Since they were already here, they had to go in.
The cave was pitch black, and standing outside, they couldn’t make out anything.
Miyamoto Satoshi said, "Let’s go in and take a look."
Only then did everyone proceed inside.
The further they went into the cave, the lower the ground became, with puddles forming at their feet. In the empty cave, the sound of their footsteps splashing in the water echoed.
When they reached the innermost part, they were surprised to find a small shrine.
Takagawa said softly, "According to the information I found earlier, this place has a history of worshiping deities. It’s very likely that this is a shrine dedicated to them."
However, what was placed on the shrine was not a statue of a deity but rather a dark, wooden-like object.
Miyamoto Satoshi picked up a small stick from the side and poked at the object, but it didn’t budge.
This dark object seemed to have fused with the shrine.
"What is it?" Nakano Asaka asked nervously.
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, "I don’t know, it’s hard… It doesn’t move. This probably isn’t a deity, right? This place is by the sea, and it looks like the tide might come in here… Maybe it’s the corpse of some aquatic creature?"
Chishima Kei said, "I don’t think so either. When the villagers left, they should have already moved the statue."
"Maybe."
After discussing for a while, they couldn’t reach any conclusions.
At that moment, a sudden thunderclap echoed from outside, followed by the wailing sound of the wind.
The sound of the waves roared like a beast, crashing into the cave, and because of the narrow walls, it echoed, becoming increasingly deafening.
The group was startled. Miyamoto Satoshi said, "Is the tide coming in?"
"Tide coming in?" Nakano Makoto panicked instantly. "Doesn’t that mean this place will be flooded? We need to hurry and get out!"
Miyamoto Satoshi said, "It shouldn’t be flooded immediately, but it’s best we leave."
They hurriedly made their way out of the cave, but when they emerged, they found that it had already grown dark outside.
"Hey? It’s dark?"
Although they had gotten up late, it shouldn’t have gotten dark so quickly after walking such a short distance!
Chikishima Kei said in astonishment, "Is it because it’s going to rain?"
Gu Zhan frowned and took a couple of steps forward. A violent sea wind hit them head-on; they seemed to be in the eye of a storm, with dark clouds covering the sky. However, he keenly noticed that this place… seemed different from before.
The bloody smell from the cave behind them seemed fresher.
From the distant hillside, faint voices could be heard.
Chishima Kei’s expression turned to one of shock. "Wasn’t this Haizhu Village empty for a long time?!"
"Yes," Takagawa Ayaka said in a panic. "What’s going on?"
"Let’s go take a look," Miyamoto Satoshi said.
As they stepped out of the cave, they were confronted by a group of men carrying torches. They were all dressed in strange clothing.
It looked like clothing from a bygone era.
The men were also surprised to see them, and one shouted loudly, "Foreigners!"
Immediately, a crowd rushed up and surrounded them.
“There are foreigners who broke into the shrine!”
“Take them to the village chief!”
They chattered as they approached, completely encircling Gu Zhan.
Nakano Asaka unsure of what was happening, was about to make a move, but Gu Zhan stopped him and said, “Don’t be hasty.”
Nakano Asaka who usually listened to him quickly halted.
The crowd surrounded them and led them toward the village.
Although it was nighttime, there were lights on either side of the road. Gu Zhan recognized that they were in Haizhu Village; they hadn’t gone anywhere strange.
However, the previously dilapidated houses in Haizhu Village now appeared intact, and even the deserted areas emanated signs of life.
Nakano Asaka noticed something was off and whispered, “It seems like we’ve returned to a time when the village still had people living in it.”
They soon arrived at a large house in the village, and only then did they realize it was the village chief's home.
The village chief was an elderly man with gray hair who surprisingly looked quite amiable.
Seeing the five people surrounded, he smiled slightly and said, “Hello did we scare you?”
As he spoke, a thunderclap resonated, startling the people inside the house. The village chief seemed accustomed to it, lifting his head slightly to look in the direction of the thunder.
He frowned a little, showing a hint of displeasure.
But soon, his expression returned to calm. He smiled at the group and said, “You must have stumbled in here by mistake. Tsk tsk, how unfortunate. A storm is coming, and it’s best not to wander around tonight.”
The other players exchanged glances, deciding to go along with the village chief's words.
“Right, right, we got lost while traveling. Can you tell us where this place is?”
“Traveling?” The village chief seemed unfamiliar with the term but didn’t dwell on it. He answered readily, “This is Haizhu Village. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. We are situated by the mountains and facing the sea. If you want to leave, you’ll have to go over the mountain outside the village. It’s dangerous to travel at night, so why not stay here overnight? My house is quite large, and you can rest there.”
Miyamoto Satoshi paused for a moment and said, “Can we discuss this?”
The village chief nodded with a smile, “Sure.”
Miyamoto Satoshi turned to the others and asked, “What do you all think?”
The others exchanged uncertain glances; they didn’t really have a better option.
However, the village chief's attitude was indeed a bit strange.
He seemed very eager for them to stay.
“Let’s stay; the wind and rain outside are so strong, and we don’t know the road conditions…” Chishima Kei pretended to discuss hesitantly saying.
Mainly because they didn’t know the situation of this instance it was a crucial opportunity to gather information; they definitely couldn’t leave.
Takagawa Ayaka also said, “Yes, yes, let’s stay. I don’t want to get caught in the rain.”
Who knew what unfortunate things might happen if they left? Avoiding the plot could lead to penalties in the instance.
Nakano Asaka said, “I have no objections.”
Miyamoto Satoshi looked at Gu Zhan who said, “No objections.”
Miyamoto Satoshi turned to the village chief and said, “My companions would also like to stay here. Thank you for your hospitality… May I ask your name?”
The village chief replied, “I am the village chief of Haizhu Village. My name isn’t worth mentioning; you can just call me ‘village chief.’”
“Okay.” Miyamoto Satoshi nodded, “Thank you, village chief. We appreciate it.”
The village chief smiled and said, “It’s no trouble at all. I’ve already prepared for you… ah, I mean, I have many empty guest rooms in my house that are perfect for you to rest in. Follow me.”
The group exchanged glances and followed the village chief.
The village chief asked, “Since you have quite a few people, how many rooms do you need?”
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, “One room is enough.”
“One room?” The village chief seemed surprised. He turned to look at the group of men and women and suddenly shook his head. “Has the outside world become so open? Whatever, I’m just an old man who doesn’t understand these things…”
“One room it is then. Do you need anything else?”
To avoid raising suspicions, they all chimed in with some not-so-important daily necessities, and the village chief nodded, indicating he would have someone prepare them.
Then Miyamoto Satoshi mentioned that they had been blown by the wind and splashed by seawater outside, wanting to change clothes and freshen up.
The village chief understood and advised them that they would eat dinner outside soon, then he left.
After the village chief left, Takagawa Ayaka said dejectedly, “We’ve been treated as strange people.”
“Being treated as strange people is better than being dead,” Nakano Asaka said. “What should we do now?”
“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Miyamoto Satoshi said.
They pretended to linger in the room for a while, then followed the village chief's instructions to go out for dinner.
The meal was again placed on the familiar large table they had used before.
It was filled with delicious dishes.
The steaming dishes were visually appealing and flavorful.
Nakano Asaka’s stomach audibly growled without reservation.
He covered his stomach and whispered, “I… didn’t I just eat? What’s going on?”
Miyamoto Satoshi laughed, “If you’re hungry, just eat.”
Nakano Asaka was worried, “Do you think there’s something wrong with this food?”
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, “Even if there is a problem, we have to eat. We’ll probably be staying here for a while; we can’t starve ourselves.”
“If the plot twist leads to this point, then dying is dying; it’s not unfair.” Chishima Kei said this as she sat down at the table.
Nakano Asaka thought about it and felt she was right, so he sat down as well.
The food tasted normal; nothing seemed off.
They quickly finished the meal and returned to their room to rest.
But no one expected that as soon as they returned to the room, a huge surprise awaited them.
The jar that had disappeared from Gu Zhan’s room… appeared in front of everyone once again.
It stood quietly in the center of the room, as if it had always been there.
But they distinctly remembered that when they left, there was nothing in the middle of the room!
At the sight of the jar, Chishima Kei's emotions crumbled, and she couldn't help but shout, "How could it be here!! Why!! I clearly…"
"What do you mean 'clearly'?" Miyamoto Satoshi sharply noticed Chikishima Kei's abnormality.
"N-no, it’s nothing." Chikishima Kei immediately stopped but continued to nervously stare at the ceramic jar.
The appearance of the jar was anything but coincidental; it likely represented something significant.
No one was willing to approach except for Gu Zhan, who walked up to the jar, bent down, and examined it closely.
"You..." Chishima Kei wanted to dissuade him, but then thought better of it; if he didn’t look, perhaps no one would. Ultimately, she swallowed her words.
Gu Zhan remained silent for a long time, and Takagawa Ayaka, growing impatient, asked, "What’s going on?"
Gu Zhan finally stood up, saying, "It's the same as before."
He had previously examined the jar several times and remembered even the tiniest cracks on it.
He was certain it was the same one.
The expressions on everyone's faces changed simultaneously.
How could this happen... This was supposed to be Haizhu Village from many years ago; how could the jar they encountered earlier appear here?
Gu Zhan asked, "Should we try sending the jar away again?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
"Send it!"
Even though they knew the chances were slim, what if...
This time, Gu Zhan didn’t move; no one touched the jar.
Chishima Kei understood that Gu Zhan couldn’t keep taking the fall.
She was well aware that this time the jar probably wasn’t about selecting a person, so she gritted her teeth and stepped forward, saying, "I’ll do it."
She picked up the jar, and Gu Zhan heard something slosh inside it.
"What is this..." Chishima Kei glanced into the jar and then screamed.
Fortunately, Miyamoto Satoshi reacted quickly, reaching out to catch the jar.
Otherwise, it would have likely fallen.
Whether it shattered or not was unknown, but they could end up in trouble because of it.
"What’s wrong with you!" Takagawa Ayaka couldn't help but complain.
Chikishima Kei still shaken, replied, "I didn’t mean to... Inside, there’s blood!"
The blood odor began to waft from the jar after it had been shaken.
"How could this be..." After everything that had happened, it was clear Chishima Kei was thoroughly frightened.
Miyamoto Satoshi frowned and said, "Haven't you seen blood before? What are you scared of?"
They weren’t newcomers to this sort of instance. After multiple experiences, they had encountered their fair share of blood, corpses, and severed limbs.
A single jar of blood shouldn’t scare Chishima Kei this much.
Miyamoto Satoshi remarked, "Chishima Kei, is your sanity value dropping?"
"W-what?" Chishima Kei looked up in confusion, finally remembering to check her sanity value.
She seemed to have received a notification from the system while sleeping, but she hadn’t paid attention...
Opening the system interface revealed that her sanity value had indeed dropped by over thirty points.
Ordinary people typically have a sanity value of around 99; anything above 99 or below 50 could cause problems.
She was already on the brink of madness.
No wonder she was scared by a bit of blood.
"Why is this happening? I clearly... clearly..."
Clearly, she had sent the jar to someone else, so why was her sanity value dropping while the person receiving it was fine?
Seeing Chishima Kei grow increasingly frantic, Miyamoto Satoshi decisively stated, "I don't know what you did, but even without encountering any ghosts, scaring yourself will cause your sanity value to drop. Chishima Kei, if you don’t want to die, you need to calm down."
"Right... my sanity value must be... dropping because of myself." Chishima Kei finally forced a smile and said, "Sorry, I was just too scared. I’m sorry..."
The more she spoke, the more dazed she appeared.
Seeing her like this, Miyamoto Satoshi said, "Fine, I’ll handle it."
He was worried Chishima Kei might drop the jar.
After all, he had already touched the jar earlier.
He took the jar and headed for the door.
As Miyamoto Satoshi left, Nakano Asaka approached Gu Zhan and whispered, "Why did Chishima Kei's sanity value drop? Is it because she..."
His implication was that although Chishima Kei had sent the jar away, the jar's punishment still fell on her.
Gu Zhan shook his head; he wasn’t very familiar with the changes in sanity values within the scenario.
His sanity value had also dropped before, but after that, there didn’t seem to be any significant changes... If anything, it felt like his lowered sanity value made him more excited.
That was clearly different from what others had described.
Gu Zhan wasn’t sure if it was due to his vague talent having an effect, so he didn’t dare share it with anyone.
Miyamoto Satoshi returned quickly, empty-handed, signaling to everyone that he had placed the jar outside.
They all stared at the spot where the jar had stood.
Probably knowing they had been discovered, the jar reappeared in the center of the room in front of them after a minute.
This time, the smell of blood was even stronger.
Upon seeing the jar, Chishima Kei collapsed onto the floor.
This was indeed terrible news for everyone.
Everyone's mood soured, and no one had the heart to comfort Chishima Kei.
"I’m going outside for a walk." Takagawa Ayaka, unable to tolerate the oppressive atmosphere any longer, stood up and said she wanted to go for a walk.
The others ignored her, letting her leave.
However, Takagawa Ayaka's plan didn't come to fruition. Shortly after she left, loud voices could be heard from outside, followed by Takagawa Ayaka's angry voice, "Why? Aren’t we guests of the village head? Why can’t we go out?"
Just now, the only person who went outside was Miyamoto Satoshi.
Gu Zhan looked at Miyamoto Satoshi, who shrugged helplessly and said, "Don't look at me; there's nothing I can do... When I went to put the jar away, I saw guards at the door, so I didn't go out. I just left the jar in the courtyard and came back."
Nakano Asaka frowned. "What does that mean? Are we being held captive?"
Miyamoto Satoshi replied, "It seems like that."
“…”
As soon as he finished speaking, Takagawa Ayaka returned from outside.
Her earlier anger had been replaced with a look of fear. "We're trapped in here!"
Miyamoto Satoshi said, "I thought it was just because it was dark outside, but it seems that even when the sun comes up, it might be difficult for us to leave... I plan to climb over the wall tonight to check the situation, just in case. You all should stay here..."
"I want to go out too," Gu Zhan said immediately after Miyamoto Satoshi.
Nakano Asaka added, "If Akiyama is going out, then I want to go out too. I’ll go with him."
"But..." Takagawa Ayaka looked hesitant; she didn't want to be left behind.
Gu Zhan said, "You and Chishima should stay here."
Takagawa Ayaka was about to argue but then met Gu Zhan's calm gaze.
There was nothing in those eyes, yet it felt as though everything was there.
For a moment, Takagawa Ayaka felt that Gu Zhan had already figured out what she and Chishima had done.
He just wasn't saying it... If she didn’t agree, she didn’t know what he might do.
Why did she feel this way? This person had a weak presence after entering the dungeon and hardly spoke... He had even been friendly before, helping her and Chishima.
Yet this inexplicable sense of oppression felt like a shadow, and Takagawa Ayaka didn’t dare to argue, obediently nodding her head.
Miyamoto Satoshi wouldn’t care about whether anyone was in the room or if they would be exposed; he only did what he wanted to do.
Miyamoto Satoshi said, "Since that's the case, let's split up."
Gu Zhan had no objections.
Miyamoto Satoshi continued, "I'll go first. You all wait half an hour before you leave."
After saying this, he left.
Once he was gone, Nakano Asaka cautiously asked, "Should we wait?"
Half an hour could get them across the entire Haizhu Village!
Gu Zhan replied, "No waiting; we leave now..."
As he was speaking, he paused slightly and looked at Nakano Asaka. "Are you coming with me?"
"Of course! Boss! You're my boss now!" Nakano Asaka exclaimed. "You can't leave me behind; I have no way to get out... I'm really useful! Even if I look a bit slow, I can fight! Take me with you."
"..." Gu Zhan remained silent.
Beside them, Takagawa Ayaka watched as they openly "conspired" in front of her, not daring to speak.
She was well aware that since Chishima transferred the jar, and because of the jar her sanity value had decreased, both of them were already at a disadvantage.
Now, the situation in the dungeon was determined by Gu Zhan and Miyamoto Satoshi.
If she was smart, she could survive a few more days, but if not... Just Gu Zhan alone was enough to deal with her.
So she wisely went to a corner of the room, quietly unrolled a blanket, and made a bed on the floor.
Chishima was still lost in her own thoughts, completely oblivious to the people around her.
Gu Zhan studied Nakano Asaka for a moment, finding no lies in his words. Taking along a teammate might be useful, so he said, "Come with me."
The two left the room, and Nakano Asaka looked at Gu Zhan expectantly. He thought Gu Zhan would use some clever technique to dodge the guards' sight and directly climb over the wall to the outside. Instead, Gu Zhan told him, "Close your eyes."
"What?"
Nakano Asaka looked confused, and Gu Zhan fell silent after speaking, so he could only tentatively shut his eyes.
Immediately, Gu Zhan pressed down on his neck, and he let out a yelp as he stumbled forward.
In front of him was the courtyard wall, and he instinctively reached out to steady himself. To his surprise, as he reached the intended distance, he found he didn’t touch the wall at all; instead, he missed entirely and stumbled forward.
Fortunately, Gu Zhan caught him, preventing him from falling flat on his face.
At that moment, he seemed to hear countless ghostly howls nearby.
"What kind of noise is that...?"
Nakano Asaka complained, only to hear Gu Zhan say, "You can open your eyes now."
He opened his eyes to find that they were already outside the courtyard wall.
"Ah?" He let out another confused sound.
Gu Zhan stood beside him, unfazed.
In fact, this was the function of his item [Star Compass Watch]. It seemed to combine the abilities of Xiao Hong and the watch itself, allowing him to pass through walls into a "branch space."
It felt somewhat inappropriate to call that space a branch space; it should be called the "Star Compass Space."
However, when leaving the Star Compass Space, one could freely choose a nearby wall as an exit.
Rounding down, it could be considered a teleportation item.
However, when he entered just now, he had heard the ghosts inside still howling angrily, indicating it was dangerous... Even Gu Zhan, the owner of the watch, couldn't linger there for long.
This should be a powerful item, but at this moment, it was merely being used for transportation.
Beside him, Nakano Asaka was still in shock, while Gu Zhan said, "We need to move quickly; there's no time."
By the time they had arrived, it was already deep into the night; after eating and moving the jar, they had wasted so much time that the sky was beginning to brighten.
Nakano Asaka hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, let's go now."
Comments