"You guys get back to the game world right now!"
"good!"
Lu Shi didn't ask any more questions. Asking more questions at this point would be a waste of time, so he might as well go back and take a look himself.
Without hesitation, the three returned to the game world and found that all the players had gathered together.
What surprised Lu Shi even more was that the players who were afraid of him did not run away when they saw him.
This can only be explained by the fact that they were distracted by something far more terrible.
"You've finally arrived." Modi hurried over, and Ye Bugui noticed that all ten players on the leaderboard were there.
"The God's Chosen dungeon has been moved up this year!"
As expected, Ye Bugui remained calm, as if he had already guessed it.
"Moreover, this instance has a time limit." Modi shook his head. As he gradually numbed himself, telling himself that this was just a strange game and wouldn't affect his family, Modi was once again proven wrong.
"As you probably already know, there have been several accidental deaths outside. And all of these are due to a curse."
The one who spoke was Red Spider. As the vice president, she inherited Black Scorpion's points and is currently third on the points leaderboard.
“And this curse is the theme of our God-Chosen Dungeon.” Han Ran walked over, having overtaken her opponent at the last moment and squeezed into the top ten. “If we haven’t cleared the dungeon by January 1st, before the new year arrives, the curse will spread to everyone.”
"How could that be!" Ye Bugui clenched his fists upon hearing this: "Isn't its ability restricted, preventing it from affecting the real world?"
“It’s just a curse,” Lu Shi suddenly said, “not its true form. It can indeed do it; I think this is one of its attempts.”
The players fell silent.
Most of them no longer have such a strong attachment to life and death.
But they still have family and friends.
They don't want the world to end like that, because that would cause their beliefs to collapse.
"Then let's hurry up and get into the instance!" Lu Shi said calmly, "Let's finish all this before the New Year arrives."
The players looked at Lu Shi with complex emotions. Even the conspiracy theorists hoped that what Lu Shi said was true at this moment.
As if hearing Lu Shi's request, the system's eerie voice echoed once more in the ears of every player:
"The Chosen Dungeon [Malice] is now officially open!"
"Now, every player watching has been injected with a curse."
As soon as the words were spoken, all the players except for the top ten felt a sharp pain in their chests.
They looked at their chests in horror and found a black handprint on them.
"The curse will take effect when all ten Chosen Ones are wiped out."
The system continued to coldly state the rules, ignoring the players' painful cries and protests.
"Pray, you foolish weaklings. Prostrate yourselves on the ground and swear by your lives that you beg for God's mercy."
The echoes still lingered, but the ten chosen players had already vanished.
In the real world, everyone's computer, mobile phone, television, and even Little Genius watches have had their screens replaced by a black image with white text.
"Countdown to Earth's Destruction: 1 Week"
Chapter 105
☪ Malice 1
Apart from a few fluttering butterflies, there was no other living creature to be seen on the quiet forest path.
Lu Shi took a deep breath, and the biting cold air was inhaled into his lungs.
Beside him were only Ye Bugui and another player they didn't recognize.
"We're already in the instance, right?" The player was wearing a hood, his entire face hidden in shadow, seemingly unwilling to show his true face.
His voice was very soft, like a mosquito bite.
“Hmm,” Lu Shi replied, unconcerned about the other person’s attire. The objective of this instance was clear: they would survive to the end, break the curse, and save all of humanity. “I am Lu Shi; you should recognize me.”
“I know, Demon Lord.” The player suddenly removed his hood, revealing a face covered in scars with only one eye.
However, both Lu Shi and Ye Bugui were quite accepting of this face.
"You're fifth on the leaderboard, Ghost Asura." Ye Bugui had a deep impression of this name because everyone liked to use all sorts of cool and flashy names when naming their live streams.
The name "Ghost Asura" stands out particularly.
“Yes.” Ghost Asura nodded, extending his arm; his dark skin was covered in Sanskrit characters. “Have we gotten separated from the others?”
"The system must have thrown the ten of us into different places." Lu Shi paused, then squinted at the front of him.
Apart from this forest path leading into the distance, they were surrounded only by an impenetrable mist.
Even Lu Shi couldn't see through it with his magic; he could clearly sense the immense danger hidden within the mist.
“It looks like we only have one way to go,” Lu Shi said softly. “The black fog around us is dangerous; we must not get caught up in it.”
Ye Bugui nodded: "This should be the invisible wall that often appears in games, the area that we are not allowed to enter. Obviously, there is not much space for us to move around in this dungeon."
“If we encounter danger,” Lu Shi calmly analyzed, “then we will have nowhere to escape.”
Ghost Asura was indeed taciturn, remaining silent despite the two people speaking.
He silently followed behind the two men and stepped onto the forest path.
The other players were all watching the live stream.
Zeng Fugui breathed a sigh of relief and said excitedly, "The good news is that our two presidents have been assigned to the same group. The bad news is, why isn't Han Ran with them?"
Wei Jin stared anxiously at the big screen in the live stream and couldn't help but say, "The biggest problem right now is that we don't even know where Han Ran is."
For this instance, the system only opened one live stream room.
Currently, eight players have appeared in the live stream, with only Han Ran and Red Spider remaining.
Even if Wei Jin disliked Red Spider, he still hoped that Han Ran could be with Red Spider.
At least this way, their chances of winning are even greater.
The scene in the live stream changed again, and Han Ran, looking completely bewildered, was lying on a bed.
Several strangers were sitting next to her.
Han Ran was certain that he did not recognize this group of people.
They were pale and thin, looking malnourished.
They were wearing coarse cloth clothes that Han Ran hadn't seen in many years, and Han Ran was more inclined to believe that they were characters from the dungeon.
But why was she all alone when she woke up? Where did everyone else go?
She didn't know; she only felt strange and a little scared.
This is a God-chosen instance; she's not arrogant enough to think she can clear it alone.
"Sister, you're finally awake."
The little boy sitting next to her spoke up, and Han Ran was somewhat dazed by his address of "sister".
"I," Han Ran paused, picking at the vegetables on top of his white rice with some annoyance. There wasn't a drop of oil in them; they were truly unappetizing. "Am I going to sleep for a long time?"
"Yes." The little boy nodded. "You slept for a whole day and night. We all thought you were sick!"
Just then, someone walked into the simple living room. It was a very beautiful and elegant woman.
However, Han Ran couldn't help but cover her mouth, suppressing her urge to scream.
The viewers in the live stream didn't have this problem; even in a life-or-death crisis, they were still actively flooding the chat with comments.
"My God, isn't that Crimson? Could she be Red Spider?"
"Who would have thought that I once went on a dungeon run with a big star? In a way, Yin Hong and I were colleagues."
"It really is deep red! I thought I was seeing things. She is truly beautiful!"
"Instead of being a proper celebrity, Yin Hong is dominating the dungeon. No wonder she hasn't been showing up much lately!"
Before the incident, Han Ran was just an ordinary female college student.
She enjoys playing video games and following celebrities. Yin Hong was once her idol, because Yin Hong is beautiful!
As a recognized beauty in the entertainment industry, it's surprising that she usually hides her true face behind a mask.
"You..." Han Ran was momentarily speechless. Perhaps she should say something to avoid arousing suspicion from the NPCs in the dungeon?
However, her NPC mother spoke first: "Xiao Hong, right? Please sit down. This is the first time Ranran has brought her classmate to our house. Unfortunately, we don't have anything good to offer you."
Yin Hong glanced at Han Ran, seemingly trying to signal to him through her eyes that he needed to calm down.
She then sat down with a smile and nodded politely to Han Ran's "mother":
"It's alright, Auntie. I'm just here for sightseeing. I'll have Han Ran show me around the village later!"
"Take a stroll around." At this moment, Han Ran's elderly father suddenly lowered his head and said softly, "Just don't wander off."
Upon hearing this, both Han Ran and Yin Hong immediately looked up.
They all understood that in such terrifying dungeons, the more NPCs forbid you from seeing certain things, the more likely something is amiss!
Clearly, if they want to find a way to quickly clear the dungeon, they need to go to the places the NPCs forbid them to go.
"Which places are considered wandering around?" Yin Hong raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Uncle, why don't you tell us in detail?"
Her sweet, delicate voice was irresistible even to Han Ran, let alone a man.
Sure enough, Han Ran's father winked and said, "You absolutely must not go to any temples. No matter what kind of temple it is, don't go there."
The two exchanged a glance and agreed, but they also had their own plans in mind.
On the other side, Lu Shi, Ye Bugui, and Yi Xiuluo finally reached the end of the forest path.
The sky was dark and gloomy, with low-hanging clouds overhead, as if they were about to crush the rows of brick and tile houses in the village.
A group of villagers gathered at the village entrance. When they noticed the arrival of outsiders, they all turned around and curiously looked at the three of them.