Chapter 96

" Ignore them. " Zheng Chen came to the backyard, his expression more serious. He squatted down and picked up a thin, almost imperceptible thread on the ground. The end of the thread had already broken. This thread was very fragile; it would break immediately if pulled slightly, but it wouldn't break if no one touched it.

He checked the traps set in other places, but found no signs of them being triggered.

"Have you been here before?" Hearing the footsteps behind him, Zheng Chen asked in a low voice.

"No, I haven't." Xi Ya replied, "Lai has been with me all day. Is something wrong?"

"..." Zheng Chen stared at the useless thread in his hand, patrolled the backyard again, but still found no abnormal traces. The more he found nothing, the more he took it seriously. Since the pre-set thread had broken, he wouldn't think it had broken on its own, even though that possibility was not low.

But there was another possibility.

Choosing the former might be easier and nothing would happen, but if he chose the latter, even if nothing happened in the end, it would be worth it to eliminate potential risks. And if something did happen, it would be even more worthwhile!

"We'll stay somewhere else tonight." Zheng Chen threw the thread away and said immediately.

Xi Ya looked at Zheng Chen in confusion, then nodded lightly. After Zheng Chen made his decision, if she couldn't persuade him with a good reason, it would be useless to say anything, even if Lai came. Besides, she didn't know what had happened here.

He didn't plan to stay here until he investigated the potential risks, especially at night.

In the following days, the cemetery matters were handled by Ping Shizhi, and Zheng Chen had nothing to do. After that night, nothing unusual happened at his residence, as if the previous anomalies were just illusions.

Looking at the room with increasingly more decorations, Zheng Chen shook his head, his gaze returning from Xi Ya, who was tending to a flower pot, and gazed out the window, slightly lost in thought. Recently, the player community had experienced a surge in numbers.

Moreover, the cemetery matter had been made public, causing a stir among the players. After all, there was a special kind of grass leaf there that could be used to make highly effective detoxifying pills by paying some fees to Ping Shizhi.

However, the danger there was very high, and many players who tried to go there returned empty-handed.

What Zheng Chen was more concerned about was the 'task system' they inadvertently revealed. The game company in the real world where they were from was planning an update, and the update time seemed to be when the game and real-world time were completely reversed.

Apart from that, the information Zheng Chen had collected was basically the same, and he learned this from the new players who had just joined the game. The veteran players might know more, but they wouldn't discuss these matters in places with original residents, even though these 'sensitive words' were censored by the game system.

Zheng Chen wanted to figure out what the game system was and the true state of this world... After being threatened by what might be the game system multiple times, how could he not be concerned!

Shaking his head, these were not things he could think about now. His own issues couldn't be resolved in a day, let alone these other matters that also couldn't be resolved quickly.

Moreover, if he resolved his own issues, the other matters he cared about would also be largely resolved... But he currently had no idea about the real world where the players were from.

The next day, a group of people with strange attire came to Linxi Village. Looking at their attire, Zheng Chen recalled some records from the documents he had dug up in the wasteland. These people were... Taoists?

Probably.

His curiosity was quickly suppressed. The players found it quite novel. Many players had already joined various factions, which were abundant in this game world—sects, gangs, and even criminal organizations. As long as they wanted to, they wouldn't have trouble finding a way in.

The learning process made them suffer but also made them happy. The learning progress was one thing, but being able to access special powers excited them even more.

These people were the professionals Ping Shizhi had found to deal with the cemetery anomalies. They went directly to the village chief's residence after arriving. Zheng Chen was about to put the matter out of his mind when a villager came to his residence.

Ping Shizhi had found him again. The reason was simple: to have him describe the cemetery situation. Although a player named Zhao Wen had already described it, Ping Shizhi trusted Zheng Chen more in terms of true understanding.

An older Taoist among the group glanced at Zheng Chen, and when he saw the left hand wrapped in the Fenghuang talisman, he was slightly puzzled, then shook his head lightly. The world was so vast, and it was normal for him not to understand the talisman. Each had their own expertise, and they couldn't understand all talismans.

However, ... although he couldn't understand the talisman, he could sense a slight difference, which seemed to be used for sealing something.

The older Taoist's focus was noticed by Ping Shizhi, but he only glanced at it briefly and then ignored it. Zheng Chen saw this and had a clear idea in his mind.

"This is Zheng Chen, a young man temporarily residing in Linxi Village. I have entrusted him multiple times to investigate the cemetery situation," Ping Shizhi said calmly.

"Since that's the case, we shouldn't delay. Let's act quickly, and we can discuss the situation on the way," the older Taoist said after checking the time. They had already understood the situation before coming, so there was no need for Ping Shizhi to elaborate. "Young brother, do you need to prepare anything?"

Zheng Chen shook his head.

Since there were professionals here to solve the problem, he didn't need to prepare much. The truly important things were stored in the patterns. Even if they were not as good as black dog blood, they were still better.

"Then I'll trouble you, Daoists."

Leaving the village chief's house, nearby players couldn't help but gather around, inquiring about their mission and asking if they were going to solve the cemetery anomalies. Many players even proposed to go along to help.

As for how many were sincere... Zheng Chen thought it was irrelevant to him. If the environment continued to deteriorate, ordinary people would mostly be cannon fodder.

The leading older Taoist skillfully rejected these players, clearly having had similar experiences before.

The rejected players didn't give up. After the group left the village, they followed from behind, clearly planning to share in the spoils.

"Brother, these outsiders are really unreasonable," a younger and more irritable Taoist couldn't help but say.

The older Taoist shook his head. They had already thoroughly investigated the situation of these outsiders. Things were much better now than they used to be, which was truly frustrating. "Zhongyin, we have already advised them. If they want to make a mistake, we can't force them."

They were not related, and a friendly warning and polite rejection were already kind. If they continued to do something, they wouldn't accept it!

"Could you explain the things to watch out for there, young brother?" the older Taoist asked Zheng Chen.

Zheng Chen calmly recounted his experiences in the cemetery, not much content, and quickly finished. "This was the situation a few days ago."

"Hmm, just some insignificant zombies and spirits. Such places are prone to such things," the younger Taoist Zhongyin raised his eyebrows slightly. "This shouldn't be difficult to solve. I could handle it myself with some time."

"Be cautious," the older Taoist shook his head, somewhat helplessly. "Just zombies and spirits aren't a big deal, but the important thing is that someone might be behind it all."

"Got it, got it," Zhongyin waved his head indifferently, and his fellow disciples were used to it. "By the way, brother, can you understand what kind of talisman this is?"

The journey was quite boring, and after a while, Zhongyin couldn't help it. He glanced at the Fenghuang talisman wrapped around Zheng Chen's left hand and asked directly.

The older Taoist wasn't embarrassed, "There are so many types of talismans."

"If you don't understand, just say so. Why beat around the bush?" Zhongyin pouted. "I'll ask him myself."

The older Taoist smiled bitterly and didn't stop Zhongyin. He was also curious. Learning is endless, and it's natural to be curious about things you don't know.

"You're Zheng Chen, right? I'm Qi Zhongyin. Can you tell me what kind of talisman is wrapped around your arm?"

"Fenghuang talisman."

"Fenghuang talisman?" Zhongyin blinked in confusion, looking back at the older Taoist. "Brother, do you know?"

"..."

"Then you don't know." Zhongyin smirked, and the older Taoist couldn't help but cough lightly, somewhat helplessly. In the sect, this little junior brother was quite well-behaved, but outside, he was much more lively.

"Zheng Chen, what's the use of this thing?"

Zheng Chen glanced at Zhongyin and said calmly, "It's not useful against people."

"Oh! So it's just for show? Or are you not human?"

"..."

"Continue satisfying my curiosity, okay? Don't be so quiet. Aren't you bored?"

The older Taoist couldn't stand it anymore and waved his hand, "Alright, Zhongyin, come back!"

Zhongyin grumbled and reluctantly returned to the group. The older Taoist smiled apologetically at Zheng Chen, "My little junior brother is usually restrained in the sect, but he becomes lively outside. I apologize, young brother. I'm also quite curious about this talisman. Could you help me understand?"

...

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