The ritual in the mansion’s basement

 

“So if I fail the mission, will my teammates and I still regain our memories?” Lu Mingze asked again.

This was his biggest concern, after all, the game didn’t allow for real death, and the ultimate reward was their memories.

Narrator: “No. But this won’t affect your real life; nothing will change. Of course, to maintain the game’s secrecy, after failure, you will also forget your experiences in this world.”

Hearing the narrator, Lu Mingze felt a little sad. He looked at Cao Qian, Linlin, Qian Jinlai, Guan Ling, Yan Hebi, and Xing Ye.

These were people who had no connection to him in real life. If they lost their memories, they might never have met in their entire lives. Losing these friends wouldn’t impact real life, but right now, Lu Mingze felt bad—he didn’t want to lose them.

Cao Qian and the others also heard the narrator, and they likewise didn’t want to lose their memories—not just because of this legendary experience.

Lu Mingze sank into a bit of gloom. The Blank Book just wanted to comfort him when he heard himself say: “No, fivefold difficulty doesn’t mean we can’t win. It just means the probability drops from 10% to 2% or even lower. As long as we don’t give up, we can definitely succeed!”

“Even if everyone forgets, it doesn’t matter,” said the Blank Book. “I still remember, I’ll find you all.”

“Then you must feel really pitiful,” Lu Mingze said, placing his hand on the Blank Book’s cover and speaking softly. “Being the only one who remembers is painful. I’ll work hard to complete the mission, so everyone can regain their memories and meet in real life.”

“I’ll help you,” the Blank Book whispered.

Its low, slightly emotional voice felt like a tiny brush tickling Lu Mingze’s heart.

Sometimes memories disappear, but feelings don’t change. Just like when Lu Mingze met Xing Ye at the airport, he felt a sudden flutter in his chest, and it was precisely that flutter that made him accept the inexplicable phone case.

“Let’s set the Diamond Heart aside for now,” Lu Mingze said. “We’ll go look for the Sea Blue Eyes and the War Boots.”

During this time, Yuna and the statue couldn’t understand their conversation. Yuna would feel as if they suddenly switched to another language, seemingly discussing something else. But when Lu Mingze returned to the task instead of discussing the system and memories, she could understand again.

She said, “I’ve seen the Sea Blue Eyes. They are known as the most beautiful pair of eyes. Wearing them lets you see all truths of the world, so a noble girl in the city bought them.”

Everyone: “……”

Lu Mingze said, “She wouldn’t want to replace her own eyes with the so-called God Child’s eyes, would she?”

Yuna nodded. “It seems so… but she hasn’t found the chance yet; for now, they’re just collectibles.”

Lu Mingze was furious. “Eating a diamond to exchange for gem eyes—how ignorant and uneducated can these people be? I think our city really needs to hold some basic science education campaigns in the future: chemistry, physics, biology, that kind of thing. Stop obsessing over philosophy; with low knowledge and productivity, indulging in frivolous romance is why the city suffered.”

“But this world originally has gods…” Qian Jinlai whispered.

“The gods probably want everyone to eat their fill first, right?” Lu Mingze patted the base of the statue.

Statue: “…Mm.”

“Do you know where the Sea Blue Eyes are?” Lu Mingze asked.

The statue seemed to have perception over its own body. Previously, it had found the Holly Sword and Golden Armour, and it had tried to take the Diamond Heart using the mirror when it saw Lu Mingze.

“I can’t see clearly,” the statue said. “But I’m certain that in this town there is no longer any distinction between nobles and commoners. Everyone is the same: hiding underground during the day to avoid sunlight, coming out at night to gather trash and wild plants.”

“So the noble girl must be among the shadows I encountered last night…” Lu Mingze stroked his chin. “I already had the shadows help me count the remaining people. Maybe we’ll get a clue when we see them tonight. The Sea Blue Eyes have to wait until night. What about the War Boots?”

He looked up at the statue, eyes wide.

Statue: “…Looking at me like that won’t help. After the War Boots were worn away by that warrior, I never saw them again.”

“I’ve always wondered, how far can you perceive?” Lu Mingze asked. “You know the approximate location of the Sea Blue Eyes, you know there are monsters in the mansion basement, you know the Golden Armour is underground, and that thieves turn into half-demons at night. But you don’t know the locations of the Holly Sword or the War Boots.”

“The Holly Sword is sealed in the church; I cannot sense it,” the statue said. “My perception only covers this town. As for the bandits, that was the armour that told me.”

“I see,” Lu Mingze said. “So the War Boots are either sealed somewhere or taken outside the town.”

Currently, the War Boots were the only item with no clue. Night would come in half a day. Everyone gathered in the square, while Yuna worked on the statue’s Golden Armour with her tools.

“I have a question,” Guan Ling said, rubbing his stomach. “Aren’t you all hungry?”

“Nope,” Lu Mingze said. “This isn’t the real world—it’s a game world. We shouldn’t feel hunger… Are you all hungry?”

Everyone nodded heavily. Except for Lu Mingze, the others felt fatigue and hunger.

The Swan Crystal and the Blank Book were items without human bodies, so they also didn’t feel hunger. But Lu Mingze had a human body—feeling no hunger, fatigue, or sleepiness was strange.

“I have food at home,” Yuna said. “After the day of the disaster, food in the town didn’t rot. My family was relatively wealthy, and I stored a lot. I’m the only one left, so even after rationing, there’s still plenty. You can go get it.”

The group quickly went to Yuna’s house, grabbed bread, and ate their fill. Lu Mingze didn’t eat to save food.

“Looks like I really am not human…” Lu Mingze touched his stomach—it felt nothing.

Cao Qian ate bread while saying, “I have two questions. First, if the Blank Book’s hypothesis is correct, the little prince is the faith-collection born from the king and people’s prayers. Could a new faith generate another Diamond Heart? Second, since the statue is the God Child and is devoted to this city, he wouldn’t create anything evil. So who gave him the strange mirror that can take over human bodies? The little prince is already the statue’s heart—why give the mirror unnecessarily?”

The ever-silent Blank Book finally spoke. “The first point makes sense; this might be a breakthrough. The second—whoever delivered the mirror has impure intentions; they definitely don’t want the statue to return to normal.

“I’ve been wondering, what exactly did the bishop seal with his life? This city is already infested with monsters—it’s terrifying. And this is after the bishop’s seal. Whatever he sealed must be even more terrifying—something that, if the seal expires, could destroy the entire city.”

Everyone listened quietly as the Blank Book analysed.

But this mission’s leader was Lu Mingze. The Blank Book didn’t continue and instead asked him, “What do you think?”

Lu Mingze frowned. “I’m still thinking about the War Boots.”

“Any conclusions?” asked the Blank Book.

Lu Mingze replied, “I think the statue can hear whether people’s hearts are good or evil. It lent the War Boots to that warrior because it believed he would use them to seek help outside. I don’t think the statue can make a mistake, but no information came through, and the War Boots disappeared. The statue thinks the warrior deceived it—but is that really the case?”

“You believe the warrior didn’t pocket the War Boots?” the Blank Book noted. “If we follow this line of thought, then back then, the warrior, after getting the boots, very likely never even left the city before being killed. If I were the lord, I wouldn’t have let this hidden danger escape to seek help either.”

Lu Mingze said, “I see. The War Boots are in the mansion! So everything’s root cause is still there. Let’s go find them quickly.”

“Wait!” Guan Ling grabbed Lu Mingze. “I just heard the Blank Book reasoning in a very orderly way. We should continue listening to the deduction process. How come with you, it jumps straight to the answer? How did you reach that conclusion?”

Lu Mingze: “…The lord killed the warrior, so the War Boots must be in the mansion… right?”

The final “right?” betrayed Lu Mingze’s inner uncertainty.

The Blank Book confirmed his answer: “Lu Mingze is correct. The mansion has many peculiarities. Back then, the lord and others divided the Diamond Heart in the mansion’s basement, and the thieves also originated from the mansion’s basement. Every item in the mansion is tainted by demonic energy, but other buildings in the city do not have this trait. The shadow residents dare not approach the mansion, which indicates that a terrifying power is hidden here.

“One more thing: the statue couldn’t find the War Boots, which means they are either outside the city or sealed. Currently, there are only two possible sealed locations in the city. We’ve already searched the church and didn’t find the boots. I believe the other sealed location is the mansion’s basement where the demonic ritual was performed, so the War Boots are very likely there.”

Guan Ling said, “Got it. But I think it’s better to just copy the answer.”

He gave up. He realized he could never make such precise deductions in his life.

After the group reached a conclusion, ate, and drank their fill, they returned to the mansion’s square. It was just noon, the sun shining most brightly. They believed this was the best time to enter the mansion’s basement.

They had previously entered once when detaining the bandits, but the mansion’s basement was very deep, with multiple levels. The bandits were only confined to the first floor. According to Yuna, there were three basement levels in total. The ritual had been performed on the bottommost level, while the map only marked the first floor.

Yuna told the group how to access the hidden passage to the third basement level. Everyone carried a lamp and went downstairs. Xing Ye solemnly said to Lu Mingze, “Get ready to clap on the wristband.”

“Okay.” Lu Mingze was a little nervous, holding the Blank Book in his arms.

Yan Hebi did not follow them downstairs; he stayed with Yuna. Yuna had him help apply the Golden Armour.

About this, the Blank Book said: “Let him stay. He can monitor the mission progress, and by coming into contact with the mission objective more, he might even get some new information.”

They had expected to encounter some danger, but unexpectedly, the group moved unhindered all the way to the third basement level. The third level was a huge hall, enough for three hundred square meters. Oil lamps were at each corner. They lit the lamps and saw the entire basement level clearly.

Scattered haphazardly across the third basement level were eight skeletons. Strange patterns were carved on the ground, and the patterns were stained with blood.

 

Translator : DarNan