, “If nothing unexpected happens, we might have to stay for quite a while.”
They would likely spend most of their time in this instance here.
Morinaga Shizuko: “…”
Chishima Kei said, “Let’s check out another house. When I was up there, I saw that the largest house was at the back of the village. It looked quite luxurious, maybe it’s more resistant to corrosion and can still be lived in.”
Just as she finished speaking, her phone suddenly rang.
Chishima Kei took it out and said, “It’s the client contacting me.”
Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks.
Chishima Kei held the phone in front of them, and it displayed the client’s chat history.
“It looks like you have arrived at Haizhu Village.”
“Send me the video of the first summoning ceremony tonight. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Chishima Kei said, “He seems very anxious. Should we try to refuse him?”
Everyone fell silent, and after a moment, Miyamoto Satoshi said, “Maybe we can give it a try.”
Chishima Kei began to talk with the client.
“We have already arrived at Haizhu Village, but it’s quite strange here. Can we not…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly twitched as if she had been electrocuted, throwing the phone away.
Then, she cried out in agony, curling up on the ground and convulsing repeatedly.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Are you okay?”
The group rushed over and helped her up from the ground. After convulsing for a while, Chishima Kei gradually returned to normal.
In less than half a minute, she was drenched in cold sweat.
Weakly leaning against Morinaga Shizuko, she gave everyone an apologetic smile: “Sorry, it seems like… we can’t refuse.”
This result wasn’t unexpected.
Miyamoto Satoshi, who had nodded first, apologized to Chishima Kei: “I’m sorry, if it weren’t for me asking you to try…”
“It’s fine,” Chishima Kei replied. “I wanted to give it a try as well. Only after trying can we truly give up, right?”
After resting, Chishima Kei asked Gu Zhan, “Didn’t you write down the steps for the summoning ceremony in your diary? Let’s take a look at it.”
Gu Zhan took out the diary, and they all began to study how to perform the summoning.
In the end, they decided to try the simplest method first: lighting candles and peeling apples in front of a mirror.
Gu Zhan had researched the summoning steps and had prepared the apples in advance.
However, the question became who would perform the summoning ceremony.
“This summoning ceremony only requires one person. How about we draw lots? For the next summoning ceremony, we can also use a lottery system, and those who have performed the ceremony won’t participate in the second draw. What do you think?”
Chishima Kei’s suggestion seemed reasonable, and everyone agreed.
So, they made six identical slips of paper, five of which were marked “No” and one marked “Yes.” The person who drew “Yes” would perform the summoning ceremony.
“Let’s start. I’ll count to three, and we’ll reveal the contents of the slips at the same time.”
Chishima Kei took the first slip of paper, and everyone followed suit.
As she counted down, “Three, two, one!”
All six slips were turned over at once, and only one had “Yes” written on it. Looking up, they saw that the person holding it was Gu Zhan.
Chishima Kei felt a little sorry: “I’m sorry, this…”
“It’s fine, I can do it,” Gu Zhan replied nonchalantly; he actually felt quite eager to participate.
In real life, such a summoning ceremony would undoubtedly fail. Even if they “summoned something,” it would likely just be someone playing tricks.
But in this place, it might be different; they could actually summon something.
How could this not be considered “full of infinite possibilities”?
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