Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game-Chapter 200: Truth
On duty "online GM" Old Geng, personally witnessing the entire process of Unceasing Entropy joining the dots connecting the lumberyard and the neighboring village, couldn't help but sing her praises. "This girl is really sharp, heh."
While players thought they were just undertaking a quest within the game, Old Geng had no such illusions. Ever since Lord Yang shared information with Cadre Zhao Zhenzhen from national security, it seemed that an unspoken understanding about those with "tool accounts" had a channel for sharing information. Now, there was no longer any pretense of disguising actions as mere "gameplay."
Thus, Old Geng clearly understood that what seemed like the newly introduced "Exorcist Quests" in the game was actually Lord Yang opening a pathway for players to engage with the core mysteries of this strange other world.
In a way, by allowing players to access these mysteries, it indirectly enabled the national team members to gain a deeper understanding of this other world.
Old Geng might not be an expert in astrometry, but he had learned enough from the head of the expert group, Director Lu (actual), to grasp some counterintuitive facts about this world.
For instance, through prolonged (OtherWorld time) celestial observations in the Exile Town and Weisshem, it was determined that this planet wasn't in the Milky Way galaxy.
Based on the trajectory of the sun's movement, aligned with the motion of celestial bodies during day and night, the expert group calculated and unanimously concluded that this planet was significantly larger than Earth. At least three times larger.
Normally, a larger planet would have stronger gravity. However, upon testing the density of the timber transported by Lord Yang to Earth and re-weighing the goods he transported to this world, the expert group found the gravitational forces of both worlds to be surprisingly similar, puzzling many specialists.
Carbon-14 dating on the soil samples attached to the timber suggested that this planet, like Earth, had an ancient history, possibly even older than Earth's.
Through meticulous examination of the wood and its microorganisms, the expert task force discovered significant differences in the microbial evolution between this world and Earth—details which Old Geng couldn't fully comprehend as Director Lu explained using technical terms.
In short, the experts were intensely curious about this planet, which in every aspect seemed to challenge the scientific understanding of Earth people. With Lord Yang leveraging the introduction of "new content" for players as an opportunity for the national team to explore core mysteries, Old Geng naturally kept a close eye on players embarking on "Exorcist" and "Bounty Hunter" quests.
Seeing the players completely unconcerned that they were undead and heading into the local village at night, Old Geng promptly issued a warning:
———
Alert: You are entering Lana Village.
Your Indahl prestige level has reached "Friendly," allowing entry into Lana Village.
【Warning】: Villagers are resting. Do not disturb them. Please return at dawn.
———
Players who had participated in the territorial war for Indahl had gained territory prestige above "Friendly," theoretically allowing them access to any village or town. However, disturbing the peace at night was strictly prohibited, as rural homes, unlike city buildings, didn't have the same level of sound insulation.
Confronted with the warning, the players' first reaction, naturally, was to curse the game devs.
Under normal circumstances, Qin Guan would simply have taken the group to grind monsters and return back to the village in the day; however, the current quest was so challenging this time that it bordered on the absurd. Waiting for daylight in the game would mean Unceasing Entropy having to log out and attend classes, rendering the entire effort pointless!
Not wanting to miss out on the quest, Tang Jia had a bold idea. "Hold on. Since entering the village is allowed, it should be fine as long as we don't disturb the sleeping villagers, right? We're looking for that hunter to question him about the truth. He's a quest NPC, and we're doing a quest, so it shouldn't be a problem, would it?"
Qin Guan immediately gave a double thumbs up. "Good idea, finding a quest NPC to do a quest isn't really disturbing anyone!"
"That's right! Let's enter the village quietly, no shouting or making noises!" The players chuckled in agreement.
And then, this bunch of skeletons actually ran into the village…
Old Geng, monitoring from behind the scenes in Exile Town, was both amused and bemused by their actions.
Well… he was curious about this "Exorcist Quest" too. As long as these youngsters could keep to their word, he'd turn a blind eye.
The black leather dossier contained the addresses of all potential relevant persons. The hunter Ordul's home was located at the edge of Lana Village, at the foot of the mountain, a considerable distance from other houses. As long as the players didn't dismantle Ordul's home, they wouldn't be disturbing the other villagers indeed.
Lana Village was close to Indahl City, a straight line distance of less than 10 kilometers. Many of the villagers had vegetable gardens in front of or behind their houses, which helped supplement their income when the crops were sold in the city.
The geographical convenience here meant that this village was relatively well-to-do. Besides being living quarters, many homes had additional sheds for chickens and ducks. There were also pigs and dogs living among the people. By this world's standards of rural life in this world, Lana Village was relatively comfortable.
As the undead quietly passed through the village, a dog was startled and started to bark.
However, it wasn't a major issue as few villagers were disturbed and those that were woken up weren't inclined to leave their homes and simply made sure to keep their dogs quiet.
Ordul, the only hunter in Lana Village, was slightly more well-off than the other villagers. His assets included two adjoined mud-wall and thatched houses at the foot of the mountain, a small yard of around 40 square meters fenced with a hedge, a chicken coop, and a wooden kennel that housed two hunting dogs.
Several dozen undead surrounding Ordul's fenced yard first alarmed the two dogs inside.
Village hunters couldn't afford expensive hunting dogs, so Ordul's were just common watchdogs from central and eastern parts of the Navalon continent. When seeing the crowd of skeletons outside, the dogs whimpered and retreated without barking loudly.
This noise was enough to wake Ordul, the strongest man in the village. He jumped out of bed, grabbed his hunting bow and quiver, and rushed outside… to find himself facing a horde of armed undead in the moonlit night.
Like his dogs, Ordul's first instinct was to seek refuge inside, but he stopped in his tracks when considering his sleeping wife and children. Thus, he positioned himself by the door in a defensive stance, cautiously eyeing the undead clad in scale armor.
The villagers also knew about the change in ownership of Indahl territory last week, not out of concern for the political shift but because they saw undead roaming the streets even during the day when they went into the city to sell produce.
One of the undead approached the gate and made some "KABAKABA" noises at Ordul, who, bewildered and scared, couldn't understand what was being said.
"Damn it, don't tell me even the quest NPC can't understand us?" Qin Guan cursed in frustration.
From behind the scenes, Old Geng issued a quest prompt to Unceasing Entropy who was holding the hemp rope.
"Perhaps the quest tool 'rolled-up hemp rope' should be used?" Unceasing Entropy saw new information on the interface and raised the rope.
Ordul still didn't react.
Unceasing Entropy pondered and passed the rope to Qin Guan, then pointed at the hunter. "Give this to the NPC."
Qin Guan, holding the rope, hopped over the waist-high gate, strode boldly into the yard, and presented the rope to Ordul. The hunter, puzzled and apprehensive, glanced at the undead encircling his home, then bravely took the rope.
Seizing the opportunity, Old Geng used his "GM authority" to pull Ordul into the matrix.
This temporary maneuver to pull a native into the matrix was similar to the azalea badge engraved with a mental link rune. However, it certainly wasn't as convenient as the azalea badge as it required someone online to "add the person." On top of that, it can only target people who have come into direct contact with the undead with a short-lived effect, typically lasting only half an hour.
This was a new feature Yang Qiu had developed after allowing players to go out and undertake "hidden quests."
Simply put, it was temporarily imbuing those who came into direct contact with the undead via the mental imprint runes hidden within the skeleton frames….
Upon receiving the rope, Ordul was momentarily stunned. The weird "KABAKABA" noises made by the undead in front of him were almost instantaneously replaced by the impatient voice of a young man…
"… Stop pretending, Ordul. We all know what you have done. Look at this rope, don't you recognize it?"
Ordul stiffly stared at the imposing undead before him and gulped hard
. O Lady Gold Coin!!
Why could he hear the undead speaking?!
Naturally, Qin Guan couldn't differentiate between shock and fear displayed by the native in front of him. In a forceful tone, he asked, "Are you still trying to play dumb? What exactly did you do in the Misty Woods last spring?"
The words "spring" and "Misty Woods," along with the rope given by the undead, sent a chill down Ordul's spine, bringing forth memories he had tried to suppress.
While living beings found it hard to discern expressions of the undead, the undead could accurately gauge the reactions of the living. Seeing Ordul's reaction, Qin Guan's eyes lit up. He quickly pulled out the badge given by the Night's Watch NPC and pressed it against Ordul's face, barking, "We are exorcists investigating the Misty Woods incident. Confess now! Or we'll drag you back!"
Ordul turned pale and trembled violently.
Had it been a night watchman investigator, Ordul might have continued to feign ignorance, but when facing a group of undead who even knew about the rope he had hidden… Ordul didn't dare to lie.
Overwhelmed and terrified of these undead, Ordul didn't even consider the question of how the undead had even become exorcists.
All he could do was stutter, "I-I really didn't do anything, master undeads… I just… I just took care of Jeanette's corpse discreetly…
"She was already with Old Master Jeff, yet secretly had an affair with the foreman, then mysteriously hanged herself in the forest… If outsiders knew, it would tarnish Master Jeff's reputation, and I had no other choice…"
"Who is Jeanette?" Seeing the NPC finally willing to talk, Unceasing Entropy leaped over the fence and came into the yard.
"She is the fourth daughter of Village Chief Nidam," Ordul replied shakily. "Old Master Jeff came back to the village mansion for her every year, staying for a month or two… Although she was only a maid in the Jeff household, it was a good life for a country girl like her. If not for Old Master Jeff's kindness, she wouldn't have had such a good life similar to city folks. And Mrs. Jeff was also very kind to her."
Qin Guan clicked his tongue in disdain when hearing this. "What the hell? Being a mistress is enviable?"
Unceasing Entropy frowned at the trembling NPC and asked, "Are you certain Jeanette hung herself?"
"Of course… miss," Ordul nodded vigorously. "I was the first to go up the mountain that day. When I found her, she was wearing the dress the lumberyard foreman had given her. Her clothes were neat without any creases, and there was only one mark around her neck—I've seen several village women hang themselves before, and it was always like this."
"Wait a minute, you've seen several women hang themselves?!" Qin Guan was taken aback.
"Every few years, there will always be one or two who can't think straight," Ordul explained.
Unceasing Entropy shook her head but didn't say anything.
Before "OtherWorld" was released, Unceasing Entropy's biggest interests other than studying were law and crime programs. That was why she had various bizarre knowledge and was quite familiar with the investigation and evidence collection routines of Chinese police.
Anyone who had some understanding of legal governance progress in modern China would know one thing: the suicide rate of rural women in modern China was once alarmingly high.
It wasn't impossible for the game developers of "OtherWorld," who were obsessed with "realism," to use real societal development as a reference to create a set of "easter egg"-like hidden settings for players to discover.
"Why did you go to great lengths to cover up the fact that Jeanette hanged herself? Is Robert Jeff's reputation really that important to you?" Unceasing Entropy pressed.
"Of course, Miss Undead!" Ordul straightened up, his voice no longer trembling, and he even conveyed a sincere plea, "When this place was still under the Kolvs, 60% of our grain wasn't even enough to pay the autumn tax! Families like mine with little land barely had any corn left after paying the tithe.
"After Old Master Jeff arrived, no matter how much the grain price fell outside during the harvest season, he only took 50% of our grain! If Old Master Jeff leaves and the next lord is similar to the Kolvs… what would we do then!"
Unceasing Entropy fell silent once more.
Due to a complex family background, Unceasing Entropy, though young, had an understanding of human relationships and worldliness not inferior to that of an adult who had lived for several decades.
For instance, in this case, whether or not Jeanette, a village mistress, had an affair wasn't a big deal for a knight of Robert Jeff's status. If he truly cared about Jeanette, he wouldn't have left her in the countryside.
However, for the villagers of Lana Village, Jeff's little affair was a big deal.
To "protect" this lord, who was slightly "more merciful" and didn't bleed them dry as much as others, the villagers were willing to do what they thought should be done.
Allowing a young woman, whom they considered "improper" and "ungrateful," who was silently accepted by everyone as being "fortunate" to be an old man's mistress, be silent, and even extreme action like hanging herself in protest wasn't allowed.
Her existence had been meticulously erased, and even Investigator "Shrew," who had once looked into this matter, didn't know her name… Of course, it's also the "right" thing to do.
But it wasn't right for the girl. She wasn't willing to disappear silently. In her way, she tried to scream to all those who could not see her, saying that she was there, right there.
.
!
Chapter 200: Truth
Comments