Buddhist player

Although Bai Chen had overestimated the difficulty of this dungeon as much as possible, its strangeness still far exceeded his expectations.

—On the rooftop of the villa, he saw the truth about the "cycle" that Xiao Qi had mentioned.

When the next day arrived, or more precisely, when six o'clock in the morning, everything in the entire town was rapidly "refreshed" before his eyes.

It wasn't the time reversal or loop he had imagined, but a more bizarre reset. Starting from the southernmost point of the town, the white mist turned black at a certain moment, like a drop of ink falling into a bowl of clear water, and the ink color spread rapidly in all directions.

From the moment he observed the unusual color change in the fog to the moment it enveloped the entire town, it took less than half a minute. Unlike the previous fog that "ignored" the buildings, this time the fog engulfed the entire town.

When he rushed back to Xiaoqi's room, the fog had already invaded the entire room. Before he could take any meaningful action, under his gaze, the little girl's figure quickly melted into the fog like snow being baked in the sun.

...He suddenly understood what the other person meant when they said that his teammate had become one with the town.

"This is the truth behind the so-called 3721st cycle... fog?"

Frowning, Bai Chen went to the window.

Half a cake remained on the windowsill. Perhaps because it didn't belong to this town, these things didn't dissolve in the mist, but things like his bloodstains stuck to the wall had quietly disappeared.

Not only did the walls become smooth and new as if they had been renovated, but the originally scattered quilts were also neatly rearranged... or more accurately, they were reassembled after dissolving in the mist.

The 3721-day cycle that trapped Xiaoqi was actually the dissipation and recombination of the fog.

Just as he was pondering, as if startled by the change in his surroundings, a severed hand that did not exist in the real world climbed in through the window and quickly climbed onto his shoulder.

"...The fireworks disappeared after they finished?"

Bai Chen raised an eyebrow as he looked at the words written on the paper by the severed hand.

Yesterday, without this helper, he alone couldn't have put on such a dazzling fireworks show. The combination of the flat world and the "Hand of the Painted Prison" means he can do far more than others can imagine.

The only pity is that all signals are cut off in this instance. If he could communicate with the Hand of the Painting Prison in real time, he would be confident that he could kill Qing Shiyi and the other three without showing himself.

Of course, for them who can resurrect infinitely, killing them is meaningless.

"The difference between a cake and fireworks... is it between an owner and an ownerless one? That's why that photo was preserved... Maybe I can try doing a small experiment later..."

Turning his head to look at the severed hand that was obediently resting on his shoulder, Bai Chen looked thoughtful.

Since being fully read and upgraded by the Card Collector, the severed hand has become far more intelligent than before. Previously, it could only understand some simple commands, but now it even possesses a certain degree of intelligence.

"Go, find the fat guy's location. He weighs around 250 pounds or more. His defining characteristic is that he's constantly eating. Once you've pinpointed his location, don't alert him. I'll give you the signal to move."

Bai Chen picked out a few cards from the card book and handed them to the other person.

"Be careful not to get caught."

He gave him an OK sign, and the severed hand took the cards. The moment the cards were in his hand, they quickly blurred in reality, turning into a few simple line drawings held in the palm of the severed hand.

Almost at the same time, Bai Chen suddenly felt dizzy and a strange sense of fatigue quickly washed over him.

"...Tsk."

Bai Chen pressed his forehead and clicked his tongue softly.

The ability to pull objects into its own world in two dimensions is one of the abilities of the Painted Prison Hand. However, although this ability seems to be overpowered, it is actually quite limited, with strict requirements on weight and area.

Although the cards made from the flat world have exploited a small loophole, allowing the other party to carry items far exceeding their carrying capacity, they still have to bear the costs associated with them.

Cards containing ordinary miscellaneous items are fine, but once an item is listed as having a grade in the system, even if it is only the lowest ordinary grade, its consumption increases exponentially.

"Luckily, I have enough stock..."

While muttering to himself, Bai Chen lit an incense stick for himself.

Compared to the beginner's guide, the current incense sticks have undergone several upgrades, with multiple brands to choose from and dozens of flavors available. The one he's currently holding is the hot dry noodles flavor.

"The key to the problem isn't this town, but the fog that shrouds it. If possible, we should find out exactly what happened in this town ten years ago, on the day Xiaoqi and her family arrived..."

After watching the Hand of Painting Prison leave, Bai Chen, with an incense stick dangling from his mouth, returned to the rooftop.

He has a lot to do next, but he needs to think carefully about what to do first.

If the problem with the ritual was caused by Daoxiaomian and her friends, then what caused the problem with the people who initially arrived in this town?

Figuring this out might unlock the mystery surrounding this town.

Besides, there's also the "Lord"... Could that guy be the mastermind behind all this?

"...It's a pity, we don't have enough manpower."

Looking down at the town, which had transformed from black mist back into white mist, Bai Chen sighed.

Although this instance doesn't have any time limit, only someone who's lost their mind would believe that.

Based on his own estimation, he figured that the longer he stayed here, the higher the chances of being assimilated by this town...

"I hope some new companions will come today."

Shaking his head slightly, Bai Chen patted several bottles of clear medicine onto his body, then turned and went downstairs.

It's 7 a.m. now, and the bus will arrive in this town at 9 a.m., so there's still enough time. But for Xiaoqi's side, there's no definite time.

The exact time of arrival in town depends on Xiao Qi's actions. If she wanted, she could even leave the car on the road all day without reaching the town... although that still wouldn't be very useful.

—She tried almost every possible solution in more than 3700 cycles.