Vol. 2 Chapter 34 – Deep Sea Sacrificial Town. (13)

The players looked in shock at Madame Solari standing next to Yin Liuming, confusion flickering in their eyes.

Not long ago, Madame Solari was in the same strange, ambiguous state as the townspeople, where no one could tell if she was a friend or foe. Any player who tried to investigate her would be thrown into the dungeon.

How did Madame Solari suddenly become one of their allies?

Lei Yingzhe’s gaze swept over Madame Solari twice, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Yin Liuming stated, “Madame Solari was earlier misled and hypnotized by the butler. She has only recently regained her memories and is now ready to assist us in capturing Ralph and bringing him to the altar.”

Madame Solari nodded.

The faces of the other players all revealed shock and disbelief.

Although methods for clearing different dreams vary, most dreamers subconsciously resist these outsider players. This often occurs when the dream NPCs consistently create obstacles for the players.

Who would have thought someone could really get an NPC to help them fight monsters?

The player beside Lei Yingzhe instinctively glanced at him, a trace of displeasure crossing his face. Just as he was about to speak, Lei Yingzhe stopped him.

Lei Yingzhe still wore a gentle smile. “It’s truly wonderful that Madame is willing to lend a hand. And thank you as well, Yin Liuming. It’s all thanks to you that our situation has finally taken a turn.”

Yin Liuming glanced at him and smiled. “Indeed.”

Lei Yingzhe choked slightly, gave a slight cough, and turned back to Madame Solari. “May I ask how Madame plans to assist us?”

“I have complete control over the manor. Ralph hypnotized me, but didn’t kill me, not only because of his limitations, but also because these children are keeping him in check.”

Madame Solari gave a gentle wave of her hand, and a cluster of tiny mermaids sparkling like gemstones floated out from behind her hat. Their large, glittering eyes blinked as they observed the group in front of them, both shy and curious.

“They can play magnificent music that gives Ralph splitting headaches. Sometimes, it even renders him unable to move. That’s why Ralph never goes upstairs. Every day during the daytime, when the children play their music, he leaves the manor.”

With a single point of Madame Solari’s finger, a few gemstone mermaids floated toward the players.

The players carefully observed these beautiful little creatures, their eyes showing both surprise and joy. Someone tried to reach out and touch one, but the gemstone mermaid flinched in fear, and the person immediately froze, not daring to move again.

Yin Liuming said, “My idea is that we act as bait and go out to find Ralph. First, lure Ralph to the manor gate, then have the gemstone mermaids hit him hard, force him into the manor, and finally ask Madame to lock him in the dungeon.”

There was no doubt that the tentacle monster had violated Madame Solari’s strict cleanliness rules.

As for once it’s locked up in the dungeon, naturally it’ll be up to the players to show their skills and weaken it.

The players were excited about the idea, each one eager to try it out.

Only one problem remained…

“Who’s going to be the bait?”

Ralph’s identity had been revealed. Unless he believed his strength was already sufficient, he would never willingly approach the manor.

The player acting as bait had to be smart and agile enough to keep luring Ralph all the way to the manor gate.

Who had that kind of strength?

Yin Liuming spoke up on his own, “Since I was the one who suggested this plan, I’ll do it.”

Mi Anpei was startled. “Brother Yin?”

Si Cheng silently stepped forward, signaling that he wanted to accompany Yin Liuming as well.

Lei Yingzhe thought for a moment, then stepped forward. “I’ll go with Yin Liuming. It should be more stable that way.”

Si Cheng frowned slightly. “I also…”

“You stay here. Three people might make Ralph feel uneasy.” Yin Liuming stopped him. “Just be ready in the dungeon.”

Si Cheng and Yin Liuming looked at each other for a while before Si Cheng reluctantly nodded. “Fine.”

Lei Yingzhe continued to act as a leader, assigning specific tasks to each player according to their strengths. Some were responsible for leading the gemstone mermaids in launching attacks at the manor gates, while others were tasked with weakening Ralph in the dungeon. The rest focused on gathering information and providing support to the bait players.

Once everything had been settled, Lei Yingzhe walked over to Yin Liuming and extended his hand in a friendly gesture. “Let’s go. This should be the final round.”

Yin Liuming set down his teacup, rose to his feet, and offered a faint smile. “It truly is the final round.”

……

After a brief discussion, Lei Yingzhe and Yin Liuming decided to head to the forest.

The forest used to be the most dangerous place in this dream, teeming with countless hunting bugs and numerous tentacled monsters trying to slip by unnoticed.

Lei Yingzhe kindly reminded Yin Liuming several times to remain vigilant and steer clear of areas where enemies might be hiding, generously and wholeheartedly sharing his own experience.

Yin Liuming walked absentmindedly, lost in thought, seeming not to notice the surroundings at all.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Thinking about how to untie the dreamer’s knot.” Yin Liuming said without even lifting his head. “Once the sacrificial ritual is complete, this dream will end.”

“You know who the dreamer is?” Lei Yingzhe raised his hand slightly. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m just curious.”

Yin Liuming glanced at him. “Don’t you know too?”

Lei Yingzhe raised an eyebrow with a smile. “It seems we’re progressing at the same pace, but the way you look right now is perilous, like you’ve got ‘come attack me’ written all over your face.”

“Isn’t that exactly how bait is supposed to look?”

“Even so, you can’t let your guard down completely, can you?”

Yin Liuming nodded and lowered his head in thought, still appearing just as indifferent.

Lei Yingzhe had no choice but to move forward. “So, watch what I do in a bit. If I wave my hand forcefully, you must run back immediately.”

Yin Liuming nodded.

The two walked silently through the forest like that.

The sky had fully darkened, and within the pitch-black forest, they could scarcely make out the silhouette of the person ahead. Their footsteps on the damp, soft soil made no sound at all, and only the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind disrupted the stillness.

Yin Liuming lifted his gaze, his eyes gleaming like stars in the pitch-black night as he stared intently at Lei Yingzhe’s back.

Suddenly, Yin Liuming heard a faint rustling sound, and then saw Lei Yingzhe, who was walking ahead of him, abruptly wave his hand.

Yin Liuming turned around and ran.

He had only run a few steps when he felt the ground vanish beneath his feet—

Splash!

The ground beneath his feet split open, and a rope shot upward, coiling tightly around his ankle and yanking him completely upside down!

Yin Liuming reached out desperately to grab the rope around his ankle, but he couldn’t reach it.

Being suspended upside down made the blood rush to his head, and breathing gradually became difficult.

Lei Yingzhe’s smiling face appeared in Yin Liuming’s field of vision.

Because the vision was upside down, Lei Yingzhe’s typically gentle smile seemed rather eerie in the hazy darkness.

Yin Liuming looked directly at him, his voice tense but with a hint of cold sharpness. “It’s you.”

Lei Yingzhe smiled as gently and kindly as usual, his tone full of praise. “Even in a moment like this, you can still think clearly. You truly are the one I’ve set my sights on.”

Yin Liuming gave up trying to grab the rope around his ankle. “What are you trying to do?”

“Nothing much.” Lei Yingzhe’s tone was relaxed. “I want you to die here, that’s all.”

“Attacking a player will get you sent into the punishment dream.”

Lei Yingzhe chuckled, saying, “First, the punishment dream doesn’t always mean death. Second, you triggered the trap yourself. How is that my fault? I didn’t set that trap; other players did, aiming at the monsters. As for your death… it was the monsters’ doing, not mine at all.”

He glanced at Yin Liuming, spread his hands, and gently warned, “No need to resist. This trap may appear to be an ordinary rope, but it contains special properties. Once you’re caught, neither props nor abilities can be used.”

Just leaving Yin Liuming hanging there, not to mention Ralph the tentacle monster waiting to devour players, even the hunting bugs that used to roam the forest weren’t harmless.

Yin Liuming gave him a deep look, then asked coldly, “Is this how Chi Xi died too?”

Lei Yingzhe appeared a bit surprised and smiled as he said, “Why would you think that? Chi Xi and I have no grudges between us.”

Yin Liuming stared directly at him. “That’s exactly what I want to know. You have no grudges against us either, so why go to such lengths to harm us?”

Lei Yingzhe brushed his shoulder, and the smile at the corner of his lips faded slightly. “If you want to blame someone… blame your luck. You actually managed to get the Wish Charm.”

Yin Liuming’s gaze flickered briefly, and the corner of his lips curled into a sardonic smile. “Just for this?”

Lei Yingzhe tilted his head and listened for a moment. “Hmm, looks like Ralph is about to arrive… I won’t bother you any further.”

He made an elegant gesture, then turned around, preparing to leave.

Yet the moment Lei Yingzhe turned around, his eyes froze.

Right behind him stood Yin Liuming, his face expressionless and his eyes filled with a chilling coldness.

Lei Yingzhe’s pupils dilated as he whipped his head around; the version of Yin Liuming hanging from the rope was still there, staring at him coldly with the same expression.

Lei Yingzhe instinctively drew his weapon and held it up in front of him, his eyes narrowing slightly. “A double?”

The Yin Liuming standing before him tilted his head slightly and took a small step back.

The ‘Yin Liuming’ entangled by the rope suddenly began to melt like soft ice cream, dissolving downward and transforming into a thick, pitch-black sludge that surged silently toward Lei Yingzhe.

Lei Yingzhe waved his hand, and a surge of intense electricity illuminated the area before him, fiercely striking at those deep-black substances.

At the critical moment, those viscous substances abruptly vanished.

Then, a ball of flame flared up beside him, instantly growing into a blazing inferno.

Lei Yingzhe instinctively stepped back. In that one step, something clamped around his ankle, and a rope snapped tight, flipping him upside down. It was exactly what had just happened to ‘Yin Liuming.’

Lei Yingzhe blinked in confusion.

—Why?

He was extremely familiar with the locations of the traps in this area. There was no way he would have stepped into one!

Yin Liuming pulled his finger back from the illustration book, his eyes coated with endless icy coldness.

The lingering hallucinogenic poison from questioning the townspeople, the fear brought on by the Flames of Rage and Regret, and the unsettling appearance of the two Yin Liumings all came together to push Lei Yingzhe right into the trap he had set.

On top of that was the special ability of the newly received illustration.

[Deep Sea Illusion Slitherer.]

[Dream Source: Deep Sea Sacrificial Town]

[Rarity: ★★]

[Strength: 20]

[Aggressiveness: 5]

[Rationality: 20]

‘Deep Sea Illusion Slitherer’ was the true name of those tentacled townspeople.

It granted Yin Liuming three skills.

[First skill: Substitute (Costs 5 points. Allows the use of a drop of blood to mimic the appearance of its blood owner. Movements and expressions will stay synchronized with the original owner).]

[Second skill: Disguise (Costs 1 point. Can attach to the owner’s body, altering facial features, height, and other physical traits; voice not included).]

[Third skill: Transfer Damage (Completely transfers the damage received by one target to another. Can only be used once per dream).]

The ‘Yin Liuming’ that was hung up was actually a substitute created by the Deep Sea Illusion Slitherer.

The Deep Sea Illusion Slitherer had just crawled toward Lei Yingzhe, but it was actually harmless. It was only because of the hallucinogenic poison and the unsettling atmosphere intentionally crafted by Yin Liuming that Lei Yingzhe lost his calm.

Lei Yingzhe struggled several times but couldn’t free himself from the rope around his ankles. The smile on his face gradually faded as he stared intently at Yin Liuming before him. His voice was hoarse. “When?”

Yin Liuming looked at him silently and said bluntly, “From the very beginning.”

“Impossible!” Lei Yingzhe gritted his teeth. “I never leave any flaws.”

“You indeed didn’t leave any flaws.” Yin Liuming reached out and braced himself against the tree, speaking calmly. “You were just unlucky.”

A long, slender vine dangled down from the tree, lightly curling around Yin Liuming’s hand.

He turned his head and looked at Lei Yingzhe, his gaze as cold as ice. “Someone saw with their own eyes how you framed Chi Xi, how you pushed him into the abyss, and how you ignored all his desperate pleas for mercy.”

Lei Yingzhe widened his eyes in disbelief, completely unable to understand what Yin Liuming was saying.

At that moment, the tremors in the ground grew increasingly fierce, as if some enormous creature was approaching them.

Cold sweat started to drip from Lei Yingzhe’s forehead. His composure completely disappeared, and his voice dropped with a slight tremor. “Let me go, and I’ll tell you the real purpose of the Wish Charm.”

Yin Liuming’s expression didn’t change. He simply stared at him in silence.

“You can tell me anything you need. What we, Sunken Anchor, possess is the secret behind the entire Nightmare Game. It’s far beyond something as simple as making a wish on the surface.”

Yin Liuming still didn’t move.

“Yin Liuming! If I die here, you’ll definitely regret it! Sunken Anchor will be able to uncover the cause of my death, and you won’t be able to escape it!”

Lei Yingzhe’s voice had become hoarse and strained by this point.

Beneath him, where he hung upside down, the pitch-black soil churned ceaselessly. A thick tentacle coated in foul-smelling slime slowly emerged in silence, cold and greedy, inching toward Lei Yingzhe.

Gripped by the fear of a life-or-death situation, Lei Yingzhe clutched his leg and forced himself upward with brute force!

He hung from the rope, barely able to lift his upper body, his face red with tension.

The space around him shifted slightly, as if something was about to appear, but the rope around his ankle glowed faintly, forcibly smoothing out the distortion.

Lei Yingzhe coughed, his face twisting in terror as he sharply shouted at Yin Liuming, “Save me! Save me! I don’t want to die—!”

Yin Liuming silently stepped back.

The pitch-black tentacles clung to Lei Yingzhe’s legs.

Lei Yingzhe let out a bloodcurdling scream. Hoarse, rasping sounds escaped his mouth as he weakly flailed his hands, but it was all in vain. He could only watch helplessly as the tentacle began devouring him from the feet upward, inch by inch.

Unexpectedly, he let out a roar and lunged forward with a leap no ordinary person could achieve, landing right in front of Yin Liuming and grabbing hold of Yin Liuming’s foot!

Yin Liuming had already retreated quickly, but Lei Yingzhe still managed to grab him.

He hadn’t expected that, even after suffering such severe injuries and with his abilities and prop restrained by ropes, Lei Yingzhe still forced his way out of the tentacles’ grasp.

However, it was clear that this method had caused significant harm to Lei Yingzhe. Most of his leg had already been corroded by the tentacle, with blood steadily dripping behind him. His hair quickly turned dry and yellow, wrinkles appeared on his face, and it seemed as though all his energy and vitality had been drained at once.

The tentacle kept spreading without any pause.

Lei Yingzhe fiercely gripped Yin Liuming’s ankle, a flash of wild joy spreading across his face, which was now distorted with pain. “I got you! You’ll get me out of here!”

Yin Liuming stared at him coldly and lifted his foot, about to kick him away.

“If you push me away now, the system will flag it as murder! You’ll face a lethal punishment!” Lei Yingzhe stared at Yin Liuming, slurring his words. Then his tone softened abruptly in pleading. “Save me, and I’ll earn points to help you revive Chi Xi. You won’t be able to gather enough points to bring him back by yourself, alright?”

Yin Liuming shook his head, his voice as cold and clear as moonlight. “I do not believe you.”

He lifted his leg, his eyes clear, and without hesitation, he was about to kick Lei Yingzhe back.

At that moment, a transparent arm appeared out of nowhere and gently pressed down on Yin Liuming’s leg.

“I’ll do it.”

Shen Lou yanked Lei Yingzhe’s hand away and disdainfully shoved him back into the tentacles.

This time, Lei Yingzhe was the first to be swallowed by the tentacles.

As the intense pain of corrosion surged through him, Lei Yingzhe, in a daze, recalled a few days ago—the boy named Chi Xi had been entangled and pierced by tentacles just like this, slowly corroded and devoured bit by bit, becoming food for the monster.

His eyes felt a burning pain like fire, then his vision went black, completely losing light.

His ears, nose, lips, and tongue… the pain cut to the bone.

Lei Yingzhe let out a pained ‘No’ from his throat, then went completely silent.

……

Yin Liuming stood silently aside, watching Lei Yingzhe being utterly consumed, his expression cold, his cheeks as pale as moonlight.

Shen Lou quietly moved back to his side, studying Yin Liuming’s expression, then asked, “Don’t you feel like vomiting?”

“Why?”

“He is dead.”

Yin Liuming lowered his gaze slightly. “Haven’t we seen it before?”

Shen Lou raised an eyebrow and replied, “This is not the same.”

There was a huge difference between watching other players die unexpectedly and killing someone with your own hands.

A life slipping away in one’s own hands forced a person to reconsider the value of life.

Some people, because of this, fall into nightmares every night, while others become indifferent to life, gradually turning ‘inhuman.’

Yin Liuming lifted his gaze and said lightly, “I don’t feel anything.”

Shen Lou lightly stroked his chin and asked, “Are you now the version of yourself during the day, or the one at night?”

“Is there a difference?” Yin Liuming asked, his expression softening. “Thank you.”

Shen Lou stared at him without blinking, then suddenly smiled and said, “No need, I just don’t want my contractor to be thrown into the punishment dream to face near-death.”

Essentially, he was part of the Nightmare Game. By discarding Lei Yingzhe himself, the system would decide it wouldn’t land on Yin Liuming’s head.

Yin Liuming nodded without further courtesy, only fixing his gaze ahead. “Now we only have one last trouble left.”

The pitch-black writhing tentacles rolled before them, yet did not charge forward directly.

After a moment, the mass of tentacles unexpectedly contracted, changing into a tall, slender figure.

Yin Liuming squinted his eyes, still pressing his finger on the illustration book without letting go.

Butler Ralph gently licked his finger and sighed, “Souls devoured by despair, regret, and hatred are surprisingly delicious… far more potent than those dying fears.”

His eye shifted to Yin Liuming, showing greed, “Now it’s your turn.”

……

A player dressed all in black crouched on the side gate wall of Solari Manor.

He anxiously looked into the distance, then abruptly stood up and made several hand signals downward.

The player crouching below quickly took his position, and the gemstone mermaid beside him tightened her grip on the violin bow, nervously watching the entrance.

Yin Liuming’s running figure halted at the manor gate, staggering as if exhausted, struggling but unable to stand up.

Behind him, the pitch-black, tangled tentacles were about to swallow him—

The player behind the gate nervously gripped their weapon, waiting for those tentacles to get closer…

However, those pitch-black tentacles immediately stopped when they approached the back gate.

Then they withdrew and reformed into Ralph’s humanoid shape.

He looked at Yin Liuming and smiled, “You have a gemstone mermaid hidden on you, do you think I would not notice?”

Yin Liuming stood up and looked at him expressionlessly.

A beautiful little mermaid poked her head out from Yin Liuming’s hood, cheeks puffed as she glared at Ralph.

“Trying to lure me into the manor?” Ralph did not back down but laughed recklessly instead. “Have you thought it through? Do you really want to kill me? I have already eaten all the other townspeople. Now I am the only townsman left. Your mission is to let the townspeople see the sun, right? If there are no townspeople, who will see the sun? Better to obediently let me kill enough offerings and let you leave safely.”

Behind the gate, a player shouted angrily, “You’ve killed so many players, isn’t that enough?”

So far, ten players had already died, and the altar’s stone pillars were all filled except for Ralph’s.

If these disgusting monsters were replaced by players, then Ralph killing so many players would have already filled the altar.

Ralph laughed. “Why should I let you all leave so easily? I’ve been stuck in this cramped, dark, cursed place. My only pleasure is watching you line up to die! How could I let you go without killing every last one of you?”

By the end of his words, Ralph’s face grew cold, with twisted muscles that looked dreadful and frightening.

If it weren’t for the gemstone mermaid next to Yin Liuming, he probably would have pounced right at him.

Yin Liuming had completely seen through Ralph’s intentions.

This sailor, who once worked part-time as a pirate, died at sea, and his resentful spirit, unwilling to let go, attached itself to Madame Solari’s dream, twisting his mind and taking pleasure in tormenting and slaughtering players.

Unlike Chu Dong, who was reluctant to wake, Madame Solari was forcibly pulled into the dream by Ralph.

And Ralph’s obsession was his unwillingness and jealousy.

He was jealous of every person alive, unwilling to accept that he could only exist in such a repulsive state.

This kind of obsession probably couldn’t be fixed just with words like Chu Dong’s.

Yin Liuming looked at Ralph and smiled. “I suggest you go tie yourself up on the altar right now.”

Ralph stared coldly at Yin Liuming. “Don’t think you can provoke me because you have that thing protecting you.”

As he spoke, a pitch-black, sticky substance stretched from beneath his feet, forming tentacles that menacingly swept at Yin Liuming.

Yin Liuming lightly kicked at the ground and asked a completely off-topic question, “I’ve always been curious. Since you can already control Madame Solari directly, why not kill her outright?”

Ralph squinted. “Isn’t it better to keep her for torment?”

Yin Liuming shook his head. “I fear the real purpose… is that without Madame Solari, this Solari Town will be completely destroyed, right?”

He gazed up at the pitch-black sky, devoid of stars, and gradually spoke words that drastically changed Ralph’s expression. “After all, this town is deep in the endless depths of the sea.”