Chapter 52

Chapter 52

“Incredible, simply incredible. Just how much hatred must there be?”

Guan Doujin clicked his tongue in wonder as he examined the scene.

Shen Yubi said, “Stop being so cryptic. What exactly is it?”

“This thing is extraordinary. I’ve only ever seen it in books,” Guan Doujin said. “To put it simply, this is used for Soul Suppression.”

Without needing further prompting, he began to explain the use and function of this Magic Array.

“This thing isn’t inherently evil, but its effect is truly disgusting. It’s incredibly troublesome to draw, so unless there’s some deep-seated hatred, no one would use this against another person.

“The primary function of this Magic Array is Soul Suppression. Originally, it was created with good intentions; some would use it to trap the Souls of the deceased while searching for a way to resurrect them.

“When someone is subjected to this Magic Array, their Soul is extracted after death and suppressed beneath the Array.

“However, after countless attempts, people discovered that any Soul suppressed by this Magic Array cannot be removed by any method. Even if the Magic Array is destroyed, the Souls inside cannot leave.

“Those Souls live on for a long, long time, but they remain unknown and unseen. It is a state of being both alive and dead-a true torment.

“Furthermore, as the days turn into years, those Souls are gradually worn down, dissipating bit by bit. Once the Soul has completely vanished, they will never be able to enter Reincarnation for all eternity.

“Because of this characteristic, this Magic Array gradually evolved into a method for punishing the most heinous of criminals.

“So, unless there is immense hatred involved, no one would use such a method to torture someone. It’s too cruel; it brings a heavy Karmic Obstacle upon the user.”

With his explanation, it wasn’t difficult to understand.

And it wasn’t hard to guess whose Souls were suppressed beneath.

Only Zhou Laoda’s family of four had died here.

What on earth had that man done to provoke such heavenly wrath and human resentment that someone would use this Magic Array on them?

Noticing Chu Yue’s surprised gaze, Shen Yubi glanced at Guan Doujin. “There’s nothing to be surprised about. This guy has been studying this since he was a kid. It would be a disgrace to his reputation if he didn’t know what it was.”

Guan Doujin put his hands on his hips. “Can’t you say something nice for once? Would it kill you to praise me? Out there, they’d call what you’re doing PUA. I’m freaking amazing, okay?”

Shen Yubi paused before slowly saying, “Fine. You are indeed impressive. Without you, the two of us wouldn’t have been able to figure out what this is.”

“That’s more like it.”

They had originally thought there wouldn’t be many useful clues at Zhou Laoda’s house, but this visit had revealed far too many.

However, the items they currently held weren’t enough to fully connect these leads.

The hidden paper-cutting and the Magic Array suppressed beneath the floorboards both indicated that the death of Zhou Laoda’s family was the beginning of this story.

“Ah-!”

As the three were talking, a commotion broke out outside the courtyard.

It was another three-person group, and the scream came from one of the newbie girls.

“A d-dead person! Another dead person! Another one died!”

“Brother Lin! Brother Lin! What do we do? What are we going to do? We’re all going to die here!”

The three turned their heads. The corpse had already been discovered by the other group. The girl was currently sitting on the ground next to the body, her legs kicking wildly as she scrambled backward in terror.

Chu Yue and the others went over. They looked at the corpse and then at the marks on her clothes; she must have accidentally had a close encounter with the body, otherwise she wouldn’t be this terrified.

“Don’t be afraid, Xiao Xi. This person is already dead. It’s just a corpse. Don’t be afraid.”

“No! No! Why? Why am I here? I don’t want to be here! I want to go home! Why did I come to this hellhole!”

The emotions she had been suppressing for the past few days suddenly exploded.

Her face was instantly covered in tears.

The girl looked to be around the same age as Guan Doujin, likely a college student.

A student who had lived her life in an ivory tower had never seen such a scene. It was already remarkable that she had managed to keep from crying for the first few days.

Now, having come into close contact with a corpse, the fear in her heart surged like a flood, nearly breaching the dam of her sanity.

“Stop crying!” the Veteran barked harshly.

“Will crying get you out? Will crying solve the problem? You’d better fix your mindset, or you’ll be the next one to die!”

Chu Yue glanced at him.

Although the man’s tone was harsh, he was speaking the truth.

In this game, if you gave up on yourself and relied on luck or the impossible mercy of a Monster, it was basically impossible to get out.

This man looked fierce, but he hadn’t treated the newbies as stepping stones like Zhang Duo had.

“Alright, alright.” The other man hurried to help the girl up. “Stop crying, Brother Lin is getting angry. Brother Lin is right, don’t be too scared. The Mortality Rate of this Instance isn’t that high; it might not be our turn. But if you don’t adjust your mindset, what will you do if something else happens?”

Ignoring the two, the man called Brother Lin looked at Chu Yue and his companions.

“What happened? Why is it such a mess?”

The tables, chairs, benches, and floorboards had all been pried up by them. At a glance, the courtyard was piled high with debris, looking as if it had been ransacked by thieves.

The three shrugged and said nothing, instead secretly sizing up the other group. After all, the person who had died in the courtyard was one of the Players. If it wasn’t one of the three of them, then the culprit had to be among the remaining people. These three couldn’t escape suspicion either.

However, a quick look revealed nothing.

This wasn’t something that could be determined with the naked eye.

At the very least, from any perspective, none of the three men’s heights matched the corpse.

At that moment, Chu Yue thought carefully and felt a sudden jolt of alarm.

None of the people among them seemed to fit the description!

Then who was the one who died?

Shen Yubi crouched down and took a few more looks at the corpse.

“If only Li Baixing were here.”

Li Baixing was a Forensic Doctor.

Chu Yue asked, “What? Is there something wrong with the body?”

Shen Yubi said, “I’m not entirely sure, but you noticed it too, didn’t you? No one fits.”

Among all the Players, this person simply didn’t exist!