"Do you think what he said is trustworthy?"
On the ground, Li Sheng was gradually losing vital signs, his body temperature growing colder and his face turning pale. The blood flowing from the severed arm had already congealed.
Yang Linlin stood beside the giant jar, feeling uneasy. Li Sheng was clearly a bad person, but his story seemed particularly real, causing Yang Linlin to forget that he was an NPC in the game.
Zhao Yi's attention was still focused on the pile of nerve endings inside the jar. "From the perspective of a psychologist, I believe he is telling the truth."
"But obviously, this is not the way the system wants us to go."
"Breaking the curse should have a simpler solution. Otherwise, even if new players know about this method, 99% of them will die on this path!"
Yang Linlin fell silent after hearing this. The ghost fog was a deadly move! This sustained reduction of a player's mental state was more terrifying than any potential horrors that could be found inside.
"So do we still need to look for another way to break the curse?"
Zhao Yi thought seriously about what had happened and replied, "No, we don't need to. Taking shortcuts is good for us. It means there is a lower chance of unexpected things happening."
He stared at the secret passage that Li Sheng had used to enter. He was itching to go.
Ordinary players couldn't stay in the fog for too long. But Zhao Yi didn't care. First, he wouldn't lose his sanity due to the mysterious power of the fog. Second, as a psychologist who had treated over a thousand people with mental illness, he could perfectly control his own emotions.
"I'll leave now."
Yang Linlin didn't follow Zhao Yi. She knew she couldn't maintain a stable mental state like him. Although she was envious of the rewards for the hidden quest, as a qualified rogue, she knew when to take risks and when not to.
Now that she waited in the experimental chamber for Zhao Yi to complete the side quest, she could clear the game.
After taking a secret passage for a long time, Zhao Yi finally saw a glimmering light ahead. This secret passage was very deep underground and also operated via an elevator shaft, but it was different from the one guarded by X-2. The operation of this elevator shaft required member privileges, so the monsters outside couldn't come in.
After all, they wouldn't be stupid enough to dig hundreds of meters into the ground like a fool.
Although they were monsters, they had a clear sense of self-awareness.
They were killers, hunters!
Not excavators.
Zhao Yi entered the elevator and took out Heidi's severed head. He held it up in front of the facial recognition scanner, and the elevator started moving.
"Such a fancy facial recognition system, but it would probably fail even if your own mother came by, right?" Zhao Yi commented sarcastically, putting Heidi's rotten head back into his inventory.
The elevator reached the top floor and the doors opened to a chilling scene. The starlight seemed unusually dim, and a woman in a blood-soaked red dress stood with her back turned, her head lowered.
She was holding something in her hands and gnawing on it incessantly. Severed fingers covered the ground, most likely from Li Sheng's arm. Zhao Yi wasn't surprised by what he saw.
Li Sheng had chosen to risk provoking x-2 rather than using this secret passage, indicating that something extremely terrifying lurked here.
Feeling the bone-chilling coldness emanating from the ghostly figure, Zhao Yi couldn't help but sigh and muttered, "It's getting chilly, just like autumn." He walked out of the elevator, positioning himself closely behind the female ghost in a friendly manner.
He didn't intend to play the role of a ghost knight; he had no choice but to face this woman. It was the only way forward.
As a young, energetic man with a well-built physique, Zhao Yi knew that if he tried to leave, he would inevitably end up uncomfortably close to the red-dressed ghost.
The ghost sensed the heat on her back and turned her head in confusion, revealing a horrifying and grimacing face that sent shivers down the spines of the viewers in the live stream.
For a few seconds, they stared at each other. Then Zhao Yi awkwardly smiled politely and slowly walked past her.
...
[Red-dressed Ghost: Extremely dangerous!]
[Note: An evil spirit cursed by darkness, it feeds on fear as its favorite nourishment!]
[Weakness: Its senses are masked by rules, so it can only feed on emotional fluctuations from living beings. However, when it encounters a man as indifferent as you, it will regard you as a mere stone.]
[Additional note: Such an attractive female ghost, why not give it a try?]
...
Zhao Yi sniffed and cursed, "Damn it." After the strange data update, the notes he saw became increasingly inappropriate.
He was now in the storage room of the school gymnasium. Pushing open the door, terrifying shadows similar to the red-dressed ghost were lurking everywhere.
There was no fog, but a creepy nursery rhyme was softly singing in the air.
[August 8th, haircut, after the haircut, cut mommy, sew her into a doll...]
Zhao Yi walked all the way until he reached the child who was singing the nursery rhyme. He touched the child's head.
Hmm, a bit oily. This ghost probably hasn't washed her hair for a few days.
"Little one, can you tell me how to get to the center of this fog?" Zhao Yi asked.
The little girl stopped singing and looked up, stunned. She remained silent for a while, then pointed numbly in a direction.
Zhao Yi thanked her and headed towards the direction she pointed. After he left, the little girl stopped singing and stood still, lost in deep thought...
Why would a stone speak? She couldn't understand it.
The ghostly creatures, stripped of their six senses by the rules, cannot judge living beings based on sound, smell, or light. They only respond to emotions such as fear, shock, and excitement. Even if Zhao Yi were to attack them, they are unlikely to fight back. It's like when someone throws a stone at you, your first reaction is to find the person who threw it rather than retaliate with punches. Whether Zhao Yi blocks the entrance to the basement or not at the water tower last night, the outcome remains unchanged. These ghosts are simply following the rules and inspecting the water tower. Of course, Zhao Yi doesn't want to take that risk. Caution is always his top priority.
Outside the gymnasium, a thick fog envelops the area. The number of supernatural creatures increases. In the depths of the mist, there is a headless female corpse gracefully dancing ballet in a tutu, a demon playing a piano made of human bones, a butcher wielding a giant bone-cutting knife and ruthlessly dismembering bodies, and a woman with a mouth split open from ear to ear... They hide behind the mist, suddenly appearing, and may even collide with Zhao Yi directly!
But no matter what happens, Zhao Yi remains emotionally detached, not showing any signs of pain or fear on his face. The viewers in the live stream dare not even make a sound, afraid that Zhao Yi might meet his demise!
Finally, the fog ahead starts to dissipate slowly.
He dragged his heavily injured body to an empty space, where two twisted corpses lay on the ground, contorted like pretzels. Zhao Yi stopped and observed them, trying to discern their identities from their clothing. One appeared to be a woman, and the other, a man. He speculated that they might be Zhang Ya and Pang Xiao, but their identities no longer mattered.
Zhao Yi crouched down and pulled out a long worm from his decaying leg. Then, he took out his surgical knife and pierced the worm's abdomen. Soon, it was covered in numerous black tendrils, tightly entwining it. This was a passive ability derived from an evil god meme—a devourer. The worm quickly died, and the tendrils blossomed into beautiful flowers before gradually withering away.
With the worm gone, Zhao Yi's leg ceased its decay. He staggered towards a fist-sized box on the ground. The box was exquisitely crafted. When opened, it slowly spun and transformed into a miniature ancient tower. The tower emitted music akin to brilliant stars—melodious, elegant, noble, and dignified, captivating anyone who heard it. Under the enchanting music, Zhao Yi's gaze momentarily drifted, but quickly returned to normal.
He grabbed the box and sealed it shut. Dark mist emanated from the surface of the box, gathering in the sky and forming a giant, menacing ghost face with burning black flames flickering in its demonic eyes. It coldly stared at everything in Shishan High School, then suddenly opened its mouth and sucked in all the ghostly mist and malevolence, making them vanish without a trace.
[Congratulations to player Zhao Yi for completing the side quest—Breaking the Curse of Shishan High School.]
[Rewards will be given after completing the main quest.]
...
[Congratulations to player Zhao Yi for obtaining the hidden item—Pandora's Box.]
...