The village looked just like the Haizhu Village they had seen before, with the same layout of houses.
It was already deep into the night, and every household had extinguished their lamps and candles and were resting.
Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka wandered through the village, navigating the paths toward the shrine.
Surprisingly, guards stood on both sides of the road leading to the sea.
The two hid behind a large rock, not daring to approach.
Nakano Asaka whispered, "It's really strange. What are they guarding here in the middle of the night? Do they not want anyone to get close to the sea? Miyamoto Satoshi said that people who grew up by the sea should feel close to it. Why would they not want people near the water?"
Gu Zhan replied, "They probably don't want anyone getting close to the shrine."
That shrine, filled with a bloody stench, felt ominous.
Combined with the tight security, Gu Zhan had a bad feeling. "They might be using human blood to offer something related to the sea."
"Huh?" Nakano Asaka was bewildered. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
Gu Zhan said, "The smell of blood from the shrine has lingered long after we arrived, indicating it has been soaked in blood for a long time."
"The shrine is a place for worshiping deities. What is the long-term activity performed in front of the shrine? Aside from sacrifices, there's nothing else. Chishima Kei also mentioned that the smell of blood is strong and doesn't seem like it could come from poultry. The easiest source related to sacrifices is human beings."
While saying this, Gu Zhan kept a calm gaze on the guards by the sea.
Nakano Asaka was horrified by his conclusion, his eyes wide with fear.
The horror level of Haizhu Village using human sacrifices was fifty percent; if they had been using them for a long time, it was a hundred percent... When Gu Zhan spoke about this expressionlessly, it became a thousand percent terrifying!
Don't say such frightening things so casually!
But Gu Zhan truly did not feel afraid.
In fact, he was somewhat curious about what was happening in Haizhu Village.
He carefully observed the guards by the sea, looking for an opportunity to get through.
Unfortunately, they were very cautious, and after crouching for a long time, they did not see any negligence.
The seaside was lined with steep cliffs; climbing would be too dangerous in such darkness.
Gu Zhan said, "Forget it, this way is blocked. Let's head back."
As they walked back, Nakano Asaka suddenly realized with a chill, "They want to treat us as sacrifices!"
Gu Zhan: "…"
A hint of admiration flashed in Gu Zhan's eyes.
Surviving with such dullness was a skill in itself.
"But…" Nakano Asaka looked back at the sea. How could Gu Zhan remain so calm when they were to be treated as sacrifices?
Having already consumed a lot of time investigating in the village, it was beginning to dawn on their return journey.
Gu Zhan suggested they head back first.
Just as they were about to reach the village chief's house, someone suddenly rushed out from the side. The person hurriedly bumped into Gu Zhan, but fortunately, he dodged in time.
At that moment, hurried footsteps approached from behind, followed by a sharp voice: "Don't run! Stop!"
The person ran forward without looking back, leaving Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka behind.
Nakano Makoto was stunned and hadn't reacted yet when Gu Zhan pulled him.
"Run."
They were also "illegal residents" in the village; being discovered would be terrible.
Gu Zhan had great strength, yanking Nakano Asaka off balance, almost dragging him away... After they turned a corner, Gu Zhan finally let go, and Nakano Asaka landed on his feet, following Gu Zhan as they ran wildly.
He noticed that Gu Zhan was still following that person.
The individual wasn’t as fast as Gu Zhan and was soon caught up to; the three twisted and turned, finally shaking off their pursuers. They had reached the outskirts of the village, and ahead lay the deep mountains.
The person being chased was utterly baffled. He stopped under a tree, gasping for breath, and cautiously looked at Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka: "What do you want? Why are you chasing me?"
Nakano Asaka took the initiative, "Why did you run? If you hadn’t run, we wouldn’t have chased you."
"You!" The man was cornered but couldn’t raise his voice for fear of alarming the nearby guards. He glanced at Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka and said, "Are you outsiders?"
"Yes, what about it?" Nakano Makoto asked.
"…" The man probably realized he couldn't shake off Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka and gave up. "Forget it, it’s not convenient to talk here. Follow me."
He led Gu Zhan and Nakano Asaka outside the village to a dilapidated hut in the forest, where a woman was surprisingly present.
She seemed injured and couldn't move within the house. Upon seeing the man bring back company, her expression turned panic-stricken.
The man reassured her, "Don’t be afraid; they are outsiders."
As soon as she heard they were outsiders, the woman relaxed.
The man introduced, "My name is Masaki Taro, and this is… my sister, Masaki Akiko."
His expression while speaking was quite unnatural.
Nakano Asaka asked, "You are from Haizhu Village, right? Why are you here? And why are you being chased?"
Masaki Taro spoke in a low voice, "That… that’s because we, as siblings, have offended a big shot in the village. They couldn’t stand us, so they sent people to hunt us down…"
Before he could finish, Gu Zhan interrupted, "That’s not right."
"You are not siblings, and the reason for leaving the village is not that you offended someone."
As soon as Gu Zhan said this, both of them changed their expressions.
Especially Masaki Taro, who looked extremely panicked: "What nonsense are you talking about… How can you say we are not siblings? And how can you say we didn't offend anyone…"
Gu Zhan replied, "When you mentioned her name, your expression clearly hesitated, indicating she is not called that, or at least, doesn’t share that surname."
"You and she only relaxed after hearing we were outsiders, meaning outsiders pose no threat to you. If you had truly offended someone, outsiders wouldn’t necessarily be safe; we might have been hired to find you."
"…" Masaki Taro's eyes shifted. "You… you are right. We are not siblings but a couple. Her father disapproved of our marriage, and we were planning to elope. We didn’t expect her to get injured, and it’s very remote here. We couldn’t leave with her injury, so I took the risk to return just to steal some medicine to treat her injury…"
"Still not right." Gu Zhan continued, "You might really be trying to escape, but the reason for your escape is definitely not because of an elopement."
Masaki Taro was irritated by Gu Zhan's rebuttal: "What do you know? What makes you say we're not eloping?"
Gu Zhan said, "The entire village is currently under lockdown, even the seaside is being guarded at night, which means the village is about to hold a very important event—this event is the sacrificial ritual... The only ones who need to escape at this time are the people chosen as sacrifices."
"The reason you lowered your guard around us isn’t because we are outsiders, but because we are just like you—sacrificial offerings."
After Gu Zhan said this calmly, not only were the NPCs stunned, but even Nakano Asaka was shocked.
Oh my god, how can he be so sharp, so impressive!
Masaki Taro was completely struck to the core, unable to say a word.
After a long silence, he muttered, "How do you know everything..."
Gu Zhan replied, "It's simple."
After being caught in two lies, Masaki Taro's face turned red, clearly frustrated.
Gu Zhan said, "Tell us the origin of this sacrificial ritual."
His tone was so matter-of-fact that Masaki Taro became enraged, saying, "Just because you ask, I have to tell you? I don't know! Anyway, you're the ones marked as sacrifices now, so what does it have to do with me?!"
Nakano Asaka couldn’t hold back: "I've never seen anyone as clueless as you. My big brother already figured out your identity, so why not just cooperate? You say we’re the ones listed as sacrifices… Do you believe I won’t grab you right now and hand you over to be a sacrifice too?"
Masaki Taro sneered, "Even if you take us back, the ones to be sacrificed will still be you."
Gu Zhan calmly said, "You're right, but we only arrived this afternoon, and now it's already night. Since you're still trying to escape, it means that having us here isn’t enough."
"As of now, our goals are aligned. With one more person helping, our chances of leaving this place are higher... Otherwise, once we are sacrificed, you'll be next."
【Hello everyone, this eloquent guy is my husband】
【He may not talk much usually, but whenever he does, it’s crucial! Like the last time he persuaded the head nurse, all thanks to his quick wit】
【How did he know Masaki Taro was also a sacrifice? Masaki Taro didn’t even say anything!】
【Actually, it's not that hard to guess. Looking back at this storyline, the clues are all interconnected. But even with these connections, it's still hindsight. The fact that he’s in the middle of it all and can deduce the correct conclusion is truly impressive】
【Not that impressive—there’s definitely a bit of luck involved】
Outside of the game, in the white metropolis, time was synchronized with the in-game storyline, and several days had passed.
Yu Yezhou was still engrossed in watching the live stream, enjoying it thoroughly, keeping the stream open even while eating and sleeping.
Luckily, the system was quite convenient, allowing it to be carried around.
Yang Lin had checked in on him twice over the past three days, only to find him still glued to the live stream. Unable to resist, she said, "Enough already. Who watches a live stream non-stop for days on end? You’re acting like an obsessed fan."
In response, Yu Yezhou lifted his head from the screen, his eyes bloodshot and full of excitement, "This person, I have to have them!"
Yang Lin: "..." He looks even more like an obsessed fan now.
—
Having been exposed by Gu Zhan, Masaki Taro deflated like a punctured balloon. "You really are smart… You've got everything right. Our village is indeed holding a sacrificial ritual in three days, and we were the two originally chosen... But when you arrived before the ritual, the village chief must have decided to make you the sacrifices instead."
Nakano Asaka was shocked: "You’re using humans as sacrifices, and you need two at once!?"
Masaki Taro looked uncomfortable again, averting his gaze and staring at the ground, "Yes... I heard that in the past, the ritual only required a small amount of blood. But as time went on, the sea god's demands increased."
"Now, each ritual requires two living people... Koko and I were the chosen sacrifices this time."
Nakano Asaka was dumbfounded. He pointed at himself and Gu Zhan, stammering for a while before finally saying, "But there are five of us! That’s enough for two rituals—why are you still running? Why are those people still chasing you?"
Masaki Taro raised his head, his expression dazed, "Our village holds this ritual every month."
"????"
Nakano Asaka could hardly believe his ears. What kind of twisted sacrificial ritual happens every month? That means they kill two people every month! This village can’t be that large—could it be that everyone here has been sacrificed already, leaving no one alive?
No wonder there wasn’t a soul when they arrived at Haizhu Village!
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