CH 106

(Another evil cult)

Bonus chapter (2/2) delivered as promised~ 

The island was vast, and although trekking for more than an hour, the group had not emerged from the rain forest.

Mr. Jacket’s hand rose and fell as he cut the branches blocking the path in front of him with the knife in his hand and moved further.

Because of the temperature and his numerous movements, he was drenched in sweat all over and appeared to have been fished out of water.

Not to mention the players behind him. 

Sister Glasses was alright, but Miss Long Skirt struggled to move. She had fallen several times, and her lovely long gown was ruined. She leaned shakily against a tree.

“I can’t… I can’t walk anymore. Can we go back?”

Mr. Jacket gave Miss Long Skirt a cold look.

When Miss Long Skirt didn’t get an answer, she pulled the leaves on top of her head as if to vent her rage, but she soon realized something was amiss. She slowly raised her head and locked glances with a particularly towering form in the emerald green mass.

A snake was coiled on the branch. It raised its head and made “hissing” sounds with its mouth. It gently bowed down and peered with ice-cold eyes at the long-skirted woman nearby.

Miss Long Skirt had never been in a situation like this before. Her legs were too soft to move, and she wanted to scream for aid, but her mouth seemed to be blocked by something, and she couldn’t say anything.

The snake detected its prey’s weakness. A sinister glimmer flashed in its eyes, the scales under its abdomen brushed against the bark, the snake’s body tightened into a straight line, and it struck like lightning towards the long-skirted woman’s neck.

Miss Long Skirt couldn’t move at all. She could only wait to die with her eyes wide open. 

And it happened so fast that the other players didn’t notice.

As those ferocious fangs approached, a hand reached out from beside Miss Long Skirt and tightly pinched the snake’s vital point firmly.

Miss Long Skirt narrowly escaped death and collapsed on the ground.

The ready-to-go snake was promptly immobilized, and its tail curled up weakly. 

“Is it edible?” asked Shen Dongqing, shaking the snake in his hand.

This snake was greenish-blue in hue and looked tasty.

“It can only be dealt with,” Zhou Wenyan said, grabbing his eager hand.

Shen Dongqing was forced to let go of the snake’s carcass regretfully after realizing it couldn’t be eaten. 

The others did not respond until this point.

“There are actually snakes here,” Sister Glasses said, pushing up her eyeglasses and looking at the snake on the ground.

The rain forest was pristine all the way, with no little beasts in sight. So, what did these snakes eat?

This could be a vital clue. 

Tattoo Guy had yet to learn his lesson, and he added carelessly: “We still need to seek outside assistance. What good is staring at a snake?”

Tattoo Guy took a step back in fear when Sister Glasses glared at him.

Sister Glasses, who didn’t have time to debate with an imbecile, just added, “Take extra precautions from now on. There must be more than one snake in this place.”

Zhou Wenyan lowered his gaze to the snake, which was curled up in a ball. 

He wasn’t sure if it was because of the angle of the toss, but the dead body’s head and tail were connected end to end, forming a ring.

Following this minor incident, the party proceeded.

Even Mr. Jacket was exhausted after another half-hour of walking. Trekking through a rain forest consumed a lot of water, and there was a lack of fresh water, thus there were dehydration symptoms.

They couldn’t keep going, so the players had no choice but to stop and take a break. 

The group sat down under a tree after making sure there were no snakes nearby.

Sister Glasses: “It’s not a good idea to keep walking at the moment. This island is so big that we can’t figure out how to get about.”

Mr. Jacket removed his jacket, wiped the sweat from his brow, and sat on a stone, saying, “Since we’ve come this far, we can only go on.”

Sister Glasses: “We’ve wasted a lot of time and haven’t located a single clue. What does the game expect us to do? What exactly is the goal?” 

Tattoo Guy muttered quietly, “We’ll be better off if you listen to me. Lighting a fire on the beach will allow passing ships and planes to notice the distress signal.”

Sister Glasses was becoming tetchy: “As I previously stated, this is not a real world. It’s unclear whether any ships are passing by.”

Tattoo Guy: “What if there is?”

Miss Long Skirt also added feebly: “Yes, this rain forest is too deep, and there are snakes. We might as well go back to the beach and try his method.” 

Tattoo Guy unexpectedly gained the backing of one individual and subsequently felt more confident. He turned his head and looked at the other two persons who had no sense of existence, and asked, “What about you?”

Shen Dongqing was obviously out of form and blinked blankly: “Huh?”

Tattoo Guy had just witnessed Shen Dongqing’s skill to catch snakes with his bare hands and was eager to win him over. “Do you want to keep going or return?” he queried.

Shen Dongqing thought for a moment and said, “Keep moving forward.” He added a rather classic sentence, “Everyone is here.” 

Tattoo Guy: …

Do you really consider this a vacation?

“Let’s go, we need to find a water source as quickly as possible,” Mr. Jacket said as he rose up.

The players were just regular people. There was nothing they could accomplish in this natural environment, regardless of their abilities. 

Mr. Jacket, however, was not overly concerned. After all, if the game truly meant to kill them, it could just lock them in a cell and starve them to death. There was no need to go through the motions.

Fortunately, they spotted a lake after walking out of the rain forest.

The lake was situated at the heart of the island and covered a large area. The opposite edge was impossible to see at a glance.

Mr. Jacket walked impatiently to the lake’s edge and scooped up lake water in his cupped palms, only to spit it out after a taste. The lake water was salty and astringent, indicating that it was sea water. 

“Uael, qael! Pa’r jirb rfj kjafg!” Zg. Ajmxfa mbeutfv jcv tjmxfv.

Ktfgf kjr cb ogfrt kjafg.

Ktf qijsfgr kfgf jii rlaalcu bc atf ugbecv jcv mea fzagfwfis rbggs oluegfr. Ktfs kfgf mjxfv lc wev jcv ojiifc pecuif ifjnfr. Ycis Vtfc Gbcudlcu jcv Itbe Qfcsjc kfgf olcf.

“Pa’r rb delfa,” rjlv Vtfc Gbcudlcu, rlaalcu mgbrr-ifuufv ecvfg j agff jcv qffglcu eq ja j rqba bo iluta yfakffc atf vfcrf obiljuf. 

The other players recognized this point after hearing what he said.

There were no wild creatures here, nor were there any sounds of birdsong or insects chirping, as though the entire island was dead.

Miss Long Skirt murmured, “It’s really unlikely. This is contrary to the food chain.”

This jungle would not have grown as lush if there were no living beings. 

Tattoo Guy: “Didn’t you say this is a game world? Maybe it didn’t set up these things at all.”

Sister Glasses: “This is an unusual circumstance. Furthermore, why are there no other living animals than snakes?”

Miss Long Skirt interrupted their discussion by asking, “Does anyone have spare clothes?”

The players stared at her. 

Miss Long Skirt blushed and bowed her head, “My skirt…”

Nobody knew how long it had been since someone had gone through this forest. Miss Long Skirt was wearing a skirt and there was no sign of a trail. Her legs were scratched to the point of being covered in blood spots, and her skirt was too ragged to be seen.

Mr. Jacket handed over the jacket.

Miss Long Skirt thanked him and wrapped the jacket around her waist. 

Tattoo Guy: “Women are such a hassle, especially when they wear skirts.”

Miss Long Skirt explained: “My clothes were changed when I came in. This isn’t what I was wearing before…”

Mr. Jacket’s voice rose as he inquired, “What did you say?”

Miss Long Skirt jumped in fear, but she repeated her words. 

Mr. Jacket: “Why should the game change your clothes?”

Mr. Jacket thought the key point was on this island at first, but after exploring around for quite a while, they didn’t locate anything useful, not even fresh water.

Now it seemed that the key point could be on the other players.

Miss Long Skirt recalled: “A voice informed me that I was the girlfriend of a rich second generation and he took me aboard a cruise ship to play. Then I opened my eyes to find myself at sea.” 

Tattoo Guy also recalled: “It appears that I am the rich second generation.”

Mr. Jacket questioned closely: “Apart from this, did it say anything else?”

These two were newcomers after all. They were scared silly when they came in and couldn’t possibly remember to take note of such things. They had forgotten about it until now.

“I’m not sure I remember.” Tattoo Guy stated: “It said something about a mysterious nearby island. I wanted to come over, so I hired a bodyguard and set off with my girlfriend.” 

Mr. Jacket: “Do you remember the name of this mysterious island?”

Tattoo Guy: “Are you kidding? It sounded like a slew of names or bird language. It was yue something something de. I don’t remember; it was a messy name.”

Mr. Jacket’s expression was a little bad.

The main characters were assigned to two newbies, while the other person’s character was a bodyguard, implying that they knew nothing. But two newcomers who also happen to be main characters? Clearly, the game was trying to mess with them. 

Tattoo Guy, who had remembered his identity, was already standing up, determined to make a name for himself in the world. He gestured at the group and said, “You must all obey me. Now, let’s turn around and head back to the beach, where we can wait for rescue.”

Sister Glasses sighed and rolled her eyes.

Mr. Jacket disregarded this moron in order to conserve energy.

Shen Dongqing exclaimed, “Huh!” at this point. 

Nobody turned back to watch after the other players had gone through the last large fish experience.

Tattoo Guy, who had lost face, grew even more enraged and roared: “Are you a moron? You make a big deal out of everything…”

Tattoo Guy looked over while ranting and noticed the man beside Shen Dongqing’s looking at him. He suddenly quivered from head to toe and forcibly swallowed all the remaining words.

Shen Dongqing explained solemnly: “I’m not a moron. There are footprints here.” 

He had nothing to do while the other players were speaking, so he took a stick to doodle on the ground and accidentally discovered a trail on the ground.

Sister Glasses dashed over to investigate, and there was indeed a trail under the cover of fallen leaves, which appeared to be the trace of someone or a beast passing by.

She raised her head, followed the traces, and discovered that it led deep into the rain forest, but not back the way they came.

Mr. Jacket jumped up as well, saying, “Let’s go have a look.” 

Tattoo Guy was displeased.

Miss Long Skirt was so exhausted that she couldn’t stand up after sitting.

Shen Dongqing looked around, raised his hand and said, “I’m tired, and I’m super hungry.”

“Then rest some more,” Zhou Wenyan said, holding his hand. 

Mr. Jacket was speechless and choked.

The tattooed guy had mental issues, the long skirt missy’s stamina was lacking, and there were two lazy bums in this group of newbies. Isn’t this gameplay too difficult?

But they couldn’t do anything about it. Mr. Jacket and Sister Glasses couldn’t go against the group, so they had to rest.

This rest lasted till sunset. 

The players collected firewood and made a bonfire before filtering the seawater in the lake using the things they carried to obtain drinkable fresh water.

The players were able to relax after being replenished with water.

Shen Dongqing searched around, but there was no straw on the island. The Yin House Kitchen Card was incredibly useful, but it was useless without straws linking the two realms.

He leaned against Zhou Wenyan’s body and mumbled, “I’m so hungry—” 

“I’ll go see if there are any fish in the lake,” Zhou Wenyan said as he lowered his head and kissed Shen Dongqing’s cheek.

Shen Dongqing’s eyes instantly brightened.

The lake in the island’s centre was clear and dark blue, mirroring the sunset overhead.

Shen Dongqing leaned in half, reached out, and touched the surface of the lake, making ripples. 

“Alas, no fish.” Shen Dongqing cocked his head.

“I’ll go down and have a look,” Zhou Wenyan said as he kicked off his shoes and removed his jacket.

Shen Dongqing: “Can you swim?”

Zhou Wenyan: “Yes.” 

Shen Dongqing also removed his shoes: “Then teach me!”

Zhou Wenyan did not agree right away. He instead tested the depth of the lake by throwing a fist-sized stone into it. As a result, there was no response at all.

“No, it’s too deep.” Zhou Wenyan said, “I’ll teach you when we go back.”

Shen Dongqing nodded obediently. 

Zhou Wenyan touched his head: “Good boy. I’ll catch some fish for you.”

He jumped into the water after speaking.

The lake was extremely deep and was most likely connected to the sea outside. Its waters smelled strongly of the ocean.

Zhou Wenyan swam towards the lakebed for a while, only to discover that he couldn’t see anything. Without a diving suit, it was impossible to proceed any further. He swam back after catching two fish. 

The fish were the first to arrive.

The out-of-water fish flopped violently, splashing sea water.

“It looks a little funny,” Shen Dongqing observed, poking the fish.

“It’s a saltwater fish,” Zhou Wenyan brushed back his wet hair. 

Shen Dongqing asked the most important question: “Can you eat it?”

“Yes.”

Shen Dongqing’s gaze on the fish immediately softened.

A fish that can be eaten is a good fish. 

There was a lot of noise here that couldn’t be kept from the other players.

The players were fatigued and hungry after a day’s trek. There were fish in the lake now, and seeing that Zhou Wenyan was safe, they went down to catch them one after the other.

Miss Long Skirt, on the other hand, couldn’t swim, so she had to keep an eye on the others and help clean up the fish they caught.

Sister Glasses and Mr. Jacket arrived safely ashore after catching the fish. Only the tattooed guy remained dawdling below. Tattoo Guy steadily pushed away from the shore, relying on his excellent swimming abilities. After a while of scrounging, his face revealed a happy surprise: “I caught a large one—” 

But before he could finish his sentence, his face twisted and looked panicked: “No, no, help me, help me—”

Tattoo Guy fought to get ashore, but when he got halfway, everyone on the shoreline witnessed a pitch-black thing wrap his waist and tug him back with an overwhelming power.

Tattoo Guy kept flapping his hands.

It was pointless. He couldn’t stand up to the underwater creature’s power. He could only be dragged slowly into the lake. When the top of his head was buried in water, a succession of bubbles rose from below, eventually leaving only a trace of blood. 

The lake swiftly rinsed away the blood.

On the shore, there was complete silence.

Sister Glasses and Mr. Jacket were utterly dumbfounded when they felt they had just brushed past the Grim Reaper, and when they remembered that Tattoo Guy might have critical information, they became even more autistic.

After a brief moment of silence, they were interrupted by the sound of “frizzle.” 

“Is it ready?” Shen Dongqing inquiry followed.

“Soon,” Zhou Wenyan replied.

They were continuing to grill fish as if nothing had happened.

“He, he’s gone?” trembled Miss Long Skirt. 

Despite the fact that the tattooed man was somewhat unpleasant, it was still a life. She found it difficult to believe that a real person had simply vanished in front of her.

“We must not go near this lake again,” added Sister Glasses indifferently, pushing up her specs.

Everyone else caught fish near the lake’s edge without alarming the creatures inside. The tattooed guy had invited calamity by venturing into the depths. Perhaps the monster had awakened, and they could no longer enter the water.

Although Sister Glasses and Mr. Jacket were veteran players, in this game, when it came down to life and death, both new and veteran players were equal. 

As a result, the game will not be kind.

Because of the death of a player, the grilled fish tasted unpalatable to them. Miss Long Skirt couldn’t eat anymore after a mere two bites, and Shen Dongqing was even more out of character, not touching it as much as usual.

Sister Glasses ripped a piece of fish and shoved it into her mouth. When she saw their appearance, she advised: “Fate governs both life and death. You should eat more or you’ll be weary tomorrow. Other people are in charge of their own life. You are only responsible for yourself.”

Miss Long Skirt listened to the persuasion and forced herself to eat a fish. 

Shen Dongqing, on the other hand, remained still.

Sister Glasses had good intentions and wanted to add a few more words, but before she could, she heard Shen Dongqing sigh deeply and stare at the grilled fish with melancholy: “It tastes dreadful.”

Sister Glasses: “Cough cough—”

It turned out that he was upset not because of the tattooed man’s death, but because he couldn’t stand eating anymore. This, this is too… Sister Glasses found it a little difficult to breathe. 

This fish was handled carelessly, and there was no seasoning on hand. It tasted fishy and salty. Shen Dongqing hadn’t eaten something so bad for a long time, and he didn’t want to move.

Zhou Wenyan coaxed him patiently, and he reluctantly took two bites.

After finishing the fish, Shen Dongqing began to grumble, “This game is too much!”

Mr. Jacket felt the same way and echoed: “True, true.” 

Shen Dongqing: “What a lousy island this is!”

Mr. Jacket: “True, true.”

Shen Dongqing: “There is nothing delicious here; I have to leave this stupid place early!”

Mr. Jacket: “True… huh?” 

So the food is the main point? Does this person take the game seriously?

If the game knew what Mr. Jacket was thinking, it would probably cry right then and there.

Shen Dongqing not only did not take the game seriously, but he also trampled it under his feet numerous times. When it heard it, it was brokenhearted, and when it saw it, it cried.

Mr. Jacket bowed his head silently to eat fish. 

Without a steady light source, it was challenging to move around at night. The players simply spent the night by the lake and planned to follow the traces on the ground the next day to see where they led.

Because a player was involved in an accident in the lake, the party was unsure whether the monsters in the lake at the heart of the island would come ashore, so they could only take turns keeping night vigil.

It was finally morning. The players awoke just as the first rays of light appeared.

It’s possible that the traces on the ground were still visible because there were so many fallen leaves. The players walked all the way to the finish and discovered a cave. The cave’s entrance even contained tracks of individuals stepping in. 

Sister Glasses: “There are people living here.”

As long as there were humans on the island, everything was OK. People were equivalent to NPCs, and they could receive quests without wandering around like headless flies.

Zhou Wenyan suddenly said: “They don’t live here. They hold a ceremony.”

“Why do you say that?” Sister Glasses asked, turning her head. 

“Guess,” Shen Dongqing raced to say.

“Don’t talk rubbish if you don’t know,” Mr. Jacket remarked impatiently.

Zhou Wenyan didn’t say anything and simply smiled at Shen Dongqing.

The group entered the cave in turns. 

There were some wooden implements and primitive pottery strewn throughout the cave.

God knows what Miss Long Skirt ran into. She let out a scream and took a quick step back.

Mr. Jacket had had enough of these newbies who were more of a nuisance than a help, and he snapped: “What are you doing?”

Miss Long Skirt could only stammer: “There’s there’s there’s…” 

Mr. Jacket: “There’s what?”

He walked over to where Miss Long Skirt was standing and noticed a skull roll.

The skull was small and may have been severed before the person could fully develop.

Mr. Jacket squatted down to inspect and discovered a wooden stick punctured on the top of the skull, as well as several other skulls on the side. The tops of the skulls had a hole in them, as if they had been linked together to construct a skewer. 

It appeared to be an evil cult activity.

Shen Dongqing: “So boring.”

Sister Glasses: “Huh?”

Shen Dongqing: “It’s another evil cult. This game doesn’t have an ounce of creativity!” 

This game had only a few elements. It was either an evil cult or an evil cult. There was absolutely no originality!

Fortunately, this game was compulsory. If it was only voluntary, it would be closed down in less than three days.

Sister Glasses reacted: “You’re not a novice?”

“Do I look hopelessly stupid?” Shen Dongqing wondered. 

Sister Glasses: … Um, you really do.

After all, based on their reactions in the game, these two individuals were either simple rookies or true bosses. Sister Glasses mistakenly assumed they were newbies. How could she think they were big shots?

“There are murals here!” exclaimed Mr. Jacket from the opposite side.

In the cave’s depths, there was a series of murals drawn on the walls. There was also a deep pit in the cave’s middle that was densely packed with skeletons. 

At first glance, this appeared to be a simple aboriginal cult performing rituals.

Shen Dongqing leaned forward to examine the murals.

The murals were quite simplistic, comparable to comic strips, indicating that the aborigines in this area did not have very high IQs. In any case, people who follow evil cults typically have low IQs, so logic was not an issue.

The murals featured a group of stickmen discovering an island, rowing wooden rafts to the island, and discovering something on the island, leading them to believe they had encountered a god. 

So they went to the island every now and then to make sacrifices to the god, thinking that the serpent god on the island would protect them. The aborigines had also depicted a black serpent swallowing its own tail, making a circle, in the last mural.

“So these aborigines are raising those snakes.” Mr. Jacket analyzed, “And, based on their equipment, the aborigines reside not far from this island. Otherwise, a log raft cannot travel very far.”

Sister Glasses: “Maybe the game wants us to go to where the aborigines live.”

Miss Long Skirt: “But we don’t have any means of transportation…” 

Mr. Jacket stated, “Let’s go back and see if the yacht can be used first, because the two locations are not far apart. If we continue in this direction, we should be able to reach the aborigines’ home.”

For fear of others not finding them, the direction was also carefully painted on the mural.

The players reasoned well, but when the group returned via the original marked path, they discovered that the yacht stranded on the beach had vanished and was nowhere to be found.