[Congratulations to the player for clearing the dungeon. You have obtained [A Plain and Unremarkable Storybook] ×1, [Bottled Poison of Words] ×1.]
After her vision stabilized again, Cheng Tingyu found that she was still standing in the Riverside Park, holding a storybook about one centimeter thick in her hand.
When she left, it was still morning, and now... it was almost morning again.
The time displayed on the phone was 3:57 AM.
——When a day had passed inside the copy, a day had also advanced outside.
Cheng Tingyu put the reward back into his hiking bag, silently admired the sunrise in the park for a while, and then belatedly took out the small round mirror he carried with him to check his appearance.
[Mental State (Moderate Madness): 67/128]
"..."
The instability of one's sanity value is truly a troubling matter.
Cheng Tingyu suspected that something was wrong with her mind, but she hadn't expected it to be this severe. She reached out to press her temples and could feel the blood vessels throbbing wildly under her fingertips.
If she didn't have confidence in Mitong's abilities, she would have doubted the accuracy of the appraisal results.
I still have the ability to think, so why am I considered moderately insane?
Cheng Tingyu pondered for a moment, then quietly sat down in the grass.
The sun gradually rose in the sky.
Even the slightest breeze is very cold in winter, but fortunately, the sunlight still brings warmth. Cheng Tingyu sat for a while, her emotions gradually calming down. She reached into her hiking bag and took out a bottle of soda, then casually found a coin to pry open the cap and took a couple of gulps.
Although she didn't feel much when prying off the lid, after a while, she slowly realized that the thing she used as a bottle opener was the reward she had received from the market dungeon.
"..."
Cheng Tingyu silently put the [Lucky Decision Coin] back into his backpack and muttered to himself, "It seems to be the kind of tool that tempts its owner to use it. As expected, it's impossible to guard against. Even I fell for it unconsciously."
——Perhaps it was an illusion, but after she finished speaking, the coins in the bag weakly rattled, as if protesting against the words "got caught."
If Cheng Tingyu could understand the information about the previous owners of the [Lucky Decision Coin], he would discover that this item had never tempted anyone to use it in the direction of opening a beverage bottle.
Cheng Tingyu sat motionless in the grass, like a human-shaped mushroom. It wasn't until noon that her mental energy slowly rose to "74/128."
The feelings she had while navigating the game gradually faded away, and she began to realize that she was being enveloped by a particular emotion. At this moment, remaining still and silent was the best choice. However, Cheng Tingyu had already grown tired of the scenery at Riverside Park and decided to go home immediately.
"Even for me, I shouldn't encounter two instances in a row."
Cheng Tingyu muttered to himself and couldn't help but laugh, "Good thing my ability isn't a curse."
Before awakening his abilities, Wei Xuguang was not someone who spoke often. After awakening his abilities, he became even more reticent.
However, her daily routine was inevitably disrupted whenever she encountered her neighbor.
"Where have you been before? Why haven't you been home?"
The resident of 501 across the hall often maintained a smiling expression. Wei Xugu had already gotten used to it, but at this moment, she couldn't help but twitch her eyebrow. The smile on the other person's face, rather than seeming friendly, more easily reminded her of those dangerous street thugs who had drunk too much and just hacked two people outside.
Cheng Tingyu looked at his neighbor, the curve of his lips deepening: "I went out for a walk yesterday to clear my mind."
Wei Xugui glanced at her and gave an honest assessment: "It seems your attempt to clear your mind didn't go very well."
Cheng Tingyu: "So now I feel that I need to rest and remain as silent as possible." He closed his eyes and sighed, "Going out doesn't really count as staying silent."
"..."
Wei Xugui thought, if only he had a tool that could investigate the detailed mental values of others.
The other party's situation, even if guessed conservatively, starts at moderate madness.
"It seems you can no longer maintain your sanity."
Due to his own abilities, Wei Xuguang generally wouldn't hold back from voicing his concerns when a bad thought crossed his mind.
After experiencing the blessing of [Cursed Words: Words Turn Against], Cheng Tingyu indeed seemed a bit more normal. At least she realized that when communicating with others, she should first pick out the key information and say, "Everything was going smoothly, but while I was relaxing, I accidentally triggered a side quest."
"...?"
Wei Xu Gui began to ponder whether there was a type of ability that would be easily captured by the replica.
F0631 is, after all, a city with stable order. The other party can enter the instance as if returning home. If it were the desolate district, wouldn't she have to live in the instance every day?
Cheng Tingyu: "I'll go take a nap first, and I'll come find you when I wake up."
Wei Xuguang: "...If you hadn't said the latter half of that sentence, I would be much happier."
Since experiencing the dream scenario of Apartment No. 6, Cheng Tingyu had not dreamed again when he slept.
Based on the information she received, her ability to dream during this period had already been used as payment.
She slowly closed her eyes, her entire being seemingly sinking into the depths of the water. There was no trace of light around her, and the boundless darkness enveloped Cheng Tingyu completely.
Cheng Tingyu was accustomed to reviewing his experiences in his mind during moments of half-sleep, but after he stopped dreaming, such instances became increasingly rare.
Her thoughts began to drift away, and all those unresolved, perplexing questions were placed in a small box within her mind, to be reopened only on the day she found the answers.
After the neighbor across the hall returned, Wei Xuguang ran to the convenience store six times in one day.
It's not the lack of supplies, but rather the unease of staying at home.
She was quite puzzled as to why she couldn't contain herself, but she quickly figured out the reason. If a player's mental state is unstable, they are prone to aberrations, and the condition of the neighbor next door seemed a bit odd, requiring constant vigilance
The neighbor's sleep lasted a long time; it wasn't until ten o'clock at night that 502 heard any movement from the balcony across the way.
"…Why are you sitting on the railing again?"
Wei Xuguang stared at Cheng Tingyu, his large eyes filled with great confusion.
Cheng Tingyu propped himself up with one hand, turned to the newcomer, and winked: "After I woke up, I thought it was too late. If I knocked, you might not be awake."
Wei Xuguang: "…So?"
Cheng Tingyu: "So we should first confirm whether you are asleep now."
Wei Xuguang's face was expressionless: "Are you planning to come in through the balcony?"
Cheng Tingyu spread his hands: "Although reason tells me that knocking on the door directly is not a good idea, choosing to come in from the balcony might also give you a different kind of fright."
Wei Xuguang glanced at Cheng Tingyu: "Thank you for still retaining basic rationality."
She thought, staying up a bit later tonight was indeed the right decision.
Although the way the other person appeared could easily leave a shadow in one's mind, since they had agreed to meet, Wei Xugu finally let the neighbor into the living room.
Cheng Tingyu noticed that the lights here had already been fixed.
Wei Xu Gui: "So, what kind of instance did you enter today?"
Cheng Tingyu replied, "A... rather unremarkable storybook." He added, "Probably because the plot dragged on for too long at the beginning, which led to the overall rating being low."
She took out the reward she had received and casually handed it to Wei Xugui.
As Wei Heng's niece, Wei Xugu had a considerable wealth of knowledge about various props.
She glanced at the book for a moment and gently turned the page.
The storybook that had already been written no longer pulled people into its chapters. Wei Xugu read through its contents, forming a rough guess about Cheng Tingyu's previous experiences
"The people living in the little cabin were living happily."
"During the day, the older brother, older sister, and younger sister work together."
"At noon, they drank milk and ate bread."
"In the evening, they fell asleep sweetly."
"During the day, my sister returned home.
"In the evening, the younger sister and the older brother killed their older sister."
"The people living in the little cabin were living happily."
".....
"During the day, my sister returned home.
"In the evening, the older sister pierced her younger sister's eye with a candlestick."
"During the day, they crossed the fields and entered the forest filled with blooming roses."
"Brother, sister, and little sister were drawn to the roses and left the path in the forest."
"In the depths of the forest, they discovered a nameless village."
".....
"Brother, sister, and little sister drank the poisonous elixir."
"Brother ran into the forest."
"My sister is crying in the square."
"Only by finding the antidote, the elder sister successfully left the village..."
Wei Xuguan closed the storybook and looked up at the neighbor in front of him.
Cheng Tingyu smiled slightly, "I am the sister inside."
The storybook did not mention names like "Little A" or "Little B." Clearly, those were just pseudonyms the two players had given themselves.
Wei Xugu didn't find it strange. The act of using a candlestick to pierce the "sister's" eye seemed to perfectly fit the character of the neighbor across the street. She thought for a long time and finally concluded, "This book should be a work of the White Tower Research Society."
Cheng Tingyu: "I've always been curious about what kind of organization the White Tower Research Society is."
A trace of surprise rose in Wei Xugui's heart.
She wasn't surprised that Cheng Tingyu would be interested in the White Tower Research Society; rather, she assumed that someone like him would have already known about it.
"The White Tower Society is a very ancient organization that has played a significant role in the reboot of human civilization," Wei Xuguang explained to her as he recalled. "They were also one of the earliest initiators of the city council and have always held a seat."
Cheng Tingyu paused almost imperceptibly.
She realized that her previous thoughts were misguided.
It's not just places like Endless City or City F0631 that can be called cities; organizations like the White Tower Research Society also possess the characteristics of a city.
Wei Xuguang: "This organization had some incidents in the past and lost a lot of research data, but very few people know the specifics."
Cheng Tingyu: "I've heard a bit about it. The White Tower Research Society lost a manuscript related to the 'perfect form of life.'"
This news did not particularly surprise Wei Xuguang. A hint of contemplation appeared on her face: "There is an unspoken fact among the players that those big figures at the top are no longer considered human. They have begun to transform into higher forms."
At this point, Wei Xugu suddenly paused and said to Cheng Tingyu, "There has always been a speculation among players that, unlike the game, different types of abilities are not balanced with each other. There are differences in strength and safety, and these differences might hold the secret to transformation."
"I learned from my aunt that the president of the White Tower Research Society, like the Dreammaker, is also a domain-type ability user."
Cheng Tingyu paused in his actions and confirmed, "Only those with domain-type abilities can complete the transformation of their life form?"
Unexpectedly, Wei Xugu shook his head: "I can't be sure, because the 'manufacturer' of the 'Screwdriver' insurance company is probably a disaster bug, and the city master of F0631 should be Flesh. They can both be considered big shots. However, the domains are still different. To maintain the stability of a region, either a powerful domain player must be stationed, or an item with domain power must be controlled."
She rarely spoke such a long string of words in one breath; after finishing, she drank half a glass of water.
Cheng Tingyu: "Is this also information your aunt obtained from 'Dangerous Mask'?"
Wei Xugui: "Not really, most of the investigation was done by my aunt herself."