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

"Could it be... that the old lady's wish is related to cats?"

Xiao Ding desperately wanted to make amends in some way, racking her brains for ideas: "Her black cat is lost, or dead? Is she worried about it?"

"That's possible." Su Ya nodded. "Perhaps Grandma Huang's wish is related to cats."

"What about the rat infestation? And what about the ghost in the main hall of the ancestral temple?" Yang Hexuan scratched his head. "It can't be that the old lady's wish is to get rid of the rats, can it?"

Upon hearing this, someone chuckled, but the laughter quickly faded.

I always felt it wasn't that simple.

And what's even more terrifying is that there are ghosts in the main hall of the ancestral temple!

This means that, just a wall away from them, there might be a ghost, quietly and coldly watching their every move through some crack.

Just thinking about it makes my hair stand on end.

Su Ya analyzed the three clues back and forth, feeling inexplicably anxious:

She seems to have a sense of responsibility as a "veteran player," always feeling the shackles of "these people are all counting on me."

The fact that she died unjustly suggests that the old lady did not die a natural death; who killed her?

The black cat, the mouse, and the clay ghost—these three things must all be related to her death or her injustice.

But if you just stand here and guess, it won't do you any good, no matter how hard you try.

"We can't linger here."

Su Ya raised her head and slowly said, "We have limited time during the day and can't act at night, so why don't we split up to look for clues and verify these three things?"

"Split up?"

Players immediately objected: "Splitting up is too dangerous. What if we encounter something? I think it's safer to stick together."

"But we can only be active during the day."

Suya explained, "If we want to leave quickly, we need to find more clues. Since the mission is set in the village, it means that Grandma Huang's wish is hidden in the instance."

Moreover, the village is only so big, we can't go far. We can agree to meet at the ancestral hall before dark, and shout for help if anything happens.

"Just sit and wait; clues won't come to you by themselves."

"I agree with Suya's statement."

Lin Jianguo immediately stated, "Sitting idly by and waiting for death is not the solution. Only by actively seeking clues can we take the initiative."

Since both of them said so, the others, though afraid, could only nod in agreement.

But discontent within the team grew louder and louder.

……

As the group was discussing their divisions, Huang Facai walked over with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting from afar.

"Thank you all for your hard work this morning, teachers. The village has prepared a feast and reserved a table especially for the film crew. Come with me and grab something to eat!"

Upon hearing that there was food, everyone's mouths immediately began to water uncontrollably.

I've been in the dungeon since midnight, almost a dozen hours now, without a drop of water or a single grain of rice.

Many people were already starving, but now their eyes lit up at the mention of a continuous feast.

"There's food to eat? That's great!" Yang Hexuan said casually. "I'm starving."

"Let's go, let's eat first!" Lin Jianguo perked up as well: "We need to eat well to have the energy to look for clues."

The tense atmosphere from just now was instantly lightened by the mention of "eating".

Su Ya was inexplicably a little worried.

The village is eerie in every way.

Are there any dangers associated with a banquet served over drinks?

"Let's go," Su Ya whispered to Yang Asha. "We'll see how things go later. If you can avoid eating, then don't. If you really can't, then eat less."

She didn't know if the food in the dungeon was edible, but she always carried a Thousand Miles Hunger Relief Pill with her.

— Suya didn't think she was generous enough to just give away life-saving things, so she only planned to share them with Yang Asha.

She winked at Asha, who, though not understanding, obediently agreed.

……

……

The village's banquet was set up in the grain-drying yard.

There were more than a dozen old military green tents set up on the field, with round wooden tables and long benches placed under the tents.

The bench was crooked and the paint had all peeled off.

The tent was washed until it was almost white, tattered and worn, and inexplicably gave off a poor and shabby vibe.

But what was on the table left everyone stunned:

The table was laden with dishes, with chicken, duck, fish and goose arranged in layers, and in the middle was a whole roasted suckling pig, glistening with oil, with sliced ​​salmon and sea cucumber plattered around it.

There were also thick and creamy Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, fish maw chicken, exquisitely plated steaks and seafood boats—even the wines were beautifully packaged red and white wines, which looked quite expensive.

The tents and tables were so simple they were almost shabby, but the food was so luxurious it was almost extravagant.

The contrast is outrageous.

It was like bringing a five-star hotel banquet directly to the threshing ground of a poor village.

"This...this is so lavish?" Yang Hexuan swallowed hard, somewhat incredulous. "You're having a banquet with all this stuff?"

I knew this village was wealthy, but I never imagined it was this rich!

"Hey, what's the big deal!"

Huang Facai smiled magnanimously and waved his hand:

"Our village may not have much else, but it has good conditions. It's the old lady's 80th birthday, so it should be celebrated in a grand manner. You are my guests, so of course you should eat the best food!"

Please sit down, everyone! Our custom here is to have the meal in the evening, so please make do with whatever you have for lunch.

Is this what you call "just getting by"?

The players hesitated, but were so hungry that they sat down.

Huang Facai then called for more bowls and chopsticks, bustling around busily, almost excessively attentive.

There weren't many people around during the day. Several tables nearby were also laden with equally lavish banquets, and a few villagers sat scattered about.

The villagers sat quietly, and no one touched their chopsticks.

Upon seeing them approach, the villagers all turned their heads and stared at them.

"Have a seat." Lin Jianguo pulled out a stool and sat down first, then winked at everyone: "Eat our food."

Everything about this village is strange; the best approach is to ignore it.

Ten people squeezed around a round table, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

—The probing gazes of the surrounding villagers were like chewing gum stuck to him, impossible to shake off.

"Eat up, everyone! Don't be shy!"

Huang Facai sat in the main seat, picked up the serving chopsticks, and kept urging people to eat more:

"Try this roast pork, it's freshly roasted and smells amazing! And this salmon, it's specially imported from the city, it's incredibly fresh!"

The more enthusiastic he was, the more apprehensive everyone became.

"Eat."

Suya picked up her chopsticks and took a little bit of white rice, but didn't touch the meat dishes.

Everyone else remained seated, looking at each other, no one daring to be the first to pick up their chopsticks.

"Why aren't you eating?" Huang Facai's smile faded slightly. "Do you think the food in our village is bad?"

His tone carried a subtle pressure, and the smiles on the faces of the surrounding villagers vanished.

"No way."

Lin Jianguo chuckled, picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of chicken: "The host hasn't touched his chopsticks yet, how can we, as guests, eat first? Thank you for your hospitality, Brother Huang."

He put the chicken in a bowl, but didn't eat it right away; he observed it first.

The chicken looks fine, with yellow skin and tender meat, steaming hot and smelling delicious.

He took a small bite, and as soon as it entered his mouth, he realized something was wrong.

It's not right.

The chicken looked steaming hot, but it was only lukewarm when it entered my mouth, not hot at all.

The texture was also strange; it was as tough as leftover meat that had been sitting for several days, and it had a faint bloody smell, as if the blood hadn't been drained properly.

Chewing on bloody meat is so pungent it makes you want to vomit.

Lin Jianguo forced himself not to spit it out, chewed it a couple of times, and swallowed it down.

"How is it, Uncle Lin? Is it delicious?" Little Ding asked in a low voice.

Lin Jianguo didn't speak, but shook his head slightly, giving him a "don't touch" look.

Xiao Ding was a bit skeptical and picked up a piece of salmon with his chopsticks.

The orange-red fish flesh, with white fat marbling, looked exceptionally fresh.

She put it in her mouth, chewed it, and her face instantly turned green: it tasted fishy.

It tasted like spoiled raw fish, with a slightly rotten, fishy smell.

The fish meat was mushy, like waterlogged paper, with no chewiness at all.

She quickly covered her mouth, almost spitting it out, but fearing Huang Facai's reaction, she forced herself to swallow it and then picked up her water glass to drink a lot of water.

The water is also wrong.

It looks like plain water, but it tastes bland and tasteless, with a hint of paper pulp.

"What... what is this...?" she muttered softly, her face pale.

Others also tried it.

The stewed Buddha Jumps Over the Wall looks thick and creamy, but it tastes like chewing dry wood.

The sea cucumber looks plump, but when you bite into it, it's hollow inside, like it's made of paper.

The red wine looks bright red, but it tastes no different from water, with no alcohol flavor at all.

—They all look good, but they don't taste right at all.

Like food painted on paper, like paper offerings.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

This isn't a banquet; it's more like offerings for the dead!

"Eat, eat!"

Huang Facai kept urging them to eat, a smile on his face, but his eyes were fixed on them, as if observing whether they would eat or not.

Su Ya's heart tightened, and she quickly gave everyone a wink, then pointed to the white rice.

The meaning is clear: Don't eat meat, only eat white rice, and don't give yourself away.

Everyone understood and picked up their chopsticks, only picking at the white rice in their bowls.

The white rice didn't have much of a rice aroma and was dry, but at least it didn't have a strange taste.

It tastes like normal stale rice, and is barely edible.

"Brother Huang, we usually eat light meals when we're filming documentaries."

Lin Jianguo smiled and tried to smooth things over, saying, "We're not used to eating such rich food. Rice will do. Don't bother us, go ahead and do your own thing."

"Is that so..."

Huang Facai stared at the white rice in their bowls for a few seconds, then laughed again: "Alright, alright, a light diet is good, a light diet is good for you. Eat slowly, and you can ask for more if you're still hungry!"

After he finished speaking, he stood up and walked away slowly.

……

……

Once Huang Facai had gone far away, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"My goodness, this dish is really weird."

Yang Hexuan lowered his voice, still shaken, "It looked so delicious, but it tasted like paper."

"I think it looks like a sacrificial offering," Yang Asha said softly. "It's like the paper offerings you burn for the dead during Qingming Festival. They look nice, but they're all fake."

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

So they're eating food meant for the dead?

What is Huang Facai up to?

Or rather, are the villagers in this village really alive?

……

"Don't talk nonsense."

Lin Jianguo frowned. "Just eat rice, don't touch anything else. Once you're full, get on with your business. Don't linger here."

Everyone was so hungry they were dizzy and focused on eating rice, no one daring to touch the meat dishes on the table.

The surrounding villagers were still staring at them, their eyes fixed on them.

……

……

The group of people felt extremely uncomfortable during the meal.

Having finally filled their stomachs, the group hurriedly left the threshing ground, as if they were being chased by a ghost.

"I don't think anything in this village is real."

Xiao Ding's face turned pale. "The food is fake, and the people might be fake too."

"Don't scare yourself." Su Ya calmed herself down and reassured the group.

"Then let's split up as we agreed before. Xiao Ding, Xiao Qian, Xiao Zhuang, you guys go look for the black cat's trail, and focus on asking the villagers about the old lady's cats before she passed away."

"Okay." Xiao Ding did not object.

"Uncle Lin, take Yang Hexuan to talk to the villagers and find out about the rats and the old lady's cause of death."

"No problem," Lin Jianguo replied.

"Asha and I will go and see if there's any way to contact the outside world."

Su Ya concluded, "Be sure to return to the west wing of the ancestral hall before dark. Be careful and call for help if anything happens."

"understood."

"no problem."

"it is good."

The crowd responded and dispersed in twos and threes.

Sunlight pierced through the thin mist and fell on the bluestone pavement. Although it was daytime, there was little warmth.

The sound of cats meowing, seemingly from nowhere, came one after another, filled with an intensely mournful tone.

……

……

Second mirror copy.

Side Quest 1: "Bribery Money" Completed. Completion Rating: Perfect.

[Clue fragment obtained: "There is a clay ghost covered with a red cloth in the main hall of the ancestral temple... It is completely neutral unless attacked. At night, you can try to buy some things from it."]

[Progress in solving the mystery +15%]

Lin Hao looked at the clues in front of him and gently clenched his fist.

He walked out of the morgue, where only Zhou Hui and Ouyang Qiu were waiting. The other players happily followed Huang Facai to eat at the banquet.

Similarly, Zhou Hui and Ouyang Qiu also completed the "dressing up in funeral clothes" task and obtained the second clue, "rat infestation".

"Xiao Lin."

Zhou Hui rubbed her hands together hopefully, then asked nervously, "Is what you said true? That completing quests in dungeons can awaken a class and make me... become that 'professional' you mentioned?"

Ouyang Qiu's eyes flickered.

"I'm not lying to you, you'll see when we get out."

Lin Hao unconsciously touched the umbilical cord hidden under his scarf around his neck: "At least—I've seen living professionals, one is an architect, and the other is a butcher."

At this point, his gaze fell on two people:

"Sister Zhou, you entered the dungeon to raise money for your daughter's surgery, right?"

"Ouyang Qiu, I remember you said you had a terminal illness and wouldn't live more than three months, right?"

Lin Hao's tone was enticing: "What if you could awaken a healing profession?"

Those few who can't see the situation are all fools. The three of us can totally stick together and survive to the end.

Even if you don't have an awakened class, you can still find players who have awakened their healing abilities.

Moreover, the rewards you receive after leaving the instance are enough to make you rich enough to last a lifetime.

Zhou Hui's eyes were full of hope.

Ouyang Qiu glanced quickly at the upper right corner, then lowered his eyes.

Finally, the three decided to sneak into the main hall of the ancestral temple at night to find the clay ghost that could be exchanged for items.