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

The clay sculpture is about half a person's height, made of clay, crooked and twisted, with severely disproportionate features.

Its eyes, like copper bells, bulged outwards, one large and one small, as if they were about to fall out.

Its nose was flattened, and its mouth was wide open, revealing two crooked fangs. It looked fierce and ugly, yet comical.

The most interesting thing is that under the feet of the clay sculpture, there is a pile of round, gourd-shaped "creatures" that are smaller at the top and larger at the bottom.

They look like potatoes, each with two tiny black dots, about the size of sesame seeds, poked on it as eyes.

A temple was built inside the ancestral hall, but instead of gods or immortals, it enshrined a comical and adorable clay sculpture.

The whole thing is a bit strange.

……

……

"This... is this a clay sculpture ghost?" Ouyang Qiu was a little confused. "It's a bit abstract."

She thought it was something terrifying and was on tenterhooks for a long time.

Who knew it would turn out to be so unexpectedly ugly?

Zhou Hui was also a little surprised: "It looks like a child randomly kneading it for fun."

Lin Hao stared at the ugly clay sculpture without saying a word.

Just then, the clay sculpture's mouth moved.

A long string of pale black ink characters floated out of its wide-open mouth, hovering in mid-air:

[Special event triggered: "Clay Sculpture Shop," points system activated.]

[Current player levels: Lin Hao: Level 2, Zhou Hui: Level 1, Ouyang Qiu: Level 2]

[Opening hours: Daily at night (7-9 PM), closed during the day.]

Today's redeemable items:

1. Pure gold ingot: 1 point/ingot, weighing one tael, can be circulated at equivalent value in the real world.

2. Thousand Mile Hunger Relief Pill: 5 points/bottle, 3 pills per bottle. After taking it, you will not feel hungry for three days and can slightly restore your physical strength.

3. Exorcising lime powder: 5 points/packet, highly effective at repelling animal spirits and ghosts.

Store Rules:

1. Open only at night; redemption is not available during the day.

2. Higher-level items require players to increase their level to unlock.

3. You can earn points by clearing dungeons, participating in daily survival events, completing quests, and exploring hidden areas. You can view these points in your personal panel.

……

……

The ink-wash calligraphy lingered in their sight for at least five minutes before slowly fading away.

All three were overjoyed.

Points Shop?

There's even a shop inside the dungeon?

If they hadn't completed the small task, they would have missed this important information.

"Points? Do we have points?" Zhou Hui asked softly.

Lin Hao didn't speak, but silently recited "personal panel" in his mind. A semi-transparent panel immediately popped up in front of him:

[Player: Lin Hao]

Occupation: None

Current points: 70

【积分明细：《太平墓园》生存积分40……文山村副本第1日生存奖励10积分、第2日生存奖励10积分、完成抬尸任务奖励10积分……】

"You guys should try it too. Just silently say 'personal panel' to view it."

Lin Hao craned his neck, trying to check the information of the other two, but saw nothing.

Ouyang Qiu breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon, after she and Zhou Hui checked it, they both looked surprised.

"I have 20 points, enough for two days of survival rewards!" Zhou Hui stared at the gold ingots on the exchange list, somewhat tempted.

"Me too." Ouyang Qiu concealed the fact about his profession.

"I don't recommend exchanging gold ingots. What's the use of keeping gold ingots when the person is dead?"

Lin Hao was the first to buy a bottle of Qianli Wuji Dan (a type of health supplement) and a packet of exorcising lime powder.

Soon, the ink-wash characters surged up and down, and the goods he had purchased appeared in the empty bowl under the clay demon's feet.

Lin Hao picked it up and put it in his pocket, then turned his back to Lin Hao, his meaning quite clear.

Zhou Hui hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to exchange for two gold ingots and a bottle of exorcising lime powder.

—It would have been better if she hadn't known before, but now that she knows there are ghosts and these human-headed rats in the village, she feels itchy all over.

As for food, there are always banquets in the village.

Ouyang Qiu bought a bottle of Qianli Wuji Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine for preventing hunger) and three packets of lime powder.

If the village is infested with rats with human heads, then lime powder is a necessity.

What if the items sold in the store are all randomly generated?

It's better to buy more just in case.

……

With the item in their hands, the three of them finally felt much more at ease.

"Can I buy anything else?" Ouyang Qiu asked tentatively, "Is there any medicine that can turn a person back from a rat?"

"Your level is not high enough to unlock it."

Lin Hao had already thought of this. He touched the scarf around his neck, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

Maybe after the upgrade, he'll find a way to get rid of this damn umbilical cord.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, I felt a sharp, throbbing pain in my neck, as if it were protesting.

Upgrading means doing more tasks and exploring more.

"Shall we do more missions?"

Zhou Hui hesitated before saying, "It's a way to get clues and earn points to level up—others might also have points."

"Those idiots only know how to hide, they don't do the mission, they don't look for clues, why should we share such important information with them?"

Lin Hao sneered, "Even if we were to tell them, it would depend on the situation... You guys don't need to worry about it."

Zhou Hui and Ouyang Qiu had no objections.

It seemed that they had stayed in the ancestral hall for a while, because the rats with human heads in the ancestral tablet caves suddenly became restless and made a series of soft "squeaking" sounds.

It seemed they had been alerted.

"Don't touch it." Lin Hao abandoned the two men and ran off. "Grab your things and let's go."

—If we stay any longer, we might attract all these human rats, which would be troublesome.

The three of them quickly slowed their pace and hurried back the way they came.

Fortunately, the human-headed rat in the memorial tablet cave was still watching them and did not chase after them.

Only after climbing out of the main hall did the three of them finally breathe a long sigh of relief.

……

……

"That was terrifying..." Ouyang Qiu was still shaken. "Behind those memorial tablets... were all human-headed rats."

The thought of those countless holes and the faces inside them gave her goosebumps.

Zhou Hui's face also turned pale: "No wonder the village chief wouldn't let us into the ancestral hall... It turns out there's such a big secret hidden there. This is a rat village."

"The missing person was turned into a rat with a human head and locked in the ancestral hall."

Lin Hao tried to analyze: "Could the villagers be rat spirits? That's why they're so afraid of cats."

—Those villagers who walk around during the day, at night, they turn into rats with human heads and crawl back into the ancestral tablet hole?

That's why they're not seen during the day; they only come out at night.

What about Huang Facai?

What about the deceased Old Mrs. Huang?

Could it be that none of them are human?

Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

"So... what do we do next?" Zhou Hui asked.

"Let's go back," Ouyang Qiu suggested. "I think we'd better pretend we don't know anything, otherwise if the villagers find out we went into the ancestral hall—it might anger these rats."

Zhou Hui and Lin Hao both expressed their approval.

The three of them quietly made their way back to the west wing, where the other teammates had already eaten and drunk their fill and were asleep.

The distant suona horns became clearer, along with faint sounds of mourning.

It looked like a funeral procession was wandering around the village.

The cats' meows rose and fell, each one more shrill than the last.

Each of the three was preoccupied with their own thoughts, and they fell into a deep sleep.

……

……

Beyond the copy, Song Mo was equally astonished.

"The first mirror image, which we had the best chance of, is actually the one with the slowest progress. They haven't even dug up the most important shop clue yet, which means that Suya and the others don't know about the points system."

"Wang Lei, the third mirror image, actually benefited from the misfortune and achieved the first kill... This guy's luck is pretty high."

"In the second mirror image, Ouyang Qiu and his team are making good progress. Although they haven't solved many puzzles, they might be able to survive to the end."

Song Mo glanced at the copy, then his gaze fell on the news on his phone.

The news of "mass disappearance in Ontario" has gone viral on Weibo's trending topics after several days.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi's official team has already left the instance.

Of the ten people, six came out.