NFM Chapter 72

“When players re-entered the Game, it underwent its third evolution. Players were artificially divided into four categories: Advanced Zone players, Intermediate Zone players, Beginner Zone players, and unqualified players. Each category had its own camp, and they did not interfere with each other. After this terrifying consequence, the keys and the door became a complete taboo, and the consensus among all players was to never enter the Ultimate Door. However, three years later, a person appeared.”

Chu Tianshu spoke, looking at Lin Huai: “That person was the Crow.”

“The Crow was an Advanced Zone player, a loner who never teamed up with anyone. After learning the secret of the ‘door,’ he collected all twenty-five keys through various means, standing against everyone… He was thus regarded as a heretic and a madman, hunted by the world, pursued by major mercenary teams…”

Lin Huai’s heart skipped a beat.

“What happened next?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“Later…” Chu Tianshu smiled lightly, “He was indeed a madman. Just before he was about to be killed while being cornered in the Advanced Zone camp, he opened the Ultimate Door in front of everyone.”

He paused.

“…Did many people die because of him afterward?”

For some reason, Lin Huai felt an indescribable sadness rising in his heart.

“No, nothing happened. He disappeared, and no one died because of him. The Advanced Zone mercenary teams tacitly suppressed the incident, keeping it as a secret not to be spread, and afterward, they secretly began new research on the door. Despite this, entering the ‘door’ remained a taboo for the public. After that, I also withdrew from Chen Xing,” Chu Tianshu stared at Lin Huai’s face.

“Why did you withdraw from Chen Xing?”

“Maybe because I also wanted to enter the Ultimate Door, or perhaps out of curiosity for the unknown, or maybe because I wanted to become an administrator, to understand the essence of Nether Beings…” Chu Tianshu said, “Then I could modify the source code, adding worlds like Harry Potter, Death Note, and Naruto into the Game.” Chu Tianshu showed a wistful expression, “Then I could travel to different worlds every day, dissecting and studying their advanced technologies, and eventually bring them back to the real world, pushing forward the development of science…”

Lin Huai: …The joy of a fool is indeed beyond human imagination.

“So that’s why you grind so many Beginner Zone Instances? To collect keys and enter the Ultimate Door?” Lin Huai rolled over, feeling a bit drowsy, “By the way, do you think that Crow… really died?”

Chu Tianshu shook his head: “Some say he died, others say he’s still alive, who knows? But one thing I can confirm…”

Lin Huai perked up his ears.

“Some people are alive, but they are already dead. Some people are dead, but they are still alive.” Chu Tianshu yawned, “Rather than worrying about distant things, let’s focus on the near future, like what to eat for lunch tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow? I want to eat sweet and sour pork ribs…” Lin Huai glanced at his watch, “Speaking of which, it’s already the fourth day…”

On the morning of the fourth day, as soon as Lin Huai opened his eyes, he heard the grim news of the third NPC’s death.

When they arrived at the village chief’s house, they ran into a group of people coming out. Lin Huai glanced at them, vaguely remembering that they were the family members of the third victim.

He didn’t pay much attention to it. The rest of the team was already sitting in the hall, but to his surprise, even Yan Chuchu, whom he hadn’t seen for days, was among them.

She looked uneasy, biting her lip, sitting in the corner without saying a word. Zhang Mingge, seeing that Lin Huai and Chu Tian had also arrived, looked at Cheng Xin, who was on the phone: “Have you contacted Liao Guan and Ji Nanquan?”

Cheng Xin shook his head.

“Forget about them,” Zhang Mingge said irritably.

He seemed to have a minor injury on his arm, and Chu Tianshu asked, “Your arm…”

“We ran into a Ghost yesterday,” Zhang Mingge answered succinctly, “It did it.”

Then, he looked at the remaining five players in the hall and emphasized, “Today is the fourth day. From today on, we only have five NPCs left. The minimum requirement for the mission is four NPCs, which means we must ensure that the two NPCs tomorrow have no mishaps before entering the Taoist temple at night. As for the NPCs on the sixth and seventh days, they are absolutely safe under the protection of the Taoist temple—I’ve confirmed with them and visited the temple. The temple master can definitely protect every NPC who enters the temple.”

“Everything hinges on tomorrow. Today, my suggestion is—to abandon the fourth NPC, explain the situation to the last four NPCs, and prepare for the worst.” Zhang Mingge pushed his glasses up, “Is there anyone who doesn’t understand?”

No one responded, so Zhang Mingge said, “Let’s go, we’ll split up and take action.”

Before leaving, he pressed Cheng Xin’s shoulder, exchanging a subtle look with him. Lin Huai saw this and felt somewhat puzzled.

Under Zhang Mingge’s arrangement, Zhang Mingge and Yan Chuchu went to the Wang family, the driver and Chu Tianshu went to another family, while Lin Huai and Cheng Xin went to Du Xiaoran’s house. As soon as they arrived at Granny Sun’s house and stated their purpose, Granny Sun interrupted loudly: “What nonsense are you talking about? How could the next person be my daughter!”

“Whether you believe it or not, there is indeed a countdown mark above her head,” Cheng Xin patiently explained, “You…”

“Stop talking, I won’t let her go with you!” Granny Sun shouted, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been doing in the village these past few days. You go to one house, and someone dies. I think it’s you who attracted the Fierce Ghost here, you…”

Du Xiaoran hid behind her mother the whole time. They talked from noon until dusk but couldn’t reach an agreement. Cheng Xin, taking advantage of Granny Sun going to the bathroom, asked Lin Huai in distress: “They don’t agree—what should we do?”

Lin Huai, sitting beside him, yawned, showing little interest: “If they don’t agree, forget it.”

“Huh? Just forget it?”

“…Find a time when she’s alone, grab a sack, and carry her away,” Lin Huai said, “With so many of us, can’t we handle this widow and her child?”

“…Watch your words,” Cheng Xin said, both amused and exasperated, “We’re trying to save lives here, and you make it sound like we’re bandits…”

“Some people don’t want to be saved, and that’s not our fault,” Lin Huai said, looking at Du Xiaoran, who was sitting to the side, twisting her fingers, “Du Xiaoran.”

Du Xiaoran shuddered.

“In games, I hate two types of people the most: NPCs who are deliberately mysterious and NPCs who hide information,” he stared into her eyes, “Do you know what people killed by Fierce Ghosts look like?”

He pointed to his heart.

“Like this, the whole heart is dug out, gone without a trace,” Lin Huai said, “In the end, if it weren’t for the system’s arrangement, I wouldn’t need to save you… After all, helping a fellow Ghost with its performance isn’t wise…”

Then, he suddenly stepped forward, pinning Du Xiaoran against the wall, looking down at her: “Chu Tianshu would choose to talk to you nicely because you’re scared, but I won’t. What did you see in the yard? What scared you so much?”

“I…” she said, “I saw a Ghost… a Ghost with twisted joints… in the Ren family…”

Just as Du Xiaoran was about to speak, a commotion came from outside.

The commotion seemed to come from the neighboring courtyard. Apart from the funeral music, there were also women’s quarrels and shouts. They stopped talking and ran outside. Several young men carried their grandfather’s body into the Ren family, pulling and dragging Ren Qiu, saying all sorts of vulgar things.

“You say your sister isn’t that Fierce Ghost, who believes it? If it’s not your sister, who else could it be?”

“…My sister, my sister isn’t such a cruel Ghost!”

“Stop talking!” Cheng Xin rushed out, stepping between the two. Just as Lin Huai was puzzled by his actions, he heard Cheng Xin’s voice: “Ren Chun was already properly buried and laid to rest, how could it be her…”

“Even if she was buried, she could still be dug out. Who doesn’t know that Ren Chun might be crawling out of the ground every midnight to kill people!” the leading young man sneered, “Maybe it’s just an empty grave!”

“That’s right, no one saw Ren Chun being buried, did you?” another young man said, “Maybe she wasn’t buried at all, but turned into a Fierce Ghost hiding in the Ren family, and you’re all accomplices helping her!”

“That’s right! Let’s search! Let’s search!”

The group clamored, rushing into the Ren family’s courtyard, starting to smash things. Ren Qiu, who tried to stop them, was roughly pushed by the leading young man and fell to the ground. He lowered his head, shoulders shaking, and after a while, he let out a loud cry, pushed through the crowd, and ran towards the outskirts of the village.

“Ren Qiu!”

Lin Huai called out, about to chase after him, but his arm was grabbed by someone else.

He turned his head in shock, and what met his eyes was Zhang Mingge.

And the bright yellow talisman paper wrapped around his hand.

“…A Binding Talisman, quite the expense,” Lin Huai said coldly, “Using such a precious item on a teammate, you really…”

“Don’t move, I don’t want to hurt you,” Zhang Mingge said in a low voice, “Let Ren Qiu go first.”

“What exactly are you trying to do?” A bad feeling rose in Lin Huai’s heart. He lowered his voice: “Aren’t you supposed to be at the Wang family—could it be—could it be—you…!!”

A guess flashed through Lin Huai’s mind. Zhang Mingge just pushed his glasses up with his other hand and said, “You have your guesses, and we have ours. Please understand.”

Then, he looked at Cheng Xin and said in a low voice, “Follow him.”

Cheng Xin hurriedly led the others to follow, and soon, the driver and Chu Tianshu, who had just come out from another house, joined them. Chu Tianshu asked loudly, “What’s he going to do?”

“Don’t know!” Cheng Xin panted as he answered, “From the looks of it, he’s heading to the graveyard!”

Ren Qiu, though thin, ran fast and was agile due to his familiarity with the terrain. While the others were still struggling in the mud, he had already reached the small grave mound. He let out a loud cry and forcefully pulled out—the peach wood tablet stuck in the grave mound!

Everyone stood behind him, silently watching as he swung the shovel, scooping out the dirt from the grave mound. Chu Tianshu asked softly, “What’s he doing?”

“…Probably digging up his sister,” Cheng Xin said.

He closed his eyes, remembering Zhang Mingge’s words last night when they faced the third victim’s body:

“I suspect we’ve been going in the wrong direction… We need to find a way to dig up Ren Chun’s body during the day.”

“If we do it ourselves, we might face the Fierce Ghost’s relentless revenge. So it’s best to find a way to make Ren Qiu dig it up.”