Until they entered the dim town, Shen Zhiyi’s shadow remained bright.
The streets were deathly still. On the age-worn stone bricks, mottled bloodstains had settled, making it impossible to tell if they belonged to Red Hood or the corpse that had been dragged out earlier.
Zhou Qi’an had a clear destination: the courtyard where he had stayed last night. He had only had time to read the introduction of the Dragon’s Drinker Sword to Ying Yu.
It was still unclear whether communication with the residents of the Silent Town was limited to using the text from the corresponding artifact’s description—for example, only using the text from the Dragon’s Drinker Sword’s introduction to communicate with the escaped sword—or if all written records found in the museum were the common language of the Silent Town.
Zhou Qi’an leaned towards the former. The Whalers’ Association spared no effort in cutting off players’ paths to survival in every detail.
The small courtyard was not far from the town entrance. The silence ahead was broken.
The ajar courtyard gate creaked in the wind, and a woman’s cold voice could be vaguely heard from inside.
Just as Zhou Qi’an was about to walk quickly to the gate, Shen Zhiyi suddenly reached out and stopped him.
The sound of a dragon’s roar echoed from within the courtyard. A gloomy wind blew past, and a figure retreated hastily from the courtyard.
A corner of Ying Yu’s coat was torn, but he quickly stabilized himself after exiting the courtyard. Catching sight of two familiar figures in his peripheral vision, Ying Yu gave a suggestive nod.
Zhou Qi’an breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had gotten the information. Having been separated for a while, they definitely needed to exchange some information now.
The crows at the town entrance would attack people periodically, each time more fiercely than the last. It was not a place to talk.
Ying Yu went out to call the others, and the group finally gathered at the foot of the back mountain.
Thanks to Ying Yu’s healing items, the college student’s arm had finally grown back, but due to overusing his skills, the deficit from excessive blood loss couldn’t be replenished immediately.
He stood in the group with a pale face, but his condition was already considered good compared to Red Hood opposite him.
Everyone was present now, except for the boss. With the cat away, Zhou Qi’an, holding the [Little Hammer], tapped it stylishly on a rock on the ground.
“I now declare the first day’s instance report meeting officially open.”
Shen Zhiyi led the applause.
Yuan looked at him in disbelief. “…”
You can even go along with such a ridiculous scene?
Zhou Qi’an’s hammer strike had an unexpected effect; everyone’s tense nerves relaxed a little. After one strike, the smile on Zhou Qi’an’s face gradually faded.
“This main quest is very clear: collect cultural products. There’s not much to say about that. The focus is on the Whalers’ Association.”
Just hearing this name, the hatred in Red Hood’s eyes almost ignited. But soon, her attention was drawn to Zhou Qi’an’s words.
Zhou Qi’an carefully recounted what had happened when he was pulled into the artifact world, and then speculated on the relationship between the Whalers’ Association and this instance. During his speech, Red Hood’s shock momentarily suppressed her hatred. She even couldn’t help but interrupt, “Instance designers?”
The hound’s eyes also widened like copper bells.
Zhou Qi’an nodded. “Think about it carefully. Why is the Whalers’ Association able to popularize knowledge blind spots that even some high-level players don’t know?” Many details could support this point, including but not limited to the fact that before this instance, they could even accurately state the entrance of the newly opened five-and-a-half-star instance. Unless one was involved in the design, it would be impossible to know these things.
Although he had heard Zhou Qi’an say it once in the museum, hearing it again, the college student still couldn’t help but swallow.
Yuan first thought of this instance’s level prompt: Unreleased Beta Instance. According to Zhou Qi’an, this instance was only half-done, and the unfinished mechanisms were being supplemented by the Whalers’ Association. Her expression was unprecedentedly serious. For a moment, she didn’t even know what to be surprised about first.
Before the instance, Zhou Qi’an had specifically complained to Ying Yu about the gatekeeper. The latter was not shocked twice by this matter. As for the ability to plunder artifacts, he had also verified it.
A beautiful and small ring appeared in his hand. Ying Yu confirmed Zhou Qi’an’s words. He mentioned that when he found Red Hood, he was also pulled into the artifact world. After briefly describing his experience in the artifact world, Ying Yu got to the point. “After I came out, I stripped this from the resident’s hand.” This ring had almost grown into the resident’s flesh.
Combining their two experiences, it was not difficult to draw a conclusion. He said flatly, “The method to kill members of the Whalers’ Association is essentially related to the artifacts.” After successfully viewing an artifact, the association members could no longer rely on the artifact to deal with them. If one was strong enough, they could even forcibly counter-kill. If, like Zhou Qi’an, one directly destroyed the artifact’s core within the artifact world, it would be even easier, directly inflicting heavy damage on the association member.
After coming back to her senses, Red Hood’s face was grim. “Now there are their people among the NPCs in the town, and also among the players. Aren’t we completely defenseless?”
Shen Zhiyi’s gaze casually swept over them. “We can make a conservative estimate of the number.” It could be seen that he was indeed in a good mood today. Normally, Shen Zhiyi couldn’t be bothered to participate in discussions, let alone occasionally reply proactively.
Several pieces of paper appeared out of thin air in Shen Zhiyi’s hand. Everyone crowded around, only to see that it was covered in dense drawings of maggots, enough to trigger trypophobia.
Ying Yu pushed up his glasses. “This is… an encrypted file?”
“My illustrated catalog of forgeries,” Shen Zhiyi said in an extremely cold tone. The Ridie Pavilion didn’t have as many screens as the Risheng Pavilion, and the exhibits were more or less visible at a glance. Real and fake items couldn’t escape his eyes at all. Shen Zhiyi hadn’t looked closely, only making a rough record in a corner. Being surrounded by people now, a trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes.
Zhou Qi’an timely called out, “Teacher Shen.”
Shen Zhiyi was as refreshed as if bathed in a spring breeze. His hard lines softened, and he once again took the initiative to continue, “The Ridie Pavilion mostly has large items. There are very few artifacts suitable for transplantation.” Items like tripods, chime bells, and guqins were not convenient for parasitic attachment.
“After sorting through them, there are only about fifteen or sixteen pieces.”
Hearing this, Zhou Qi’an lowered his head in thought. “When I successfully viewed the wedding dress, the system prompted that after viewing four pieces, I could obtain the qualification to purchase a cultural product from the Ridie Pavilion.” This meant that the artifact He Yang had chosen also came from the Ridie Pavilion.
Thinking about it carefully, besides the round fan he had picked out, there weren’t many forgeries left on the first floor of the Risheng Pavilion. Otherwise, Shen Zhiyi would have discovered something during the morning viewing. The second floor was mostly filled with weapons and swords, which were even less suitable for parasitism.
“The forgeries that can be parasitized are mostly concentrated in the Ridie Pavilion.” Whether this was true or not, they still had to ask his boss about the situation in the Risheng pavilion.
“By the way,” Zhou Qi’an brought up the old topic, “did you see the data resource library?”
Shen Zhiyi shook his head. The introduction sign at the entrance of the Ridie Pavilion was exactly the same as the one at the Risheng Pavilion, but inside, there were also only exhibits and restrooms. He hadn’t found any trace of a data resource library.
A strange “woo-woo” sound interrupted their conversation. The wind on the back mountain was like a bone-scraping knife. From the place where the fierce ghost was sealed on the mountain, the sound of chains hitting a coffin lid could occasionally be heard during the day.
The college student touched his newly grown arm and shivered. “I wonder what’s locked up on the mountain.”
This was not a place to stay for long. A long night is fraught with dreams. The group decided to hurry back and buy the cultural products first.
Ying Yu: “The duck pin and the shadow puppet fridge magnet are safe to buy.” He also mentioned that when communicating with the town’s residents, one could only ask about cultural products. Attempting to ask other questions would result in being attacked after receiving a negative answer.
Just as everyone was preparing to head back, Zhou Qi’an suddenly said, “Wait.”
Shen Zhiyi was the fastest to wait, because he was directly pulled back.
Zhou Qi’an looked at Shen Zhiyi. “You go back first. We’ll set off a little later. Try not to be discovered on the way.” Shen Zhiyi’s natural presence was so low that not just players, but even monsters sometimes failed to notice him.
“I also need an item to lower my presence.” Zhou Qi’an looked at Ying Yu. “When you get back, do this…”
As he spoke, Red Hood cast several glances at him, unable to help but sigh with relief that she had burned her bridges and posted the slander against the Whalers’ Association. Otherwise, with this person’s scheming, she would have been played to death sooner or later.
Now, everyone had a basic understanding and outline of some of the problems with the Whalers’ Association. But the mysteries surrounding Zhou Qi’an had increased. For example, what was his relationship with the Whalers’ Association? Where did the enmity come from?
Everyone tacitly avoided this topic and still chose to trust him. This was the benefit of having one’s strength, skill, and character recognized.
After Zhou Qi’an finished speaking, Red Hood spoke the truth. “This move is too risky.”
Zhou Qi’an’s gaze looked far away, as if trying to see past the town towards the museum. After a long while, he slowly said, “The enemy is in the dark, and I am in the light…”
He Yang had said something right. Just to lure him out and deal with him, he had spent a lot of effort and even lost an arm in the artifact world. If he didn’t turn this situation around, they would remain passive.
They set off about a quarter of an hour after Shen Zhiyi. On the way back, everyone walked in silence.
Bypassing the black mountain dirt road, in the distance was the quaint architecture. Under the big tree, the goat carriage was still tied where they had left it. Seeing the cart full of cultural products again, everyone collectively quickened their pace.
The most important thing right now was undoubtedly to buy the cultural products.
Yuan slowed down with her hound and said to Zhou Qi’an, “I’ll buy last. You go first.” The Goat-Headed Man had said that the popular cultural products were in limited quantities, and it would take three days to restock. Looking at the situation of the stranded players, not many had been sold yet, but it was better to distribute them according to contribution in advance to avoid any unpleasantness in case of a mishap.
Zhou Qi’an didn’t refuse either.
Seeing him walk over, the Goat-Headed Man’s eyes, which hid a greedy glint, once again stared at the young man’s chest. “Buying cultural products?”
Zhou Qi’an: “I told you I would when I left. This time for sure.” He doesn’t understand human language.
“…” At first, it just wanted to dig out his heart. Now, it wanted to gut him.
The Goat-Headed Man’s face was stiff as it pulled on the red rope on the cart. The four red cloth curtains suddenly rose slowly, directly isolating a private room.
Inside the space, only Zhou Qi’an and the Goat-Headed Man remained. Everyone else was isolated outside the red cloth. This was to prevent other players from peeking at their choices when buying cultural products.
Outside the goat cart, a line of words automatically appeared: Please wait behind the one-meter line.
The air was filled with the smell of goat. Zhou Qi’an held his breath and, without hesitation, reached for the shadow puppet fridge magnet. But the Goat-Headed Man stopped him. “I… will get it.” After a player made their choice, the staff couldn’t possibly swap it, but its movements were very slow, obviously stalling for time.
While Zhou Qi’an was waiting for the artifact, in the courtyard, some players with only regular tickets were anxiously waiting for the next viewing time to arrive. Many of them were gathered in small groups, discussing the way to survive the instance.
Just then, someone feigned surprise and said, “The person who took the copper coin is back!” A light sentence instantly caused a huge stir. The players who had obtained the limited copper coin earlier had all mysteriously disappeared. Most players guessed that they might have disguised their appearance and secretly bought the cultural products. Some had sensed that something was wrong and tried to follow them to the town, but all to no avail.
So when Red Hood got the limited copper coin, everyone subconsciously thought the result would be the same as before. They didn’t expect a breakthrough this time!
Coming out and seeing the strange red curtain raised outside the goat cart, it was obvious that someone was buying cultural products inside. “It’s really them.” All the players in the courtyard ran out. The commotion reached the upstairs, and even some players inside the pavilion came out.
