Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Chapter 168: Chapter 160: This Daoist Priest, Aren’t You Deceiving Us?

Su Ling’er’s pupils shrank in an instant, and the hair on her body stood on end. A scream was stuck in her throat, but she couldn’t force it out!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

’No! Eldest Senior Brother, don’t you usually show up from behind?!’

’Why did you change your M.O. and ambush me from the front this time?!’

Lin Qingfeng slowly straightened up, an enigmatic smile on his face. He gave her a once-over.

"You’re awake."

"It seems you’re the juiciest one of the lot this time."

Seemingly realizing he’d made a slip of the tongue, he gave a light cough and quickly corrected himself:

"Pah, I mean the one with the highest caliber."

’Hey, wait a minute! It’s that same old line!’

’That’s exactly what you said about Mr. Dong back at the Asking Dao Ladder! How can you use the same line to fob me off?’

’Wait, what did he say before? "The juiciest one"?’

’He really does have some ulterior motive! How terrifying!’

’This fiend really is after my body... Bah! Perverted Eldest Senior Brother!’

As her imagination ran wild, the people around her began to stir, waking up one by one.

Su Ling’er was shocked to find that it wasn’t just her fellow undercover disciples who were waking up, but also several strangers in assorted attire who looked like ordinary town residents.

They gazed around blankly, their faces etched with a confusion that was completely out of place in this grim environment.

Eldest Senior Brother Lin Qingfeng, however, seemed unconcerned. He glanced at the extra group of strangers. ’You can’t take mortals out of here anyway. What damn use are they? Utterly useless. Might as well be background NPCs that come with the dungeon.’

The very instant Dong Changsheng opened his eyes, he scanned his surroundings, then felt his cheek.

’Hmm!’

’It’s healed!’

Then, he discreetly shot Su Ling’er a questioning look.

She could only guess that those strangers... were probably other poor souls the Eldest Senior Brother had abducted to suffer alongside them...

Su Ling’er immediately understood and shook her head slightly, indicating she didn’t know either.

Wang Xiedi, meanwhile, silently took half a step forward to shield her behind him.

Su Ling’er’s gaze was soon drawn to a painting hanging on the main hall’s wall.

It appeared to be a family portrait, but every face in the painting had been shredded by some kind of sharp claw. Their features were completely destroyed, leaving only a mess of black scratch marks.

From the tattered canvas, it was as if countless pairs of venomous eyes were staring at them out of the darkness.

"This place is so creepy..."

A disciple hugged his arms, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Look at those strangers. They all look like their souls have left their bodies. What on earth is the Eldest Senior Brother trying to do?!"

Upon waking, the first thing Li Chunfeng did wasn’t to observe his surroundings, but to subconsciously reach for the Wooden Sword at his waist.

His wildly pounding heart only settled slightly when his hand touched the familiar hilt.

He had been connected to the telepathic channel, but he didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and surveyed his surroundings.

’I’m not dead... That’s the first piece of good news.’

’I’m out of the coffin and wasn’t buried alive... That’s the second piece of good news.’

’The place looks grim, but at least I’m on solid ground... That’s the third piece of good news.’

’Hmm... When I put it like that, the situation doesn’t seem so bad after all.’

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax.

The others also suppressed their inner fear and began to observe the bizarre main hall.

Just then, the ordinary people finally snapped out of their terror.

"Wh-where is this place? And who might you all be? I... I was just in my study reviewing my lessons. Why have I suddenly appeared here?"

"I don’t know! I was just chopping vegetables in the kitchen at home!"

"And you?"

"I don’t know either!"

Watching the chaotic scene unfold, Su Ling’er’s brow furrowed as a storm of thoughts erupted in her mind.

’Wait a minute... something isn’t right!’

’One was studying, another was chopping vegetables... Does the Demonic Sect conduct a career census before kidnapping people?!’

’So, you’re telling me the Demonic Sect sent out countless squads to infiltrate different towns and cities, with one team storming a study to knock out a scholar, another sneaking into a kitchen to clobber a cook, and then they dragged them all here from a thousand miles away?’

’But why?! What for?!’

’Could it be that this scholar’s birth chart is uniquely suited to be the eye of a formation? Or perhaps that woman’s vegetable-chopping technique contains some kind of lost Sword Intent?!’

’How is that possible! They look even more ordinary than Senior Brother Li Chunfeng, come on!’

’If they wanted sacrifices, wouldn’t it be more efficient to just slaughter a whole village?! Why bother with these precise, targeted kidnappings?!’

’Or maybe...’

An even more terrifying thought surfaced in her mind.

’This isn’t a real place at all, but a massive illusion?’

’Are all these people just phantoms created by the illusion—decoys meant to confuse us and make us lower our guard?’

’But why would he do that?’

’What’s the purpose of locking a group of mortals with zero Cultivation in here with us undercover agents... ah, no, with us new disciples?’

’Or maybe... he doesn’t even know how these people got here himself?’

’No, that’s impossible! He’s the Eldest Senior Brother!’

’He’s the omnipotent—no, the omni-malevolent Eldest Senior Brother!’

’How could he possibly not know! This is definitely all his doing!’

’He locked a group of mortals with no Cultivation in here with us undercover agents just because he enjoys watching us run around in a panic like headless chickens!’

’This is definitely part of his twisted sense of humor!’

Meanwhile, Lin Qingfeng scanned the crowd, tapped his temple, and said:

"Think carefully. It should have already planted everything you need to know into your minds."

Hearing this, everyone froze for a moment, then subconsciously closed their eyes to think.

When Su Ling’er heard the Eldest Senior Brother say this, she became even more certain of her earlier theory.

After a moment, everyone looked at each other, their faces a mask of confusion.

"Did you... did any new information appear in your minds?"

"No. You?"

"Me neither."

"Nothing out of the ordinary."

Su Ling’er recalled his bizarre opening words. An idea struck her, and she said to the others:

"Eldest Senior Brother... he just whispered two sentences to me."

"One was, ’Do you want to understand the meaning of life?’ and the other was, ’Do you want to truly live?’..."

"Huh?! The meaning of life? Truly live? Wh-what does that mean?"

Li Chunfeng’s mouth twitched when he heard Su Ling’er repeat the words.

’Do I want to live?’

’No shit. Who the hell doesn’t want to live?’

He could only console himself with his unique brand of dark humor. ’...Looking back on this in the future, this might turn out to be a good thing.’

The ordinary people, however, knew none of this. And indeed, no information had been planted in their minds.

"Revered Daoist, my mind is completely empty. Nothing new has appeared at all."

"That’s right. Are you perhaps trying to deceive us?"