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Chapter 404 I sincerely pray that this chapter has nothing to do with its chapter number.

"No wonder I can't hear the game sounds. It turns out I'm afraid my character will hear things they shouldn't hear when they pass by here—like the sounds coming from me sitting in front of the computer."

"I am the initial save point, the tool for the saintess's resurrection when the game restarts."

Gu Mian never imagined that she would one day become a tool.

He has played many such games since he was a child, and the ways to save in different games are also very different.

There's a save point that's a blackboard; you put photos on it when you save your game.

There's a save point that's actually a shrine; you should pray to it when you save.

The game's save points are a few dilapidated houses, and when you save, you'll be handed a book into one of the dark houses.

Having saved the game more than ten times, Gu Mian naturally recognized the book she had unearthed on the screen.

Moonlight shone down from above the back of her head, casting the elongated, distorted shadow of the saintess onto the haystack in front of the screen. The corner of the book peeking out from the soil was completely shrouded in the eerie shadow, and even Gu Mian, sitting in front of the computer, felt the gaze from above.

"I thought I was in some weird place... Turns out I was just a save file..."

He sighed as he spoke: "If the 'Saintess' dies after using up all her save points at the other three save points, the game will end immediately and restart when the next batch of players enters the instance."

The only thing that allows this game to start over is himself.

Before the next batch of players enters the dungeon, the saintess will use him to resurrect them, and the new players will become save points, and this cycle will continue indefinitely.

It's absolutely amazing.

Gu Mian felt she should change her mind. It shouldn't be Gu Mian and the three useless save points now, it should be the Saintess and the four useless save points.

None of the four save points are usable; using them will result in real death. Furthermore, the game difficulty is exceptionally high. This dungeon is extremely malicious, clearly designed to kill all players.

Thinking of this, Gu Mian remembered the book "Second World" she had been holding before entering the dungeon.

This instance came out of nowhere and could result in real death; it seemed as if they were being pulled into the instance to stop something.

Could it be that some truth has been revealed, which is why a special instance suddenly appears to save the day? Although Gu Mian knows that she is always unlucky, this instance is indeed too coincidental.

But does that mean everyone who had previously encountered the book "Second World" was also pulled into this instance? Gu Mian frowned, thinking of the more than 150 players who were eaten by the villagers.

However, now is not the time to think about those players from before; daydreaming in a dungeon is not a good habit.

Gu Mian moved his character around, trying to bury the exposed book cover again. He couldn't pick up the book, so he had to hide it more carefully.

Just then, he suddenly heard another set of footsteps coming from above the room.

His fingers paused slightly, then he shifted the screen view to look behind him, and a face almost filled the entire screen.

It's that curly-haired guy! And the seven people he brought with him form an eight-person team to hunt down the saintess.

At that moment, Curly was right behind him, the knife in his hand already raised high, reflecting a chilling light in the moonlight.

Gu Mian cursed inwardly, then slammed her hand on the keyboard, maneuvering her character to the side and dodging the fatal blow.

Even though he reacted quickly, he was still grazed by the knife in Curly's hand. Gu Mian watched helplessly as his original quarter of his health was reduced to one-sixth, and now he was almost left with only a sliver of health!

Gu Mian clearly remembered that his last save file was in 007.

If he gets stabbed again, 007 will be the first to go to the Western Paradise!
While thinking rapidly, he frantically pressed the attack button, slamming the shovel in his hand against the curly-haired man in front of him who hadn't had time to react yet. But after only a few slams, he put away the shovel, turned around, and ran away.

Gu Mian originally wanted to run away, but unfortunately his true form was right under these people's feet. If he didn't draw their hatred to the Holy Maiden, they might discover his true form hidden underneath.

He was running in the direction where the monster had stopped earlier.

There was nothing in this area except cliffs. On flat ground, a weak woman could not possibly outrun eight grown men. With no other option, Gu Mian could only run in the direction where there might be a glimmer of hope.

It's worth mentioning that the commotion just now seemed a bit loud. He saw the huge black shadow at the edge of the screen suddenly stop, then turn around and slowly move towards him in the pitch-black night.

Gu Mian never imagined that she would one day be chased around by eight men and a monster.

He quickly ran forward, typing on the keyboard, while Curly, who had been slapped a few times by the shovel behind him, seemed somewhat embarrassed and angry.

Gu Mian saw the shadow of the person behind him also projected onto the ground, and even the knife in his hand was imprinted on the ground by the moonlight. He was running quickly, getting closer and closer to the 'Holy Maiden'.

Meanwhile, the tall monster at the edge of the screen was slowly walking towards them. If the direction was right, Gu Mian might lead the eight-person team chasing him to encounter this thing, but if they did, he himself would be the first to be affected.

So Gu Mian adjusted his escape angle and ran desperately towards the place where the monster had stopped, shrouded in the night. After running for a short while, he saw what looked like a narrow crack on the edge of the cliff, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. It was barely noticeable unless you looked closely.

The people behind her were closing in step by step, and the monster in the distance had also advanced a distance, but it was almost invisible in the night. Seeing the crack ahead and the monster slowly walking towards them, a bold idea arose in Gu Mian's mind.

"Stop!" These two words appeared at the bottom of the screen, a call from one of the men behind us.

But Gu Mian certainly couldn't stop. The saintess, who was only a thin layer of health left, was about to die. It didn't matter if the saintess died, but Gu Mian didn't want her teammate to die on the spot.

He peered through the shadow at the people hot on his heels and said, "You're about to be in big trouble!"

Of course, no one could hear him, and the people behind him continued their relentless pursuit. Gu Mian pressed her fingers firmly on the keyboard, and just as she was about to be caught, she reached her destination. The crack was indeed wide enough to squeeze into, and Gu Mian squeezed in without a second thought. The slender woman easily slipped into the narrow crack, and the men chasing after her seemed to want to squeeze in as well.

A few rays of moonlight struggled to penetrate the dark crack, and the saintess suddenly turned around in the moonlight, a long stick and shovel appearing in her hand.

Gu Mian smacked the curly-haired man, who was halfway into the crevice, leaving another bright red mark on his already bruised face. Because of the confined space, the weapon was inconvenient to use and its power was greatly reduced, but it allowed him to maintain a certain distance from the people behind him. "Back up! Back up!" the leading man shouted urgently, but was blocked by the people behind him who were eager to rush in. He took several more blows from Gu Mian before finally managing to escape the dark, damp crevice.

The man who hastily retreated through the gap looked over with a gloomy gaze. Gu Mian saw him speaking, and then a line of text appeared at the bottom of the screen: "You can't hide for long. We'll catch you soon."

But then the few rays of moonlight that shone into the gap suddenly disappeared, as if they had been blocked by something.

Gu Mian looked up along the crack in front of her and saw a huge black shadow that had appeared behind them at some point.

The people standing in front of the crack seemed to notice it as well, and they turned their necks to look back.

This was the last time they looked back.

After several screams, their unseeing corpses lay on the cold ground, seemingly unable to believe that the 'saint' of today would bring them such a tragic end.

While the others were being killed, Gu Mian slipped deeper into the crevice, where it was pitch black and almost nothing could be seen.

The crevice seemed to lead to a place, the easternmost part of the village. Gu Mian remembered that the Crusaders had finally settled here; they were the evil people who killed her brother and the Holy Maiden's parents. She wondered what kind of expression they would show if they met her now. The last fragments of her memory should also be here; the gallows where her friend was burned to death was very likely hidden in this place. The stone walls on both sides rubbed against the Holy Maiden's clothes. Gu Mian turned on her lighter to illuminate the area and walked deeper into the crevice.

“As long as I can touch the gallows, I can become a devil,” Gu Mian said, glancing at the health bar in the upper left corner as she weaved through the dark crevices. “Even though I only have a sliver of health left, as long as I touch the gallows, I’ll be like I’ve been given a cheat code.”

If we take the idea even further, the saintess who comes into contact with the third memory turns into a devil, and the village repeats the mistakes of the past, ultimately leading to an ending like "repeating the same mistakes."

At this moment, Gu Mian had already imagined the scene that would appear on the screen at the end.

There might also be endings like "Delicious Food on the Table" and "Monster Cannon Fodder," but achieving these two endings doesn't count as completing the game; it just means that some players will die in the dungeon. Fortunately, Gu Mian has now basically escaped the range of these two endings.

At that moment, Gu Mian finally saw the light coming from ahead.

A faint light shone through the gap in front of him. Gu Mian extinguished the lighter in his hand and continued walking forward. He would soon be able to leave this place and find the gallows.

But before he had walked far, he saw the subtitles reappear at the bottom of the screen. These subtitles only appeared when the person speaking was very close to him.

"I'm going back to the village now. I assume the first saintess of the day has been cleared out. We'll share some of the food with you once all the saintess has arrived."

Upon reading this, Gu Mian inexplicably thought of the village chief.

Then another message appeared at the bottom of the screen, seemingly from another person: "You are such a kind village chief. Even though we did something wrong before, you still selflessly share the meat with us."

"Because our villagers are all kind, they certainly can't bear to see anyone go hungry. The saintess today doesn't seem very bright either, so we should be able to clean up all the saintess soon, and perhaps we can bring you food tonight."

"Thank you so much."

Looking at the words at the bottom of the screen, Gu Mian took a few steps back. It seemed that the village chief had come to the Crusaders in the middle of the night to offer some comfort, sacrificing his own food to fill the bellies of these murderers. He was truly a qualified and kind village chief.

The two people who were exchanging pleasantries outside had stopped.

"Then I'll go first and go back to check on the Holy Maiden's condition."

"Ok."

Then a figure appeared in front, as if about to go inside; it was the village chief.

Gu Mian took a few steps back through the narrow gap and pressed himself against the wall, switching his hand to the kitchen knife he had snatched from the butcher. He made sure he was hidden in the darkness and wouldn't be spotted by the people in front of him.

He decided to give the village chief a big surprise, so that he could find out about the saintess right here.

It was so dark here that the village chief could only see the saintess lurking about when he got close, if he didn't bring any lighting equipment.

Fortunately, the village chief hadn't brought any lighting tools. He seemed very familiar with the crack, able to move freely even in the dark. But tonight was different. After walking a short distance in the dark, he suddenly saw something different in front of him, which looked like a white figure.

Immediately afterwards, he heard a "click".

That's the sound of a lighter being turned on.

Orange light burst forth from the fingernail-sized flames, spreading outwards; the village chief, who was bowing his head, slowly looked up from the person in front of him, following the tattered shoes. It was a piece of clothing stained with scarlet blood, exuding a ferocious and ominous aura; looking further up, there was that withered, familiar face.

She is laughing.

Gu Mian, of course, didn't give him a chance to shout. He frantically pressed the attack button until the person in front of him turned bright red. Under the soft light, the village chief opened his mouth slightly, and even his eyes widened. Fear froze on his face, as if he had seen the most terrifying demon in the world.

As Gu Mian looked at the corpse on the screen, she muttered to herself, "It's really not good to let the old man walk through here and see the corpses lying all over the place outside. He might even have a heart attack. There's no other way, so you might as well die here for now."

With the village chief gone, Gu Mian controlled his character to lift his foot and step over the corpse to continue forward; he would soon be able to leave the gap, and the people waiting for food behind the gap probably didn't expect the saintess to arrive so quickly.

When she arrived at the exit, Gu Mian paused to check if any subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen.

After waiting for about half a minute without seeing any words below, it seemed there was no one around the exit.

Only then did he feel reassured and boldly walk out.

The moonlight shone on the saintess once more. This was a slightly wider canyon, and looking up, one could see the night sky squeezed into a thin line. On the ground were scattered houses built close to the stone walls. It was late at night, and everyone must have already gone to sleep, even the people who had come to see her off had already gone home.

"Is this the Crusader's old stronghold? The group that killed the saint's parents and brother?"

Gu Mian's gaze passed through the two rows of houses built close to the stone wall and turned to the dark frame in the distance directly in front of her.

(End of this chapter)