Although Yu Yan's father still couldn't explain what the ritual was, nor could he find a way to resolve the 'connection' between them, he did find the source of the ritual.
Indeed, it was a tribe that worshipped water, and they set up a ritual for a mysterious monster.
Yu Yan's father only regarded this as a whim of his daughter, but he still did his best.
"I'm so glad you'd want to know about my work." Yu Yan's father hid his excitement in the constant wiping of his glasses.
"I've always wanted to know," Yu Yan said. "It's an amazing job." Now she's absolutely certain.
Neither Ren Yifei nor Yu Yan told the professor about their predicament.
"Although my dad researches this, he doesn't believe in these things. Plus, he needs to stay there and work in peace, and I don't want him to worry. And, for some reason, I'm very confident," Yu Yan said.
This girl is naively optimistic, but she doesn't confront her fear directly, so it's hard to imagine what that feeling is like.
Although Zhao Rui has faced death many times, her heart is stronger than she appears. Even though she hasn't seen the dead for long, she doesn't become depressed or back down; she can still joke with them.
Huh? ...Wait a minute, it's the player who dies, which means their presence will disappear.
"Zhao Rui, do you remember what happened at the bubble tea shop?"
"What? A party?" Zhao Rui asked.
"No, it's nothing. I just suddenly remembered that they were arguing for ages at the bubble tea shop." Ren Yifei finally confirmed that Zhao Rui's ability to calm down so quickly wasn't because she was good at self-regulation, but because she had 'forgotten' about the player who died from drinking bubble tea.
So, the three people who died that are still being hotly debated by students are not players at all, but NPCs.
In addition, the reason why the school took so long to react when so many students suddenly died has also been found—the player's presence disappears after death.
Therefore, from the school's and other students' perspective, the dead players are not students, but the dead NPCs are.
"what's on your mind?"
Ren Yifei snapped out of his daze and realized that the two of them had been calling him for a long time.
"I'm thinking, if we're talking about timing, Chen Rui and I were among the first to speak up in the group, but he died, while we didn't," Ren Yifei typed in the group. "What is it that allowed us to survive?"
"It was Yu Yan; she stopped me," Zhao Rui replied.
"Not only that, the boy who attacked others yesterday was also stopped, but he seemed to be completely controlled."
"It's willpower," Yu Yan suddenly replied. "Human willpower can unleash the body's potential and create miracles."
Willpower? Starting from this direction, it seems to make some sense.
Since dreaming of that mysterious being last night, Ren Yifei has vaguely understood the reason for the deaths of others.
Chaos, madness, and disorder emanated from that colossal creature in the shadows... Humans who happened to encounter it were easily influenced by this power.
The mysterious entity never did anything proactively; it simply existed there, and its presence was a form of harm to vulnerable humans who came near.
The more gifted a person is, the deeper they perceive it, and the greater the impact they receive.
However, if a person is determined and not easily influenced by others, even if they are influenced, they will retain a sliver of rationality and thus have a chance to save themselves.
Another group at this time.
"All chaos begins with someone's excessive exploration of the unknown. Humanity currently lacks the power to confront it directly, yet he chooses to take shortcuts."
Chen Shen in the group said, "Only by stopping this shortcut can things be completely over."
"Of course we know, but even the vice president himself doesn't understand, so where are we supposed to start looking?" The members in the group were all feeling down. Although they had forgotten about the death that morning, the impact of the NPC who died yesterday was still there, and their mood hadn't calmed down.
Chen Rui's death had the greatest impact on them. A living, breathing person they knew died because of this pointless sacrificial performance. Who could just turn around and act like nothing happened?
As a result, a dozen or so pictures appeared in the group chat the next second.
Ren Yifei was somewhat surprised when he saw the pictures. The pictures contained hieroglyphics, each accompanied by a corresponding modern Chinese explanation.
Yes, that's right, those are the ones that Yu Yan's father showed them.
"These are some pictographs I found during a sacrificial ceremony, which I then had professionally translated. These characters belong to an ancient tribe in the border region of Yunnan. They were active two thousand years ago and have disappeared in modern times. But it's hard to say whether any descendants have survived."
Next, Chen Shen introduced some information about this tribe, such as their worship of water and their tradition of human sacrifice, which was similar to what Yu Yan's father had said, but not as specific or detailed. It seems that they really did invite experts.
The materials she prepared immediately touched the hearts of the group members. They had only been politely asking her to be the group leader before, but now they had to genuinely call her group leader.
"Group owner, you even found this? You're amazing."
The lost sheep were overjoyed to have found their leader. Although the shadow of death still lingered, at least they now knew where this damned priest had come from.
"So, is there a solution now?"
"The ritual has been completed, the connection has been established, but the culprit has not yet been caught. Now we have two things to do: first, go against the grain, and second, make good friends." Chen Shen explained word by word, as if teaching kindergarten children, afraid that it was too profound for them to understand.
What she really meant was that you should try to present yourself as someone less likely to be chosen, the kind of person who's more likely to be selected. You can't change your talent, but you can try spacing out, not thinking about creating, and clearing your mind.
Secondly, find a trustworthy friend and stay by their side until this matter is over. This way, if you are influenced and start to hallucinate, your friend will still have a chance to help you.
These are all basic maneuvers that low-level players would call "brilliant"—simple, but effective.
Ren Yifei realized that Chen Shen wanted to turn these people into "his own people," which was why he threw out these baits. But what use would it be if they became "his own people"?
Unable to figure out Chen Shen's plans, Ren Yifei simply shut down the group chat and got out of bed.
On his bookshelf was a transparent plastic box containing scrapers and clay; he had an urge to create—if creating would allow him to see monsters in broad daylight.
He also connected his phone to the charging cable, adjusted the angle, and started recording a selfie video.
Ren Yifei has some sculpting skills, but he's not at a professional level; at most, he can only produce work that's presentable. However, when he picks up a square piece of clay, he completely immerses himself in the creative process.
At first, it might have been acting, but when he truly immersed himself in it, he experienced a wonderful joy.
Ren Yifei didn't have clay toys in his childhood, but as an adult, he bought many clay figurines and handmade toys out of a sense of compensation. However, he has never been as happy as he is now, as if he is giving this piece of clay a new life.
He carefully crafted sharp claws and powerful hind legs for the monster, and his hazy memories suddenly became clear; that feeling reappeared!
He pretended to know nothing, as if he were immersed in the world of sculpture. Many forgotten things in his mind were triggered.
The surrounding environment seemed to fade, and space slightly distorted. He could sense that he was about to step onto that shortcut, to confront the unspeakable existence in the spiritual world.
At one moment, his world turned into a simple black and white. Yet there were no other colors here, only endless gray, and Ren Yifei felt oppressed.
Where am I? Is this a passage built by ghosts using rituals?
The tiny black and white squares combined to form a gray world, and everything looked dejected and depressed. Ren Yifei, who was in the middle of it, also felt dejected and depressed.
All the depressing and sad emotions in his memory surfaced, coalescing into a dark cloud that rained down on his heart.
He thought of a rainy day, or perhaps it wasn't a rainy day, but rather he was lying in bed with one wrist cut open, the sound of blood dripping and falling in his ears.
His spirit and vitality would also leave him, so he felt that dying was nothing.
A red ring appeared on Ren Yifei's wrist, as he awoke from his feelings of frustration and melancholy.
"Is this where the members' madness, fear, or despair come from?"
He sensed that there were even more extreme emotions outside that could easily lead people astray, emotions that stirred him and forced him to adopt his strongest stance.
The predicament of being trapped was peeled away along with the skin of 'Zhang Zhengyuan', and the remaining emotions that had not yet been unlocked surged out in this special environment, avoiding the seal, and he was returning to his prime.
Ren Yifei closed his eyes and sighed contentedly.
His power was rising steadily, but his desires were also growing wildly without restraint. Destruction, chaos, killing, violence, madness, and all sorts of evil auras surrounded him.
The forces of evil drive out good, and bestiality drives out humanity, transforming Ren Yifei into a non-human 'evil spirit'.
He stood in a void, his white hair like snowflakes dancing wildly in the wind, his eyes and lips as red as crimson. He seemed to be wearing a black robe, but upon closer inspection, one could see tiny black holes on the robe.
This is not a black robe at all, but a vessel for the resentment of countless shattered little worlds.
The black robe was billowing, revealing no feet underneath, just emptiness.
Ren Yifei spread his slender fingers, and his sharp, long nails casually drew a white bone mask from thin air. He put on the mask, revealing only his blood-stained lips.
When he was sealed, he was human; when he was unsealed, he was a 'ghost'.
Having devoured the Great Villain System and absorbed all the evil it carried, he became an evil being walking on the ground, an existence like the mysterious power of this instance.
Humans cannot see his true form; if they do, they will be influenced, becoming extreme and their desires will soar.
However, there was no one here... Ren Yifei squinted and stepped out of the small circle he had been in, and the view suddenly opened up before him.
He didn't see the 'mysterious force' sealed in the darkness, but he did see some 'people'. The shadows of those he had seen during the day who had already been affected seemed to have been left behind here.
He even saw 'Zhao Rui', spinning in circles in a void, her face filled with despair.
"Are these shadows the 'connection' between the NPCs and this place?" Ren Yifei looked at them and felt that he should go over and help out, which would be a piece of cake for him.
However, at this moment, his inner world was also barren, and friendliness had become a concept as thin as paper.
The human instinct to watch over one another seemed to have been eradicated from his very being. Ren Yifei lost interest and began to feel bored.
Following the direction of these shadows, Ren Yifei walked to the end and saw a special shadow, the character of Saman. He was quite different, with a red-hot rune around his neck.
Samantha looked bewildered, as if he had forgotten something very important and was feeling distressed.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked the air around him.
There was no response, and Samantha tried to leave, but the object around his neck was deeply embedded in his soul, and he could not go anywhere.
"I have to go back; someone is waiting for me."
Just then, Ren Yifei appeared from nothingness and saw Saman. Their eyes met.
That thing on the neck... it seems to be a 'curse'. It was supposed to be on the character, but because Saman is in this body, his soul has also been forced to bear this mark.
Ren Yifei's heart, which was as cold and hard as an ice river, seemed to crack open, and a faint anger emanated from the crack.
"This is my property."
He found the 'mark' extremely offensive and reached out to dig it off. His long, thin nails dug into his neck; there was no blood, but it must have hurt a lot, and Saman's body trembled slightly with pain.
But strangely, Samantha didn't move, didn't refuse or resist; he looked at him tenderly and said, "You've come to pick me up."
"You know me?"
Saman shook his head.
"Very good." Ren Yifei felt a slight sense of pleasure again.
This was too rare for him, and he was even more reluctant to give it away, since it was something he had chosen first, something that belonged to him.
He continued digging, his fingernail already touching the 'mark,' and was about to peel it off when suddenly a gust of wind blew by, shattering the space in its path, and Saman in front of him simply vanished.
"This isn't the work of 'mysterious forces,' this is..." Ren Yifei suddenly realized something. But before he could react, he was also thrown out.
When he 'woke up' again, he was still sitting in his dormitory, the red rope still tightly binding his other emotions.
Ren Yifei held a clay sculpture in his hand, but when he exerted force, the clay sculpture was deformed. He could barely control his anger for a mo
ment.
A desolate, barren corner!