This bug is amazing!

Chapter 151 What's on the Other Side of the Lake?

"You found a clue about her?"

Miss Cat asked softly.

"Not yet," Ji Yi continued. "So tomorrow I plan to go check outside the house. I've already spoken with Gu Hong today and asked Ye Luoyanyu to go with him tomorrow."

"According to Zhang Lang's notebook, four people were sacrificed and one person survived. So, according to the usual logic of the dungeon, there should be a chance to find traces of her, and it's even possible that Xuanxuan hasn't left this place."

"I think this line has a good chance of being a breakthrough point."

If we find Xuanxuan, we can learn what happened back then.

Of course, this is risky. Xuanxuan may have joined forces with that underground entity, or she may have already left without a trace.

But with the eye of data, there are still opportunities.

"Hmm." Miss Cat nodded. "By the way, Mr. Kiba, aren't you tired of holding on like this?"

At this moment, Ji Yi was in a plank position above Miss Cat, not daring to put his weight on her.

"Kind of."

Ji Yi turned to her side and lay down on the quilt, facing Miss Cat.

pat.

Turn on the flashlight.

I saw that Miss Cat's already not very pretty appearance had become like a female ghost.

Ji Yi shrank back in fright.

With a snap, the flashlight was immediately switched off.

Miss Cat: "."

"Wait, don't pinch me yet, I haven't finished what I'm about to say."

The small hand around her waist withdrew.

"explain."

Ji Yi pursed her lips and said, "How about we don't call out tonight? My throat feels really sore."

A sudden, sharp pain shot through my lower back.

"what!"

Meanwhile, in the room filled with falling leaves and misty rain.

He ignored the sounds coming from afar, focusing intently on fiddling with the papers on the table.

Each sheet of paper has the names of four players written on it, followed by rows of illegible comments.

"Hmm, at this rate, the sacrifice route is unlikely to succeed, but since I've destroyed a key clue, it's almost impossible for them to clear it either."

Should we help them? No, forget it.

For Ye Luoyanyu, losing a level is not a big problem. She can easily fool a few people and regain the level. Besides, she has the [Logout] button, so she doesn't need to lose a level.

Weakening Zuiwan Guhong, a powerhouse who overwhelmingly dominates all players, is actually a good thing for him.

Then it's best to do nothing.

"However, people like them definitely have a logout button, unless an instant death event is accidentally triggered, which is unlikely."

Thinking it over, Ye Luo burned the note with the names of Gu Hong and Chang Kong written on it. After a pause, she looked at "Schrödinger's Cat," a hint of greed flashing in her eyes, and then looked at "Ji Yi." A plan quietly formed in her mind.

"As long as I can steal your abilities, your memories, your appearance, and your name..."

By taking everything from Ji Yi, he can perfectly impersonate Ji Yi.

This is the most terrifying and unreasonable aspect of the [Trickster].

If someone takes over another person's identity, he can perfectly impersonate that person.

Even the closest people cannot tell the difference.

He has already tried it.

Unless it's for the purpose of receiving gifts in a sacrificial ceremony, Ye Luoyanyu would normally not reveal her true appearance and ID.

In other words, from the moment he gained the ability to disguise his appearance and conceal his character ID, Ye Luoyanyu faded from everyone's sight and became an inconspicuous nobody.

It's a rare exception, and I didn't expect to face several famous figures in the game right away. It's understandable that I couldn't win.

"Ji Yi. Ji Yi"

He muttered to himself, gradually plotting a scam in his mind.
The next day.

Following the plan they had discussed the day before, the five began investigating the area outside the house.

The fog covered a vast area, and even a full day of searching would not be enough to investigate it all, let alone today when the fog was even thicker.

They faced a serious problem: they needed to make the most of the weather, ensuring they could explore to the maximum extent possible while returning to the cabin before nightfall.

"Ye Luo, you'll be working with me today."

"Drunk and Lonely Goose" said indifferently, his tone even carrying an unquestionable air.

"what??"

Ye Luoyanyu rarely showed a hint of reluctance.

He had devised many plans to target Ji Yi today, but this is what happened?
"or."

Ye Luo wanted to say something more.

"I need your help with something. Come with me today."

Seeing that Gu Hong's attitude left no room for negotiation, Ye Luo could only nod with a forced smile.

Chang Kong gave Gu Hong a strange look.

This is completely unlike Gu Hong's normal attitude towards people. Is there really something wrong with Ye Luo?
He tilted his head, so you couldn't tell at all.

Soon, the team was reorganized, and each headed in a different direction.

It's easy to lose your bearings in thick fog, and compasses often fail.

But for experienced advanced players, this is not a problem.

Marking, tying strings, listening to echoes, observing moss on tree trunks, canopy density, ant nest patterns, spider web distribution, ground humidity, etc.

When used together, they provide extremely high accuracy in locating objects in dense fog.

[Go straight, go straight. Oops, it's 15 degrees to the right. Let's go a little to the left, yes, that's perfect.]

Ji Yi also chose the right path based on her own abilities.

Soon, he arrived at a certain spot by the lake.

"Why do we still come to the lake? Aren't you afraid of the people in the lake?" Miss Cat asked.

"Hehe, it's already been pierced, what's there to be afraid of piercing it again? Ouch. Why do you like pinching me more and more?"

"Since we've already pinched him so many times, Mr. Ji Ba can accept being pinched a few more times, right?"

Ji Yi blurted out, "Then why didn't you see me naked when we slept? Oops, I misunderstood."

After a long pause, he finally spoke seriously:

"We need to take advantage of the early hour and seize the opportunity to investigate this lake, otherwise it will be too late after today."

After all, the two of them had already been to the lakeside, and their 'lake people' had already been born.

Those who haven't been there before naturally wouldn't want to take the risk.

"I don't think the sacrificial ritual fabricated by Ye Luoyanyu was entirely baseless; rather, it was fabricated based on existing, genuine clues. For example, the so-called 'drowning one's lover's blood in the West Pool'—this lake is indeed located to the west of the hut."

Ji Yi spoke as she walked, gesturing for Miss Cat to follow.

"But if the so-called central relic refers to the location of the house, then the lakeside right next to the building is clearly not west enough."

As she spoke, Ji Yi was already very close to the lake; if she took another step forward, she would fall into the water.

Therefore, the West Pool mentioned here should refer to the west side of the lake.

Ji Yi stretched out a finger and pointed directly ahead.

"Yes, Miss Cat, the enemy is on the other side of the lake."

Miss Cat: "?"

"I plan to swim there."

As soon as Ji Yi finished speaking, she felt a strong grip on her wrist.

Turning around, Ji Yi gently patted Miss Cat's hand: "Don't worry, I'm not going to my death, it's just a little risky."

“I’ll go with you,” Miss Cat said coldly.

"No, you should wait here. It's not safer for two people to travel together; in fact, it doubles the risk."

As she spoke, Ji Yi took off her shoes and socks and gazed solemnly at the vast expanse of white on the lake.

“This lake is huge, and there’s no time to go around it. I’ll have to swim there. Besides, I suspect that the sealed creature might be right under the lake.”

According to the information provided by the data eye, this lake is the most bizarre place in the entire instance.

We should seize the opportunity to explore before the people in the lake appear; it will be too late if we start exploring too late.

Ji Yi looked at Miss Cat again:
"If I encounter danger, I will log out. Also, if I haven't returned by 4 PM, you should run towards the house immediately. The daytime will get shorter every day from now on. If the seal problem isn't solved by the day after tomorrow, it will be very difficult to clear the game."

Miss Cat frowned upon hearing this: "Mr. Giba, are you treating me as a useless burden who can't do anything right?"

Ji Yi: "Huh?"

I really didn't expect Miss Cat to say that; he didn't mean it that way.

"The lone goose restrained the falling leaves and went to the southern forest, while Xiao Yichang investigated the relatively safe eastern highway alone. You want to go into the lake to investigate alone, so why don't you let me go to the north and instead tell me to wait for you? Mr. Ji Ba, do you look down on me?"

Ji Yi was taken aback.

He didn't think that much about it; it was simply that the phrase "finally gouge out the eyes of the Watcher in the Northern Abyss" that gave him the creeps, making him feel that it wasn't appropriate for him to act alone.

Anyway, there's still one day left. If there are no clues at the lake, we can go to "Northern Abyss" with Miss Cat, but the time margin for error will be lower.

But in the end, Miss Cat is a very smart and capable player. Why did I subconsciously prioritize her safety instead of using her like a beast of burden?

Strange, am I taking care of her? Why?
I feel I can't think too deeply about it.

"Then be careful in everything."

Ji Yi spoke up.

The two exchanged a glance.

"Ah."

Miss Cat nodded and turned to leave.

Looking at her lonely, solitary figure, Ji Yi couldn't help but speak:
"Miss Cat".

She turned her head at a 45-degree angle, her expression indifferent: "What is it?"

"The way you're going is south, this way is north."

"."

With a whoosh, Miss Cat disappeared into the mist.

Ji Yi scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

Hopefully, Miss Cat's mission goes smoothly.

Thinking this, Ji Yi plunged into the lake, creating ripples.

The first thing I felt was the biting cold.

Ji Yi suddenly regretted it. Had she not warmed up just now?

Don't let yourself get cramped up and drown in the lake, that would be a laughing stock.

The lake has an average depth of 6.5 meters and a maximum depth of about 22 meters, located in a depression in the western part of the lake, where a key clue to the dungeon's progress seems to lie.

Once underwater, more detailed data becomes available.

Great, let's swim over and take a look.

Come to think of it, Ye Luo Yan Yu's abilities couldn't possibly be so great as to modify a dungeon in a short time.

Thinking this, Ji Yi surfaced and swam straight forward in a freestyle swimming style.

Due to the low temperature, swimming speed is not fast, and physical strength is depleted more quickly.

Fortunately, the lake is long and narrow, and the straight-line distance from east to west is the shortest. I should be able to swim to the other side before I run out of energy.

An hour passed.

Unable to bear the cold any longer, Ji Yi did not choose to dive to the bottom of the western lake first, but hurriedly climbed ashore.

"Damn it, why can the winter swimming monster pigeon swim so easily? I almost froze to death."

After taking off his soaking wet clothes and shaking off the water droplets, he quickly took out a torch from his inventory and stuck it in the ground.

First, I warmed my hands in the warm water until my fingers gradually regained their flexibility. Then I took out a towel and dried my hair until it was half dry before starting to light the campfire.

After more than two days of dense fog, the fallen branches everywhere were already damp and brittle. Fortunately, Ji Yi had a source of fire, otherwise, they would definitely not have been able to start a fire by rubbing sticks together.

More than ten minutes later, thick smoke rose.

Ji Yi sat naked by the campfire, her limbs gradually warming up.

"Next, we need to prepare for the dive to the bottom of the lake."

After rubbing his hands together, Ji Yi finally had time to observe the environment on the west bank.

Many trees grow here, but unlike the lush forest to the south, they are all bare. Logically, two such drastically different situations shouldn't occur in the same place, especially since the trees near the lake should be much more abundant.

As she was thinking, a unique color suddenly flashed in Ji Yi's vision.

I didn't dare bother you earlier because you seemed too busy. Take a look at this; it was well-hidden, so I highlighted it for you. Feel free to use it.

Ji Yi's expression hardened, and she stood up and walked over.

If that thing hadn't been highlighted by the Data Eye, he would have completely overlooked this inconspicuous little thing in the gaps in the grass.

It was a delicate and pretty pink hair clip, which looked very girly.

【Name: Xuanxuan's Hair Clip】

[Type: Dungeon Related]

[Quality: inferior]

[Effect: None]

Can it be taken out of the instance: No

[Note: This is a token used to signify identity during the sacrificial ceremony. It's a small gift Li Ming gave Xuanxuan when she was fourteen. Although it's not very valuable, she treasured it and kept it with her for ten years.]

Wait, Xuanxuan?
Ji Yi felt her mind explode with a buzz.

Previous speculations have been overturned; Xuanxuan was not the mastermind behind the sacrifice of the four!
if it is like this.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought was born in Ji Yi's mind.

Now that Xuanxuan has been cleared of suspicion, and He Yong and Wang Xiaoqing were killed by the people in the lake in the fog on the first night.

So the real culprit is either Li Ming or Zhang Lang.

Li Ming's diary.

Zhang Lang's notebook.

Between the two people, one is an unreliable narrator who is lying!
In other words, if one of the two clues is wrong, then why lie?

Has the strategy for progressing through dungeons been misled?

"Calm down. At least one thing is true: we need to find a way to seal the underground entity, and we need to perform a sealing ritual, not a sacrificial ritual."

From this perspective, the information in Li Ming's diary seems to have no effect on the progress of the game.

If he is the real culprit, then the only purpose of keeping this diary is to give himself a good reputation.

This is obviously a stupid thing to do.

"Well, if we think about it that way, Zhang Lang is the most suspicious person."

The notes he left behind are most likely to mislead those who come after him.

What was his purpose? Had he reached some kind of agreement with the being underground? Or was it for some other purpose?

Unfortunately, Ye Luo destroyed the key parts of Zhang Lang's notes.

Does this mean that Ye Luoyanyu was the only victim misled by Zhang Lang, and that obtaining benefits through the sacrificial ritual was actually a scam?

Forget it, I don't want to.

Anyway, he doesn't need to worry about any sacrificial rituals; he can just focus on completing the seal and clearing the level.

Thinking of this, Ji Yi looked down at the bottom of the lake.

"Let me see what's down there."

　I am short, I am guilty.

　　I'll definitely find an opportunity to update this article extensively.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)