Thinking about it, Yin Xiu turned around and sat down on the shore, picking up his fishing rod again.
The black mist wasn't aggressive when it first emerged from the lake bottom. He had to sit there and wait for the mist to dissipate, otherwise he would still be attacked even after just going down and circling back up.
408 is a strange creature, seemingly unaffected by the black mist. It is a dangerous obstacle designed for players. Yin Xiu has been pondering whether it will become ineffective against him after he deepens his mutation.
He sat on the bank, fishing rod in hand, lost in thought—something he excelled at.
408 didn't have that much patience. He wandered around in the black fog, moving around even though he couldn't see his surroundings clearly, and then struck up a conversation with Yin Xiu.
"I definitely didn't hear any sound in the black fog. Are you sure you heard it earlier?"
"Sigh, this black mist is selective, isn't it? It lets you hear the sound but not me, that's outrageous."
"You said this fog is like a living thing, could the black fog also be a monster? I don't know much about the monsters since I fell asleep. I am a monster myself, but I am different from the monsters that live in dungeons."
408's words did enlighten Yin Xiu. He had previously seen a flower-like monster, which indeed shattered his stereotype of monsters. Living fog, fog that could kill people, obviously did not match Yin Xiu's understanding of monsters. However, in the dungeon, only monsters could kill players. If fog was also a monster...
Could he be a monster transformed from a player, like the previous flower?
Yin Xiu had a lot of things on his mind that he couldn't sort out, so he could only wait for the fog to dissipate and then wait for the next wave of fog to arrive before going to explore the sea village.
The voices that came from the fog were the same as those told by the people in the sea village. They offered sacrifices to the gods and received a reward. So they happily left the sea village, built a town, and went to a wider world to prepare for the future. Little did they know that this was the beginning of a nightmare.
When the black fog completely dissipated, 408 was already dozing off under the tree next to him, while Yin Xiu remained sitting motionless in the same spot.
As soon as the black mist dissipated, he got up and tightened the rope, preparing to wait for the black mist to float a second time. But just as he was making sure the rope on the tree was secure, he heard hurried footsteps coming from afar, rushing towards him at high speed.
"Brother Xiu! Brother Xiu, where are you! Come back quickly!" It was Zhong Mu's voice, sounding very breathless and urgent, as he stumbled and ran towards them.
Yin Xiu immediately dropped the rope he was holding and walked towards the path. "What happened?"
Zhong Mu ran wildly to Yin Xiu, panting heavily. The black mist had only been dissipating for a short while when he, as if he had discovered something, crossed the town and arrived at the farthest lake. It could be said that the unexpected turn of events had made him very anxious.
"Brother Xiu, hurry back to town and see! All those people who disappeared in the fog have returned!" Zhong Mu's expression was a mix of surprise and sadness. Anyway, he grabbed Yin Xiu and started walking back.
"Those people who disappeared into the fog? Players? Players in the town?" Yin Xiu didn't bother to call 408 anymore and hurriedly walked back.
"Yes, it's those people who were swallowed by the black mist before. Everyone thought they were dead, but unexpectedly, that mist just now brought them all back!" Zhong Mu was incoherent and couldn't explain clearly. Anyway, he hurriedly pulled Yin Xiu back, so that he could understand the current situation when he got back.
At this moment, on one side of the town square were the players of this instance, each holding a weapon and watching the other side warily, while on the other side were some monsters covered with black patches and with some inhuman twisted appearances.
The surviving players in the town recognized the familiar faces and rushed over without thinking.
To players who completed the game normally, this was a strange reunion; they didn't find it odd, but instead became even more vigilant.
Previously, the players in the town had treated them quite well. They were very worried that this group of monsters that suddenly emerged from the fog would change the town. Once this number of monsters became hostile, they would not be able to suppress them at all. Therefore, all the normal players now had expressions of panic on their faces.
Meanwhile, the person on the other side burst into tears of joy.
"I clearly heard your screams coming from the black mist, and there was blood left behind afterwards. I thought you were dead. I never expected to see you come back." The players hugged each other, not caring about the inhuman parts of each other's bodies, just happy.
The players who had mutated back went to the people they knew, as if they had returned to this big family, their expressions complicated and conflicted.
Players in the 35-dimensional town value those around them immensely. For them, simply returning alive is enough. Even if they mutate into monsters, as long as they retain their rationality and are not affected by the dungeon, they remain no different from before.
After being accepted back, the players, who had already undergone the mutation, were filled with mixed emotions and tearfully recounted their experiences without any reservations.
"I want to come back here, but I'd rather not come back. We're no longer human. If we come back here, we'll only become a disaster for everyone."
"Don't say that, it's good enough that you're back."
"It's so nice to see everyone... but we really shouldn't be here, we..."
They sighed in frustration, and finally said slowly, "We are monsters, but the reason we were sent here is because we have a mission: to help the players offer sacrifices."
They sighed and looked grave, while the surviving players just gave a bitter smile and patted them on the shoulder.
The two groups, who should have been enemies upon reunion, were now surprisingly harmonious because neither wanted to attack those who had once formed a group. Ironically, the normal players were acting as if they were rivals.
"Helping players offer sacrifices, that must refer to us, right?" The player group had heard the dungeon announcements and knew about the sacrifices mentioned in the prompts, but they had not experienced the same situation as Yin Xiu, so they just thought it was part of the dungeon background. When they saw this group of strange creatures that suddenly appeared, some of them suddenly realized what was going on.
"These monsters that suddenly appeared are actually helping us! The dungeon report said we need to kill more sacrifices, and the monsters on the other side are helping the players kill the sacrifices. We're actually on their side!"
"What are the offerings? The town is full of monsters right now, where would we get offerings? I originally thought we were the offerings!"
Players who come to complete the game normally are unaware of the situation due to incomplete information and are currently on guard against all beings other than other players.
But then, a voice suddenly came from the crowd.
"That's not right! There must be offerings in town! If those people who just appeared were monsters, and they were helping us offer sacrifices..."
"Were the original inhabitants of that town sacrifices?"