Cheng Tingyu said no more.
She had interacted with the subordinates of both the dreamweaver and the playwright. In Cheng Tingyu's view, the lantern bearers were in a slightly better condition than the actors, appearing more..
After a brief moment of blankness, a word flashed through Cheng Tingyu's mind, "perfect."
She instinctively believed that the [Lantern Bearer] was a nearly completed life form, whereas the structure of the actor seemed much rougher.
The secret exchange seemed to give Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi some confidence.
The two quickly made a decision; they would follow Cheng Tingyu off the path to explore the exit of the dungeon.
Little Jia and Little Yi stepped into the dense shrubbery one after the other.
They had originally thought that walking along the forest path was exhausting enough, but after leaving, they realized that the previous journey could be described as easy.
Sharp thorns grew on the slender branches of the shrubs, mercilessly tearing at the trio's clothes and even leaving numerous wounds on them. Naturally, Xiao Yi didn't care much; whether it was the beating he endured last night or the scratches from today's journey, none of it had a significant impact on him—clearly, this was a characteristic of a flesh-and-blood player.
In the copy, the players' suppressed abilities still retained some remnants, such as Cheng Tingyu's excellent vision, and Xiao Yi's recovery ability.
Amidst the dense greenery, countless red roses were blooming fervently. The shrubs grew wildly and exuberantly. Cheng Tingyu didn't have much knowledge about plants, but vaguely remembered that if the tree canopy was too dense, the plants below would be unable to grow tall due to lack of sunlight. However, the rose bushes in this forest were thriving to an unbelievable extent.
Cheng Tingyu casually glanced back, but could only see an expanse of unbroken green. They had left the path a long time ago, and even with her eyes, she could no longer see the forest road they had come from.
Xiao Jia grew increasingly silent. She didn't speak, but her heartbeat grew more and more intense.
The unknown always evokes fear.
Perhaps Cheng Tingyu's guess is correct, but no one has stipulated that after they reach the third scene, the story's ending must be a happy one.
About three hours later, or perhaps even longer, the newly arrived young man finally spoke, his tone as gentle as it had been in the cabin: "We're almost there."
She raised her head and looked towards the direction of the shade.
Cheng Tingyu felt her vision change once again; she could now even see the scenes in the sky through the gaps in the leaves.
Since the story characters left the path, the sun in the dome had noticeably shifted, and the stalled plot resumed its course.
Cheng Tingyu was somewhat doubtful, thinking that the suppression of players' abilities within the instance was beginning to loosen. However, she quickly realized the reason behind it.
For Mitong, this might not be a good thing.
Staying in the replica area for a long time, even an ordinary person can draw strength from it. Cheng Tingyu had now deciphered a map, and her abilities had naturally improved.
Suddenly, Xiao Yi quickened his pace. He stepped on the bushes blocking his way, causing the roses above to fall and be crushed under his soles, releasing their sap.
Among the three, he was the one who seldom looked up or turned back.
Xiao Yi always felt that since they were changing maps, danger might be lurking just ahead, waiting for the participants to walk right into the trap.
As Cheng Tingyu observed the changes in the light above, he saw the end of the forest.
There lay a village.
If Cheng Tingyu were to evaluate it, he would say that the handling of scene transitions in this story is really not smooth at all.
The village ahead seamlessly connected with the forest behind, as if two completely unrelated maps had been forcibly pieced together.
The village was quite small, almost miniature, and had a peculiar artistic charm that did not match its level of prosperity.
The place that should have been a road was overgrown with wild grass, the wooden planks long since decayed. Weeds stubbornly sprouted from the cracks in the stone bricks, and large swathes of ivy gently covered the dilapidated buildings, like green paint flowing halfway down.
There were no villagers, nor any signs of human life.
The surroundings were unusually quiet; the participants could only hear the faint sound of the wind blowing from the north. As they approached the new map, even the sound of the wind in their ears disappeared.
The village in the new map is incredibly small; all the houses combined do not exceed ten.
Xiao Yi asked in confusion, "…Why are there so many stone sculptures in the square?"
The three of them noticed that a square had been set up in the center of the village, with a circle of human statues kneeling, praying, and weeping.
Many conjectures floated through Xiao Yi's mind; he thought it might be a reenactment of some kind of ritual.
——After all, it is a "Storybook," so any kind of fictional plot is quite reasonable.
Little Jia murmured, "The third scene should be related to the exit, right? So what should we do now?"
Cheng Tingyu was carefully observing the small village in front of him.
The number of houses was indeed too few. She had reason to suspect that the creator did not want to spend too much effort on places unrelated to the main storyline, hence the reduction in the village's size.
Xiao Yi: "Now we can only go and investigate the situation inside the house."
When he spoke, he couldn't help but sneak a few glances at the expression on the new young man's face. For a moment, he felt a bit regretful, thinking he should have been like Xiao Jia, only asking questions without giving a specific action plan.
Xiao Yi wanted to exchange a glance with Xiao Jia, but the latter immediately looked away as soon as their eyes met.
Although the three of them had arrived together at the new scene, and Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi had even been trapped in the small cabin for a year, there was still a sense of alienation tinged with hostility between them.
Xiao Jia gently rubbed his arms with both hands and suggested to Cheng Tingyu once more, "Shouldn't we go inside?"
Cheng Tingyu nodded: "Let's go in then."
As she spoke, her gaze, difficult to read in terms of emotion, swept over both A and B, and the smile on her lips seemed to deepen.
The three of them first entered the nearest house.
The most reliable method of exploration at the moment would, of course, be for some people to go in and search for clues while others keep watch outside. However, the players currently seem to lack trust in each other.
The items inside the house were placed in a disorderly manner, and judging by the tools scattered on the ground, it seemed that the profession of the first household was farming.
Apart from the naturally aged sections, the rest of the building's structure also showed clear signs of damage, likely from repeated external force on the surface of the wall in the living room area.
Little Jia: "Has there been a battle in the house?"
Cheng Tingyu shook his head slightly: "Not quite. If a fight had occurred, the main objective of both sides would naturally be to attack the enemy. The probability of weapons accidentally hitting the wall wouldn't be very high."
"But judging from the traces left behind, the stone wall was clearly struck many times."
"Launching frenzied attacks continuously at the same place, it seemed more like an emotional outburst."
Little Jia and Little Yi heard the young man's near-soliloquy: "What happened here once exceeded the capabilities of the house's owner…"
Cheng Tingyu's voice had become barely audible by the end. She shook her head and turned to walk towards the next room.
The first abandoned house left very few clues, but fortunately, in the second household of the village, the three of them found a pile of books.
Having books means having words; they can learn about the background of the story from them.
Xiao Jia reached out eagerly, but as soon as she touched it, the book crumbled into dust.
"..."
The little beetle, having failed in its attempt, silently stepped back two paces.
Cheng Tingyu didn't think it was a bad thing. If the books were intact, the participants would have to carefully examine them one by one. But now, with them falling apart at a touch, it was as if the creator was actively helping the players eliminate irrelevant clues.
After the three of them had examined it, the only readable item left in the cabin was half a notebook.
Xiao Yi flipped through a few pages: "Bits and pieces, you can see for yourselves."
The notes recorded some magical experiments conducted by the owner of the house, but most of them ended in failure.
The owner of the house believed that the other villagers ostracized him because of this.
"× year × month × day, failed again."
"The changes happening in the village, even when I'm asleep, I can hear the mocking laughter from outside."
"On × year × month × day, the crystal ball told me that an evil aura had appeared in the village."
"× year × month × day, the situation has become very critical, and I need to study more deeply."
"× year × month × day, the ominous prophecy revealed itself. I told others, but no one believed."
"But it doesn't matter, they will believe it soon."
Cheng Tingyu had good eyesight and didn't need to hold the pages too close when reading his notes.
It was winter outside, and her coat was naturally long-sleeved. At this moment, Cheng Tingyu's fingertips, hidden by her sleeves, trembled unnaturally for a moment before quickly regaining their composure.
No one around spoke.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but Xiao Jia felt the environment growing cold and eerie.
The sunlight had little warmth, the weeds and the climbing ivy were a bleak dark green. She quietly touched her own elbow, then quickly glanced at Xiao Yi and the newly arrived young man.
Inside the abandoned house, their faces appeared dim and shadowed, as if covered in a layer of dust.
Xiao Yi gently put the notebook back.
The house of the magic enthusiast had been thoroughly explored, and they continued on to the next location.
The distribution of scene clues was not even. There was nothing noteworthy in the third, fourth, and fifth houses. Cheng Tingyu couldn't help but let his mind wander, wondering if the creator of this storybook would detail their search process or simply gloss over all the unimportant content
The sixth house in the village was connected to the seventh house, and this was their final destination to explore.
"..."
The room was suffocatingly quiet.
Xiao Yi wanted to loosen his collar a bit, but just as he raised his arm halfway, it quickly dropped again.
Cheng Tingyu and the other two indeed had their reasons for not speaking. In what should theoretically be the dining room of the abandoned house, there was an upside-down human-shaped stone statue.
That was a weeping peasant woman, her legs bent, sitting, with a look of deathly despair on her face.
It was like a statue originally crafted to match the height of a chair, but as time passed, the chair gradually decayed and eventually collapsed.
Cheng Tingyu reached out and straightened the stone sculpture of the peasant woman.
Due to the passage of time, the statue's exterior had already shown signs of damage.
Cheng Tingyu glanced around and found the broken pieces of the stone sculpture's fingers among the rotten wood on the ground.
Although it was a fragment, this piece of stone sculpture was rich in detail. Not only were fingerprints carved on its surface, but even veins and bones were sculpted on the broken edges.
So meticulous and thorough.
So vividly detailed.