"Damn it!"
Xiao Jia scratched furiously at the countless swollen mosquito bites covering his body.
He had been squatting under a tree for two hours, serving as an all-you-can-eat buffet for the bloodsuckers, all while the light in one of Chao Musheng’s rooms remained stubbornly on, making it impossible for him to sneak in.
This village was too normal—so normal it was downright eerie.
No ghost brides, no sinister cults, no supernatural horrors, not even a single mysterious death. Even the local talent show had gone off without a hitch—no bloodshed, no vengeful spirits slaughtering people. What kind of lousy rural horror scenario was this?
The mission briefing had promised valuable intel and a hidden village treasure.
Where the hell was he supposed to find any treasure?
If the Game Master wanted them dead, it could’ve just said so instead of torturing them like this.
With a frustrated slap, he killed a swarm of mosquitoes and stood up, shaking out his numb legs.
"It’s already one in the morning. How can he still be awake?" Xiao Jia grumbled under his breath. "No matter how pretty a guy is, he’ll turn ugly if he keeps pulling all-nighters!"
After what felt like an eternity, the light in the small building finally flickered off. Xiao Jia nearly wept with relief—the pretty boy had finally decided to sleep!
Swatting away the mosquitoes dive-bombing his face, he pulled his mask up and crept toward the house under the cover of darkness.
Too nervous to notice, he failed to register the unnatural silence around him—even the insects in the grass had stopped chirping.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heart pounding, he sprinted stealthily across the yard and vaulted over the fence.
A sudden noise from upstairs sent him scrambling into a nearby flowerbed.
Hiss!
Damn these thorny flowers!
In the dim moonlight, Xiao Jia recognized the culprit—roses.
Biting down on his arm to stifle a scream, he fought back tears. Mosquitoes, guard dogs, and now thorns—this night was determined to break him.
The red lanterns hanging at the entrance flickered ominously. Xiao Jia endured ten agonizing minutes in the rosebush before finally crawling out, covered in puncture wounds.
Injured before even getting started—he was going to take his frustration out on that pretty boy later.
Picking the lock, he slipped inside. A faint red glow made him break out in a cold sweat—until he realized it was just the standby light on the TV.
After scouring the kitchen, living room, and dining area with no luck, he tightened his grip on his knife and tiptoed toward the downstairs bedroom.
Probably the old couple’s room.
[Ding! Six hours remaining until player life points hit zero. Please value your time, cherish your life, and complete the mission promptly.]
Fear of death could drive a man mad.
Face twisted with desperation, Xiao Jia gripped the doorknob. He’d deal with the old folks first, then move on to the pretty boy upstairs.
BAM!
A powerful force sent him crashing to the floor.
"What are you looking for?"
Xiao Jia looked up in terror.
In the darkness, a young man loomed over him, a steel pipe glinting coldly in his hand.
Xiao Jia tried to run, but his legs had turned to jelly.
Items—he still had items!
Knockout spray, puppet doll, venomous snake…
Nothing worked. Why weren’t his items working?!
Scrambling backward like a crab, he stared at the figure in the dark as if facing death itself.
Chao Musheng glanced at the objects scattered at his feet, his expression unreadable.
Sunscreen spray, a straw doll, a plastic toy snake…
Seriously? Was this guy trying to kill him—or give him a heart attack?
Dragging the steel pipe, he advanced. Xiao Jia, still crawling pathetically, shrieked, "Stay back! Don’t come any closer!"
"Hmm?" Chao Musheng bent down and picked up the rusted knife. The blade reeked—whether of blood or iron, he couldn’t tell.
"Bold enough to break in with a knife, but scared now?" He took another step forward. Xiao Jia, backed into a corner, had nowhere left to go.
"Please, spare me! I don’t want to die!" Xiao Jia sobbed hysterically. "Let me go!"
"Musheng, what’s going on?" Grandpa, woken by the commotion, opened the door and took in the scene—a man cowering in the corner, Chao Musheng holding a rusty knife. "Put that thing down!"
Xiao Jia’s cries quieted slightly as he shot Grandpa a pleading look.
"That knife’s filthy. Drop it." Grandpa grabbed a shovel from behind the door and handed it to Chao Musheng. "Use this instead. More effective."
Xiao Jia wailed even louder.
"Brazen, breaking into our Chaojiawan Village." Grandpa rolled up his sleeves, revealing well-defined biceps. "Ever heard of us? Not a soul in ten neighboring villages dares cross us."
His eyes suddenly widened. "Musheng! There’s a snake on the floor!"
"It’s a plastic toy." Chao Musheng nudged the fake snake with his foot. The cheap quality screamed "two-dollar store special."
Grandpa flicked on the lights and sighed in relief. "My old eyes must be failing me. Could’ve sworn that thing moved."
"Let me get some rope to tie him up. You call the village head—and the police. Don’t let him escape." Grandpa hurried to the storage room and returned with a thick cord—leftover from hog-tying during New Year’s.
Dirty, but sturdy.
"Grandpa, slow down. He’s not going anywhere."
Chao Musheng chuckled. He’d struck the thief’s pressure point earlier—the guy wouldn’t be walking for at least half an hour.
Once Grandpa had Xiao Jia trussed up like a holiday roast, he reminded Chao Musheng to call the police.
Meanwhile, the other three players, unaware of Xiao Jia’s capture, were still desperately hunting for clues.
After coming up empty-handed, they gathered outside the village head’s house.
"Where’s your partner?" the Female Companion asked Fatty, noting his solo arrival.
"Probably held up at Chao Musheng’s place," Fatty muttered. "Forget him. Let’s search the village head’s house first."
Using their tools, the trio picked the lock and slipped inside.
A shadowy figure drifted toward them, sending all three scrambling back.
"A… balloon?" The Male Companion swatted it away once it got closer. He pulled out a detection device, scanning for precious metals.
Fatty stepped on a toy, earning a glare from the Male Companion. "Watch your step."
Now hyper-cautious, they inched forward—until the living room lights suddenly blazed on.
They whirled around to find the doorway packed with brawny villagers, hoes in hand.
The red lanterns at the entrance swayed, casting eerie, flickering light across the men’s faces—like demons from hell.
The players retreated; the villagers advanced.
Then someone stepped on a doll.
Its mechanical laughter pierced the air.
"Get them!"
Panicked, Fatty and the others bolted for the window, shattering the glass and leaping out.
"Village Party Secretary, isn’t your window glass a domestic brand? How could the quality be this bad?" The village chief stared at the shattered glass on the ground, momentarily stunned.
Village Party Secretary: "Bullshit, mine’s authentic domestic goods."
"The thieves got away, hurry up and chase them!"
The quiet village erupted into chaos—cats yowling, dogs barking, lights flickering on in every household.
Xiaoyou was jolted awake by the sound of the yellow dog’s barking. Voices echoed from the hallway outside her door. She pulled it open to see Sister Ling soothing several tourists who had been roused by the commotion.
Once the tourists returned to their rooms, Sister Ling noticed Xiaoyou still lingering by the door. With a gentle smile, she reassured her, "Don’t be scared, it’s nothing serious—just a few petty thieves. The villagers will catch them. Go back to sleep."
Thieves?
Xiaoyou’s mind snapped to clarity. Forcing a stiff smile, she retreated to her room and sat numbly on the balcony, her vacant eyes fixed on the direction where the sun would rise.
They couldn’t escape—and neither could she.
Death was her final destination.
After Poison Man died, she had seized the chance to check the guesthouse’s registration log. His name was gone, as if he had silently vanished from this world.
The players, relying on their tools, dodged the villagers’ pursuit and sprinted all the way to the village entrance.
Under the banyan tree, the deity statue in the shrine—its features blurred—grinned widely, as if delighted.
"The statue’s eyes—they’re moving!" Male Companion pointed at the shrine in terror before bolting toward the village outskirts.
But the moment he crossed the boundary, thick fog surged from the road outside. The instant he brushed against it, he let out a pained scream.
Female Companion reacted swiftly, yanking him back from the mist.
"They’re stopping us from leaving the village," Fatty muttered, his face drained of color. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the shrine’s earth god.
The deity’s grin remained, glowing faintly red under the moonlight—the same shade as the red lanterns hanging at every doorstep in Zhaojiawan.
Suddenly, Fatty remembered: that day, after stepping off the bus, Chao Musheng had made a long list of wishes to the statue. One of them was to "keep the whole village safe."
To the deity, were they the ones threatening the villagers’ safety?
Could this statue, capable of protecting the entire village, actually be the village’s true treasure?
Fatty’s realization struck at the same time as Female Companion’s.
Neither spared a glance for the injured player writhing on the ground. Instead, they lunged for the shrine, scrambling to seize the statue.
By the time Chao Musheng and the villagers caught up, Fatty and Female Companion were already locked in a vicious brawl.
Watching them fight over a resin statue worth thirty yuan—as if it were some priceless artifact—Chao Musheng turned to Uncle Ming, who was gripping a shovel. "Uncle, did you guys hide treasure inside these statues?"
Uncle Ming and the Zhaojiawan villagers: …Huh?
Since when?
"Hey, stop fighting for a second." Chao Musheng gestured to the groaning player on the roadside. "Take care of this guy first."
Seeing the villagers approach, Fatty and Female Companion each clutched a statue and backed away.
Fatty: "One for each of us."
"Deal." Female Companion pulled up her system interface and selected "Submit Task."
[Ding. Task submission error. Please try again.]
This wasn’t Zhaojiawan’s treasure?
The female player stared blankly at the statue in her hands, its grinning mouth seeming to mock her.
Seizing their moment of confusion, Chao Musheng dashed forward and kicked both of them to the ground.
Once the villagers had the thieves securely tied up, Chao Musheng picked up the resin statues, dusted off the dirt, and returned them to the shrine.
Couldn’t let the village’s tourist merchandise go missing.
Minutes later, police sirens wailed in the distance.
Little Lin eyed the bound figures, their faces bruised and swollen. "So you’re saying these two beat each other up over thirty-yuan resin figurines, and you didn’t lay a hand on them?"
"Folks," Little Lin closed his notepad with a sigh, "I get that you’re angry at thieves, but lying to the police obstructs justice. It’s illegal."
And with a lie this ridiculous, too.
Chao Musheng: This world is full of way too many absurd people.
