Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 315 The White House

Yan Xun felt that the troublesome thing about this instance was that they couldn't go to the scene of the crime.

We can only deduce the general direction from past clues and memories.

Even key NPCs like his grandmother and Ning Hengyuan didn't appear in this instance; he could only progress by pushing through the dungeon.

Whether it's Luoyin Village or that lakeside villa, if they could actually go to the scene, finding these clues would be much easier.

These players can't even leave this community...

"You cannot leave the community."

Yan Xun looked out the window at the white house located in the center of the five houses.

He had previously suspected that, based on the distribution of the community, the torso should be in that white house, which is the central area.

"You try digging around the yard first," Yan Xun said. "I'm going to the white house!"

Seeing Yan Xun running so fast, Lou Yanchuan had no choice but to put down his homework. He looked at his wheelchair and said, "Let me dig the yard?"

……

Yan Xun was spotted by staff as soon as he arrived at the entrance of the white house.

The staff member in the black suit glanced at Yan Xun and asked, "Is there something you need?"

“There are some things I don’t understand,” Yan Xun said. “I heard what the black flames said.”

He looked preoccupied and then looked at the staff, saying, "Those flames were all fake, weren't they?"

The staff member looked at Yan Xun with a pitying expression. "Of course."

"Those black flames always say deceptive things."

He opened the door to the white house. "Come in."

He led Yan Xun into the white house.

This wasn't Yan Xun's first time entering the White House, but perhaps because there wasn't a party being held, the White House looked somewhat eerie and was very quiet inside.

Yan Xun followed the staff to an office.

"Wait a moment." He gestured for Yan Xun to go in first.

Yan Xun hesitated outside the door, "This place looks a bit eerie."

"It's alright," the staff member said, turning on the room's lights. "It's just a little dark."

The room contained a simple table and looked more like a storage room than a reception room.

After Yan Xun went inside, he sat on a folding chair. Soon, another person came to the door of the room. The first staff member whispered a few words to him, and the other person nodded in understanding. Then he said to Yan Xun in the room, "I will answer your questions."

He went into the room, closed the door, and sat down opposite Yan Xun.

"Are you a resident of that house with the white roof?" he asked.

Yan Xun looked at him. Like the other staff members, it was a face that was hard to remember and looked the same everywhere.

"Yes."

"I only moved here recently."

“Strange things always happen here,” he said. “But because everyone lives here, they quickly become happy, so these strange things can be ignored.”

"Only occasionally, something will disrupt this tranquility."

He told Yan Xun, "This is like a test."

"It's a test to see if you're qualified to stay here."

Yan Xun thought to himself, "That's what charlatans always say," but on the surface he still showed the expression of a lost lamb, "As long as we pass the test, we can live in this community forever?"

"of course."

“…But I’ve recently been thinking about some terrifying things,” Yan Xun said.

"what?"

"I heard an unfamiliar word."

The man looked at him. "What vocabulary?"

"The Divine Kingdom," Yan Xun looked at him, "Have you ever heard of it?"

“I keep dreaming about this,” he said. “The voice tells me that it’s all fake.”

"This is not my world."

He told the man, "That man is dead."

"The man in the yellow house died on the street."

"I saw his body, and a bamboo strip appeared inside him." Yan Xun then revealed his ring finger. "I cut off my own ring finger, but I didn't feel much pain?"

Is this fake?

Am I dreaming?

Yan Xun kept pressing the man for answers.

The man looked at him with pity. "You've just been deceived."

"Of course we are all real."

He gestured for Yan Xun to extend his hand.

Yan Xun wasn't sure what he was going to do, but she still reached out her hand.

The other person took his hand and placed it on their heart. "Look, my heart is beating."

"You're just being misled by those things."

“In this community, there are often things that can be confusing.”

Yan Xun could indeed feel his heart beating beneath his palm, "But I..."

He gestured for the other person to look at his missing finger, saying, "I'm not quite sure what you're saying."

The man simply smiled tolerantly and said patiently, "Don't rush."

"I've heard of the divine kingdom you mentioned somewhere before."

This information was beyond Yan Xun's expectations. He observed the other person's expression and asked, "Where?"

"The ravings of a madman," the man said.

“They say they have received a revelation that they must cultivate their own god before that day arrives,” he told Yan Xun. “They claim to be God’s spokespeople.”

He gave a puzzled look. "They're all crazy."

“You didn’t hear this in a dream,” the man said encouragingly, looking at Yan Xun. “You can tell me without worry.”

Yan Xun looked somewhat embarrassed, as if revealing the truth was difficult for him. "It came from a liar," he said. "The liar said he had received enlightenment and was different from us."

"You were fooled by him?"

"Maybe," Yan Xun said.

"What does 'divine kingdom' mean?" Yan Xun asked again. "Will they die and come to a new kingdom?"

“It’s just some annexation tricks,” he told Yan Xun. “Big fish eat little fish.” Seeing that Yan Xun didn’t seem to understand, he put it another way: “They think that if they don’t build their own divine kingdom before that day comes, they will be swallowed up by something else.”

"That's all the talk of a madman."

"There's nothing to worry about," he reassured Yan Xun. "You can forget about it."

"Just as those black flames said."

"What if we hadn't received revelation and hadn't built our own divine kingdom?" Yan Xun didn't let the man change the subject.

“Don’t take those crazy people’s answers seriously,” he said, but he still satisfied Yan Xun’s curiosity. “They’ll die.”

"Those who do not receive God's help will die."

Yan Xun didn't speak. He glanced at his live stream and found that the live stream was muted after entering the room.

The man opposite Yan Xun looked at her good-naturedly, "Any other questions?"

"Which side are you on?" Yan Xun suddenly asked.

"I don't understand?" the other person said.

"Didn't you guide me into these instances?" Yan Xun asked.

They sat facing each other on two folding chairs. The room was completely sealed off; although there were windows, their conversation seemed to go unnoticed.

Yan Xun looked at the person opposite him, "Main System."

"You want me to know about the Kingdom of God."

"The NPCs in this instance probably don't know such detailed information."

"So which side are you on?" He looked up and around. "You specifically chose a place where those things won't eavesdrop."

"It seems they don't want the players to know about this."

"You broke the agreement?" Yan Xun said. "No, you didn't."

"You're just implying that I should look for these clues."

In almost every world, there is a "god" guiding the way, and the people in these worlds believe in some inexplicable faith.

Players can form bonds with mysterious beings in dungeons, making them their protectors.

Players can receive "nourishment" from these divine powers to become stronger, and the system can also benefit from it.

However, the existence of the divine kingdom seems to be another version of the story, in which humans can use their own power to cultivate gods—the main system went to great lengths just to hint at this.

The green dinosaur will always tell him which dungeons he should go to.

The search for Gui Yuchong's fragments may be real, but it's more likely a result of hints from the main system.

"I remain neutral," the man finally answered Yan Xun's initial question.

He made a balance scale gesture.

“It’s just that some people are insatiable now,” he said to Yan Xun.

"I remain neutral."

"But I want to see a different outcome."

Yan Xun sat on a folding chair, bending slightly forward with his elbows resting on his knees. "Do you know what you look like right now?"

"Like what?"

"Like a heartless boss who makes empty promises to his employees," Yan Xun said.

"You want a different outcome?" He repeated the main system's words, finding it rather amusing. "What benefits would I get?"

"Didn't you see some memories from Lou Yanchuan?" the main system asked. "Those things will never happen again."

"What are the benefits of this?"

Yan Xun sat up straight. "Don't you think too highly of me?"

"My goal is not to save all of humanity."

The main system displayed a human-like troubled expression, "That's a bit difficult."

“I can’t offer you any more benefits.” He then asked Yan Xun, “So what do you want?”

"I can't give you any very powerful items."

"This will raise suspicions."

"There are clues to help you pass the level..." The main system opened its mouth, about to give the answer, but Yan Xun covered its mouth.

"Hmm?" The main system looked at him.

“I know.” Yan Xun tapped the ground a few times with his toes. “Xie Qingdu’s torso is buried here.”

"If I dig this out, I'll know... whether he used a paper effigy as his stand-in at that time."

That was also his purpose in coming to the White House.

“But I don’t quite understand,” Yan Xun said.

“You, I mean you systems and instances…” Yan Xun carefully chose his words, “What is your relationship with them?”

"I originally thought these stories were generated by the system."

But now it seems that's not the case.

"You can think of it as a cooperative relationship," the main system said.

“They are the natives, we are…” The main system thought of a word, “…developers?”

“We discovered this land, offered some conditions, and decided to develop it as a replica.”

"And as indigenous people, they can enjoy some good treatment."

"For example, drawing power from players who failed to complete the game."

“You can think of them as hired employees,” the main system said. “We’ve developed this park, and they play certain roles, except they’re playing themselves.”

"But in order to make the dungeons, or rather these games, more interesting."

"We will impose some constraints."

"For example, these rules..."

He looked at Yan Xun and said, "This is also a hint for the players."

"So, they'll just stay here and repeat these stories?" Yan Xun asked.

"Once a player completes the hidden quest," the main system says, "they can choose whether or not to close the instance."

"Are we repeating each other?" Yan Xun asked.

"What I mean is, did the players who entered the instance last time also encounter Xie Qingdu and Ning Hengyuan? And was there also a Yan Xun in the previous playthrough?"

"No," the main system said.

"These plot points will be left to the BOSS to develop freely."

"He designed the levels."

"The storyline will be different for different people when they enter."

"Only five houses and five kinds of betrayal emotions are the same; everything else will be determined according to the BOSS's consciousness," the main system said. "Of course, most of the time, the BOSS's consciousness is dormant."

Seeing that Yan Xun's expression was somewhat disbelieving, the main system said, "Even if a story is repeated thousands of times, no one would want to read it every single time, right?"

"When the BOSS's consciousness is asleep, this part of the storyline is managed by the system."

"But you're lucky," the main system said.

Yan Xun looked at him, not understanding why she was so lucky.

“He is conscious this time,” the main system said. “The last time he was conscious was 80 years ago.”

Yan Xun: "..."

Yan Xun stood up. "Goodbye."

What are you going to do?

“I’m going to dig up the people buried underground,” Yan Xun said, pulling out a shovel from who-knows-where.

“The private conversation can end now,” he told the main system.

The main system remained seated, nodding at Yan Xun. Then, the staff member's expression shifted from confusion to clarity as he looked at Yan Xun—

"You want to dig?" He led Yan Xun towards the door. "Please come with me."

Just as Yan Xun left the small room, Lou Yanchuan called.

There's something underground.

"It looks like part of a paper effigy."

“Okay.” Yan Xun nodded, picked up the shovel, found a spot that looked good, and started shoveling.

“Bring that thing to the White House,” Yan Xun said to Lou Yanchuan.

He then called the people in the other houses, asking them to find the remaining parts in their own yards.

“After you find it, bring that thing to the White House and find me,” Yan Xun said.

After hanging up the phone, Yan Xun shoveled for a while longer—

Of course, the dungeon won't actually make you dig three feet into the ground. As long as players find the right direction, they can quickly find the torso buried underground.

Yan Xun threw the shovel aside.

He bent down and pulled the torso out of the ground.

The torso was about the same size as the bad neighbor he'd chopped off with an axe earlier that day. He pulled him out and dusted him off.

Soon, dark clouds obscured the moonlight, and the wind gradually picked up.

Yan Xun looked up at the sky and whistled, "It seems the formation has failed."