Read Novel Full Chapter 627
Chapter 627
Twelve people were missing, and now there were forty-eight pairs of eyes left.
The players pieced together information about the directions in which the missing players left in the morning.
Eight people had known destinations, while four had unknown ones.
Out of the eight, six went to the east end of the village, and two went south.
S419M chattered nervously in Bai Lixin’s mind: [Lord Host, I think I’ve discovered a pattern.]
Bai Lixin: [What?]
S419M: [At first, three players were unaccounted for. Now, twelve players are missing, which adds up to exactly fifteen. Last night, those village women sewed exactly fifteen corpses together…]
The Escape System: [That’s impossible. The bodies were torn apart so thoroughly there’s no way they could have survived. Although this game is harsh, it abides by its own rules. If a player dies, it won’t hide that information.]
Bai Lixin: [I’ve seen all those players. Although the faces on yesterday’s corpses were hard to identify, the details didn’t match those players.]
S419M: [Could there be some connection? Or was it just a coincidence?]
Bai Lixin: [I don’t know yet. I’ll have to continue investigating to find out.]
“Six people went to the east end of the village and then disappeared. Although the other two initially headed south, we can’t rule out the possibility that they later changed direction and went east.” Ever since the disappearance of the twelve players was discovered, Li Li’s brows had remained furrowed. “Time is of the essence. Let’s first exchange our findings from yesterday. I’ll go first. Yesterday, while investigating the identity of the mysterious people, I met the first three missing players—Pink Hair and his companions…”
Li Li recounted the information he had gathered, including the ultra-SS-grade resurrection prop Pink Hair mentioned.
Bai Lixin selectively revealed some of his findings.
He shared details about the conversation between Master Song and the mysterious man, the location and method of obtaining the treasure, and the fifteen corpses sewn together by the women late at night, as well as the dark figures heading up the mountain.
The amount of information was so huge that the players temporarily lost control of their expressions.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
“If you combine Mr. Li’s and Bai Lixin’s information, doesn’t that reveal the location and content of the Chenjia treasure?”
“If their clues can be linked, it would indirectly verify the accuracy of the information, right?”
“I don’t even know if I can survive. What use is that ultra-SS-grade prop to me?”
“Forget about the ultra-SS-grade resurrection prop for now. Bai Lixin’s information has clues about the fire in Chenjia Village!”
“No wonder.” Lin Jue lazily sat on a stone block in the corner of the courtyard. “Last night, I saw a group of people carrying many corpses up the mountain. It turns out you saw the first part, and I saw the second part.”
One stone caused a thousand ripples. The noisy group of players fell silent, their gazes uniformly landing on Lin Jue.
Bai Lixin also looked over, “You were at Rong Mountain last night?”
Lin Jue: “Yesterday, I went up the mountain with the hunter NPC from the neighboring village, using the excuse of having no food. On the mountain, I deliberately separated from him and stayed until dawn when he came looking for me. I then followed the hunter down the mountain.”
Li Li: “Did you find anything on the mountain?”
Lin Jue shrugged, “Nothing special, just like Bai Lixin said before, Rong Mountain is barren with no living creatures. Behind the banyan tree is a cluster of graves. The villagers dug pits and buried the fifteen corpses. After burying them, the villagers paid their respects and left the mountain. I stayed under the banyan tree until dawn to see if anything unusual would happen, like a corpse suddenly crawling out of the graves. But the night passed peacefully, and nothing happened.”
The players’ expectant gazes gradually dimmed.
Afterward, the other players exchanged their information. Most had made some progress, but much of it was redundant.
The identity of the mysterious people was the most unknown. Aside from the clues they received from Li Li, there was little else.
Regarding the background of Chenjia Village, there happened to be a professional chemist in the team who investigated the village’s water source, land, food, and more, but he didn’t discover any signs of a polluted wasteland.
The suspicion that the copy had a post-apocalyptic wasteland pollution background was largely debunked.
As for the identity of Chenjia Village, some players secretly sneaked into many villagers’ homes and found many commonalities.
First, none of the households had lit fires.
Secondly, none of them were normal people; their exteriors were fake skins, with something hidden inside.
There wasn’t a single living person in the entire village.
Yesterday, some players had gone to great lengths to follow an NPC into Rong Mountain. Everyone concluded that there was something strange about Rong Mountain, but no one could pinpoint exactly what it was. Just as Bai Lixin had concluded earlier, one had to be led by a Chenjia villager to enter Rong Mountain. Not only to enter but also to exit, as one would get lost and wander endlessly in the mountain without a guide.
The clues on the treasure were mostly overlapping, with much of the information aligning with what Bai Lixin and Li Li had already mentioned. Some players also discovered that to locate the treasure, you need both the cowhide and the Imperial Jade Seal, but this wasn’t something they found out from Master Song, rather, it was learned from questioning the villagers.
Among the five investigation directions, the treasure had the most clues so far.
Li Li: “I think our next focus should be divided into two parts: one group should concentrate on finding the treasure and strive to obtain the ultra-SS-grade resurrection prop. The other group should continue investigating the cause of the fire in Chenjia Village.”
Voices of objections rose from the crowd: “Why waste time searching for props? Shouldn’t we be focusing all our efforts on investigating the cause of the fire right now?”
“Because we can’t put all our eggs in one basket.” Li Li’s expression was serious, his face stern. “There are 36 hours left. The best outcome would be if we could discover the cause of the fire. But what if we haven’t found it after 36 hours? Should we all stay here and be burned to death together?”
“The ultra-SS-grade prop can revive us. As long as we obtain that prop, we have a chance to be resurrected.”
The players began to argue.
“Who will be resurrected?”
“How can he guarantee that he can resurrect us?”
“Do you even know how to use that prop?”
Li Li remained patient.
“I don’t know the exact functions of the prop yet, but I have a prop that allows me to foresee the future. The closer we are in time and distance, the clearer my visions become. I used the predictive skill yesterday, and although the images were blurry, they indicated that we should go find that prop. As long as we get closer to the treasure, my ability should be able to predict the specific functions of the resurrection prop.”
“At that time, we can decide whether to continue the investigation or switch to investigating the cause of the fire in Chenjia Village.”
“As for who will resurrect you, if you trust me, I will be the one to do it.”
“Although I’m not the strongest among you, I am definitely the one who can survive until the end. My ability allows me to avoid death.”
“Furthermore, I suggest we sign a Death Contract. If I fail to resurrect everyone, I will experience the most painful things before I die.”
“Does anyone have any objections to that?”
The crowd buzzed again.
Li Li’s predictive skill was no secret; it was quite a cheat. It was like an examiner giving out a set of exams, and Li Li could preview the questions in advance.
Whether because of the leadership he had shown in the first stage or because of his life-saving predictive skill, his words always easily persuaded and calmed the others.
“The Death Contract, could it be the contract with the system?”
The Death Contract was a contract that players could summon the system to draft. After signing their names, players were bound to fulfill the terms, and if they reneged, they would face severe consequences.
Bai Lixin had also signed such a contract during a bet with Emil in the casino. At that time, when Emil backed out, he was severely punished by the game and nearly died.
“If we can’t trust Mr. Li, who else can we trust?”
“If Mr. Li wanted to harm us, why would he save us so many times?”
“And he even suggested signing the Death Contract.”
“So, do we listen to him this time?”
“Yes.”
“Do you trust him that much?”
“I trust his ability to predict the future.”
Li Li was also a man of action. He reached behind him, and when he brought his hand back, there was already a piece of paper in it.
He unfolded the contract, and on it were two large characters: Death Contract
Party A’s Name: ________
Party B’s Name: Li Li
Contract Terms:
Party B, Li Li, is currently participating in the second stage [Chenjia Village] of the horror copy [Goose Feather Mountain]. Upon obtaining the ultra-SS-grade resurrection prop, he promises to resurrect all players (i.e., Party A) who are participating in this part of the copy and proceed together to Phase 3.
If the terms of the contract are violated, the system will impose the most painful punishment before death.
Party B’s name was already signed with Li Li’s name, and Party A was left blank.
Li Li handed the Death Contract to the nearest player. “Pass it around and, if there are no issues, sign your name in the Party A section.”
The players gathered around the Death Contract like bees to pollen.
“Did you find any problems?”
“It really is a Death Contract.”
“The contract leaves no room for negotiation.”
“It’s a big deal. It seems like everything he said is true.”
“Well, it doesn’t harm me. A contract adds extra security. I’ll sign it first.”
“I’ll sign too.”
“Me too.”
After reviewing the contract, the players found no issues. They didn’t hesitate any longer and signed their names on the paper.
Soon, the contract was passed to Bai Lixin. He glanced at it and signed his name behind Party A: Bai Lixin.
Then, Song Yuantian and the others signed their names one by one. After all the players in the courtyard had signed, the contract was returned to Li Li.
Li Li snapped his fingers, and the contract in his hand suddenly burst into flames and turned to ash.
A cold, electronic sound echoed in the players’ minds: [Death Contract signed. A promise must be kept. Players must fulfill the contract terms. Any violations will have consequences.]
Li Li’s tense expression relaxed slightly. “It’s done. Now we can proceed as I suggested. One group will search for the treasure, and the other will investigate the cause of the fire in Chenjia Village. Who wants to join me in finding the treasure?”
“I do!” As soon as he finished speaking, a player immediately raised a hand.
“The Death Contract has been signed, why look for the cause of the fire? Of course, we should find the ultra-SS-grade resurrection prop first!”
“Exactly.”
“Count me in!”
The scattered players in the courtyard quickly formed teams, and in the blink of an eye, most had gathered around Li Li.
Their earlier despair and fear from when the ten players were missing had been replaced with enthusiasm and determination.
Bai Lixin, Song Yuantian, and the other three exchanged glances.
Song Yuantian and Emil voluntarily joined the team searching for treasure.
Bai Lixin, Lin Jue, and Samael stayed behind. Bai Lixin said, “The other direction can’t be left unaddressed. We’ll stay to investigate the cause of the fire in Chenjia Village.”
Finally, a few remaining players moved into their positions, and the division was complete.
Out of the forty-eight players, only Bai Lixin, Samael, and Lin Jue stayed to investigate the fire’s cause in Chenjia Village, while the other forty-five chose to search for the treasure.
To find the treasure, they had to first find both the Imperial Jade Seal and the cowhide. The clue for the cowhide was available—it was at Master Song’s house—while the whereabouts of the Imperial Jade Seal were still unknown.
Li Li then came up with a solution to divide the forty-five players into three groups.
Song Yuantian had been to Master Song’s house yesterday, so he would lead two others to retrieve the cowhide;
Six players would search for the Imperial Jade Seal;
The remaining thirty-six would conduct a thorough search of Rong Mountain.
Since they already knew the treasure was on Rong Mountain, a comprehensive search might be faster than searching for the Imperial Jade Seal and cowhide separately.
Under Li Li’s leadership, the players departed in a grand procession, leaving the once-bustling courtyard eerily quiet.
After everyone left, Bai Lixin finally turned to Lin Jue. “So, what do you need to tell me? What did you discover on Rong Mountain yesterday?”