Chapter 4: Night Stroll in Yin Village 02

Chapter 4: Night Stroll in Yin Village 02

The system's notification echoed incessantly in Qin Fei's mind.

【Congratulations, Player Qin Fei, on achieving the "Two Hundred Gazes" accomplishment. The system awards you 10 points.】

"84 people have followed your live streaming account."

"Player Qin Fei has entered the high-quality traffic pool for beginners. The system will continue to provide you with recommended positions for beginners. Please keep up the good work!"

"..."

How irritating.

Qin Fei stood calmly in front of the guide, though his mind was already filled with countless creases of annoyance.

Could this annoying reminder voice be turned off?

If any seasoned players could hear Qin Fei's inner monologue, they might have been tempted to burst his bubble.

What a voice that many would yearn for!

"Follow me," the guide repeated, waving the small flag and leading the players out of the funeral parlor.

After being delayed inside for over ten minutes, the darkness outside grew more profound. A half-moon, barely visible behind the clouds, shed a pale and lifeless light.

On both sides of the village path, one household after another lit their lamps.

When they arrived earlier, not a single soul was in sight. But now, with the night falling, the village had become much livelier. Villagers emerged from their homes, strolled along the streets, conversed, and hung clothes to dry, all while stepping numbly over the scattered paper money.

Strangely, despite the large group of nearly 20 people passing by, not a single villager lifted their head to look at them, as if they didn't exist at all.

At this point in the live stream, the distinction between new and experienced players was quite clear. The players divided themselves into two groups without prompting, with the seasoned players walking calmly at the front, while the newcomers followed warily but not too closely behind.

Qin Fei blended seamlessly among the veteran players, showing no sign of guilt or unease.

The auditorium mentioned by the guide was located on the west side of the village, right next to the entrance.

Similar in style to the other structures in the village, the dark purple, square-shaped auditorium occupied a vast area. Its entrance was covered with layers of paper money, and the door stood wide open, allowing faint, yellowish light to leak out.

"We've arrived." The guide stopped in front of the entrance, his hoarse voice like an ancient incantation lost to time. "What you're about to witness is one of the most primitive rituals in this Western Hunan mountain village – the Corpse King Feast."

With those words, he stepped into the hall.

The room was already packed with villagers.

The interior decoration of the hall contrasted starkly with the exterior. The white porcelain floor was pristine, and a peculiar crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.

In the center of the room stood a colossal dining table, assembled from dozens of small square tables. It was adorned with an array of colorful ingredients, arranged like a blossoming garden. The plates were clean and gleaming, and the aroma of the food filled the air.

The chandelier above remained unlit, replaced by three white candles at each seat, placed on brass candlesticks and burning silently in the darkness.

Their flickering flames, unprovoked by any breeze, cast a faint light that barely illuminated the dim hall.

"Sit," the guide said, then took a seat in the nearest chair.

Most seats were already occupied, and as the players entered and found their places, the remaining spots were gradually filled.

Silent and focused, the villagers seated at the table gazed down at their utensils without a word, neither exchanging voices nor glances.

After Qin Fei took his seat, he lifted his head and caught sight of his shadow, magnified many times over by the flickering candlelight, cast onto the opposite grayish-blue wall. It resembled a monstrous beast ready to devour at any moment.

Players frowned as they examined the room, while others couldn't help but swallow their saliva instinctively.

The aroma of the food was overwhelming, seemingly able to awaken the deepest cravings nestled within one's stomach. For players who had gone a whole day without food and been subjected to numerous frights, it held an irresistible allure that was almost deadly.

Indeed, it smells incredibly delightful.

Qin Fei gazed at the succulent roast goose on the table and inhaled deeply, savoring its aroma.

However...

Two players wore dazed expressions as they reached out, seemingly under an uncontrollable urge to draw near the food on the table.

Fixing his gaze on them, Qin Fei whispered, "Don't eat."

"Why... why?" One of the two, whose consciousness was somewhat clearer, looked up in confusion.

Why?

Judging solely from their abnormal behavior, it was evident that there was something amiss with the food on this table.

Opposite Qin Fei sat another experienced player, a man in his thirties. Qin Fei had heard him mention his name back at the mortuary – Sun Shouyi.

Fixing his gaze on the man, Sun Shouyi frowned and said, "The bus announcement mentioned respecting local customs and traditions."

This feast was part of the village's ritual ceremony. Since it was a ritual, there would naturally be specific steps and procedures. None of the villagers had touched their utensils, so how could the players start eating first?

Upon hearing Sun Shouyi's words, the man regained some sense of reason and forced himself to lean back.

However, another player named Wang Shun had already lost control. Reaching out, he grabbed the food on the table and stuffed it into his mouth like a glutton.

The person seated beside Wang Shun tried to stop him but was swatted away, almost toppling over with the chair.

Wang Shun's ravenous appearance was eerie in its intensity. Glistening grease trickled down the corners of his mouth as he devoured the food greedily, looking more like a pig in a pen than a human being.

His eating manners were far from appealing; one would expect it to be off-putting. Yet, strangely, the other players only found the aroma intensifying as it wafted up their noses.

Xiao Xiao covered his mouth, his expression wary as he stared at the food in front of him. He frowned and whispered, "Why do I feel like something is just not right?"

A faint glint flickered in Qin Fei's eyes.

Indeed.

Flowers, candelabras, cutlery—how could such items appear in this remote mountain village?

No matter how one looked at it, the interior of this hall resembled a proper European-style banquet, a stark contrast to the surroundings they had seen on their way here. It was as if a Teletubby had wandered into SpongeBob SquarePants' world, creating an absurdly jarring contrast.

"Roast goose," Qin Fei whispered softly, ensuring that only Xiao Xiao could hear him.

Xiao Xiao was taken aback. "Goose? What goose?"

As expected, Qin Fei's gaze lowered thoughtfully after receiving the answer he had anticipated.

"Huh?" Xiao Xiao finally caught on. "I saw a spicy seafood hotpot with a separate section for non-spicy broth."

He began listing the dishes. "Abalone, sea cucumber, Arctic scallops, shrimp paste, tripe…"

"I wanted to say earlier, that guy stuffed those freshly cooked meatballs into his mouth without even worrying about burning himself," Xiao Xiao said, wearing a dazed expression.

Qin Fei: "..."

Well, no wonder you found it strange.

So, he could actually grasp the rationale behind the instance creating illusions based on players' deepest desires.

But still!

It should at least be somewhat realistic, right?

Behind the light screen, the live-stream viewers burst into laughter as they saw Qin Fei's expression, as if he were about to speak but held back.

"Hahaha, I'm dying here! The instance design got roasted by the streamer. System, hurry up and apologize!"

"Doesn't anyone think this streamer is really good-looking? I'm totally smitten with his frowning, pursed-lip look."

"Although the illusion here seems hastily designed, its deception rate is already over 80%. It's quite surprising that someone in the experience world can be so perceptive."

An 80% deception rate was enough for players' brains to automatically rationalize any inconsistencies as plausible.

"80% chance of deceiving him?? How incredibly high is his mental resistance?!"

As the seats in the live broadcast filled up, the camera angle shifted and zoomed in. A person stood up from the main seat at the long table.

"Greetings to all guests, the feast commences—" the figure drawled out.

In response, eerie music resounded from all corners of the auditorium. Drums and gongs accompanied by suona horns created a haunting melody, hardly pleasant to the ear.

The guide glanced in the person's direction and whispered, "That's the village chief."

The village chief was no longer young, his hair and beard as white as snow. He wore a dark gray robe that swept the ground as he leaned back slightly, his eyes fixed intently on an invisible point in mid-air. Chanting words, he said,

"Feast of the Corpse King, feast for the Corpse King, the first banquet on the seventh day of the seventh month. Invite the corpse to the feast."

With folded hands, the village chief's expression was one of profound devotion.

"Invoking the Corpse's First Art, Eye Excavation—"

Upon finishing his words, silence fell upon the room.

Despite their inability to feel fear, Qin Fei's eyelid twitched involuntarily, a reflexive response to the village chief's words.

Was "digging out eyes" what they thought it was?

Dig out eyes? Whose eyes? The players exchanged bewildered glances.

Amidst the stunned expressions of the players, the village chief slowly raised his arm.

His bony fingers approached the socket, and in the next moment, with a sudden burst of force, the fingers' owner began to push them in bit by bit.

A player sucked in a sharp breath.

Half a finger dug into the eye socket, turning from left to right, as blood mixed with translucent pale yellow fluid gushed out from the village chief's eye, dripping onto the table.

He had just forcefully plucked out his own eyeball!

Qin Fei frowned, his gaze unwavering as he stared at the village chief. Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, opened his mouth, silently cursing under his breath.

But the most unbearable part was yet to come.

As the village chief completed his gesture, the two hundred puppet-like villagers in the auditorium suddenly raised their hands in unison!

A thick, metallic scent of blood filled the hall.

A young female player was startled by this horror-movie-like scene and let out a shrill scream. The players' faces turned ashen, and their arms resting on the tables trembled visibly.

Were they going to... as well?

Everyone felt as if they were facing a dire threat.

Except for Qin Fei.

In such a situation, Qin Fei was still intriguingly asking the guide, "Is this one of the unique features of the village ritual?"

Earlier, at the entrance of the charity house, the guide had mentioned, "Don't stare directly into the deity's left eye." Now, there was another eye-related activity during the banquet.

It seemed that "eyes" were an essential element in the scenario they were in.

The guide finally removed his red-brimmed hat that covered most of his face. His face beneath the hat was emaciated, with a malnourished bluish-gray complexion, making him resemble a zombie.

He nodded at Qin Fei, his face numb as he mimicked the other villagers and dug out his left eye without emotion.

His expressionless face didn't even tremble, as if he felt no pain at all.

All the villagers had completed the eye-gouging ritual. Slowly turning their heads, they fixed their hundred-odd empty eye sockets on the small group of players in the center of the hall.

"Sa-Save... Me..." A new player's lips quivered as he muttered in a whisper.

Scarface's face was grim, his knife clenched tightly in his hand. Sun Shouyi raised his arm, placing it before his face, but then fiercely blinked and lowered it again.

...He just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Gritting his teeth, he looked at Qin Fei.

Unbeknownst to him, Qin Fei, a seasoned pretender among rookies, had already become the leader among the players.

"You mentioned the rules on the bus earlier," Qin Fei smiled and nodded at Sun Shouyi.

They had to abide by the local customs and traditions.

There was no way to escape this segment.

The young man's soft hair shimmered a handsome dark brown under the candlelight, and his clear eyes exuded warmth with every earnest word he spoke.

The players fell silent upon hearing Qin Fei's words.

"However…" Sun Shouyi gritted his teeth, almost as if he were trying to reassure himself, "the rules might not be entirely correct."

Was that so?

Sun Shouyi wasn't one to speak recklessly, so could there really be false rules in these live-streamed worlds?

Qin Fei didn't insist, "It's up to you."

Even if there was a possibility of false rules, Qin Fei didn't believe that the guide would lie.

The guide and the tour bus were clearly on the same side. If the guide deceived them, then the announcements made through the bus's PA system couldn't be trusted either.

This meant that from the moment they entered the dungeon until now, the players hadn't encountered a single credible rule.

For a game where the majority of the players are newcomers, such an arrangement seems rather too harsh.

At least for now, the Guide can be trusted.

This conclusion might change in the future, but that's a matter for another time.

More importantly, Qin Fei was now certain that there was something amiss with the auditorium before him.

If the food on the table was fake, then who could truly assert that the scene they witnessed of the village chief digging out his own eyes was authentic?

Beside Qin Fei, the guide, with one hollow eyeball, was intently observing him.

Qin Fei turned sideways, meeting the guide's gaze.

Then, he reached out—

His slender index finger gently and slowly twisted into the eye socket.

Moments later, a smooth, still pulsating with fresh blood, eyeball rested in Qin Fei's palm.