2: Chapter 2 Beginner's Quest: Repairing the Ancestral Hall

After a brief, dead silence, a mountain-shaking, sea-tsunami-like roar of fanatical clamor erupted within the ancestral hall.

"Holy crap! All attributes +1%! Awesome!"

"Even wood chips can count as incense? Is this game's designer a devil? I love it!"

"What are you all staring for? Find stuff! Fill up this incense burner!"

With a loud 'boom', over a dozen players scattered instantly like hornets from a poked nest.

A green light flickered in their eyes, making them look like a pack of wolves that hadn't eaten for three days and nights, while that bronze incense burner was the only piece of fatty meat in their sight.

"I Love Exploiting Loopholes" was instantly revered as the "spiritual leader" by the crowd. He stood with hands on hips, announcing his discovery triumphantly: "See that? Sincerity leads to results! What the ancestor wants is our intent, not necessarily incense bought with real gold and silver! In theory, as long as it can burn, it counts as incense!"

This bit of twisted logic completely ignited the players' passion for creation (destruction).

"Infrastructure Maniac" was the first to respond. He walked up to a decaying pillar, reached out to pry off a large chunk of rotten wood, and shouted excitedly: "Brothers, this pillar is done for. Leaving it is a safety hazard anyway. Why not dismantle it to offer incense to the ancestor? It gives a buff and removes danger for the family—killing two birds with one stone!"

"Makes sense!" the crowd chimed in one after another.

"War God Number One" was even more of a man of action. Without a word, he took a running start and slammed violently into a dilapidated wooden door.

Bang!

The wooden door shattered upon impact, wood chips flying everywhere.

“Hiss... Ow!” War God Number One clutched his shoulder, grimacing in pain. “Damn, 100% pain simulation? That hurts like hell!”

Though he cried out in pain, an extremely excited smile hung on his face, as if he had discovered a new continent.

Rubbing his shoulder, he picked up the largest fragment of the door panel and scurried toward the incense burner.

“I'll add some 'heavy-duty' stuff for the ancestor!”

This scene completely opened everyone's Pandora's box.

Some players began tearing down the funeral scrolls hanging on the walls, which had long since become unrecognizable.

Some players worked together to dismantle the only relatively intact offering table in the ancestral hall.

And some players actually set their sights on the novice linen clothes they were wearing.

“These clothes... can they be burned too?”

The ancestral hall instantly became a scene of chaotic activity.

“Appearance is Justice” covered her nose, looking with utter disgust at the rising green smoke mixed with all sorts of strange odors: “This smoke smells terrible! Isn't there anything fragrant? Like flower petals or something?”

While complaining, she started rummaging through the corners and actually managed to find a withered, unknown wild flower in a dusty crevice.

She carefully tossed the wild flower into the incense burner. The next second, a system notification exclusive to her rang out.

[Ding! You have offered [Withered Wild Flower] to the ancestor. Your piety (taste) has caught the ancestor's attention. You have gained a temporary Buff: [Ancestor's Fragrance] (Special).]

[Effect: Your body emits a faint scent of decaying grass. Mosquito and insect repellent effect +5%. Duration: 5 minutes.]

“Appearance is Justice”: "..."

Looking at this practically useless buff, she stomped her feet in frustration, but it provided a new train of thought for the other players.

“I get it! Burning different things gives different buff effects!”

“Quick, quick, quick! Bring those cobwebs over there and try them!”

“Who's going to dig out the dry grass from the mouse hole?”

On the offering table at the top of the ancestral hall, Lu Bei's soul body had become so weak it was nearly transparent.

He watched the performance of this group of "Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren" in stunned silence, feeling his worldview being repeatedly hammered, crushed, and reshaped.

Is this what the system meant by "unconventional thinking"?

They were simply a pack of bandits, like a plague of locusts passing through!

They were supposed to bring honor to the ancestors?

They clearly wanted to dismantle the ancestral hall right then and there!

He wanted to shout a reprimand, but the summoning had exhausted all his strength. Even maintaining his light-and-shadow form was extremely difficult, and the sound he produced was as weak as a mosquito's buzz, instantly drowned out by the players' clamor.

Just as Lu Bei was feeling a sense of despair, that reckless man with the ID "Life-Bargaining First Person - War God Number One" came up with a new trick.

After tossing the door fragment into the incense burner, he didn't feel satisfied. He looked up and saw a dust-covered plaque hanging from the ancestral hall's rafters.

The material of that plaque looked much better than the rotten wood on the ground.

“That must be something good! Burning it will definitely give a huge buff!” War God Number One shouted excitedly.

He looked around, saw a long wooden pole leaning in a corner, and immediately ran over to shoulder it, preparing to poke down the plaque.

“Brother, be careful. Those rafters don't look sturdy!” “Infrastructure Maniac” called out a warning based on his professional instinct.

“Afraid of what? At most I'll take a fall. Can you even die from a fall in a game?” War God Number One shouldered the wooden pole nonchalantly, wobbled to the center of the hall, looked up at the plaque, and gave it a hard poke.

The plaque wobbled but didn't fall.

But because the ground beneath his feet had been out of repair for years, a blue brick suddenly cracked with a 'snap'.

War God Number One's foot slipped, he lost his balance, and his whole body fell backward.

To make matters worse, the long wooden pole in his hand fell with him, its end hitting squarely and accurately onto the bronze incense burner that the players regarded as a treasure.

Clang!

With a loud crash, the incense burner was knocked over. The sparks and ashes from the various burning debris inside spilled out completely.

Meanwhile, the back of War God Number One's head slammed hard against the solid bluestone floor.

Thud!

After a dull thud, he didn't even let out a groan. His body twitched twice, then turned into a white light and vanished into thin air.

The entire ancestral hall fell silent instantly.

All the players were stunned. They looked at each other, the fanaticism and excitement on their faces frozen into bewilderment and confusion.

“Where is he?”

“War God... logged off?”

The next second, a cold, conspicuous system announcement appeared on everyone's retinas.

[Family Announcement: Mourning! Our clan's "Heavenly Chosen Filial Grandson" — [War God Number One], has unfortunately perished while repairing (destroying) the ancestral hall, dying at a young age!]

[For carelessly overturning the ancestral incense burner and disturbing the peace of the ancestors, his crime is compounded by one degree.]

[Resurrection Cost: Consumes 100 catties of the family's reserve Spirit Grain and exhausts the next three years of the life force of the family blacksmith, Grandpa Li.]

[Warning: Family resources are severely depleted and cannot pay the resurrection cost! Player [War God Number One]'s soul has been detained. If the resources cannot be gathered within twenty-four hours, his character will be forcibly deleted!]

[Let all Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren take this as a warning! Remember, this game bargains with your life!]

If the previous death penalty warning was just text, then now, this bloody reality was like a resounding slap across the face of every player.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

“Holy... crap...”

Someone, with a trembling voice, spat out those words.

One hundred catties of Spirit Grain?

And it costs three years of an NPC's life force?

Failure means direct character deletion?

What kind of devil game is this!

Everyone was stunned by this cruel death penalty.

They finally personally experienced what the game description meant by "Other games cost money, this game costs lives."

The price was too heavy!

Just as the crowd was shaken and at a loss, the light-and-shadow belonging to Lu Bei on the offering table, which had nearly gone out, suddenly flared up.

This was him using his last bit of strength to force himself to pull together.

He knew the time had come.

This pack of wild horses needed a rein to guide them.

“Enough.”

An old, weak voice, yet one carrying an unquestionable majesty, echoed clearly in everyone's ears.

The players subconsciously looked up to see that mysterious "Ancestor." Though his light-and-shadow was dim, it exuded a heart-palpitating pressure.

“The decline of the family was not built in a day. The dilapidation of the ancestral hall is not your fault either.”

Lu Bei's voice was hollow and long. “However, when a great mansion is about to collapse, a single pillar cannot support it. To bring honor to your ancestors, you must first establish your own life.”

Using all his strength, he raised an illusory arm and pointed at the messy ancestral hall.

“This place is the root of the Lu family, and also the place where your souls return. If the ancestral hall does not exist, you will also become rootless duckweed.”

Following his words, a brand-new quest panel popped up in front of all the players.

[Novice Guide Quest: Repairing the Ancestral Hall]

[Quest Description: The ancestor's residence is in ruins. As Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren, you have the duty to renovate it. Please work together to clear all cobwebs and dust in the ancestral hall, and collect 100 units of [High-Quality Wood] from the back mountain to repair the damaged areas.]

[Quest Rewards:]

[1. Family contribution points x 10]

[2. Ancestor's Favorability + 1]

[Quest Tips: contribution points can be used to exchange for living supplies, basic equipment, and cultivation techniques at family NPCs. Favorability is the key to unlocking hidden quests and receiving personal guidance from the ancestor.]

Clear quest objectives and explicit reward mechanisms instantly gave the confused players a sense of direction.

“contribution points! We can trade for gear and techniques!”

“And a favorability system! Sucking up to the NPC... uh, I mean, honoring the ancestor, will definitely have benefits!”

“Quick, quick, quick! Don't just stand there, get to work!”

The players who were just immersed in the fear of the death penalty were immediately driven by new interests.

This is what players are—a group of magical creatures who can be driven by the most direct interests.

“Demolition Office Director” waved his hand, beginning to assign tasks with a leader's flair: “Come, come, come! You infrastructure guys, follow me to the back mountain to chop trees! We need 100 units of wood!”

“Infrastructure Maniac” responded immediately: “Roger! I need a few hands to help carry things, and also to scout the back mountain terrain to see if there are any mineral resources.”

Several female players, including “Skillful Hands Mending” and “Gossip Reporter Little Trumpet,” took the initiative to stay behind.

“We'll handle cleaning the ancestral hall; this job needs more attention to detail.”

“Perfect, I'll chat with the ancestor and see if I can squeeze out some intel.” “Little Trumpet” winked.

“I Love Exploiting Loopholes” squatted on the ground, carefully gathering the spilled ashes and sparks back into the incense burner, muttering: “Can't let this go to waste, these are all buffs...”

The chaotic scene miraculously became orderly.

Led by the “Demolition Office Director,” the majority of the players charged out of the ancestral hall in a grand procession toward the back mountain with a clear goal—chopping trees!

Inside the ancestral hall, only the few female players responsible for cleaning and Lu Bei, who was still struggling to hold on in his weakness, remained.

Watching the group of “Filial Sons and Virtuous Grandchildren” rush toward the back mountain, Lu Bei's soul body flickered. Finally unable to hold on any longer, his light-and-shadow vanished with a 'poof', retreating completely back into that cold wooden memorial tablet.

A wave of extreme fatigue swept over him, and his consciousness sank back into a stupor.

Before falling completely asleep, only one thought remained in his mind.

“Finally... I've coaxed this bunch of little ancestors to go to work...”