Chapter 115: "Day Five" The Cracks in the Eyes Conceal...
If it weren't for the fact that they had regained their strength, Luo Qili would have definitely turned and fled!
Everything before them was too bizarre!
On the second floor, wood chips flew everywhere, and fragments were scattered all around.
Blood twisted like snakes, covering the walls and floor of the second floor, forming a sacrificial array.
The characters were ancient and profound, without a system translation, the two couldn't understand them at all.
Dried corpses lay shattered in every corner of the room.
They hadn't decayed, crumbling into dust like withered leaves.
At the center of the array, nine candles illuminated a document and some materials lying quietly.
A zombie walked into the array, destroyed it, and handed the document and materials to Zhao Yi.
"If you're interested in these things, take a look... They are of no use to me anymore."
"I lost my life and my beloved because of them, and now, I am finally free..."
Zhao Yi took the document and materials from the zombie, looked at the desolate creature, and smiled:
"Master, there's no need to be so disheartened."
"The second madam's heart is still beating in your chest... Can't you feel her passionate love?"
The zombie was taken aback.
He slowly reached out his hand and placed it on his chest.
His heart... was indeed beating!
A zombie's heart shouldn't beat!
Su Mei... was still alive!
In that moment, he was overwhelmed with emotion!
"So many people sacrificed their lives, you love them, and they love you. It's because of this bond that you should live on!"
Zhao Yi said casually while flipping through the documents.
Beside him, Luo Qili glanced at Zhao Yi in surprise.
To hear such warm and inspiring words from this man... it was like the sun rising in the west!
The players in the live streaming room were about to cry.
Such warm words... Is this really our Brother Zhao?
Fake!
Blast it! Refund!
After a long silence, the zombie exhaled deeply and smiled at Zhao Yi:
"Thank you, guest."
"You're right, even for Mei'er, I should live on... After all, this life of mine no longer belongs to me."
"These things... are yours."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"If we meet again in the future, I'll treat you to a drink."
Wang Zhan, though his expression was stiff, also managed a smile.
Zhao Yi nodded and smiled:
"It's a deal."
After exchanging names, the system sent a message.
[Wang Zhan the Zombie's favorability towards you has increased to 'Respect.']
[This character is not a major world encounter, friend addition is not supported.]
After a brief chat, Wang Zhan bid farewell to Zhao Yi and left, embarking on a long journey.
After he left, Zhao Yi and Luo Qili sat cross-legged on the second floor of the haunted mansion's main house, carefully studying the documents Wang Zhan left behind.
In truth, Zhao Yi had been prepared for this.
But upon seeing the signature on the documents, he couldn't help but frown.
[Foundation (——crossed out and modified——)]
[Skull Church]
"As expected... the organization behind all this isn't the original Foundation, but a group that once followed in its footsteps..."
"Does this mean the Foundation really... encountered trouble?"
Zhao Yi's brow furrowed deeply.
He recalled the X-series products, particularly X-1.
If each X-series product corresponded to a meme, then X-1's meme was likely that special concrete...
No wonder the hint at the time was that he couldn't let this thing out of his sight...
He had obtained some clues, answering certain doubts in his heart.
Yet, more questions arose.
Why did the Foundation disappear?
What is the Skull Church?
Why do they keep using strange biological memes to conduct bizarre experiments?
Although Zhao Yi didn't know which faction the Skull Church belonged to, judging by its ability to meddle in different regions and times, the church's power and foundation must be unprecedentedly terrifying!
"Colossus Hospital, Rockridge High School, Moye Village, Hanging Valley Town, Kala Asylum... all have ties to the Skull Church."
Reflecting on his previous encounters, Zhao Yi noticed an interesting commonality.
—Human experiments.
Behind them, more or less, was the shadow of the Skull Church.
"What are those little darlings... trying to do?"
Zhao Yi's eyes sparkled with interest.
Too many mysteries awaited his exploration.
Coming back to his senses, Zhao Yi noticed a pile of unread messages from the system and opened them:
[Congratulations on leveling up to Lv6]
[Through combat, your Body Strengthening Domain (F-) Strength gain +2 (4/6)]
[Title hidden attributes unlocked]
[Based on your titles, your current attributes are as follows: Strength +11]
[Your damage and intimidation to specters +20% (Ghostbane)]
[NPCs maintain stable emotions when communicating with you +3 (Mentor)]
[The chance of your lies being detected is slightly reduced (Deceiver)]
...
"Titles actually have hidden attributes..."
Zhao Yi raised an eyebrow.
He initially found titles strange and unnecessary.
Now it seemed it was just because his level was too low, and many game mechanics hadn't been unlocked for him yet.
...
The haunted mansion was empty.
The two lay on the floor by the second-floor window, gazing at the stars above.
Bright and dazzling.
"I heard that each star harbors a deity."
Luo Qili spoke, her eyes weary.
She hadn't had a good night's sleep in days.
On the fifth day, they had nothing extra to do and didn't need to venture into dangerous dungeons.
The only task was to call their third-day selves.
To explain everything clearly.
"Zhao Yi..."
Luo Qili turned her head, her beautiful face showing a hint of softness.
Zhao Yi:
"Speak."
"Can I lean on your shoulder for a while?"
"Sure."
"I suddenly realized, you're actually quite nice..."
"5000 points per hour."
"......"
The two glared at each other for a few seconds, and Luo Qili fiercely raised her middle finger at Zhao Yi!
"Screw you!"
As time approached, Zhao Yi asked Luo Qili for her phone and called their second-day selves.
After he finished the call, it was Luo Qili's turn.
Already annoyed with Zhao Yi, she remembered how he tricked her into cleaning the toilet, and her cold, pretty face turned red with anger. When the call connected, she immediately cursed:
"Zhao Yi... you SOB!"
"......"
...
A night passed.
The two smoothly entered the fifth day.
The cracks before them grew larger.
It was then that Luo Qili was shocked to discover...
The red she had seen behind the cracks... was actually a blood-red eye!
Behind the crack, a terrifying fierce ghost was staring at them intently!
Luo Qili found it increasingly difficult to maintain her composure!
"Behind those cracks... is a ghost?"
Zhao Yi fiddled with his camera.
"Yes."
"Each player participating in this Tide of Demon Spirits likely has a ghost watching over them."
"I think when we reach the seventh day, we'll face these specters directly."
Luo Qili's fingers trembled slightly.
Though her mental fortitude was strong, constantly staring into a terrifying ghostly eye made her shiver.
"Relax, until we reach the seventh day, it can't do anything to us."
Zhao Yi had successfully assembled the camera.
A smile appeared on his face.
The information on it was no longer a question mark.
...
[Item: Time-Traveling Camera PHS]
[Quality: Quest Item]
[Description: A small product casually made by a mad scientist... Yes, the same one who invented the Shredder.]
[Effect: Captures the time-space 24H ahead]
[Note 1: Cannot be taken out of the secret realm]
[Note 2: Extremely low battery, can only be used twice]
[Note 3: PHS will capture everything you see into the photo]
...
"I see..."
Zhao Yi realized.
Luo Qili asked curiously:
"What did you figure out?"
Zhao Yi explained:
"This camera can capture the time-space 24H ahead."
"This means if someone appears in the photo taken by the camera, they naturally reach the next day!"
Luo Qili's eyes lit up, but upon seeing the camera PHS's description, she became puzzled:
"But it seems we don't need the camera now..."
"Without entering a dungeon, just staying in the outside world, time will naturally reach the seventh day..."
"How strange..."
"If we don't need to enter dungeons to reach the seventh day... why did our future selves make us take such risks to complete those dungeons?"
Luo Qili became confused.
The Tide of Demon Spirits task required them to survive until the seventh day and escape the secret realm.
This time was calculated based on the time in the abandoned city they were in, not the dungeon time within the air wall.
So theoretically, as long as players didn't covet dungeon rewards, didn't enter dungeons, and didn't follow future instructions, they could find a safe place, sleep for six days, and still reach the seventh day alive...
"Because..."
Zhao Yi smiled slightly, his tone meaningful.
"The real challenge of this Tide of Demon Spirits dungeon isn't surviving to the seventh day."
"But rather..."
"How to escape the secret realm alive."
"Without this camera, once the seventh day arrives... we'll die!"
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