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

First mirror copy.

Suya and the others didn't look too good either.

The lime line at the entrance was covered with messy footprints.

Larger than a cat's paw, smaller than a dog's paw, shaped like a plum blossom, with sharp toes that sink deep into the lime.

The footprints came and went, over and over again.

It was as if something had walked around the threshold again and again, smoothing out the lime on the ground.

The claw marks were densely packed, layer upon layer.

Yang Hexuan swallowed hard. This meant...

Something stood outside the door last night, lingering all night through the wooden door.

"Oh my god..."

The players who came to see what was happening were so frightened that they took a step back, their voices trembling slightly:

"What kind of footprints are these? And such a big cat? It couldn't be a tiger or lion, could it?"

"It doesn't look like a cat." Another player's face also turned pale. "A cat's paw isn't this big, nor does it leave such a deep mark."

It looks like the paw prints of some small wild animal.

How could wild animals from the deep mountains run into the village and circle around people's doors all night?

And are wild animals afraid of quicklime?

Everyone looked at each other, and saw fear in each other's eyes.

No wonder Huang Facai specifically instructed that lime be sprinkled.

If they had actually chosen to live in a Western-style house yesterday—no one dared to think about it.

"Alright, don't panic."

Su Ya composed herself and forced herself to speak, "The lime is blocking the flow, which means it's working. We'll continue sprinkling it tonight."

It should be safe during the day; let's focus on the daytime tasks first.

That's what they said, but the shadow in everyone's hearts wouldn't dissipate.

The ghosts in this village are more numerous and more ferocious than they imagined.

……

A group of people were filled with fear when footsteps sounded outside the ancestral hall, along with Huang Facai's signature loud voice:

"Director Su? Teacher Lin? Are you up yet? It's time to head home. The old lady's funeral is about to begin; we're just waiting for your film crew to shoot!"

The door was pushed open, and Huang Facai stepped in, dressed in mourning clothes and wearing a white mourning cap, but his face showed no grief.

—On the contrary, it carried a festive air, as if some kind of happy occasion was being celebrated.

"Oh, everyone's up? Perfect!"

He glanced around at the group and, finding no one missing, paused slightly. "Hurry up and get ready to come with me. The auspicious time is almost here, and it wouldn't be good to miss it."

Su Ya looked at him like this and felt confused.

Did the Huang brothers actually want their mother to die, or did they genuinely believe that their mother's death was a "happy one"?

……

The group didn't dare to delay for a moment. They took the equipment that matched their identities and followed Huang Facai outside.

The village was shrouded in a thin mist in the early morning. The white lanterns were still lit, their pale light floating eerily and unsettlingly.

There were actually fewer villagers during the day than last night.

A mourning tent has been set up in the Huang family courtyard, with black and white cloth curtains hanging all over it.

A black lacquered coffin was placed in the center of the mourning hall, and it looked like it hadn't been sealed yet.

There were many people standing in the courtyard, including the Huang brothers and several women dressed in mourning clothes.

The filial sons and grandsons stood in twos and threes, speaking in very low voices, but you couldn't hear any sobbing in their voices.

Huang Shoucai led the group through the door: "Thank you for your hard work, teachers. The encoffining will begin soon. You can take photos however you like without worrying about us."

He spoke magnanimously, but his eyes swept over the crowd intentionally or unintentionally, with a hint of scrutiny.

Just as Su Ya was about to say, "Let's get ready first," light black ink characters suddenly appeared before her eyes.

[Triggered group side quest: Grandma Huang's Funeral]

[Mission Background: Grandma Huang's body has been lying in state for three days. Today, a small funeral ceremony will be held to change her into her burial clothes and set up her bier in preparation for her placement in the coffin.]

[Sub-task list (each player can only choose one to participate in, and duplicates are not allowed):]

1. Carrying the Corpse (Two-player quest): Move Old Lady Huang's body from the mortuary in the inner room to the old door panel bed in the mourning hall. You need to find seven pieces of soul-suppressing yellow paper to place under the bed first.

2. Dressing the Old Lady in Her Funeral Garments (Two-Player Task): Dress Old Lady Huang in a complete set of funeral clothes, shoes, and hat. The order in which the clothes are dressed must be correct.

3. Pressing the Mouth with Coins (Single Player Task): Place the five Emperor coins into the mouth of the deceased according to the rules, pressing the coins down with the tip of the tongue, ensuring they are not tilted.

4. Offering the Overturned Rice (Single Person Task): Place three bowls of overturned rice at the foot of the deathbed, with chopsticks inserted vertically into the rice, ensuring they are aligned.

5. Blindfold (Single-player mission): Cover the deceased's eyes with a three-foot-long white silk ribbon, smoothing out any wrinkles, ensuring the pupils are not exposed.

[Task Rewards: Each completed sub-task unlocks one corresponding clue fragment. The higher the task completion rate, the more progress you make in unraveling the main storyline's truth.]

[Failure Penalty: If the ritual goes wrong, the risk of zombie resurrection is triggered, increasing the probability of death for all members.]

……

The ink-wash calligraphy lingered in everyone's sight for more than ten seconds before slowly fading away.

The courtyard fell silent instantly.

All the players froze in place, their faces alternating between pale and flushed.

Do you really want to touch the corpse?

Do you also dress up the dead, put copper coins in them, and cover their eyes?

And what if the mission goes wrong and the character turns into a zombie?

The thought of touching a corpse that had been dead for three days made everyone feel nauseous and a chill run up from their feet.

"Are you kidding me...?"

Xiao Ding muttered to himself, his voice trembling, "They want us to touch corpses? Isn't this a documentary shoot? Why do we have to do it ourselves?"

"I won't do it."

One player immediately took a step back, his face pale. "Dressing up a dead person? How unlucky! What if it gets dirty? I'm not doing it!"

He reacted the most, instinctively wanting to refuse.

The Huang family members who heard this changed their expressions and looked over with gloomy eyes.

The other players also looked troubled.

"I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry. Young people can't keep their mouths shut."

Lin Jianguo quickly smoothed things over, saying, "I'm so sorry for offending you. I'll have him offer the old lady an extra stick of incense later."

Huang Facai's complexion improved slightly.

Su Ya took a deep breath to suppress her discomfort.

Five tasks, requiring at least seven people to complete.

There are problems with who should do it, who shouldn't, and how the tasks should be allocated.

Then consider the other two teams; they probably can't even gather enough people for the mission.

Su Ya pursed her lips, noticing that the other new players were all looking at her, seemingly wanting her to make the decision, which made her feel a little pressured.

……

"Don't just stand there, let's find a place to talk this over."

Finally, Lin Jianguo spoke first, his voice very low, "It's not good to keep standing in the yard; the villagers are all watching."

The Huang brothers and several women stood by the mourning tent, chatting amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to the ink paintings in front of them.

But Xiao Lian is about to begin.

They have time to consider, but not much.

Everyone snapped out of their daze and followed Su Ya to the west side of the courtyard, forming a circle and starting to discuss it animatedly:

"Is there even a need to discuss it? Of course not!"

Xiao Ding was the first to speak up, "We're here to film a documentary, not to dress up the dead—"

"Anyway, I won't die if I don't complete the mission. The mission statement says that as long as I survive the seventh day, I can leave this place. Why take this risk?"

As long as you stay here quietly for seven days, you can leave safely.

Touching corpses is one thing, but if you make a mistake, there's a risk of them turning into zombies.

"that is."

Another player nodded, "I think the Huang family is quite hospitable and didn't make things difficult for us."

Staying quietly in the village for seven days will definitely be fine; there's no need to actively seek death.

As soon as the two people opened their mouths, those who supported "surviving" immediately gained the upper hand.

The remaining few people didn't say anything, but judging from their expressions, most of them also leaned towards not doing anything.

After all, it is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Knowing there are risks involved, who would willingly go out of their way to take them?

Getting the clues is one thing, but if you don't, the old lady will come back to life!

Even if it's an old lady ghost, none of them can beat her.

"Instances don't give out quests for no reason. If we don't take the quest clues now, we'll have to stay here for another six days. What if we accidentally step on a landmine?"

Suya shook her head, her tone heavy, and whispered the information:

"Furthermore, completing side quests may unlock a new class."

She openly told everyone that her profession was "architect," and that she could build shelters that could last for three minutes.

"There are professions? Wow, that's just like playing video games?! That's so cool."

Yang Hexuan clenched his fist excitedly, and everyone looked at each other, somewhat hesitant.

Finally, a vote was held, and Su Ya, Yang Asha, Lin Jianguo, Yang Hexuan, and one female player were willing to do the task.

The remaining five seem to be planning to fight to the death and live peacefully for the next seven days.

They all harbored a侥幸心理 (a sense of wishful thinking), believing that they could survive even if they didn't complete the mission, and that Su Ya, a veteran player, would be there to protect them if anything happened.

"Fine, if you don't want to do it, then don't."

Lin Jianguo spoke amiably, "But let me make this clear from the start:"

We will not share the clues we obtain from completing tasks with people who are not involved for free.

If you want to find clues, you either need to contribute your time or figure it out yourselves.

Upon hearing this, the five players immediately erupted in anger:

"Why?! We're all in the same boat, why are you hiding clues?"

"Yeah, Suya's a veteran player, isn't it her job to mentor newbies? Besides, what good would it do you if we died?"

"I can give you money if you sell me the clues, really, I'll transfer the money as soon as we get out."

"On what grounds?"

Lin Jianguo stopped Su Ya, who was about to say something, "We risked our lives to get the clues—why should we give you the things we got for free after we risked our lives to do the mission?"

There's no such thing as a free lunch. There's no such thing as reaping what you sow.

He has lived for over fifty years and has seen many people who only want to take advantage of others without putting in any effort.

It's in factories, it's in shopping malls, and of course, it's also in dungeons.

After much arguing, the five players reluctantly agreed to draw lots to decide the outcome.

Yang Hexuan and Lin Jianguo were tasked with carrying the corpse.

Suya and Yang Asha are tasked with dressing the deceased in burial clothes.

Xiao Ding was in charge of the task of pressing the money.

Xiao Zhuang was in charge of providing meals.

Xiao Qian was in charge of covering the body with a shroud.

Apart from Su Ya and others, the other players who drew the missions looked grim, while those who didn't were overjoyed.

Su Ya didn't say anything, her right eye twitching uncontrollably.

For some reason, she had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.