[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world":3,"chapter-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-117":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Survival Guide in a Mysterious World",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2299086,4497,"Chapter 117: 0 and 1","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-117",117,"\u003Cp>On his grandmother’s snow-white spine, crimson blood vessels crawled like vines; twelve ribs spread open on the ground, wriggling like spider legs, while the wrinkles on her face unfolded into a smile as clear and crisp as the Song-style printed text on the letter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Ji Taimei’s hand, the white sheet of paper was stained with crimson blood—his mother’s letter, its contents a series of eerie, rule-like warnings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very bottom of those chilling rules, a single line of text read:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【6. Keep this letter safe. Never let it leave your side. Read it again after you reach your grandmother’s house…】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, right after crawling out of the coffin, Ji Taimei had immediately taken out the bloodstained letter upon entering his grandmother’s house and reread it—but at the time, the text had not changed at all, not a single character or punctuation mark altered; he had even wondered if his posture upon entering had somehow triggered something wrong. He had since stopped thinking about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after his grandmother, kneeling before the Tudimiao, was killed in a way beyond comprehension by that woman, the letter’s contents subtly changed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Baby, when you read this, you are already dead.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【I hope you won’t blame your mother for being cruel—no mother would wish her child to face such cruelty. If not forced, your father and I would never have chosen this path.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【This letter will burn itself soon. You must memorize every word that follows:】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A human-bone serpent, emerging from his grandmother’s chest, its head still wearing her kind smile, slithered toward Ji Taimei, its white bone segments scraping softly against the sand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trigger for the letter’s content changing seemed not to be “arriving at grandmother’s house,” but rather “the death of either grandfather or grandmother”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No… perhaps it was even broader—perhaps any death within the family would suffice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Taimei suspected as much, but he had no way to verify his guess; the letter would vanish soon, and he had to read and memorize every word with every second counting:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【1. People in Yanglao Village do not die of natural causes, but they can be killed.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you see this line, it means you have already died once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【2. No matter how or by whom you were killed, you are temporarily safe—even “they” rarely suspect someone already dead.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【3. You may wonder: what exactly are these “they” my mother speaks of?—They are human. More terrifying than ghosts.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They are more terrifying than ghosts, stronger than gods, more cruel than demons… They are the most evil beings to crawl from the abyss of hell. They are rational. They are insane. They are utterly monstrous. Even death cannot escape their pursuit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You are safe now—but only temporarily. They will find you eventually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【4. Before they discover you, you must quickly find something—a weapon capable of killing “them.” It is hidden somewhere in this village.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your grandfather hid it deep, deep down. Your mother doesn’t know where. Your father doesn’t know either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because “they” can manipulate human memories, we do not know—and dare not know—where your grandfather hid it. We only know such a thing exists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you wish to survive, you must find it. You must find it before they do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【5. When your grandfather was still alive, the only clue he left was “the depths.” He hid it in the depths of Yanglao Village—a place unreachable by human means. But you must reach it, by any means, using any power.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【6. Survive. Protect your sister. Mother loves you.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost the instant Ji Taimei finished reading, a sudden crack echoed from the heart of the ginkgo tree before him—a scorching spark shot out and landed on the letter in his hand. Orange-red flames surged upward, snakes of fire devouring the bloodstained paper into a pool of pale ash. Ji Taimei closed his eyes, breathed in the hot air, and his gaze hardened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would unravel the mystery of Yanglao Village. He would reach the deepest place, unreachable by human means, and find the thing that could kill “them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The defiant boy never feared challenges. No matter how terrifying or bizarre those ghost-like figures were, if there was even a 1% chance of victory, he would risk everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that he had direction, all that remained was to move forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So that’s where it was hidden… in a place like that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had the boy made his decision than a lazy voice suddenly echoed from behind him, appearing without warning. The kind smile on the human-bone serpent’s grandmother-head vanished instantly, replaced by envy and venomous hatred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Taimei’s body froze. Instinctively, he tried to scream—but only a hoarse “ah-ah” escaped his ruined throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A delicate, pale hand gently rested on Ji Taimei’s shoulder. A grotesque demon mask slowly emerged from behind him. Ningzhe held a beautiful folding knife; its Damascus-patterned blade pierced silently into Ji Taimei’s unprotected occiput.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Took me a long time to find you, friend.” Beneath the mask, a satisfied smile appeared. Ningzhe released the knife’s hilt and pressed his palm against Ji Taimei’s crown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>=9+Book_bar\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The searing pain of a pierced brainstem sent waves of dizziness through Ji Taimei. His lips trembled, convulsing into a hoarse moan: “You… how…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ningzhe chuckled: “I killed myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The plain words struck like thunder, drowning the last of Ji Taimei’s will. Before his vision plunged into darkness, he saw his grandmother’s spine writhing in agony on the ground, and beside the bone-serpent stood a woman, calm as still water—her bare feet, like nails, pinned her shadow firmly to the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ningzhe held Ji Taimei’s shoulder with one hand and his skull with the other. With a crisp snap, he broke the cervical vertebrae, then lifted the boy’s head by the knife’s hilt embedded in the back of his skull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with head and body severed, the boy’s eyes still flickered faintly, his face contorting in silent motion—he was still alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, not alive. Merely not yet “dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In contrast, the human-bone serpent, whose shadow was pinned by Feng Yu’s foot, writhed violently under the effect of the “instant death rule,” its white bones and ancient head slowly dissolving, like a sugar cube melting in hot water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In Yanglao Village, people do not die of natural causes, but they can be killed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here, people cannot be killed by humans—but they can be killed by ghosts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then what is the next layer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ningzhe held Ji Taimei’s severed head, watching with interest as the bone-serpent faded from the ground, and the shadowy figures gathered from all directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1096,"2026-06-20T06:29:21.893Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","44b77df413c3f3a754a39f5beb8e6fa021139a048c92e413ca8b7fa014859369","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-118","survival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-chapter-116",353,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsurvival-guide-in-a-mysterious-world-cover.jpg"]