Free Web NovelNormal people don't suddenly go insane. Since arriving here, the players had been very careful with their diet—either eating food they brought themselves or testing any local purchases with various methods to rule out the possibility of poisoning.
But the sight of this player in a deranged state sent chills down everyone's spine. Even avoiding all the known triggers for disappearances wasn't enough to fully escape the dungeon's influence, and they didn't even know where that influence was coming from.
"It's the decorative patterns in the hotel." Liu Shiyan said grimly. "Those patterns have a psychological suggestive effect."
Many players already knew this. Even if they hadn't realized it upon arrival, after two days of staying there, they'd started to pick up on it.
"So the longer you stay, the more susceptible you become?" The artistic-style player shrugged. "If that's the case, why didn't we move to the guesthouses sooner?"
"The guesthouses aren't any better." Cao Dong, who looked mentally drained, said, "You think no one's tried staying there?"
Since everyone knew the religious statues were problematic, most players wouldn't stay in rooms provided by locals. Whether paying or using force, keeping away from the statues was basic survival. But people were still disappearing every day.
"Half the hotel's burned down—where else can we go but the guesthouses?" The artistic-style player flicked his long hair back, wrapped his arms around the two female players beside him, and walked off.
The baby-faced female player who'd come with them also shouldered her bag and left, though she chose the opposite direction.
With most of the hotel burned and danger clearly lurking, there was no choice but to move to the guesthouses.
"That just spreads the players out even more, doesn't it?" Wei Xian said hesitantly.
"If you want to room with someone else, go find your own place." Fu Danhong said, "I'm staying alone."
Tian Kunwen clearly had the same plan, and Wei Xian had no choice but to drop the matter.
"I think we should all stay close to each other, so we can look out for one another." Fang Penghui suggested.
"Who the hell are you? Why should we listen to you?" One of the injured players who'd arrived yesterday glared at him. "Just because you've been here a few days longer, you think you can give orders? Show us something real first."
Fang Penghui had already rallied several players to his side, and their obvious support made the injured player's stance waver slightly, but he didn't back down. "What? Trying to intimidate other players? Looking out for each other, my ass—you just want someone to take the fall for you, don't you?"
There were plenty of players knocking on hotel doors too.
The two sides faced off, and Fang Penghui spoke again, "My profession is a mystery novelist. On my first day here, I knew something was off with the peepholes, mirrors, and wall carvings in the hotel. You can't look through the peephole at night, if there's a flickering light behind the mirror after the lights go out, absolutely don't look at it, and staring at the wall patterns for too long causes eye-related hallucinations."
"This dungeon is called 'Shared Eyes.' Everyone knows what the triggering conditions are connected to, right?"
"Eyes. Anything related to eyes is dangerous. The locals don't even look in mirrors. The first thing we need to avoid is eyes."
"The stone statues in the forest also have eyes, but the people who looked at them were fine." The black-shirted player who'd been on the bus with Xu Huo said.
"All the stone statues were damaged. Even when pieced together, the eye parts are incomplete." Fang Penghui said, "The locals probably did it on purpose."
"Doesn't that contradict everything?" Yi Pei had also arrived. "The locals are terrified of the statue they worship—just looking at it breaks the rules. If they destroyed the statue, how are they still alive?"
Fang Penghui turned his gaze to the deranged player still being restrained by others. "That depends on whether he manages to survive until tomorrow."
"There's no need to go to that much trouble." Liu Shiyan said, "Just test it on a local and we'll have our answer right away."
The people who knew the truth best were the ones living here. Since interrogation hadn't yielded results, observing their reactions might give some clues.
"Might as well just burn this damn place to the ground." Someone else snorted. "Collapse the buildings, and all the risk disappears."
"Absolutely not!" Tian Kunwen immediately objected. "Where would we stay at night? The outdoors is definitely not safe after dark."
"Besides, arson and murder could easily trigger a chain reaction." Yi Pei frowned. "Provoking the locals will only make us targets faster."
It was hard to tell whether the players staying in guesthouses weren't already being set up by their landlords.
"Hey, those people over there have been staring at us this whole time. At this distance, they shouldn't be able to hear us, right?" Cao Dong pointed toward a nearby residential building.
Everyone turned to look and saw several elderly people at the edge of their courtyard. Their decrepit bodies were eerily rigid, and their vacant eyes stared straight at the group, as if seeing them—or maybe not.
"I'm getting goosebumps..." A female player rubbed her arms. "Are these people even alive?"
As she spoke, the figures on the other side seemed to come back to life, hunching over and pointing at the burned hotel.
"I don't believe this." Two players stepped out of the crowd and walked straight up to the elderly people. Before the old folks could understand what was happening, one of them grabbed a man by the throat and lifted him.
The old man's eyes rapidly filled with blood, turning bright red. His eyes bulged wide as he stared desperately at the player, but he couldn't make a sound. He clawed at the player's hand twice, then went limp.
In less than a minute, the several elderly people had all fallen. One of the players looked challengingly at the surrounding residents. "Feeding a bunch of old relics is a waste anyway. Don't mention it."
The residents watching them showed little emotion in their expressions—numbness more than hatred. Soon, a few teenage boys came out carrying stretchers, loaded the bodies onto them, and carried them back into the courtyard. When they were done, everyone else went back to their business, not even glancing at the two players again.
"Pfft!" The player who'd been provoking them spat on the ground.
Even the slowest person here could tell that these locals were in a strange state, and their expressions grew even heavier.
"I think we should all stay together." Cao Dong said. "There are empty houses here. Cramming together shouldn't be a problem."
The elderly people who'd just died had lived nearby, leaving their courtyard vacant.
Most of the players present agreed to this proposal, with only a few choosing to leave alone.
Xu Huo nodded at Fang Penghui and returned to his own lodging.
Fang Penghui frowned at his retreating back, then pointed toward the forest area to the players beside him. The two players who'd been following them earlier hadn't returned.
Another two players hurried off in the direction of the forest.
Meanwhile, Xu Huo watched the previous night's footage with Yi Pei. Since the administrator had blocked the peephole, they couldn't clearly see what was on the other side—only a flash of red light. After the light faded, the administrator, who'd been struggling violently, instantly calmed down, turned, and silently walked toward the window. His subsequent actions of opening the window and climbing out made no sound at all.
"Red light?" Xu Huo thought of the elderly man's blood-congested eyes before his death. Red. Eyes. Were these the required conditions?
