In an instant, everyone around gasped.
Yin Xiu didn't open his eyes; he couldn't see anything, but he could clearly feel the woman's gaze lingering on him. Her cold gaze held no murderous intent, but it was utterly ruthless. "Tomorrow night, it's him."
"That won't do." The mayor's voice rang out quickly from the side, sounding very anxious. "He's not from this town, you can't elect him."
The woman didn't leave, and gave a sinister laugh. "It didn't work yesterday, but it will work today."
The mayor's voice turned cold instantly, "That won't do either, he's the one I've set my sights on."
"If the rules say I can, then I can." The woman laughed, her voice full of defiance. "I'm determined to choose him, so what can you do about it? Break the rules?"
The town mayor remained silent and did not respond.
The woman moved again with a sneer, slowly walking away from Yin Xiu, until her voice disappeared.
"Open your eyes!"
A voice rang out, breaking the silence, and Yin Xiu slowly opened his eyes.
When he looked up, he was met with the indifferent gazes of the townspeople around him. They all stared at him as if he were a dead man, their eyes icy cold.
Yin Xiu turned to look at the town mayor beside him. The mayor was looking down, deep in thought, his expression grim and his gaze unfocused.
What did she mean by "choose me"?
When Yin Xiu asked the question, the town mayor was startled, but quickly changed the subject, "It's nothing, you don't need to worry about it..."
"Does this mean you're choosing me as a sacrifice?" The town mayor's expression became complicated as soon as Yin Xiu said this.
This pretty much confirmed Yin Xiu's idea. Judging from the tense reactions around him, it wasn't hard for him to guess whoever the woman stopped in front of was going to be in trouble.
The rule of sacrifice was likely that one person was to be offered each day, chosen by the woman herself at the end of the previous day's sacrifice.
The problem is, he's not from town, so he shouldn't be included in the selection of offerings. The woman's choice also surprised the mayor; before leaving, she said, "Yesterday wasn't possible, but today is."
What did he do today that makes him a candidate for sacrifice?
Is it just him who can do it, or can all players do it?
"You brought me to the sacrificial ceremony just to sell me to her?" Yin Xiu gave him a meaningful look, and the town mayor quickly denied it.
"Simply participating in the sacrificial ceremony won't get you chosen. If she's willing, she can become a sacrifice even if she's inside the house…" The mayor glanced at the other players in the building. "But I forgot about that. You do have the qualifications to become a sacrifice."
"What's up?"
Yin Xiu was certain that something must have happened during the day that would affect the players' chances of becoming sacrifices, but he didn't know exactly what it was.
The mayor did not answer his question, nor did he seem to intend to.
His gaze toward Yin Xiu turned dark and unfathomable. "Now that things have come to this, I can't let you be killed by someone else first."
The mayor took Yin Xiu's hand again, this time without asking beforehand. He grabbed him and began to mutter to himself, "You are a work of art that is one in a million. Those two have no art whatsoever. If you fall into their hands, you will only end up being eaten to pieces. It would be such a waste to be eaten."
He looked at Yin Xiu with pity and shook his head, then let go of her hand and turned around, saying, "I have some things to do, so I'll be going now."
After saying a few incomprehensible words, he left.
After the townspeople finished the sacrificial ceremony, they left one after another, and soon only Yin Xiu's figure remained in the square.
He stared blankly at the blood-stained sacks and bloodstains left in front of the altar, as if he needed to speed up the progress of the dungeon.
After returning to his house, Yin Xiu noticed that the players had already come out of their rooms and gathered on the first floor.
It seems that they couldn't sit still because of the sacrificial ceremony just now. Today it was Yin Xiu, tomorrow it will be someone else among them. As long as they stay in the dungeon for one more day, a player will die. The sacrificial ceremony is held every night, and no one wants it to be their turn.
"Thank you so much for discovering this for us. But it's a pity you can only live until tomorrow night. Players who sell people will get their comeuppance sooner or later." One of the players sneered at Yin Xiu as he passed by.
Yin Xiu ignored them and turned to go upstairs.
As soon as he left, the person who had just been talking downstairs was suddenly grabbed by the neck by something unseen, and his eyes rolled back in his head.
The surrounding players panicked immediately. They wanted to help, but because they couldn't see anything, they didn't know where to start. They could only watch helplessly as the player was being choked by something invisible, struggling and dying in front of everyone.
The lobby was silent; the players looked at each other, all keeping quiet.
Only those who spoke ill of Yin Xiu suffered; everyone else was fine. It seems Yin Xiu is indeed a strange person and should not be provoked.
Upon reaching the second floor, Yin Xiu stepped into the corridor and saw a dark figure standing at the end. In the depths of a long corridor lined with portraits on both sides, Li Mo's black figure appeared particularly sinister.
His face was bathed in darkness, yet he still wore that unchanging smile, standing motionless at the doorway watching Yin Xiu come up, as if waiting for him.
"Is something the matter?" Yin Xiu listened to the panicked commotion downstairs, walked down the corridor, and slowly placed his hand on the hilt of his knife.
Li Mo didn't respond, but just stared at him and smiled.
Yin Xiu continued walking forward, but his eyes involuntarily darkened. "You're getting anxious too?"
The two people with ulterior motives towards him will certainly not let a third party kill him first; they will definitely take action before tomorrow night.
The mayor's gaze was cold and hostile before he left, and Li Mo's plans were unknown. Now that he had suddenly appeared to greet him, Yin Xiu could only guess that he was even more anxious than the mayor.
Despite his question, Li Mo remained silent, standing motionless with her arms crossed in front of her chest and a smile on her face as she waited for him to approach.
Footsteps echoed slowly down the corridor. The surrounding portraits were silent, and the closed-eyed faces showed no reaction to Yin Xiu. The entire corridor was filled with Li Mo's aura, and a chilling coldness emanated from him, spreading throughout the corridor and suppressing all other strange presences.
Yin Xiu walked to his door, but Li Mo still didn't move. He stood behind him, staring at him without moving, and the sight made him not let his guard down at all.
"If there's nothing else, I'll go inside." Yin Xiu asked as he slowly raised his hand to grasp the doorknob.
The moment he reached out, a hand suddenly appeared from behind and slammed against the door with a thud. Almost simultaneously, Yin Xiu pulled out a small section of a knife.
The cold light gleamed sharply in the night. If Li Mo's hand had been extended towards him just now, his hand would definitely have fallen now.
"Just say what you need to say." Yin Xiu stood frozen in place, his whole body radiating vigilance.
Li Mo's aura completely enveloped him from behind, the chill almost touching his back through his clothes, making him shiver with discomfort.
"hand."
As if to lower his guard, Li Mo softly uttered a word, then lowered his hand from the door panel and grasped Yin Xiu's hand, pulling him towards him.
Somewhat bewildered, Yin Xiu was pulled around by the hand and turned to face Li Mo in silence. Then he saw the dark-skinned man take out a square tissue from his pocket and wipe Yin Xiu's hands.
His icy fingers wiped every inch of Yin Xiu's fingers through the thin tissue, not even missing the spaces between his fingers. After wiping, he put the tissue in his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and then swallowed it.
Yin Xiu remained silent for a few seconds, then belatedly realized that this hand seemed to be the one that the town mayor had just pulled.