The discussion on the poisoning plan temporarily came to an end. Feng Bujue's group then discussed the plan for the rest of the day.
Atobe-sama's main mission that day was to gather information. He planned to ask the workers at the inn about Mu Rong Yin's room and then pay her a visit to see if the NPC would be willing to let him teach her a thing or two.
This looked like an easy task, and there was no risk involved, but in reality, there was still some difficulty. The problem at hand was how to get the information out of the innkeeper's mouth.
The players did not have anything that could be used as currency in this world, so it would be difficult to get information from them without giving them a 'tip'.
Feng Bujue did not think too much about the problem of money. Actually, this was quite troublesome. If not for the fact that the Six Flowery Blades had given them this Sky Room, even if there was an empty room at the inn, Feng Bujue would not have been able to afford it. Of course, in Feng Bujue's initial plan, he did not consider the problem of paying the bill. After all, they would disappear into thin air in two days, so the money … the manager could ask whoever he wanted. The players did not care about their reputation.
Furthermore … even if Atobe-sama managed to find out which room Mu Rong Yin was staying in, his attitude and choice of words during the negotiation had to be carefully considered.
The so-called 'professional gigolo' was naturally just a joke. Atobe-sama understood that Feng Bujue had built an image of 'I will kill whoever dares to flirt with my wife' in the eyes of the martial artists. Therefore, it was impossible for Brother Bujue to have a private conversation with a beautiful woman. If he did, it would either prove that he was a hypocrite or that he was prepared to be hacked to death by his wife.
To put it bluntly … it would not only be of no help to the progress of clearing the scenario, it would also negatively affect the negotiation with the NPC.
With regards to Xiao Tan, even though Atobe-sama did not know him that well, from their interaction, even if the kid could not be described as innocent and kind, at least he was not a shrewd person. This kind of person was not suitable for intelligence work.
Therefore, it could not be helped that Atobe would be the one to negotiate. He was, after all, the owner of a gaming studio. Even if he wasn't as good as experts like Laughing At The Heavens, he wasn't any worse than the average player.
From the game's perspective, this was just a test of the players' ability to communicate with NPCs. As long as he followed the worldview of the script, politely and reasonably, there was no reason that he would not be able to get any information out of him. Even if it was a video game from 70 years ago, the NPCs in the city would at least repeat the same sentence to the players. In today's optical computer era, how could there be no such thing as a lack of answers?
As for the four members of the Underworld Frontline, they had planned to split into two groups.
Feng Bujue and Passing Rain went up the mountain from the north of town to explore the 'ruined temple in the forest north of the village' mentioned in the plot introduction. Xiao Tan and Laughing Soul combed through the empty houses in the town to look for items and skills.
This grouping was suggested by Feng Bujue. Of course, his basis was not that it would be less tiring for both men and women but that it was the safest and most efficient arrangement considering the actual situation of the scenario.
When Feng Bujue listened to the plot introduction, he noticed that … the introduction did not explicitly state whether there were ghosts in this world or not. It only used the term 'rumor', and at the end, there was a confusing sentence. "What was the result of this duel? What is the truth behind this ghost town? Is there a hidden conspiracy behind all this? "
This kind of introduction appeared to provide some information, but it was more like a guide to mislead the players.
From the beginning to the end, the players could not be sure that the town was really haunted, but they could not be sure that it was the work of a human.
Therefore, for the sake of insurance, Feng Bujue decided to treat the rest of the 'rumor' as the truth. Even if the ruined temple on the mountain was really haunted by evil spirits, the combination of him and Passing Rain should be able to deal with it. He had Death Poker, and Passing Rain's Elemental Swordsman title and skill were the bane of spirits. The combination of the two was powerful; they were both brave and cunning. In broad daylight, if they went to the temple to check out the flag, they would not be gone forever, right?
On the other hand, it was not wise for them to act alone when they were searching the town. If something unexpected happened, like what happened the night before, it would be very dangerous to be alone.
There were many abandoned houses in Chang Lin Town. Other than the houses around the inn that were already occupied, it was hard to tell what they would run into in the other houses. If someone was hiding a body, poison, or weapon in a secluded corner, and they were discovered by the players, there might be a fight.
With Xiao Tan and Laughing Soul conducting the search, it was much safer. After all, they were both players with guns. When facing a humanoid NPC, they could fire to protect themselves. Furthermore, their combination complemented each other. If they encountered puzzle-solving elements, Laughing Soul would deal with them, and Xiao Tan would do the dirty work of moving things around.
Even if they were noticed by outsiders, it would be fine. At most, they would suspect that they were looking for a place to do something dirty. They would not know that they were searching for game items.
In conclusion, the plan for the day was to split into three groups: one to collect information, one to search for items, and the last group to follow the only clue that the system had provided. The five agreed to meet up at the inn before sunset. If no one showed up, the rest would come up with a plan.
…
The morning passed quickly. In the lobby of Chang Lin Inn, the seats were even more packed.
The bosses from the top guilds usually went downstairs for morning tea and had their other two meals in the guest room.
During the day, the people who sat in the main hall of the inn drinking tea and eating were basically the martial artists who lived outside the inn. The number of these people was much larger than those who stayed at the inn, so the lobby was even busier than it was in the morning.
Due to the limited number of seats, the group of martial artists knew their place. Those who were there to eat left after finishing; those who were there to drink tea left after about ten minutes. During this period of time, there were many people entering and leaving the inn.
The rumors about Broken Sword Chahitsu had naturally spread, but most of the people sitting on the first floor were not there in the morning, so they did not know what Feng Bujue's group looked like. Furthermore, the lobby was noisy, and there were many people walking around. Therefore, when the four players walked down the stairs and left the inn in pairs, they did not attract much attention. Only a few people recognized them, but these people at most pulled the people around them aside and pointed at them.
After Feng Bujue and Passing Rain left the inn, they walked down the road and headed north.
It was almost noon, and the sun was high in the sky. The two walked briskly for a while, and they felt the heat. This kind of heat had an effect on the exhaustion of their Stamina Points, but it was not obvious.
They walked for about twenty minutes and arrived at the northernmost border of the village. There were no more houses here, and the view was getting wider. They could see a few abandoned farmlands in the distance, and the original farmhouses had collapsed, leaving behind a pile of rotten wood and stone.
They continued to head north, and the mountain that they could see before was now right in front of them. The rise and fall of the terrain became more obvious, and it was tilting upward. There was only one path left under their feet. The further they walked, the shallower the path became until it disappeared completely.
At noon, the two had walked into the mountain. The ground under their feet was hard soil and grass, and the forest around them was getting thicker. Feng Bujue thought that entering the dense forest would make them feel hot and stuffy, but the reality was … the temperature around them was getting lower and lower.
"This is strange … the slope of the mountain is quite steep. It doesn't look like a building." Feng Bujue noticed that something was wrong, so he opened his mouth to comment.
"Let's try walking a bit more," Passing Rain quickly replied.
"Okay …" Feng Bujue nodded and continued to lead the way. Even though this situation was a bit 'strange', there was no reason to stop exploring. Whether it was stamina or time, the two had plenty of time. They could walk for another two or three hours.
They walked for about ten minutes before Feng Bujue suddenly stopped and turned around to ask, "I say … did you notice?"
Passing Rain asked, "What?"
"After entering the mountain, along the way … I didn't see any animal tracks or excrement, not even a bird or insect." Feng Bujue said, "In fact … there wasn't even the chirping of birds or cicadas. This forest is unbelievably quiet." He paused and frowned. "And don't you think it's getting cooler?"
Passing Rain heard that and thought for a few seconds before answering, "Supernatural setting?"
"In any case, it's definitely not a phenomenon from a wuxia world," Feng Bujue replied. "It could be supernatural, fantasy, or even science fiction. In any case … this forest is obviously abnormal. " He looked around and said, "There are no living creatures … and the closer we get to the center, the colder it gets …"
"Because this is the Forest of No Return." Suddenly, a shrill female voice rang out.
This sudden statement caused Passing Rain to shiver involuntarily, and her Terror Points fluctuated.
Feng Bujue did not think much of it. He quickly turned to the source of the voice and turned to look at a large tree on the left with Passing Rain.
The trunk of the tree was very thick, and the speaker was completely hidden behind the tree, leaving no trace behind.
However, when Feng Bujue and Passing Rain's eyes moved to the tree, half of a waxy face slowly moved out from behind the trunk …
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