Although the so-called “Love Stone” was something that made people lose the courage to pursue love at first glance, the players still had to find it.
“Darling, don’t worry, this time I’ll definitely find the Love Stone that belongs to you.”
“I’m so looking forward to it~ I’ll find the one that belongs to you too~~”
Hearing these saccharine words in a gruff voice, the players walking along the rocky path toward the forest on the island nearly twisted their ankles. Especially when they saw two burly men still clinging to each other, they wished they could gouge their eyes out.
This game world was truly terrifying—an utter torment to both body and soul.
Aside from this “couple,” other discordant voices could also be heard.
“Waah, Sister Shu, now that you’re gone, even if I find the Love Stone, I can’t give it to you. Why should I even bother looking?”
This came from the heartbroken “Brother Wang.” As he trailed behind the main group, sobbing with snot and tears streaming down his face, someone couldn’t resist teasing him. “Since your Sister Shu isn’t here, you don’t have to look for it.”
“Brother Wang” immediately rejected this suggestion with righteous indignation. “How could I not? Even if Sister Shu is dead, she lives on in my heart! I must find the Love Stone for her.”
The players: “…”
They understood now. Even if someone’s brain was entirely dominated by romantic thoughts, they could still find a way to justify their actions.
“Brother Nian, I’ll definitely find the Love Stone for you faster than anyone else. My heart is as steadfast as the Love Stone—true and unwavering for you.”
“No need. Your Love Stone isn’t for me anyway,” Brother Nian said coldly.
The skinny monkey-like player immediately retorted, “What do you mean? If not for you, then who? You’re my beloved, after all.”
Brother Nian couldn’t help but mock, “Oh really? Didn’t you give the fish eye I gave you to that fish-faced monster last night?”
“Fish-faced monster? That was you, wasn’t it? Dream you is so much gentler.”
Brother Nian: “….”
Seeing Brother Nian’s face darken, the players couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for him.
Yesterday, they had been misled by the butler into thinking that exchanging fish eyes with each other would complete the task. Who could have guessed that they were supposed to give the fish eyes to the fish-faced monster in their dreams instead?
The players who had stayed lucid knew it was the fish-faced monster, but those who had eaten sashimi remained convinced it was their “lover.”
It seemed likely that this “Love Stone” would also have to be given to the fish-faced monster in their dreams.
Reaching the edge of the forest, the players exchanged glances and decided to split up.
Perhaps due to the torrential rain the previous night, the forest was incredibly humid, with water droplets occasionally sliding off the leaves above. The dense foliage blocked much of the light, making it difficult to see more than three meters ahead.
As soon as Gu Jiu and her companions entered, a large water droplet fell from above, splashing on her hair with a loud plop and sliding down her face.
The droplet was icy cold, and as it trickled down her warm skin, it made her shiver involuntarily.
It was clear that the rain from last night had lowered the forest’s temperature significantly. Not long after stepping in, they already felt chilled to the bone.
Gu Jiu pulled on her autumn jacket and took out a transparent raincoat and waterproof boots.
The others followed suit. For experienced players, items like raincoats were everyday essentials kept in their portable inventories—perfect for this kind of environment.
With raincoats and waterproof boots, moving through the forest became considerably easier.
The forest was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional sound of rain dripping from above.
The deeper they ventured, the darker the forest became. To see their path clearly, Gu Jiu and her group had to take out their flashlights. The beams of light cut through the dense trees, casting scattered patches of brightness on the forest floor.
The path was not easy to traverse. Even with the enhanced physical capabilities of C-rank players, it posed some challenges.
Ruan Yuan’s voice suddenly broke the silence. “This place is full of decaying vegetation. Can we really find that so-called ‘Love Stone’ here?”
“The consequences of not finding it won’t be pleasant, so we’d better manage,” sighed Ge Guang. “I have a feeling that finding this Love Stone won’t be any easier than finding those fish eyes in the sea yesterday.”
Ruan Yuan turned to Gu Jiu. “What do you think, Miss Gu?”
Gu Jiu was walking alongside Lu Ji. The dim light of the forest made it hard for her to see clearly, but with Lu Ji’s help—and the little paper figure perched on her shoulder offering occasional guidance—she managed without much difficulty.
Not only Gu Jiu but also Ruan Yuan, Ge Guang, and others had small paper figures on their shoulders. They had started using them as auxiliary tools.
Gu Jiu replied, “NPCs in game worlds usually don’t assign players impossible tasks. There’s bound to be some kind of clue.” She glanced at the shadowy trees ahead. “Well, if we see that fish-faced monster again tonight, we’ll have another reason to give it a good beating.”
Her words made everyone laugh.
For two consecutive nights, players had encountered the fish-faced monster in their dreams. Their responses varied, but most chose to attack it outright. Unfortunately, no matter how violently they fought, they couldn’t kill the monster in the dream.
With no sign of the “Love Stone” along the way, they had no choice but to press deeper into the forest.
Ruan Yuan expressed concern. “This forest seems pretty big. What if we get lost?”
“It’s fine. My companion puppet can memorize the path we’ve taken. We can just follow it back,” Qi Yuheng reassured them, glancing at the puppet perched on his shoulder.
Hearing this, the group felt more at ease and continued deeper into the woods.
The farther they went, the heavier the moisture in the air became. Hair not covered by the raincoats was soaked and dripping, and droplets quickly formed on their skin, running down in rivulets.
The damp air was sticky and oppressive, making even their raincoats feel unbearably heavy and significantly hindering their movements.
It was an uncomfortable experience, but they had no choice but to push on, searching the forest thoroughly.
By mid-morning, after hours of fruitless searching, the group began to grow restless and irritable.
“Let’s take a break,” Gu Jiu suggested, pulling a few chairs from her portable inventory and placing them on the decaying, leaf-covered ground. She sat down first.
The others followed her lead.
As the chairs pressed into the soft ground, the decaying vegetation beneath them squelched under the weight, releasing damp patches of water.
The group wiped the condensation from their faces, visibly tired and hungry.
Lu Ji handed Gu Jiu a bottle of milk. “Drink this to stay hydrated.”
After finishing the bottle, Gu Jiu said, “Let’s eat something first.”
She then took out a table and laid out a spread of hot food. The aroma wafted through the damp, shadowy air, offering a moment of warmth and comfort to their cold and weary bodies.
After finishing lunch and resting sufficiently, they continued their journey deeper into the forest.
No one knew how long they had been walking when Qi Yuheng suddenly covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, his face pale. “There’s a strange smell.”
Gu Jiu followed up, “It’s that same rancid, fishy odor—disgusting.”
Hearing this, Ruan Yuan and the others perked up. “Really? A fishy and rotten smell?”
When they received confirmation, the group knew they were getting very close to their destination. None of them doubted Qi Yuheng or Gu Jiu’s noses. Qi Yuheng was a clean freak to an almost pathological degree, while Gu Jiu, due to her congenital weak eyesight, had extraordinarily heightened senses. If either of them was uncomfortable, there was no mistaking it.
Thinking of the so-called “Love Stone,” no one doubted its nature—it was clearly a heart. And since it was a piece of flesh and blood, it was only natural that it would emit such an odor.
The group immediately moved in the direction of the smell.
This, however, proved to be a nightmare for Qi Yuheng. As a germaphobe, he had to exert immense willpower to suppress the urge to vomit. Eventually, he couldn’t bear it any longer and donned a gas mask.
He had already given up caring—after all, there weren’t many people around, and if they saw him wearing it, so be it.
Gu Jiu, however, didn’t wear a gas mask. In such a place, it would impair her ability to perceive air currents, which was critical for her navigation. She could only grit her teeth and endure it. The stench made her face pale, and her temper was on the verge of snapping.
“Look over there!” Ruan Yuan’s sharp eyes caught something unusual ahead and quickly alerted the group.
Everyone looked in the direction she indicated. Through the layers of trees, they could faintly make out a dim light, like sunlight filtering through dense foliage and reaching the ground.
The stench was also wafting from that direction.
They quickened their pace, heading toward the light.
Finally, they pushed through the dense woods, and their field of vision opened up. They could now see the sky above Love Island. Though it was still overcast and gloomy, at least it wasn’t pitch dark anymore.
They surveyed their surroundings. The area was unusually open, devoid of many trees. Scattered rocks of varying sizes were strewn about the ground in a haphazard pattern.
Tall grass grew wildly around them, and the occasional rustling from the grass made their skin crawl, as if countless insects were scuttling about within.
Suddenly, Ge Guang let out a startled cry.
Everyone turned to him, only to see that he had kicked something out of the thick grass. The object rolled toward them and stopped at their feet. It was a skull.
A human skull.
Seeing this didn’t surprise anyone. After all, what game world would be complete without some bones or corpses?
Remaining unfazed, the group pressed on. Following Gu Jiu’s lead, they finally reached the source of the rancid stench.
Behind a massive boulder, they found a skeleton. The ribcage was shattered, exposing stark white bones, but nestled within the skeletal remains was a desiccated heart.
At the sight of this, everyone’s expressions turned to one of disgust.
“What ‘Love Stone’? It’s clearly just a heart,” Ruan Yuan said, her voice dripping with disdain.
Lu Haidi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It’s strange. The rest of the body is so decomposed—why is the heart still intact?”
His girlfriend replied, “Don’t overthink it. This is a game world. Normal logic doesn’t apply here.”
Lu Haidi had no comeback to that.
The heart looked identical to the one the butler had shown them earlier. Its texture, resembling dried meat, made it much smaller than a typical human heart.
The putrid stench coming off it was overwhelming.
Realizing that this revolting thing was what they had been searching for, Qi Yuheng felt a violent urge to hunt down and destroy that fish-faced monster who had sent them on this quest.
Gu Jiu, having discovered the heart, took it upon herself to collect it. Though her expression was filled with revulsion, she had no choice but to hold her breath and pack it away.
They continued searching the area and uncovered several more skeletons. Each one had a heart remaining, and each person in the group reluctantly picked one to collect.
When Lu Ji was packing up the last heart, a chilling wind suddenly swept through the area.
The group immediately turned their alert gazes toward the direction of the wind. From within the dense forest ahead, pairs of glowing green eyes lit up, crouching in the darkness like a pack of predatory wolves.
“Run!” Qi Yuheng ordered decisively.
But it was already too late.