Chapter 24: The Insect Village 23

The cave was dark and gloomy.

The absurd intimacy had only just ended. The space was hollow and chilly, yet Zhou Zhou’s face felt hot, and her mind was swimming as if she were drunk. She had been held fast and taken over and over again—though it had only been in a dream. She pressed her lips together, feeling as if she had been affected by the bloodthirsty gu insects. It was likely dizziness caused by excessive blood loss. Although the man had also lost blood, his physical constitution was robust, and his complexion remained normal. With her blood, the secondary gu was already much better.

"Are you alright?"

As a player, Ke Zhi could not develop any feelings for the characters within a dungeon. He was surprised himself that he had lost his head and gotten involved with a strange young girl. His face betrayed an excitement he wasn't even aware of; he truly looked like a bloodthirsty monster now. The girl’s flavor had simply been too intoxicating.

"Since we... I feel terrible about this. Could you tell me your name?"

"It’s alright... My name is Zhou Zhou..."

Zhou Zhou felt her body stiffen. Even though she still felt somewhat uncomfortable, it was fortunate that he was just a dream NPC.

"Which Zhou? Like the weekend?"

"The latter part is the 'zhou' for rice porridge..."

As she answered, she thought tangled thoughts: an NPC who looked like a key character ought to know quite a lot. But the man had been so forceful earlier that she felt a bit afraid... Never mind, no matter what, this was just a dream; she couldn't afford to walk away without a single clue about the dungeon. She covered her face, feeling she couldn't continue being so useless.

"Big brother... may I ask, who are you?"

Ke Zhi was first taken aback, his cheeks burning at the address "big brother," but when he processed her words, he paused, not knowing how to reply. The girl’s question was normal; after all, it would be strange if she didn't ask. But... he couldn't very well tell her he was a player, could he? Players were not allowed to reveal their identities to NPCs—yes, Ke Zhi believed the girl was an NPC, as he was the only player to have entered this dungeon.

"My name is Ke Zhi, I’m just a regular villager..." After much hesitation, he thought of the pitiful-looking girl and said, his earlobes turning red, "I... I will take responsibility for you..."

"Also?"

The word echoed in her mind. With rare sensitivity, she caught the implication: did he think she was an NPC, a villager of the Gu Village? Zhou Zhou felt this misunderstanding was quite favorable for her continued probing. As for his later words, they drifted past her ears without leaving a mark. She stared at the man named Ke Zhi and asked hesitantly:

"...Big brother, you said this is the nest of the Gu God. Why would you come to such a dangerous place?"

Ke Zhi stiffened, then instinctively lied to her, "I... I stumbled in here by accident..."

Zhou Zhou blinked, signaling him to continue.

"Don't you know? We need to raise gu to extend our lives..." He revealed the truth of the dungeon right away. The man spoke with a mix of truth and lies, "...I fell into a hole on my way to the fields today. The people in the village want to summon the Gu God, so I am familiar with its lair, but I was accidentally parasitized by a gu insect in the cave. You know the rest... this blood gu can only survive if we are bloodthirsty."

"If we try to resist, the only outcome is death."

"Raising gu to extend life..."

Zhou Zhou murmured, lost in thought. She looked up, wanting to know more, and wove her words carefully, "Big brother... I am a child who was abandoned here because nobody in the village wanted me. I’ve never left, and I didn't know the village had such things. Could you tell me what 'raising gu to extend life' means?"

Although this sounded absurd, the man did not doubt her. The people of the Gu Village were incredibly cold and devoid of human emotion; they would indeed discard useless villagers. That must be why the girl was here. A villager NPC who didn't even know the truth about her own village—she must have suffered greatly.

"It's okay, I'll tell you."

Ke Zhi spoke with a touch of pity, slowly revealing the truth. His voice was calm and steady, and Zhou Zhou listened intently, memorizing every word and sentence.

The Gu Village had once been a remote, peaceful, and secluded hamlet. But from a certain day on, it was as if they were cursed; no one lived past the age of twenty. At first, the villagers didn't pay much attention, but as more and more people died, panic set in. After all, no one wanted to die. They couldn't let things continue this way.

At first, the villagers thought the deceased were ill, but the doctors in town said they had died of sudden cardiac arrest, with no signs of illness. Later, driven by immense anxiety and fear, they prayed to gods and Buddhas everywhere, but it was all in vain. The villagers were plunged into the despair of being threatened by death.

Finally, they found the cause in an ancient book: the Gu Village was under a divine curse. They had to feed the gu insects with human flesh and blood to extend their lives. If they wanted to live longer, they needed even more powerful gu insects. And the Gu God could control the most powerful gu, which would allow them to survive.

Therefore, from then on, the villagers held a Gu God Festival a few days every month. Although the Gu God never appeared before them, "He" would bestow stronger and more poisonous gu insects after every ritual, letting the villagers know that all of this was real.

So that was it.

Zhou Zhou digested everything, feeling a bit happy. Her voice lifted, [Hey... 022, I know the truth about the Gu Village's gu cultivation.]

She decided to submit her answer to test it; there was still time to complete the mission, and if she were wrong, she could just submit again. The system already knew, [Hmm, go ahead and submit.]

The main system gave a "ding."

[Congratulations to the player for uncovering the truth behind the Gu Village's gu cultivation. Dungeon exploration has reached 36%.]

That put her mind completely at ease. She said happily, [I passed the first mission...]

Although there were still the missions to learn "His" name and survive until the seventh day, she now had a bit of confidence in clearing the escape game.

[Yes.] The system laughed softly. [I knew our Zhou Zhou was the best player.]

Zhou Zhou beamed with clear delight. [022, you are so kind.]

[No,] the system’s voice was pleasant, [Zhou Zhou is kinder.]

Flushing, she decided to work even harder to clear the game.

One human and one system, sharing a tender moment.

Ke Zhi, having spoken so much, was feeling parched. "Is there anything else you want to know?" he asked, stopping.

The girl suddenly asked, "Big brother... I have only one question... if it's convenient, could you tell me the name of the Gu God—'His' name?"

—

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Side Story:

(Ke Zhi, the previous champion of the escape game, now smitten by his wife) Ke Zhi sends a question mark: ...My wife is an NPC?

Zhou Zhou, equally dazed, looks at him: ...Are you an NPC?

A player who thinks the other is an NPC is seen as an NPC by the other, haha.

System: ...Are we just going in circles here, then?