Chapter 83: The Second Wave of Players Floods In

Watching the shocked expressions of the Guard Team members, Fang Yue's heart stirred.

Huh? Is being able to see that thing really such an impressive feat?

Looks like this Analysis Pupil really is no simple matter!

Since it had already been confirmed that 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】 was a Transfer-type Ghost, not an infection type, and it had already been killed, there was no need to rush burning the corpse. They could bring it back to the village for a proper funeral.

He sent someone to notify Lin Ling. After waiting on the spot for quite a while, Lin Ling finally arrived with her team, well behind schedule.

After briefly explaining the situation, Lin Ling suddenly frowned and asked: "You're saying that when Xiao Hou and the other three team members split up, they were all in a coughing state?"

"Correct."

"... Then that matches. On my side, there was also a case of 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】 possession."

Fang Yue's heart gave a sudden jolt.

"You mean 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】 wasn't just one? All four of them each carried a 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】 when they left?"

"Right. I dealt with one, you dealt with one, so there are still two hiding somewhere unknown."

"You dealt with it? How did you deal with it?"

Fang Yue was greatly puzzled — wasn't it said that ordinary people couldn't see 【Void Ghosts】?

"What's there to ask about how? Just kill the ghost, that's all. Once a Transfer-type Ghost completes possession, it bonds tightly with the body. Beat the host's shell to death, and the 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】 becomes too weak to possess other living things. Leave it alone and it'll naturally die out in the open."

Lin Ling said it casually, as if she'd seen it all before.

Only then did Fang Yue understand — Lin Ling had merely beaten the death of the host shell possessed by the 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】, not killed the 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】 itself.

"The other two possessed ghosts have run off somewhere. I can't spare the manpower right now. It's almost dusk — let's get everyone back first."

Lin Ling noticed that, just as she said this, Fang Yue suddenly perked up.

You want to talk to me about it getting dark? Now you've got my attention!

But they still had to escort the team back to the village first. It wasn't a solo expedition, so whatever ideas Fang Yue had, he could only keep them to himself for now.

Besides, the Guard Team's job was ultimately to protect the villagers' safety, not to hunt ghosts.

As long as those two ghosts didn't pop up, Lin Ling's side had no energy to spare sending people specifically to track them down.

The team regrouped, working their way through the resource zone to gather everyone back, one by one.

Upon hearing what had happened to the squad and seeing the team members' deaths, the group's mood grew noticeably heavier.

But the players' discussions were lively — the truly affected areas weren't many. For instance, Xiao Hu's herb-gathering zone was completely untouched, and he'd even harvested a huge pile of herbs — quite a haul.

Jing Yan was actually fine too — a close call but no real harm. His harvest was just a bit meager, but compared to the players who died in this incident, he was far luckier.

That's right — some players had died at the hands of the human-shaped ghosts possessed by 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】. But that was in Lin Ling's area of responsibility, and Fang Yue hadn't asked for the specific details, so naturally Jing Yan couldn't pry the information out either.

Before the sun set in the west, the main force finally returned to the village.

The crowd of onlookers at the village entrance had thinned by half — after all, the refugees at the village entrance still hadn't shown any reaction. Just staring at a pile of standing corpses, who could stay interested all day?

The procession entered the village in full force, with Fang Yue and Lin Ling maintaining order.

"Captain Lin, if this group of refugees still hasn't woken up by nightfall, are we really just going to leave them to die?"

"Leave them! The village only has so many resources. If we take in just anyone, the village will have problems sooner or later. Besides, this is Lord Han's intention. If you insist on bringing some refugees into the village, I won't stop you — I'll just report the situation to Lord Han in full detail."

"No, no, I was just asking out of curiosity."

Seeing Lin Ling stare at him with a strange look, Fang Yue felt his character had been insulted.

I'm not a pervert, okay!

As if remembering something, Fang Yue suddenly slapped his thigh and said: "Oh right, Brother Lin, I want to discuss something with you."

Lin Ling's eyelid twitched.

'Captain Lin' when nothing's up, 'Brother Lin' when there's a favor — that was still fresh in her memory. What did he want now?

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ling still said calmly: "Go ahead."

"Um, cover my night shift for two time-periods today. I've got something to do. I'll be back to take over — consider it me owing you a favor!"

Two time-periods?

Night patrol starts around the You hour 【5-7 PM】.

Two time-periods — that means ending at the Xu hour 【7-9 PM】.

Lin Ling frowned slightly: "I'll cover for you once, but you must come back on time to hand over the shift."

"Don't worry, Brother Lin. I'll absolutely be back on time!"

After a brief pause, Fang Yue simply let Lin Ling handle the order here alone, while he ran off to his own little residence. After all, they were at the village entrance — if anything happened, Lord Han had it covered.

"Oh right, you killed a 【Vomit-Finger Ghost】 today — merit for the patrol. Don't forget to go to the Guard Station to claim your reward."

Lin Ling's words echoed behind him.

But Fang Yue had already asked — the reward was just 1 day of Yang Lifespan.

It wasn't that he looked down on it; it was just that compared to the large Yang Lifespan rewards before, the gap was a bit big.

Of course, a mosquito's leg is still meat. He'd just go claim it when he logged in tonight.

Returning to the residence that had only recently been assigned to him, Fang Yue closed the door, went to his room, and immediately logged off on the spot.

Earlier, the game had suddenly glitched, and he'd logged in without even having time to tidy up the living room. The room was definitely a mess by now. Figuring Yuan Jie probably hadn't come back yet, he hurried to log off and clean up.

After Fang Yue logged off, the main force had already fully entered the village, with only the refugees still lingering at the gate.

The villagers watching the spectacle pointed at the wooden figures, guessing they probably wouldn't survive the night.

And just then, one of the refugees' eyes suddenly became bright and lively, and his stiff shoulders began rising and falling naturally.

"Hey! It moved! Look! That refugee moved!"

"Where? Where? Ooh ooh ooh! It really moved! Amazing!"

"I want to see too! Boohoo! Daddy, I want to see too!"

After that player entered the game, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was a sea of villagers staring at him with expressions like he was a monkey at the zoo.

That hopeful look in their eyes was as if saying—come on, perform a monkey show for us!

Damn! Why does this feel so weird?

Before that player could even process what was happening, the surrounding vagrants also 'woke up' one after another.

In an instant, voices rose in a clamor, as bustling as a vegetable market.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! This level of simulation—woo-hoo, we're taking off!"

"Wow! This game is way too realistic! Feels amazing! Bro, punch me and see—ow, damn! That hurts! Amazing!"

"Look up ahead, what are those villagers doing? Standing around like a bunch of dimwits—could they be waiting for us to trigger a cutscene? That opening CG is pretty well done, the players are getting top-tier treatment."

"Haha! I love this grand spectacle too—who knows, maybe we're all the last disciple of the Hong Sect."

"I get it, I get it! Caught the reference! Hahahahaha!"

(End of this chapter)