Looking at the townspeople with smiles on their faces and weapons in their hands, even Mo Yang, who had the best mental endurance, found it hard to force a smile.
At this moment, he really wanted to catch one of the residents and pry open their skull to see what they were thinking that made them obey Goris despite being terrified of her.
However, everyone present reacted quickly. They might be powerful, but there were only around ten of them, certainly no match for the over a hundred townspeople armed with various tools. What could they do at this moment? They could only escape!
So, the group scattered and fled. Mo Yang grabbed Wan Mei’s hand and shouted to the others, “Meet at the place where Rose is investigating tonight!” Then, they ran.
The others also heard Mo Yang’s words, but apart from their own group, no one else knew that the place Rose was investigating was the hot spring area.
Hu Ge and Chu Xiuli wanted to ask for the specific location, but the aggressive townspeople made them wary. Thus, they could only run anxiously.
Mo Yang pulled Wan Mei into a dead-end alley and sighed, “If all the townspeople stop doing business, what will we eat for dinner?”
While Wan Mei secretly observed which townspeople’s skulls would be suitable for experimentation, he couldn’t help but be speechless when he heard Mo Yang’s words.
“At a time like this, you’re still thinking about eating?”
Mo Yang rolled his eyes, “It’s better than you always thinking about dissecting heads. Eating is more important than anything else.”
Wan Mei sighed and then gave a practical suggestion, “How about we sneakily rob a shop? Since all the townspeople are out looking for us, their homes must be empty.”
“But what if someone is there?” Mo Yang asked, and upon seeing the grin on the maniac’s face, he knew he had been too talkative.
What if someone was there? Then he could only blame them for not leaving the house and instead choosing to stay behind. Heh.
Mo Yang thought for a moment and chose a Chinese-style fried chicken burger shop.
Evading the running townspeople, Mo Yang and Wan Mei planned to pick the lock and enter the shop through the back door.
However, before Mo Yang could act, Wan Mei stopped him and took out a thin, elongated piece of unknown material from his pocket. He elegantly and slowly inserted the piece into the lock, and within three seconds, the door opened.
Mo Yang’s mouth fell open, “Is this something you guys still research in your institute?”
Wan Mei shook his head, “No, sometimes I just forget to bring my keys, so I learned about lock structures incidentally. I have to say, most locks’ internal structures are too unstable, artificially made things are just not as good as naturally formed ones. Living things are truly the most worthy objects of study. Hmph.”
Mo Yang: “Oh.” Alright, you’re impressive. If everyone were like you, locksmiths would be out of business.
After entering the shop, Mo Yang acted quickly. He first checked the living area on the second floor and was relieved to find that the residents of this shop had all gone out to search for them. So, there would be no one accidentally getting stabbed by Wan Mei’s dissecting knife.
Then, he began to gather food. The fried chicken burger shop naturally had chicken, fries, and bread. Mo Yang put all the pre-cut chicken pieces, frozen fries, and bread into a black plastic bag.
Thinking that so much food could last them at least three to five days, he was about to call Wan Mei, who was picking at lettuce slices, to leave.
However, at this moment, the door lock made a faint noise, causing Mo Yang’s eyes to sharpen. He quietly put the bag down and pulled out his Tang knife.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ktfc, jr rbbc jr Xbifl olcjiis wjcjufv ab qgs bqfc atf oglfv mtlmxfc rtbq’r vbbg ibmx jcv mjgfoeiis aegcfv jgbecv ab mibrf atf vbbg, tf ofia j mtliilcu rfcrjalbc bc tlr cfmx.
Xbifl raloofcfv jii bnfg, jcv atf cfza rfmbcv, tf mjrejiis rjlv, “P jw Xbglr’r ygbatfg. Rb wjaafg ktb sbe jgf, lo sbe tjgw wf, Xbglr klii cfnfg ifa sbe ub.”
Mo Yang narrowed his eyes, “Oh, at this point, you’re not pretending to be crazy and acting foolish? Was it you or Goris who set Nina and Charles on fire?”
Golei, listening to the voice that didn’t seem to belong to any townspeople, turned around and saw Mo Yang holding the Tang knife and the large bag on the ground. So, he had run into the person who had broken in like him?
“Hey, this is Old Brooke’s shop. Did you guys pay for the stolen goods?”
Mo Yang looked at the young man, around twenty years old, and rolled his eyes, “As if you would pay.”
Golei clicked his tongue, “Although I won’t pay, I will make sure Goris protects this place. Also, although my sister is no longer alive, she is definitely not an evil spirit. Someone is just using her to try and control the entire town.”
Mo Yang shrugged.
“But the residents all said that Goris told them to capture us.”
Golei picked up a slightly cold burger and bit into it, “That’s not something my sister said. They can’t see her at all, so how could they hear her speak? They are just listening to someone else, like the priest, the doctor, and the principal. Among those three, only one is a true demon.”
“What about our people killing each other because of Goris?” Mo Yang asked.
Golei sneered, “Goris was trapped in her room and died in the fire. When she was dying, she heard the painful screams of her mother, her father struggling to make her jump out of the window, and my shouts at the townspeople outside begging for help to put out the fire.”
“She was only ten years old at the time and died in such fear and agony. How could she become a happy soul? Anyone who gets close to her will involuntarily be drawn to their most painful memories. It’s not her choice.”
“Moreover, I once begged the priest to grant her soul peace, but he said Goris was the source of evil in the town and could not be forgiven.”
Golei’s expression became gloomy as he spoke: “They thought I didn’t know? Those three are the true sources of evil!!”
“Since they came to the town seven years ago, Joyful Town has been surrounded by darkness. They want the town to be in constant panic and everyone’s hearts filled with darkness! They must be doing something unspeakable! So, instead of capturing Goris, you should be going after those three.”
Upon hearing this, Mo Yang finally put down his knife. He looked at Golei with a serious expression, “Although you say that, do you have any evidence to convince us? Also, I suspect that after your house caught fire, the townspeople must have done something to cause you and your sister pain. Even so, do you still want us to save this town?”
Golei fell silent for a long time.
In the end, he sighed, “No.”
“They are not like that.”
“Although they were smiling when the fire happened… I know it wasn’t intentional.”
“I saw…”
Before Golei could finish his sentence, the back door of the burger shop suddenly crashed open, and several big burly men in security uniforms rushed in, exclaiming, “Ha! Just as we expected, you are in cahoots with the evil spirit! We’ll capture you and execute you, and then Joyful Town can truly return to joy and peace!”
As the burly men blocked the door and charged in, Mo Yang clicked his tongue, “If you have something to say, say it while escaping!”
Mo Yang faced two of the burly men head-on, and Golei, in his current state, dared not pretend to be crazy and face one of the burly men. Only the last burly man hesitated and then charged at Wan Mei, who was sitting there picking at flour. He thought he could finish the fight in one minute.
He indeed finished the fight in one minute. When he lay on the ground weakly, his skull opened up, he almost cried out.
Amidst the chaos, Golei turned his head and almost collapsed when he saw what was happening. With great effort, he steadied himself and heard an evil voice say, “Yang, I’ve found something interesting. Leave those two for me as well.”
Before Mo Yang could nod, the other three uniformed burly men turned around and tried to run, but they were immediately stabbed in their vulnerable nerves by the demonic figure. They collapsed on the ground twitching.
Golei: “…” oh sister, I need your protection!
Unfortunately, to Golei’s astonishment, his sister, who used to come whenever he called, seemed reluctant to come this time. It was as if these two people were scarier than demons.
In great agony, Golei endured for more than twenty minutes and watched helplessly as the townspeople were killed. Then the demon finally stopped.
“Let’s go to the hot spring area. I’ve made some discoveries,” Wan Mei said and looked at Golei, “Will you come with us?”
Golei’s body stiffened, and he quickly nodded, “Yes, yes, yes.” If I said no, I might be dissected immediately.
In the end, Golei became one of the laborers and, under Mo Yang’s guidance, helped carry the bag of food to the hot spring area. Before leaving, Mo Yang left 200 Dream Coins in the shop, it should be enough to cover the cost of the food they took.
Perhaps due to the ferocity of Wan Mei, the Demon King, they didn’t encounter any townspeople along the way. When they arrived at the hot spring area, it was already dark.
Mo Yang, led by Golei, walked to the hidden hot spring pool deep in the woods. Then, Mo Yang took off his coat and sweater, jumping into the hot spring to wait for the others. Wan Mei took out an alcohol stove and set it up to heat the fried chicken and fries.
Golei stood there, completely dumbfounded.
At around 6 pm, Zhou Luoluo and Rose, Zhou Api and Song Kefeng all arrived.
They looked a bit disheveled, but they hadn’t suffered any serious injuries. While Zhou Luoluo and Rose remained silent, Zhou Api had already started sniffing the air, “What’s that smell? Grilled chicken? Ha! Boss, how did you know I was hungry? I was chased all this way! So ferocious, but being able to see delicious grilled chicken at this time, I’m really happy!!”
It had to be said that Zhou Api was also a person suitable for survival in this game. At least, this kind of optimistic attitude, which cared more about food than anything else, was beyond most people.
Afterward, the six of them each set up an alcohol stove and soaked in the hot spring, listening to Golei tell stories.
Golei swallowed his saliva after recounting his ordeal and discoveries.
“Seven years ago, three outsiders came to our small town.”
“At that time, our town was the most prosperous, lively, and beautiful in the vicinity, with no fewer than a thousand residents.”
“The three outsiders arrived in a somewhat disheveled state. They were injured, and it was our old doctor, Uncle Tang, who treated them and healed their wounds.”
“But after healing them, Uncle Tang suddenly fell seriously ill and passed away. At that time, no one suspected the three outsiders. My sister and I, along with… Linlin, went to visit Uncle Tang. He gave each of us a silver cross and warned us to stay away from those three outsiders, as they were not good people.”
“Later, Uncle Tang died. One of the outsiders, who was a doctor, quickly replaced Uncle Tang and became the new doctor.”
“Then, the priest and the former school principal both fell ill and died. The remaining two outsiders became the new priest and the teacher in the school.”
“At that time, my sister, Linlin, and I thought it was just a coincidence that their arrival seemed to coincide with the deaths of Uncle Tang, the priest, and the school principal. But no one would believe such a coincidence, so we could only secretly observe their actions.”
“One day, Linlin suddenly told me that she had discovered the three of them always gathering behind the church at night, doing something unknown. I dared not get too close and pulled Linlin away. But later, Linlin’s father had a car accident and died. Linlin was left with her mother only.”
“Then, in just two years, strange accidents and illnesses started happening in the town. Although many people died as a result, nobody suspected foul play. They thought it was just bad luck. I secretly recorded the time and causes of death of every deceased person and noted all the unusual changes in the town.”
“Later, Goris told me that she felt like the town was cursed. Everyone seemed to be changing. The joy and warmth that used to fill the town had disappeared, replaced by negative emotions. Her best friend, Lina, suddenly didn’t like her, and there were more and more disputes among the kids in school.”
Golei sighed deeply, covering his face, “Goris said something back then. She said, ‘I don’t know why, but I feel like the people in the town are becoming bad.’ At that time, I thought she might be too sensitive. After all, our family was the wealthiest in town, and envy from others was expected.”
“The reason our family settled here was that my parents felt the residents of this small town were kind and friendly, and they helped us a lot, so we decided to settle here. But who could have imagined that when our house caught fire for no reason, more than half of the townspeople rushed over, but none of them was willing to help put out the fire.”
Golei seemed to recall the scene vividly, and his body started trembling.
“Our house was burning in flames, and those who used to rush to help us, even when my sister fell, now had evil smiles, watching us being engulfed in flames.”
“At that moment, I hated them with all my heart. If I hadn’t seen Linlin in the crowd, smiling while tears streamed down her face, I might have ended up hating the whole town like Goris did.”
“But looking at Linlin, I suddenly realized that what I saw might not be true. There must be some evil force at work, corroding the town. So, from that night on, I went crazy.”
“Since that night, people began to disappear continuously. Instead of searching for the missing people and seeking solutions together, the priest told everyone that it was Goris seeking revenge. To escape Goris’ revenge, one must always maintain a smile, or else they would be dragged into the abyss or die in the sea of fire.”
Zhou Luoluo couldn’t believe it and interrupted, “Your townspeople believed that?!”
Golei smirked, “Otherwise, how do you explain the residents who, even while shedding tears in their hearts, kept saying, ‘I’m happy’?”
“I hated them for a while, but then I realized that they weren’t much different from me, Goris, or my parents. At least my parents had gone to heaven, and although Goris couldn’t find peace for her soul, she was still somewhat free.”
“The townspeople, on the other hand, had to pretend and wear a smiling mask, living in eternal guilt and fear they couldn’t let go of. They are living a fate worse than death. And in the end, what did they do wrong?”
“The only mistake they made was probably saving those three heavily injured outsiders seven years ago, right?”
“I don’t know why they burned down my house and rebuilt a school, hospital, and church in its place.”
“But I feel that it has something to do with Goris’ soul and maybe even with my family’s ancestral gem. So, I sincerely request you to help us.”
“At least, put an end to this forced smiling. Whenever I see that kind of smile now, I feel like throwing up.”
In that instant, a system task popped up.
They stole npc, lol
Thank you for your translation 💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟💟