CH 72

"Okay, that's a shame."

The parents sighed and started eating the meat.

The sister took a few bites but decided not to eat the lamb because it was tough to chew.

After dinner.

Gu Yi took out the piece of paper filled with rules and speculations. He added a new rule: "Do not eat lamb products."

Gu Yi has gradually understood the intention of this dungeon.

This was a dungeon that required him to reason, judge, and summarize the rules himself. One wrong move could trigger a deadly ending.

Information gaps, time locks, and space locks were the biggest challenges within the dungeon.

The only sources of written information in the entire dungeon were text messages on the phone and a diary. Unfortunately, both sources were vague and relied on the adventurer's imagination and reasoning.

During the day, Gu Yi was busy exploring the small town and didn't have time to think carefully.

Now that he had some free time, he could ponder and reason slowly.

"Lamb... What does it represent? Is it referring to drugs?" Gu Yi rubbed his chin. "No, that's not right. Lambs are living beings, not inanimate objects, so... Does lamb meat refer to... humans?"

"Ugh..."

As he thought of this, Gu Yi instinctively covered his mouth, feeling nauseated.

--No wonder he would trigger an instant death event after consuming "lamb meat"!

Gu Yi had a friend who studied forensic medicine, and he had mentioned that cooked human flesh had a similar taste to lamb meat, with a sweet and fishy flavor.

During times of war and famine in ancient times, humans were referred to as "two-legged lambs."

If he viewed lambs as living humans, everything he had experienced during the day would make sense.

The lamb dealers were human traffickers.

The couple who bought the lamb panicked and rallied all their neighbors to chase after it because they had spent money to purchase a living person.

The lamb would be torn apart by the void storm after leaving the town because it was unfamiliar with the treacherous terrain and couldn't leave the steep mountains and ridges on its own.

Human trafficking was an illegal activity, and all the residents of the town had been involved at some point, either as buyers or sellers.

If one "lamb" escaped, everyone would help capture it.

——They are simply committing evil collectively!

By releasing the "lamb," in the eyes of the other residents, he had betrayed the entire town, which led to them mobbing and killing him.

The lamb meat cooked by his parents might not actually be human flesh, but it symbolized how his parents used money earned from trafficking to support themselves, making him feel like he was "eating human flesh."

As Gu Yi reached this conclusion, his anger reached its peak.

In Gu Yi's view, the greatest evil in this dungeon was not the unspeakable, but rather the residents who resorted to desperate measures and engaged in human trafficking.

"Alright, let's go to sleep and see what kind of diary entry will unlock tomorrow."

Gu Yi put away the pen and paper and lay down on the bed to sleep.

The next morning.

Gu Yi first opened his phone to check the new message from the anonymous user.

[May 14, 2021, sunny]

[I have developed many frostbites on my body. My mom applied rat oil to my wounds. She said these strange things can treat frostbite.]

[I have a fever. It only slightly subsided in the evening.]

[I don't feel like writing anymore. So tired.]

"What is rat oil? Is it oil made from rat fat? Disgusting..."

In yesterday's diary, the sister was tortured by their mother, and the next day, she not only had frostbite but also caught a fever.

However, the mother not only didn't take the sister to the hospital but also used this strange "rat oil" as a medication, making the sister's life increasingly unbearable.

Gu Yi felt that the anonymous user was becoming somewhat suspicious.

Previously, Gu Yi thought that the anonymous user was on the opposite side, trying to trigger a death event for him. But now, Gu Yi started to think that this was a cry for help from the anonymous user.

"Let's see if there are any new clues in my diary."

[May 14, 2021, sunny]

[Last night, I dreamt of my sister again, and I saw that she was enduring torment. I still can't let it go. I always feel that it was my mistake that caused my sister to lose her life.]

[My parents left early in the morning, saying there was something urgent, but they didn't mention what it was.]

[Today, when I went to school, I noticed that my classmates and teachers were acting strangely. Their eyes gradually lost their radiance. Chen Dong stares with dead fish-like eyes every day, and I have no idea what he's thinking.]

[During PE class, I heard the sound of whip cracking and whistles coming from next door.]

[Could it be that someone invited a clown to perform?]

Starting from May 14th, "I" became aware of the illusion of the inner world.

And on this day, a clown would pass by the school.

Clearly, the clown in this dungeon played a similar role to the pig-headed shop owner in the previous one.

This was a rare opportunity, and Gu Yi had to find a way to avoid going to school, otherwise, time would accelerate again today.

"What should I do? Can I deceive my parents with that method?"

Gu Yi lightly tapped on the table and closed his eyes.

(Deduction begins!)

(You slap yourself in the mirror until your cheeks turn red.)

(You take out a thermometer and heat it over a light bulb until the temperature reaches 38 degrees.)

(You lie down on the bed and pretend to be dead.)

(Mother knocks on the door.)

(You: Mom, I have a fever.)

(Mother enters, looking worried.)

(Mother: Fever? What's the temperature?)

(You hand the thermometer to your mother.)

(Mother: Should I take you to the hospital?)

(You: No need, I still have to go to school.)

(Mother: How can you go like this? Let me inform your teacher and take you to the hospital.)

(You: I'll just rest at home for a while, I don't want to go to the hospital.)

(Mother: But...)

(Father walks to the door and urges the mother.)

(Father: We agreed not to be late. What are you hesitating about?)

(Mother: Our son is sick.)

(Father: We have fever-reducing medicine at home, take it and rest. Your mother and I will leave first.)

(Mother doesn't say anything. She covers you with a blanket and leaves. Your sister stands by the door, wanting to say something but hesitates.)

(You lie on the bed and hear the sound of the car starting.)

(You terminate the deduction!)

Gu Yi opened his eyes and lay on the bed.

Using a light bulb to heat the thermometer was a trick he had tried as a child, but it had never worked. Whenever his parents discovered he had a fever, no matter how urgent the situation, they would always take him to the hospital first.

But looking at the parents in the dungeon...

Gu Yi shook his head and found a thermometer in the drawer, following the deduction.

Before long, his mother indeed came into the bedroom, just as the deduction had predicted.

"Son, what's wrong with you?"

Gu Yi lowered his head and looked at his mother, feeling that her concerned gaze had become insincere.

Suddenly, Gu Yi remembered his grandmother's words before she passed away.

What she might have wanted to say was likely to be—"Gu Jianjun is not your father!"