Chapter 111: The Human-Skin Drum (15)

"I really don't see what's so appealing about this primitive, rustic scenery!"

"They made us take photos yesterday, and now they want us to do it again today. What is the point of all this? It doesn't give us any clues for clearing the level!"

These people were making a racket at the scenic spot, completely indifferent to how they might be affecting others.

Tang Mu, however, had already obtained first-hand information. She held the camera to her eyes, carefully examining the true world of the village as revealed through the lens.

In the camera's view, everyone's abdomen was grotesquely distended—even her own.

Furthermore, through the viewfinder, the world was not colored at all; it was rendered in shades of black, white, and gray. The rice paddies were filled with countless grave mounds, each one wreathed in flickering, nameless-colored luminescence, like ghostly flames.

The fields had turned into scorched earth, and the ground was littered with dry, bleached bones.

It was a scene of eerie, desolate decay.

Seeing Tang Mu constantly peering through her camera and wondering what she was looking at, the others followed suit.

They regretted it immediately; the sight was so repulsive it nearly made them vomit up their previous night's meal.

"I never imagined that behind such a beautiful backdrop, this was the reality. Isn't this just a facade to cover up the rot?"

"It's just a run-down village; there's no need to use fancy idioms like 'covering up the rot,'" another man said, picking his nose as he advised the player not to overthink things. "A game is just a game, after all. People are just trying to survive in a near-apocalyptic setting—resources are scarce, the spirit is hollow... We should just keep our heads down and do our jobs. Why concern ourselves with anything else?"

"But this black-and-white world doesn't give us any clues, either."

"This is the monster we have to face tonight," Tang Mu said, unable to bear their lack of imagination. "Think about what we encountered last night."

"Mutated pothos and those mutated spider lilies. They were just plant mutations, so what? What's the problem?"

"Those were only superficial phenomena," Tang Mu replied. "The true monstrous theme we are facing is actually the cycle of human 'birth' and 'death'."

"The player yesterday triggered a key audio cue, which activated 'Life.' The mutated pothos were the same—one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things. That is why they grew with such grotesque, savage expansion. The spider lilies, on the other hand, represent 'Death.' The graveyards, the deathly aura, the bloody, seductive colors—they are hymns to the dead."

"Do you remember which two scenic spots we checked in at yesterday?"

"The Luo River and the female stone statue."

"Exactly. The Luo River and the stone statue. As soon as a player enters the Luo River, they use their own bodies to nourish new snails. And the stone statue is an inanimate object, yet even so, the villagers kneel and worship it. It’s just like the thousands of spider lilies; they would rather feed them with their own blood than let them wither."

"…Then what is the theme we have to face today?"

The stone mill and the rice paddies? The output of grain and its subsequent processing?

Even if they knew the connection between the themes and the monsters, what good would it do? Before the actual challenge appeared, they could only rely on guesswork to survive until the next day, couldn't they?

"Forget it, let's stop overthinking," one of the tourists said, snapping a photo to check in at the spot. "Let's just go back and sleep after we finish taking pictures. I stayed awake all night yesterday, afraid to close my eyes. If I had known there wouldn't be any monster attacks in the second half of the night, I wouldn't have been so foolish as to stay up."

Tang Mu ignored them.

Because of what happened yesterday, no one dared to go near the stone mill or the wheat fields. They were terrified of making a mistake and ending up like that poor soul from the day before—stuck with a massive, distended belly, unable to stand or run when the monsters arrived, dying in the most wretched way imaginable.

"Tang Mu, are you trying to go down there and get yourself killed?" Lu Zhengqing returned from taking photos elsewhere and saw Tang Mu heading into the rice paddies. He couldn't help but try to call her back.

Before they set off, Qiao Yuan had warned him that Tang Mu was a "newcomer" and that all her movements must be kept under the watchful eye of the Ayu Association. If she showed any sign of disloyalty, he was to "take care" of her without hesitation.

That was the real reason Lu Zhengqing was "clinging" to Tang Mu.

But Tang Mu ignored him and stepped into the fields.

The rice plants were as tall as a person. If Tang Mu went any deeper, she would be completely out of sight from the shore.

Remembering Qiao Yuan's orders, Lu Zhengqing had to set aside his pride and follow her into the depths of the field.

"Tang Mu, can you consider the team before you do things? You must always remember that your mental power is SS-rank! Our Vice President invited you into the association to boost our influence, not for you to throw your life away on a whim! If you really want to know the answers, can't you let others from the association do it? Do you have to do everything yourself?"

"If I hadn't come down here, would you have followed?"

Aside from Yan Xingwen, Tang Mu never bestowed her trust upon anyone else. As for having others complete tasks, she listened but never took it to heart.

"These rice plants are highly abnormal. Look for yourself."

Lu Zhengqing looked in the direction Tang Mu was pointing and noticed something different.

"The roots of the rice aren't growing in the soil?" And while normally ripened rice should be a healthy, bright yellow, these plants possessed a deathly, grayish-white hue, as if they had been left out for a long time, just waiting to desiccate.

"It's not just that. The whole field feels as if time has frozen. Normally, even if the rice went unharvested due to an emergency, it would turn into fertilizer and return to the soil to nourish other life. But the fields in this village..."

After a long silence, Tang Mu provided the answer: "It reminds me of something. It's called 'casting'."

"Casting?"

"Using a special method to make all things maintain their original appearance, allowing them to exist forever in an unnatural state."

"That doesn't sound like a good thing."

"Indeed." Tang Mu plucked a handful of grain and handed it to Lu Zhengqing. "Go to the stone mill, throw these in, and grind them. See what comes out."

Lu Zhengqing stared at the grains in his hand, feeling bewildered.

Wait, what was he trying to do just a moment ago?

Right, he was supposed to keep Tang Mu on track and stop her from acting alone. That was a huge taboo in a team and made things difficult for everyone else!

But how, inexplicably, had he started obeying Tang Mu's orders?