Chapter 22: Night Stroll in Yin Village 20

Chapter 22: Night Stroll in Yin Village 20

The answer wasn't difficult to guess; Qin Fei already had a clear candidate in mind.

However, he had no intention of revealing it before obtaining confirmation.

But if it was that person...

Suspicion arose in Qin Fei's heart. The extra passenger definitely wasn't a player, but as long as they were an NPC, Qin Fei should be able to see their favorability bar above their head.

Yet, Qin Fei was certain that none of the people who got off the bus had such a bar.

His prolonged stillness eventually caught Xiao Xiao's attention.

"What's wrong?" The young Taoist rushed over excitedly. "Did you find something?"

Qin Fei shook his head. "I'm feeling a bit low on blood sugar. I'll sit down for a moment."

Using his body to conceal his actions, the youth's slender fingers made a grasping motion on the ground, quietly hiding the eerie object in his palm.

With a gentle squeeze, it was already completely stiff, indicating that it had been dead for quite some time.

Qin Fei smoothly stood up. "It's all good now."

"Oh!" Xiao Xiao left with a tinge of disappointment, thinking that the mighty Qin would find yet another unexpected treasure.

Qin Fei, in the meantime, had already slipped his hand into his pocket, his movements as smooth as silk, without any sign of unease.

He raised his head and looked towards the front of the bus, where the driver's seat was located.

That day, Xu Yangshu had turned into his current half-dead state after meeting the driver.

Was it an act, or did the driver genuinely pose a problem?

What was Xu Yangshu's purpose in infiltrating their group?

The bus's onboard announcement had instructed players to "regularly count the number of passengers during the journey and ignore any increase in numbers."

But was this rule truly accurate?

Indeed, the players had overlooked Xu Yangshu, but not intentionally; they simply failed to register his presence.

Was it Xu Yangshu's doing, or was it the scenario itself manipulating events?

If it was the scenario...

Qin Fei felt that there was some hidden mystery at play.

It seemed as if the scenario deliberately concealed information from the players, preventing them from delving into deeper secrets.

The dark gray car phone rested silently by the window, with the bus driver nowhere to be seen. Qin Fei reached out and touched the broadcast button, but no sound emerged from the vehicle.

What other potential hiding spots were there on this bus that might hold clues?

Qin Fei's gaze swept past the phone in front of him.

He lifted his hand and picked up the receiver.

Without a doubt, this was a functioning telephone. In the quiet cabin, only the "beep-beep" of a busy signal echoed in his ear, almost tempting him to press the dial button.

Qin Fei didn't make any hasty moves.

His keen sixth sense kicked in once more. Without even looking up, Qin Fei could inexplicably sense that someone was staring at him intently from not too far away.

At this moment, the only one who would come from that direction… Qin Fei's hand holding the phone receiver froze.

A muffled exclamation came from behind Qin Fei. Lin Ye, looking at the bus door, his eyes suddenly lit up. "It's the tour guide! The guide is back!"

The slightly ajar bus door swung open, and the pale-faced tour guide walked in with stiff movements, just like the past two days.

Almost instantly, Qin Fei moved away from the onboard phone. He took a diagonal step towards the door, hiding the phone behind him. Then, he clasped his hands together and lifted his head toward the entrance.

The corners of his lips curled up into a perfectly measured smile, and his eyes shimmered with surprise as if they were sprinkled with scattered stars. "What a coincidence, how did you end up here?"

As if he hadn't come to this bus specifically to find the tour guide but had stumbled upon a fateful encounter by chance.

Xiao Xiao, standing aside, thought, "…."

Having experienced it so many times, he was already used to it. He couldn't comprehend the big shot's behavior, so he might as well pretend not to notice.

Strangely, Qin Fei's flattery didn't seem to have any effect this time; the guide appeared completely unaffected.

The guide stared unblinkingly at Qin Fei, his gaze sharp as a knife, as if he were about to pierce through Qin Fei's exceptionally captivating facade to unravel the intricate depths within him in the next moment.

Qin Fei subtly narrowed his eyes, almost instantly confirming something.

The guide had definitely seen him with the phone just now.

Moreover, the guide was unusually concerned about it.

A sudden jolt went through Qin Fei's heart.

The guide's overly nervous behavior made Qin Fei realize an overlooked detail.

The guide, Yinshan Village, and the travel agency.

These three entities, which stood against the players, were not actually inseparable.

Rule Two of the Tour Bus's Broadcast:

Should the number of travelers drop to six or below, please return to the tour bus and dial the travel agency's emergency hotline. The agency will then allocate a new guide for the group.

From the clues they gathered in the village, it seemed that at least six players were required as sacrifices for the Shadow Village's sacrificial ritual.

These participants were provided by the travel agency, and the guide was their envoy, responsible for ensuring the smooth conduct of the activity as an overseer.

If the number of players fell below six, the village ritual could not proceed normally.

This would be a breach of the guide's duty.

Once a player made the call, the agency would send a new guide. But what about the original one?

What punishment would a guide face for failing to complete their task?

In any case, it certainly wouldn't be anything pleasant.

Not far away, the guide was fixated on the car phone behind Qin Fei with unwavering focus.

The ghostly face, tinged with a bluish-gray hue, revealed tense muscles, despite its perpetually rigid expression. It was evident that the guide was highly nervous.

Under the gray brim of his hat, the tour guide's gaze oscillated between the young man and the car-mounted phone.

At that moment, the favorability bar above his head seemed to be malfunctioning, incessantly flickering on and off.

As if he was inwardly struggling with the question: Was this guy a friend or...?

Qin Fei took in the entire scene before him.

One second,

Two seconds.

Qin Fei finally made a decision.

He raised his hand and snapped the telephone line.

Not pulling it out, but snapping it—his slender and elegant fingers threaded through the wire, forming a loop before yanking with great force!

The tour guide's figure suddenly froze in place.

Perhaps taken aback by Qin Fei's decisiveness, the guide froze for a moment, his expression softening in an instant.

A gentleness that didn't quite match his usual demeanor appeared on his ashen face, as if he had been touched by Qin Fei's action.

The most obvious manifestation of this was that the favorability bar above his head instantly climbed to 75%.

...What the?

Really?

Qin Fei was left rooted to the spot in astonishment.

He had spent two days groveling to reach only 20%, yet cutting off a phone line had suddenly boosted it to 75%?

Seems like the guide still had a good grasp of reality – words were meaningless compared to tangible actions.

Qin Fei's heart raced with excitement.

"Travel Agency Guide: Favorability 75% (You are the guide's close friend. As long as possible, the guide is willing to provide assistance in any way.)"

Stunned like the tour guide were the players behind him.

The in-vehicle phone was a crucial item, yet Qin Fei had just destroyed it??

Qin Fei didn't turn to look at them.

With the guide leading, no one dared to act recklessly. Thus, Qin Fei simply stepped forward and whispered to the guide.

Perhaps the rules inside the bus were different from those in the village, or perhaps the tour guide's vision was momentarily blinded by the intense favorability, but this time, he didn't back away. Instead, he allowed Qin Fei to stand within arm's length of him with a grin on his face.

"What... is it?" The guide's lips twitched stiffly, revealing a smile uglier than a zombie's.

Though unappealing, it still made Qin Fei feel honored.

True friends indeed received special treatment.

Faced with this rare "confidant," Qin Fei didn't hold back. "Do you know how to leave Shouyin Village safely?"

The question was too straightforward, so straightforward that even the guide found it eerie.

The dazed NPC tilted its head, seemingly struggling to grasp the meaning behind Qin Fei's words.

After a moment, it lowered its voice, speaking softly enough for only Qin Fei to hear: "No outsider... can leave Shadow Village alive."

As the raspy voice faded, Qin Fei's expression darkened noticeably.

After all that pondering, the guide could only come up with such a demoralizing statement?

This was no true confidant; more of a toxic friend.

However, the system's affinity rating couldn't be deceived. The guide shouldn't be so wicked as to toy with the emotions of a "good friend".

Perhaps there was another interpretation to this statement.

No outsider could leave alive.

Qin Fei pondered deeply over the hidden meaning within those words.

Seeing this, the guide nodded slightly, seemingly acknowledging Qin Fei's thoughts but not elaborating further.

With his somewhat unresponsive left eyelid, he blinked at Qin Fei, leaving behind an awkward and slightly eerie wink.

Qin Fei: ...

True to his status as a friend with a 75% favorability rating, he was willing to push himself this far for Qin Fei – it was truly a touching gesture.

Qin Fei held the guide's hand in gratitude.

"By the way," Qin Fei seemed to have suddenly remembered something, "do you have any medicine? You know, the kind that..."

He pondered how to describe it: "The kind that helps you regain clarity after taking it."

The guide fell silent and shook his head.

"Tonight... before it gets completely dark, I'll bring you all some boxed meals."

With that, the guide turned and left.

The moment the guide's figure vanished, chaos erupted on the bus.

The plan to beg the guide for medicine had clearly failed.

However, that was no longer the most pressing matter at hand.

Qin Fei's prolonged activity with the NPC at the front of the bus could not have escaped the notice of the others. Only earlier, due to the intimidating presence of the guide, the other players hadn't dared to approach. Now that the guide was gone, Scar promptly brandished his innate weapon, a dagger, its gleaming blade pointed directly at Qin Fei's face.

Ling Na and Xiao Xiao quickly stepped in front of Qin Fei to shield him.

Scar looked at Qin Fei with an unfriendly expression. "Why did you cut the phone line just now?"

"This vehicle's phone is our only means of communication with the outside world," Scar said with a cold smile, his gaze on Qin Fei both menacing and inscrutable, as if he were sizing up a trapped prey he could dispose of at any moment.

"The two people at the mortuary might die at any time. Once they do, we'll only have seven left..."

Scar didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood his implication. With seven, they were just a hair's breadth away from the required six.

One might need it at any moment.

"Cutting the phone line now would render the instance impossible to continue," Scar gritted his teeth, his face contorting with fury.

While his aggression towards Qin Fei was fueled by their past grudges, every word he spoke was genuinely what he thought in his heart.

Scar had been harboring ill intentions against Qin Fei for quite some time.

Due to Qin Fei's strength and Cheng Song's suppression, he had been holding back from making a move. Now that he finally found a legitimate reason, a sinister glint flashed across his ugly face, indicating his scheme had succeeded.

In fact, this suspicion wasn't unique to Scar but also prevalent among all the players present.

Sun Shouyi stood beside Ling Na and Xiao Xiao, watching Qin Fei silently alongside Lin Ye as if awaiting a reasonable explanation from him.

Cheng Song stood silently not far away, seemingly detached from the situation.

Faced with the hostility of his teammates, Qin Fei showed no sign of panic.

The young man stood nonchalantly by the driver's seat, his expression calm: "You're talking about the phone line?"

He pinched the blue and yellow wires behind the car phone, their severed ends clearly visible, exposing the light-colored aluminum wire inside, also completely cut in two.

It was utterly ruined.

"I just pulled it out," Qin Fei blinked, not taking it seriously at all.

Xiao Xiao, who had been confident and waiting for his powerful teammate to give a reasonable explanation to refute Scar's claim, was astonished, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Uh, this, this, this..."

Sun Shouyi, either genuinely thinking so or purely seeking comfort, murmured gloomily, "Little Qin must have his reasons."

Even Cheng Song wore a slightly surprised expression.

He found it hard to believe that Qin Fei would make such an absurd decision.

Scar sneered.

"Well, actually, I don't really have any particularly reasonable explanation for cutting this phone line," Qin Fei said, shaking his head as he casually opened the small drawer beneath the phone.

The contents of the drawer were now exposed to the air, and the young man covered his mouth, his amber eyes spinning with surprise: "Oh my!"

He grabbed the item in question: "What's this? Oh~ a telephone cord – how convenient!"

This telephone cord was what Qin Fei had discovered earlier while inspecting the dashboard of the bus.

The onboard phone used an old-style four-pin modular plug, with sockets at both the phone and the dashboard. As long as there was a compatible replacement cable, severing the original one would be a trivial task.

In the live broadcast hall, the viewers burst into laughter at Qin Fei's actions.

"Ha, what is the host doing?"

"He must be taunting us, right..."

"His expression of amazement looks so fake."

"If I didn't know that the host is a great actor, I'd definitely fall for his terrible acting!"

Inside the bus, everyone except Scarface let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Qin Fei produce a new telephone cord.

Only Scarface looked embarrassed, his neck stiff as he grumbled in a rough voice, "…Who knows if this phone line even works?"

It was as if he was questioning whether Qin Fei had conjured up this new phone line to deceive everyone.

Qin Fei remained composed, unplugging the old telephone wire and inserting the new one. Then, he picked up the receiver and pressed the speaker button.

"Beep... Beep..."

The busy tone echoed throughout the entire carriage.

The investigation into the severed finger incident had yet to conclude, and there were still ample players. Qin Fei didn't want to call the hotel just yet, so he randomly dialed 110.

Initially, he only intended to test the phone's functionality in front of Scarface, but to his surprise, after a few beeps, someone actually answered the call.

A chilly yet sweet female voice sounded from the receiver:

"Hello, this is the Rule-bound World Case Management Bureau. We've detected that you're currently in a scenario. Complaints, reports, and applications will not be accepted. May I know if you have any other needs?"

Qin Fei's tone was gentle and calm: "Nothing much, sorry about that. My little brat at home was feeling itchy and dialed the police hotline for fun."

With that, he shot a meaningful glance at Scarface.

"..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. When the woman's voice resumed, it was no longer as composed as before: "TAKE—CARE—OF—YOUR—FREAKING—CHILD!!!!!!!!"

The furious roar seemed to reverberate through the phone line, as if it would leap out and slash Qin Fei's "troublemaker" to pieces.

Qin Fei nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Yes, yes, I will, definitely."

Without waiting for the caller to finish, Qin Fei hung up with a snap.

Turning to the group, he raised his hands in surrender. "See, I wasn't lying. The phone does work."

Xiao Xiao: "...."

Scaring people could indeed be fatal. If the big shot continued with this attitude, Xiao Xiao would start worrying about his safety in future dungeons, not because he might be killed by the dungeon or ghosts, but because he might provoke other players into killing him for being too annoying.

With his teeth gritting audibly, the scarred man's cheeks tensed up. If fury could manifest physically, there would have been smoke billowing from his head at that moment.

Cheng Song had been observing the entire time.

Logically, after extending an olive branch to join the group to the scarred man, they should be on the same side. However, Cheng Song had been keeping his distance from the scarred man these past two days, making it hard to discern his intentions.

Qin Fei glanced at them and said no more. He waved at Xiao Xiao beside him, "Let's go back."

The group then left the bus and set foot on the village road leading home.

...

The thick fog of daylight lingered. Despite being a familiar path they had walked multiple times, it still induced a constant sense of dread, filling every second with subtle anxiety. They were afraid that one misstep would send them tumbling into an irreversible abyss.

Fortunately, the familiar entrance to the mortuary reappeared at the end of the road after a while.

The moment Qin Fei stepped through the mortuary gate, he felt a sudden weight on his right leg, as if something heavy was hanging from it.

Then, the weight vanished, leaving behind an icy-cold sensation that transferred to the exposed skin on his shoulder and neck.

Qin Fei slightly turned his head, and a grotesque infant face, rotten beyond recognition, entered his field of vision. Its eyeballs protruded, the skin was purplish-blue with speckles of lividity, and its ugly little face intimately touched Qin Fei's.

Qin Fei: "…"

This little creature really appeared and disappeared like a ghost. If it had attached itself to someone else, they might have been scared to death just by its appearance.

Qin Fei softly coughed and whispered, barely audible to himself, "Why did you change your appearance again?"

He still preferred its form with an intact skin.

The ghost infant's comprehension skills were always rather poor, its reaction speed shockingly slow. After a long while, it seemed to finally grasp the hidden meaning in Qin Fei's words. It shook its head, and new skin gradually spread from the edges of its decaying wounds. The stone-like spots also faded slowly.

It cared quite a bit about Qin Fei's feelings.

The ghost infant, who suddenly appeared, was still visible only to Qin Fei. As soon as others entered the mortuary, they hurried over to the two players lying on the ground.

Qin Fei looked up at them. The players' faces were as dark as the bottom of a pot, their expressions indescribably awful.

A sense of foreboding washed over him. "What happened?"

Lin Ye pursed his lips, appearing hesitant to speak. "Those two people..."

"What's wrong? Are they dead?" Qin Fei asked in surprise.

Lin Ye choked, quickly shaking his head. "Not quite that bad."

But it wasn't much better.

Though the two were still alive, they might as well have been dead.

He turned sideways and pointed worriedly behind him.

The two men, who had previously been in a semi-unconscious state, had now awakened.

Previously, Sun Shouyi, fearing for their safety if left alone in the mortuary, had bound them tightly with ropes and stuffed them into coffins before leaving. However, for some reason, they had managed to crawl out of the coffins and were now lying on the ground.

Silent, they stared blankly at the empty space in front of them. At first glance, they appeared no different from ordinary people, but upon closer inspection, their expressions were dull, their complexions pale, and their eye circles dark purple. Their lips lacked any trace of color.

In response to the other players' scrutiny, they showed no reaction, not even moving their eyes, as if no one existed within their field of vision.

"What are they holding in their hands?" Cheng Song noticed the oddity and asked in a solemn voice.

The players followed his gaze and saw soil filling the gaps between the two figures' fingers, while the ground beside them was marked with mysterious curves and scribbles.

"If it weren't for the familiar clothes they're wearing, I'd mistake them for native NPCs from Shadow Village," Sun Shouyi said with a grave expression.

Like Sun Shouyi, the other players shared the same thought.

"So..." Ling Na hesitated before speaking up, "Are they considered alive... or...?"

As the players conversed, Qin Fei discreetly observed everyone's reactions.

All faces were somber, even Cheng Song, who usually kept his emotions well-hidden, now had furrowed brows, an uneasy tension apparent in his demeanor. It didn't seem like an act.

Either that person was an exceptional actor, or the extra player simply wasn't present.

Qin Fei's conviction grew stronger. His gaze returned to the coffin tucked away in the corner of the funeral parlor.

...

As for how to deal with the two irrational players, the remaining group had differing opinions.

Cheng Song and Sun Shouyi believed that they didn't need to concern themselves with the pair; they could just leave them bound and let them be.

However, Xiao Xiao argued that those two might provide new leads. They should untie them to see what they would do next.

Sun Shouyi was worried that such an action might invite trouble, so he hesitated to make a decision.

After a heated debate with no resolution, Sun Shouyi turned to Xiao Qin and asked, "What's your opinion, Xiao Qin?"

The moment he turned, his voice fell silent.

There was no sign of Qin Fei behind him.

Where was he?

Only then did everyone realize that Qin Fei had, at some point, gone to the other side of the mortuary. He was crouching beside a corner coffin, deeply engrossed in a conversation with the person inside.

Inside that coffin... The mere thought of it made everyone's minds feel like a pot of congealed paste.

What was inside that coffin again?

Oh, right, it seemed to be a person.

A player who had entered the game alongside them.

A newbie.

What did they look like? Hmm... Can't quite recall.

Can't even remember their name.

With an odd expression, Xiao Xiao stepped forward and asked, "Big Shot Qin, what are you doing?"

Qin Fei turned his head and replied, "I'm talking to him."

Pausing for a moment, he emphasized his words, "I'm talking to Xu Yangshu."

"Xu Yangshu?" Xiao Xiao was taken aback.

In fact, he was rather confused.

Who was Xu Yangshu again? He seemed to remember but also not.

But subconsciously, as if possessed, Xiao Xiao smoothly continued, "Let's not disturb Xu Yangshu. He's been mentally contaminated and needs rest. Besides, he's delirious, so even if you talk to him, he won't respond."

After saying that, Xiao Xiao himself was surprised, a fleeting daze crossing his eyes before returning to calmness.

"Oh, is that so?" Qin Fei raised one eyebrow, his clear amber eyes seemingly able to penetrate through the fog and see the hidden truth.

"Stop pretending," the young man leaned against the open coffin with a smile playing on his lips. Supporting himself with one hand on the coffin wall, he took in the expression of the person inside.

"What do you mean, stop pretending?" Xiao Xiao was startled.

Who was Qin Fei talking to? How could he have forgotten again in the blink of an eye?

Ah, right, it was Xu Yangshu.

Does he have an issue?

All of them knitted their brows, pondering deeply but failing to find any breakthrough in their thoughts.

Xu Yangshu was merely an unfortunate player who accidentally stumbled upon a dark-themed NPC in the instance dungeon and suffered severe mental corruption as a result.

An invisible force manipulated the players' minds, arranging illogical events into a coherent and unassailable narrative, leaving no trace of inconsistency.

Xiao Xiao and the others wore puzzled expressions, while Scar snorted in disdain, his gaze toward Qin Fei turning condescending.

What time is it now, still playing the role of the lone sober man among the drunkards?

Initially, Scar had thought that this player with the surname Qin had some impressive trump card up his sleeve, but now, it seemed that was not the case—

The scene that unfolded next made Scar's eyes widen abruptly.

The sneer of malice froze on the corner of his mouth.

Inside the black nanmu coffin, the burly figure sat up, clutching his head in agony.

What's happening? Did he come back to life?

Oh, no, no, no. The person in the coffin wasn't dead to begin with.

But wasn't he unconscious? Wasn't he unable to speak, like a living corpse?

No, that's not right! That's not how it should be!

The players knitted their brows, involuntarily raising their hands to cover their foreheads in distress.

This was the power of mental corruption within the instance dungeon – it could alter players' thoughts and control their minds.

If there hadn't been someone as clear-headed and powerful as Qin Fei to see through the heresy at this moment, the veil of confusion would have perpetually hung over everyone's heads.

Just like in World 0039 during every previous live broadcast.

Players within the instance dungeon spent their days in a haze, living or dying without ever truly understanding the truth, until the end of the dungeon arrived.

But now, everything was different.

Qin Fei's words were like sharp needles piercing through an inflated balloon at its limit, causing the air of truth to violently collide with the false world. The players felt their temples throb with a sharp pain as if blades were twisting in their brains.

But as the mist gradually dissipated, the truth became clear before their eyes.

Everyone was dazed and confused.

Yes, why did they ever think it was normal for Xu Yangshu to lie in that coffin for three days?

Why had they almost never thought of Xu Yangshu's name, as if he didn't exist at all?

Everything had been so abrupt, so inexplicable from the very beginning!

In the midst of this chaos, Qin Fei at the center of the crowd remained composed, like a lighthouse that was the only constant in the pitch-black sea.

...

Xu Yangshu was surrounded by the players, and his originally pale face had surprisingly returned to its normal color in just a moment.

Though he still lacked a healthy glow, he no longer looked like a lifeless corpse as he did before.

The burly man squeezed pitifully into the coffin, his limbs curled up tightly together. His eyes, when they met those outside the coffin, betrayed a sense of nervousness and fear, as if he was facing some monstrous beast.

Not only had this unexpected NPC disrupted the players' focus, but it also caused a great uproar among the audience.

A continuous stream of spirits swarmed towards that corner of the live broadcast hall, their chaotic discussions almost drowning out the voices of the players on screen.

It had been years since an F-class experience world's live broadcast hall had seen such bustling activity. No one paid attention to any other dungeon streams happening simultaneously; everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the slender figure of the young man in the 0039 instance dungeon on the screen.

"Damn, what's going on here?!!"

"Instance 0039 has been updated? What kind of unseen new storyline is this?"

"That can't be right, the system didn't mention anything like this when the instance opened."

"I'm numb, seriously numb. The previous plots with the undead armies in the shrine and the graveyard already did me in, and now I'm completely numb."

A spirit entity raised its doubt:

"Haven't you all seen this scenario before? Since he's an NPC, hasn't he appeared before in the past?"

"Exactly, he's an NPC, doesn't that mean he should appear in every live stream? How could you not notice the repetition among players?"

Upon hearing this, the group of spirits who claimed to have watched Episode 0039 multiple times fell into a collective silence.

"I...forgot."

"I can't recall either."

"It was probably...we haven't seen him before, right?"

Obviously, something was amiss.

If they had seen him, they would remember. If they hadn't, they wouldn't. A face that could be considered memorable, if only one or two viewers overlooked him, it might be understandable. But for all viewers to unconsciously ignore him...

The audience, finally piecing everything together, sighed in unison: Damn, the system is so cunning!

It even influenced the perception of the viewers!

But...as the spirits grasped the full extent of the situation, their minds became muddled.

This was a contamination so powerful that it deceived even the spectators, yet the player within the instance dungeon remained lucid.

Just how terrifying was this mental immunity?

Was it really reasonable for such an immunity to exist in a player who was entering an instance dungeon for the first time?

"A big shot secretly sneaked back into an F-rated dungeon for fun, huh…" a wraith muttered under its breath.

Of course, that was impossible.

Players could only progress upwards in the dungeon world, never downwards; they could either strive forward or die trying.

In reality, under the overwhelming mental influence of the instance dungeon, Qin Fei, despite his extraordinary mental resistance, still found it challenging to perform at his peak, just like the other players.

At the beginning, Qin Fei had also fallen victim to the dungeon's deception.

However, he later came to suspect Xu Yangshu due to two factors: the severed finger and his innate skill.

Before finding the finger, Qin Fei saw no difference between Xu Yangshu and the other players.

Yet, after returning from the bus to the funeral parlor, Qin Fei noticed a glaring progress bar hovering above Xu Yangshu's head.

It was evident that Xu Yangshu was an NPC hiding among the players.

With such compelling evidence, the illusions forcefully imposed on Qin Fei's mind by the dungeon naturally dissipated.

Through this experience, Qin Fei gained a deeper understanding of his innate skill: it could indeed function as a monster encyclopedia, but not without limitations.

When the innate skill conflicted with the dungeon's hidden plot, the system would prioritize the dungeon.

The question was whether this situation would improve as his skill level progressed in the future.

If there came a day when Qin Fei's innate skill surpassed the dungeon, he would undoubtedly possess an advantage over all other players in uncovering dungeon clues.

Pulling himself back from his thoughts, Qin Fei rapped on the coffin's side and looked at Xu Yangshu with a faint smile, "Tell us."

Xu Yangshu's lips moved soundlessly.

The other players gradually recovered from their shock, their eyes glowing as they fixed their gaze on Xu Yangshu.

This is clearly an important NPC!

Assuming no unexpected turns, the main quest of this instance dungeon is right around the corner.

As the single most crucial player in advancing the storyline, Qin Fei was now under unprecedented scrutiny. The number of viewers in his livestream skyrocketed, with digits dancing in the corner of the stream panel. System notifications chimed incessantly in his ears, almost drowning out the voices of others with the clinking sounds of points being earned.

It was a surreal sensation. Despite being in the midst of a wilderness, it felt as if a grand stage was rising beneath his feet, with countless spotlights converging on the center, illuminating the small patch of land where Qin Fei stood with dazzling radiance.

Xu Yangshu didn't disappoint either.

After a long while, the tall and sturdy man finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "I... I came to the village to search for something."