Chapter 102: The Human Skin Drum (6)

"I have no idea where these rules came from. They said four thousand coins would cover a 'thoroughly enjoyable' experience... As expected, whether in reality or a game, you can't trust a word a tour guide says."

"Alright, stop complaining," Qi Yangbo said, comforting Zhu Ya'an. "Once we successfully clear this instance, I'll take you out for something delicious."

Zhu Ya'an gave Qi Yangbo a gentle smile. "Okay."

The group returned to the hostel, where everyone else had gathered. The young woman at the front desk was in charge of collecting everyone's cameras and photographs. When it was Tang Mu's turn, the receptionist gave her a strange, pointed glare.

"You didn't take any photos?"

Before Tang Mu could speak, Lu Zhengqing interjected, "She used my camera. I have two sets."

Lu Zhengqing handed the two sets of landscape photos to the receptionist. "You didn't say we couldn't use someone else's camera when we left this morning, did you?"

The receptionist impatiently snatched the photos from his hand, clearly displeased. "Then, when it’s lunchtime, why don't you eat for her too? And while you're at it, why don't you handle her sleeping for her as well?"

Lu Zhengqing started to say he would, but the receptionist couldn't be bothered with him anymore. She walked off to collect the cameras and photos from the others, shouting as she went.

"Those who took photos, go to the dining hall. Lunch is one steamed bun, a bowl of porridge, and an egg. Eat it if you want; if not, get out and take your pictures. You only visited about two spots this morning. There are eighteen scenic spots in Luomen Village in total. At the rate you're moseying along, when exactly do you plan on finishing?"

The receptionist’s tone remained incredibly abrasive, leaving everyone feeling deeply uneasy. Once she left, the players huddled together, asking if anyone had been killed by ghosts while visiting the sites during the day.

"Did anyone die?"

"I don't know. They said there were fifty-two of us in total, but we all scattered during the day, and there was no way to gather everyone together." Naturally, there was no way to count if anyone had perished.

"How about we count during lunch?" another player suggested. "This village—it’s eerie, but it doesn't seem to be killing anyone. Yet, you can't say it's not eerie, because there are problems everywhere. It’s making everyone anxious."

"Exactly. If they really want to eliminate us, they should just give us the straight answer. Being stuck in this limbo is so annoying."

"But what other choice do we have? We’re just fish on the chopping block."

Sighs filled the room as everyone lamented the hardships of life.

Tang Mu, however, carried on as usual. When the receptionist told her to go to the dining hall, she actually went—a sharp contrast to her stubborn refusal to take photos earlier that day.

Watching Tang Mu casually pick a seat and start dishing out porridge from a communal pot, Lu Zhengqing frowned and whispered, "Aren't you worried the ghosts are messing with the food?"

After all, they hadn't gained any clues, nor did they understand what the so-called elimination mechanism was. If someone had died earlier, they might at least have been able to rule out some causes of death. But as it stood...

"Food is fuel. You'll starve if you miss a meal," Tang Mu said, motioning for Lu Zhengqing to join her. "Regardless of what the game's elimination mechanism is, they wouldn't let players be killed while they are starving and lacking energy."

"As for whether the food is tampered with..."

"Just don't eat the egg, okay?"

Before Tang Mu mentioned the egg, Lu Zhengqing had managed to muster some appetite for the food provided by the instance's ghosts. But after her specific reminder, he remembered what kind of feed chickens, ducks, fish, and geese were raised on, and he couldn't help but retreat to a corner to retch.

The other players were the same. They were genuinely hungry, but now they only dared to eat the steamed buns and millet porridge. Neither required much chewing. After about ten minutes, everyone had finished their meal.

"Hey, listen. Are we just going to waste these next few days like this? Just looking at scenery? The problem is, there's nothing to see in this little village of yours."

The receptionist was eating from a bowl at her desk. When the player asked the first time, she ignored him entirely. It wasn't until he impatiently asked a second and third time that she frowned in annoyance, telling him not to ask such damn questions. "I'm not your tour guide. How would I know what you should or shouldn't do? You're all things that won't live past seven days anyway. After seven days, who knows if any of you will still be alive?"

"Hey, why are you so insufferable? Did your mother not teach you any manners..."

The moment the player finished his sentence, his abdomen suddenly began to bloat. Within a few short minutes, it expanded rapidly into a giant ball.

The pain caused him to collapse and roll on the floor. His eyes rolled back, foam bubbled from his mouth, and his vitality drained away rapidly as his body grew gaunt and wasted.

"What's happening?" The surrounding players were shocked. "Hurry, open his clothes and look at his stomach! What’s going on? Is it because of the food we just ate?"

"I don't think so... If it were the food, why are we fine while he’s the only one suffering?"

The man with the bloated belly kept writhing in pain on the floor, nearly at death's door.

"It hurts so damn much... help me, I can't take it anymore..." In his agony, the man lost control of his bowels.

A strange, nauseating stench of excrement instantly filled the air. The players scrambled to lift the man's shirt to see what had caused his stomach to swell so suddenly.

But in stark contrast to their panic, the receptionist remained unmoved. Unlike the frantic players, she simply sneered and kept playing on her phone, occasionally throwing out cryptic, sarcastic remarks.

"Some people commit too many sins. They've provoked the wrath of heaven. This is heaven's punishment. It’s to make you understand how you came to be in this world in the first place. Disrespecting the 'source' is disrespecting heaven and earth. If you disrespect heaven and earth, do you think the gods will allow you to stay alive in this world? You’re dreaming."

"Could you stop with the nonsense? Just tell us clearly: can he be saved? If not, we'll put him out of his misery. If he can be saved, we need to figure out how!"