Chapter 254: Ghost (IX) Where Is the Old Friend Now?

The little old lady who took over the residence after the old man nagged Tang Yu a few more words, then left with the keychain.

The players gathered together, only to find that after just one night, nearly half of the people were gone.

Luo Haihua and his wife disappeared due to an invisible fire caused by an overturned lantern.

Hatred came out of the window. He should still be alive, but he was definitely in a different camp from the other players.

"The spirit of hatred is a ghost. She climbed out of the window just before midnight, probably to kill a town citizen so that she could complete her daily killing mission."

Tang Yu fiddled with the lantern in his hand and calmly deduced: "There is no light at night and no shadows of the townspeople can be seen. She can only use her experience during the day to judge whether the old man who manages the residence is human. To be on the safe side, she will most likely choose the right person." The old man took action.

"She should have succeeded, so the old man disappeared and an old lady was replaced to take care of the mansion. Comparing the situation with yesterday evening, we can see that only players from the 'Ghost' camp can actually kill the townspeople."

As a former core member of Jiuzhou, although Tang Yu usually looks rough, he actually has good qualities in all aspects.

Especially in terms of reasoning and analysis, having been nurtured by the guild, I am able to think clearly and skillfully, and explain things clearly from beginning to end in just a few sentences.

While he was speaking, Qisi reached out and patted Lin Chen's shoulder without hesitation, lightly, like a gust of wind blowing by.

Lin Chen was startled, and turned around to see Qisi withdrawing his hand, still holding a long and narrow leaf in his palm.

Qisi threw the leaf to the ground and raised his eyelids to look at him: "You probably stuck it on in the bamboo forest last night. I don't know why it hasn't fallen off yet. I just saw it."

Lin Chen opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the cold system announcement:

[The side mission "Find all the ghosts hidden among you" has been completed]

On the system interface, the text in the side task column scattered like silvery-white light flakes and disappeared in a few seconds.

All players with this task can receive the prompt, and Tang Yu naturally also saw the changes on the panel.

"This dungeon looks quite complicated. How can the side mission be completed so easily?"

He complained, but did not dwell on it for too long, and quickly got back to business: "At present, it can be confirmed that the hatred is the ghost. This is a team copy, and the different camps obviously conflict with the main tone. I guess this has something to do with the subsequent puzzle solving.

"I also have a guess. Our identity is 'human', but we may not actually be human."

Tang Yu took out a long scroll from the props list and continued: "The effect of my prop is to open a door that only spirits can enter. But something happened last night, and I found out by chance that I could actually go in.

"The effect of the props is correct, which means I am in a spiritual state now. I guess you are the same."

He pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from his arms, showed it to Qisi and Lin Chen, and then pointed to the last line of the sentence [Easy to suddenly wake up, only to realize that the soul is out of the body, and the mind is too empty]: " It’s very possible that after we entered Yanghua Town, our souls were already in an out-of-body state. We don’t know where our bodies were left.”

Qisi patiently listened to Tang Yu's reasoning and nodded gently: "The pre-prompt mentioned the forms of ghosts, ghosts, Xi, and barbarians, and we may be one of them.

"Our bodies may be in the bamboo forest where we were when we first entered the dungeon. It's not safe there. We'd better complete the main mission as soon as possible, otherwise we may have to leave in the form of ghosts..."

He didn't understand what he said, but Tang Yu looked at it clearly and nodded solemnly.

There are some things that are not secrets within the big guilds, especially the Kyushu Guild, which is closely related to the Weird Investigation Bureau that often hunts players offline.

Lin Chen's understanding of weird games is based on forums. Although it is extensive, it is not profound.

As for the fact that players were transformed into weird things and invaded reality, he could only say that he had heard about it and didn't have a clear impression.

Hearing Qisi's words, he thought of the young man's tragic situation in the later stages of "Frog Hospital" and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Lin, what is the difference between leaving the dungeon in ghost form and clearing the level normally?"

"I haven't felt it, I don't know." Qisi's expression did not change. "Maybe he will die before he can live long. I saw a post about completing the NE level of "Dialectical Game" before, but there is no news after that."

Lin Chen: "Oh!"

Skipping the unpleasant topic, Qisi handed the two letters he found in the room between himself and Luo Haihua to Tang Yu, and briefly and concisely explained what happened last night and the results of the discussion with Lin Chen this morning. .

"The main mission is the key. Whether it's treating diseases or hunting tigers, we can always find a reason to leave Yanghua Town and go to the bamboo forest. We can tell where our bodies are exactly at a glance."

He lowered his eyes and looked at the lantern in his hand: "Even in the worst case scenario, as long as there is a guiding light, we are not afraid of not being able to find our way back."

Tang Yu put his hand on the saber at his waist and nodded: "After meeting the so-called Master Meng today, I will leave the city."

The two of them talked and walked steadily down the stairs without stopping.

Lin Chen couldn't say anything, so he held the medicine box and lantern and stood back silently.

When the three of them went down to the first floor, they happened to meet a figure in green clothes and a cloth hat walking outside the residence. He looked familiar. He should be the scholar who told the players the rules of Yanghua Town without any pretense yesterday.

The scholar carried a lunch box and walked into the residence. When he saw the player, he smiled in a friendly manner and said, "Brothers, I suspected that someone was sneaking into your midst yesterday. I have offended many of you. I am here today to apologize."

His attitude was much more polite and enthusiastic, completely different from yesterday.

"I brought some of today's meals over on the way. My mother-in-law here in Dishe is old and has always ignored the fireworks. You can just make do with it. If you need anything, you can tell me."

Lin Chen looked around and saw no sign of a fire for cooking.

He couldn't help but ask: "Do all foreigners living here have to bring food from outside if they want to eat?"

"You can also go out to eat by yourself." The scholar said, "There has never been a fire in the residence since it was built. I bring all the food for foreigners."

Qisi took advantage of the situation and asked, "Is that so? When was this mansion built?"

"I don't remember, it was built a long time ago..." the scholar recalled.

His eyes became blurred, and his voice was as vague as a dream: "When we moved here, it was like this...there are county offices, houses, Buddhist temples and residences, we just live in them..."

His face looked ferocious for a moment, and a struggle flashed in his confused eyes, as if he was troubled by past memories.

While the dust was flying, the shadow reflected on the ground by the morning light kept trembling, swinging between the shape of a tiger and the shape of a human.

We cannot continue on this topic.

Qisi looked into the scholar's eyes and said word by word: "Stop talking, we don't want to know. We are all hungry and just want to have breakfast as soon as possible."

The scholar's murmur was interrupted, and his turbulent expression calmed down in two seconds, as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone, please have breakfast." He smiled in a friendly manner, like a robot that had just recovered from a malfunction, carrying the lunch box with straight hands and walking deeper into the residence step by step.

There are more than a dozen tables arranged in the lobby of the residence in an orderly manner. It can be imagined that there were once prosperous scenes with guests coming and going. Unfortunately, now they are all lonely and idle. Although they are clean, they still look lonely.

The scholar chose the largest table, put down the food box, and opened the lid.

It was filled with round Qingming dumplings, as green as jade, with a wet and oily sheen.

These dumplings don't look very fresh, and the surface is covered with moss-like lines. I don't know where they were taken from, but they inexplicably remind people of the current tribute.

The scholar made an inviting gesture and motioned for the players to sit down at the table.

Qisi and Tang Yu didn't move. Lin Chen saw this in his eyes and quietly put his raised foot down.

Tang Yu looked at the scholar and said angrily: "You said this is today's meal. Isn't that what we eat all day? What should I do if I don't like sweets?"

He was clearly being unreasonable and had the intention of probing.

The scholar was not annoyed, and the smile always hung on his face like the painting: "Yes, this is today's meal, and it will be our meal in the future. We only have this here, nothing else, and it's not sweet at all." "

As if to confirm his words, he reached out and picked up a dumpling, brought it to his mouth and took a bite.

His hands were as skinny as straws, making the Qingming dumplings look like pebbles. A "rustling" sound came from his mouth, and it sounded like the food he ate was tasteless.

If Qingming dumplings are not sweet, what should they taste like?

Lin Chen looked at the Qingming dumplings of unknown taste in the food box, and then at the scholar who was biting the dumplings mechanically. He had no intention of taking a bite himself.

He asked tentatively: "If I'm not hungry, can I not eat?"

He is not lying. Players have not eaten a grain of rice since entering the dungeon yesterday, but they do not feel hungry.

To be precise, there is no feeling at all, as if the organ of the stomach has disappeared out of thin air. It doesn't matter whether you are full or not, whether it is full or empty.

"If you're not hungry, you don't have to eat." The scholar nodded, "Except for foreigners like you, we generally don't eat."

He just finished finishing one dumpling while he was talking, then picked up another dumpling and started to bite it carefully.

Players: "..."

In short, no matter what, players are not going to eat weird-looking things in the dungeon without mandatory requirements.

Anyway, according to common sense, the spirit body will not starve to death.

Seeing that none of the people in front of him had any intention of eating, the scholar just smiled carelessly and closed the lid of the food box.

"If you are all right, please come with me to see Mr. Meng. You are all distinguished guests invited by Mr. Meng. He knew you were coming yesterday and wanted to see you."

He stood up and walked towards the door of the mansion, as if he was sure that the players would follow.

This time, no one moved.

Tang Yu said loudly: "Wait a minute! Let's go upstairs to get some things and make some preparations, so as not to come back when we can. Will you go up with us, or wait for us below?"

The scholar stopped and looked back at everyone: "I'll just wait for you here. Please hurry up."

The players turned their backs on the scholar, climbed up the stairs, and soon returned to the second floor.

The scholar stood quietly from beginning to end, watching the backs of the players, as motionless as a scarecrow in a wheat field.

Qisi pulled Lin Chen, passed Tang Yu, and walked into the empty room left by Luo Haihua and his wife.

Tang Yu understood and followed in, closing the door behind him.

The soundproofing of the residence should be good, otherwise there was too much noise in their respective rooms last night, and they should have been aware of it long ago, and would not have found out until they exchanged information today.

Tang Yu guessed that the scholar couldn't hear the player's conversation, so he whispered: "The scholar has a problem."

Of course there is a problem with the dungeon NPC. What is the problem?

Lin Chen blinked and looked at Qisi.

Qisi continued what Tang Yu said: "The scholar today is not the same person as the one yesterday. Although he looks very similar, I often do human body specimens and can see the difference.

"He is two centimeters taller than the scholar yesterday. He has a small mole under his right ear. His eyes are narrower and his lips are thicker. They are not changes that can happen to the same person in a short period of time."

Lin Chen frowned: "But he clearly told us that he was the one we talked to yesterday."

"NPCs can lie, and memories can deceive. I just don't know what kind of situation he belongs to." Qisi said calmly, "What we need to figure out now is where the scholar went yesterday, and why the scholar was like this Businesses will change.”

"Business?" Tang Yu caught the key words in Qisi's words, "What do you mean..."

Lin Chen thought of the corresponding information and murmured: "The old woman who took over the residence said that in Yanghua Town, a dress is a trade, and her job is to manage the residence. Could being a 'scholar' also be a trade? ?The memory of NPC follows the profession?"

Qisi did not answer directly, but continued on by himself: "I wonder if you noticed yesterday that the townspeople with the same identity - or profession, were wearing the same clothes.

"When we leave the mansion later, we will try to pay more attention to the clothes and faces of the townspeople. We will compare them tomorrow morning to see if the change of profession is accidental or something else."

While talking, Tang Yu bent down and picked up two paper lanterns on the ground with one hand in each hand.

Since the paper lantern of Luo Haihua and his wife was knocked over, the candles inside have disappeared, leaving only two fluttering paper lampshades, which trembled and trembled with the invisible wind on the ground, and occasionally rolled a few centimeters.

After being picked up by Tang Yu, the paper lampshade was still trembling, but unlike before it was wandering aimlessly, this time it was clearly swinging in the direction of the bedside table.

If Qisi felt something, he walked straight to the bedside table.

The pen and paper he used to organize his thoughts were still neatly placed on the bedside table, with some of his inferences about the worldview and clues scrawled on it.

And below the original paragraphs of text, there was a neat line of small characters:

[Lin Wen, Lin Ya, I am Luo Haihua, Luo Jianhua and I are still in the dungeon...] (End of this chapter)