This bug is amazing!

Chapter 221 The Dance of Madness

Chapter 221 The Dance of Madness (5k)

"Ring ring ring!!!"

The ringtone of the ghostly phone sounded particularly jarring in the desolate wilderness at night.

Ji Yi frowned. It seemed that using the supernatural phone would eventually backfire.

It's worth noting that although the supernatural phone is only of epic rank, its effects and capabilities are comparable to those of real legendary items.

But the cost is something that most players may not be able to afford.

"drop."

With a soft click, Ji Yi answered the call back from the broadcast ghost.

"Is something wrong?"

Ji Yi turned on speakerphone and asked into the phone.

"Man eats man, I want to eat man."

As the phone emitted a hoarse, inhuman voice, the car radio turned on by itself, followed by a series of static.

Ji Yi knew that if he didn't handle the negotiations with the broadcasting ghost well, he would probably have to fight a fierce battle before he even got to the lakeside cabin.

"Eat up, who's stopping you? Don't let foreigners think we can't afford it."

Ji Yi's tone carried a hint of indignation.

"Here's what we'll do: hack into all the radio bands by following the radio signals, and also take down the phone signal base stations. That way we'll definitely be able to get something. Don't worry, what we just ate wasn't a person; it was just bad luck."

"Besides, you're a ghost. In this wretched place, how could humans possibly be a match for you? You could eat them all and no one could stop you. But we'd better implement a sustainable development strategy. If all the humans are eaten, then we won't be able to eat humans anymore, right? So, gold and silver are not as valuable as..."

"Um"

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be thinking.

"That makes sense. In that case, I'll be right back."

The sound disappeared, but the paranormal phone still showed that a call was in progress.

About twenty seconds later, a scream of "Ah!" came from the phone.

The call is interrupted.

Ji Yi did not hesitate to call back.

Sorry, the user you dialed is temporarily unavailable.

Upon seeing this, Ji Yi hung up the phone.

Miss Cat, who was driving, spoke up at this moment:

"Are you testing the highest fighting force of humanity in this world?"

Ji Yi hummed in agreement.

In fact, this extremely risky move had other purposes.

Assuming that the humans of this world are no match for the Broadcasting Demon's power, then the Broadcasting Demon could wipe out humanity without waiting for the Ancient Gods, and the mission would fail immediately.

But that's an ideal outcome without natural enemies; in reality, the broadcast ghost can't possibly eat that many people.

His main purpose in this experiment was to estimate how many humans still exist.

Ji Yi had a strong suspicion that there might not be many living people left on Azure Star, but unexpectedly, the broadcast ghost was quickly killed.

"The fact that supernatural tales of A-level or higher were instantly wiped out shows that the humans in this place are not powerless."

Ji Yi pondered.

"I just don't understand why they let humanity be spiritually corrupted without intervening. Of course, there's a very simple explanation."

Miss Cat quickly replied, "Humans have been almost completely replaced. The one who killed the Broadcast Ghost was just a monster of a higher level."

"Well, but I don't agree with that conclusion. If it comes to that, it's like the entire Blue Star has fallen. What's the point of saving it then? Humanity is doomed."

Miss Cat seemed somewhat disagreeing, but didn't argue, muttering to herself:

"So, it's hell level difficulty."

Ji Yi frowned slightly. In fact, he just couldn't believe that four players, without any native allies, could really take on the task of saving the world.
Difficult, difficult, difficult!
Such a grand yet distant mission objective left Ji Yi feeling somewhat hopeless.

The second half of the journey was uneventful.

When the vehicle arrived at a cluster of buildings, Ji Yi knew she had arrived. She could vaguely see flames ahead and hear noisy commotion.

At this moment, Data Eye also popped up a message.

Wow, it's really lively here! There's a wonderful bonfire party going on. Hmm, looks like the rooms are all full. You two will have to make do in the car for the night.

[Oh, wait a minute, I know what you want to see. One of your two teammates, "Crazy Celestial," is in the crowd; he's the one jumping the most enthusiastically.]

Upon seeing this, Ji Yi checked the teammate list again.

[Ji Yi LV.15: Survival]

Schrödinger's Cat LV.18: Survival

【Mad Celestial Venerable LV.20: Survival】

[You can win LV.22: Survival even if you play with your feet]

Ji Yi was initially a little surprised to be matched with Mad Celestial.

However, it just so happened that he had originally planned to find Mad Celestial Venerable anyway, and being matched with a team was quite lucky, saving him the trouble.

As for Brother Foot Winner...
"How did he level up again?"

Although it's been a long time since I last saw Brother Jiao Ying, it hasn't been that long in reality; it's only been about ten days.

At that time, Ji Yi was only level 13, while Miss Cat was level 17.

Ji Yi's level was low, so she needed less experience to level up. Even so, she still managed to get through a hellish dungeon, and with the extra experience reward, she went from level 13 to level 15.

Miss Cat's situation was equally impressive. She leveled up to level 18 by clearing multiple Nightmare dungeons in a short period of time and breaking the Magic Tower record.

How did Brother Foot Win level up so quickly? Did he have an even more extraordinary adventure? Or did Lonely Goose give him some resources?
Ji Yi didn't have time to think about that right now; contacting the Mad Celestial was more important.

Thinking this, the car stopped about a hundred meters away from the cabin.

As you walk straight along the road with Miss Cat, you can see in the distance that in the open space next to the building, many people are singing and dancing around a bonfire, filled with laughter and joy.

What a harmonious scene! It would be even better if these guys were human.

[These monsters are different from those encountered in the town. Even among worshippers of the ancient gods, there are different levels. The ones you see now have brains structured differently from ordinary humans, and their way of thinking is also different. Moreover...]

I advise you not to touch them; it's easy to attract unclean things. Of course, even if you don't touch them, you'll still be affected to some extent. Mental pollution, even if you have visual immunity, doesn't necessarily protect you from other forms of it.

There are some subtle hints.

The data perspective is a bit convoluted, but the gist is to be careful and cautious. Killing won't solve the problem; it will only make it worse.

Thinking of this, Ji Yi gave Miss Cat a look.

Miss Cat understood immediately:
"Mr. Ji, even if you flirt with me, I won't sleep with you casually."

"."

In short, after some tactical discussion, the two decided to blend in.

After navigating through a diverse crowd, the two arrived at a campfire, where the Mad Celestial Venerable was located.

As for how it was discovered, it wasn't exactly some brilliant insight from a data-driven perspective.

Instead, a large group of people were laughing and joking as they took out their phones to record and watch, which was quite conspicuous in the venue.

As Ji Yi and Miss Cat squeezed into the crowd, they saw it.

It was a long-haired man with a flowerpot on his head, dancing the samba, and a smile on his face.

He was wearing a dirty, tattered long robe, which reminded Ji Yi of Ji Gong. His waist-length hair was messy and disheveled, like a bird's nest.

If you look closely at his facial features, you can see that he has regular features and a good foundation, but his ugly appearance is really not good-looking at all.

Ji Yi also noticed the flowerpot on his head, which contained a moldy cactus.

"Mad Celestial Venerable, I have long admired your name."

Ji Yi stepped forward and spoke to the dancing Mad Celestial Venerable.

"Oh? You've arrived?" Mad Celestial Venerable snapped out of his immersive dance, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "Come dance with us!"

He greeted Ji Yi warmly, as if meeting an old friend, without any formality.

"Yeah."

Ji Yi suddenly became excited and actually took his hand and started dancing.

Then, an even more bizarre scene unfolded.

Miss Cat witnessed this scene and remained silent for a moment:
"I'll go look for clues elsewhere, you guys keep busy."

She squeezed through the crowd of onlookers and left the campfire.

Meanwhile, Ji Yi was waving her hands and twisting her hips.

Another extremely eye-catching dance performance has begun.

Ji Yi had never studied dance, but thankfully, the Mad Celestial didn't seem to have either.

The two were laughing and joking, seemingly in a harmonious state of mind, as if they had reached a point of resonance.

The surrounding crowd was even more shocked by this.

At that moment, they slowly lowered the phones they had been holding high.

If the Mad Celestial Venerable's previous dance was a solo performance by a madman, then their current synchronized dance seems to possess an extremely captivating magic.

soon.

One new member joined, then two new members joined.

As the event gained momentum and more and more people joined in, what was originally just an ordinary bonfire party gradually began to change its flavor.

Miss Cat watched this scene silently from a distance.

【Title: Dance of Madness】

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered]

[Effect 1 "Solo": You perform a dance that no one understands, beginning to accumulate "madness points." The longer you perform, the higher the "madness points" accumulate. If there is an audience, the accumulation process is accelerated based on the number of audience members.]

[Effect Two "Dance Together": Consumes Madness Points to corrupt those around you. The effect depends on the amount of Madness Points. Corrupted units will unconsciously participate in the dance. The corruption effect increases with each additional member participating, but it diminishes over time.] [Effect Three "Madness": After "Dance Together" ends, all actions of corrupted units will be influenced by your mental state.]

[Learning Requirements: Occupation of a talkative person]

[Note: Obviously, this world has gone mad, and I'm the only normal one. I'm just helping you all return to normal.]

As more and more people take to dancing.

At this moment, Ji Yi suddenly shook off the Mad Celestial's hand and withdrew from the dance.

But because there were so many people participating in the dance, holding hands and linking together, he was now surrounded and couldn't get out.

Scratching the back of his head, Ji Yi said with a helpless expression:

"Although it's to help him launch the 'dance together,' dancing like this is really shameful."

That's right, Ji Yi wasn't acting out of her mind, nor was it a spur-of-the-moment decision.

He pondered the Mad Celestial's "Dance of Madness" skill. As long as he participated in the dance, he could greatly reduce the Mad Celestial's "casting time".

The second effect, "Dancing Together," was activated by Mad Celestial Venerable only after Ji Yi participated.

It looks like it's working exceptionally well.

Seeing that these people were going to keep jumping around for a while, Ji Yi simply activated [Sound Spin], and after several maneuvers, she left the center of the crowd and found Miss Cat watching the show from the side.

Miss Cat frowned in confusion: "What is this?"

Ji Yi smiled slightly: "It seems that our teammates have turned out to be surprisingly reliable this time."

As he spoke, he picked up a skewer of grilled meat that he had somehow acquired and took a bite.

"As you can see, this is a skill that can have a psychological impact on others. Of course, that alone isn't anything to be alarmed about; the key point is..."

"He controls the followers of the ancient gods."

Ji Yi casually tossed the iron skewer aside, glanced at the chaotic crowd, and a strange light shone in her eyes.

Snatching someone from under the noses of an ancient god—Ji Yi had never seen anything like it before.

Moreover, what was stolen wasn't just some random cat or dog, but a genuine spiritual monster.

The difficulty of successfully activating "Dance of Madness" and the energy required are extraordinary.

If Ji Yi hadn't given him a helping hand, the Mad Celestial Venerable might have needed to jump for another two hours.

While explaining to Miss Cat, Ji Yi picked up leftover skewers, sandwiches, and other food and stuffed them into her mouth.

After one hour.

The "Dancing Together" effect has ended.

The dance of the crowd came to an abrupt halt.

"I'm so sleepy!"

A shout came from the center of the crowd.

Hua Hua Hua——

People lay scattered on the ground, falling into a deep sleep.

Only one person remained, standing in the middle of the crowd, yawning: "Ah~ I'm so tired, you two come here for a second."

After the dance ended, the Mad Celestial Venerable's complexion was visibly much worse.

Ji Yi and Miss Cat exchanged a glance and quickly stepped forward.

Before they could get close, Mad Celestial had already collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Because there was a sleeping fat man cushioning his back, he didn't fall completely.

The two stepped forward, and the Mad Celestial Venerable said weakly:

"My spiritual and physical strength are exhausted, and I need to rest. Before that, I'll give you clues about this instance and what you need to do."

Mad Celestial Venerable was unaware that Ji Yi had been there, and regarded them only as juniors who needed guidance.

Judging from his current state of exhaustion, it's clear that even the Mad Celestial Venerable has his moments of normalcy.

"The seal of the ancient god was broken by a player, which is why this hellish dungeon exists. This dungeon is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one."

"The current situation is this: the consciousness of the ancient god has awakened, but the power he leaked out has been transmitted to other worlds by me using some means."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi and Miss Cat were both stunned.

So the creation of the Forbidden Zone of Strange Tales is also related to the Mad Celestial Venerable?

However, it seems that Mad Celestial Venerable was unaware that the power leaked from the ancient gods had flowed into the island nation, and even less aware of what the forbidden zone of supernatural tales was.

"In short, the ancient god is now conscious. It has lost its power and cannot destroy this planet for the time being. But that is only a matter of time."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi couldn't help but interject, "You have a solution?"

“Hmm.” Mad Celestial nodded. “I once saw a believer who had broken free from the control of the ancient gods. She was very powerful and always appeared accompanied by mist.”

Mist Woman?

Upon hearing this, Ji Yi was secretly alarmed.

Will she be the key to resolving this catastrophe?
"And then?" Miss Cat asked impatiently.

“Go find her, she’s near the lake, she has… she has…” Mad Celestial said, his voice growing softer and softer.

"What does she have?"

Seeing this, Ji Yi couldn't help but lean down and put her ear close.

"She has...she has."

"What is it? Tell me!"

"Have"

What is it?

"Have"

At this point, the Mad Celestial Venerable suddenly tilted his head to the side and fell into a deep sleep.

Ji Yi: "."

Is this some kind of thing?
The dying man talked incessantly, writing three pages of ellipses, before finally kicking the bucket at the crucial moment.
Such authors must be eliminated one by one.

"It's the same as not saying it."

Ji Yi shook her head and stood up.

Miss Cat, however, summarized earnestly:
"We have three pieces of information. First, the Mad Celestial didn't go directly to the Mist Maiden, but instead chose to control the residents of the lakeside hut, which means these people are dangerous and detrimental to our operations, and must be dealt with as a priority."

"Second, the Mist Maiden is key to completing the mission objective, but I think she is not very relevant to establishing a pure land for humanity, and is more likely to be related to resealing the ancient gods."

"Third, the Mist Woman is nearby. Once we find her, we'll have a breakthrough."

Seeing Miss Cat's serious summary, Ji Yi also became more serious:
"I know that, but it will be very difficult to find the Mist Woman here."

Her appearances are often accompanied by fog, but now, looking around, there's no fog at all, and the air is so fresh that there's hardly any dust.

Therefore, Ji Yi guessed that the Mist Woman was very likely no longer here.

Since the Mist Maiden cannot be found here, it's as if the Mad Celestial Venerable's words were meaningless.

"However, the Mad Celestial Venerable did not do his job in vain; at least he made it easier for me to meet the Ancient God."

As she spoke, Ji Yi looked toward "Bei Yuan".

That's where everyone sealed the ancient god last time.

"The ancient god has awakened. Are you planning to just go and find it directly?"

Miss Cat exclaimed in surprise.

Undoubtedly, this is an act of courting death to the extreme.

“I have the [NPC console],” Ji Yi said with a smile. “Even the ancient gods are powerful, but they can’t stop cheaters.”

Upon hearing this, Miss Cat suddenly realized that she had clearly not considered this aspect.

Although Ji Yi had demonstrated the power of the [NPC console], that was only used on S-rank ghost stories.

The Ancient Gods were clearly of a much higher level, to the point that Miss Cat subconsciously overlooked the fact that the NPC control panel could activate its power regardless of strength, and even the Ancient Gods couldn't withstand it.

"But it still feels a bit dangerous."

Miss Cat made no attempt to hide her unease.

"It's nothing," Ji Yi waved her hand.

"Ideally, I would successfully control the ancient god, avert the annihilation crisis for humanity, and everyone would be happy, achieving a double S rating and exceeding expectations in completing the mission."

Ji Yi smiled and gestured for Miss Cat to follow him.

"Of course, I honestly think I won't be that lucky. I'll just have to improvise. If I don't try controlling a boss of the Ancient God level, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

With no numerical limitations, the two moved swiftly and arrived at the abyss in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the bottomless black crack, Ji Yi suddenly had a thought.

How did Wang Xiaoqin (Mist Girl) climb down to break that seal?

Yes, she's quite talented.

"Did you hear anything?"

At that moment, Miss Cat suddenly asked Ji Yi a question.

Ji Yi looked at Miss Cat, and then saw a horrifying scene.

Her face was contorting, and tentacles were gradually growing from her deformed jaw.
"I think I've realized something."

[Miss Cat's monster transformation progress 23%]

[Miss Cat's monster transformation progress 37%]

[Miss Cat's monster transformation progress 51%]

With the immediate and dramatic increase in the numerical indicators, Ji Yi made a decision almost without hesitation: