144: Chapter 144 Chinese Temples

The text ended here; one corner of the note curled up high and automatically melted into wax.

Chen Mo rested his chin in his hand, feeling that something was a bit strange.

They were all humanoid monsters, but their methods of appearance differed.

The Doberman-headed Monster only wanted to help that lady and had no intention of harming her, whereas this fish-man was hiding in a no-man's land.

Attacking whenever it encountered humans?

Chen Mo had previously read some legends about fish-men.

Legend had it that fish-men were a subspecies of merfolk, fierce in appearance, amphibious, and generally haunted the deep sea.

They would occasionally come ashore to gather fruits or launch attacks on remote coastal towns.

Looting their treasures, devouring the flesh and blood of men, while women became vessels for them to reproduce.

Because fish-men had no gender and could not conceive themselves.

The time span was also quite large: one was in 1812, and the other was in 1840.

"This must be a hidden worldview that needs to be deduced by oneself."

"I still need to go to the Wax Museum and collect more clues; there should be more stories about these types of mutants."

Closing his eyes and lying quietly for a while, his stamina and mental state both improved.

Chen Mo and the others hadn't eaten for two days; although resting in stillness could restore stamina,

it also had a limit.

In the dungeons they had participated in before, there were Vending Machines where they could buy water of might or food prepared by the Ricardo family.

Which made Chen Mo never realize that one actually needed to eat in the Thriller Game.

Otherwise, after a long time, even if one remained still, stamina would no longer replenish automatically.

Just like that, until the midnight bell tolled.

Chen Mo called the Dorm Manager over, gave it 100 horror coins, and asked it to help open the door.

[Dorm Manager: Favorability +30, 60/100]

Then he opened the doors for his teammates one by one; the six-person team was fully geared up and ready to set off immediately.

As for the Forbidden Young Master, although he was very helpless, he finally gave the keys to his teammates to Chen Mo.

At this moment, the initiative was entirely in Chen Mo's hands.

Even the Dorm Manager had become Chen Mo's subordinate; if they disagreed, it would beat him with a stick, so he had no choice but to obey.

Although he could only release three teammates, and they were the weakest in the team,

it was still better than not being able to get anyone out.

Now, a new nine-person team was formed.

"Don't expect me to charge into battle for you; we are opposing factions," the Boyfriend warned.

"Actually... the twelve of us are one team."

"Huh?" Hearing Chen Mo's words, the Boyfriend looked completely dumbfounded.

Frowning slightly, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"There are ghosts at night. You are all level 12 veteran players; surely you know the principles of the Thriller Game, right?"

"To get an S-rank evaluation, you must kill the ghost."

"This is also the ultimate goal for players to clear the dungeon."

"Once the ghosts are eliminated, there will be nothing left in the Thriller Game that can threaten the players' lives, and naturally, the game will be cleared."

"Even if we really are opposing factions, did you receive any message stating that the ghosts are your allies?"

The couple shook their heads one after another.

"That's right. It proves that the ghost has nothing to do with either of our groups; it will kill indiscriminately, killing all of us."

Hearing this, the couple all gasped.

They realized that what Chen Mo said was correct.

Since there was a ghost setting, it must be something the players had to deal with.

And at the beginning of the game, it was never explicitly stated that they were opposing existences to each other.

It was entirely under the guidance of the surrounding environment and tasks that they subconsciously believed their six-person groups were in an opposing relationship.

But in reality, the Thriller Game never stated it clearly; it was purely their own imagination.

Plus the big pie Chen Mo painted—an S-rank.

The most they had matched before was a 6-person dungeon; this was the first time they had encountered a 12-person dungeon.

Which meant... if the 12 people could join forces, it was very possible to get an S-rank evaluation!

The couple's eyes lit up.

"That's great, honey! If we can get an S-rank, we can update our diaries with new topics!"

"That's right, come here, baby, let's kiss first! Mwah."

Little Fatty on the side was uneasy and whispered, "Um, Brother Chen, can we give up on the S-rank? I just want to get out alive."

Jiang Xinyi leaned into Chen Mo's ear and chuckled, "You rascal, you are too good at deceiving people."

"You are planning to use them to attract the ghost, right?"

Looking at Jiang Xinyi's expression that saw through everything, Chen Mo shrugged.

He also whispered, "There's no other way. My goal is to take you guys out alive; people are bound to die in a group dungeon."

"I am not a god; I cannot save everyone."

"I can only try my best to protect the club president and friends I want to protect; that is all."

Hearing Chen Mo's words, Jiang Xinyi reached out to cover her mouth and took two steps back.

A blush appeared on her cheeks.

"You rascal..."

The 9-person team began to move.

Arriving at the Chu-Han Border in the middle, a sudden change occurred.

Everyone saw that the swamp, which was originally suffocating to sink into, had now turned into solid wax ground.

Chen Mo and the others slid down the cliff and stepped on the wax ground to cross the river.

They successfully arrived at Wang Family Village.

The ancient village houses were arranged in a staggered and orderly fashion, with blue tiles and white walls.

The wooden doors and windows were pasted with dark red "Fu" (good fortune) characters.

Only the lanterns and couplets in front of every household were covered with a layer of dust, looking as if they had been uninhabited for a long time.

A gust of eerie wind blew past, causing the few people wearing short sleeves to shiver uncontrollably.

At the same time, it blew against the window paper with holes, making a "woo-woo" sound like a ghost wailing.

"Damn! Just like in horror movies; local horror scenes really are more terrifying," Lu Chengfeng couldn't help but exclaim.

Chen Mo led everyone directly towards the temple.

The vermilion gate was half-open; Chen Mo and the others pushed the door and entered, stepping over the threshold and into the veranda.

In the center of the courtyard.

An ancient incense burner stood quietly, with wisps of blue smoke rising from it, emitting a faint scent of sandalwood.

An ancient well was located on one side of the incense burner.

The veranda was square; going straight or walking around the veranda to the left or right would eventually lead to the main hall.

If it were daytime, this might be a holy place of tranquility and detachment.

But at night.

There is a common saying: "When traveling alone at night, exhausted and looking for a place to stay for the night."

"There are only two places to choose from: one is a temple, and the other is a grave."

"Folk records of the uncanny state: Better to go to a grave than a temple."

"Because the incense offered by people praying during the day is for the ghosts to consume at night."

"The prayers chanted by the monks during the day, which can also be called deliverance, are meant to deliver the dead."

"Which means... a temple at night is actually a place of extreme yin! If you are not a person of gods or buddhas, it is very easy to attract the ghosts of the mountains."

Everyone present was Chinese, and they were all huddled together at this moment.

Afraid that if there was a gap between them, they would turn from 9 people into 10.

Damn, this Chinese-style horror is much scarier than some Wax Museum.

"Chen, Chen Mo, what should we do next?" Su Qing and Xu Xiaoman asked in unison.

Looking around, Chen Mo raised his head.

Following the high steps all the way up, he saw two Qilin sitting on either side of the steps.

Since it was a Chinese custom, they must walk straight and enter the main hall openly and uprightly.

"Let's go! We're entering the main hall."