“That thing up there might actually be a line of sight.”

Being controlled by an inexplicable supernatural force—could one still use logical reasoning to analyze and find the source of this power? This was the common thought among the team members.

Xing Ye’s words told them: yes, it was possible.

Xing Ye said: “First, regarding being controlled, there is a difference. Yesterday, none of us were controlled, so why did it suddenly happen today?”

Upon hearing his question, the team members looked at each other. Cao Qian, not fully clear in thought, usually wouldn’t speak recklessly; Yan Hebi’s mind was still in turmoil. Finally, Qian Daniu cautiously asked, “Could there be a reason? Could it be the mood of the Mountain God?”

“Correct.” Xing Ye gave Qian Daniu an affirming look.

Qian Daniu: “……”

“More precisely, it should be some kind of programme. Let’s assume that yesterday we were still being selected as sacrifices for the Mountain God. While being sent to the residence for sacrifices, we were still in a kind of ‘reserve’ status. Once inside the residence, we officially became sacrifices. At that time, we didn’t leave the residence; we stayed in our assigned areas, so we were not controlled—our minds were free. When we left the residence, it was nighttime, with no sunlight, so we weren’t controlled then either.”

“Oh,” Qian Daniu nodded repeatedly. “So as long as we stay obediently in the residence, even if we come into contact with sunlight, nothing will happen.”

Cao Qian said, “We did what we were supposed to do given our status.”

Xing Ye cast her an approving glance: “I’ve been thinking, why did Aunt Yang trigger the mind control yesterday? Did she share something in common with us? Yes, she did—the answer is that she did something her role wasn’t supposed to do.

“She was a woman who endured her husband’s torment yet still tried to comply. Even if she chose to kill me, she wouldn’t defy her husband in the slightest. She dared to resist her husband only due to my influence, and this action violated her original character design. After triggering mind control, she was executed immediately. Because she was an unimportant character, her death didn’t matter. We, however, are sacrifices of the Mountain God; we cannot die before the ritual. Therefore, the mind control forces us to return to the residence by any means necessary.

“From this evidence, we can infer the conditions for mind control—identity, behaviour, location, and other required elements of a character. If anything deviates from the set rules, mind control will be triggered.”

Qian Daniu nodded repeatedly. After hearing Xing Ye’s logical and well-structured reasoning, she felt her soul had been purified. She finally understood why they were controlled during the day!

Having concluded the first small question, Xing Ye turned to the second: “Next, why was Yan Hebi controlled? This is actually simple: there are two possibilities. One, all paper humans are also controlled; two, Yan Hebi has received the so-called blessing of the Mountain God.

“Considering the Village Chief’s continuous transformation of living humans into paper humans and his desire to kill the Mountain God, the second possibility is more likely. We know the Village Chief was the first to receive the Mountain God’s blessing and become a paper human. He must be the most deeply controlled. But once he returned to his room, he noticed something unusual about himself. Surely, no one wants to be controlled forever while playing their role.

“Moreover, the Village Chief noticed that living humans are also controlled, so he chose to transform them into paper humans. Paper humans without the Mountain God’s blessing, and hybrids like Qian Daniu, are not controlled.”

Qian Daniu suddenly realized: “So the Village Chief is a good person? Even if he ordered the guards to kill us, it was from the perspective of the whole village—sacrificing a few to save the rest.”

Xing Ye said, “Not necessarily. But we can assume the Village Chief’s initial intention was good, even if his methods are extreme. Then we have the third question: in the night, harming paper humans and hybrids, yet never harming the living humans who can be controlled—does that mean the aggressor is the evil side?”

“Oh my God!” Qian Daniu, her face swollen and bruised, rubbed her arm and leaned against the wall (neither Cao Qian nor Yan Hebi could provide support, so she could only hold herself). “If yesterday we had followed the Black Mist Village Chief’s orders and called out all the paper humans, wouldn’t that have been aiding the enemy? Luckily, our leader handled things cautiously and didn’t fall for his lies.”

Cao Qian disagreed with Qian Daniu: “If black and white are both the will of the Mountain God, then why does black harm the blessed guards? Yesterday’s battle was so smooth precisely because the arms in the black mist helped, right?

“Furthermore, black and white are opposites. I’m more inclined to think that white controls the living, black eliminates paper humans. These rules existed from the start. It only became complex due to the Village Chief’s interference: he created paper humans without the Mountain God’s blessing, and their number clearly exceeded the blessed paper humans. So it may seem that black was disrupting the Village Chief’s plan, but in reality, it’s just a…”

Just a what? Cao Qian couldn’t find the right word.

“Just a bug,” Yan Hebi said. “The Village Chief is the first bug generated under the village rules!”

Xing Ye nodded with satisfaction: “Exactly. From the clues so far, we can basically outline the game rules. Black and white are opposites. Black is the Mountain God’s opposing faction but lacks the power to harm the Mountain God, so it kills paper humans and hybrids. White may not belong to the Mountain God’s will, but its purpose is to maintain order in the village, ensuring each character fulfills their mission so the village can sustain its status quo.”

Yan Hebi thought for a moment: “So is this actually a game? Could we be in a single-player horror game?”

At this, Lu Mingze, who had been silent, said: “I disagree.”

Cao Qian decisively said: “Good, that rules out a game.”

Yan Hebi: “……”

Why? Even Leader Xing Ye nodded, but did that mean what the little mirror said must be correct?

Xing Ye knew why Lu Mingze disagreed. Because the little mirror could move within the mirrors in this world, it proved this was real. If it were a mental world, network data, or holographic projection, all mirrors would be virtual, and the little mirror couldn’t use the “Truth Magic Mirror” ability. Therefore, this village truly existed.

However, Xing Ye couldn’t explain this reasoning yet; it could only be attributed to Lu Mingze’s super intuition.

He mentioned: “Since it’s not a game world, the last question is: what type of world requires that characters have role definitions, positional limits, and that the world’s control over characters must happen outdoors?”

“Kind of like a game, but not really…” Qian Daniu pondered deeply.

Yan Hebi and Qian Daniu furrowed their brows together, thinking about the answer.

Cao Qian had a guess but didn’t dare confirm it—it was simply too terrifying.

Then the little mirror, Lu Mingze, said: “Who says it’s not a game? It’s just a different form. Suppose I have a toy house… um, a toy village. Every little figure in the village is my toy. I assign them roles—this one is the father, that one is the mother. Once roles are set, the toy village comes alive, each character has flesh and blood.

“Characters with souls develop their own thoughts. How do I maintain the order I established? Of course, by watching from above, and if a toy goes to the wrong place, I pick it up and put it back. Truly useless toys, I simply discard and make new ones.

“For more fun, I could design two opposing factions, separate night and day—much more entertaining. I played with such complicated toy houses as a child. You’d need to set up a whole house; the little figures had batteries and could move around, but once inside the house, I couldn’t see them anymore.”

The little mirror Lu Mingze pointed to the ceiling: “That thing up there might actually be a line of sight.”

Although he was clearly talking about a child’s toy, the group shivered. Qian Daniu said: “But those are just toys. How could it reach that level?”

Lu Mingze said seriously: “For those toys, the child playing with them is the god controlling them. Didn’t our story say from the start that this is Mountain God Village?”

Cao Qian felt nervous. She believed what Lu Mingze said. Though it sounded childish, the deeper she thought, the more terrifying it seemed—the possibility was very high.

Because she believed it, fearless Cao Qian became even more anxious—they might actually be dealing with a god.

Yan Hebi found it hard to accept this conclusion. He shook his head repeatedly: “Are we really going to confront a god? Everything is under someone else’s control, even our own thoughts can’t be fully grasped—how do we even fight this war?”

Xing Ye said, “Previously, in the Casino World, we were also under the casino’s control. They could change the rules at any time, making it impossible for us to win—but we still managed to succeed. This time, our opponent isn’t an NPC; it’s a world where system rules intervene. Our opponent is the game itself. If it were too easy, I’d actually be suspicious.”

Qian Daniu asked, “If we really are toys, how can toys rebel against their owner?”

Xing Ye replied, “Haven’t some toys already awakened consciousness? The Village Chief, the Village Secretary, the Mountain God sacrifices… I think the ritual two days from now is our only chance.”

 

Translator : DarNan