I started on a rocking horse and relied on watching ads to dominate the highway survival charts.

"Wen Zhaoye, you can burn the props with peace of mind. Shen Chilie and I will not let those two clone ghosts step into the ancestral hall."

Having reached this point, Huo Yunzhi no longer concealed anything.

She summoned the karmic fire lotus hidden between her brows and confronted the clone that came hurtling through the wind.

Wen Zhaoye glanced at the Fiery Red Lotus and then placed the last prop, the axe, on the incinerator, busily modifying the equipment he would be using next.

He even had a satisfied smile on his face throughout.

We've finally seen her main attack method.

However... the Crimson Lotus of Karmic Fire, a circular safe zone that can expand and shrink at will, and the Golden Brick...

This configuration looks familiar.

Wen Zhaoye failed to grasp that connection and began burning the prop axe after completing the modification.

For a full four hours, Huo Yunzhi and Shen Chilie fought the clone at the door.

Xu Xiu desperately activated the white jade bottle behind them, which prevented them from being killed by the clones.

Fortunately, Wen Zhaoye's operation went smoothly, and the third prop was completely burned in the last few seconds.

However, at that moment, the familiar notification sound rang out.

The current instance has 00:00:00 remaining time.

[Mission failed. The old house will be reset soon.]

"Clang, clang, clang, clang—"

Four long, drawn-out chimes rang out from deep within the courtyard.

This time, Shen Chilie listened attentively, making sure he hadn't missed anything.

"As expected... it's the fourth tone."

He had barely finished speaking when he was enveloped in a familiar white light.

———Preparation Area———

Huo Yunzhi, Shen Chilie, and Wen Zhaoye looked at each other in bewilderment.

Only three people remained in the group chat.

They reviewed the previous messages and managed to piece together the current situation.

"Only the three of us are left."

"Looks like the last teammate..."

When Huo Yunzhi got to this point, she frowned and tried to recall the name, but couldn't remember it: "It seems that even though that person entered the Forgotten Zone, they didn't find the location of the bell. What do we do this time?"

"Do nothing, just stay in the preparation area."

Wen Zhaoye's plan was also a last resort.

The clones expanded their range further, and given their current state, going in would be no different than suicide.

"We have already burned the paper boat, ink line, and axe as required. Logically, there should be a set of rules that restrict us and the vengeful ghost. Let's hear what that voice has to say."

Welcome to the Qiao Family Residence.

[Ahem... Have you all heard of the God of War's procession?]

Huo Yunzhi and the other two listened intently as the voice recounted the dungeon quest; the preceding words remained unchanged.

I'm leaving everything in your care.

Upon hearing this, Huo Yunzhi assumed that the mission was over once again.

But then the aged voice changed its tone, saying something entirely new, even with a hint of kindness in its voice.

[There are many taboos associated with this old house. All guests are requested to listen carefully and memorize them to avoid violating these taboos and incurring divine punishment.]

!!!

What are the taboos associated with old houses?

That's just the dungeon rules!

Shen Chilie and Wen Zhaoye exchanged an excited glance.

But after they waited for a long time, the voice never returned.

Wen Zhaoye suddenly sighed: "I understand. The requirement is that all guests listen attentively, but we only have three people now."

"We need to find a way to bring the others back."

Although it seems there are still many challenges to overcome, Huo Yunzhi is not discouraged.

Now that changes have occurred, the new difficulties are actually a good thing compared to the situation before when nothing had changed.

She even hoped that she would be the one forgotten in the next round. With the special abilities of a ghost messenger, she was confident that she could find the hidden vengeful ghost and imprison it.

However, her hopes were dashed after the fifth chime.

Shen Chilie has disappeared.

Welcome to the Qiao Family Residence.

....................................

[There are many taboos associated with this old house. All guests are requested to listen carefully and memorize them to avoid violating these taboos and incurring divine punishment.]

It was the same content as last time, and the rules were still not explicitly stated.

"Looks like another teammate has disappeared." Wen Zhaoye couldn't help but rub his temples. "In the next round, one of us will definitely disappear again. At that time, the group chat will be disbanded, so we'll have to find a new way to record our messages."

Wen Zhaoye looked at Huo Yunzhi: "Do you have any ideas?"

Huo Yunzhi pondered for a long time, then took out a dagger from her backpack.

She rolled up her sleeve, gripped the dagger, and stabbed it into her arm.

"What are you doing?" Wen Zhaoye frowned and grabbed her hand, stopping her from what looked like self-harm.

Huo Yunzhi gritted her teeth: "When the reset is performed, the personal status will be retained. No matter which of us disappears in the next round, as long as we look at the messages left behind, we will definitely be able to recall something."

Even if they're hidden by a vengeful ghost, there's still hope of regaining their memories, and who knows, they might even be able to find that ghost and bring them all back!

Hearing Huo Yunzhi's words, Wen Zhaoye slowly removed his hand from her arm.

The next second, he also pulled out a dagger and started writing Morse code on his arm.

Huo Yunzhi glanced at her blood-soaked arm and suddenly felt a pang of envy for Wen Zhaoye.

She doesn't know Morse code, so her wound is much larger than Wen Zhaoye's, and she's sweating profusely from the pain.

"I still need to study more," she joked, enduring the pain.

"If you can get out of here, I can teach you for free."

"Can we please stop saying such offensive things?"

"Okay, okay, it's my fault."

The four hours waiting for the fifth reset were spent in quiet sitting and teasing each other in the preparation area between Huo Yunzhi and Huo Yunzhi.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—"

The Qiao Family Mansion instance has entered its sixth round.

Huo Yunzhi opened her eyes and looked at the empty room besides her, remaining silent.

The pain in his arm caught his attention.

After reading the messages left from the previous round, she let out a long sigh.

"In the end, they still left me until the very end."

She couldn't remember the names, appearances, or personalities of her other six teammates.

But she knew that they had all existed.

They are now waiting for her to rescue them.

All she had to do was quietly wait for this reset, and wait for that vengeful ghost to come after her.

Then do everything you can to break the mechanism and bring everyone back.

Time passed second by second, and four hours later, Huo Yunzhi faced her sixth mission failure.

[Current instance time remaining: 00:00:00]

The white light emanating from Huo Yunzhi was heavier than ever before, and her figure in the preparation area slowly disappeared from the spot.

This time, however, she didn't hear the bell, only a slightly regretful sound.

Mission failed.

[All players are wiped out.]