Lin Xiao took in his surroundings, he noticed a passageway leading deeper into the underground chamber.
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decay, and the whispering chant that had haunted him from the well's entrance was now louder, echoing off the walls.
Lin Xiao moved toward the passageway. The walls here were closer, and the air even colder. His flashlight flickered, casting long shadows that seemed to move on their own.
He tightened his grip on the flashlight, every step he took echoing in the narrow corridor.
After walking for a few more seconds, Lin Xiao finally saw something—an old, wooden door. It seemed out of place in the subterranean setting, its surface weathered and splintered, as if it had stood there for centuries.
Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu. "What's up with the doors in my life?" he muttered to himself, shaking his head.
Lin Xiao moved forward and opened the door. The creak of the hinges echoed ominously through the chamber. What he saw next shocked him. Instead of discovering a new area, he found himself back at the start.
The door led to a hidden passage near the entrance of the well, moonlight streaming in and illuminating the cavern.
Lin Xiao looked up, seeing the moonlight shining down from the well's opening above. "How is this even possible?" he wondered aloud.
A bunch of options came once again.
[1. Go back and retrace your steps to find more clues]
[2. Check the ritual place once again for more clues]
[3. Get out of the well and run away from the village]
Lin Xiao ignored the third option, knowing it wasn't the right course of action. He hesitated between the first and second options, weighing his chances.
In the end, he decided to choose the first option. His character moved on its own, walking back through the tunnel, methodically checking every nook and cranny for anything he might have missed.
The character's movements were precise and experienced, as if Lin Xiao had been conducting investigations for years. He carefully examined the walls, feeling for hidden switches and secret compartments. He checked the ground, looking for disturbed dust or footprints that might indicate a hidden path. The air was cold and still, the only sound being the soft scrape of his boots against the stone floor.
Lin Xiao watched his character search with impressive thoroughness. The game had clearly designed this segment to make him feel like a seasoned investigator. However, after a while, a prompt appeared on the screen:
[No Clue Found]
Lin Xiao was speechless. All that effort, and yet he had come up empty-handed. Frustration bubbled up inside him. He knew there had to be something he was missing, something crucial. He took a deep breath, reminding himself to stay calm and focused.
Once again options came.
[1. Check the ritual place once again for more clues]
[2. Get out of the well and run away from the village]
"Alright," he thought. "If retracing my steps didn't work, maybe the ritual place holds the key."
Lin Xiao selected the first option.
His character turned around and headed back towards the ritual site. The eerie atmosphere seemed even more oppressive now, as if the village itself were watching his every move.
As Lin Xiao approached the ritual area once more, he noticed the faint glimmer of moonlight reflecting off something near the altar. He was speechless; it felt as though the world was trying to give him a hint.
Controlling his character, Lin Xiao moved to the spot and discovered another journal. It looked like it was written by the same person as the previous one.
"But how can it be here?" Lin Xiao wondered aloud. Suddenly, a bulb lit up in his mind. Of course, it could be here.
He had found the other journal in a house with an open door, which meant the villager who wrote it had been outside. That villager must have come here.
Lin Xiao read the journal page. His eyes widened as he deciphered the contents:
"March 10: They have sacrificed my daughter to the river god. I miss her."
Lin Xiao's heart raced. The journal entry suggested a deeper and darker ritual had been performed in this village.
Sacrificing someone to a river god? That wasn't just superstition; it was an act of desperation and fear. The villagers must have been trying to appease some malevolent entity, but why?
The game interface offered no immediate prompts, leaving Lin Xiao to ponder his next move. He carefully stowed the journal in his character's inventory, determined to piece together more of the story.
"Alright," he thought, "if they sacrificed someone, there must be more to this ritual site than meets the eye."
Lin Xiao guided his character to examine the altar more closely.
He saw a weird drum lying on the ground, some tattered scrolls and books, and a strange liquid in a bowl.
Lin Xiao watched as his character picked up the scrolls and opened them. What he saw shocked him: it was all gibberish, not even actual writing, just straight lines.
"Looks like the game designers were too lazy to write anything real," Lin Xiao muttered to himself. Frustrated, he threw away the scrolls and turned his attention to the bowl of weird liquid.
Options appeared once again:
[1. Drink the liquid]
[2. Get out of the well and run away from the village]
Lin Xiao was speechless. "No other options? Really?" he thought. With a sigh, he chose the first option, hoping it might lead to some progress.
His character lifted the bowl and took a sip of the liquid. Immediately, a sensation of intense cold washed over him, as if his entire body was being submerged in ice water.
Lin Xiao felt a wave of nausea and dizziness, and his vision began to blur.
The cold intensified, becoming a painful, numbing chill that spread from his mouth to his limbs. His heart pounded erratically, and his breath came in short, panicked gasps.
The screen faded to black, and then, in stark white letters, the words appeared:
[YOU DIED]
Lin Xiao ripped off the VR headset, his heart still racing from the intense in-game experience. He let out a frustrated sigh, "Great, just great," he muttered to himself, feeling a mix of irritation and disappointment.
Reflecting on the experience, Lin Xiao knew he had to be more cautious with his choices in the game. He decided to take a break and gather his thoughts before attempting the game again.