Lin Xiao, undeterred by the previous horrific events, restarted the game without hesitation.
As the screen flickered back to life, he found himself standing in front of the village once again.
Everything seemed the same as before—the eerily quiet village bathed in the soft, silvery glow of the moon.
The shadows stretched long and dark, the air thick with the sense of something ominous lurking just out of sight.
Time stopped, and the familiar options appeared before him:
[1. Go to the well]
[2. Go to the temple and meet with the teenagers]
[3. Wait till morning]
[4. Wait]
Lin Xiao, determined to push forward and uncover the truth, quickly selected the second option: [Go to the temple and meet with the teenagers].
As soon as he made his choice, time resumed. His character began moving automatically, heading towards the temple with determined steps.
The path was eerily familiar, and Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu as his character approached the temple doors, which stood slightly ajar, just as they had before.
The dim light inside flickered, casting unsettling shadows that seemed to dance with a life of their own.
Lin Xiao's character stepped into the temple, the same group of teenagers huddled around, their faces illuminated by the flickering light.
This time, Lin Xiao was more alert, and once again, time stopped, presenting him with a familiar set of options:
[1. Talk to the teenagers]
[2. Ask them the truth]
[3. Beat up the kids]
Lin Xiao stared at the second option in disbelief. "What the heck is this 'truth' that my character thinks these teenagers know?!" he muttered to himself. Against his better judgment, he selected the second option.
What happened next shocked Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao stared at the screen, utterly bewildered by the absurdity of the situation.
His character had just zipped around the temple like a ghostly ninja, demanding some mysterious "truth" from the terrified teenagers.
The sudden, almost supernatural swiftness of his character's movements had left the teenagers—and Lin Xiao—completely dumbfounded.
Wang Mei, who had been sitting down, was caught off guard when Lin Xiao's character materialized right next to her ear, the sudden proximity and the creepy whisper causing her to jump in her seat.
Her eyes widened in shock, her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the strange older man who had just appeared out of nowhere.
The other teenagers weren't any less startled. Some screamed in fear at the sudden, ghostly appearance of Lin Xiao's character. The atmosphere in the room turned from tense to chaotic in an instant.
"What the heck are you?? You creepy-ass old man!" one of the kids shouted, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and anger.
Lin Xiao was speechless, his own shock mirroring that of the in-game characters. Before he could process what was happening, time stopped once again, presenting him with only two options:
[1. Beat the kids up]
[2. Ask the truth]
Lin Xiao couldn't help but roll his eyes at the lack of variety in choices. "Seriously, just these two options again?" he muttered to himself, exasperated.
The game seemed to be stuck on this bizarre loop, forcing him to either resort to violence or continue the nonsensical questioning.
Frustrated but curious, Lin Xiao hovered over the second option once more. "I guess I'll just see where this goes," he thought, selecting [Ask the truth] again.
As soon as he made the choice, the game resumed, and his character, still moving with unnatural speed and stealth, appeared right in front of Wang Mei again.
Her eyes widened in shock, and her face turned pale as his character leaned in close, whispering with eerie calmness, "Tell me the truth."
Wang Mei's hands trembled, and she looked around desperately as if searching for a way out. The other teenagers were frozen in fear, their eyes darting between Lin Xiao's character and Wang Mei, unsure of what was happening or what they should do.
Lin Xiao's character repeated the question, this time louder, almost echoing through the temple, "Tell me the truth!"
Wang Mei stammered, "W-What truth? We don't know anything! Please, just leave us alone!"
Lin Xiao, watching all this unfold, was just as confused as Wang Mei. "What truth?!" he thought to himself.
The game was leading him down a path that made no sense, and the repetitive options were only adding to his frustration.
As the tension in the room reached its peak, the time stopped once again. Lin Xiao braced himself for what he knew was coming.
[1. Beat the kids up]
[2. Ask the truth]
Lin Xiao sighed deeply, feeling like he was going in circles. "Is this game broken or something?" he wondered aloud, utterly baffled by the lack of progress and the repetitive choices.
He was tempted to just quit the game entirely, but his curiosity—and stubbornness—kept him glued to the screen.
"Fine, let's try something different," he muttered, hovering over the first option this time. With a resigned sigh, he selected [Beat the kids up], hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would lead to something different.
Lin Xiao watched as his character, now fully under the game's control, moved toward the group of terrified teenagers.
The character's movements were deliberate, slow, and menacing.
One by one, the boys were taken down with swift, calculated blows—nothing overly violent, but enough to send them crumpling to the ground, clutching their stomachs or recoiling in pain.
The girls, standing off to the side, were frozen in fear, their eyes wide as they witnessed the brutal efficiency of the older man.
Lin Xiao noticed the familiar reactions from the girls—their faces pale, their eyes wide with shock and horror. But this time, something unexpected happened.
As his character finished incapacitating the last boy, a voice broke the silence.
"Please stop, I'll tell you the truth," a girl's voice trembled through the tension-filled air.
Lin Xiao's character turned sharply toward the voice, and the camera zoomed in on the girl who had spoken.
She was slightly taller than the other girls, with long, dark hair that fell softly around her shoulders.
Her features were delicate, with gentle eyes that, despite the fear in them, held a certain warmth. She had an aura that was distinctly motherly, a sense of calm and care that seemed out of place in the current situation.
Her appearance was above average—pretty, but not in an overly striking way. It was more the kindness in her expression and the gentle way she held herself that made her stand out.
Lin Xiao could sense the sincerity in her voice, even through the screen. The girl stepped forward, her hands raised in a gesture of peace. "Please," she repeated, her voice trembling slightly but firm in its resolve. "I'll tell you everything I know. Just… stop hurting them."
The game's tension was palpable, and for a moment, everything seemed to hang in the balance. Lin Xiao's character stared at the girl, the same eerie calm in his eyes as before.
Then, time froze once again, and the familiar options appeared on the screen:
[1. Beat her up too]
[2. Listen to her]
Lin Xiao stared at the options, feeling a mixture of relief and frustration. Finally, something different! But the first option was just as absurd and repetitive as before. With a sigh, Lin Xiao chose the second option, [Listen to her].
Time resumed, and Lin Xiao's character, still looming over the beaten teenagers, slowly lowered his fists. The tension in the air eased slightly, though the fear remained thick. The girl breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the violence come to a halt.