You made all the streamers on the internet kneel before you when you were asked to make a game.

Lu Zhixing's gaze swept over every corner of the ancestral hall.

Deep inside the ancestral hall, behind the mountain of memorial tablets, lies an inconspicuous corner.

There, a coffin was placed.

A black lacquered wooden coffin that was not sealed with coffin nails.

In the dim candlelight, the coffin resembled a lurking beast.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The village chief's wooden fish drum continued to be struck at a leisurely pace.

Lu Zhixing, however, heard a different voice.

A very faint sound, like fingernails scratching the wooden planks, came from inside the coffin.

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

The voice was intermittent, filled with resentment and despair.

Lu Zhixing's heart stirred. He pretended to be thirsty while chanting scriptures, stood up, walked to the offering table, and wanted to pour himself some water.

As he passed by the coffin, he glanced at it seemingly unintentionally.

The coffin lid had a small crack.

A strong smell of blood and decay was wafting out from the crack.

Lu Zhixing, holding his water cup, returned to the futon.

His heart, however, could no longer find peace.

There's something in that coffin.

……

When the curfew gong sounded, the village chief finally stopped chanting.

He stood up and stretched his stiff body.

Then he took out a black ceramic bowl from under the offering table.

The bowl was filled with a thick, bright red liquid; it was unclear whether it was blood or something else.

The village chief, carrying a ceramic bowl, walked to the black coffin.

Then they walked around the coffin, chanting obscure and difficult-to-understand incantations.

Lu Zhixing held his breath, memorizing every syllable.

After reciting the incantation, the village chief slowly pushed open a corner of the coffin lid and poured the bowl of red liquid into it.

"Glug, glug..."

From inside the coffin came the sound of greedy swallowing.

After doing all this, the village chief closed the coffin again, a satisfied smile on his face.

He glanced at Lu Zhixing, who was still kneeling, and said in a shrill voice:

"You'll sleep here tonight."

"Remember, don't wander off or look around aimlessly."

"Otherwise, our ancestors will be unhappy."

After saying this, the village chief walked out of the ancestral hall and locked the door from the outside.

Only Lu Zhixing and that eerie black coffin remained in the ancestral hall.

Lu Zhixing waited for about ten minutes, and after confirming that the village chief had gone far away, he stood up and walked straight towards the black coffin.

The closer you get, the stronger the smell of blood becomes.

He stood in front of the coffin, reached out his hand, and forcefully pushed against the heavy coffin lid.

"Squeak—"

The coffin lid was slowly pushed open.

By the flickering candlelight, Lu Zhixing could see the scene inside.

Even someone as calm as Lu Zhixing couldn't help but slightly open his mouth.

It wasn't a corpse lying inside, nor was it any kind of monster.

It is one person.

A living person whose limbs were cut off, whose eyes were gouged out, whose tongue was cut off, and who was turned into a "human pig"!

The man seemed to sense the light, and his empty eye sockets turned towards Lu Zhixing.

His body writhed wildly inside the coffin.

His mouth opened and closed, making a "hoho" sound.

He seemed to be desperately trying to tell Lu Zhixing something.

With his remaining half-arm, stained with the blood beneath him, he was frantically drawing something on the coffin lid.

Lu Zhixing leaned closer to take a look, and it was a single character.

A crooked word written in blood.

"run".

Just then, the sound of a key unlocking the door of the ancestral hall came from inside.

"Click".

Village chief, you're back!

At this time, another group of stubborn players also met their end.

These players didn't believe in any curfew, nor did they want to play hide-and-seek with ghosts in the village.

They had only one goal—to leave this place.

On the map, to the north of the village of the unjustly killed, there is a winding river.

The river water was murky, and the bottom could not be seen.

But this was the only way out they could think of.

"Brothers, swim over there!"

"Once we cross this river, we'll definitely be able to get out!"

A player with the ID "Swimming Forward" took the lead in raising his arms and shouting.

Behind him followed a dozen or so players who shared the same idea.

They took off their cumbersome clothes and jumped into the icy river one by one with a "plop, plop".

The game's physics engine is extremely realistic.

The bone-chilling cold of the river and the resistance of the current are clearly conveyed to the player's senses.

"It's alright, the water isn't very deep!"

"Everyone, give it your all and swim to the other side in one go!"

The players encouraged each other and rowed vigorously toward the other side.

At first, everything went smoothly.

Apart from the water cooling a bit, nothing unusual happened.

But when they swam to the center of the river, one of the players suddenly screamed.

"Ah! Something's pulling on my foot!"

Everyone was startled and immediately stopped.

"Don't panic! It's probably just seaweed!"

"Swim straight ahead!" he shouted reassuringly.

But the player who screamed was already crying.

"It's not seaweed! It's a hand! A cold hand!"

Before he could finish speaking...

"Gurgle..."

The player, along with their voice, was instantly dragged into the dark water, leaving only a string of bubbling bubbles.

The river fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone felt a chill and stiffly lowered their heads to look underwater.

They couldn't see anything in the murky river water.

But they could feel their ankles being gripped tightly by cold, slippery hands.

Those hands, there are more and more of them.

The pulling force is also getting stronger and stronger.

"Help! Help me!"

"Let me go! Get away!"

Panic spread, and the players struggled frantically, kicking and prying with their hands.

But those underwater hands remained motionless, like iron clamps.

Their oxygen levels were dropping rapidly.

[System notification: You have been possessed by a "water ghost".]

[Rules: The water ghost is looking for a substitute. Convince it, or... give it a new target.]

New goals?

What does that mean?

A clever player realized it instantly.

He glanced at his companion, who was also struggling beside him, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

"Brother, I'm sorry!"