Ita Era

Chapter 92 Deadly Poison
"Who am I?" Sha Bi was momentarily at a loss. "If I say I'm Sha Bi, you'd better find a way to kill me, wouldn't you?" Although his ghostly power was strong, if they faced each other head-on, he would be beaten into a ghost by Ding Shi before he could even unleash his ghost.

But if I'm not a fool, then who am I?

While racking his brains, Sha Bi suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Brother Shi, I am Haisheng, Haizai." Sha Bi immediately thought of one of Wang Meng's direct subordinates, who was not familiar with Ding Shi, but knew him.

Ding Shi exclaimed in surprise, "Hai Zai!" With a hint of apology in his voice, he stepped forward to help Sha Bi up.

Death cursed Ding Shi in his heart, calling him an idiot, and continued to block him from advancing, saying, "Given the physical conflict between you, you must maintain a certain distance during dinner."

Ding Shi's scheme was exposed, and he had no choice but to take two steps back: "It's all a misunderstanding, Hai Zai, let's talk about it later."

He scratched the floor and threw something at the housekeeper that seemed out of place. System message: Insufficient conditions, cannot be used.

Ding Shi was shocked and subconsciously gave the housekeeper a lewd look. He had only ever experienced water and soil incompatibility with the housekeeper, Wang Meng, and Sha Bi. The housekeeper was clearly not Wang Meng or Sha Bi, so...

He scratched the floor and threw a dagger at the silly dagger, saying it was out of place.

Ding Shi thought for a moment and asked the female housekeeper, "Aren't you a man?"

The housekeeper, bewildered, asked, "What man?"

Ding Shi said, "You are the male butler."

The housekeeper was surprised. How did he know she was an incarnation of Death, and that the real Death was currently in the bathroom? Although diarrhea would occur intermittently, the real Death didn't want to go back and forth anymore, so staying in the bathroom was fine.

As they continued their conversations, Sha Bi felt an intense itch all over his body and noticed he had a new buff: allergic reaction to unfamiliar water and soil. It lasted for 3 hours. Sha Bi pulled up his clothes and saw large patches of red rashes on his body. Scratching only made it worse, so he abandoned his meal and his revenge, turning to head to his room. He wanted to take off all his clothes.

Ding Shi reminded him, "Hai Zai, my steak knife is still in your abdomen. Can you give it back to me? My steak is waiting for it."

Sha Bi pretended not to hear, made his way back to his room, closed the door, and his allergic symptoms were blocked by the safe zone. He calmed down instantly and began to think about the possibility of killing Ding Shi.

Ding Shi was unaware that there was a ghost inside him. If he could lure the ghost out and give it enough time to summon it, he would definitely be able to kill it.

That's what I thought, but for no reason, I had a feeling that doing this would be the one to suffer. Also, why are people looking at me so strangely?

Thinking this, Silly Dagger went outside and stealthily made his way to the restaurant, trying to eavesdrop on the players' conversations. Even the itch in his body was overcome by his persistent determination.

Ten minutes later, Sha Bi learned about the live stream. Realizing he'd revealed his hand to Ding Shi and Wang Meng, Sha Bi was filled with regret. Now, he could only turn to the Grim Reaper again, hoping to disable Ding Shi's hands, feet, and mouth, or better yet, knock him unconscious and bring him to his side.

Foolish Dagger dialed his beloved Grim Reaper's number, and as expected, the Grim Reaper told him to get lost and hung up.

Frustrated, Silly Dagger pondered in his room. He had a chance to kill Ding Shi tonight, but he was hesitant to make a move. Although the Grim Reaper had pulled strings to prevent Ding Shi from using his crossbow, Ding Shi's kick and speed just now told Silly Dagger that it was best not to attack Ding Shi, and best not to give Ding Shi the opportunity to do so.

How could this be? Ding Shi has always been a stumbling block in my reality, and he is still my biggest stumbling block in the world of Ita. If I don't kill Ding Shi, I can't make progress, my soul can't be sublimated, and I will fall into the shadow of a loser.

Furthermore, if I miss this Death's Invitation, how will I deal with the Wildcat Crossbow in the following dungeon? Even if I summon a demon, the Wildcat Crossbow can shoot through my own body first.

Yes, Wang Meng. We still have to cooperate with Wang Meng. Isn't it because I can't beat Ding Shi in real life that I came to Wang Meng?
……

After dinner, the 12 players returned to their rooms. Everyone knew that tonight was destined to be a high-risk, high-reward night. Yu Yuan and Wang Meng chose to lie low, knowing that Ding Shi had 40. 40! Even if you added another zero to all the players on this side, they might not even have 40. How could they possibly compete with that?
As for Ding Shi, he definitely has to participate in the nighttime program, otherwise what's the point of participating in the Hell instance?
Just then, Sha Bi called Wang Meng, who replied directly, "Don't even think about it, at least not in this instance. I even think he could beat your ghost to death."

Foolish Bone denied it: "That's impossible." He was joking; only he knew his own past.

Wang Meng said, "Then I wish you good luck."

Sha Bi said, "Don't hang up, Meng Ge. To tell you the truth, I'm now a Death Apprentice, and I have a chance to make big money tonight."

Wang Meng asked, "How big?"

Silly Bite said mysteriously, "Guess."

Wang Meng: "I'm too lazy to guess."

Foolish Bone said, "Let's cooperate. I'll be the mole on Death's side, and we'll split the money 50/50 after you get it. You'll get at least eight thousand. We'll cooperate again at the auction tomorrow and make that kid cry his eyes out there."

Wang Meng sighed, "Silly Buddy, go wash up and go to bed. I definitely won't be going out tonight."

Sha Bi said, "Brother Meng, tomorrow is the system auction, the system auction for the Hell Dungeon. Here's the deal: I'll take six thousand, and you take ten thousand."

Wang Meng said, "Someone has already bought out tomorrow's auction."

Foolish Dagger asked, "Who?"

Wang Meng: "Ding Shi (7-9 AM)."

Foolish Dagger: "How is that possible?"

Wang Meng: "He has 40."

Stupid shrieked, "How is this possible?"

Wang Meng: "It was you who helped him earn it."

The silly dolphin-like voice exclaimed, "How is that possible?"

Wang Meng said, "Silly Bone, although I don't like you, I still advise you not to mess with him in this instance. Just go around him when you see him."

Silly Bone: "Brother Meng, you're kidding, right?"

Wang Meng: "Three punches per second, each punch piercing through the coffee table, how many punches can you withstand? He has unerring throwing knives and a spell that can shoot down Zeus's Bloodhawk. It's only because this instance bans crossbows and has the female butler Death to help you, otherwise you would have died countless times already." You're not as smart as him, and you can't beat him in a fight, yet you still insist on provoking him. Who gave you the courage?
Wang Meng said, "The reason I agreed to cooperate with you from the beginning and even ambushed Ding Shi is because I knew I might not be able to defeat him. The only person who could probably defeat Ding Shi head-on is Phantom. That's true in reality, and it might be true in the game as well."

Sha Bi said, "Brother Meng, don't underestimate yourself. In the world of Ita, everyone starts from the same point. Being strong now doesn't mean you'll be strong in the future."

Wang Meng regained some confidence and said, "Anyway, I won't offend him in this instance. You see for yourself. I'm done."

That's not right. When everyone was in the underworld, Ding Shi started from the lowest point. Now that everyone's on the same starting platform, how could he not take off?

……

At nine o'clock in the evening, the radio announced: "Due to a circuit problem, the power will be cut off before five o'clock tomorrow morning. Candles will be distributed now. The safe time is before 9:10." A moment later, there was a knock at the door. Ding Shi pulled down his mask, put it back on, and opened the door. A maid holding a bundle of white candles stood quietly in the doorway. Ding Shi stepped out, took the candles, and the maid turned and left without saying a word, her face expressionless.

The walls on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors were already inlaid with candlesticks. The maids took chairs, stood on them, placed candles on each candlestick, and then lit them. There was a candle every five meters, which, strictly speaking, was no less effective than the lighting in the corridor.

Ding Shi reached the top of the stairs and noticed candles lit everywhere on the first floor, which puzzled him. He casually stopped a maid and asked, "Excuse me, how long does a candle burn?"

The maid replied, "Under normal circumstances, it can burn for half an hour."

"Thank you." Ding Shi was about to return to his room when he saw a man walk through the villa's gate. Wasn't this the Grim Reaper's butler he hadn't seen for 12 hours? Ding Shi scratched his toes. No, it hadn't been 24 hours yet.

Back in his room, Ding Shi closed the door and dialed Yu Yuan's number: "Do you know what I just saw?"

Yu Yuan asked cooperatively, "What did you see?"

Ding Shi said, “There are two types of maids. One type is the maid who delivers candles. They are expressionless, their eyes never blink, and they don’t speak. The other type is the maid who lights the candles. They are similar to normal humans.”

Yu Yuan asked, "What do you think is going on?"

Ding Shi said, "The maid who delivered the candles had a ring on her left hand with numbers written on it, but I couldn't see the numbers clearly. I've seen this ring before in the hospital morgue, but it was on the ankle of the corpse, not on the left hand."

Yu Yuan pondered for a moment: "Because of the poison and other reasons, about 25 people have already died before Yi Hao even made a move. If we connect the dots, I think the maid who delivered the candles is likely the corpse of a dead player, just with a maid's face on it. They might activate the killing mechanism after 9:10 and become the killers of this villa."

Yu Yuan said, "The most important question now is why Yi Hao hasn't made a move yet."

Ding Shi said, "Doesn't everyone think that Yihao is a nocturnal creature? With the candles, the answer is obvious: Yihao will only attack players who are in the dark."

Yu Yuan said, "But you don't think so."

Ding Shi: "Yes, I don't think the evil spirit will easily reveal its hand."

Yu Yuan asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Ding Shi replied, "It seems to be related to the light, but I have no clue about it either."

Yu Yuan advised, "If you have no clue, it's best to play it safe."

Ding Shi said, "I will be careful."

Yu Yuan said nothing more, and after chatting for a few more minutes, they each hung up the phone.

Yihao?

Ding Shi recalled seeing Yi Hao's true form today. He searched Yi Hao but found nothing. Yi Hao was just a half-rotten corpse, not even in the same league as the beautiful, cute, and cheerful Gui San Niang. What was worse, he was a male corpse, making him even more repulsive.

Corpse Maid, Candle, What are the Rules of Murder?

Ding Shi recalled some information about Gui San Niang. Gui San Niang's spirit floated in the air, fully aware of every move in Peach Blossom Village. This powerful Gui San Niang had three rules for killing. Yi Hao only had one rule for killing, indicating that Yi Hao was weaker than Gui San Niang, much weaker.

If Yu Yuan's guess is correct, the presence of 25 corpses wandering the villa is both terrifying and not terrifying. The atmosphere is terrifying, not the fighting ability. The remaining 12 players are all somewhat skilled; dealing with a single corpse shouldn't be too difficult. Even if they can't defeat it, the corpses aren't fast, as evidenced by the stiff gait of the corpse maid.

Is darkness Yihao's rule for killing? Ding Shi disagrees, because in the escape game before dinner, the three challengers crawled into a winding pipe containing completely dark areas. There was still no news of Yihao during the day, so besides darkness, what else is unique to the night?
Ding Shi immediately had an idea, but didn't test it. If the idea was correct, tonight's game would be extremely dangerous. However, Yi Hao probably couldn't reach Gui San Niang's killing efficiency. Once targeted by Gui San Niang, the interval between fatal attacks was only two to three seconds. What about Yi Hao? Could his efficiency reach even half of Gui San Niang's level?

At 9:10, a static sound came from the radio, and a voice could be faintly heard: "I am... Gong Xi... 10,000 yuan, reward 10,000 yuan."

Ten seconds later, the sound repeated itself, but apart from the quote of 10,000, the rest of the sound was very muffled.

After three broadcasts, Ding Shi deduced the meaning of the sentence: "I am Liu Decai, I am in a public restroom, and I will give 1 yuan to anyone who can help me."

There are two public restrooms on the first floor, one on the east and one on the west. There are also public restrooms for employees on the second, third, and fourth floors.

Which floor's restroom? Ding Shi frowned, recalling the information from the radio three times.

Suddenly the phone rang, startling Ding Shi so much he almost jumped up. Damn landline, the ringtone was incredibly shrill.

"Hello," Ding Shi answered the phone irritably.

Ignoring Ding Shi's attitude, Wang Meng asked, "Cooperation?"

Ding Shi frowned: "Cooperate? Didn't you choose to lie down and do nothing?"

Wang Meng remained silent for a moment, knowing he couldn't hide it any longer, and said, "I've been infected with the deadly poison." Within ten minutes, Sha Bi came to his door, trying to persuade him to cooperate in dealing with Ding Shi. Wang Meng realized that Sha Bi wanted to get more information about Ding Shi. The two talked for a long time, and Wang Meng told Sha Bi some of Ding Shi's information, but only a portion.

Wang Meng didn't have a strong desire to kill Ding Shi, but he didn't mind if Sha Bi could hinder Ding Shi's development. Killing Ding Shi? That was an impossible task for Sha Bi alone.

At 9:12, Sha Bi left. As Wang Meng was about to close the door, he noticed the Death Poison icon appear on his screen.

Ding Shi said, "The room is absolutely safe during this period."

Wang Meng said, “But the deadly virus is already in my body. For example, if you give birth in 3 hours, even if you are in a safe zone, you will still have to give birth. I suspect that the previous host died between 8 o’clock and 9:12 o’clock. During this period, it is either a safe time or everyone should stay in the room.”

Wang Meng's meaning: The previous host of the Dead Poison was killed by an external force, but other players were either in the room or during the safe time of 9:00-9:10, so the Dead Poison could not find a host.

Most importantly, if one player kills the host, and other players don't meet the inhabitant requirements, the Deadly Poison can only possess the murderer. Based on all the information, the person who killed the Deadly Poison's former host was the Death Apprentice, Foolish Dagger, who was immune to the Deadly Poison. Foolish Dagger, during his call with Wang Meng, discovered Wang Meng's plan to eke out a living that night, and thus used this method to force Wang Meng to go out.

Ding Shi: "If you're right, you've been tricked by Sha Bi."

Wang Meng replied speechlessly, "Yes." Even though the safe time was only 10 minutes, Sha Bi left at 9:12, deliberately missing the safe time. And cooperating with Death Poison to kill was one of the tasks of the Death Apprentice.

Ding Shi asked, "Will you ambush me?"

Wang Meng said earnestly, "I swear on my parents, I will never ambush you in this instance." Asking Ding Shi for help was the best way for Wang Meng to survive.

Ding Shi said, "Alright, I'll come find you." Ding Shi needed someone to help him confirm his guess about the rules of murder, so cooperation was certainly possible.

(End of this chapter)