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

Because, apart from them, every seat in this huge theater was taken.

The audience was filled with all sorts of ghosts.

They are all spectators.

On the stage, a figure in green robes, with flowing sleeves, was singing the heartbreaking song "A Dream in the Garden".

It was none other than Xiaodie, the newly appointed leader of the Hundred Ghosts Opera Troupe.

"Awake?" Professor Chen noticed the movement and turned around. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." Lu Zhixing got down from the table and sat down next to them. "How did we get here?"

"Professor Chen brought us here." Brother Long lowered his voice, his face full of awe. "The professor... he's simply amazing."

It turned out that after Lu Zhixing fell into a coma, Professor Chen judged that the ancestral hall was not a place to stay for long.

As the "Dragon King Festival" approaches, the town becomes increasingly dangerous.

The only safe zone left is Xiaodie's theater.

So he carried that white lantern, along with Brother Long and the two little devils, and "walked" all the way here.

Along the way, they encountered countless "salted meat" and sea patrol yakshas.

Whenever a ghost or monster approached, Professor Chen would simply stop, bow slightly to it, and murmur a few ancient sayings such as "May the living pass by, and may the souls of the dead rest in peace."

Those ferocious monsters actually made way for them.

It's even more effective than Brother Long's "wife halo".

They walked straight to the theater entrance without any hindrance.

At the entrance stood two ghost guards holding shackles, who intended to stop them.

Brother Long even wanted the ghost bride to do it.

As a result, Professor Chen simply stepped forward, faced the theater entrance, and shouted a message on behalf of Lu Zhixing.

"My old friend Lu Zhixing came to watch the play as promised."

The theater's tightly closed doors were suddenly flung open.

A clear, cool operatic voice drifted out from within.

"Since you're here, please come in."

"Once you step through this door, no one can touch you tonight."

Xiaodie kept her promise.

After listening to Brother Long's account, Lu Zhixing's respect for Professor Chen deepened even further.

He looked towards the stage, where Xiaodie had just finished singing "A Dream Interrupted".

Xiaodie stood on the stage, her eyes, which were sewn shut with buttons, looking at Lu Zhixing's table.

Her gaze lingered on the ghost bride and the little water ghost girl for a moment, her eyes filled with complex emotions, seemingly tinged with pity.

"Young Master Lu, how have you been?"

Xiao Die's voice, clear and ethereal, echoed throughout the vast theater.

"Thank you for your help, Miss Xiaodie." Lu Zhixing stood up and cupped his hands in thanks.

"I can only guarantee your safety inside the theater," Xiaodie said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"But after dawn, the 'Dragon King Festival' officially began, with seawater overflowing and yin energy filling the sky."

"At that time, even my little theater won't be able to protect you."

Everyone's hearts tightened.

The last refuge is about to become obsolete.

"May I ask, young lady, is there a way to break this?"

This time, it was Professor Chen who spoke.

He stood up and performed a standard ancient salute to Xiaodie on the stage.

Xiaodie's gaze shifted to the distinguished old man.

She paused for a moment, as if weighing something.

After a long pause, she slowly spoke.

"There is a solution... and there isn't."

Xiao Die raised her water sleeves and pointed to the back of the stage, to a dark three-story building sealed off by countless iron chains and talismans.

"That's Zhenhai Tower."

"The source of that massive tsunami is locked inside the building."

"If you have the ability, you can break the seal there and let what's inside see the light of day again."

"Perhaps, this will calm down the overwhelming resentment, and the sea will recede on its own."

Xiaodie changed the subject, her voice becoming even colder.

"But I must remind you."

"The price is that you might unleash something a hundred times more terrifying than the sea monsters that fill this city."

Lu Zhixing looked in the direction Xiaodie was pointing.

The building was hidden in the shadow of the stage, and it was completely black, as if it were built from some kind of shipwreck wood that had been soaked in seawater for thousands of years.

Outside the building, there were huge iron chains as thick as an arm wrapped around it, covered with talismans that had long since faded and turned yellow.

Even from a great distance, one could feel an ancient, eerie, and terrifying aura that seemed capable of swallowing all light.

The building that was locked was the source of the tsunami.

Breaking the seal might allow the seawater to recede, offering a glimmer of hope.

But it's also possible that it will unleash something even more terrifying than the Sea Demon.

This is a classic trolley problem.

A trap meticulously set by the game designers, filled with malice and temptation.

"What exactly is locked inside that building?" Lu Zhixing asked in a deep voice.

Xiaodie shook her head. "I don't know."

"All I know is that a hundred years ago, the townspeople of Haiwu Town, in order to seek blessings from the so-called 'Dragon King,' obtained a 'treasure for suppressing the sea' from a Taoist priest from another place and enshrined it in that building."

"They thought they could suppress the eye of the sea, ensuring calm waters and abundant wealth forever."

"As a result, instead of calming the sea, that thing angered the creatures in the sea, bringing about a catastrophic disaster."

"After the great tsunami, the Chen family ancestor, who was also the one who built this theater, joined forces with a few surviving sorcerers and used their last strength to completely seal the building."

"From then on, no one could get close."

Xiaodie's voice echoed in the empty theater.

The ghostly audience members below the stage remained staring intently at the stage, seemingly oblivious to everything around them.

They were merely the backdrop to this tragedy.

On stage, they sing of others' joys and sorrows, while below sit their own piles of bones.

How ironic.

Lu Zhixing fell into deep thought.

A Taoist priest from out of town, a treasure for suppressing the sea, angered the Dragon King, and the Chen family ancestor sealed it away...

These fragmented pieces of information rapidly combined in his mind.

A bold guess gradually took shape.

Perhaps the so-called "treasure of the sea" is not a treasure at all.

Rather, it was a starting point.

A lure used to provoke, or rather, "fish out" that thing in the sea!

"Professor Chen, what do you think?" Lu Zhixing turned to Yuanfang.

Professor Chen stroked his gray beard, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

"What Miss Xiaodie said coincides with my speculation."

"The principles of Feng Shui emphasize balance."

"The Golden Basin Reflecting Water Formation in Haiwu Town is a natural wonder."

"Forcibly drilling a hole in the bottom of the basin and then using external force to suppress it is a major taboo."

"This is tantamount to disturbing the head of a sleeping evil dragon; it would be strange if it didn't anger it."

"As for Zhenhai Tower..." Professor Chen's gaze also fell on the ominous black building, "The one who tied the knot must untie it."

"Since the disaster originated in this building, the chance for survival must also lie in this building."

"However, the risks involved are immeasurable."

His words were tantamount to affirming Lu Zhixing's idea.

Going to Zhenhai Tower is the only way out.

But how to get there, and what to do once there, is another huge problem.

"We have no other choice," Lu Zhixing made the decision.

"It will no longer be safe here after daybreak."

"Rather than sit and wait to die, it's better to take a gamble."

Upon hearing this, Brother Long clenched his fists.

"Let's do it! Master, tell me how, I'll do it!"

He now has complete faith in Lu Zhixing and Professor Chen.

Brother Long knows his own limitations very well!

Just as everyone made up their minds.

"Boom—"

A deafening roar suddenly came from outside the theater, from the distant seaside.

The sound, violent, angry, and hungry, shook the entire theater violently, causing the teacups on the table to tip over.

"What's going on?" Brother Long exclaimed in surprise. "Didn't you say it wouldn't start until dawn?"

Xiaodie's expression changed drastically.

She looked toward the theater entrance, a hint of panic in her voice.

"Oh no... the Dragon King Festival has been moved up!"