The horrors in the novel officially begin at this point. In reality, Jack suddenly collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Lu Mingran and Cheng Yungui were unaware that his soul had been extracted and was trapped in a paper body. They panicked when they saw Jack unconscious.
Mingran: "What's going on! Jack, Jack, wake up!"
Cheng Yungui: "We can't stay here any longer. Mingran, help me, I need to carry him on my back, let's escape together!"
The three of them hurriedly left and went downstairs, which went surprisingly smoothly. But once they reached the outside of the small restaurant, they were plunged into despair once again.
Everything outside the restaurant had changed. Now, they were in a small village, and none of them had ever been there before.
Should we go back? Or should we venture deeper into the village?
"Walk."
Finally, Cheng Yungui bit his lip and made a decision.
Behind them, the small restaurant was the only place in the village with lights on. Inside, every house was pitch black, resembling silent tombs at first glance.
Lu Mingran followed behind Cheng Yungui, glancing warily to both sides with every step. Later, they discovered that no matter which way they went, they would always end up back in front of a certain house.
This must be the place.
At that moment, a cold wind blew by, and the two large doors were suddenly blown open, catching them off guard as they saw everything in the courtyard.
On the ground in the courtyard lay two men dressed in Taoist robes, one old and one young. Both had their stomachs cut open, their insides a mess.
Just as Lu Mingran was about to vomit, the mournful cries of wild cats rang out from the surroundings. Cheng Yungui looked in the direction of the sound and saw two wild cats tearing at each other on the roof. The black cat bit down hard on the gray cat's neck, its teeth digging in deeply until the cat's head stopped moving.
After that, the black cat released its grip, its mouth stained with blood, and stared intently at the two people's open abdominal cavities on the ground before leaping down.
At this moment, Cheng Yungui discovered some talismans and a black donkey whose neck had been bitten off.
These were the instigators of what happened that night. These two people were blinded by greed and helped the Fang family release a vengeful ghost to frighten the Cheng family's daughter, but they themselves suddenly died in their own home.
After figuring out their identities, Lu Mingran and Cheng Yungui realized they couldn't leave.
The front door was suddenly locked. Lu Mingran pounded on the black door, and as she pounded, she noticed that the door seemed to have changed.
The door turned into a coffin lid.
They were each placed in a coffin, and the muffled sounds from outside reached their ears.
Man A (anxiously): "Why haven't we started yet? We've been guarding these two coffins all afternoon, it's creepy."
Man B comforted him, saying, "Okay, wait a little longer. The bride and groom are about to perform the wedding ceremony, and the procedures must be done one by one."
Just as the two were talking, behind them, the incense burning in the Fang family ancestral hall suddenly overturned on the offering table.
Man A immediately exclaimed in alarm, "This, this... our ancestors are scolding us!"
"Don't talk nonsense, it's the wind blowing!"
Another person helped to lift the things and lit incense again.
At this point, all three of them went to another wedding venue.
At that moment, Lu Mingran's heart stirred.
Jack was a paper effigy. He and Cheng Yungui were placed in the groom's coffin and the bride's coffin, respectively, so they both participated in the wedding.
But logically speaking, if they are to attend a wedding, shouldn't they be considered guests?
Oh, and the guests.
Lu Mingran remembered the invitation that Jack had received.
"Jack, remember this: don't talk to the people around you."
After giving Jack his instructions, Lu Mingran touched Jack's pocket and was pleasantly surprised to find something inside—square and long.
Jack watched him take out the invitation and said with a bitter face, "The script requires me to carry it with me at all times."
Across from him, Cheng Yungui, seeing Lu Mingran's delighted expression, knew he had come up with something and cast a concerned glance at him: "Is it related to the invitations?"
"I don't know, but we can give it a try."
After saying that, Lu Mingran held the invitation card and glanced towards the door.
In traditional Chinese weddings, a table is usually set up at the entrance, where someone registers the guests' gifts and greets them.
Wedding. To break this deadlock, they would probably have to watch the entire wedding as guests.
Thinking of this, Lu Mingran shared her thoughts with her teammates and said that they should absolutely not go downstairs and it would be best not to have any contact with the people around them.
"Hmm." Cheng Yungui nodded, a hint of doubt flashing through his mind.
For some reason, he felt that Mingran was much smarter than before. In previous group dungeons, Mingran would cling to him the whole time, crying and begging for his attention.
He thought friendship should be like this, one protecting the other, until he suddenly realized that friendship can also be like this, two people standing side by side.
Cheng Yungui chose to believe Mingran.
After making up their minds, the three of them walked towards the door. They were very careful along the way, not speaking to anyone or touching anyone, and finally stopped in front of the square table by the door.
Behind the table sat a young man in a suit, playing on his phone. In front of him, on the table, were papers and pens for recording the names of the guests, and a stack of red envelopes.
Lu Mingran lowered her head and handed over the invitation. The moment the young man took the invitation, Lu Mingran saw his hand change.
The hand had become a withered old man's, with a black mole on the web of his hand. Lu Mingran's gaze followed the hand upwards and saw the face of a wrinkled old man dressed in a black burial shroud.
"They're here! Good thing they're here!"
The old man sighed, drawing out the last syllable.
Jack and Cheng Yungui, who were standing nearby, turned around and stood there stunned.
There are two restaurants on this floor.
They stand facing each other, their entrances marked by identical Chinese-style stone archways, but the worlds behind them are drastically different. The original restaurant has returned to normal, while the place opposite, which the old man was pointing to with his brush, is eerie and sinister. Behind the archway is not a restaurant, but a village courtyard, bustling with people.
Here it is, another dimension, a world often found in horror single-player games. Lu Mingran stared at the stone archway, thinking to himself, thank goodness we don't have to solve a puzzle to open the door, otherwise we might as well all die here.
The old man picked up his brush, glanced at it before putting pen to paper, and said with a smile, "Your gifts were delivered yesterday, so please go in directly."
"I'll have them inform them."
Then a young man ran over, took the invitation, glanced at it, and immediately announced loudly:
"Prosperity, democracy, and civilization have arrived!"
……Um.
Cheng Yungui and Jack didn't move, so Lu Mingran poked them.
"They're calling us."
Then, thinking about the hellish place she was about to go to, Lu Mingran muttered under her breath, "Shift."
Author's Note: Love you all! (/ω＼*)
Chapter 60 Want to be the King of the Night? No way (12)
Cheng Yungui walked in front, Lu Mingran in the middle, and Jack at the back, the three of them walking towards the door in a line.
At this moment, another young man was guarding the door, and Cheng Yungui handed him the invitation to take a look.
To the surprise of the three, after Cheng Yungui went inside, the young man suddenly reached out and stopped Lu Mingran and Jack.
“Invitation,” he said coldly.
At this moment, the system timely reminded Lu Mingran: "You didn't find all the clues in the village, otherwise everyone should have an invitation by now."
Oh, so what was he doing at the time? He was watching Jack recite his lessons.
The system also said, "But if you only have one invitation, you might be able to trigger a hidden way to pass the level."
Just as Lu Mingran was pondering the meaning of those words, Jack was trying to rush in when he was horrified to see that the young man's hands had changed, becoming the kind of hands that only a purplish-black zombie would have, with long, sharp nails.
As Jack continued to move forward and backward, the young man's hands kept changing shape. Finally, Cheng Yungui called out to the young man and politely asked, "I have something to do, can I come out for a moment?"
"Okay, but make sure you bring the invitation. Also, once you go in, you're not allowed to come out again. The wedding is about to start."
As soon as the young man confirmed it, Cheng Yungui came out immediately.
Now, the three of them stand in the middle area, the atmosphere gloomy and desolate.
Cheng Yungui spoke first: "There has to be someone there."
“Okay,” Lu Mingran said, “I’ll go later.”
Now it seems things are about to descend into a dispute over who should go there. Jack huddled to one side, waiting for the two of them to put on a touching show of vying to go to the dangerous place.
However, to his surprise, Cheng Yungui persuaded Lu Mingran with just one sentence.
Cheng Yungui first pointed to a board behind him, then to a board outside the normal restaurant. Lu Mingran and Jack only then noticed these two things.
They all described the wedding schedule, and surprisingly, they were quite similar. It seems these two worlds are intricately connected.
Then, Cheng Yungui crossed his arms and analyzed:
"Since the two worlds coexist, it means there are clues in the other world as well. Separating is actually the right thing to do. We should each do our own job."
“…Okay.” Lu Mingran nodded after looking at the two items.
Just like when they discussed who would take charge of Jack at the hotel, they didn't need to drag things out for so long. It was enough for one side to explain their motivation to the other.
Jack was unaware of their way of getting along and was taken aback by their decisive manner.
Jack: "You guys made a decision so quickly? And with one of you going over there and the other over here, what am I supposed to do?"
Oh, you… Lu Mingran finally remembered there was another Jack.
"You should stay in the middle area. I think it's quite safe here." Lu Mingran felt that if Jack stayed here, he would reduce the chances of him doing something reckless.
The matter was thus settled. Before parting, Lu Mingran suddenly turned back and called out Cheng Yungui's name:
"Yun Gui, you..."
Cheng Yungui frowned slightly as she looked at him, waiting for him to continue. Beside them, Jack's gaze darted back and forth between the two of them.
Later, Lu Mingran opened her mouth and said with a moved expression:
"Comrade Fuqiang, I'm leaving that place to you!"