"Brother!" The player next to him panicked and tried to speak, only to have a clump of rotting mud rush into his mouth. "What, what are these things! They, they look exactly like us!"
Modi shook his head; he didn't understand either, and he was afraid too.
But he only knew one thing: he absolutely could not let himself be dragged along like this, otherwise they would be the ones who died in the end.
So he kicked hard, and to his surprise, he actually released the monster that was holding him and refusing to let go.
Before the monster could grab him, Modi kicked off with all his might, shaking off the monster and finally managing to float to the surface.
At this moment, Modi no longer seemed to care how dirty and smelly the mud pit was.
Right now, all he feels is how wonderful it is to be alive.
Lu Shi glanced at Modi, then looked at the village chief out of the corner of his eye.
He must have seen correctly; the village chief was actually somewhat displeased when he discovered Modi had surfaced.
Did he not want Modi to survive in the first place?
No, that doesn't make sense. If the village chief really thought that way, he definitely wouldn't have told them that the mud pit wasn't dangerous.
At this moment, Ye Bugui walked to the shore, still extending his hand with great enthusiasm, and asked, "Do you need my help now?"
Modi shook his head. "No need, I can come up by myself."
Before long, two other people climbed up as well. They looked much like Modi, both appearing exhausted and dejected after just one major battle.
At this moment, Lu Shi walked to Modi's side, and he keenly sensed that something was amiss.
Perhaps, something unseen has happened beneath the quagmire.
However, with the village chief watching them, they simply couldn't find the time to exchange information.
So Lu Shi could only ask tactfully, "You seem to still be holding a grudge."
“Yes,” Modi nodded, still trusting Lu Shi: “Some unpleasant things happened down there.”
"Not so good?" Just as Lu Shi was about to raise his voice, he noticed the village chief was looking at him leisurely.
He fell silent almost immediately.
Ye Bugui also noticed the undercurrents in the situation, because ever since the three of them climbed out of the mud, they had fallen into a state of ignoring each other.
Before, the three of them were all in the same boat.
"Village Chief," Ye Bugui said with a smile as he approached the village chief, "We've been traveling all day, and it's getting dark. We're wondering where we should stay tonight?"
The village chief nodded: "Yes, it's dark now, so you shouldn't wander around. But don't worry, there are places for you to stay in our village."
"Would you like to stay overnight?" Lu Shi asked immediately.
The village chief shook his head, then said proudly, "Of course not, our village actually has a guesthouse."
These words shocked them. The village seemed to have been isolated for many years and was completely out of touch with modern society.
Who would have thought that such a small village would have a guesthouse!
Led by the village chief, they saw a house for the first time that was different from the houses in the village. It was also the only multi-story building they had seen in the village so far.
Even though it's only two stories and the decor is old-fashioned, it stands out from the rest of the houses in the village.
"Everyone," the village chief suddenly lowered his voice and instructed, "please stay quietly in the house from now on and do not make any rash moves."
"Why?" Modi asked the village chief without fear, as if he already knew the answer.
This time, the village chief didn't scold him coldly. Instead, he said in a low voice, "If you don't listen to my advice, you'll be the ones who suffer. It's very dangerous to go out at night."
Leaving behind this enigmatic statement, the village chief hurriedly departed.
The group of people looked at each other, seemingly having a lot to say but not knowing how to begin.
“I think,” Lu Shi looked up and said softly, “why don’t we book rooms at the guesthouse first, and then meet downstairs together?”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Modi said first. “I smell terrible right now, so I’m going to take a shower first.”
The other two players glanced at Modi and nodded in agreement.
Upon entering the guesthouse, a smiling girl dressed as a student was looking at them with a cheerful smile.
"Hello everyone!" The girl beamed, as if she hadn't seen so many guests in a long time.
"How many rooms do you need?" the girl continued to ask.
Just as Modi was about to blurt out "six rooms," Ye Bugui interrupted:
Five single rooms and one double room.
King Room...
Everyone else laughed. The girl looked at Lu Shi and Ye Bugui, then covered her mouth and exclaimed.
"See you in a bit." After saying goodbye to the others, Lu Shi took the old house key and went to find his place.
When Lu Shi and Ye Bugui opened the door, they were greeted by a musty and decaying smell.
Judging from the smell, this place must have been uninhabited for a long time.
"Do you think we won't be the only guests after this guesthouse is built?" Lu Shi glanced at Ye Bugui and asked in a low voice.
"Who knows?" Ye Bugui's expression was somewhat heavy. "Our abilities have been greatly weakened in this instance. It seems we're being forced to solve puzzles to clear it."
“Perhaps we should first find out the true nature of this village; it’s definitely not as simple as it seems,” Lu Shi said softly.
At this moment, Ye Bugui stared at the television set in the center and said with a smile:
"How about we watch TV? I'm curious, are the TVs here even usable?"
Meanwhile, Modi walked into the bathroom with a look of disgust on his face.
He hadn't seen a bathroom like this in ten years.
This village seems to have been frozen in time ten years ago; it is so backward.
Fortunately, the water was hot, and feeling the soothing warmth, Modi's mood improved significantly.
However, another question has now arisen in his mind.
Those were the two players who were punished along with him. What is their current situation?
Were they replaced by people underwater?
If they were replaced, what would they be now, monsters?
Thinking of this, Modi suddenly felt that the bathroom was too hot, so hot that his eyes were almost blinded by the steam.
Yes, his vision blurred, as if he were about to faint.
In a daze, he saw a figure swaying behind the bathroom curtains.
...
Beneath the tunnels, there is no concept of day or night.
An hour had passed since the four of them heard that eerie cry.
But nothing unexpected happened; it was as if all four of them were hallucinating.
"Can we still get out?"
After walking a few steps, Jia Mu suddenly stood there dejectedly.
It is indeed easy for a person to suppress their emotions if they stay in a dark and cramped place for a long time.
Faced with his younger brother's question, Jiayang said softly, "We definitely can. We'll find an exit. If all else fails, we can wait for people to come down and pay their respects, then take the opportunity to go up."
Her crimson gaze was somewhat unfocused. She looked ahead for a moment, then suddenly a question arose in her mind:
"Haven't you noticed? It seems like we've walked for a long time, and now we're back where we started."
"Are you sure?" Han Ran's tone was tinged with worry. If they were really just going in circles, then things were probably not so simple.
“I’m sure.” Yin Hong walked up to a Buddha statue and pointed at it: “I remember this face. Haven’t you noticed that every Buddha statue here looks different?”
"This is really strange. Could it be that they are worshipping different gods? But if that's the case, is this kind of worship really effective?"
The two brothers, Jiamu and Jiayang, remained silent; their understanding of religion was far too limited.
“Then why don’t we just remember the face of the Buddha statue?” Han Ran suggested. “If we find a duplicate Buddha statue, we can turn around immediately.”
“That’s a good idea,” Jia Mu said, “but wouldn’t it be a bit too much trouble to just use memories? Maybe we could use a cell phone.”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and said with a smile, "I just realized that my phone is still here."
He picked up his phone and took a picture of the Buddha statue.
The flash of the camera blinded everyone, and they all shielded their eyes with their arms. Yin Hong frowned, wanting to ask Jia Mu what was on his mind.
Hasn't he heard the common sense that you should never take pictures of Buddha statues?
"My...my eyes!"
Jiamu suddenly let out a painful cry, and the phone slipped from his hand.
The older brother, Jia Yang, changed his expression and immediately went to his younger brother's side.
He cupped his younger brother's face in his hands and gently wiped away the blood and tears that kept flowing down his brother's sides.
"What's wrong with you?"
Jiamu shook his head: "Brother, I, I don't know... Am I going blind? I can't see anything!"
Han Ran felt sorry for Jia Mu after hearing these words, but the most important thing was to pick up Jia Mu's phone first.
"Wait a minute!" Just then, Yin Hong stopped Han Ran's actions and whispered, "Don't look at your phone, something's wrong."
Han Ran was taken aback. Although he didn't understand why Yin Hong would say that, he still subconsciously chose to believe her.
At that moment, Jiamu and Jiayang simultaneously let out heart-wrenching screams.
Jiamu's two eyeballs fell out and landed in Jiayang's palm.
That wasn't the scariest part. Before Jia Yang could react, the two bloodshot eyes burst open, and countless tiny flying insects emerged.
Chapter 110
☪ Malice 6