Infinite Weird Game

"You should already know that I am an accomplice." Qiu Xin sat on the wooden bed, looked around at everyone, and said calmly.

The old man who was in charge of the residence went upstairs to take a look and then left. The scholar stood in the lobby downstairs, quietly guarding the food boxes and wine jars.

Qiu Xin waited until the old man left before entering the mansion, and gathered with the players in the room of Luo Haihua and his wife on the second floor.

She closed the door and no one outside could hear the discussion inside.

After meeting again after a long time, no one said much nonsense.

Tang Yu told Qiu Xin the information about the scarecrow, the tiger demon and the fire, including some judgments on the world view and the next plan.

Qiu Xin listened quietly and continued, "I have more information than you, many of which are clues unique to the ghost camp.

"First, the relationship between 'ghosts', 'Xiao' and 'Xiyi' mentioned in the previous hint. My preliminary judgment is that the players in the 'ghost' camp are 'Xiao', and the players and townspeople in the 'human' camp are 'ghosts'. Both can be transformed into 'Xiyi' through some means.

"Among them, 'ghosts' are afraid of '魙', and '魙' are afraid of '希懿', just like 'people' are afraid of 'ghosts', and the degree is more serious. If they are frightened, their souls will fly away directly."

"That doesn't make sense." Tang Yu interrupted, "We weren't scared at all when we saw you. Teacher Luo and the others were in this room as Xiyi, and you didn't react at all.

"If the three spirits of 'ghost', 'Xiao' and 'Xiyi' restrain each other, wouldn't it mean that all the townspeople would be wiped out if you just walked down the street?"

"It's not that simple." Qiu Xin shook his head and explained, "You and the townspeople don't think of yourself as ghosts, so naturally you're not afraid of me. Only when I tap your shoulders and startle your souls will you have similar thoughts for a moment.

"The reason why I can sit here peacefully is not because I am not afraid of Xiyi, but because I can't see them and can't feel their existence. When I can see and feel them, I will be afraid.

"According to what you said, Xiyi usually shows an image in the mirror. I heard from a child in the town that after the townspeople caught the ghost, they would let the scholar take him to look at the mirror until he was scared to death."

Tang Yu thought about it based on the known clues and nodded in approval: "It seems that the scholar is a special existence in this copy. He is responsible for guiding players and executing ghosts. He probably knows a lot."

This is the consensus of the players. After all, since entering the dungeon, much of their knowledge about Yanghua Town was instilled by the scholar.

Lin Chen thought of something and replied hesitantly: "If you know too much, you will be silenced... The ghosts corresponding to the same identity are always changing, probably to prevent the same ghost from knowing too much, right?"

"Wrong." Qi Si had been standing quietly by the door, and now he suddenly spoke, "The same scarecrow has all the memories of the corresponding identity. The mere flow of ghosts cannot achieve the effect of keeping secrets.

"If it were me, if I wanted to prevent the spread of information, I would just weld a certain ghost to that position as much as possible to ensure that he is the only one who knows the secret."

Lin Chen thought about it and asked again: "Could it be because no one can control who is possessed by which scarecrow, so they can only be matched randomly?"

"Random?" Qi Si smiled, his smile was ambiguous, "The scholar just happened to turn into an old man who was destined to die at the hands of the evil spirits after one night. That's just too coincidental."

Tang Yu heard his subtext and clicked his tongue twice: "This person is a one-time employee. He will be killed after use."

Lin Chen was silent. Qiu Xin raised his eyelids and glanced at Qi Si, then lowered his eyes again.

At the right time, the scholar's voice came from downstairs, urging: "Fellow heroes, why don't you come down and sit down first, let's discuss how to deal with the tiger monster together, and let me know your plans."

The information had been exchanged almost completely, and there was no new content on the pages of paper on the bedside table. Staying upstairs would serve no purpose other than to delay time.

Everyone looked at Qiu Xin at the same time.

Some NPCs know that she is a ghost. They will go with other players to look for the tiger monster later. It will be very troublesome if they are discovered on the way.

Qiu Xin said calmly, "Just take care of yourselves. I'll go out from the window and follow you from a distance and meet you in the bamboo forest. Even if the townspeople find out, I'll have a way to escape."

The henchmen are at the top of the food chain in this copy. Even if they are surrounded by townspeople, they can still find a way to escape thanks to their identity effect of being able to easily kill the townspeople.

The players no longer hesitated, said goodbye to their enemies, pushed the door open, and went downstairs in twos and threes.

The scholar was very talkative this time. When he saw the players coming down, he quickly filled several bowls with wine and said with a smile, "We in Yanghua Town have suffered from the tiger monster for a long time. If you can eliminate this great scourge, you will be great benefactors to the thousands of townspeople. Do you have any plans?"

"We already have the wine, this is really like fighting a tiger on Jingyang Ridge..." Tang Yu complained in a low voice, looking at the scholar, "I remember that your Master Meng didn't agree with us yesterday. He just said that we could stay for a few days with good food and drink, and send us out when the time comes."

The scholar paused and said hesitantly, "You may not know, but since the townspeople learned that you can eliminate the tiger threat, they are very happy and have spontaneously agreed to come over to practice with you.

"The message has already been passed on. If you guys go back on your word, they don't know how sad they will be. I'm afraid it will not end well."

This is a subtle moral kidnapping with implicit threatening implications.

Qi Si didn't seem to hear the hidden meaning, and just looked at the scholar with a half-smile: "We have come all the way here, and have lived here for these few days. I feel that you are living a peaceful and happy life. You don't seem to be unable to survive without getting rid of the tiger monster."

The scholar put down the wine jar and sighed: "That being said, if you can live freely and do whatever you want, who would want to live in the forbidden realm of fear and despair?"

Qi Si looked into the scholar's eyes. Two seconds later, he smiled brightly: "I understand. We will go and see the tiger demon today."

The scholar nodded, a bright red smile on his pale face, the straw underneath faintly visible: "Then follow me, don't let them wait too long."

The players had agreed last night that they had to go to the bamboo forest, take a look at the tiger monster, and then make subsequent plans.

The quarrel with the scholar was just a minor episode. It would be great if I could bargain for more benefits, but there would be no harm if I failed.

Several people followed the scholar out of the mansion. Misty light poured down on their heads, as if the sun had suddenly appeared on a cloudy day.

Townspeople dressed in various colors appeared from every corner, peering at the players and casting grateful and eager glances.

New townspeople kept joining the crowd, and they crowded together like a vast ocean, surrounding the players. The level of enthusiasm made Qis imagine the army of players watching Fu Jue in the Ruins of Sunset.

"Thank God, someone is finally able to get rid of the tiger problem."

"That's great. No more deaths will happen in the future."

"You guys are truly heroes..."

The townspeople talked about it and praised it highly.

The scholar turned to look at Qi Si and asked, "Do you plan to go directly to the bamboo forest to find the tiger monster's lair, or walk around the town?"

His voice sounded sinister, as if he was asking the players to take one last good look at the world while they were still alive.

Qi Si smiled nonchalantly and said, "I'll just walk around here first."

He walked straight in the direction he remembered, and the townspeople who were surrounded by him made way for him, like the sea water being broken open by a ship.

Lin Chen didn't understand why, but he still followed Qi Si obediently. Tang Yu also followed suit.

The three of them crossed the main street that stretched east and west, bypassed the dark alleys at the street corners, and stopped at a corner that was covered in shadows and completely dark.

A corpse in black was curled up quietly. The skin exposed under the clothes was pale and bluish, the color of moldy straw. It seemed that it had been silent for a long time.

Tang Yu walked forward and laid the body flat, revealing a familiar face. It was the scholar from the first day and the night watchman from last night.

Neither Qi Si nor Qiu Xin attacked him last night, but he still died, as if that was a written ending that could not be changed by anyone's will.

Today, the scholar led a large group of townspeople to follow the player's footsteps and also saw the corpse on the ground.

He stood beside the corpse, bowed slightly, and said in a compassionate tone: "He died at the hands of the evil spirits at midnight last night. Logically, he should be sacrificed to the tiger demon, but I believe that with the presence of several righteous men, the rule will be changed soon." Qi Si turned his head to look at him, smiled and asked: "Was he really killed by the evil spirits?"

The scholar was visibly stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "It can only be a ghost who killed him. No matter who it is, they are all ghosts."

The two sentences are meaningful and seem to be hinting at something.

Qi Si nodded seriously and said word by word: "I understand."

"The undertaker has arrived. Please make way--"

The shouts echoed from afar and were gradually transmitted through the townspeople. The paper funeral man rode on a paper donkey and floated over slowly.

They landed on the ground in the same posture as yesterday, swaying and floating. After picking up the corpse on the ground, they sat on the paper donkey again and walked away from the town, singing solemn words in shrill voices.

The crowd moved to the sides, lined up on both sides of the aisle, and shouted in response:

"Everyone dies, and rests in peace—"

"Make way for the dead—"

In the solemn atmosphere, Lin Chen's voice sounded softly through the transmission of the soul leaf: "Brother Qi, is the scholar really destined to die because he knows too much?"

"Who knows?" Qi Si's eyes wandered among the crowd and fell on an old man who was also dressed in black - his old face was clearly visible, and he was 70% similar to the scholar yesterday.

He said with a hint of humor: "Now it seems that all scholars are disposable NPCs. They are guides during the day and night watchmen the next day. According to the rules, they are killed by the ghosts. The surplus value is squeezed out very cleanly."

Lin Chen was silent for a long time, and murmured: "I heard that during the great purge in the early days of the Federation, black crosses were drawn on the doors of those sentenced to death, and they were shot at with machine guns when they went out.

"The human-shaped scarecrow in this instance should be used like the black cross to mark the dying. Players in the 'Ghost' camp are driven by the camp's mission and can easily become executioners without knowing it, killing the townspeople possessed by the human-shaped scarecrow."

He made a judgment, and sighed with sympathy: "The power behind the scenes who can manipulate the copy mechanism uses the hands of the players to eliminate dissidents. Isn't this in a sense helping the evildoer..."

After listening to Lin Chen's speech, Qi Si narrowed his eyes and smiled: "So now I am very curious, if we really kill the tiger demon, then that guy will have nowhere to blame, how will it end."

"Kill...kill the tiger monster?" Lin Chen widened his eyes. He really didn't expect that the goal could rise from "taking a look at the tiger monster" to such an exaggerated level.

Qi Si's smile did not fade, as if it was just a normal joke: "Maybe we will succeed? After all, you have always had good luck, don't you?"

While the two were chatting, the figure of the undertaker had already disappeared from their sight. His shouting drifted away in the wind, and it was difficult to hear the specific words.

The scholar walked up to the players and said, "It's getting late. I'll take you to find the tiger demon's lair."

After watching the excitement and completing the practice process, the townspeople gradually dispersed, and the streets that were once crowded became wide enough for people to walk through.

The group did not stop and turned back to the mansion, walked straight through the lobby on the first floor and entered the secret door on the back wall.

The large flat ground behind the secret door was piled with corpses like a mountain. Looking down from the second floor, the endless mountain of corpses was even more shocking when looking up from the foot of the mountain.

The scholar seemed not to see the corpses and walked among the pile of corpses with a normal expression.

The players could no longer take a detour like they did yesterday. They could only suppress the discomfort in their hearts and walk through the aisle between the two mountains of corpses.

The half-rotten corpses on both sides are like the scenery of hell, welcoming players from afar to enter the realm of death.

Qi Si slowed down his pace, walked to the end of the team, picked out two relatively intact bodies and gave them a rough inspection.

One died of a knife wound, and the other died of a fire. Both died unexpectedly, but not at the hands of a tiger.

"It's just ahead." The scholar stopped at the edge of the pile of corpses and pointed to the bamboo forest shrouded in mist in the distance.

White stones extend from the forest path and drag a small section outside the bamboo forest, as if inviting people to enter.

The scholar stood where he was, refusing to take another step forward.

Having come this far, there was no point in turning back. The players simply bypassed him and walked into the bamboo forest in a line along the winding path.

After the players entered, the already thick fog in the forest became even thicker. The three of them walked forward a few steps and looked back to see that the white fog had blocked the way they came.

The hazy milky white color is sometimes thick and sometimes thin, giving the entire picture a dreamlike and illusory feeling.

The dense bamboos crisscrossed each other, making the road confusing. Looking around, all you could see was a large mass of dark green, and you had no idea what was hiding.

"I'm here." Qiu Xin's voice sounded far ahead.

Led by Tang Yu, the players followed the voice's instructions, stepped on the broken white stones on the ground, and continued to go deeper into the forest.

"Tick, tick..."

The sound of dripping water could be heard, and the sticky smell of blood hit my face, mixed with the stench of fermented animal saliva.

The players looked up and saw a half-bitten corpse hanging from a bamboo branch, floating like bacon without wind, with dark red mucus flowing downwards.

Qiu Xin, dressed in purple, stood beside the corpse. He turned around and waved at the few people: "Come over here, the tiger demon's lair is over there."

Tang Yu did not doubt him. He walked a few steps to Qiu Xin's side and looked in the direction Qiu Xin was facing.

Human bones with flesh residues were scattered here and there, some half buried in the ground, some hanging high on bamboo.

Pale skeletons were scattered here and there, covering an entire long path that led into the depths of the misty bamboo forest.

The sound of the icy wind blowing through the deep forest echoed above the rare small clearings.

Crunch...crunch...

The sound of chewing human bones was clear and distinct, and creepy.

"Ouch——"

The tiger's roar caused the earth to tremble and made people's eardrums swell.

In just a few seconds, the sound approached the player rapidly, accompanied by the rustling sound of heavy objects crushing bamboo leaves.

The players each took out their life-saving props, ready to attack at any time.

Lin Chen opened the black umbrella in front of him and stared at the trembling forest.

Rustle, rustle...

The white mist was dispersed by the turbulent airflow, and a huge head emerged from the mist, baring its sharp and bloody teeth.

Belongs to the tiger. (End of this chapter)