Chapter 56: Preparations Before the Battle

Chapter 56: Preparations for Battle

"If I'm the one taking the lead, even if something goes wrong... perhaps, perhaps the players' scores won't be deducted, right?"

Though Ning Yan posed this as a question, her subsequent steps forward indicated she didn't truly seek an answer.

"Ning Yan..."

Not just Sister Yao, but every player in the lobby at that moment realized that, regardless of whether their memories had returned, Ning Yan and Fang Xiujie likely knew they were no longer mere players.

Since they were no longer players, even if killed by ghosts, it would have no bearing on the overall player score.

And even though they were no longer players, they hadn't devolved into malevolent spirits either.

"Crash—! Thump—!"

Outside the lobby of Building One, spectral entities were already attempting to force open the locked glass security door. Yet, despite its transparency, the door's frame, designed for security, was quite robust. The double-layered glass also possessed a considerable thickness. Unless confronted by a Butcher Ghost—a type of malevolent spirit wielding weapons and possessing immense strength—the mere pushing and shoving of these lesser entities wouldn't suffice to breach the door quickly.

That is, unless the consciousness of this Happy Community chose to intervene once more.

The eerie entity that had manifested as Happy Community had already sealed off the players' escape routes in Building One's lobby. If that entity truly wished for the players to perish faster, a mere thought might suffice to unlock the glass door, allowing the throng of ghosts outside to surge in.

But the entity did not act immediately.

Why?

In this profoundly difficult moment, everyone's attention was inevitably consumed by Ning Yan and the ghosts beyond the door. No one, nor could anyone, notice that in a blind spot, Su Bai, the dark-skinned young man, had reached out with his left hand to touch the stairwell door handle.

Then, at that precise moment, even if someone had indeed observed Su Bai's action, they would have suddenly felt a momentary disorientation, as if a thin veil of mist had drifted across their vision. It seemed to obscure nothing, yet it precisely concealed Su Bai as he grasped the door handle. By the time the thin mist swiftly dissipated, Su Bai stood perfectly still by the stairwell door, as if he had merely been cautiously checking if the stairwell door was truly locked.

Inside the Mist Shop, time stood utterly still.

No matter how long Su Bai lingered within the shop, to those outside, it would appear as but an instant. Moreover, a terrifying entity had imbued the "door" of the Mist Shop with immense power, employing a disruptive influence that prevented nearby humans or entities from even registering Su Bai's actions of opening and closing the door.

Although time had stopped, perhaps due to the pressing circumstances, the power Su Bai recovered after transforming the shadow ghost from the bead strand and the unfortunate coffin-sleeping ghost into commodities was not substantial. However, after making the ghost aunt who cared for the cats into a non-sellable item, not only did Su Bai regain the energy he had expended in defeating the Butcher Ghost, but the white sand symbolizing power in the transparent jar visibly increased significantly.

Of course, it was still only enough to sparsely cover the bottom of the jar.

Su Bai had never anticipated that the ghost aunt who had chosen "death" would be the one to provide him with the most power.

Seeing the cursed doll representing Xiao Wu resting peacefully on the counter, still asleep, Su Bai didn't suspect the little creature might have slipped away. He simply assumed the child was in a deep slumber and hadn't yet awakened. So, after properly arranging the commodities, he exited the shop.

Outside the shop, everything remained unchanged. Ning Yan stood at the very front, unarmed.

Su Bai, holding his long-handled umbrella, advanced, joining Ning Yan's attempt to form a one-person army. While he wouldn't sacrifice himself for others, he was a participant in this game and naturally desired to win.

Furthermore, contemplating the empty shelves in the Mist Shop and observing the bustling throng of ghosts outside, if the atmosphere weren't so somber, Su Bai might even have struggled to suppress a smile.

After all, wasn't the very reason he had hastily joined this game to acquire new stock?

Even if the entity regarded humans as prey, Su Bai, as the proprietor of the Mist Shop, was he not also viewing the entities as mere inventory to fill his shelves?

As for why "Happy Community" hadn't immediately unlocked the security door, Su Bai believed the answer was remarkably simple.

Beyond the power of the red moon, what the entity craved was human despair and fear. Whether basking in moonlight or devouring other ghosts, any entity could only gain more power from the red moon. That was indeed essential for an entity to grow stronger, but it wasn't delicious.

To use a human food analogy, the power of the red moon was like plain brown rice without any seasoning or side dishes—healthy and filling, capable of sustaining one's energy throughout the day. But human fear and despair were like the most exquisite cakes, chocolates, barbecues, cigarettes, alcohol, and even... certain illicit substances. Though not essential for survival, they were often far more important to humans than rice.

The aroma blended from human fear and despair was, in the eyes of the entity, such an ultimate delicacy, even more unparalleled than any deliciousness humans could possibly imagine.

Just as the ghosts outside the glass door couldn't resist the allure of such a feast, the more powerful entity named "Happy Community" likewise pursued the exquisite taste of fear and despair. Although the true power of the entity that had taken the form of Happy Community remained unknown, no matter how much "rice" the ghosts of the nightmare world consumed, they would ultimately strive to obtain that tantalizing hint of gourmet thrill.

The entity had severed the human players' retreat to intensify their fear.

The entity had not directly unlocked the glass security door, precisely to allow human fear to slowly ferment in a confined environment.

To make the aroma of fear and despair even more potent and delectable, the entity named "Happy Community" would inevitably employ various methods to torment the players trapped in the lobby.

On the surface, this game had progressed to a point where human players were forced into a desperate battle for survival against numerous ghosts. But if one broadened their perspective, imagining themselves as the red moon in the sky, looking down upon this seemingly tiny Happy Community beneath the nightmare world's night sky, the four towering residential buildings formed a circle, like the entity's deep, gaping maw, ready to swallow all ghosts and human delicacies in the next instant.

Indeed, no matter how ferocious the ghosts attacking Building One were, they were ultimately mere "spices" used by "Happy Community" to add a piquant freshness while "cooking" the humans to make them more delicious.

The eight players present, including Ning Yan and Fang Xiujie, were likely, in the eyes of "Happy Community," just a few ingredients lying in a pot, ready to be stir-fried at will.

Of course, Su Bai and the others were neither the red moon nor "Happy Community." They were prey with limited choices, standing by helplessly as grotesque ghosts crowded outside the community's glass security door. They couldn't simply stand there and be slaughtered; they had to fight back.

Whether to become food, whether to succumb to fear and despair—these were choices humans could entirely make for themselves!