“So here’s the question,” Ye Bugui said, sitting cross-legged on the floor, his mood gradually brightening. In just one night, their understanding of Gao Yang had made tremendous progress. “Who could that person be?”
“If we can rule out disguise,” Lu Shi always thought about the martial arts secret of disguise, “he must be Gao Yang’s twin brother? Only then would they look so alike.”
"Hmm." Ye Bugui nodded, which was also the first thing that came to his mind: "Assuming this isn't the game deliberately misleading us, then Gao Yang must have a deceased twin brother. And that person might be the reason why Gao Yang broke with his family and came to this apartment."
"Of course, we still can't be sure that Gao Yang and his family of three are all dead," Lu Shi added very carefully.
"That's right."
Ye Bugui let out a soft "Ah," as if he wanted to shout out all the pent-up frustration he had been hiding under the bed for the past two days:
"Now let me tell you what I just saw on my phone!"
Lu Shi immediately sat down on the ground and looked intently at Ye Bugui.
This made Ye Bugui, who still wanted to crack a joke, give up his unreliable idea, because Lu Shi was so serious!
"Gao Yang chatted with his father on WeChat today. Or rather, it was a one-sided notification that his father was coming to visit Gao Yang. Do you think, given Gao Yang's personality, he would tell his father where he lives?"
"Isn't this obvious?" Lu Shi felt that he was probably the person in the world who understood Gao Yang the most.
No matter how assertive he may appear in the online world, he is still soft-hearted or timid at heart.
If his father really wanted to come see him, Gao Yang would have no way to refuse.
"So this is an opportunity for us." Ye Bugui rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Perhaps we can find out all of Gao Yang's secrets tonight. Then we can figure out a way to peacefully complete the game."
"Hmm." Lu Shi's shoulders relaxed immediately: "I would be very happy if we could clear the level without hurting Gao Yang."
"It's strange," Ye Bugui said, standing up and washing his face in the bathroom. "I never expected that I would feel so sorry for an NPC while teaming up with you."
“In my eyes, they are just real people living in this world.” Lu Shi’s attitude was very serious. His gaze fell on Ye Bugui’s face, and he added:
"Just like the cultivation world I live in, the new world you live in might just be a copy in other people's eyes!"
"A very interesting and bold idea," Ye Bugui said, not at all finding Lu Shi's idea terrifying, but rather a little excited: "Then I must become the strongest boss in this dungeon. If any new player dares to speak ill of me behind my back, I will definitely kill him on the spot!"
Lu Shi rubbed his temples. Sometimes, he even thought Ye Bugui was quite childish. But this guy really liked to act mature.
This natural disposition is well-suited for cultivating martial arts techniques.
However, with Ye Bugui around, Lu Shi found that his emotions were quite stable, and his sanity level hardly changed.
“We should go out now,” Lu Shi reminded them. “I think they’re probably waiting for us too!”
“Perfect timing.” Ye Bugui immediately stood up. He walked behind Lu Shi and deliberately lowered his voice to whisper in Lu Shi’s ear, “We still need to ask them for our reward! The two of us cleared out all the monsters outside last night.”
Lu Shi let out a sound of surprise; he had clearly forgotten about the matter. But he wasn't one to be generous with other people's money, and since Ye Bugui wanted a reward, it was deserved: "Okay, I'll go and talk to him."
"Let me do it!" Ye Bugui looked at Lu Shi, who even in modern clothes looked like a gentle young master, and couldn't imagine him going to collect debts. "I look fiercer than you."
They pushed open the door, only to see the only female player in the hallway.
Chen Xin leaned against the white wall of the corridor, clutching her chest with her hand, looking very weak.
"You're awake?"
"What's wrong?" Lu Shi walked towards Chen Xin and asked with concern, "Is it because of the dream you had last night?"
"Don't come any closer!" Chen Xin suddenly screamed, covering her mouth and staring at Lu Shi with eyes filled with fear.
"I... I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous." Lu Shi noticed her fear and immediately distanced himself from her.
"I'm sorry." Chen Xin took a deep breath. "I haven't recovered yet."
"Hmm." Chen Xin finally stood up with difficulty, his legs trembling. "The dream I had yesterday was not as harmonious as you described."
She suddenly stopped, causing Ye Bugui, who had already pricked up his ears, to frown, thinking she was trying to keep him in suspense.
"Let's talk about it together when they come out." Chen Xin conjured a plastic cup filled with yellow liquid out of thin air, drank it all in one gulp, and then his expression improved.
Lu Shi stared at the cup curiously and quietly asked, "What's that?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xin proactively replied, "Milk tea, also known as a comfort drink, is the only medicine in the shop that can replenish sanity. It can be used multiple times in dungeons, but its effectiveness will be greatly reduced after repeated use."
At this point, Chen Xin realized something: "Didn't your sanity level change at all?"
Lu Shi smiled and said, "There have been changes, but the fluctuations are not significant."
Chen Xin responded with an "oh," without any doubt; some people do indeed have a high tolerance for stress.
But if she knew that Lu Shijin's sanity value had remained above 95 since he entered the country, she would definitely be shocked.
Cao Ran and Han Baobao opened their respective doors and came out at the same time. They were not in good condition either, and their steps were a little unsteady.
This made Lu Shi even more curious: what kind of dream had they entered to cause these changes?
Han Baobao was the first to complain, "You guys look so good, you're amazing!"
"In that dream, I was being chased, and I just kept running until I reached the end, only to find it was a cliff!"
"However, the people behind me had already caught up, so I closed my eyes and jumped. When I woke up, my heart was pounding! There was absolutely no information in my dream!"
Cao Ran looked at the others with some embarrassment, then said to her best friend, "When you were running away, why didn't you think about talking to the person chasing you? At least ask him why he wanted to kill you."
"No way?" Han Baobao's mouth dropped open, looking like she thought she had misheard something: "That person chased after me with an axe and I had to stop and ask, 'Sir, before you chop me, can you give me a reason? Thank you, is that alright?'"
It has to be said that Han Baobao has a knack for comedy, and Lu Shi couldn't help but chuckle.
But thinking about Han Baobao's experience in her dream also left him confused.
At this moment, Cao Ran spoke up: "My dream is similar to Bao Bao's. I was in a forest, and at first there was no one around."
"But I noticed a mark on my thigh, and I felt something was wrong. Then suddenly six men on horseback emerged from the forest."
"They pointed their bows at me, and I learned from their conversation that I had been deliberately kept in the forest as prey."
Although Cao Ran narrated calmly, Han Baobao still bit her fingers as she listened.
“I was shot dead very quickly, and before I died I heard them discussing who was qualified to take my head… That’s all the information I got.”
"How about you have some milk tea?" Lu Shi put his newfound knowledge to good use. Just by listening to this description, he could imagine how desperate an ordinary person must be.
"I had a drink before I came out." Cao Ran's expression remained cold, but he had already sat down next to Han Baobao to comfort her: "Don't cry, I'm still alive and well, aren't I? It was just a dream!"
Ye Bugui's expression was very solemn. He did not draw a conclusion immediately, but looked at Chen Xin, who was in the worst condition.
"Then we won't wait for the two of them." Chen Xin was still thinking about having everyone arrive before talking: "My dream started off pretty well."
“I grew up in a village, and later I was told that I was the goddess chosen by the mountain god, and then they took care of me. I didn’t have to work every day, and I had all kinds of delicious food.”
Lu Shi frowned. Mountain gods are no good in the cultivation world.
Gods, like immortals, possess extremely high levels of cultivation. They live in the celestial realm and have no attachment to the mortal world. It's even less likely that they would remain immortals in a mountain.
Generally speaking, mountain gods are actually some kind of spirit or monster in disguise.
Those humans chosen as the goddesses of the mountain god will not have a good outcome.
"Soon, my retribution will come." Chen Xin gripped her knees with both hands, maintaining a strange posture.
“It turns out that the village needed a mountain god just to pray for rain. But I am not a real mountain god after all. After half a month without rain, the villagers began to question me.”
"They suspected me of betraying the villagers and having an affair with the mountain god, which is why I lost my supernatural powers," Chen Xin said through gritted teeth. "Then those scumbags actually... actually broke down my door and used me as a tool for their venting! Those beasts!"
...
The corridor was silent for a long time. Han Baobao walked over and hugged Chen Xin. "That was just a dream."
"It's all in the past." Han Baobao's words dampened Chen Xin's shoulder.
Ye Bugui finally spoke: "I never expected things to turn out this way. In that case, I think you should stop looking at your phones and look for information elsewhere!"
The three of them nodded, then looked at Lu Shi: "Last night, did you deal with the monsters outside?"
Just as Lu Shi was about to speak up on Ye Bugui's behalf regarding compensation, the person in question preemptively said:
"Yeah, we just kill each other for fun when we're bored. Of course, it's all my carry who does the kills, and I'm just here cheering from the sidelines."
"666? What's that?" Lu Shi asked back.
"I'm just praising your incredible abilities," Ye Bugui explained, then looked at the three female players: "We're a team now, so it's fine for us to help each other out."
Having just heard their tragic stories, Ye Bugui, who loved money as much as he did, felt too embarrassed to speak up.
"Thank you." Chen Xin held out a COVID-19 stamina potion. "To be fair, you helped us clear out the monsters, so we should reward you. Only in this way can the team continue to grow."
"Sister, you're so insightful!" Han Baobao was also very happy to see Chen Xin cheer up.
Cao Ran then took out props to express his gratitude: "These are for both of us."
Chen Xin then said with a smile, "My identity outside is that of a corporate slave. My company often holds team building activities."
Lu Shi took the props Cao Ran handed him and scanned them with the game console:
[The Mischievous Squid Statue: This is a dead squid, but even as a statue, its playful nature remains unchanged. Hold it tightly, and it will spray you all over with its sap.]
"What's the use of this prop?" Lu Shi wanted to throw it away as soon as he saw its effect.
"Although its ink is smelly and sticky, it has the effect of making you invisible," Cao Ran explained. "I used it once before and even managed to evade the Boss's pursuit, but unfortunately it only lasts for a minute."
“It’s a really powerful effect.” Lu Shi returned the statue to you. “Keep it for yourselves. If you really want to pay me, just give me some gifts in my live stream now.”
While you can't watch live streams in the instance, tipping is allowed. This is the best way for many ordinary players to survive.
It's common for people to give all their savings to their teammates just to survive.
"Alright." Cao Ran raised an eyebrow, probably surprised that Lu Shi could resist the temptation of the props.
At that moment, Sherry's door opened.
She walked out slowly, clutching her stomach, her face extremely pale.
"You, you've all come out?" Sherry asked softly.
"What is your dream?" Ye Bugui asked directly, suspecting that apart from Lu Shi, everyone else's dreams involved being tortured/killed in various ways.
"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Sherry said, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm afraid you'll all throw up if I say it."
"You were killed too?" Han Baobao asked softly. "The three of us were killed the same way."
“I’d rather be killed.” Sherry shuddered. “I’d rather be eaten.”
“At first, those people just put food on me…” Sherry said, her eyes flashing with murderous intent, “If I weren’t powerless in the dream, I would have killed them all!”
Lu Shi sighed, suddenly regretting telling them about looking at the phone.
If it wasn't him, how could anyone else have entered the dream?