Chapter 416 Setting the Target

Chapter 416: Confirming the Target

"So, if we just find where the power flow in their bodies knots up, we can locate the contract's restraint and then blast it apart?" Su Bai simulated the process in his mind, though the specifics would have to wait until they got to Qingliu City.

Su Bai could have experimented on the contract inside Liu Yongzhi's body, but since it was better to leave that contract intact, he had to abandon that idea.

"Speaking of which, if it's a marriage contract signed with an Eerie Entity, can it also be dissolved using this method?" Su Bai asked, intrigued.

"..." Wu Hang under the cloak remained silent for a moment before replying in a hoarse voice, "Some contracts can, but others flow constantly through both parties' bodies like human blood, lasting as long as the Crimson Moon."

"So, the Crimson Moon is like the witness to the marriage," Su Bai shrugged with feigned helplessness, but showed no real disappointment.

"Some things may last longer than contracts," Wu Hang's words seemed to imply something more.

"Longer than the Crimson Moon?" Though he was in the inn, when Su Bai looked up, it was as if he could pierce through everything to the blood-red moon hanging high in the sky.

"Yes."

Oddly, although the conversation between the two "individuals" had a vibe reminiscent of old, melodramatic novels, when Wu Hang uttered that "yes," his tone was so utterly certain and final.

It didn't sound like they were discussing the endurance of emotions, but rather... that the existence of the Crimson Moon might not be eternal.

Perhaps it was just an illusion?

Chuckling at his own overthinking, Su Bai felt he was really overthinking things. He was actually worrying about something like the moon disappearing one day.

"Mr. Su Bai, what do you think we should do next?" Zhi Yuan, oblivious to the exchange between Su Bai and Wu Hang, earnestly inquired about the next step of their plan.

Although their most important plan was to refuse to participate in tomorrow's game, the players shouldn't just waste the remaining time.

"What does Mr. Zhi Yuan think?" In Su Bai's view, Zhi Yuan asking for his opinion first was likely because of his connection to Feng Ling. This core member of the Nameless Society, who could obtain "code words" from Feng Ling, was definitely capable of more than just controlling the snake woman next to him.

"We're currently stuck in the lobby. Aside from brainstorming, there's very little we can do," Zhi Yuan pondered. "After the afternoon game begins, we'll enter the 'treasure hunt' phase. During the game, we probably won't be bothered by those Eerie Entities, just like now, and we'll have permission to move freely throughout the entire inn. After all, we might have to turn the whole inn upside down to find the 'treasure,' right?"

"No Eerie Entities following us, and we can roam the entire inn?" Su Bai also started thinking.

"We can do things we haven't had the time or space for before. For example, try to find out where those strange waiters pop out from? Who's behind those handwritten rule cards? You know, I compared the cards everyone has, and the handwriting on each card is actually different, as if a bunch of 'people' are holed up somewhere, churning them out one by one..."

Zhi Yuan thought for a moment, then nodded as if confirming to himself, adding, "I think there's a hidden space in the inn. That's probably where the waiters stay when they're not around."

"If they're waiters, they probably don't count as our 'family members,' right?" The little girl Wen Wen suddenly perked up.

"Yes!" Tan Ying looked as if she couldn't wait to roll up her sleeves right then. "Since they're not 'family members,' whatever we do shouldn't matter. Ever since entering this damn inn and seeing ghosts we can't even hit, I've been really pent up."

"We need to make good use of the afternoon game time to check whether the problem lies with this inn itself or with some nasty things hiding in a corner," Zhi Yuan nodded. "Then find a way to eliminate it."

"It seems everyone's been pent up for a long time," Chi Yan said, actually pulling out an unusually looking short knife from his pocket. "Although I'm a control-type player, I'm also a bit of a fighter, just a slow starter."

Su Bai felt that players who had experienced too much in the Nightmare World became very cautious. They remained silent or deliberately mysterious when first entering a game—what Chi Yan called "slow starters."

Of course, judging by Li Feiwen's earlier appreciation of Chi Yan, it was clear Chi Yan was likely not just a simple control-type player.

"If we're talking about slow starters, Mr. Zhi Yuan probably is one too, right?" Perhaps because they now had a relatively clear goal, Li Feiwen's tone was much lighter. "At first, we thought your ability was something like chanting sutras or spells."

"That's a personal hobby. It helps calm a restless mind quickly. Mr. Li, you could try it next time you're troubled by matters of the heart." Although Zhi Yuan's expression remained impassive, he now had the mood to tease Li Feiwen.

"I didn't do anything this game," Li Feiwen immediately defended himself.

"That's because you didn't manage to hook up with anyone. If you hadn't given up so early, I'd have quite liked to see you get bitten by that big dog beside Su Bai," Tan Ying also seemed to take some glee in it.

"Next, everyone should focus on resting and recovering. Before the afternoon game starts, no one knows what might happen. Based on my experience, it's still necessary to maintain some tension at this time," Zhi Yuan seemed to prefer that the atmosphere not become too relaxed.

Time slipped by while everyone rested. Most of the time, the lobby was filled only with occasional chatter and the sound of static from the lobby's television.

Then, a waiter came to inform them that lunch was ready.

Although the food prepared for humans in the kitchen consisted only of various raw vegetables, this alone was enough for Su Bai to marvel once again at the peculiarities of the Nightmare World. It wasn't particularly strange for edible human food to appear within Nightmare Game scenarios. If the game scenario were a terrifying ancient castle covered in spiderwebs, players might even find a massive wine cellar in the basement, filled with vintages nearly a hundred or even a thousand years old.

Yet, conflicting with this, the Nightmare World outside game scenarios was constantly bathed in the light of the Crimson Moon. Even food inside buildings was in a mutated state, mostly inedible and unsafe to consume.

It was unclear why so many ordinary vegetables from the real world appeared in game scenarios.

In Su Bai's previous life, when he stayed in the Nightmare World, players had already compiled lists of various foods that could satiate hunger there. For example, which mutated beasts' meat could be eaten after roasting, which mutated plant fruits were harmless or minimally harmful to humans...

Some players even engaged in smuggling tobacco and alcohol between the Nightmare World and the real world after obtaining special storage items.

Humans are incredibly tenacious and stubborn beings, always finding a way to survive no matter where they are.

"Ding ling—"

After an unknown amount of time, the familiar sound of a bell rang once again.