This bug is amazing!

Chapter 263 No Survivors
Ji Yi immediately packed his belongings, deliberately avoiding the routes that others might take, and detoured to the village cemetery.

Because the area has many hills and slopes, there are no large cemeteries, so each family's graves are scattered and buried in different areas.

Therefore, just finding the grave took up most of Ji Yi's energy, and it wasn't until more than two hours later that he finally found the Ji family's ancestral grave.

Pushing aside the weeds, Ji Yi saw the words "Ji Moumou" engraved on the moss-covered stone tablet and was certain that he had found the right place.

This is a very desolate, solitary grave, and the inscription on the tombstone is almost illegible.

It is evident that the grave has not been tended to for many years, indicating that the Ji family has not returned to the village for a long time. It is unknown whether the village chief is aware of Ji Yi's "background setting".

Unfortunately, all the old people in the village have died, and this question will probably never be answered.

"Speaking of which, cemeteries are usually located close to people's homes, so..."

He turned his head and looked at a dilapidated house with a broken roof.

"Could this be my family's house, Old Ji's house?"

Ji Yi had lived in that house before. It was also on that occasion that he witnessed the blood moon descend upon the village and ultimately lost himself in the black mist.

Ji Yi muttered to herself, glancing at the dilapidated room with a strange expression. She felt there was something unnatural about the place, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

It seems that compared to the ancestral graves, this house is not as old as it is now.

"The important thing now is to pay respects to our ancestors quickly; there's no time to dawdle."

The solar eclipse will occur in just over an hour, and now is a crucial time to act quickly.

Thinking it over, Ji Yi picked up the white candle she had prepared and lit it with a match on the grave.

He first dripped a few drops of wax onto the ground, and when it was almost done, he pressed the bottom of the candle onto it to secure it.

"The best-case scenario would be to take some offerings, but there's clearly not enough time."

Ji Yi made a gesture of worship, her expression respectful.

"Hopefully it will work out."

This pretentious ancestral worship ceremony lasted for about ten minutes.

Throughout the entire process, Ji Yi kept her eyes closed and silently murmured phrases such as "May our ancestors bless us."

He didn't believe in ghosts or gods, and he knew that this place was the "ancestor" arranged by the dungeon's plot, and had nothing to do with him personally, so he didn't have any special psychological feelings when he worshipped there. At most, it was similar to the mentality of playing a murder mystery game or role-playing.

The worship ceremony ended quickly.

As Ji Yi slowly opened her eyes, the scene in front of the grave seemed to have changed somewhat.

"what"

Ji Yi saw small gray mushrooms growing in front of the grave.

Ten minutes ago, there were no mushrooms at all.
"This thing, is it a gift from my ancestors to protect me? Does that mean I can just eat one if I encounter danger?"

Ji Yi plucked one with some skepticism. He had never learned how to identify wild mushrooms, so whether or not this thing was edible was completely outside his knowledge.

Furthermore, since the item information function seemed to have been removed in this hellish single-player dungeon, Ji Yi was completely helpless.

To be honest, the item information deletion function is indeed a way to greatly increase the difficulty of dungeons. Players have to distinguish between useful and useless items on their own, which doesn't feel like "playing a game" at all.

“It seems that there was a record of this in the folk songs that An An sings.”

[The grave doll lights a white candle, illuminating the empty table as it distributes sticky rice cakes: "Mushrooms grow on Father's seat, and the bowls, chopsticks, and knives rust."]

However, the information contained in this statement is completely insufficient to support the claim that "mushrooms can save lives." What if this is meant for you to feed to ghosts?
At least the rusty knife that came out of the bowl and chopsticks must have been used to kill ghosts, right?
Ji Yi was unsure for a moment, but she still collected the mushrooms from the grave one by one, thinking they might come in handy eventually.

Before leaving, Ji Yizai carefully cleaned up the traces of candles at the scene and covered them with soil.

Although careful observation will eventually reveal something unnatural, who would come here to check?

Ji Yi bowed three times to the grave again, then quickly left.

"I need to find a house to hide in."

The solar eclipse was about to begin. Ji Yi didn't know the specifics of the disaster, but his intuition told him that it would probably be similar to a "blood moon in the daytime".

In other words, the dangers of the night are brought to the daytime, and the duration is unknown.

"Too many people have died in the village. There are plenty of empty rooms, but..."

It's risky to barge into these rooms and stay there; it's too easy to attract attention and the chances of being discovered are high.

Since the decision has been made to voluntarily "disappear" and act as if no one exists, then any risks must be avoided as much as possible.

Otherwise, once discovered, they will go from being the ones exploiting the information gap to being the ones being exploited.

Ji Yi set her sights on the "Ji Family Old House," which was the completely abandoned house.

This seems to be the best option.

A completely abandoned house where no one ever comes.

"The living room roof is broken, but the bedroom roof is not, so it should still provide normal 'protection'."

Thinking of this, Ji Yi immediately took action, entered the room and locked it from the inside.

There is less than an hour left until the eclipse.

Ji Yi entered the bedroom and bolted the door.

Despite the seemingly harsh conditions and foul stench, Ji Yi, now covered in blood and grime, actually matched the room's style quite well.

"Why is the bedroom window sealed off? Not only can we not see outside, but the room is also incredibly dark."

As he spoke, Ji Yi picked up a match and lit the remaining half of the white candle.

A faint light shone inside, illuminating the dilapidated room.

The floor was uneven cement, the bedding was dirty, and dead insects were everywhere.

"Ugh, the smell is bad enough, but the sight is even more disgusting."

Judging by the timing, the solar eclipse should be starting soon.

Ji Yi put the candle aside, then lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and silently counted the time.

He didn't dare sleep.

If you dream of a well again, that's three times in total, and you're doomed.

After an unknown amount of time, the cawing of flocks of crows began to sound outside.

The solar eclipse has begun.

Ji Yi closed her eyes and made no further sound, but remained fully conscious.

The candle beside me provided a comforting glimmer of light in the room.

Since the room is completely enclosed, it is theoretically not impossible to turn on the lights.

Thinking about it, Ji Yi stayed quietly for another hour. The cawing of crows outside the door continued, but they weren't as close as they had been at the beginning.

Suddenly.

"Boom!"

There was a knock on the door.

Ji Yi frowned and suddenly opened her eyes.

'Is it a coincidence? Did something bump into the door?'

Just thinking about it.

"Boom!"

There was another eerie knock on the door, the sound so clear it seemed to be right next to my ear.

"Boom!"

The knocking sounded again. These three knocks were very rhythmic, with the intervals and volume being exactly the same, as precise as if they were made by a machine.

Ji Yi ignored it.

But then, another knock sounded on the door:

"Boom!"

This time, they weren't knocking on the main gate, but on the door to Ji Yi's bedroom!
Ji Yi was immediately startled, his heart pounding! His brain raced at that moment, and he felt as if he had instantly grasped some kind of pattern!
"Boom!"

Ji Yi's bedroom door was knocked on again, at intervals exactly the same as the knocks on the main door.

"Knock three times before entering, is that your rule of conduct?!"

Ji Yi was certain that if the knocking sounded again, the ghost would probably come in.

Without further hesitation, he immediately took out a mushroom and popped it into his mouth!
Since the strange occurrences have already occurred, we can only trust our ancestors.

After eating the mushrooms, Ji Yi immediately felt a sharp abdominal pain. At the same time, another knock sounded on the door.

"Boom!"

Ji Yi felt like she was dreaming.

Of course, I didn't dream about a well this time, so I don't need to worry about my life.

This dream was just too bizarre.

Everything in the dilapidated room became bizarre and fantastical, with unidentifiable colors floating before his eyes. A winged sprite perched on his nose; upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Xie Jiayi.

He looked up and saw a bunch of Xie Jiayi transformed into flying insects, buzzing and making a lot of noise, which annoyed him.

Just as Ji Yi was about to speak, Xie Jiayi and the others seemed to have foreseen it, and they scattered in a flurry. Ji Yi then looked down and saw Miss Cat.

"Mr. Giba, why are you looking at me with that mushroom-eating expression?"

The cat beneath her spoke.

"Also, can I eat this mushroom? So tired~"

When Ji Yi regained consciousness, she felt a churning in her stomach.

"Damn it, there really is something wrong with these mushrooms."

But along with the intense hallucinations came the protection of the ancestors.

Ji Yi is still alive. When the strange knocking came in, he ate a poisonous mushroom, which saved his life.

As a price to pay for survival, abdominal pain is acceptable.

But what time is it now?
The white candles in the room had burned out, and Ji Yi only had three or five matches left on her body.

"Speaking of which, when I first came to this abandoned house, I think I found a lighter in the bedroom."

It was an old-fashioned lighter with a grinding wheel. At first, Ji Yi was surprised that it hadn't gotten damp or spoiled in the house.

Thinking it over, Ji Yi struck a match and looked toward a corner based on her memory.

"There isn't one."

In my memory, the lighter that should have been lying in the corner has disappeared.

He was certain he hadn't misremembered the location; this was the spot.

Has anyone else been here?

Ji Yi's mind jolted, and she muttered to herself:
"Speaking of which, it's already strange that there's a working lighter in this abandoned house that's been abandoned for many years. Last time, I even lit some firewood in the stove, which makes it even more illogical."

If the house has been abandoned for a long time, then the wood inside must have been stored for many years. Over such a long period, if not properly stored, it would definitely get damp and produce a lot of smoke when burned. Anyone with life experience can figure this out with a little thought.

But that time, Ji Yi didn't have this problem when she lit the stove.

"So that's where the 'murder weapon' was stored."

Thinking about it, Ji Yi got up, opened the door, and went straight to the kitchen.

To get from the room to the kitchen, you have to pass through the living room, and Ji Yi can see that the sky outside the roof is rather gray.

"So it's already evening. Then I really don't have much time left."

Ji Yi quickly went to the kitchen and carefully examined the traces at the scene.

"The arsonist who killed Wang Aotian had actually planned this all along; this is where he stored his tools."

Fire source, firewood, gasoline.

Although these tools are no longer in the abandoned house, they will still leave some traces. It is always easier to find clues with the answers in mind.

"Forget it, there's no point in dwelling on this. It's no longer important who burned Wang Aotian to death. Maybe it was some NPC who wanted to kill Dugu Hong in the middle of the night and was easily killed."

All Ji Yi needs to do now is ensure that she is the only one who survives tonight; that's enough.

Thinking it over, Ji Yi covered her face, opened the door, and stepped into the dim night.

The first destination was Dugu Hong's residence.

It should be the time when people are cooking dinner, but Ji Yi didn't see a single house with smoke rising from its chimneys.

This suggests that many extraordinary things must have happened during the solar eclipse.

When Ji Yi arrived at Dugu Hong's house, he saw that the front door had been destroyed by unimaginable force, as if it had been broken open by a battering ram.

At the door, Ji Yi could smell a strong stench of blood coming from inside.

Ji Yi slowly entered the room and lit a match facing the direction from which the smell was strongest.

Then he saw Dugu Hong's corpse.

It was a male corpse nailed to the wall in the shape of the Chinese character "大" (big), with wooden sticks almost everywhere stuck in its body.

Judging from the traces at the scene, this invincible man seemed to have tried to resist, but it was all in vain in the face of the strange power.

Dugu Hong was an outsider and had no ancestral graves here, so he couldn't ask his ancestors for protection. He could only fight the strange creatures alone with his own strength, but his fate was predictable.

Ji Yi quickly left the scene and headed to the next location.

Jung Jae-pu's family is well-off; they live in a small house on the second floor, and the interior is very nicely decorated.

The door wasn't forcibly broken open; in fact, it was locked from the inside.

So Ji Yi opened the window.

"very good."

Ji Yi entered the room and searched all the way, eventually finding Zheng Zaipu's body in a bedroom.

He had no external injuries and died peacefully.

"Is the disaster not just targeting Gu Hong? But they do have ancestral graves. Is it because they didn't have time to pay respects to their ancestors, or is there some other hidden reason?"

After glancing at the time, Ji Yi didn't dwell on it any longer and immediately headed to the next location.

Ji Tuyi, died.

He was lying on his desk, holding a pen, seemingly trying to write something in his notebook before he died.

Ji Yi flipped through the notebook and looked at it. Although it did have more content than the one in her hand, it wasn't of any value.

Ji Tuyi died while preparing to write something.

Turning his head, Ji Yi saw the urgent look on Ji Tuyi's face. What on earth did this guy see before he died?
If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it anymore. Ji Yi quickly headed to the next location.
Hao Hao was beheaded in the field. Ji Yi held his horrified head and gave up the idea of ​​finding Hao Hao's lower body.

"After all, he should be completely dead."

I took a step and returned to Xie Ping's home.

Ji Yi did not see any trace of An An.

"Isn't he/she here?"

Therefore, Ji Yi went directly to Song Wan'er's residence.

As he approached, he saw wisps of smoke rising from Song Wan'er's house, and the firelight was faintly visible.

"She's still alive."

Ji Yi tiptoed to the window and looked into the kitchen.

Then, Ji Yi met Song Wan'er and An'an, both of whom were holding small bowls and drinking white porridge.

Ji Yi noticed a broken, rusty kitchen knife next to the table.

"That must be why she survived."

Thinking it over, Ji Yi pulled out a sharp knife from his body, and then swaggered into the room through the unlocked front door.

From Song Wan'er's perspective, only she and An'an remained in the village, and since the eclipse disaster had passed, there was naturally no need to take any precautions.

Therefore, Ji Yi's "disappearance" ultimately had an effect.

ten minutes later.

Ji Yi walked out of the house with a gloomy expression, conveying a strong sense of self-loathing.

He did take that step after all.

Ji Yi stretched out her blood-stained palm and held up one finger:
"Dugu Hong's body has been found; there is no possibility that he survived."

Next is the second finger:

"Ji Tu Yi, discovered."

"Jung Jae-pu, Hao Hao, Song Wan-er, An An."

After confirming the identities of all the bodies, there is no possibility that anyone could rise from the dead.

It's over. Ji Yi survived to the end after all.

Perhaps he should be showing a victor's smile right now, or perhaps he should shout out "Hidden Worldview" to make the system give him another bonus.

But he really couldn't laugh anymore.

He solved the mystery of the disappearance.

He also unraveled the hidden worldview.

Now, all we have to do is wait until tonight, when a note with the word "alive" appears under his pillow.

So Ji Yi returned to Xie Ping's house, went to An An's bedroom, and fell asleep exhausted.

That night, Ji Yi did not dream of the well.

Player "Ji Yi" (LV.20) has died.

(End of this chapter)