They Are Very Hospitable (16)
Fu Moyang sensed something was wrong. He put the boy down and pulled him in front of him. “What’s the matter?”
He reached out and poked the boy’s cheek with his finger.
The soft texture was irresistible, so he switched to gently pinching instead.
Only then did Chen Li snap out of his daze, his tone filled with grievance. “There are heads.”
Fu Moyang looked up, and with his height advantage, easily saw the severed heads displayed on the rosewood altar.
There were six in total—all dead players. Even Jiao Ye, who had failed to escape, wasn’t spared. His face was marred by the explosion.
Fu Moyang muttered, “…I didn’t mean to.”
A flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Chen Li simply responded, “Oh.”
Clearly, he didn’t believe him.
After living this long, Fu Moyang had been misunderstood plenty of times, but this was the first time he’d encountered someone who wouldn’t even get angry about it.
He just stared at him with those quietly accusing eyes.
Chen Li’s eyes weren’t the usual black, but a pale shade. In the sunlight, they turned a beautiful amber. Being stared at with such discontent from those eyes made anyone feel a twinge of guilt.
But Fu Moyang’s mind didn’t work like most people’s. Instead of guilt, he felt his blood ignite. Under such pure and innocent eyes, his darker urges stirred restlessly. He wanted those eyes to look only at him—just him.
He reached out and gently pressed the corner of Chen Li’s eye. His voice was low. “How about you cry for me?”
Chen Li’s eyes widened, staring at him in disbelief. He couldn’t understand such an inappropriate and flippant request.
Yet the man’s tone was deadly serious.
Seeing his reaction, Fu Moyang even looked a little disappointed. “You don’t want to cry?”
Those eyes would look stunning with tears, he thought.
A dangerous aura surged from the man, deep and oppressive. It spilled out like a shadow from the abyss, darkening everything around.
Even the villagers who were searching nearby froze under the sudden pressure. The entire world fell silent—no wind, no sound. The flowers and leaves dimmed as if trembling in fear.
The boy stood in front of him, and in a single moment, he could be snuffed out.
Fu Moyang’s pupils contracted. “You—”
Before he could finish, Chen Li suddenly reached out and covered his lips, cutting off the words.
The unexpected gesture stunned Fu Moyang. He blinked, and all the chilling, ghostly aura vanished as if nothing had happened.
System 001, already preparing to forcibly extract the host: How did that even work???
Chen Li had no idea what had just happened. Still upset, he said, “Stop talking.”
It was a simple statement, but the way he said it carried a soft, almost pleading tone.
Fu Moyang’s eyes lit up with amusement, and he nodded.
Just like a lone wolf finally being soothed.
As Chen Li went to pull his hand away, he suddenly felt something wet in his palm.
“You!”
Now he was really angry.
Chen Li turned and walked behind the platform, not sparing Fu Moyang a single glance. His anger momentarily overpowered his fear, and he headed straight for the stairs leading up the rosewood platform.
Thud, thud, thud—he stormed halfway up in one go.
System 001 spoke quietly in his mind: [Aren’t you scared?]
Chen Li suddenly froze. He finally remembered—the row of heads waiting at the top.
And he had no idea how to even conduct the ritual.
Was he just supposed to bow to those severed heads when the clock struck midnight?
That would be way too creepy.
He was already halfway up, but now he couldn’t go forward or back. Standing on the stairs of the rosewood platform, he looked like a little abandoned kitten.
Luckily, Fu Moyang followed shortly after. His gaze was calm but heavy. “Not scared anymore?”
Chen Li pouted. “None of your business.”
Still, having someone go ahead made him feel a lot safer.
Fu Moyang reached the top of the platform first and covered the row of gruesome heads with a red cloth.
Now that he couldn’t see the heads right away, Chen Li did feel a little less anxious. Even so, he stood on the far edge of the platform, not daring to come any closer.
Chen Li asked, “So how exactly are we supposed to hold the ritual?”
There wasn’t a single villager in sight.
The sky was beginning to change color. Time passed faster in the game than in the real world—dusk was already approaching.
Fu Moyang said coolly, “Once the time comes, all we have to do is burn the heads.”
This was the most crucial clue in the entire instance. Others might search high and low and still never find it, but Fu Moyang had figured out the whole game’s mechanics on the very first day.
So they were supposed to burn them.
That was actually easier to accept than bowing to them.
Chen Li let out a breath of relief—then suddenly realized something.
[System, this ritual must be some kind of old village tradition, right?]
System 001: [Yes. Back when the villagers were still human, they used to hold a monthly meat-eating ritual. The heads of the animals they killed would be placed on this very platform, forced to watch as the villagers sat below, feasting on their bodies. Over time, this gave rise to deep resentment. That hatred ended up affecting Sana, who was under the knife at the time.]
Everything clicked into place.
The village had indeed always been called “Hospitable Village.” They warmly welcomed outsiders to join in their rituals. As long as there were guests, they’d slaughter a few extra animals for the occasion. But they never imagined that the more meat they ate, the more animal heads they displayed—the closer they came to their own doom.
Detecting a shift in Chen Li’s emotions, System 001 tried to comfort him: [That’s because this is Horror Game. In your real world, there are no ghosts or monsters. Nothing like this would ever happen.]
Chen Li thought for a moment: [When I was little, a fortune-teller once told me I attracted ghosts. My mom was so worried, she got me all kinds of protective charms. But aside from having the same strange dream over and over after I turned sixteen, nothing weird has ever happened to me. If there are no ghosts in the real world, then I guess that fortune-teller really was a fraud.]
System 001: [No… is it possible that the fortune teller was actually right?]
Maybe the ghosts he attracted weren’t from the real world—but from Horror Game.
. . . . .
As the clock struck midnight, flames ignited atop the high platform.
The tongues of fire devoured all filth.
It signified the end of everything.
Chen Li stared intently at the dancing flames.
Behind him was the ghost bus that had finally broken through the restrictions and entered the village.
Ghost Bus: “Meow~”
System 001 felt like he had goosebumps all over.
If systems could even get goosebumps, that is.
Chen Li turned back and smiled, eyes curved: “You came. Thank you.”
By now, he could converse with the ghost bus fluently.
“Meow~”
System 001 was frustrated and disappointed.
Why is it acting so submissive?!
Is this really the terrifying ghost bus that once made people tremble?!
Chen Li had no idea about the contempt brewing in the system’s heart.
He and Fu Moyang boarded the bus—the man sat in the same seat he had at the start.
Though it was pitch dark outside, the headlights lit the road ahead clearly.
There was no need for a driver; the bus moved on its own, finding the remaining players.
There were originally ten players. By the time they left, only four remained.
Baldy had passed out from severe injuries, whether he would survive was up to fate.
The atmosphere in the bus was heavy and silent.
Cheng Jun had been found by the ghost bus hiding in the slaughterhouse.
His body was covered in wounds, and his black-rimmed glasses were missing, revealing his now gloomy features.
Chen Li quietly observed him through the rearview mirror. He noticed Cheng Jun had changed from the shy newcomer he was at the start.
It had only been a few days, but facing death had stripped away his innocence.
Suddenly, 001 spoke up: [Some people are just made for Horror Game.]
Of course, most people aren’t. Usually, they die at the very beginning.
Chen Li withdrew his gaze. He didn’t bother looking at Fu Moyang—he already knew the man was staring at him, completely unrestrained.
The bus slowly drove deeper into the forest. Just like when they came, there was only one road, stretching into the unknown.
They were really leaving this world now. All the horrors they had faced felt like a dream.
For some reason, Chen Li turned his head.
Through the large rear window, he saw a shadowy black figure standing at the village entrance.
Though he couldn’t see the face clearly, Chen Li knew—it was Sana…
[Ding-dong!]
[Congratulations, host, on clearing your first instance! Task settlement: Final fear level – 71.]
The system’s cheerful voice rang out suddenly, startling Chen Li.
The world around him changed in a flash—
The forest was gone. The bus was gone.
He was alone, back in the blank system space.
System 001’s voice echoed, barely able to contain its joy: [Finally! We don’t have to see him anymore!!!]
. . . . .
Cheng Jun opened his eyes and realized he had arrived in a place he had never seen before.
It wasn’t the terrifying world he had been in before, nor was it his real life.
Suddenly, someone patted him on the shoulder. A person with a mouth full of yellow teeth grinned at him and said, “Hey! Bro, did you just come out of the B-213 instance?”
Cheng Jun remained calm, “Yes.”
Although he was composed, the person with yellow teeth quickly guessed his identity, his eyes flashing with interest. “You’re a newbie?”
Cheng Jun thought for a moment, then decided to tell the truth. “Mm.”
He was also observing the yellow-toothed man.
The man didn’t mind his indifference. “Do you want to join our Fox Hunt Guild? Just open your player panel and you’ll find the forum.”
Cheng Jun followed his instructions and opened it. Sure enough, there was a player forum with several posts highlighted in red, all about leaderboards.
There were three highlighted posts in total: Player Leaderboard, NPC Leaderboard, and Guild Leaderboard.
At first, Cheng Jun thought that a guild recruiting newcomers like this must be a small one, but when he clicked in, the Fox Hunt Guild was actually ranked first.
Yet, Cheng Jun felt no excitement at all—only a sense of caution.
Why would a guild of this level take interest in him?
The yellow-toothed man, noticing his shift in attitude, actually seemed to appreciate it even more. “As expected of someone the boss specifically wanted. Don’t worry, it’s just that something went wrong with the instance. Our boss is curious and wants to meet you. If you do well, maybe you’ll stay in our guild.”
It was clear from the man’s tone that he took pride in the situation.
He had never considered the possibility that anyone would refuse a guild ranked first.
Cheng Jun, as expected, didn’t plan to turn down the opportunity. He nodded and followed the man, keeping an eye on everything around him.
The structure of this place was strange—everywhere he looked, there were square blocks. Each block was a space, some big, some small. Not only were there blocks on the ground, but there were even some floating in the sky.
Players moved in and out, their expressions mostly cold and indifferent.
Finally, the yellow-toothed man brought him to one of the blocks and stopped.
“Go in. Oh, by the way, our guild leader is the second-ranked player, ‘K.'”
Cheng Jun felt a slight stir in his heart, but there was no time to think further as he stepped into the block. Inside, it was completely dark, except for a spot of light in the center. A dark red chair was positioned there, facing away from him. The back of the chair completely obscured the person sitting in it.
With each step he took, the ground lit up beneath him.
Eventually, he stopped in front of the chair.
The person spoke, “A core NPC escaped from the B-213 instance.”
Cheng Jun’s face showed surprise.
Escape?
An NPC could escape?
He didn’t say anything, but the person seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and sighed softly. “I see you don’t know.”
The voice, though gentle and cultured, strangely evoked thoughts of dangerous, poisonous words.
Cheng Jun gathered his thoughts before speaking, “Mm… but there’s an NPC in that instance who’s a bit strange.”
K became interested, turning the chair to face him, narrowing his eyes. “Tell me.”
Cheng Jun knew that his opportunity had come. He lowered his head and said, “It’s an NPC with a tour guide role…”
Author’s note:
System 001: Hahaha, finally, I don’t have to see that person again!!
Fu Moyang: ?
The first instance is quite short; it’s just to help Li Bao transition and accept the new identity.
Oh no, Li Bao is being targeted! Wolf Fu protect your lamb!
That first instance is considered short???