The dim sky, the black mist spreading around, and the severe screen tearing made this once bright and picturesque village turn eerie and terrifying. However, Chen Mo didn’t shut down the game because of this. Instead, he controlled his character, navigating through the glitchy game screen to re-enter the village. At this moment, the once peaceful and tranquil village was in chaos. The villagers, caught off guard by the sudden anomaly, were running around in panic. “The darkness has descended. Our ritual has failed.” “Run! The Demon King is about to arrive!” “The village is finished. Whether it’s you or me, we’re all… going to die!” “Run!” “Run!” “But running is useless. I heard that everyone who fled before still ended up killed by the Demon King!” “Yes, no matter where you go, the dark Demon King will kill you all!” “Then what should we do?” “I’ve heard there’s another way—a way to seal the Demon King.” “I heard that long ago, someone used a special treasure to defeat the Demon King…” “So, if we find these treasures, we can fight the Demon King?”
Indeed, the villagers’ dialogue contained hidden clues. The four items obtained from investigating the statue of the deceased were likely the key to this game. Leaving the village, Chen Mo controlled the pixel character to run back to the mountain behind. There, as expected, he saw… The little girl who had appeared multiple times in the game. Yin Xiaowei! In front of Yin Xiaowei, the bottomless well was now continuously emitting black mist. Yet the little girl didn’t retreat. Instead, she stood by the well, lost in thought. “Watch out!” At this point, Chen Mo suddenly realized the pixel character was no longer under his control—the game had entered an automatic cutscene. The pixel character rushed over and pushed the little girl away from the well. “You… you’re not from this village. Who are you?” “Ah, a traveler from outside. In that case, you should leave here quickly.” The little girl shook her head, a sorrowful expression on her face. “Why?” “Can’t you see? This village is finished. It will soon be devoured by the darkness from another world.” “No, there must still be a way to save it!” With that, the pixel character stood up and suddenly summoned a short sword gleaming with light! “This is… the Stone Sword!” “This is our village’s treasure. Why do you have it?” The pixel character said nothing, then one by one brought out the other three items. “Ah! This is the Wind Shield, the Water Ring, and the Flower Crown! Aren’t these… the four legendary treasures of Chuyun Village?” “Could it be that you’re not an ordinary traveler, but a legendary treasure hunter?” “But… unfortunately…” “Although the village has a legend that gathering the four treasures can defeat the Demon King, that alone isn’t enough…” “The people of this village have incomplete souls, and those with incomplete souls cannot use the treasures. That’s why we’ve had to rely on rituals to prevent the darkness from descending.” “But this year’s ritual has already failed…” “Can’t you think of another way?” “A way… there is one. Help me find my missing soul. Once I retrieve it, I can use these treasures to defeat the Demon King descending from the darkness!” “But time is running out. If you’re going to do something, please hurry.” After speaking, the little girl returned to the well, staring at the black mist rising from it, and fell silent. For Chen Mo and Dai Minghan, however, this was incredibly thrilling. The final dialogue with Yin Xiaowei in the game made the hint unmistakably clear. Wasn’t the “missing soul” referring to Yin Xiaowei’s soul in the real world? The black mist rising from the well and the setting of the Demon King all seemed to confirm Chen Mo’s speculation. The Demon King in the well corresponded to the ghost in the real world. If the Demon King descended upon the village, wouldn’t that mean Yin Xiong’s ghost would fully break its restrictions in the real world and kill all the participants? Unless they could find Yin Xiaowei’s soul, let the little girl in the game defeat the Demon King, and then “clear” the game to completely break the curse! Of course, Chen Mo didn’t overlook Yin Xiaowei’s final warning in the game. “Time is running out.” This wasn’t just a throwaway line—it was a warning to the participants. The final buffer period before the ghost’s restrictions were fully lifted was very short. In such a short time, they had to find Yin Xiaowei’s soul. But so far, the story hadn’t provided any new clues pointing to where her soul was. This was the final puzzle left for the participants! If they couldn’t solve it, once the ghost’s final restrictions disappeared, they would face only one outcome: total annihilation. “Could it be that Yin Xiaowei is still lingering at the place where she died?” After much thought, Dai Minghan suddenly blurted out. “Yin Xiaowei probably died of illness. It’s not impossible that her soul remained in the hospital due to her strong attachment to life.” “What if we go to the hospital to look?” After thinking it over, Chen Mo shook his head. “It’s possible that Yin Xiaowei’s soul is still lingering at the hospital where she died, but that clue is still too vague. The important thing is that the story hasn’t given us any hint about where she passed away. Even if we narrow it down to a hospital, how would we know which one to start with?” “The horror stories on the radio can sometimes be seen as games interacting with the participants. Since it’s a puzzle, there must be a clear direction. And since the story has progressed this far, the clues must have already been given—we just haven’t thought of them yet.” Speaking of clues… What clue could be more obvious than the picture book in the haunted house? That picture book, drawn by Yin Xiaowei herself, was essentially a window into her inner world. There, she poured out her loneliness and placed her hopes. What were Yin Xiaowei’s hopes? In that picture book, it was undoubtedly depicted all too clearly… “I know where to find Yin Xiaowei’s soul!”