Infinite: Dawn Game

Upon hearing this, Yu Shijiu blinked, took a step forward with some curiosity, and turned back to say:

"We've arrived just in time, why don't we take a look?"

Lin Feng was unwilling to waste time. She glanced back at the dimly lit path and urged, "..."

"We haven't found the ancestral hall yet—"

Before she could finish speaking, she saw Yu Shijiu, who had just said a sentence, walk directly towards the houses with the lights on.

Lin Feng: "..."

So, when you asked her that question, it was just something you said casually, right...?

Yu Shijiu didn't seem like the type to listen to others, so Lin Feng just sighed and followed.

The guesthouse was actually just a few dilapidated mud houses. It looked shabby on the outside, but it was even shabby inside. That was Lin Feng's assessment when he came to visit during the day.

As night fell... Lin Feng squinted slightly as she looked at the houses in front of her, which appeared even more eerie under the moonlight.

—Well, even more shabby now.

It's even more dilapidated than the villagers' houses, and it's on a different floor.

Yu Shijiu had already tiptoed to the window of one of the mud houses with the light on, and without hesitation, he peeked out.

The windows of the guesthouse were different from the tiny windows in the villagers' houses. Their windows were exactly the same as the ones outside—large windows with roughly the same length and width. At this moment, the window was slightly ajar, seemingly opened by the player for ventilation.

Then Yu Shijiu saw that in the dim light of the room, several players were sitting on the bed, heads down and motionless.

Yu Shijiu blinked slightly, her eyes darting around the corners of the room before finally settling on the motionless players.

These players were clearly experiencing physical problems; no one could remain motionless for such a long time. Just as Yu Shijiu was considering whether to go in and take a closer look, footsteps suddenly came from inside the room.

The other person seemed to be by the window, right in Yu Shijiu's blind spot, which is why Yu Shijiu hadn't seen them earlier.

Given the cautious mindset of many players, Yu Shijiu should have left immediately, but the boy on the screen remained motionless, still in a "peeping" posture.

The players watching on screen, who were still engrossed in their viewing: "..."

Sometimes you really have to admire Yu Shijiu's mental fortitude.

Snapped--

Footsteps began to echo inside the room.

The other person's footsteps were very light, like light, floating soles on muddy ground, making a sound and kicking up a lot of dust.

"Time to eat."

An old man's hoarse, rough voice echoed in the room, and then a hunched, somewhat familiar old man's back appeared in Yu Shijiu's sight.

Yes--

Lin Feng eventually caught up. She silently walked to Yu Shijiu's side and stopped. Just as she was about to reach out and pat him, Yu Shijiu seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and quickly reached out to stop her.

Hush

Under the moonlight, the boy by the window had a deathly pale complexion. The paleness caused by long-term malnutrition made his face look somewhat sinister, even though the boy's face was full of excited smiles.

"The village chief is inside."

Yu Shijiu opened his mouth silently, his mouth shape perfectly formed.

Lin Feng's expression changed instantly.

The village chief? How could the village chief possibly be here? He was clearly asleep before she left the room; she only came to find Yu Shijiu after she had watched him fall asleep—

"If players can pretend, why can't NPCs?"

Yu Shijiu's smiling face was still in front of him. He seemed to have guessed the chaos in Lin Feng's mind at the moment, and he chuckled and silently made a comment.

Undeniably, Lin Feng's face also turned pale at this moment.

If the village chief is awake, wouldn't that mean his outing was also seen by the other party...?

Yu Shijiu didn't pay much attention to Lin Feng's expression. After reminding her, he continued to look down and "peep" at the ongoing plot in the room, completely ignoring Lin Feng's fear.

There's nothing to be afraid of, it's just an earthworm... but it's still a little disgusting.

Inside the room, the village chief carried several bowls to the players who had their heads down, and with a nimbleness completely out of character for an elderly man, placed the bowls one by one on their laps.

The village chief seemed very happy; even his voice was filled with joy.

"Eat up, eat up. We still need to live after we're full."

The moment he finished speaking, the players simultaneously picked up the bowls from their knees and began slurping noodles with loud "slurp" sounds and chewing sounds. Their bodies seemed to tremble with pleasure as they ate.

Because the village chief blocked his view, Yu Shijiu couldn't see clearly.

He frowned slightly as he listened to the players' urgent refusals.

Is it really that delicious? Even better than grandma's fried rice?

As he was pondering, his forearm suddenly tightened.

Yu Shijiu turned her head and met Lin Feng's eyes, which should have been calm but now revealed more fear and disgust.

Lin Feng's hand, which was gripping his arm, was trembling.

"They are eating earthworms."

Lin Feng's mouth moved slightly.

Yu Shijiu's pupils widened slightly, and when she turned her head again, the village chief had already walked to the side with satisfaction and started tidying up some things, humming an unknown little tune.

Meanwhile, all the players sitting on the edge of the bed were engrossed in eating. In the large bowls on their knees, countless live, wriggling pink earthworm larvae were picked up by their bare hands and stuffed into their mouths. Their teeth bit into the bodies of the earthworm larvae, which convulsed and curled up, eventually turning into sticky chunks of bloody flesh that the players chewed and swallowed.

Yu Shijiu: "..."

He felt his eyes had been insulted.

I thought it would be something delicious, but it turned out to be disgusting earthworms...

It's the kind that's eaten raw.

Yu Shijiu touched his stomach and thought it was best not to eat earthworms raw.

too disgusting.

He, an outsider, found it disgusting, let alone the players in the room who were currently grabbing live earthworms and eating them like crazy.

Not all of them were completely irrational; some still retained a semblance of reason... but frankly, it would have been better if none of that remained.

With a shred of reason remaining, they could only watch in despair as they repeatedly reached into the bowl to grab the earthworm larvae, then stuffed them into their mouths to savor the bursting flavor...

vomit.

Tears streamed down their scarlet eyes, mingling with the disgusting, bloody smell of earthworms, making the few remaining rational players feel like they were living a life worse than death.

...It would be more painful to just die.

"Let's go."

Yu Shijiu found it boring. He winked at Lin Feng, then glanced back at the village chief inside the house, who was busy adding earthworms to the players' bowls. His tone was very calm.

"The village chief seems quite busy."