I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"Most of the monsters in the Black Forest possess extraordinary power. Some of these powerful creatures produce a deposit of pollution, which is their core. Don't be fooled by how beautiful these cores are; the pollution they contain is far greater than their flesh and blood."

Jost glanced at the object and explained.

"The contamination of flesh and blood..."

Zhou Changqing thought about it and realized that he had eaten quite a lot of iron lizard meat. After they pried off the iron lizard's ore shell, they brought back most of the meat as an extra meal. Recently, they had finally been able to enjoy a life with meat to eat and soup to drink.

He didn't even consider that the flesh and blood of these monsters were contaminated.

However, he didn't actually come to this world; he was just playing a game. The pollution and such were just part of the setting, so Zhou Changqing wasn't worried at all.

Surely the game's settings can't possibly affect us in real life, right?

While Zhou Changqing was pondering, Trist was flipping through those magic books. Although as a chosen one he couldn't sign a contract with the magic network and gain the favor of the gods of the Night Kingdom, as someone who could already walk through the [Alienation] and [Ascension] difficulty levels, the corruption he had endured far exceeded what was contained in these magics, so flipping through them at will was no problem.

Of course, most spells are not very useful to Trist. In terms of attack power, his [Imitation Sunfire] is comparable to the strongest attack spell in the Night Kingdom, but Trist can't use the others for the time being.

However, it's always good to see more. Since it doesn't affect his rationality, Drizzt is happy to broaden his horizons so that he won't be at a loss when encountering similar strange situations in other alien lands in the future.

"almost."

Zhou Changqing studied it for a while longer, until the game prompted that the power was about to run out, before reluctantly preparing to log off and rest.

He returned to the players' residence, which had been built during this period for players to log off, so that they wouldn't end up in strange places when they logged back in together.

Zhou Changqing took off his helmet and breathed a sigh of relief.

He initially came to try out the second closed beta test of the new game with the intention of giving it a shot. After being selected, he received support from his workplace. But now, after so much time has passed, Zhou Changqing is suddenly finding it hard to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Now, aside from sleeping, he spends far more time in the Night Kingdom than he does now. With virtual reality like the [Cage] taking over most of his life, Zhou Changqing increasingly feels as if he is living in the Night Kingdom, while reality is the illusion.

The NPCs, including Jost, are just like real people, with their own thoughts. When Zhou Changqing interacts with them, he doesn't feel like he's playing a game at all.

Of course, once he realized this, he would spend a little more time in reality and take the opportunity to review his knowledge of communications.

After charging his helmet, Zhou Changqing washed his face. It was lunchtime, so he planned to go downstairs for a walk and have some hot food.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Zhou Changqing glanced at himself.

Normally, someone who is addicted to playing games every day and doesn't exercise should look very haggard. But surprisingly, Zhou Changqing looked very healthy, as if the exercise and labor in those games had actually been reflected in his own body.

Suddenly, Zhou Changqing saw a smile on his face as he looked in the mirror.

But he didn't laugh at all.

Chapter 734 Fourth Floor

Zhou Changqing rubbed his eyes.

The person in the mirror rubbed their eyes.

Zhou Changqing thought that he might have been playing too many games and was feeling tired, which was why he had that illusion.

He turned on the tap, scooped up a handful of cold water, and vigorously rubbed it on his face to clear his mind.

He looked up and gazed at himself in the mirror.

The mirror was empty, reflecting only the bathroom walls.

"It's alright now."

Zhou Changqing was relieved, wiped his face with a towel, and returned to the living room.

He packed his clothes, grabbed his keys and phone, and went downstairs. The stairwell was a bit dim. Lately, it had been getting dark later, and a sliver of sunset glow spread from the clouds, gently caressing the narrow stairwell entrance and casting an ambiguous glow over it.

As the elevator ascended floor by floor, Zhou Changqing scrolled through his phone while waiting.

Just then, he heard the elevator stop downstairs.

"Ok?"

Zhou Changqing pressed the down button for the elevator. Theoretically, the elevator should first go up to the top floor where the down button is pressed, and then move down little by little. Even if someone downstairs pressed the up button so that they could go in first, it should stop at another staircase, not the one he was waiting for.

"There might be a problem with the program."

Zhou Changqing didn't take it to heart.

The elevator quickly started running again, and with a ding, the elevator doors opened.

Zhou Changqing originally wanted to see who pressed the elevator button downstairs, but found that the elevator was empty and there was no one there.

Only the smooth mirror surface reflected Zhou Changqing's face.

He paused for a moment, then stepped into the elevator.

Pressing the button for the first floor, the elevator doors closed, and the tightly shut doors reflected Zhou Changqing's image like a mirror.

He looked down at his phone, scrolled through two news articles, and felt the elevator slow down its descent; it was almost there.

Looking up, Zhou Changqing discovered that the elevator was not stopped on the first floor.

It's on the fourth floor.

It's normal for the elevator to malfunction.

The problem is that in the residential complex where Zhou Changqing lives, because the developer is somewhat superstitious, there is no fourth floor or fourteenth floor. Building number four is also a residential building that is not inhabited.

Then the problem is coming.

Which floor is Zhou Changqing on now?

The elevator stopped here, motionless. Zhou Changqing glanced at it and wondered if there was a display error; this was actually the fifth floor or the third floor, or something like that.

Ding--

Suddenly, the elevator made a sound, startling Zhou Changqing.

He saw the elevator doors slowly open, revealing the corridor outside.

The corridor was pitch black. It was only a two-minute elevator ride, but the sky had completely darkened.

Zhou Changqing pressed the button to close the elevator door, but the button seemed to be broken and did not respond at all.

He hesitated for a moment, then looked outside.

The corridor was pitch black, with no doors in sight and no light coming through the windows, creating a sense of unease.

Under normal circumstances, Zhou Changqing should have panicked by now.

But he had experienced the Black Forest of the Night Kingdom. At night, although the Black Forest wasn't completely dark, it was far more terrifying than it was now. The wailing of some unknown creature deep in the forest, the chirping of insects, and the sparse sound of leaves being blown by the wind stirred up feelings of panic.

But now, Zhou Changqing only felt strange.

He waited for a while, then decided to go out and take a look.

After all, it says there is no fourth floor, but in reality, it's just a sign that says there is no fourth floor. The original fourth floor is actually the fifth floor. It's impossible for the elevator to create a fourth floor out of thin air.

Zhou Changqing had met the residents on the fifth floor before; they were a couple with a pretty good relationship.

He stepped out of the elevator and looked towards the end of the corridor in the dim light inside.

There is a door there.

The door glowed with a faint red light, as if illuminated by a candle, which appeared extremely eerie in the darkness.

At first, Zhou Changqing thought it was an emergency safety door, but upon closer inspection, he realized that it was neither the location of the stairs nor the location of the residents; it was on another floor, just a wall.

He frowned slightly, his curiosity prompting him to decide to see what was there.

In the past, Zhou Changqing would probably have already started looking for the stairs and hurriedly left.

But now, his experience in the game has made Zhou Changqing less timid, and he walks toward that door.

Walking down the dark corridor, Zhou Changqing heard footsteps.

The footsteps were out of sync with my own, as if something was following behind me.

He couldn't help but look back, only to find the elevator lights still illuminating the corridor.

Turning his head, Zhou Changqing saw a face right in front of him.

He was startled and took a half step back.

The face resembled that of a man with his eyes closed, pale and showing a distressed expression.

Zhou Changqing could only see the face, not the body, hands, or feet.

That face hovered in mid-air, level with Zhou Changqing's face.

He felt his heart skip a beat, as if something had poked it.

It was only then that Zhou Changqing realized that this face was exactly the same as his own!

This is him!

The face remained motionless, as if it were an illusion, appearing and disappearing in the light of the red door.

He thought for a moment, then walked around the face and quickly went to the door.

Zhou Changqing noticed that the door was made of wood, with rough textures all over it, and even had several pieces of paper pasted on it with words he couldn't understand.

It's like some kind of seal.

He thought for a moment, then reached out to peel off the talisman. Suddenly, with a creak, the door slowly opened.

Zhou Changqing glanced inside and found it to be an extremely simple house, just like in the countryside, with wooden tables and chairs, teapots and cups, old paintings, memorial tablets, and incense burners.

Inside the room, a person sat at a table with his back to Zhou Changqing.

It looked like an old man. Zhou Changqing didn't remember if there was an old man like that in his building, but he took two steps closer and made a sound.

"Uh, sorry, I saw the door was open, so I came in to take a look."

Zhou Changqing coughed and said.

But the other party did not respond.

He moved closer to the other person, intending to pat them on the shoulder.

Just as Zhou Changqing was about to reach out, the other party suddenly turned around.

His face was full of wrinkles, like a shriveled and moldy persimmon. His eyes had no whites, just pitch black. More importantly, his body didn't rotate at all; only his head, with his neck stretched into a pretzel shape, as if the bones didn't exist, turned around.

Seeing this, Zhou Changqing's eyelids twitched.

But the old man opened his almost toothless mouth and uttered a few words from his dry throat.