The town player glared menacingly at the group, making sure they didn't make a move for the time being, then turned and pulled 408 into a room, questioning him in detail about Yin Xiu.
"You mean Brother Xiu went in voluntarily?" Zhong Mu asked thoughtfully after listening to 408's description of the whole process.
The person next to him said nervously, "Should we send some people to the lake to search for it, or should we send someone down to take a look after the next black fog arrives?"
Yin Xiu is still very important to them. Even though the dungeon players have been intimidated, there is no one who can keep them in check, and they will rebel sooner or later.
"Let's not rush," Zhong Mu said, analyzing the situation seriously. "Brother Xiu isn't the type to act rashly. Since he went to the lake twice on his own initiative, there must be something in the lake that attracted him, something that we ordinary players and the sacrifices can't see."
"If it's something only Brother Xiu can discover, there's no point in us going. We might even get our people caught up in it. My suggestion is to ignore Brother Xiu for now and focus on the town."
"But are we just going to leave Brother Xiu like this?" The person next to him scratched his head, feeling guilty no matter what he said.
Although Yin Xiu was stronger than them, he was still considered a local and followed the town's principle of mutual help. Regardless of Brother Xiu, they still felt uneasy.
As the group was making preparations, Zhong Mu spoke up seriously.
"Then let me ask you, if even Brother Xiu can't solve it, can you really solve it by just sending two random people?"
Everyone's expression froze. After a moment of stunned silence, they realized that it made sense. If Yin Xiu couldn't solve it, then they certainly couldn't either.
Everyone agreed that taking care of the town and themselves was the best way to avoid causing trouble for Brother Xiu.
"Are we really just going to ignore him?" 408 couldn't understand the local customs of this town, and he trusted Yin Xiu too much. Even if he was a legendary god of death, he was still a human being, right?
"Just send someone to keep an eye on things by the lake, and notify the town as soon as he returns." Zhong Mu glanced around. "We need to send someone who isn't easily affected by the black fog, so that nothing more happens."
"Unaffected by the black mist." 408 pondered, then looked up to see everyone staring intently at him.
It seems he's a monster, indeed unaffected by the black mist?
"This task is entrusted to you." Zhong Mu patted 408's shoulder solemnly. "Only you can handle such a difficult task!"
408 pondered, it seemed to make sense, but it seemed that the town's affairs had nothing to do with him, so why should he help the townspeople?
The task has already been submitted, and whether 408 agrees or not is his business. Zhong Mu doesn't care; he's more worried about the dungeon players right now.
As soon as even one person knows that Yin Xiu is not in town and his fate is unknown, all the dungeon players will soon find out. Even though the town is trying its best to accept them, in the minds of those players, this is a dangerous dungeon and they are unknown enemies.
It's not like it's their own town, so it's impossible for them to completely let down their guard and trust them. Besides, these people were only kept quiet because of Yin Xiu's presence. Now that Yin Xiu is gone, they're bound to cause trouble.
Because of Yin Xiu's disappearance at Xiahu, the people in the town had to hold another meeting to discuss the next steps.
"I feel that everyone's room in town needs to be redistributed," Zhong Mu suggested. "We can't let the dungeon players gather together; we have to disperse them and have people keep an eye on them at the same time."
The head of the reception team nodded in agreement, "When I took over the new players, I could indeed feel that they were trying to stick together, seemingly trying to avoid being broken up by us in small groups, but they were only superficially obedient to the town."
"Then we have to forcibly disperse them." The head of the education group shook his head. "We don't know what will happen in the town. If we take them in, and then their disloyalty causes us problems, it's not a good outcome."
"Then let's do it this way," the supply team leader said. "Since their items and food have already been handed over to the town, let's restrict their items and try not to give them weapons or items. Also, when arranging rooms, each dungeon player will stay with one player who came back from the fog. Let's also let our own people test their thoughts."
The players in the instance believed that those who returned from the fog were monsters, and since they happened to live together, they used this identity to suppress them.
Once everyone finalized the plan, they immediately put it into action, at least to ensure the town wouldn't collapse before Yin Xiu returned.
Zhong Mu left the conference room and stood at the door for a while.
Although everyone had made arrangements, he still felt that he wasn't wary enough of these people. Just before 408 left, he whispered something to him, telling him to keep an eye on Ling Feng.
He wanted to be attentive, but he couldn't keep following the other person around.
Thinking it over, Zhong Mu turned around and rushed back, then whispered to the supplies team leader.
"You want to use items that change your appearance and voice to blend into the group of dungeon players?" The supply team leader was stunned by Zhong Mu's idea. "You want to be a mole?"
"Yes!" Zhong Mu nodded vigorously, his voice proud and imposing. "At times like these, the town desperately needs a mole like me!"
The supplies team leader chuckled and patted Zhong Mu on the shoulder, "You little rascal, I knew you were smarter than us. I actually have some of these kinds of props here. Wait while I look for them."
As he spoke, he led Zhong Mu to the alley where the props were sorted.
The team leader entered a room, took out a black bracelet, and handed it to Zhong Mu. "This prop can only be used to disguise yourself as someone you have seen, heard, and touched. Once the black bracelet turns white, it means you have successfully disguised yourself."
"If you're going to disguise yourself as a player in a dungeon, be careful not to use the character appearance from our town. Use one that they've never seen before, or one that they won't suspect."
"You can take your time to think it over. I'll go and inform the others about your actions, so that everyone in town will keep an eye on you."
Zhong Mu took the bracelet blankly, nodded, and then turned to walk out while thinking.
There are very few people he's met, heard of, or even touched who aren't from his town, since he hasn't even completed many dungeons and everyone he knows is from his town.
I can still clearly recall her face in my mind...
Zhong Mu suddenly remembered something, and immediately put the black bracelet on his wrist. He carefully recalled the person's appearance, voice, and figure in his mind. After the bracelet turned white, he hurriedly ran to the nearest window and looked at his reflection in the glass.
His snow-white hair cascaded down his shoulders, and his gray, lifeless pupils seemed somewhat dazed, making him appear somewhat fragile. His bluish-gray Chinese-style long robe gave him a cool yet gentle demeanor, making him seem somewhat out of place among the other players.
But the clearest face that Zhong Mu could picture in his mind right now was this beautiful, fragile face that was hard to erase from his memory.