This bug is amazing!

Chapter 149 The Sacrificial Ritual: The Bad Dog (7k-word chapter)
"Since that's the case, then I won't force you." Ye Luo said, taking a few steps to catch up with Ji Yi. "Brother Ji, is it alright if I follow behind you?"

Ji Yi nodded: "Whatever you say."

After saying that, Ji Yi stepped forward and lifted the roof of the basement, revealing a staircase leading down into the darkness below.

Ji Yi took out a flashlight and carefully walked down, with the four people following closely behind.

[It seems Ye Luo Yan Yu also tampered with this place beforehand. Looks like you weren't the only one who didn't sleep well last night.]

Clearly, he couldn't have made so many arrangements in the less than an hour that Ye Luo disappeared at the beginning.

Not to mention that the entire mansion was equipped with "sound traps" that could make all sorts of noises.

Even the basement has been visited by Ye Luoyanyu.

He might have been on the move all night.

Let's set aside the question of what the purpose of the falling leaves and misty rain is.

In theory, he could do these things using his skills [Silence] and [Danger Sense], although it would be very risky.

Even so, Ji Yi still had another bold conjecture.

'Ye Luo is extremely familiar with this instance. Perhaps this isn't his first time here.'

Only in this way can we explain why Ye Luo made the arrangements so resolutely and decisively.

If that's the case, then Ye Luo obviously has a significant information advantage. He might know exactly how to pass the level, and if he can successfully mislead everyone at a crucial point, all four of them will lose everything.

That's tricky, really tricky.

It's like they've meticulously woven a trap, preparing to wreak havoc.

If it weren't for the data-driven perspective, even someone as capable as Zuiwan Guhong would likely have been ambushed.

To find out what's hidden in the basement, we can only hope that data analytics can help.

'It must have been Ye Luo's [Crisis Sense] that activated again.'

That's why I wanted to go ahead and check if there were any missed arrangements.

This indirectly suggests that Ji Yi had a chance to find clues.

Just as I was thinking this, I finally finished climbing the stairs and arrived at the basement.

The place is filled with shelves and various odds and ends, covered in dust, indicating that no one has been here for a long time.

That's strange, since those little houses by the lake don't look like they're inhabited, yet they're spotless.

Hmm. Maybe it's related to the fog.

"Chang Kong, turn on the lights."

Gu Hong suddenly spoke.

"Oh."

Xiao Yichang took out a tinderbox and began to light the oil lamps on the wall.

The basement was quickly brightened up.

During this time, Miss Cat kept a close eye on Ye Luoyanyu at Ji Yi's behest, while Ji Yi "tried" to find records related to the sacrifice.

The data analysis did provide the answer, but it needs to be presented in a certain way, otherwise it would be too suspicious.

Ye Luo's situation was clearly the same. Although his gaze did not give him away, there were indeed differences in his behavior patterns between those who knew and those who did not. In particular, Ji Yi also knew the location of the clues and was more able to pay attention to Ye Luo's problems.

About ten minutes later, Ji Yi finally "unexpectedly" found the hidden clue under a floor tile.

[A drawing depicting a fabricated sacrificial ceremony.]

Unfortunately, unlike modified text information, I can't find the original document for something that's purely fabricated.

Ji Yi frowned and held it up to Miss Cat: "Take a look, it should be a useful clue."

"Ah."

Miss Cat nodded and unfolded the yellowed paper, and the others gathered around.

It was a strange and eerie array, pentagonal in shape, with a small human figure drawn at each corner.

The rustic paper and primitive paintings, along with the obscure text written on them, make it impossible to tell from the outside that it is a fake.

[Of course not. The "Master Deceiver's" skill, "Myriad Imitations," makes replicating Shang and Zhou dynasty artifacts a breeze; even experts can't tell the difference. Hmm, maybe he's better suited for antiques?]

Too lazy to pay attention to data, just talking nonsense.

'So, Ye Luo took away the clues to the real sacrificial ritual?'

What exactly is he planning to do?
Although Chang Kong was innocent and carefree, she wasn't the type to be intellectually dull; she quickly understood the contents of the array diagram:
"This should be a variant language based on Latin. Please wait a moment and give me a little time."

[The little girl was unusually clever, but unfortunately she used it in the wrong context. Actually, I could handle something as simple as translation.]

However, I think you have no interest in knowing about this kind of fabricated nonsense.

About two minutes later.

Xiao Yichang's eyes lit up, and he said, "It's been translated; the gist is something like this."

"The pentagrams flow, and time is the key."

"Offering blood, flesh, and soul to the five directions, according to the order of dawn and dusk:"

"The first offering of sacrifices to the spirit of the hero will be made at the East Corner."

"Next, we offer the spirit of the wise man in the southern corner."

"To drown one's lover's blood again in the West Pool,"

"Finally, the Watcher's eyes were gouged out in the Northern Abyss."

"When the remains of the middle-ranking saint return to the mist,"

"When the bell tolls three times, the five bodies are reborn, and the path to life appears."

Ye Luoyan stepped forward at the right moment to explain to Ji Yi, who was completely bewildered:
"The meaning is actually very simple: we must sacrifice ourselves according to a specific time and order. As long as the characters, timing, and order are correct, the five people can be resurrected and find a way to survive."

As if afraid that Ji Yi wouldn't understand, he then explained in detail:
"The difficulty of this nightmare dungeon lies here. If even one of us is afraid of death or doesn't cooperate, causing the sacrifice to fail, then the player who died will have died in vain. In comparison, the monsters in the night fog are not so scary—except for the people in the lake, of course."

Miss Cat suddenly spoke up:
"I don't think this is very credible. Ji Yi, go and look for any other clues."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

They all seemed confused by Miss Cat's sudden rebuttal of key information.

Aside from Zui Wan Gu Hong maintaining a poker face, Ji Yi also looked completely bewildered.

But he still reluctantly complied, saying, "Okay, I'll do whatever Little Cat says."

As he spoke, he picked up a flashlight and began another thorough search.

Ye Luo smiled without speaking, while Chang Kong looked puzzled and said:

"Miss Xue, what do you mean by that? Do you have a more crucial clue? Have you discovered something?"

Miss Cat simply said coldly, "No, it's based on intuition."

Laughing at the Sky: "?"

Chang Kong looked at the expressionless Gu Hong, who glanced at her and said, "Listen to her and think it over. It's always good to be cautious."

"Oh"

So everyone had no choice but to continue investigating the scene.

This location is likely where the actual sacrificial ritual items were kept; it contains a thick book.

Don't look at me, who knows where this book went?

The item isn't in Ye Luoyanyu's inventory. Was it destroyed, or hidden somewhere else?

Ji Yi pondered, trying to find more clues about the sacrifice.

Unfortunately, under the watchful eye of the data, apart from discovering signs of alteration and deception everywhere, all items related to the sacrifice were gone.

Now Ji Yi was completely certain of one thing:

Ye Luoyanyu must be familiar with this instance; he definitely has some amazing plan.

"Sister Cat, I'm tired, I really can't look anymore~"

Ji Yi pretended to be very aggrieved and opened her arms, hugging Miss Cat tightly.

The slender figure in his arms trembled slightly, but didn't react: "Okay, then let's not look anymore, let's go out."

Chang Kong, who was diligently flipping through the floor tiles, exclaimed, "Huh?"

So casual?

The five people returned the way they came.

Along the way, Ye Luoyanyu enthusiastically provided analysis:

"The specific content of that classical Chinese text seems a bit difficult to understand. How about I analyze it and you can see if my understanding is correct?"

Gu Hong glanced at him and nodded silently.

Ye Luoyan began her explanation: "Let's start with the simpler analysis. Regarding the identities of the five people, 'lovers' should correspond to Miss Xue and Brother Ji, right?"

Chang Kong nodded in agreement, but the others didn't respond.

Seeing this, Ye Luo continued:

"There are three people left: the brave one, the wise one, and the watcher. I think they might correspond to the lone goose, myself, and the vast sky."

Everyone fell silent.

After a long pause, Ji Yi chimed in, "Yes, that should be it, right?"

Miss Cat suddenly spoke up: "I don't think Ye Luoyanyu seems smart at all."

Ye Luo scratched his head awkwardly: "Dungeon settings, dungeon settings, they're different from the actual situation of players. Maybe... I'm the Watcher, and Chang Kong is the Wise One?"

Gu Hong did not continue the conversation.

He said calmly, "Before we talk about these things, let's explore the other rooms first, and then we'll gather the information later tonight."

As the player with the most authority, no one here would disagree with his opinion.

"Going together is too inefficient, and going apart makes us more likely to encounter danger. Let's split into two groups, each taking charge of a different area to explore, and return to the house before dark. What do you think?"

No one objected.

"Then I'll team up with Chang Kong, and Miss Xue will team up with Ji Yi. Ye Luo, which team do you plan to join, or...go solo?"

A good test.

Ji Yi couldn't help but admire the drunken man who had pulled the lone goose back to its nest.

Although Gu Hong didn't have the Eye of Data, he understood Ji Yi and Miss Cat's hints and put aside the so-called sacrifice, turning the tables and trying to figure out Ye Luo's thoughts.

The falling leaves, however, leave no trace of water:

"Going it alone is out of the question; I'm still very afraid of dying. I'm open to joining either team, but it seems Miss Xue doesn't really like me. I did make a mistake this morning, but I really didn't mean anything by it."

"Then you can come with us."

"Drunk, I hold this lone wild goose and say softly."

Ji Yi frowned slightly, then
I secretly patted Miss Cat's butt.

Miss Cat trembled slightly, frowned and said, "No, you have to come with us. I don't want your careless attitude to interfere with Zuiwan Guhong's investigation."

Ye Luo was taken aback, and finally could only sigh helplessly:
"Okay~ What can I do? I'm a useless person with a sound engineer job, so I can only ask the experts to protect me and carry me."

He said it casually, seemingly not caring at all, looking like he was just lying there waiting to be taken care of.

"Okay, let's do it this way."

After Gu Hong finished speaking, the group arrived outside the mansion.

Soon, the five people split into two teams, each searching other houses.

"The notebook, show it to me."

After they parted ways, Miss Cat's first words to Ye Luo hit the nail on the head.

Ye Luo maintained a nonchalant expression, but inwardly he thought:

'This time, the [Crisis Sense] didn't react. Was it because Gu Hong was present before?'

"Crisis sense" is not a very reliable skill.

Although it is more sensitive than Gu Hong's [Strong Enemy Sense] in many situations, that is its drawback.

As a passive skill, its effect is only a feeling, and because the future possibilities are highly variable, its alarm often seems like an overreaction.

It can only sense threats accurately and strongly when faced with them directly, but at that time, it no longer needs to rely on skills.

In short, the cautious Ye Luo always liked to trust it, thinking that caution was always the best policy.

Seeing that the skill didn't work, he generously handed the notebook to Miss Cat.

Miss Cat didn't even look at it, and directly tossed it to Ji Yi: "Read it, just read the passage he read before."

'Nice, Miss Cat is becoming more and more in tune with me.'

Suppressing a smile, Ji Yi flipped through a few pages and found the one Ye Luo had read earlier.

Ye Luoyanyu's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

[Crisis Sense] Why is there a reaction again?
Fortunately, it was just a faint smell; this crisis could only be a possibility, not necessarily a reality.

At this moment, Ji Yi was reciting the passage that Ye Luo had read earlier.

Ji Yi: "The sacrificial ceremony requires five people."

The sacrificial ceremony requires four people.

Ji Yi: "People need to be killed by the monster in sequence for the sacrifice to be completed."

The order and manner of death are not limited, but each person must have a token representing their death placed in one of the four designated locations.

Ji Yi: "Everyone is bound to die here."

Only they can survive; they are the one who guided us here, one of the five.

hiss.
What a huge amount of information.

Ji Yi was momentarily overwhelmed by her pig-like brain. [Skill activated: Rapid Thinking]

Less than thirty seconds passed.

I understand now.

'The perfect way to complete the game isn't through sacrifice; it's a special route where four people die and one survives.'

So that's what Ye Luo was planning.

After Ji Yi finished reading, he pointed to the notebook in his hand and said, "Brother Ye Luo, why are there two pages missing at the end?"

Upon closer inspection, there were obvious signs of tearing on the spine of the notebook.

Ye Luo let out a soft "I see," and said, "I didn't know that. It was just like that when I found it last night."

A complete and utter lie.

"Oh fine."

Ji Yi also acted as if she didn't take it to heart.

In fact, it is true.

He had a basic idea of ​​what was missing, which was nothing more than Zhang Lang's analysis and speculation about who was the guy who was going to sacrifice the other four.

'It must be Xuanxuan.'

Ji Yi thought to himself.

This is a very simple question, and it doesn't require any reasoning.

The first two unlucky guys who died were definitely not the kind of people who wanted to harm others, otherwise they would be too stupid to die in the fog in the middle of the night. They were just bots.

Furthermore, Zhang Lang, who diligently analyzed and left behind writings to help future generations find a way to survive, doesn't seem like it at all.

The existence of the diary further proves that Li Ming, the owner of the diary, is not the same person.

It's not that the diary's author couldn't have fabricated or lied, but rather that there was no reason for them to do so. Was it simply to write it down to mislead future readers? There was absolutely no need for that.

Moreover, there was a sentence in Li Ming's diary that left a deep impression on Ji Yi:

"Xuanxuan has been begging to go there for a long time, but I don't know what kind of magic that place has."

Xuanxuan, who initiated this trip proposal.

that's enough.

For some reason, Xuanxuan wanted to sacrifice four living people to achieve her goal.

Now, Ye Luo Yan Yu is doing the same thing, planning to deceive everyone, lead players down a dead end, and sit back and wait for some tempting reward.

This is the purpose of the falling leaves and misty rain.

Perhaps encountering Ji Yi and the other three was just a coincidence. In any case, Ye Luo Yan Yu did understand this instance and deliberately used methods to enter the designated instance in order to trick players into making sacrifices.

What kind of temptation drove him to do this remains unknown.

The fate of Xuanxuan, who sacrificed four people, remains a mystery. Perhaps Ye Luo knows some inside information.

'To find the correct path to clear the dungeon under the nose of a player who knows the dungeon well and specializes in causing trouble.'

This is tough, it's practically hell level!

The situation is not optimistic. Ji Yi's only hope is that Ye Luo's meticulous plan will eventually have a flaw.

The three then arrived at a woodshed and searched for clues among the haystacks and timber.

"What exactly is this 'sacred remains' mentioned in the ancient texts? Could it be some kind of artifact?"

Ye Luo chatted idly as he searched diligently.

After all, the sacrificial ritual diagram is the only clue found so far, so it's normal to talk about it.

Schrödinger's cat remains silent.

The same applies to Ji Yi.

Undeterred, Ye Luo muttered to herself in a light tone:
"I think the so-called 'Mid-Rank Sacred Remains Returning to the Mist' refers to some kind of quest item buried underground, such as a corpse, like an incorruptible female corpse, which needs to be placed in the mid-rank or dug out from the center of the map."

Neither of them responded.

Ye Luo seemed to care whether they were listening or not, and muttered to himself:
"Regardless of whether it's a corpse or something else, and regardless of whether we need to perform a sacrificial ritual, we should at least find some clues in the ancient texts. Let me explain."

"For example, the phrase 'five-pointed star revolves, time is the key' likely refers to the order of sacrifice, which is the key to unlocking something."

The phrase "according to the order of morning and evening" directly indicates that the sacrificial ceremony was conducted according to the sequence of morning and evening.

"If there are five people, and the sacrifices are divided into four sessions, with the time allocated from dawn to dusk, the first sacrifice should be to the brave one, from 6 to 9 in the morning; the second to the wise one, from 9 to 12. The next to drown their beloved, from 12 to 15. The final sacrifice should be to the watchman, from 15 to 18."

In Ye Luo's view, such a meticulous and objective analysis should be acceptable even if Xue dislikes him because of his persona.

Look, isn't Ji Yi looking like she's suddenly realized something?

Heh, it doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. He knows all the real clues to clearing the game, but he destroyed them long ago.

after all.

He arrives in the instance a day earlier than all of you.

【Title: Script Preview Experience】

[Type: consumables]

[Quality: Epic]

[Effect: In certain dungeon types, you can experience the dungeon's prequel story (often a brief preview of the opening cinematic), which may give you an advantage in that dungeon.]

[Note: Can only be used before entering the instance]

Ultimately, relying solely on "silence" and "a sense of crisis" means that at most, one can only tamper with things near the house.

Many operations that require entering the fog cannot guarantee survival with just these two abilities.

But once this tool is used, all problems are solved.

The first night was fog-free, allowing him to decorate to his heart's content.

The next day, while the managed NPCs were on their way, he only needed to find a place to take a nap until the players arrived at night.

Talk about it.

To create a more immersive experience in the opening CG, the system designed the NPCs to resemble the player's appearance.

The first night, after the bonfire party.

He turned on the mute mode and peeked into Ji Yi's room through the crack in the door.

I didn't see anything particularly exciting, since I was just curious and all I saw was Ji Yi completely naked.

No wonder the other side was screaming so miserably; Ji Yiyun's character model is quite...
However, that was ultimately a simulation of a managed NPC.

In reality, the two were completely opposite; Ye Luo was actually more interested in watching.

Let's get back to the main topic.

'I made the arrangements a day in advance, and I destroyed all the truth. You can only investigate by following the false clues I left behind, and finally, voluntarily step into the sacrifice.'

Haha, this is a win-win situation.

Ye Luo kept her feelings about tax evasion to herself and continued her analysis:
"By the way, have you guys noticed a strange contradiction based on the information we have so far?"

“In the notebook, Zhang Lang kept saying that people needed to be killed by the monster in order, but the monster only appears in the night fog. Doesn’t that contradict the content of the sacrificial ritual?”

"So I think there are two possibilities. First, the so-called twilight sequence is reversed. The truth is that the sacrifice should be performed from evening to morning to conform to the true sacrificial procedure, and the order of the sacrificers may or may not be reversed."

Ye Luo stroked his chin as he spoke, and he could feel Ji Yi's admiring gaze directed at him.

He chuckled inwardly, then continued his long-winded speech:

"The second possibility is that the danger of the dungeon's later stages will escalate until monsters appear even during the day. Otherwise, Zhang Lang and the others would have starved to death, wouldn't they?"

Ji Yi seemed to understand something, then nodded approvingly: "Brother Ye Luo is right!"

"Hehe." Ye Luo smiled and was about to say a few words of modesty.

Schrödinger's cat looked indifferently at Ji Yi and said, "Come here."

"Okay, little kitty."

Ji Yi immediately scurried over.

Ye Luo's smile gradually froze, and she didn't even have time to say the words she was about to utter.

"Excuse me, could you please leave for a moment? I need to train my dog ​​right now."

Seeing this, Ye Luoyanyu could only shrug helplessly: "Alright, go ahead."

He had no choice but to be sensible.

It feels strange. Why is the man surnamed Xue targeting him? Is it just because his privacy was violated this morning? Or...?
What did she discover?

It's unreasonable to simply dislike someone. There should be a limit to how much you should hate someone. At least when it comes to things like advancing in a dungeon, even the biggest grudges should be clear.

So, the only outcome is suspicion?

But his disguise was perfect.

Moreover, due to his "bewitching" effect, his lies are inherently convincing.

Could it be that Schrödinger possessed lie-detection skills or related lie-detection tools, and at a very high level?
hiss.
That shouldn't be the case either.

At least his long speech was based entirely on "genuine reasoning" using "fake evidence," in other words, what he just said was "the truth."

But why.
Forget it, I don't want to.

There are ways to fool fools, and there are strategies to fool smart people.

Even without lying, he has ways to deceive people with the truth.

It could even be said that the smarter a person is, the easier they are to deceive. This is because smart people are more rational and logical, which is where they can be exploited.

Just then, Miss Cat's scolding voice came from the woodshed.

Cat: "Lie down, stick your butt out! Have you forgotten what I told you? Who told you to talk to strangers?"

Ji Yi: "Huh? I just..."

Cat: "Disobedient puppies need to be punished."

After a while.

"Ouch! Stop hitting me!"

"I'm telling you, you're a bad dog."

"I'm a bad dog."

"Will you dare to do it again next time?"

"I won't dare again."

Outside the door, leaves fall and misty rain falls: "."

Is Schrödinger's Cat really that genius female gamer who rivals Gu Hong?

Meanwhile, inside the house.

Ji Yi has already colluded with Miss Cat with the information she obtained.

It should be noted that from the moment Ji Yi left home in the morning, all the information he possessed was known only to him.

There was absolutely no chance to have a verbal exchange with Miss Cat.

The subsequent smooth progress was all thanks to Miss Cat's quick thinking and cooperation, including her handling of the information at this moment.

As Miss Cat finished reading the note that Ji Yi had written while lying on the ground.

Her brows gradually furrowed.

Miss Cat took out the [Logout] button:
"The bad dog bravely admitted its mistake; it's a good dog! What reward does it want when it goes back? (Since the clues are destroyed, leaving only misleading information, should we use the logout button to leave the instance?)"

Ji Yi shook his head solemnly:
"I'm not a good dog, please continue to punish me here. (No need, it hasn't come to that yet, let's look for more clues.)"

Miss Cat retracted the logout button:

"Okay, what kind of punishment do you want? (Do you have an idea?)"

Ji Yi nodded:
"I want it. I'm too embarrassed to say. (Yes, but not in a hurry, this isn't the place to chat.)"

The subsequent chats were almost entirely in this style.

The falling leaves and misty rain outside the door were kept under control for more than half an hour!

I've heard it so many times!

Why should he suffer like this?
The sounds inside the house gradually subsided, and Ye Luoyan sighed heavily.

Soon, Xue and Ji came out of the woodshed.

Schrödinger's Cat: "We've already checked. There are no clues in the woodshed. Let's move on to the next place."

Ye Luo forced a smile: "Okay."

at this time.

Xiao Yi Chang Kong hurriedly ran out of the mist, and was startled to see the three of them:
"Huh? Why is your search progressing so slowly? Never mind, it's not important."

She bypassed Ye Luoyanyu and Ji Yi, and went straight to Xie Jiayi:

"Aren't you a medium? Quick, Gu Hong dug up an incorruptible female corpse from underground, come and help take a look!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Jiayi looked at Ji Yi with a complicated expression: "Follow me."

Ji Yi nodded repeatedly: "Oh, okay."

The group ran in one direction.

Seeing this, Ye Luoyanyu quickly called out, "Hey, wait for me! Don't leave me alone!"

Beneath his feigned anxious expression, a genuine smile finally broke out.

Great, hooked.

(End of this chapter)