Chapter 309: Joyful Fate 30

Chapter 309: Joyful Fate 30

Gala fell silent.

"Alright," the Vice President said with a dejected look.

He knew he couldn't convince the other party, and he had no reason to continue persuading them, just as Xiao Qin had said; they had compelling reasons to go.

Gala could only console himself:

Since the President has spoken, things will surely proceed as he anticipated.

Everything will go smoothly.

Now there was only one last question: "So, where is the painting?"

Qin Fei shrugged: "I don't know."

Gala: ?

Gala widened his eyes: "Didn't you say..."

Qin Fei nodded: "Yes, three years ago I found that painting. But strictly speaking, it wasn't me who found the painting; it was the painting that found me."

Three years ago, Qin Fei and Wen Yian were separately responsible for searching for clues of the sixth ancient painting in both the outer and inner worlds of Red Mountain Tulou.

Until the eve of the wedding, neither had found anything.

"The last ancient painting suddenly appeared in front of Wen Yian and me," Qin Fei said.

At that time, they had searched every possible place in both worlds where the painting might be hidden, but their progress had stalled.

And then, during a moment when Qin Fei was distracted,

the ancient painting suddenly appeared on the wall in front of him.

On that bare, ordinary corridor wall, the painting they had been seeking hung there out of nowhere.

Then, Qin Fei smoothly entered the painting and received a task that he would find hard to let go of ever since.

Gala adjusted his glasses and summarized: "You did nothing, and the painting appeared by itself.

In other words, it only appears automatically at a special time."

Gala felt a headache coming on: "So we have to wait a few more hours?"

Qin Fei: "Not necessarily. The situation now is quite different from back then."

Three years ago, the distinction between the outer and inner worlds of Red Mountain Tulou was very clear, and the third day didn't have the perpetual darkness or the inner world encroaching on the outer world like it does now.

Besides, many details, such as the rules of the scenario and character identities, have changed.

Gala: "Forget it, everyone, disperse and explore on your own."

He raised his voice as he said this.

The people in the room had been watching the Vice President and Xiao Qin whispering for a while, and now they were finally acknowledged.

Mengchang went outside for a round and returned to the room with news:

"There are paper NPC figures on the first floor and in the courtyard below, some of which are holding lanterns.

When we attacked the NPC near the stairs earlier, many players saw it. Now, some are imitating our method, using lanterns and paper masks to blend into the crowd of paper figures downstairs."

Having others test the waters ahead ensured the safety of their plan even more.

Everyone in the room quickly left.

Lu Cheng and Mi Yang followed Qin Fei.

As the three walked to the staircase, Lu Cheng glanced up and spoke absentmindedly: "The third floor hasn't opened yet. I wonder if the ancient painting is hidden up there."

Qin Fei coldly pointed out Lu Cheng's poorly concealed thoughts:

"Yes, you guessed right. Gala and I were discussing the sixth painting earlier.

But I won't tell you what we talked about."

Explaining would involve too much, and Qin Fei didn't want to waste words or expose secrets to the audience on the other side of the camera.

The amused Mother Sheep: "Pfft!"

Lu Cheng: "..."

Ganging up on him was really not giving him any face.

Lu Cheng's expression of distress was hidden behind the paper mask, and the three descended the stairs.

At the stairwell corner, Lu Cheng whispered to Qin Fei: "Butterfly is watching us from behind."

Although the mask obscured his view, it couldn't hide Lu Cheng's vines, allowing him to still perceive everything around him.

Qin Fei responded with an "Mm," without further indication.

Let him watch; he actually hoped Butterfly would stick closer to him.

—Of course, not too close.

Qin Fei said: "From now until the end of the scenario, you two stay by my side. Unless the ghost story plot forcibly separates us, do not leave me for a single step."

Qin Fei knew that the butterfly was following him to find an opportunity to make a move against him.

However, with all of its puppets gone, as long as Qin Fei had enough people around him, the butterfly couldn't act rashly.

It could only watch Qin Fei, unable to do anything.

The longer this went on, the more frustrated it became.

The more frustrated it felt, the more determined it would be to chase after Qin Fei into the sixth ancient painting when it appeared.

The rules of the strange tale had changed, but the rules for passing through the sixth painting wouldn't change much.

Gala had already foreseen this. Besides, even to challenge the players, the system would retain this design.

Lu Cheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded wisely this time.

In the courtyard on the first floor, just as Mengchang had said, there were already paper figures and players walking around.

Everything was dark, and none of the lanterns hanging from the eaves and corners of the houses were lit.

The paper figures (NPCs) carried lanterns made of paper that emitted light, albeit dimly. In comparison, the players holding real lanterns resembled fireflies moving through the night, standing out distinctly.

Being overly conspicuous in such an environment was unsettling.

Every step the players took, they cautiously surveyed their surroundings, afraid of arousing the paper figures' suspicion.

Fortunately, the servants turned into paper figures had flat, narrow eyes, which didn't seem to have very good vision.

All the doors on the first floor were wide open, with players constantly entering and leaving the rooms. Some were even digging in the courtyard with flower shovels.

Qin Fei sat by the large locust tree, watching with great interest.

Although he had told Gala that the rules of the strange tale might change, in reality, Qin Fei himself believed that the players were likely doing futile work.

The player digging was working very hard, and Qin Fei didn't know how he had determined his target area.

He started by digging a small area at his feet, digging deep without finding anything, and then expanded his scope.

Expanding, expanding, and expanding...

When Xie Jingtian passed by, he couldn't help but remark, "This ground is being tilled so thoroughly, you could plant vegetables."

The player blushed, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sat down on the ground, loosening his grip on the shovel.

He wasn't the only one wasting effort; the members of Black Feather had been wandering around the courtyard all morning, also doing fruitless work.

A few hours passed quickly, and as noon approached, Black Feather gathered with the members of Dark Fire under the large locust tree to share information.

There wasn't much to share; everyone had found no new clues, turning the meeting into a venting session.

"I'm really tired, not physically, but mentally," Mengchang said with a bitter face. "Where is that painting? I've almost worn a path into the ground on the first floor."

Vice President Gala patted Mengchang's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic and encouraging look.

He couldn't tell everyone that when the time was right, the ancient painting might appear on its own.

After all, no one could guarantee that, and such words couldn't be said casually.

Besides, while other players were frantically searching, the members of Black Feather were slacking off, making the situation too suspicious.

So, everyone had to endure.

Qin Fei leaned against the locust tree, looking up at the sky.

The sun seemed to have vanished completely in the strange tale world, and the sky remained dark, getting darker by the minute.

The paper figures in the courtyard seemed to be increasing slowly, unnoticed by everyone.

Paper figures, increasing?

A very bad feeling suddenly surged in Qin Fei's heart.

These newly appearing paper figures were like the previous ones, either standing against walls or moving around, not bothering the players and taking up little space, thus not drawing much attention.

The variable occurred suddenly at exactly twelve o'clock noon.

A paper figure suddenly spawned at the stairway, blocking the path of a player coming down the stairs.

The player reacted quickly but couldn't stop in time, so he immediately sidestepped.

He didn't touch the paper figure, but the lantern he was carrying did.

The lantern swayed, and the flame inside flickered.

The player stopped, cautiously looking at the paper figure in front of him.

At this point, he didn't think anything would happen.

He had been wandering in the courtyard all morning, passing by the paper figures countless times and doing many outrageous things.

Digging, scraping walls, moving furniture around—none of these actions drew any reaction from the paper figures.

This time would surely be the same.

But this time, it was different.

The paper figure stood still for a few seconds, then began to move, step by step, toward the player.

Not only it, but the other paper figures nearby also moved toward him.

The other players in the courtyard took in this scene, and before they could react, they realized that the paper people around them were also moving closer!

The paper people seemed to have been awakened, or perhaps they suddenly noticed the players' anomaly.

There weren't too many paper people on the first floor and in the courtyard—perhaps a few dozen in total—all of them turned and started walking towards the players.

The paper people didn't move quickly. Compared to the highly aggressive paper people encountered in the ancient painting, the paper people in Tulou were as if they had been slowed down by a debuff.

The player at the stairway was immediately surrounded by paper people and his first reaction was to take out the porcelain bottle.

However, for some reason, these paper people didn't seem too afraid of the porcelain bottle. They paused only for a brief moment before continuing their advance.

This scene sent chills down the hearts of all the players.

Qin Fei lowered his eyes silently, seemingly deep in thought.

Lu Cheng swallowed lightly and looked at Gala beside him.

The Vice President's prediction came true.

As time passed, the influence of the Inner World within the ghost stories grew stronger, and the abilities of the paper monsters belonging to the Inner World also increased.

The porcelain bottle's suppression effect on the paper people weakened, which was undoubtedly a disaster for the players.

Individually, the paper people had limited offensive and defensive capabilities, but in Tulou, they always appeared in the hundreds or thousands.

Moreover, they couldn't be touched at all, making them even more difficult to deal with.

Although these paper people were currently moving very slowly, no one doubted that eventually, they would become faster and more agile.

The porcelain bottle was the players' most reliable support when facing a horde of paper people.

One could say that without the porcelain bottle, even the most skilled players would be helpless against an endless tide of paper people.

Gala quickly made a decision: "Back to the room!"

However, this level turned out to be more troublesome than everyone had imagined.

As soon as Gala spoke, an exasperated cry from the second-floor player echoed overhead: "Damn it! How is the guest room door locked?!"

This shout was like a thunderclap, leaving the players on the first floor who were about to run upstairs completely at a loss.

Qin Fei narrowed his eyes, and his amber irises showed a rare hint of anger.

The system has truly lost its face.