I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

He re-entered the game, and by then, the light had almost dissipated. Zheng Li found himself in a room.

"This is?"

He made a sound, and at the same time, Zheng Li was shocked to see that the mottled marks on the table were now twisting and rotating, forming lines of text.

Some people are dead, but they still live on.

Upon seeing the first sentence, Zheng Li felt a chill run down his spine.

What is this writing?

What is the purpose of this game?

He saw the text continue, and soon it revealed some information, including the background of the house, his own identity as a detective, and the ins and outs of the story.

Zheng Li immediately realized that this was a ruined capital!

He had never been to the abandoned town, but he had seen photos taken by others and watched previous live streams. He quickly recognized the style of the setting and knew that this was the world of the abandoned city.

Moreover, figures like Crane Cry Taoist are things that only appear in the ruined capital.

Zheng Li suddenly became somewhat agitated.

In previous movies, he could only understand these bizarre and wonderful worlds through visuals, but now, through this game, he can actually experience every detail of this world in real life.

He reached out and touched the tabletop; the smooth, waxed texture sent shivers down his spine.

The air was filled with a damp smell, like the stench of decay emanating from abandoned shipwrecks just salvaged from the sea.

Zheng Li looked around and saw a strange oil painting. The creature in the painting looked like a hunting dog, but more like some kind of insect or spider. Under the dark night sky, it looked eerie and terrifying.

He then brought up the system panel in the game and looked at his mission.

[Surviving until the end of the summoning night 0/1]

It's a survival game, and it looks like a puzzle game, similar to an escape room.

Boom—

A sudden clap of thunder startled Zheng Li, raising goosebumps on his back. Realizing it was thunder, he looked out the window and saw a vast, dense forest with only a winding path leading the car down the mountain.

The house was perched on a cliff, its eeriness and grotesqueness enhanced by the distant, swirling lightning within the dark clouds.

Boom—

Another rumble of thunder sounded, deep and resonant, as if it resonated with Zheng Li's heartbeat, causing him to feel a tremor.

This was unlike the thunder in a movie theater; this was a sound that truly resonated in Zheng Li's heart, as if he were actually in a mansion where a storm was brewing.

"gentlemen."

Suddenly, another unexpected voice rang out from behind Zheng Li, causing him to jump instinctively and lean against the window.

He saw an elderly man with white hair standing at the door, dressed like a butler from a movie.

"Is this the start of the plot?"

Zheng Li muttered something, but the old man didn't seem to hear him. He bowed to Zheng Li and then spoke.

"They've all arrived."

"them?"

Zheng Li was somewhat at a loss. He didn't know who the old man was referring to, but based on the background information provided by the system, he guessed that it was probably a family member of the deceased.

"I need to survive until the end of the Night of Summoning Souls, which means I need to spend nine days here?"

"This game's duration is a bit outrageous."

"Should I investigate this place now? Is it possible for me to get out?"

"Something's probably going to happen on the last day. I came so early probably to find a way out of this predicament. Hmm, I wonder how intelligent this NPC is. Maybe I should ask him first?"

With that in mind, Zheng Li decided to ask.

Chapter 677 Lu Ban, you are so gentle!

Zheng Licai had just finished dinner and returned to his room when the battery indicator popped up in his field of vision.

As instructed, he can only save his game in this room. If he logs off elsewhere, his save will revert to the last time he visited this room.

The characters that appear are quite complex. Compared to ordinary games where you can only have a few limited interactions with NPCs, this game is obviously very absurd. When Zheng Li chats with these NPCs, he doesn't feel like he's in a game at all. They are like real people, with their own past experiences, their own joys and sorrows, and they react differently to different topics.

Zheng Li returned to his room and tidied up his luggage, finding several notebooks inside.

"How come I didn't notice there was such important information here?"

Somewhat annoyed, Zheng Li glanced at the power indicator and decided to just browse briefly before logging off.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that the words in the notebook in front of him seemed to be distorted.

The words were like ants, crawling across the pages of the book.

Zheng Li watched helplessly as the words crawled from the pages of the book onto his hands.

He hurriedly threw the notebook on the ground, but the words spread like a contagious disease, quickly covering the skin of his arm and even spreading throughout his body.

An intense itching sensation coursed through Zheng Li's hands.

Zheng Li immediately panicked and even forgot to save his game and exit.

He felt as if millions of ants were crawling on his body, some even burrowing under his skin and deep into his flesh.

Zheng Li scratched and clawed desperately, trying to get the ants out.

His fingers kept scratching the skin on his other arm, scratching and scratching.

Soon, the fingernails tore the skin on the arm, leaving streaks of blood.

But those words seemed to be etched into his flesh and blood, and they did not disappear even so.

Zheng Li felt an itch on his neck. He looked in the mirror and saw that his neck was also covered with words.

He hurriedly scratched, the itching persisting until Zheng Li's throat was filled with these words.

*Pfft*

Zheng Li's fingernails had already scratched his throat raw. He dug and dug until the soft trachea was completely ripped out.

Amidst the blood and gore, Zheng Li felt difficulty breathing, a strong sense of suffocation engulfing him. He collapsed to the ground, the softness of the wool carpet making the process of dying seem endless.

Discoveries are always welcome, but it's too late. You've crossed a line and paid the price. Next time, perhaps you can check your room sooner.

The words appeared before Zheng Li's eyes, and darkness enveloped him.

When Zheng Li came to his senses, he found himself back in that sea of ​​stars, and saw the simple gate in front of him that exuded a damp feeling.

He hurriedly exited [Morning Star], sat up abruptly, and took off his helmet.

Zheng Li gasped for breath. Even with the slight stench of his roommate's dirty shoes mixed in, Zheng Li felt exceptionally refreshed.

He reached out and touched his neck; thankfully, it was intact.

Zheng Li checked his hands and feet again, but there were no such words on them.

But... Zheng Li suddenly felt that his thighs were a little itchy.

He was startled and immediately looked at the spot where the itching was coming from.

There was a mosquito-like insect that didn't belong to this season, perched there.

"What? It's a mosquito."

Zheng Li felt relieved. Even the sight of the insect sucking blood from his skin seemed quite charming to him.

After getting out of bed, Zheng Li checked the time; it was almost six o'clock, and dawn would break soon.

All of his roommates were fast asleep, except for one who was a light sleeper. He sensed Zheng Li's movement, turned over, and soon started snoring again.

Zheng Li had a feeling of having survived a disaster. He looked at the helmet on the table and recalled what had just happened, and couldn't help but shiver again.

If what just happened had only occurred in a movie, Zheng Li might have felt disgusted at most. Even if Lu Ban's movies could make people feel like they were there, Zheng Li would only feel a sense of shock and fear.

And now...

Zheng Li stared at the helmet, a mix of emotions welling up inside him.

Fear, doubt, lingering fear, anger—Zheng Li felt he would never forget the scene of being eroded by the text-like crawlers, his whole body itching, and even scratching his own throat raw.

This fear is etched into his DNA and can never be erased. Even if Zheng Li were dead and nailed to a coffin, he probably would never forget the pounding of his heart at that moment.

Thankfully, it was just a game.

But this game is just too realistic!

He felt his hands trembling slightly, as if he had really experienced that adventure.

"Did I just die? The game is over?"

Zheng Li remembered the interactive video of Lu Ban that he had seen before, which was set in a small town in the Night Kingdom.

The interactive video at the time had various endings, and countless people tried for a long time without success.

If a single video can be made into something like that, imagine if Lu Ban turned it into a real game—it would be unbelievable!

Those NPCs, one by one, are so detailed, as if there are countless stories to uncover, but I have no clue how to pass the game. I even inexplicably sent it on the first night.

Zheng Li was even hesitant to enter that mansion again, fearing that those ant-like words would once again crawl up his throat and bring back that painful feeling.

The thought of having to die so many times to clear the game on his own sent chills down Zheng Li's spine.

However, at the same time, another emotion was also growing.

That's curiosity.

Zheng Li was curious about what exactly the Night of Summoning Souls was, what secrets the Crane Cry Taoist had, and what taboo he had provoked that led to his death.

Countless questions took root in his heart, and it must be said that death was the best way to empathize with him.

Faced with the game that had once "killed" him, Zheng Li desperately wanted to complete it and find out who had killed him.

Hatred and curiosity drove him to re-enter the game.

But there's no electricity now.

Zheng Li now understands a little why a single charge can only last for a maximum of eight hours in game mode. If it were more than ten hours at a time, he would probably become completely addicted and wouldn't want to do anything else.