Chapter 306: Joyful Fate 27

Chapter 306: Joyful Fate 27

The knocking at the door paused for a moment, then intensified wildly.

The female ghost was once again enraged; her long hair surged through the bottom of the door crack, writhing like frenzied steel wires.

Qin Fei remained unresponsive to everything before him, sitting calmly with his eyes closed in the safety zone surrounded by porcelain bottles.

The ghost's strength was not endless, and the frequency of the porcelain bottles shattering had noticeably decreased compared to earlier.

The countdown in the room continued to tick down minute by minute. Qin Fei neither appeared nervous nor excited; his expression was serene as if he were napping in a warm bedroom.

Qin Fei was not the only one in danger.

Unlike the previous two nights, tonight's danger was evenly distributed among everyone. During this long hour, players in each room struggled desperately against the ghosts outside their doors.

In front of every door stood a young woman in red, exuding a cold aura, her face filled with resentment, continuously raising her hand to knock on the room door.

Compared to other players, Qin Fei was relatively relaxed.

Room 014 was the exclusive bridal chamber, and its internal rules were not complex. Qin Fei had many porcelain bottles, enough to ensure his safety.

At the entrance of another guest room not far from Room 014, two ghostly hands were shaking the door violently. The door frame, connected to the wooden door, already showed cracks, and splinters of wood fell down.

The situation in the corridor to the right was even more critical. A door had been broken into, and the dark room seemed shrouded in mist, with only sparse eerie sounds and muffled screams from the player audible.

After a moment, the screams grew fainter.

Blood seeped under the threshold and flowed into the corridor.

The black fog dissipated, leaving no sign of anyone in the room, only a shapeless puddle on the ground.

For a whole hour, all communication between players was cut off, and everyone could only fend for themselves.

The Tulou stood in the dim night, resembling a colossal beast with its mouth wide open.

Only after an hour, when the countdowns in all rooms reached zero simultaneously.

Countless sighs of relief echoed at the same time.

Lu Cheng immediately released vines and opened the player panel.

Communications in the Guild channel had been restored.

"Lu Cheng": At least two more players have died. There are now only twenty-one players left in the instance.

A death rate of about one-third, neither too high nor too low, maintained a subtle middle ground, which made everyone more vigilant.

An ominous sense of impending doom enveloped everyone's hearts.

"Mengchang": What do we do now? Should we go out and check?

"Gala": @All Members, don't move yet. Stick to the previous plan, spend the night in your rooms, and wait until tomorrow.

"Cen San Ya": Tomorrow might not dawn.

Cen San Ya rarely spoke, and these words were like a drop of water falling into hot oil, causing a splash.

No one doubted the truthfulness of Cen San Ya's prophecy, but it was certainly not good news.

"Mengchang": Damn, what should we do then?

"Mengchang": But we have lanterns. Even if it stays dark, we should still be able to move around in the Tulou, right?

"Xie Jingtian": I don't mean to dampen your spirits, but you'd better not get your hopes up.

"Xie Jingtian": When we carried the lanterns upstairs earlier, those paper figures at the stairwell were secretly watching us.

While lighting the lanterns did indeed protect the players, the light source in the darkness was too conspicuous.

The lantern light would attract the attention of the paper figures, which was not a good thing, as they might suddenly charge towards them.

"Gala": It's fine. Once the Tulou is completely dark, the paper figures will also light their lanterns.

This had been verified last night.

"Gala": Starting at seven o'clock tomorrow morning:

Find a lone paper figure. Do not use innate skills or innate weapons; use the lowest-level crowbar or steel pipe from the store.

Subdue the paper figure, tear off its head, and make it into a mask.

"Gala": It'll be a bit troublesome, but as long as the mask doesn't touch your skin, you can blend in with the paper figures.

You won't be singled out, and it's okay even if you carry a lantern.

Lu Cheng stared at the words on the screen, widening his eyes.

Would this really work? It felt a bit far-fetched.

"Xie Jingtian": ? Can it be done like that?

"Gala": This method has been confirmed to work and has been tested.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng was stunned again.

Tested? Where did they test it? Could it be...

Lu Cheng remembered.

Vice President Gala had already told everyone about what happened last night, but he didn't go into great detail. He only roughly mentioned that they went out at night, encountered the paper people procession, infiltrated it, found an ancient painting, and obtained the wedding candle prop.

With this explanation given, the players quickly connected the two events.

"Xie Jingtian": So you guys infiltrated the monster crowd like that last night...

Xie Jingtian was relatively tactful in his remarks, whereas Mengchang didn't think much about it and spoke more directly.

"Mengchang": Who came up with this move? It's too clever.

It was a bit of a gamble, a bit imaginative, yet logical and reasonable.

In short, it was something that most players wouldn't have thought of.

Lu Cheng squatted in the room, a row of speechless ellipses appearing above his head.

Who else could it be? There were only three players last night.

Neither Vice President nor Captain Cen would do something like this.

So it must have been Xiao Qin.

Thinking of this, Lu Cheng suddenly paused and typed a message in the channel.

"Lu Cheng": Where's Xiao Qin? Why hasn't he said anything? @Xiao Qin

The person being mentioned, Qin Fei, was lying on the bed.

After the countdown ended, the female ghost outside disappeared, replaced by a familiar and comforting presence.

The source of pollution arrived.

A wave of drowsiness washed over Qin Fei, and he knew he was going to fall asleep again. The young man, struggling with his already uncontrollable body, used the last bit of his strength to collapse onto the bed.

In the last second before his consciousness dispersed, Qin Fei felt as if he was once again enveloped by a cold embrace.

...

Unsurprisingly, Qin Fei entered his dream.

He was now quite familiar with the transition of scenes in his dreams. Around him was a gray mist, and he stood in the midst of nothingness, tentatively calling out softly, "Pollution source?"

"Are you here?"

The audience couldn't see the scenes in his dreams, a conclusion Qin Fei drew from the comments over the past two days.

If the audience couldn't see it, it meant the live stream couldn't detect it. Being in this gray area where the system couldn't monitor him, Qin Fei relaxed a bit in his actions.

He looked around, searching for that figure.

"Who are you calling?"

A deep male voice sounded from behind him.

The mist in the air suddenly dissipated, revealing an ancient wooden house structure filled with vision, adorned with bright red silk ribbons hanging from the beams, forming exquisite silk flowers.

Qin Fei turned around and met a pair of slightly curious black eyes.

His shadow was clearly reflected in those eyes.

"...Wen Yian," Qin Fei called out the name of the person in front of him.

Although he now remembered a little bit about their previous interactions, calling this name still felt subtly awkward.

The three words rolled off his tongue, familiar yet strange, as if they shouldn't appear in his mouth in this form.

How should they be?

More intimate, more soothing, like whispers between lovers...

It should have been like that.

But Qin Fei couldn't bring himself to say it.

His heart raced, and his throat felt a bit dry as he looked at the person in front of him.

The black-haired man across from him raised an eyebrow, an expression identical to the one Qin Fei often made when puzzled.

He stared at Qin Fei for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled, stepping forward half a step, his palm brushing over the youth's hair: "Don't worry, the wedding doesn't start for another two hours; we have plenty of time."

Qin Fei immediately understood their current situation.

This scene in the dream was set after he and Wen Yian left the ancient makeup painting. They were in Tulou, conducting their final exploration, looking for the sixth ancient painting, the last missing wedding item.

Once they obtained this prop, they could clear the instance.

Qin Fei suddenly felt a bit dazed.

Gala and Qin Fei had talked about this particular instance from three years ago.

Since Gala hadn't actually participated, his understanding of the hidden secrets was limited. He only knew that at the time, under the leadership of President Qin Fei, the Black Feather players were planning something significant.

"A significant event concerning the freedom of all players."

If they had cleared the instance back then, perhaps the entire rule world would have ceased to exist long ago.

At worst, the players who cleared it would have returned to the real world, far away from all the bloodshed and killing.

Did they fail?

Myself and Wen Yian.

One lost his memory and returned to the endless instance three years later, while the other became a source of corruption, firmly rooted in the world of rules.

The dull ache in his temples returned, and Qin Fei remembered more.

He recalled how they had come to Tulou three years ago, how they found one ancient painting after another, and how they cleared each level.

Watching his once-close teammates disappear within the instance was a far different feeling from witnessing the deaths of those unfamiliar players this time.

"Wen Yian."

Qin Fei called out that name again.

He lifted his head to look at the person in front of him, the sharp features of his face gradually merging with the one in his memory.

Their failure to clear the instance three years ago most likely stemmed from that sixth painting.

And now, the last fragment of the corrupted soul would soon appear within the strange tales.

What could possibly be hidden in the sixth painting that led them to their current predicament?

Qin Fei didn't know how long this dream would last, but every additional minute meant he could learn more.

If this time, he could anticipate the contents of the paintings in advance,

perhaps everything would change.

Qin Fei half-lowered his eyes, his pale amber irises flickering with thoughts.

He took a half-step forward and clasped Wen Yian's hand: "Let's go."

It's time to set off.