Chapter 18: Statue Party (10)
Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
However, if what this woman said was true, then the gargoyle outside must be attacking indiscriminately.
Such vengeful spirits, having killed too many people, would become even more bloodthirsty and powerful—this was something Shu Yushuang had read in “The Comprehensive Guide to Ghost Hunting”.
But according to that book, every vengeful spirit in each instance of this game belonged to the category of indiscriminate attackers.
After all, every executor had no personal grievances with them, yet they were still killed without reason.
As for the old woman’s statement, Shu Yushuang was skeptical, as it was merely her side of the story.
However, given the current circumstances, the woman was the only potential breakthrough.
Shu Yushuang patiently continued to ask, “Can you be more specific?”
Through the old woman’s narration, Shu Yushuang roughly understood what had happened in this small town.
As expected, the stone statue outside was indeed a ghost. When she was alive—according to the old woman—she was an indecent woman. She had no job and relied on certain flesh trade to make a living.
During one of her "business transactions," the woman entertained three men at once. However, after it ended, she went back on her word and demanded more money. This led to a conflict with the three men, during which they accidentally killed her.
After killing her, the three men did something utterly insane—they turned her corpse into a stone statue.
The woman lived alone, powerless, and without connections in the small town, while the three men were all influential figures. They spread a story claiming the woman had stolen their money and ran away, and no one questioned it. This cruel murder was thus suppressed by them.
However, ever since the woman’s death, strange incidents began occurring in the town.
First, people claimed to have seen the stone statue walking on its own at the site where the woman was killed. Then, all three men simultaneously fell gravely ill with a strange disease.
Their skin slowly turned to stone day by day, and all the doctors in the small town were helpless.
In less than a week, their skin was completely transformed into stone. They soon discovered in terror that if the petrified skin was exposed to the outside, not only would that skin turn to dust, but the parts of the body covered by the skin would also turn to powder along with it.
It was only after this that the other residents realized what had happened. However, by then, the deceased woman had already begun her revenge on the other residents.
All the other residents turned into "stone people," and only this elderly woman, with her children, managed to escape and hide in this place.
The old woman’s words were full of inconsistencies, but Shu Yushuang did not interrupt her with questions; she simply listened quietly.
However, she believed that the old woman had not lied to her about the origin of the female ghost.
Shu Yushuang frowned, not asking any more questions.
Based on the old woman’s recount of the whole incident, Shu Yushuang believed that the woman had indeed died unjustly, and her revenge on the three men was understandable.
But why was she exacting revenge on the entire town’s residents?
Shu Yushuang had not overlooked the fact that when the old woman mentioned how the female ghost treated the other residents, she had also used the word "revenge."
Was the female ghost resentful because they hadn't saved her? Or was it because they hadn't fought for her justice?
But those three men had concealed the truth from the residents, and in a way, the residents were also victims.
Shu Yushuang was still analyzing the female ghost’s intentions, but she didn't know that the vengeful ghost in this instance was completely different from the kind of vengeful spirits she had read about in “Comprehensive Guide To Ghost Hunting”.
The vengeful ghost in the game would be manipulated to kill everyone who appeared in the copy.
It was only at this moment that Shu Yushuang had time to observe her surroundings.
At this moment, she was in a very ordinary room, and its layout was very similar to the one she had stayed in before. This was likely another hotel room.
But this room was much more normal than the previous one — it had spacious, bright windows, wooden tables and chairs, and a soft bed...
This place was completely different from the room she had stayed in before, almost like a safe zone.
Shu Yushuang asked the elderly woman, “Who are you, and how did you find this place? Are you and your children the only ones still normal in the entire town?”
But after the woman finished speaking earlier, she started acting erratically again, completely ignoring Shu Yushuang’s two questions.
Seeing the woman turn back into that state, Shu Yushuang knew she wouldn't get any answers and stopped pressing.
Fearing that the delirious woman might suddenly attack her, she distanced herself.
Suddenly, a childish voice came from the woman's arms: “Elder sister, it’s not like that, Mom is lying.”
Only then did Shu Yushuang start paying attention to the child in the old woman's arms.
One child had a vacant gaze and kept laughing foolishly, looking mentally unstable, but the other child stared at Shu Yushuang with intense eyes.
The two children appeared to be around ten years old. The foolish one was a boy, and the one looking at her was a girl.
Shu Yushuang had originally thought that these two children were the old woman's grandchildren.
She asked the little girl, "Why do you say your mother is lying?"
"The older sister outside wasn't just harmed by those three people. Her death was also related to..."
Of course, these words were not only heard by Shu Yushuang, but also by the old woman.
She immediately returned to her normal state, forcefully covering the little girl's mouth while angrily scolding, "What does a child know? Don't talk nonsense."
She then turned to Shu Yushuang and said, "The child doesn't understand. What she says doesn't count, so don't take it to heart. How could I lie to you?"
Shu Yushuang ignored her and looked at the little girl, who was pouting with an expression full of defiance.
But after being scolded by her mother, the little girl dared not say anything further.
If what the little girl said was true, then it wouldn't be surprising for the female ghost to take revenge on the other residents.
But how would that help her current situation?
Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Shu Yushuang crouched down, leveling her gaze with the little girl.
"Little sister, are there other children in the city?"
The little girl nodded. "Yes, but I don't know where they all went."
Shu Yushuang stood up, took a few steps back, and once again distanced herself from these natives.
At this moment, she recalled the residents she had seen earlier when she went to the street. Indeed, she hadn't seen a single child—among those with petrified skin, there were no children.
Did the female ghost not harm the children because they had not participated in her murder?
If what the little girl said was true, then the old woman was lying. The woman's death was connected to every adult in the city, and every person with petrified skin was not innocent.
There is a head for every grievance and a master for every debt. The female ghost knew to avoid the children and only sought revenge on the adults. But why would she also target the executors?
Could it be because there was still a fish that escaped the net here?
At this thought, Shu Yushuang's gaze couldn't help but fall on the old woman.
However, she had not yet been threatened by the female ghost, and there was no task requiring her to take revenge on the female ghost. Therefore, she had no intention of taking action against this woman for now.
Moreover, she still didn't know exactly what the old woman had done, so there was no reason to take action.
Shu Yushuang took out her phone. She now knew the reason behind the residents of the small town becoming like this, but there was no notification sound from the phone.
She checked the task interface, only to find that it was no different from before.
Shu Yushuang had no idea whether she had completed the first task or not.
However, what happened next filled Shu Yushuang with a deep sense of fear.
Just as she was thinking about the questions above, a prompt suddenly popped up on her phone: ‘Seven days remaining in the dungeon. Please hurry to complete the first task. If the dungeon time expires without completing the first task, erasure will occur.’
Cold sweat broke out on Shu Yushuang's forehead.
This game, can it even monitor the executor's thoughts?
But the phone was silent now, with no sign of any further notifications.
Shu Yushuang put her phone away and looked back at the three natives.
The old woman was mumbling something absentmindedly. Shu Yushuang couldn't hear what she was saying, so she leaned in closer.
"She deserves to die... she deserves to die... it's not our fault, she deserves to die..."
Shu Yushuang furrowed her brow. She had already realized that something was definitely off.
Shu Yushuang glanced at the old woman, then reached for the spot where she had fallen earlier, but all she touched was still a wall.
She now had a hypothesis about how to complete the first task, but she couldn’t even get out of this room.
To know the truth, why not just ask the female ghost directly? But to make sure the female ghost wouldn't attack her, she would need to bring a "gift" when meeting her.
As for the gift, it would naturally be the fish that escaped the net in front of her.
Once she figured out the key, Shu Yushuang began searching for an exit from the room.
In truth, she still had some hesitation in her heart. If she was wrong, she might end up killing an innocent person.
But thinking again that these people were just NPCs, Shu Yushuang's heart felt a little lighter.
They... should just be NPCs designed by the game to interact with the executor or help the executor complete tasks, right?
Shu Yushuang dared not think too deeply.
The most important task right now was to find the exit.
The room had no door, and Shu Yushuang couldn't exit through the window. It seemed the only option was to look for an exit from the place she had entered earlier.
Shu Yushuang returned to the wall where she had fallen before. She carefully explored every inch of it, then knocked, but there was nothing—no exit, not even a hollow spot.
Leaning against the wall, Shu Yushuang recalled how she had ended up in this space.
She had been forced into this space by the female ghost's blood, with no retreat left.
The female ghost's blood—was this hinting at something...?
With that thought, Shu Yushuang took out the stone knife and cut a wound on her finger. Blood immediately began to flow.
This time, Shu Yushuang used the blood from her index finger to search the wall, but after a long time of exploring, the wound on her finger was reopened countless times, yet she still found nothing.
Shu Yushuang lowered her head in deep thought.
Could it be that what she experienced when she entered before was a clue?
Or perhaps it was indeed a clue, but she had been thinking in the wrong direction.
Shu Yushuang raised her head and looked at the old woman.
The woman was still muttering incoherently, and Shu Yushuang gripped the stone knife tightly as she walked toward her.
The old woman showed no reaction, still staring blankly at the ceiling. As she got closer, Shu Yushuang realized that the woman had been cursing all along.
The woman showed no reaction, but her daughter noticed Shu Yushuang's movement.
The little girl stood up and blocked in front of the woman.
"Don’t hurt my Mom!"
Shu Yushuang stopped in her tracks. To her, the little girl was hardly an obstacle, but she didn't want to harm the child.
Shu Yushuang patiently explained to the girl, "I need your mother's blood to help us leave this place. You don't want to be trapped here forever, do you? Don't worry, it'll just be a small cut, and I only need a little bit of blood."
No matter what Shu Yushuang said, the girl stubbornly shook her head.
The old woman’s mental instability seemed to appear intermittently. For example, right now, it seemed as if she had understood Shu Yushuang’s words. She quickly pulled the little girl into her arms.
"I won’t go out, I won’t go out, I can’t go out..."
The old woman muttered these words over and over. Shu Yushuang understood that without taking some forceful measures, she wouldn’t be able to get any blood from the woman.
