"Did you see anything on your way over?" Gu Zhan asked.
Xu Yu replied, "No... The road was empty, very quiet."
Gu Zhan couldn't help but frown. On his way here, he was nearly surrounded by monsters, yet Xu Yu seemed to have come through peacefully.
"When did you leave?" Gu Zhan asked.
Xu Yu said, "I sensed something was wrong and left as soon as it got dark."
That made sense. Xu Yu left early and avoided the monsters. His own timing was decent too—although he encountered the monsters, he managed to escape.
But Yu Ye Zhou wasn't so lucky. The monsters had already been disturbed by his presence, and escaping now would be much harder.
It was his fault, so Gu Zhan felt he had to go back and check on things.
"The situation inside is a bit complicated right now," Gu Zhan briefly explained the state of the small town.
Upon hearing about the monsters, Xu Yu stopped in his tracks.
Gu Zhan was about to suggest they prepare, but to his surprise, Xu Yu suddenly clasped his hands together and drew a massive sword from the air, larger than himself.
The sword was a reddish-black color, its blade adorned with ancient patterns and exuding an ominous aura. Even without wielding it, Gu Zhan could tell that this sword was immensely powerful.
Xu Yu didn't hide anything and frankly told Gu Zhan, "Both Yang Lin and I have combat-related abilities. This is my talent weapon."
Gu Zhan was shocked. He hadn't expected such an ability.
When Yu Ye Zhou first approached him, saying his ability was related to sanity points, Gu Zhan thought his own talent was impressive.
But looking at it now, an intangible thing like sanity points couldn't compare to a straightforward combat ability, could it?
[Laughed to death, the expression on his face when he heard about the combat ability in this world was exactly the same as mine back then.]
[Honestly, what man could resist pulling a glowing greatsword out of thin air?]
[Women can’t resist it either.]
[The combat ability is indeed strong, but it depends on the individual’s skill level. The range of effectiveness is too broad, still not as reliable as the sanity value ability.]
Xuyu said, "Although Yang Lin has been taken away, her strength isn’t weak. She should still be alive... But Yu Yezhou is different. If we don’t go, he’s as good as dead."
He could no longer wait. Taking the lead, he stepped forward and said, "Let’s go."
The two of them returned to the small town.
Compared to when Gu Zhan had left, the fog in the town was now even thicker. They walked along the main street, and after only a few steps, they reached the residential area.
The heads and necks entwined around the houses had disappeared, but within the dense fog, faint figures could be seen approaching.
Even though Xuyu hadn’t witnessed the scene Gu Zhan described, he could tell these people weren’t normal.
He leaned closer to Gu Zhan and whispered, “These people…”
But just as he spoke the first few words, the figures in the fog suddenly distorted. Their necks extended sharply, whipping out like lashes!
Startled, Xuyu immediately raised his sword to block. The neck struck the blade with the sound of jade clashing, and the force was tremendous. Xuyu was forced back two steps, his hands numb from the impact.
Gu Zhan had said that when he left, all the monsters had already awoken, and he only managed to escape after some struggle.
Faced with monsters like these! How did he manage to struggle through?
Xuyu glanced at Gu Zhan in shock, but Gu Zhan only frowned deeply.
He hadn’t expected that after his departure, these monsters would come out of the houses. Judging by the number on the street, there were many of them.
Now that they weren’t confined to the houses, they couldn’t use the previous method to control them. If all the monsters were alerted, it would be disastrous.
He grabbed Xuyu and said, "Don’t fight, just run!"
Even though Xuyu had considerable combat strength, he was still pulled off balance. The two of them quickly darted behind a house, and as soon as they were out of sight, the puppets ceased moving... Gu Zhan observed for a while, then whispered, "Did you notice? They don’t have sight."
"Kind of..." Xuyu had already sensed something off, and Gu Zhan’s words confirmed it.
But Xuyu still had doubts. "Where did these... people, come from? What happened to the other townspeople?"
After he asked, Gu Zhan turned to stare directly at him.
[Hahaha, this Xuyu guy has no clue what’s going on.]
[He came out the earliest, before the monsters even started moving.]
[His parents seemed to have a more mild attitude, completely clueless about what happened in the town.]
[Strong fighter, but lucky.]
Gu Zhan said, "These are the townspeople."
"..." Xuyu was momentarily stunned, but he quickly caught on.
So that’s why Yu Yezhou couldn’t get out.
Gu Zhan continued, "These monsters are puppets. When I first entered the game, I saw that my parents were a pair of puppets... But the game rules warned us not to be curious. Curiosity could lead to bad results, so I didn’t say anything."
"Huh?" Xuyu looked confused.
Gu Zhan explained, "I’m guessing we’re all puppets, just like them... Yang Lin must’ve realized this."
"Ah!" Xuyu finally caught on, clapping his hands. "Now I remember, she mentioned something like that during a phone call."
At the time, it didn’t make sense, but now it clicked after hearing what Gu Zhan said.
If everyone were puppets, then it would explain the disappearance of Yu Yezhou’s first desk mate.
After all, defective items should be sent back for repair.
Naturally, the puppet parents replaced him with a new child.
"Keep your voice down." While Xuyu was getting excited, Gu Zhan pressed a hand on his shoulder.
The puppets had no eyes and seemed to rely solely on sound to find them.
Too much noise would get them discovered.
They crouched in the corner until the group of puppets passed, then finally let out a sigh of relief.
Xuyu said, "There are so many townspeople. We can’t rely on brute force to get through, we’ll have to be more careful."
"Yeah." Gu Zhan nodded. He never intended to fight his way through.
That’s the reality of it. Though there are many dangers in this game, brute force often proves ineffective.
Otherwise, combat abilities wouldn’t be ranked below sanity value abilities.
Gu Zhan asked, "Do you remember where Yu Yezhou’s house is?"
They had no leads at the moment, so they could only try their luck at his house.
"I remember, and I know where it is." Xuyu replied, "My house is right next to his. Follow me."
Gu Zhan’s house was in a completely different direction, so it was best for Xuyu to lead the way. He waved, signaling Xuyu to take point.
The two of them moved stealthily along the edge of the street.
Before long, they arrived at a small house.
Xuyu said, "This is Yu Yezhou’s house."
It seemed the puppet couple here wasn’t home, as the door was left wide open. However, several puppets were wandering the street outside.
Gu Zhan and Xuyu squatted at the entrance, waiting for the puppets to leave, but they just kept aimlessly wandering back and forth... with no sign of leaving.
Xuyu grew impatient and said, "I’ll distract them. You go inside and check it out."
Gu Zhan replied, "So much time has passed, he’s probably not in there anymore."
Xuyu said, "It doesn’t matter, our team leaves special marks... If he left, he would’ve tried to leave a clue."
As he spoke, Xuyu showed Gu Zhan the mark on his wrist.
It was a simple symbol—a triangle with a circle inside.
"If you find this mark, throw a stone in that direction. The puppets can only hear where the stone lands, and won’t notice you for a while. That’ll be my signal to come find you."
Gu Zhan glanced at it and said, "Alright."
Xuyu hid in the shadows, observing the puppet’s movement for a while. After nodding towards Gu Zhan, he dashed out.
As soon as he appeared, the puppets noticed him. Their long necks began to sway and dance through the street. Seizing the opportunity, Gu Zhan slipped into Yu Yezhou's house.
The house was quiet. The window in the living room was open, letting cold wind pour inside.
Gu Zhan made his way to the bedroom. Both doors were open, and one of the rooms was a mess, showing signs of a struggle.
Scattered on the floor were many textbooks, likely Yu Yezhou's room.
Gu Zhan quickly scanned the room but found no clues, so he returned to the living room.
The footprints in the living room were strange, twisting and turning all the way to the window.
Although the house showed signs of a fight, the rest of the floor was clean. Only the living room had footprints, and they seemed deliberate. Gu Zhan followed them to the window. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a familiar mark on the windowsill.
Did Yu Yezhou escape through the window?
Without hesitation, Gu Zhan climbed out of the window. The grass below showed signs of being trampled.
He followed the trail forward, reaching the side of the street.
Not far away, it seemed that Xuyu was still battling the creatures.
As per their plan, Gu Zhan picked up a stone from the ground and threw it in Xuyu's direction.
With his sharp senses, Xuyu stopped immediately.
Knowing Xuyu would come find him, Gu Zhan moved aside a bit to be cautious, switching locations in case the puppets arrived first.
After a while, Xuyu jumped down from the rooftop.
Just as he landed, a long head swung towards him. Xuyu dodged to the side, coincidentally ending up right where Gu Zhan was hiding.
Without hesitation, Gu Zhan grabbed Xuyu, and they ran towards the next set of marks.
The two weaved through the residential area, finally shaking off the puppets.
When they reached the edge of town, the trail vanished.
Ahead of them lay a straight road.
Xuyu hesitated and asked, "Should we keep going?"
Gu Zhan replied, "Let's go."
They had no other leads, and since Yu Yezhou had left marks but still chose to press forward, it meant there was something important ahead.
At first, they had planned to escape the house to find Yang Lin, who had disappeared after calling.
Now, it seemed Yu Yezhou had found clues ahead of time.
Once they left the town's borders, the puppets were no longer a threat. The two followed the road, and after about an hour, they saw the shadow of a building in the distance.
The dark night offered no light, and the building loomed at the road’s end like a giant beast.
Gu Zhan heard some strange noises. He grabbed Xuyu and said, "Let's circle around."
Xuyu, skilled in combat, had always relied on Yu Yezhou to handle strategy.
Hearing Gu Zhan's suggestion, he quickly agreed.
They left the road and moved into the nearby tall grass.
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