The other players looked at the owner of the manor with solemn expressions on their faces.
If the owner of the manor was not the captain, who could she be? Or have they gone down the wrong direction since the beginning, and the owner of the manor was not the 'ghost' at all?
"Wait, you... you're not Black Rabbit, are you?" A player pointed at the owner of the manor.
What if they were misled early on? What if the owner of the manor was a player after all?!
It was a shocking guess, but even more shocking was that there were actually a few players who showed doubtful expressions.
If the owner of the manor was Black Rabbit, then the ghost should be...
"Cut it out. Her familiarity with this manor is not something a player can have." Not to mention the complex expression the owner of the manor showed when facing the NPCs and players. There was a bit of mockery, as well as a detached look, as if she was sitting back and watching their demise.
"Of course the owner of the manor is not the captain. The captain is someone else," an unfamiliar voice appeared among the players.
Looking toward the sound, they saw the NPC, who had previously been standing still, come forward and reach out to comb his wet hair back as he faced the crowd.
His hand pulled out from his pocket while holding a gun-like object. However, the players were too busy doubting the world for the first time, so no one paid attention to his hand.
"You."
A lightning bolt struck the players' minds, "Black Rabbit?!"
Everyone was still in shock. The little girl's silk thread had been pulled out, and she revealed a cruel smile in the corner of her eyes: You jumped out by yourself.
Saman and the glasses girl, who had constantly been following her, were not slow to respond. One touched their bracelet while the other drew out a card, but to their surprise, someone was even faster than them.
No, that person did not react faster; he attacked faster.
Bang! After the gun was shot, the nail penetrated the little girl player's forehead and went straight through the back of her head.
"Try it, and if you can, stay." She remembered what her master had ordered, and her breathing became more rapid as blood poured out of her mouth.
Was it possible? It was possible. It was extremely possible... if such a person was discovered by Master, would Master have anyone else in his eyes?
The little girl player's thread almost touched Ren Yifei's neck, but it loosened at the last second.
"I'm not willing," another gush of blood poured out as she opened her mouth, murmuring, "Can't..."
Her corpse fell beside the disguised player, forming an angle as their blood pooled together; it was impossible to tell whose blood belonged to who.
There was someone else who could do things like murder more calmly and casually than her. j91vWn
"Since one has already been killed, why not kill another?"
The devil has awakened. If you try to murder a devil, you will eventually be murdered by the devil in return.
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"It's a shame that I predicted your prediction."
Ren Yifei calmly retracted the nail gun and turned to look at the owner of the manor, "What should I call you? Miss 'ghost', or simply 'Goddess of Starlight'?" 6abBfo
We're sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we're going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Ejlc kjr qbeglcu, jcv la kjr mbcrajcais cblrs, yea atf qijsfgr jii rtea eq jcv ibbxfv ja tfg; revvfcis, atf kbgiv rffwfv nfgs delfa. Ktf bkcfg bo atf wjcbg ibbxfv eq ja atf rxs, "P tjnfc'a tfjgv jcsbcf mjii wf atja lc j ibcu alwf."
"Is this instance a variation of the shipwreck? The shipwreck will reincarnate every seven days?" Ren Yifei voiced his doubts.
"Shipwreck..." the owner of the manor recalled the past and spoke in a reminiscent tone, "It seems to be something that happened a long time ago. Maybe it's because I'm not human and don't have complex emotions, so I can't remember much." fd0YRy
"But after that day, the deceased sank into the ocean. Their flesh was eaten up by the fish, and within three months, they all turned into bones."
"It's just that it didn't end there."
She waved her hand gently. The NPCs who were standing still grew fish scales, and their souls turned into large translucent fish. They twisted their body and jumped into the ocean.
"There are ghosts wandering around in the ocean, refusing to leave and unable to accept their death. They all turned into swimming fish in their dreams. However, ghosts are fragile and shatter when the wind blow and waves crash." ILN4e5
"I merely carried out the duty of a ship and provided them with a stage. But it's up to them how things turn out."
The storms blew the world into chaos, but the owner of the manor remained calm. She looked at the world from the perspective of an outsider. It was tough to imagine what kind of obsession such a person would have.
"I thought these people's dreams would be more beautiful, but I didn't expect that it was different from reality. Scheming, fighting, stealing, and slaughter."
Her eyes shifted to the players, "I've never done anything, but I don't know why you always suffer heavy casualties. Are human desires more terrifying than the raging sea?" Gwil1c
Ren Yifei, who killed two with his own hands and one indirectly: ...
The players who were happily scheming: ...
After being silent for a while, Ren Yifei asked, "Did no one find you in the previous games?" As long as they find the ship model, finding the' ghost' would not be difficult.
"So what if you find out? Are you going to challenge the only standing boat under your feet?" CxDuJn
She said these words with a smile.
A huge golden dragon smashed down, and the whole world seemed like it had been ravaged by flashbulbs. The glare and noise made players clutch their heads in pain, "Ah—"
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As the earth shook, they could hear the sound of rain, wind and thunder, the ship breaking and the sound of screaming.
By the time the white light dissipated, the manor and the island had disappeared entirely, and only a large ship was half submerged in the ocean. They stood on the severely tilted deck, defying science as they stood firm. IlCjWk
Immediately afterwards, the massive wave crashed down like a giant hand that covered the sky.
"Boom!" The sky trembled.
The icy ocean water, which carried a fishy stench, hit their face, and their body chilled. The players shuddered as if they were the actual victims of this calamity. However, they were not injured in the slightest. Instead, the NPCs rolled on the ground.
The NPCs no longer had their original appearance; they were all dressed in clothes that fit their persona. These people did not seem to be able to see the players, and it was as if they were living in two dimensions. QI2BdD
The players watched the blue ocean surround the NPCs, and the white foam splashed as NPCs held onto the handrails, ropes and the like. Those who had no support screamed as they slipped into the water, and were washed away by the waves in the blink of an eye.
"Creak creak," the sound of fractures rang out in all directions. The cracked places were pitch black, and the fear gave birth to those black ghost tree-like things. If you glance at it, you will be devoured by it.
Many pearl-coloured ghosts floated around the ship. They were soaked to the bones and clinging to the vessel. Their grey eyes stared at those in distress with jealousy and greed.
"It's so cold down here. Come down and accompany us," the voices of the resentful souls came one after another as they all stared at the living. zA093d
"The ship is about to break!" Many shadows appeared amidst the wind and rain. They passed through the player's bodies, calling for help, assisting other people, and grabbing lifeboats.
In front of life and death, human nature was bare naked; beauty and ugliness were revealed.
The players watched the event play out in front of them in silence. They knew that this was a reenactment.
This instance did indeed begin with a shipwreck. However, the player came three months after the wreck. The scattered souls of the victims had nowhere to rest, so they were carried by the ship and were lifted out of the nightmare of death. TaISBj
The ghost wood and the pearl-coloured ghosts may be 'supernatural' elements, one represented the shipwreck, and the other represented the people killed. They all want to drag Starlight and the people in Starlight into the water.
Time and time again, they were present in every instance. The refugees were unaware of the truth and blamed everything on Starlight, taking the opportunity to vent their fears and grievances.
Why does the owner of the manor continue? Humanity itself does not want to save these fallen souls. And yet, the owner of the manor starts a new cycle again and again.
Was she expecting everything to end perfectly with the humans united? LkpnF
Was her obsession as simple as holding up these scattered ghosts?
Suddenly, the eyes of the owner of the manor changed slightly, and there was light in her eyes.
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"It is amid filth that the beauty of the pearl can be found. There are vulgar and foul-smelling souls in human beings, but there are also souls that shine."
"The elderly, children, and women get on the boat first! Take the number plate!" The captain in white uniform walked out of the dream world and gave commands in the face of danger, letting the old and weak women and children among the tourists go first. yYB89G
The players recognised him as the crazy old man who had previously been staying at the gate.
But he was calm and collected at that moment, very trustworthy.
The crew carried out his orders. In the time of a life-and-death crisis, they were still rescuing the children and passing them forward in an orderly manner before gently placing them in the lifeboats. There were already dozens of these lifeboats around the ship, all swaying on the ocean's surface in the storm.
"Captain! You go first," a particularly tall sailor said. H4Ezs2
"There's still time. After sending this group of passengers, you guys can go down."
"What about you, Captain?"
The captain merely adjusted his hat, "I'm the captain of this ship. Where the ship is, I'll be there. Go on!"
Everyone could see that the captain was ready to sacrifice himself. With tears in their eyes, the crew silently carried out his orders and sent one life after another into the small lifeboat. No one took advantage of the opportunity to take up a place. jvTIrl
"I want to go down!" A middle-aged man in his thirties rushed out. He pushed aside a child, grabbed the rope and was about to squeeze onto the lifeboat.
This lifeboat only had one seat left.
"Children first!" the captain exclaimed. He reached out to pull the tourist and said, "There will be lifeboats later. You'll all have the opportunity to..."
The captain's words stopped abruptly, and he looked down at the dagger sticking out of his chest in disbelief. VsCero
"I don't believe you. You're all liars!" With red eyes, the tourist grabbed the captain's hand and yanked it so hard that the captain tumbled down from above. The tourist then quickly occupies the last vacant seat in the lifeboat.
"Captain! Captain—"
Large waves rolled, and the white figure was drowned in one fell swoop.
"Hahaha, hahaha, I'm saved, I..." the tourist opened his mouth and laughed. However, he was not standing still at that moment, and another large wave hit, causing the tourist to slip and fall into the sea. When he floated up again, his head was submerged in the water, and he died. OeClqp
"In so many games, everyone became the best versions of themselves, except for him. He had forgotten everything but still remembers to remind those people to stay away from Starlight," the owner of the manor looked at the white corpse floating in the ocean.
"Nobody believed him and treated him like he was crazy. What a fool."
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Suddenly, the sound of a violin rang out. A white light appeared on the ship's plank, playing the violin. The sound of music that brought peace to one's soul also soothed the suffering spirits.
"Is this the end of the world?" The NPCs cried and then disappeared one by one. Only the players were left on the ship's deck as if they were in a different dimension, out of tune with the environment. kxQOZd
Ren Yifei looked at the owner of the manor's complete human form and recalled the broken fragments in the ship model, "You're the incarnation of the Goddess of Starlight, the day of the shipwreck, you also shattered."
"A candle has always meant devotion and sacrifice in human culture. But that's just the wishful thinking of humans; it was simply doing its job. It never intended to illuminate humanity."
The owner of the manor is just a routine bystander to the refugees. Thus, it was bizarre to have mentioned sacrifices.
Even if, to be precise, the owner of the manor resented the refugees, hated them for killing the captain, hated them for their selfishness, the owner's obsession has never been the tourists. yCG8cm
The existence that lured him up the mountain that day had the face of the owner of the manor, and now that he thought about it, it might have been the owner of the manor, but it was simply a part of her 'resentment'.
Ren Yifei took out the old photo and handed it to her, "This is a photo of you and the captain. Now it's back to its rightful owner."
The owner of the manor saw the photo and showed a nostalgic expression, "I haven't been able to find it, but you found it. The Goddess of Starlight had disappeared with the disaster and sank to the bottom of the ocean forever. I thought it was also with Chen Li at the bottom of the sea."
She put away the photo, "Thank you. I forgot to tell you one thing. Actually, I found you on the first day." RgKbp
Ren Yifei was taken aback.
"From afar, I saw a bright moon, dragging scattered starlight into my arms," the owner of the manor smiled softly, "It was extremely beautiful."
T/N: The final chapter of this arc will be up next week! Bet most of you did not expect the identity of the ghost haha~
This chapter is difficult to understand, so Fish will try to summarise it:
Everyone was almost certain that the owner is the ghost. But after the failed identification in the previous chapter, the players thought that the owner is Black Rabbit (RYF). That is when RYF drop his disguise and identified the owner as the Goddess of Starlight.
The Goddess of Starlight is the ship; she took the appearance of the status on the ship's bow. She created this instance to shelter the souls that died during the shipwreck, creating a fantasy world for them so that they could live in peace. However, this 'sacrifice' is not because she loved humans or anything like that; she only likes the captain (aka the crazy old man).
After identifying her, the environment around the players morphed into a ship at sea, replaying the events of the shipwreck.
In the end, RYF returned the picture of the captain (Chen Li) and The Goddess of Starlight to the owner. This was when the owner revealed that she knew RYF was a player on the first day (probably because RYF acted selfless and pure even in a dire situation, like the captain).
If there are any confusing parts please ask! Fish would love to discuss them with you!