Among the four, Sima Mu was the most impatient, striding up the steps and shoving open the door of the Zen room.
"Someone's indeed here!"
The Zen room was about half the size of a basketball court, with several meditation cushions on the floor and a table with incense on the north side, directly across from the door.
A Buddha shrine rested on top, housing a faceless Buddha statue.
To the west side of the Zen room, there was another inner chamber.
Lin Baici came over, glanced around the room, and saw there were fourteen people.
All of these people had a vine noose around their necks.
They looked utterly desperate, with no intention of speaking. When they saw someone approaching, they only glanced over before lowering their heads again.
"What's the deal with this thing? Can it strangle a person?"
Sima Mu roared.
No one answered.
"Fuck, are you all deaf?"
Sima Mu clenched his scythe, ready to lash out at someone.
[Inside the western inner chamber, there are delicious delicacies, an opportunity definitely not to be missed, or else you might as well delete your account and start over.]
Gurgle!
Lin Baici's stomach growled; he was so hungry he felt like he could gnaw off and eat the doorframe.
"Why didn't you tell us it was dangerous here?"
Xu Xiu complained, believing they could have escaped before being ensnared by the vines had these people only warned them.
A portly man spared the old lady a glance, his schadenfreude apparent: "Why should we warn you?"
"You..."
The old lady was furious. Wasn't this just harmful to others without any benefit to oneself?
"Are you asking for a beating?"
Sima Mu, far from looking like a casualty, was furious and ready to throw a punch, wanting to teach the man why the flower was so red.
"Let's not quarrel, everyone. What we need more is to pull together and find a way to escape from here!"
A short girl stepped in to mediate.
She was wearing a blue pleated mini skirt, a white short-sleeved blouse that was slightly see-through, revealing the straps of her undergarments.
A red tie was knotted at her chest, and she wore a pair of black round toe leather shoes.
This was a popular sailor uniform cosplay outfit.
Lin Baici furrowed his brows: "Why does this girl look somewhat familiar?"
"Yue Yu, stop bothering with them!"
The speaker was a young woman in her twenties with short hair, of an average appearance, wearing jeans, white sneakers, and a hooded sun protection top.
"We can't just give up, can we?"
Hua Yue Yu sighed; at nineteen, she was in the prime of her life and didn't want to die.
"Are you Hua Yue Yu from the Shark Station livestream?"
Lin Baici suddenly remembered when he heard the girl in white sneakers calling her Yue Yu.
He seemed to have seen this girl livestreaming games on Shark Station.
"Right, are you a fan of mine?"
Hua Yue Yu managed to squeeze out a smile.
Lin Baici shook his head.
Hua Yue Yu was a top live streamer on the currently hottest platform, Shark Station, primarily doing game walkthroughs, otaku dances, singing, and occasionally some outdoor exploration content.
She was also an UP master, posting videos on websites like TikTok and Bilibili, with a combined following of over five million.
"Oh, then you can watch more of my streams in the future, I'm sure I can bring you some fun!"
Hua Yue Yu took the opportunity to promote her channel, but the thought that she might not survive the day dampened her enthusiasm.
Alas!
She'd never get the chance to earn a billion yuan, to enjoy life after achieving financial freedom.
"Like hell, we're all gonna die today!"
The portly man scoffed.
"Do you know what's going on here?"
Lin Baici tugged at the vine noose around his neck.
"I was unconscious when the meteorite fell, and when I came to, I saw a group of people. So I followed them along with Sister Xiao Li and Brother Gu, and we all hid here!"
Hua Yue Yu had a little round face, and when she spoke, a small tiger tooth appeared on the left side of her mouth, which was quite cute.
Sister Xiao Li was the woman in white sneakers with the short hair, while Brother Gu sat beside them, not too old, a Canon camera hanging from his chest, clearly Hua Yue Yu's photographer.
"We had rested for less than ten minutes when these vine nooses suddenly appeared around our necks. We found that when the noose tightens, we have to immediately enter that Zen chamber's inner room, or else we'll get strangled to death!"
These were the rules Hua Yue Yu had concluded.
"Can't we just run?"
The old lady's voice trembled, still clutching onto hope.
"No use, the moment you step out of that courtyard door, you instantly get your neck snapped!"
Sister Xiao Li desperately grabbed her hair; nothing was more cruel than waiting for death.
"What's in that inner chamber of the Zen room?"
Kim Myungjin pressed: "Has anyone come out?"
"No idea!"
Hua Yue Yu shook her head: "From the start till now, seven waves of ten people each have gone in, and not a single person has come out!"
"They all died?"
Sima Mu's scalp tingled.
"Probably!"
Hua Yue Yu was the calmest among them, observing everything with great attention.
She had a GoPro sports camera clipped to her collar, an unfortunate matter since no electronic device worked in God's Ruins; otherwise, she would have liked to check the footage for any crucial information for escaping.
"Didn't you say people died outside? I didn't see any bodies!"
Lin Baici needed more information.
"Those who were strangled to death... their bodies turned to sand and broke apart, turning into dust in less than three minutes."
Sister Xiao Li interjected.
"What?"
Xu Xiu panicked even more, clutching Lin Baici's arm.
"Nothing that happens in God's Ruins should be considered strange!"
Sima Mu didn't care about the bodies: "Our priority is how to get this noose off."
"Eater God, what do you think?"
Lin Baici asked inwardly.
[Hungry!]
The response was utterly off-topic.
Lin Baici was about to ask Hua Yue Yu for some more information when a man wearing sunglasses sprung up like a rabbit that had its tail stepped on.
The old lady was startled and quickly hid behind Lin Baici.
"Their lassos are tightening!"
Hua Yue Yu touched the lasso around his neck. It wasn't getting any tighter.
Phew!
Luckily, he could live a bit longer, but this was probably the last chance to escape. If he couldn't find a way, he'd have to enter the inner chamber of the Zen room.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
The man with the sunglasses cursed helplessly. Running out meant certain death, but there might be a slim chance of survival in the inner chamber.
The ten chosen unlucky ones entered the inner chamber, trembling with trepidation.
Just as Lin Baici was about to take a closer look, the door slammed shut with a bang.
Heh, I get to live for a few more minutes!
The portly man gave a self-deprecating wry smile, but deep down, he didn't want to die. He took the initiative to converse with Lin Baici: "Hey, do you have a plan?"
He could tell that among the newcomers, everyone looked up to this handsome young man.
"No!"
Lin Baici walked up to the shrine to observe the faceless Buddha and ponder the crisis that might be coming, as well as appropriate ways to deal with it.
Kim Myungjin boldly walked up to the door of the inner chamber and listened closely. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything.
"Whatever you did, I've done too, and discovered nothing!"
Hua Yue Yu sat down with her legs bent and hands clasping her knees, chin resting on them.
Sigh!
We're all just ordinary people trapped in God's ruins; I was foolish to expect them to work miracles. I've been so stupid!
Lin Baici carefully checked around the room and was about to go out to the courtyard when the lasso around his neck suddenly tightened.
Pain spread from his neck, accompanied by a slight sensation of suffocation.
"Bai Ci!"
The old aunt was scared into tears. She had heard that people strangled to death stick their tongues out quite a bit.
"It's our turn!"
Brother Gu stood up, caressing the Canon camera on his chest, and was the first to enter the inner chamber of the Zen room.
"Let's go, we've got no choice!"
Hua Yue Yu took a deep breath, gathering her spirits, preparing for the last struggle.
Lin Baici raised his wrist and looked at the Rolex he had picked up.
It had been six minutes since those people went in.
"Bai Ci, let's go into the Zen room!"
Sima Mu called out.
Kim Myungjin and the old aunt had already gathered around too, feeling safer being with Lin Baici.
Seeing this, the portly man had an idea and hurriedly followed behind the four of them.
The inner chamber of the Zen room was small, with no furnishings, only a meditation cushion that a monk would sit on while chanting scriptures.
The cushion was somewhat old and slightly yellowed, and on it sat a small incense burner the size of a fist with three sticks of incense burning inside.
A strange fragrance filled the air.
Once everyone was inside, the lassos around their necks immediately loosened.
"So, what do we do now?"
The group looked at each other, clueless.
"Is this incense burner one of the Taboo things?"
Lin Baici stared at the incense burner, waiting for the Eater God to give its food critique, but there was no sound in his mind.
Creak!
The door closed on its own.
"Look quick!"
Kim Myungjin exclaimed urgently.
The white smoke rising from the burnt incense morphed into a row of faint words.
'Sit in lotus position, listen to my scriptures; those who are as silent and calm as before, steady as ever, will reach the other shore!'
The words appeared for three seconds and then quickly dissipated.
"What does it mean?"
The portly man was completely befuddled.
"It seems like we need to listen to scriptures?"
As Hua Yue Yu spoke, she hurriedly sat down and assumed a lotus position.
The floor was a bit cold, sending a shiver through the female anchor.
"Listen to scriptures? Who understands that?"
The portly man despaired. He was the kind of person who enjoyed his lavish feasts and saunas, with not an ounce of Buddha nature in him.
Just as he finished speaking, the lasso around his neck tightened again, scaring him so much that he pleaded, "I'll listen, I'll listen, could you please start chanting?"
It wasn't just the portly man who was affected. Aside from Hua Yue Yu, everyone else's lasso also tightened, bringing a sense of suffocation.
"What's going on?"
Sister Xiao Li was panicking.
"Quick, sit down, assume the lotus position!"
Seeing that Hua Yue Yu was unaffected, Lin Baici understood.
They all had to follow the instructions provided by the incense smoke to avoid dying.
"What is the lotus position?"
The portly man sat on the ground, crossing his legs, but found that the lasso continued to tighten, making him so frantic he could spit blood, "What you're talking about, who understands that!"
"It's like I'm doing. Put your left foot on your right thigh, then your right foot on your left thigh!"
Hua Yue Yu demonstrated.
To maintain her beauty, she, a face for the screen, learned yoga and meditation and was familiar with such practices.
"Bai Ci, follow me!"
Xu Xiu also understood. However, she had been conned by a fitness coach, having spent six thousand yuan just for a few poses over three months.
But now that she could help Lin Baici, the old aunt suddenly felt the six thousand yuan was well spent.
At last, I'm of some use!
Xu Xiu was worried she might become too much of a burden and be abandoned by Lin Baici. Yet before she could even enjoy a few seconds of relief, she saw Lin Baici too knew how to assume the lotus position.
"Oppa, can you manage it?"
Kim Myungjin knew how to do it as well and looked at Lin Baici with concern, even ready to help him with her own hands.
"No problem!"
Lin Baici had read quite a few books; he had a broad range of knowledge.
Finally, the portly man managed to assume the lotus position, and the lasso around his neck loosened. But before he could even catch his breath, a melodious chanting began to resonate within the Zen room.