I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

Wang Lei practically tumbled and crawled, crashing into a patch of overgrown weeds, his face covered in large and small cuts from the sharp blades of grass.

But he was so scared that he tripped and fell hard.

"Clang—"

"Splash—"

Wang Lei crashed into a low-lying, overgrown patch of grass, only to find a dozen or so round wine jars piled up around him. The wine jar he had smashed suddenly emitted bursts of golden light.

"Gold, gold?"

Wang Lei subconsciously swallowed, almost mesmerized by the captivating colors and forgetting his current situation.

—From the crack in the broken jar, round, plump gold ingots fell to the ground through the gap.

These gold ingots were about the size of a baby's fist, and even in the dim light of the night, they still shimmered with an alluring glow.

"Gold ingots? Gold? Is it real gold?"

Wang Lei's eyes lit up instantly. He staggered forward, picked up one, put it in his mouth, took a bite, and sure enough, saw a shallow tooth mark.

it is true!

It's a pure gold ingot!

A glint of greed flashed in Wang Lei's eyes.

There are at least dozens of these gold ingots. If each one weighs one pound, and considering this month's gold price, each one could sell for over ten thousand yuan.

Dozens of them, that's millions!

With this money, he could buy sports cars, mansions, and live the life he'd always dreamed of!

The ink-wash characters floated lightly, seemingly hinting at something to Wang Lei:

[Wang Lei, a participant in the instance, please accept the side quest: Burning Gold Ingots (Burn, burn, burn gold ingots. The lonely ghosts who had no relatives or friends to mourn them in life, no descendants to offer sacrifices in death, and no grave or memorial tablet want you to help burn gold ingots. In return, they will help you clean the tombstone.)]

At some point, a black basin appeared in front of Wang Lei, with green flames burning inside.

"Whoever finds it keeps it. So much gold, are we just going to burn it?"

Wang Lei stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but fortunately, the fear in his mind overwhelmed his greed, and he had no choice but to painfully throw the gold ingots into the fire.

Strangely enough, the flames were green, but the moment gold fell into them, it vanished as if it had melted into liquid gold, accompanied by faint sounds of fighting over it.

[Mine! This is mine! I finally have money to buy meat!]

[Don't try to take it, I'm Old Ghost, you should go easy on me!]

[Burn faster, burn faster!]

[Bullshit! Whether you're an old ghost or a new ghost, whoever finds it keeps it!]

Yes, whoever finds it keeps it.

Wang Lei, blinded by greed, secretly hid a gold ingot in his pocket, hoping for a lucky break.

With so many, even if he secretly takes one or two, the ghosts won't notice, right?

As the fire burned, Wang Lei suddenly felt an itch on his back, as if countless ants were crawling on it.

He reached out and scratched himself, then suddenly froze.

His right hand had turned into rough, yellow paper, with clear paper fibers still visible on it.

The muscles and bones have disappeared, leaving only a thin layer of paper, which is empty inside, and you can even see the flesh and blood through the gaps.

"Wha...what's going on?" Wang Lei's voice began to tremble, while joyful laughter filled the air.

[Hehehehe, you're kidding me!]

[They took the money from the dead, so they'll buy half your body!]

[Hehehe, I want this arm, and you can have this leg!]

I want this heart!

The paper effigy rustled in the wind, and Wang Lei's left side had completely turned into a paper effigy.

The left arm, the left shoulder, and even half of the left side of the face.

The left eye turned into a black circle drawn on paper, and the left side of the mouth turned into a crimson line.

But he is still alive.

It was as if it were half human and half paper doll, extremely bizarre.

……

……

"Don't be surprised if it's strange, don't be surprised if it's strange."

In the western cemetery, Su Ya searched through each tombstone, repeatedly apologizing softly.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry for bothering you."

She lived with her grandmother since she was a child. Her grandmother was a Buddhist, so Su Ya always had more awe for things related to gods and ghosts than others.

……

After walking for about half an hour, Suya finally saw a somewhat dilapidated wooden tablet under an old locust tree.

The wooden stele was so rotten that only the character "Su" could be vaguely seen.

Suya walked to the wooden monument, squatted down, and wiped away the dust and moss with her hands:

[The tomb of Su..., born in 19..., died in...]

Is this her tombstone?

Why does the birth year not quite match up?

While Su Ya was a little scared, she also breathed a small sigh of relief.

Just as she was about to wipe the tombstone with her sleeve, an old voice suddenly rang out behind her.

"Little girl, don't rush to wipe it."

Su Ya turned around abruptly, raised the stone in her hand, and looked warily behind her.

Behind her stood an elderly woman in a funeral shroud, her hair white and her face wrinkled.

The old lady was wearing a black woolen coat, leaning on a jujube wood cane, and her bare feet were on the ground.

Her face was very pale, without a trace of blood, but her eyes were gentle and without malice.

"..."

Su Ya pursed her lips, remaining wary: "Grandma, who are you?"

"I am the caretaker of this grave," the old woman said with a smile. "This wooden tombstone is not yours; your tombstone is over there."

She pointed to a small grave mound not far away.

Su Ya looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw a small stone tablet standing in front of the grave mound.

"Thank you, Grandma." Suya suddenly realized something, her face turned pale, and she walked towards the grave mound.

She recognized it; the old woman was wearing old clothes.

Locally, it's called "funeral clothes" or "old clothes".

Could an old woman dressed in funeral clothes and appearing in a cemetery be alive?

Suya almost burst into tears.

……

"etc."

The old woman cheerfully called out to her, "Your tombstone is buried under my bones. If you want to clean your tombstone, you must first find all my bones, put them back together, and bury them in my grave."

Su Ya's face paled even more. She glanced at the countdown in the upper right corner of her vision and tremblingly agreed:

"it is good."

A dead person asking for help to find her bones—that's a bit too shocking.

But if we don't agree, who knows if this ghost in front of us will suddenly change its attitude?

……

With no tools around, Suya had no choice but to take off her coat, kneel on the ground, and pick up the broken bones from the mud bit by bit.

The human bones covered in yellow mud felt strange to the touch; they were heavy in the hand and had a chilling coldness to them.

—Not to mention there was a ghost supervising the construction.

Despite being terrified, she forced herself to gather the bones that had been washed away by the rain, piece by piece, and finally buried them in the grave along with the coat.

Suya didn't dare to slack off at all, even picking up bone fragments from the cracks in the rocks.

"What a nice girl, here, take this."

After picking up the bones, the old lady seemed quite satisfied, her smile becoming even more amiable. She took a silver pendant off her ear, from which hung a small, exquisite silver bell.

"I've lived here for decades, and everyone gives me face. When they see this, those annoying things won't dare to come near you."

The old lady spoke earnestly and kindly, as if she were a family member, giving her advice:

"Your friends are all lousy. They cause trouble, are greedy, and can't take responsibility... Don't associate with them anymore. Listen to your elders and spend more time with them."

"I see."

Su Ya tremblingly accepted the silver bell. The bell was small, but it was engraved with patterns, and it would ring when shaken.

She glanced at the countdown and, not daring to waste any time, quickly wiped the tombstone with her name on it clean.

Finally, just before the countdown ended, Suya successfully completed the task.

Ink wash calligraphy has reappeared, but this time, it brings good news:

[Congratulations to Su Ya, participant in the dungeon, for completing the mission.]

[Congratulations to Su Ya, a participant in the dungeon, for completing the hidden side quest: Bone Piece]

Rewards received:

1. Bus ticket for route 404 *1

2. 10x Powder for No Hunger Along a Thousand Miles

3. Bone flower*1

4. Evil-repelling silver bell (silver) *1

As the text disappeared, three reward items appeared out of thin air in Su Ya's hands.

A yellowed old bus ticket, printed with the words "Route 404 Taiping Cemetery - Furniture City".

A small porcelain bottle containing black pills that emitted a medicinal fragrance.

A red flower, but it blooms on half a dead man's bone. Its petals are layered, making it look like a peony, but it emits a faint smell of paper ash.

Finally, there was the silver bell that the old lady had given her.

Although she didn't know why she was chosen, Suya could tell that it must be a good thing.

She turned around to thank the old lady.

But the old woman had disappeared; only a small earthen grave remained, standing there quietly.

The inscription on the tombstone is finally clear: [Tomb of Su Ningxiu, born in 1916, died in 2014.]

Suning Embroidery?

Isn't that the name of her great-aunt who lived to be ninety-eight?

She had previously visited the Taiping Cemetery with her grandmother to sweep the graves!

Suya looked surprised, but the next second, she was enveloped in a thick white fog and reappeared at the entrance of the cemetery.

Old Zhang and Old Zheng were already waiting there. Apart from being a little disheveled, neither of them was injured.

……

……

Seeing Su Ya return safely, the two middle-aged men breathed a sigh of relief and began to tell each other about their ordeal.

When Old Zhang was cleaning the tombstone, he ran into his father, who had been dead for many years. The father pointed at Old Zhang's nose and scolded him, telling him to quit drinking and work hard.

Old Zheng then ran into his coworker, Old Qian, who had died from drinking, and Old Qian kept inviting him to drink with him.

Fortunately, both of them completed the task of cleaning the tombstones safely and received a reward.

"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zheng," Su Ya asked anxiously, without mentioning her ordeal, "Where's Lin Hao? And Wang Lei? Haven't they come back yet?"

The three exchanged a glance, and each saw worry in the other's eyes.

"The boy who ran away at the beginning didn't come back either," Old Zheng added.

Just then, the sound of slow footsteps came from afar.

Everyone looked up.

Lin Hao was seen helping Wang Lei, who was limping, walk towards them.

There was something wrapped around his neck that looked like a rope, but upon closer inspection, it was actually something that looked like an intestine.

It was flesh-colored and kept wriggling, as if it were some kind of living thing.

Wang Lei's case was even more bizarre; half of his body had turned into a paper effigy.

"Lin Hao! Wang Lei, what's wrong with you two?!"

Su Ya exclaimed in surprise and ran over quickly, tears streaming down her face in fear.

"Have you found the tombstone?"

"We're both fine...we've finished wiping it off."

Lin Hao's voice was hoarse, and with each word he spoke, the fleshy sausage on his neck twitched, making it look particularly eerie. "How come you're all completely unharmed..."

His expression was somewhat gloomy, and Su Ya subconsciously took a step back.

Old Zhang and Old Zheng were speechless with fright when they saw Wang Lei's paper-mache half-body and the umbilical cord around Lin Hao's neck.

No one dared to ask what had happened.

"Ten minutes left in the countdown."

Su Ya glanced at the countdown timer in the upper right corner of her screen and said, "Zhang Chao hasn't come back yet. Should we go look for him...?"

Everyone fell silent.

They all understood that Zhang Chao was unlikely to return.

Time ticked by, and the countdown numbers dwindled.

【00:00:10】

【00:00:09】

……

【00:00:01】

[Dungeon countdown has ended.]

All participants who have completed the main quest will be teleported out of the instance.

Participants who fail to complete the main quest will be permanently trapped in the instance.

[The instance is closed.]

The moment the ink-wash style text blurred, everyone felt a strong sense of dizziness.

The scene before my eyes began to distort and spin.

The desolate graves, withered trees, wild grass, and mass burial grounds—all the scenes were rapidly fading away.

Instead, the white fog slowly dissipated, along with the reassuring red and blue police lights within it.

They were standing in the middle of a row of neat marble tombstones.

The surrounding area is no longer a desolate mass grave, but a modern Taiping Cemetery.

Rows of neat marble tombstones are arranged in an orderly manner.

The clean cement road, the neatly trimmed green belt, and the parking lot and office buildings hidden in the night in the distance.

In the distance, red and blue police lights flashed, and the sound of sirens grew clearer and clearer as they approached.

They are back.

Back to the real world.

The group sat on the ground, looking at the familiar surroundings. The relief of surviving the ordeal and the extreme exhaustion intertwined, almost making them cry.

"I've become a monster, I don't want to die!"

Wang Lei was the first to break down, lying on the ground and sobbing uncontrollably.

Old Zhang and Old Zheng also had tears in their eyes, tightly clutching the reward items in their hands, their whole bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Hao's eyes were vacant, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Only Su Ya glanced quickly at the ink-wash style text prompt in mid-air, which no one else could see:

[Participant Su Ya in the instance obtains the item "Evil-Repelling Silver Bell" (a burial item from Su Ning's embroidery) and awakens the class "Architect".]

Congratulations on becoming a game player! Your current game level is 1. Your game inventory will unlock after you reach level 15. Keep up the good work!