PFRG: Chapter 41

The moment he walked into the room, the dazzling golden light made Chi Ting’s eyes squint slightly.

As he got used to the process of moving from darkness to light, he saw the sacred and solemn display in the center of the room. The moment the intricately carved treasure chest fell into his eyes, his ears were filled with the exclamations of other players.

“Captain, it turns out that there is really a treasure!” Since he stood closer, Ji Xingque’s voice was particularly clear.

“Yes, there really is a treasure.” Chi Ting’s gaze swept over it slowly with a hint of surprise in his tone.

After all, under the previous series of strange developments, he was once a bit skeptical about whether the so-called treasure of the braves really existed or not. He hadn’t expected this legendary existence to appear in front of them so easily.

A blinding golden glow came directly from in front of them.

The first thing that caught his eye was a huge altar with simple craftsmanship.

On a platform that had grown thick with thorns, a copper-gold treasure chest shrouded in a dazzling light seemed to quietly wait for their arrival.

As if sensing something, the light around them flickered faintly the moment everyone entered. Then it quietly regained its tranquility.

Under the surprise of the upcoming level, players were obviously excited.

But when they finally got here, most of them people still remained vigilant despite the treasure chest being so close.

There was even someone who rushed directly from the crowd in excitement.

Fortunately, Huang Xinjue had quick eyes and hands and grabbed him. He frowned and wanted to scold this person. Then he lowered his head and was stunned for a moment when he saw the other person’s expression clearly. “Come here, there seems to be something wrong with his state.”

Others also noticed that this player was strange.

He might’ve been pulled by Huang Xinjue, but he didn’t seem to feel anything at all. His eyes were still staring straight at the copper-gold treasure chest in front of him, full of the enthusiasm and anticipation of being completely attracted.

He suddenly exerted force while Huang Xinjue was feeling stunned. He almost really broke free. Fortunately, Huang Xinjue reacted quickly and forcibly pressed the person down. After that, several people around him reacted and went up one after another to help restrain the person.

It wasn’t known who cursed, “D*mn, why is it endless?”

If everyone was still immersed in the joy of being able to clear the instance a moment ago, this player’s strange reaction was tantamount to a basin of cold water being poured on their heads.

The cold feeling in their body was enough for them to clearly realize that this dungeon was probably not completely over yet.

Chi Ting glanced at it but he wasn’t surprised by such a scene.

Even he was in a trance for a moment when he first entered the door. The aftereffects of the previous brainwashing completely emerged the moment he saw the treasure. There were constant voices in his head reminding him that as long as he got the treasure, he could have everything. Then he was quickly and forcibly pulled back by his sense of reason.

As for the player who was restrained by Huang Xinjue, Chi Ting had some impression of him. He was one of the players who broke free from the illusion downstairs the latest. Looking at his reaction, it was obviously because his thinking wasn’t firm enough. Under the great impact, he instinctively followed the temptation. This was basically a normal reaction.

Chi Ting paused for a moment and soon found a few people with strange expressions in the crowd. He very neatly arranged for people to restrain them in advance. Fortunately, most people got rid of the illusion relatively quickly on the first floor. There weren’t many people who fell into a trance. Ji Xingque was responsible for firmly controlling this corner and supervising them.

At most, it was the aftermath of the previous psychological suggestion. Let them calm down and they should wake up soon.

Huang Xinjue was already injured. After all this trouble, he couldn’t help wiping his sweat and cursing, “What on earth is going on?”

Chi Ting’s answer was quite an understatement. “This should be the effect that the demons downstairs are expecting. They are brainwashing repeatedly in the hope that someone would get carried away and take the heroes’ treasure out of the castle.”

He paused slightly when speaking of this. Then he added, “No, it might be enough to just take it out of this room.”

Huang Xinjue keenly captured it. “…So what is this room?”

“If I’m not mistaken, it is probably a place to suppress demons.” Chi Ting suddenly turned and looked at Yue Ren next to him. “Am I right?”

The topic suddenly shifted to Yue Ren, who seemed too quiet after entering the room. Now he lowered his eyes and looked over.

Such a reaction seemed to be curious about how Chi Ting discovered this. “How do you know that I have the answer?”

Chi Ting raised an eyebrow. “It is too obvious that you are distracted.”

Yue Ren was stunned for a moment. Then he laughed. “You are paying attention to me.”

Chi Ting was noncommittal about this.

To be precise, he had been paying attention to the reactions of all the slaves.

Upon entering the room, all NPCs, including Yue Ren, seemed to have fallen into a state of losing their soul.

The scene might’ve fallen into brief chaos due to the abnormality of these players, Chi Ting glanced over and still captured the moment of strangeness.

At first, Chi Ting was a bit worried that there would be some type of bad mental attack.

But soon, seeing Yue Ren’s expression change from astonishment to surprise before gradually turning into a type of realization, the whole process of the emotional change made Chi Ting feel relieved.

After this period of contact, the man was able to adopt the attitude of having fun. It was almost as if he was watching a good show that he found very interesting.

Seeing that after Yue Ren regained his consciousness, he still wanted to hide without doing anything, it was naturally impossible for Chi Ting to give him a chance to stay out of this matter. At this time, Chi Ting continued to ask, “So am I right?”

Under such a direct gaze, Yue Ren could only shrug helplessly. “What you said is right. Why are you so smart?”

At this answer, Chi Ting slowly fell behind the other person. He adjusted himself to a relatively comfortable posture and leaned against the wall with a slight arc of his lips. “Then let’s talk about it. From the perspective of the slaves, what is the true story of the heroes of Aleran?”

Yue Ren felt the gazes of the surrounding people. He obviously wasn’t willing to tell the story. He pointed to the slaves at the door. “Why don’t you ask them?”

Chi Ting smiled slightly. “Of course, it is because I believe in you.”

At this point, he did have a basis for judgment.

These slaves might’ve been cleansed in the castle, but their bodies were more or less transformed into demons. It wasn’t known whether it would affect their cognition. Yue Ren with the lowest degree of demon transformation was undoubtedly the most accurate source.

Chi Ting thought of this and solemnly emphasized it again, “I only believe in you.”

There was a brief silence once these words came out.

For some reason, Chi Ting felt that there was a hint of complexity in Yue Ren’s eyes that looked at him at this moment.

But it only passed by in a flash. Soon, the man’s lips slowly curved up and he nodded. “Since you have said so, it seems that it is really unreasonable to be dissatisfied with you.”

Um? What did he say?

Chi Ting couldn’t think about it for a while. Then seeing that Yue Ren was willing to cooperate this time, he was so happy that he didn’t ask any more questions.

The memories in Yue Ren’s mind did pop up the moment he walked into the room.

Thinking about it carefully, it should be due to the identity of ‘slave’ judged by the stupid system. This caused him to enjoy the same treatment as other NPCs.

The amount of information that poured into his mind at that moment made Yue Ren finally feel the torment of the mental shock that Chi Ting felt when copying. However, he was very experienced in being an NPC. After digesting it for a while, he quickly sorted out the complete information related to the main plot from the chaotic information.

Since Chi Ting wanted to listen, Yue Ren started to tell the story in an orderly manner.

In his description, the past of the ancient city of Aleran gradually emerged.

Not all the legends they heard were fake. However, it was a version that had been carefully crafted by the demons before it was distributed.

In the real story, the heroes did hide the treasure in the castle after the battle but not in the form of a so-called winner. On the contrary, the heroes at that time lost so miserably that they could only watch helplessly as the entire city fell under the rule of the demons.

But in the end, the demons didn’t gain any advantage at all.

Before dying, the heroes used the power of the treasure to completely trap these evil beings in the ancient city. It became a prison for these filthy beings.

“The rest is easy to understand.”

Yue Ren slowly looked around. “They deliberately spread the legend about the heroes to trick more explorers into looking for the so-called treasure. In order to allow them to gain recognition and enter the castle, they also provided the slaves as support. They hoped to find a new ‘hero’ to take away the treasure and unlock the centuries-old seal of the ancient seal.”

This change of setting from ‘brave explorer’ to ‘stupid tool’ was obviously difficult for people to accept.

Someone digested it for a long time before thinking it through bit by bit. “So the rules in this city are also…”

“Of course, these demons made it up to benefit them.”

Yue Ren observed the changes in everyone’s expression with great interest. The corners of his mouth silently curved up. “After 8 o’clock, the power of the treasure is relatively weak and the demons can return to their original appearance at that time. In order to avoid being discovered by explorers, they deliberately made up a curfew. As for the slaves you have always used as tools, you might better understand it another way—the descendants of the heroes.”

“What?” The players all looked back in unison at these words.

However, since the relationship during this period wasn’t very harmonious, the expressions of these faces on the almost non-human NPCS were still slightly numb despite retrieving their memories.

Huang Xinjue thought of the existence he left in the hotel that had completely turned into a demon. His expression was ugly for a moment. “Those demons could take revenge if they want to. Why leave it to us?”

“Of course, it is because they can’t do it themselves in the city. They came up with the method of using the hands of you stupid explorers.”

At the end, there was a faint laugh in Yue Ren’s sighing tone. “This city has never received the blessings of the heroes, but the suppression of the demons from beginning to end. It is just pitiful for the heroes who did everything to seal the demon. After making such a big sacrifice, their descendants still have to suffer such torture. It is tragic, really tragic.”

The players: “……”

D*mn, it was none of his business. Wasn’t he a slave himself?

Chi Ting stopped next to him and listened without saying anything.

His gaze always fell on Yue Ren’s body.

The information that Yue Ren summarized from the perspective of the slave was indeed enough to answer most of his doubts. For some reason, Chi Ting always felt that the way this person told this story was too playful. The demeanor of being happier the more he talked in this situation gave Chi Ting a vague premonition of something bad.

Out of a different type of tacit understanding, Chi Ting was thinking about something when he saw Yue Ren suddenly look back as if aware of it.

Their eyes met and the corners of the man’s mouth slowly curved up in a clear arc.

Such a smile made Chi Ting’s heart jump and the ominous feeling before became even more obvious.

Then he heard Yue Ren continue slowly, “I’ve said everything that needs to be said now. Next, it is time to talk about the final choice.”

Ji Xingque was still a bit stunned after listening to a completely different version of the story all at once. Hearing this, he blurted out, “What choice?”

Yue Ren glanced at the players in the corner who were gradually coming back from their dazed state. “But judging from what I mean now, I don’t think there is any intention to forcibly destroy the sacrificial ceremony here. This also means that there is another way to get the treasure chest. That way is…”

He raised an eyebrow slightly. Then he turned around, looked at the slaves at the door, and suddenly stopped talking.

The other players followed his gaze.

The descendants of the heroes with various body injuries stared at the altar not far away for a long time in silence.

After a long time, someone spoke hoarsely, “We have a way to seal the demons here forever.”

Ji Xingque recognized the slave who had been following him since entering the instance at a glance. “Cao Ji, you…”

Hearing this, Cao Ji raised his eyes slightly. His already numb demeanor gradually calmed down. “In fact, the seal of the treasure has already started to gradually weaken. Sooner or later, it will no longer be able to suppress the things outside. They are afraid of us mainly because our bones and blood can replace the weakened power of the treasure and seal them away forever.”

After a pause, a hint of disgust finally appeared in his tone. “Before we are completely infected by this filthy blood, this should be the best choice we can make at this moment.”

“As expected of the descendants of the heroes.”

With Yue Ren’s compliment, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly became more subtle.

At this moment, a familiar panel appeared in front of all the players.

[Main mission at this stage: The truth about the ancient city of Aleran has finally surfaced. Please follow your heart to make the final choice—

Choice 1: Complete the sacrificial ceremony and restore tranquility to the ancient city of Aleran forever. Sacrifice progress (0/16).

Choice 2: Destroy the altar to liberate the descendants of the heroes and truly defeat the demons with a new heroic attitude!

Vote: Choose one or choose two.]

“……” After seeing the content of this panel, Chi Ting’s first reaction was that it was going to be bad.

He hadn’t expressed his position just now because he always felt there was something wrong with Yue Ren’s attitude at this point. At this time, he finally realized it completely.

This person obviously knew the next direction due to possessing the memory of the ‘slave.’

He described so much during the storytelling just to see the final choice?

The way to end this instance was actually a sacrifice. According to statistics, a total of 16 descendants of the heroes were required to sacrifice flesh and blood.

No matter how he looked at it, this was a touching ending full of heroism. However, the biggest problem now was that due to the complete demon transformation of the slaves of Huang Xinjue’s group, they stayed in the hotel directly and weren’t brought here. In this way, the current number of descendants of the heroes was exactly 16, including the fake NPC Yue Ren!

Chi Ting entered the instance this time to obtain a legal and compliant player status for Yue Ren. If he was sacrificed here, it would be a waste of time.

Regardless of this, even if the first choice was the best way to clear the level, based on his understanding of Yue Ren, this person wasn’t the type of selfless existence that was willing to sacrifice himself in exchange for the safety of all the players.

Even if they really insisted on arranging for this man to be sacrificed, he was afraid that the possibility of dragging the entire instance to be buried with him was even higher.

[There are just 16 slaves, so this group is really lucky. The most difficult part of this instance is to get to the treasure chest while ensuring the survival of the slaves. This type of collective cooperation instance can’t take the safe route if one is missing.]

[Yes yes, the last group was so miserable. In the end, there were exactly 15 slaves left. They were forced to select the second choice…]

[Ahem, the second choice isn’t impossible as long as the combat power is enough.]

[This team is really good. The ones dragging them back were stopped before things were too seriously affected. The altar wasn’t destroyed by the brainwashed players. There are enough survivors to take the first choice. Judging from the progress, they should be able to pass the instance smoothly.]

[Hehehe, in fact, I hope they choose the second choice so I can see what Chi Ting can do.]

The barrage scrolled rapidly and was basically ready for the ending of the instance.

They hadn’t expected the last sentence to really be a prophecy.

In this instance, Chi Ting looked up and happened to meet Yue Ren’s gaze. Yue Ren raised the shadows under his feet meaningfully.

Chi Ting saw that the shadows under the feet of the players seemed to be accompanying his movements, silently spreading up their ankles.

For such an overflowing threat, Chi Ting could only stay silent for a moment.

He didn’t have his personal skill now. He could suppress the other person purely by force, but a few people would die before he could control Yue Ren.

In the midst of the players’ discussion, Chi Ting slowly raised his head.

Finally, he uttered some words in a firm tone, “No sacrifice.”

Listen to me.

Or you will really die.