Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

the other side.

Deeper into the alley, the light grew even dimmer. Footsteps echoed in the narrow space.

Wang Junyue caught up with Lin Yu and walked beside him. After a few seconds of silence, she finally couldn't help but whisper, "Are we... really okay with just abandoning them like this? The system says it's a team game..."

Lin Yu didn't stop walking. His gaze swept over the tightly closed, rusty iron gates on both sides, and he said in a calm tone, "It's a team game, that's right."

But in that situation, you had two choices: one, give them your talisman coins; two, refuse.

"Choosing option one isn't necessarily a bad idea, but the prerequisite is that they are worth investing in and can genuinely help me. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind providing some assistance within my capabilities."

"But Zhang Jun is useless, Liu Yueyue has no opinions of her own, and Liu Dashan?" Lin Yu said expressionlessly, "What value can a 'veteran player' who can't even produce a decent piece of ghost-themed equipment have? Is he worth me giving away my life-saving items?"

"Choose option two: refuse."

As you've seen, they'll hate you, and may even do more extreme things out of despair.

In this situation, would you still dare to stay in the same team as them?

Wang Junyue was speechless when asked the question. When she put herself in his shoes, a chill ran down her spine.

Yes, what will a person do when rejected in a life-or-death situation? She dared not gamble.

"Then... what about me?" Wang Junyue was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke again, her voice a little tight: "My value to you is probably just those game coins, right?"

"If...if I run out of money and am no longer useful to you, will you still...?"

Lin Yu paused, turned his head to look at her, seemingly surprised that she would ask this.

Girls' thought processes are indeed unpredictable.

"No," Lin Yu answered decisively. "Exploring such a large fortress alone is too inefficient. Besides," he added, unusually, "my brain isn't top-notch; there are some things I need to discuss with others."

Even if you lose your money, you still have yourself and your judgment; that's your value.

Wang Junyue paused for a moment, looking at Lin Yu's expressionless profile, and the unease in her heart inexplicably dissipated a lot.

Although this guy's words are sometimes hurtful and blunt, at least he's... honest?

She nodded, no longer dwelling on the issue, and quickly steered the conversation back on track: "Okay, I understand."

Back to the game, the rules clearly state that "the evil spirits will appear on the second night and kill one player," but in reality, there were already imps active last night.

I'm worried that besides the main evil spirit tonight, more wandering ghosts will appear, and even... they might actively attack players to speed up the game.

After all, the rules didn't say those brats couldn't attack us, and given the nature of this game, that's highly likely!

Her tone became serious: "Therefore, our goal today must be to search for as many items as possible that can deal with ghosts, especially things that can protect us or provide area-of-effect defense."

I don't know your situation, but I have to do this. Otherwise, it's too dangerous at night. My talismans and copper coin sword might be enough to deal with one or two little ghosts, but if there are many or I encounter a powerful one, it definitely won't be enough."

"Okay. Let's search separately, it'll be more efficient. Also, don't worry, I'll do my best to help you get through tonight," Lin Yu agreed.

Wang Junyue counted out five hundred-yuan bills from her handbag and handed them to Lin Yu: "Here, I got another thousand yuan in cash yesterday. You can come back to me if you need more money."

She knew very well that now was not the time to be stingy.

Lin Yu had no objection to this. The reason he was still willing to team up with Wang Junyue was precisely because he valued the considerable amount of local currency she possessed.

In this walled city, money can indeed open some doors and buy key information or items.

The two parted ways at the next fork in the road.

Wang Junyue took a deep breath, gripped the talisman in her pocket, and walked towards another narrow alley filled with clutter.

Lin Yu tucked the money away and wandered alone through the maze-like walled city. The sunlight was fragmented by the dense illegal buildings, casting large, heavy shadows.

The surroundings were unusually quiet, with every household's doors and windows tightly shut. Last night's riots had turned this already oppressive fortress into a deathly silent prison.

Liu Yue'er is still asleep inside the doll, and the key clue seems to have been lost.

While cautiously observing his surroundings, Lin Yu rapidly processed the known information in his mind.

The diary, Granny Chen's gossip, the homeless man's story, Boss Wang's fragmented words, last night's experience... all the fragments point to the mysterious Taoist priest and the so-called "seal" and "divine sword" he left behind.

The Taoist priest came to their door on his own initiative, but his motives were unclear.

The seal has remained unbroken for twenty-three years, and the evil spirits have not been extinguished.

If the "divine sword" could truly destroy evil spirits inside the house, why was its effect so poor?

Or perhaps... it wasn't about eliminating evil spirits at all?

A bold guess gradually took shape in Lin Yu's mind: perhaps, that "divine sword" was not a tool for killing ghosts, but rather... a tool for raising ghosts?

The Taoist priest suppressed Liu Xiangxiang not to eliminate evil and uphold justice, but to "raise" her for some other purpose.

This thought sent a chill down his spine. If that were the case, then the Taoist's purpose was truly terrifying.

And tonight's so-called "evil spirits emerging from their cages" is probably not as simple as breaking the seal and seeking revenge!

To verify this hypothesis, more direct evidence must be found.

Perhaps I should go see Boss Wang again; he definitely knows more about this than I do.

Lin Yu turned and strode quickly toward the incense and candle shop.

The familiar wooden door of the incense and candle shop, adorned with faded door gods, was now tightly shut.

Not a ray of light shone through the crack in the door; it was as silent as a tomb.

Lin Yu was not surprised by this. After all, because of what happened last night, everyone in the village was too busy taking care of themselves to go out, even during the day.

Of course, Lin Yu couldn't understand why they didn't leave the stronghold; perhaps it was due to the game's limitations.

Thump, thump, thump.

Lin Yu knocked on the door with his fingers, the sound particularly clear in the empty alleyway.

There was no response from inside the door.

Lin Yu frowned, increased the force, and knocked three more times.

This time, a faint sound finally came from inside the door, as if someone was dragging their heavy footsteps in.

Then came the "click" sound of the latch being pried open with difficulty.

squeak-

The door was opened just wide enough for one person to pass through sideways.

A strong, pungent odor, a mixture of cheap incense, stale paper ash, and... a faint, metallic smell, wafted towards me.

Half of Boss Wang's face was visible through the crack in the door.

With just one glance, Lin Yu's pupils suddenly contracted!

The face before me was completely different from yesterday's; it was deathly pale, devoid of any color.

His eyes were drooping with loose bags, filled with spiderweb-like deep red blood vessels, and his pupils were cloudy, revealing extreme fatigue and... indescribable panic.

He seemed to have been drained of all his energy, and in just one night, he looked more than ten years older.