There is One New Rule Every Month Globally

"Ding, 'Rabbits Do Not Kill' team, has successfully entered the E-level map 'Night Widow Village'. Below are the specific map rules; please read them carefully."

With a flash of white light.

The two had appeared before a village at dusk.

It's getting dark within the map, the sun had set, and the moon had risen; the pitch-black sky didn't have a single star to embellish it, creating an extremely oppressive feeling.

They stood at the entrance of the village, before them lay a stone bridge covered with moss. The water flowing beneath emitted a faint fishy odor; looking past the bridge, they could see the village ahead.

All were single-story houses, not even one had a second floor.

Nestled amidst a forest of leafless trees, these branches trembled slightly in the night wind, and at first glance seemed like grimacing specters sneering at them.

The air was eerily quiet, only the occasional crow's caw prevented it from being deathly still.

"Map content": This is a forgotten village, consisting of 13 households. All the men from these families had gone out to work and only the women were left behind.

But after a long, long time, not one man returned home, and eventually, all these women became widows, earning the village the name Widow Village, home to 13 widows.

However, at some unknown time, the village began to be invaded by ghosts. Some of the widows were slowly replaced by these ghosts until your arrival; there was only one normal widow left in the village, with the remaining 12 replaced by ghosts.

Your task is to find that one normal widow.

"Map rules":

1: There is no discernible difference between widows and ghosts in appearance; only when you remove their clothing can you see a clear difference.

Underneath their clothing, a widow has a full-bodied figure, whereas a ghost has a ghastly mass of gory flesh.

2: Before ghosts reveal their identity, they will significantly lower their attack and defensive power to camouflage themselves. Once their identity is exposed, they will unleash their full strength.

3: All widows bathe at midnight.

4: Ghosts will never turn their backs to you.

5: When you believe you've found the real widow, you can say to her, "You're the widow, right?" If you're correct, you'll pass the level successfully; if you're wrong, you'll fail.

6: If you don't clear the map before dawn, you'll be deemed to have failed.

7: You will earn additional points for every ghost you kill. The speed of completion, the player's inner SAN value, and other data will also affect the map's score in various ways.

"Good luck to the players."

"It's so beautiful."

Tuberculosis Rabbit stood at the entrance, gazing dreamily at the village in front of him, murmuring, "Yi, do you remember how we once wanted to buy a piece of land in the village to build such a house and live the rural life? Unfortunately, the land there wasn't for sale."

"People in the countryside always dream of buying a house in the city, to live in the big city."

"And those in the city yearn to run to the countryside, to live in the village."

"In the end, neither side can make the switch, kind of like a siege."

"Hmm."

Chen Yi casually said a word, not really talking but rather looking at his personal panel. The time inside this map was the same as the outside world; it was thirty minutes past midnight.

Taking seven o'clock dawn as the reference, they had less than seven hours left in this map.

Just based on the map rules, the most obvious way for players to clear the map would be to find a way to peek at the widows bathing to determine whether or not they were ghosts, of course, there would likely be some hitches along the way.

However, he had misunderstood something earlier.

Indeed, failing the map didn't pose a threat to life, only deducting 2000 Points, but that didn't mean one wouldn't die within the map; when those ghosts reveal themselves and bring out their full strength, there's a good chance they could directly kill the player inside the map.

Just by looking at the current map rules, it was very advantageous for him.

The only uncertainty was how many layers of clothing the supposed widows would be wearing in this map. If they wore only one layer, his sniper rifle's enchantment abilities would allow him to easily determine whether the other party was a real widow. But if they wore more, there would be no way to tell.

"Let's go."

Chen Yi didn't ponder too much on the spot and instead strode across the stone bridge into the village.

"Right behind you. Oh, Yi, my Title Effect just kicked in, said there's some additional information about the map."

Tuberculosis Rabbit quickly followed up.

"Title Name": True Plot Detective.

"Extra Information": When you accept an invitation from the real widow to sleep with her, you will become the widow's husband and be forced to remain in this map for one year.

That was the Title Effect he earned in 'Life Theater'. Upon entering a map, he would receive a piece of hidden information about that map.

"Yeah, got it."

Chen Yi replied nonchalantly.

Anyone seeing the scene before them would feel a tinge of fear in their heart, but he was born fearless, naturally lacking any sense of terror.

As for Tuberculosis Rabbit… He had an exceptionally strong heart.

What would seem like a horrifying scene to others became a beautiful depiction of rural life through Tuberculosis Rabbit's eyes; it would be odd if he felt any sense of horror.

Soon, they arrived at the front door of the first house and knocked three times.

A woman dressed in a silk nightgown opened the door with a seductively flirtatious face, leaning against the door frame as she looked at Chen Yi and his companion, biting her lips and whispering softly, "There are no men at home, you two aren't bad people, are you? A little woman like me couldn't possibly resist."

Chen Yi lightly raised an eyebrow, his lips curling slightly upward.

It seemed this map was quite a bit easier, which made sense, after all, it was just an E-level map, so the difficulty wouldn't be too challenging.

His walking stick had a prop effect that allowed him to see through one layer of obstruction while leaning on it. Under this prop effect, he easily saw through the woman's nightgown to the bloody, mangled flesh on her abdomen—a ghostly creature without a doubt.

He couldn't be bothered to engage in much dialogue with the specter, gently tapping the ground instead.

The next second—

A bullet shot out from the bottom of the walking stick, burrowing into the ground and erupting from beneath the woman's feet, straight for the crown of her head!

The woman, who had moments ago been draped in allure, didn't even have time to react before her gaze began to dim, falling heavily to the floor with a face full of unwillingness.

'Ding, you have successfully killed a ghost posing as a widow.'

"Let's go, on to the next house."

"That's it? So easy."

Tuberculosis Rabbit propped his arms behind his head with a hint of boredom, "Bring on some more challenging maps. My Red Moon Claw Knife has been charged for quite a while now, I even think I could slice Yancheng in half with a single cut."

"I really want to see the effects."

Chen Yi didn't speak but turned and walked away toward the next house.

After the ghost disguised as a woman died, the previously pristine decorations inside the house slowly dissipated like a fantasy, with dense cobwebs covering the cornered skeletons in the room.
Your next read is at empire

Less than ten minutes later,

Chen Yi had cleared out all the ghosts posing as widows, leaving the real widow for last. In fact, they had found the real widow by the fourth house they visited but didn't stop and left right away.

Killing ghosts provided an additional score bonus for the map, and naturally, they wanted to achieve a high map score. After clearing all the ghosts, they circled back to the front door of the genuine widow.

He looked at the real widow and said softly,

"You're the widow, right?"

The woman in the nightgown in front of him froze for a moment, a flicker of joy flashing through her pupils as she looked up at Chen Yi and his companion, "Thank you. I can feel that you've killed all those filthy things, and the village has regained its peace from days past."

"It's a pity my sisters can't come back."

"I want to give you a reward."

"Just don't know what you need."

'Ding, congratulations to the "Rabbits Do Not Kill" team for completing the hidden mission—killing all the ghosts and leaving only the real widow alive, thereby earning a reward from the widow.'

'1: To spend a night in precious springtime company, the true widow before you will accompany all members of the team to sleep beneath the same quilt until dawn.'

'2: Many disputes lie at the widow's front door, and you will receive a prop reward of unknown grade.'

'3: Richly adorned, begging along the way, the widow will bestow upon you a certain amount of Points as a reward.'

'Please, Captain "Chen Yi," make your choice.'

This was a hidden reward for achieving the hidden mission, obtained within the map.

As the woman in front of him spoke, the strap of her nightgown seemed to slip unintentionally a bit, revealing a fragrant and smooth shoulder. The nightgown drooped at her bosom, implying that with just a bit more sliding down, one could feast on an infinite spring scenery.

It was like the sea breeze one senses before seeing the ocean; even without witnessing the sea, just by smelling the breeze, one could imagine the sea's magnificent vastness.

Her pitiful look made one unable to resist the urge to hold her tightly in their arms and squeeze firmly.

Gone was some of the charm, but surged a sense of protectiveness.

Chen Yi calmly glanced at the woman before him and then at the reward panel, choosing the second reward option without much hesitation—an unknown grade prop reward.

It was clear that this woman wasn't a ghost, but she wasn't anything good either.

Tuberculosis Rabbit's title made it clear this map held a hidden detail—if one accepted the real widow's invitation to sleep and spent a night of springtime pleasure, they would become the widow's husband and be forced to remain in the map for a full year.

What sort of reward was that?

It was a trap within the rewards.

As for the third reward of Points, he wasn't exactly short on Points, and a few thousand more wouldn't be of much use to him, especially not in an E-level map which likely wouldn't offer tens or hundreds of thousands of Points.

The unknown grade prop, on the other hand, was quite attractive to him.

"Alright then."

As if discerning Chen Yi's choice, the widow standing at the door glanced at him with some reproach, appearing to complain about his lack of romantic flair. Afterward, she bent down slowly in front of Chen Yi and his companion.

She pulled out the threshold of the door and handed it to Chen Yi.

"I'm giving this to you. Anyhow, I'm very grateful to you for restoring peace and tranquility to this village."

"Thank you."