Ita Era

Chapter 23 Peach Blossom Village (21)

While having fun, Ding Shi also stuck his head and half his body into the coffin, making it look as if he was trapped inside.

Ding Shi shone his flashlight upwards and saw two talismans pasted in an X shape on the back of the coffin lid. In the middle of the X was a card made of special material, about the size of a playing card (hereinafter referred to as a card).

Ding Shi stretched out his left hand, barely able to reach the type of card. He pressed his fingertips against the card and pushed it upwards, but the X-shaped talisman blocked his way. He pushed horizontally, seemingly just a hair's breadth away from pushing the type of card out of the X.

Ding Shi squeezed deeper into the coffin, using his waist to brace the lid. He was a young man with a strong back; he could handle the weight.

Holding the flashlight near San Niang's knees, Ding Shi tried to remove the card from the X with both hands. After trying for a long time, Ding Shi realized he was really just a hair's breadth away. Ding Shi rotated the card to see if he could reduce its width, but the answer was no.

The exposed part of the plaque is very small, and most of it is covered by talisman paper. Without touching the talisman paper with his hands, Ding Shi can only use his fingertips to press the plaque and move it up, down, left, and right.

There's only one way now, a very risky one: remove the glue and paper covering the obstructing talismans to make way. But we must ensure the talismans don't fall off.

The current situation is similar to driving onto a narrow road. Theoretically, continuing forward will cause the wheels to fall into a ditch, but in practice, there is still a chance of recovery. By lifting half of the left and right wheels off the road and using only the other half, you can get through the narrow road. However, the actual operation is extremely dangerous; even a slight error can lead to disastrous consequences.

Witness the moment of miracle.

Ding Shi rubbed his hands together, shook his fingers, took a deep breath, and placed his index fingers on the talisman, moving it to the left. Clearly, the upper left and upper right corners of the talisman were blocked by the talisman paper. A slight tilt would allow the upper left corner to extend, but only one corner could be extended. Now, he hoped the talisman paper would have some margin for error and not be stuck so tightly.

Greed lowers one's IQ. Ding Shi never considered why the talisman could stick to the coffin. Ordinary people use paste, but a master would simply slap it on. Where would the talisman's margin for error come from if it were just slapped on directly?
It was summer, and sweat dripped from Ding Shi's head, landing on the flashlight's lens and instantly blurring it. Ding Shi bent down to wipe the lens, causing the flashlight to fall over. Reaching for the flashlight, his fingers accidentally touched San Niang's left little finger, and San Niang's eyes snapped open.

Ding Shi remained motionless, sweat pouring down his face. He stared intently at San Niang, who stared back at him with her dark eyes.

If the enemy doesn't move, I will. After waiting a moment and seeing that Third Sister didn't make any further moves, Ding Shi picked up a flashlight and scraped off Third Sister's double eyelids to cover her eyes. He then set up the flashlight and continued working.

Okay, it's coming out soon.

Just as half of the talisman had left X, Ding Shi's hand trembled slightly, and the edge of the talisman sliced ​​through a piece of talisman paper, leaving a crack about half a centimeter long. As if frozen in time, Ding Shi remained motionless for half a minute before picking up his flashlight to observe Third Sister. Good, her eyes were still closed.

Ding put down the flashlight and went to get the talismans, only to find that the cracks in the talisman paper had widened slightly. "Is it there? Is it there? I'm not so sure."

At this point, time is of the essence, regardless of whether you have it or not. Ding Shi continued to move the tiles, and because the cracks had widened, he was able to easily get the tiles into his hands.

I glanced at it and realized it wasn't a deck of cards, but a playing card, specifically the seven of spades with the common blue watermark on the back.

What do you mean?
A subtitle appeared in front of Ding Shi: Ita Truth #1: This is a game, yet not a game; life is like a play.

What do you mean? Are you crazy?

Ding Shi attempted reading comprehension. The development of things is nothing more than a process and a result. Is this a valid understanding? In Ithaca, the process is a game, but the result is not. For example, most people play a game because it's fun, while a small percentage play games for various reasons: some to kill time, some to pick up girls, some to find rich men, some to level up their accounts for money, and some even play for work. The meaning of "life is like a play" is self-explanatory; the key is in the word "like," which already indicates that life is not a play. The conclusion is: life is not a game.

Comprehensive Analysis: Ita World is searching for the people it needs through the game. What kind of people does it need? Ding Shi speculates that they are looking for people who defy human nature. Some say that human nature is greedy, lazy, impulsive, selfish, and vain; there is also the concept of the Seven Deadly Sins. Only those who defy human nature and can control their inherent tendencies can achieve success.

To achieve success in areas like weight loss, reading, and exercise, one must go against human nature.

Ding Shi didn't know if his analysis was right or wrong, but he had a gut feeling that Ita was looking for the person it needed, and this guess was probably correct. However, he couldn't be sure what kind of person Ita was looking for.

Upon opening the system interface, a new notepad file appeared. Opening the notepad revealed the first part of the truth.

Since it was still the first dungeon, and a casual one at that, Ding Shi put that aside for now and tried to put the Seven of Spades into the skill card slot. System notification: Insufficient conditions. Ding Shi then tried putting the Seven of Spades into the item card slot without converting it into a card; this time it went in, categorized as a skill card.

Ding Shi glanced at the crack in the talisman and confirmed that the tear was widening; it had now reached a quarter of the talisman's width. He had to run. However, Ding Shi wasn't entirely irresponsible. Since he had torn the talisman himself, he felt obligated to repair it.

Take out the sweet potato card, conjure up a sweet potato, scoop out a small piece of sweet potato, rub it between your fingers, and then stick the round piece of sweet potato onto the crack in the talisman paper.

After the repairs were completed, Ding Shi packed his things, lifted the coffin lid with his left hand, and crawled out of the coffin.

Before emerging, Ding Shi shone his flashlight on San Niang. San Niang's eyes remained tightly closed, as if nothing had happened. Ding Shi tried to lift the coffin lid, and San Niang's eyelids cooperated, playing a little game with him a dozen times. Ding Shi was satisfied; this meant that Zhao the Blind was telling the truth, and taking only the treasure would be fine. However, Zhao the Blind didn't mention that taking the treasure might damage the talisman.

Life is full of traps, and Ding Shi had long been used to it.

The coffin lid was closed and the coffin nails were hammered in. Even though it was still dark outside and a light rain had started to fall, Ding Shi still remembered his promise to Master Baiyun and hurried down the mountain, even using his buttocks as a cushion to slide directly down the slope.

How do you evaluate what you've done?

Li Si is a scoundrel, Zhao Liu is a scoundrel, and so am I. Ding Shi is willing to admit this. The fact that the talisman is gradually becoming more damaged shows that his actions will inevitably bring negative consequences.

What if he hadn't been greedy? No, there are no "what ifs." Ding Shi only blamed himself for not being careful enough, not for being too greedy. Seeing this thing, he definitely had to take it; there was no reason to miss it.

The best course of action now is to descend the mountain as soon as possible.

Should we explain the situation to Master Baiyun after returning to the village?
Of course not. After all, Blind Zhao had fought ghosts with him. If he confessed the truth, wouldn't that implicate Blind Zhao, who had told him about the treasure? As for a true man taking responsibility for his actions, that depends on whether Blind Zhao has the courage of a true man.

Anyway, Ding Shi didn't. As an undercover agent, the option of taking the blame wasn't in his dictionary. No, it's that the option of taking the blame couldn't exist in his dictionary.

(End of this chapter)