Read Novel Full Chapter 634
Chapter 634
Nightfall came, and the ground was filled with potholes eroded by rain.
Bai Lixin returned to reunite with Xia Chi, but before they could say a word, a group of servants holding weapons came rushing over.
“That’s them!”
“The young master is with them too!”
“Catch them all!”
“Don’t let them escape!”
Everyone: “…”
Half an hour later, they were all tied up and thrown into the Song family woodshed.
One of the players asked, “Can someone explain what’s going on? Why did this guy tie us up? Is he in cahoots with those bird-masked bastards?”
Song Yuantian reasonably speculated, “Could it be that he discovered the treasure map was missing? He’s captured us to interrogate the whereabouts of the map.”
Their question was soon officially answered.
Master Song kicked open the woodshed door, his goat-beard trembling as he pointed at them and roared, “Are you the coquettish bitches seducing my precious boy? Hah, you think you can deceive my pure and innocent son? I’ll make sure you pay with your lives!”
Xia Chi was as obedient as a rabbit. He stood behind Master Song with his head almost buried in his neck.
Everyone: “…”
The more Master Song spoke, the more enraged he became, “You wretched hearts! Were your hearts made of poisonous apples? How could you deceive such an innocent child?”
Everyone: “…”
‘Innocent? Child?’
Xia Chi buried his head even more.
“In any case,” Master Song’s hand trembled as he pointed at them, “I absolutely won’t let you off! Prepare to die!”
The woodshed door was slammed shut, kicking up dust everywhere.
Hugh Ponytail hesitated and voiced everyone’s doubts, “So, he didn’t tie us up because he suspected us of stealing the treasure map, but because he’s an old father that’s worried that his son will be led astray by bad people outside?”
Everyone nodded.
It was hard to agree with, but they had to accept it.
High Ponytail: “No, is he sick?”
The rate of nodding increased even more.
A dull sound came from outside, and everyone looked towards the door curiously, only to see shadows swaying, two figures falling to the ground, and the last one slowly pushing the door open.
Xia Chi slipped in with a grin, “I knocked out the guards. Now… what should we do?”
Everyone: “…”
‘Didn’t you just leave?! So soon! Are you playing with us?!’
No one knew what would happen during the night in Chenjia Village.
The players who had just killed a group of bird-masked people were filled with passion and itching for more action.
Their impulse to accomplish something big was suddenly interrupted by getting captured.
The dozen or so players were momentarily at a loss for what to do. The main issue was that everything was so confusing now. The system said the task was to investigate the cause of the fire, but after being here for days, nothing seemed directly connected to the cause of the fire.
There were too many distractions.
There was too much information, and the key details were hard to sift out.
It felt like hitting a dead end.
“Although I’m not entirely sure, I can provide some information now.” At the critical moment, Bai Lixin stepped forward, “I think what we’re seeing isn’t real.”
High Ponytail: “Of course, didn’t the system say this was a scene reconstruction?”
Bai Lixin: “We felt how real everything was in the underground laboratory, but in the blink of an eye, those things vanished. Isn’t that strange?”
“And what about the rain? Why did the rain smell like gunpowder, and why did every raindrop have such terrible penetrating power? That wasn’t acid rain, but a rain of bullets. What covered the sky weren’t clouds, but fighter jets like dark clouds. Bullets rained down, which is why the rain had that gunpowder smell and such strong penetrating power.”
“The environment we’re in now seems to be half real, half illusion. Many things have been beautified into everyday objects, preventing us from seeing through the logic.”
His words were like a bolt of lightning, striking everyone present.
High Ponytail became excited, “The identities we’re playing are people from Chenjia Village, so we can understand their language. But we can’t understand the language of those in black rubber suits. Does that mean the people in the black suits are outsiders?”
Muscular Man: “When the rain of bullets comes, the Chenjia villagers hide, but the masked people come out to capture others, meaning the rain of bullets and the masked people are on the same side.”
Song Yuantian said solemnly, “They are invaders, outsiders who invaded and looted Chenjia Village.”
Short-Haired Girl: “These invaders came to Chenjia Village, built an experimental hell here, and captured the villagers as test subjects for their research. They put on smiling face masks, thinking that this could beautify them and hide their ugly true faces.”
One of the players said excitedly, “They also want to loot the treasure of Chenjia Village!”
“When they found the treasure back then, they set fire to Chenjia Village. Could that be the cause of the fire?”
[Ding! Congratulations to the player, the progress for discovering the cause of the fire in Chenjia Village is 60% complete. The clearance progress is 100%.]
[There are only 23 hours left until the second stage of the game closes. Please keep up the good work.]
The players simultaneously received a system prompt.
Someone exclaimed, “Why is it only 60%?”
Someone immediately responded, “That means the answer is wrong, but the process is correct.”
“Still, that’s 60% progress!” someone in the crowd said excitedly, “If we find other clues, we can definitely complete the task.”
“Boss Bai Lixin, what’s the next plan? Point us in the right direction, and we’ll go wherever you say.” Smart players had already learned to cling to the thigh.
Bai Lixin: “I’m planning to visit Rong Mountain.”
Immediately, someone from the players shouted, “Wherever you go, I go.”
“I’m going too.”
“You have to take me with you.”
They were determined to hold onto this thick thigh!
As a loyal follower, Xia Chi was eager to join too, “Brother, I’m coming too.”
Bai Lixin shook his head immediately, “No, you stay.”
Xia Chi: “Why?”
Could it be that there was a more important task for him?
Bai Lixin: “There is no other reason, I just don’t want to be scolded as a ‘coquettish bitch’ again, please understand.”
Xia Chi: “…”
There was no time to waste, especially since Song Yuanwai had previously said “wait to die.” They didn’t have the courage to really wait around for death.
Xia Chi led the group to a dog hole. The players left under the cover of night and quickly disappeared into the darkness.
After everyone had left, Song Yuntian, who had been held back by Xia Chi, narrowed his eyes coldly, “Xiao Xia Chi, you’d better have a good reason.”
Xia Chi shivered slightly, “I just think this has something to do with you, that’s why I made you stay. You’ll understand once you follow me.”
Song Yuntian: “…”
Following Xia Chi, Song Yuntian walked swiftly through the dark corridor. The path was familiar; it was the one leading to Master Song’s study.
When they were about to reach the study, Xia Chi suddenly turned in the opposite direction and stopped in front of a room with the lights off.
On the door of the room was a large “封” character. It was already faded and showing signs of age.
The window next to the room was slightly ajar. Like a nimble ferret, Xia Chi slipped inside. He crouched by the window and waved to Song Yuntian, “Come on in, why aren’t you coming in?”
Song Yuntian: “You’re blocking the window, how am I supposed to get in?”
Realizing this, Xia Chi immediately made room.
As soon as Song Yuntian squeezed into the room, before he could even find his footing, Xia Chi pulled him under the tablecloth beneath the desk.
The other party took out a photo album from somewhere, shone a flashlight on it and said mysteriously, “Take a look inside.”
Perhaps due to Xia Chi’s strange behavior, Song Yuntian hesitated for a moment before opening the album.
Nevertheless, he did.
The first thing he saw was a family photo.
The photo was black and white, the paper yellowed, and the outlines somewhat blurred.
“Isn’t this just a family photo?” Song Yuntian’s gaze swept over the picture, not understanding why Xia Chi was acting so strangely.
Xia Chi urged, “Take a closer look.”
Song Yuntian patiently scanned each face in the photo, and suddenly, his gaze froze, his pupils constricting rapidly.
His finger fell on one of the people in the photo, and he exclaimed in shock, “This person looks a lot like me. Who is this man?”
The photo depicted four adults.
In the center stood Master Song. On his left was a tall and slender young man, and on his right stood a couple, a man in a traditional long robe and the woman in a cheongsam.
Judging by their closeness in the photo, the couple seemed to be married.
At a glance, the man on the right bore a striking resemblance to Master Song, appearing to be around twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with the woman beside him holding a child in her arms.
“This is a family photo of Master Song’s family,” Xia Chi pointed to each person in the photo, and introduced them one by one, “The one in the center is Master Song, the one on the left is the character I’m currently playing, the second young master of the Song family.”
His finger moved to the right, “And this one is the eldest young master of the Song family, who died early. This is his wife and child.”
Song Yuntian was dumbfounded.
Xia Chi continued, “Look here. Song Yuanwai, with the surname Song. You also have the surname Song. And you resemble his eldest son by about seventy or eighty percent. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”
Song Yuntian: “What are you trying to say?”
Xia Chi: “I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I just happened to discover this photo and felt I had to show it to you.”
He frowned, “It’s just… how should I put it? I always feel like there might be some connection between this world and our real world. Did the elders in your family ever tell you about your ancestors?”
“…” Song Yuntian felt his throat was a little dry. He licked his lips and said, “My father once mentioned that our ancestors were a prominent family. During times of war and foreign invasion, many patriots joined the fight to defend the country, and my ancestors were no exception. Only my great-grandmother fled overseas with her child, and they didn’t return until after the war ended.”
Xia Chi’s eyes shone brightly in the darkness, “Doesn’t that match up?”
“A horror copy being connected to the real world? How is that possible?” Song Yuntian struggled to accept the idea that “his ancestors became NPCs in a game”. “Besides, my ancestors were patriots, while Song Yuanwai in the game is in cahoots with the masked people.”
“In the history I’ve learned, patriots had various ways of serving the country. Some went to the front lines, some supported from behind, and some even took the risk of mingling with the enemy to gather vital information. If you think about it, Master Song seems fierce and sinister, but he hasn’t done anything truly evil. His servants never harmed the people of Chenjia Village, and the antiques he sold to the Masked People were all counterfeits. Even when he threatened to kill you, it was all talk.”
Song Yuntian: “Then what about the treasure…”
Xia Chi speculated, “Maybe the truth is this: Master Song used the treasure as bait to lure the masked people to Lin Xiao’s wedding. Then, with Lin Xiao, they headed to a pre-arranged ambush site, intending to wipe out the masked people.”
[Ding! Congratulations to the player, [Finding the Cause of the Fire] progress is now 70%.]
“See? I was right!” Xia Chi’s eyes sparkled, “I guessed it correctly.”
Song Yuntian frowned, “If that’s the case, why did the wooden house catch fire? And why were the people of Chenjia Village burned to death?”