When the players realized that Gu Jiu wasn’t merely bluffing the two men and genuinely intended to go out and search for someone, they were all taken aback.
Go out at a time like this? The outside was surrounded by monsters—going out now was tantamount to being devoured by them!
In truth, the players weren’t overly alarmed about the tavern being attacked by monsters and collapsing, burying everyone in the basement. After all, once they destroyed the magic array and resolved the crisis in Ella Town, they could leave the game world directly from here.
Mina, who had a good relationship with Gu Jiu, asked worriedly, “Gu, are you really going out?”
Gu Jiu smiled and nodded at her, then turned her gaze to Huo Ting and Odinson.
Odinson replied, “I’ll stay here.”
Huo Ting said, “I’ll go with you.”
Hearing this, Chen Zhiru panicked, and Yang Bing also showed strong disapproval. With so many monsters outside, they had no desire to risk their lives. Staying in the basement seemed much safer than venturing outside.
To many players, Gu Jiu’s actions seemed akin to seeking death, though she didn’t appear to be the kind of person who would do so impulsively.
“Brother Ting, just let her go,” Chen Zhiru said reluctantly. “She’s pretty strong anyway.”
Gu Jiu agreed with a smile. “Chen Zhiru finally said something human for once!” She ignored Chen Zhiru’s livid expression and continued, “Huo Ting, you should stay here. I fear this place may soon become even more dangerous than outside.”
Everyone was puzzled, except for Odinson and Huo Ting, who seemed to understand her meaning.
Huo Ting didn’t insist on accompanying her and handed her a map drawn on what appeared to be parchment. “This is Ella Town’s map. Take it.”
Gu Jiu understood what it was and smiled. “Thanks.”
“Be careful,” Huo Ting finally couldn’t help but caution her.
Gu Jiu took Lu Ji, Chai Yingying, Jiang Ze, and a few others and left.
“Gu, we’ll go with you,” said Mina, Alva, Allens, and Joey, following her outside. Seeing Gu Jiu glance back at them, they chuckled awkwardly. “For some reason, we feel safer sticking with you.”
Looking at the four Western players, Gu Jiu gave a faint smile.
Since Gu Jiu had saved them when they first entered Ella Town, they had developed an inexplicable trust in her.
“The outside is very dangerous,” Gu Jiu reminded them.
“We know,” Mina said cheerfully. “No matter what happens, this is our own choice. We won’t blame you.”
“After all, we’re B-rank players. We’re not as strong as Odinson, but we’re not completely useless either.”
They were a little embarrassed to admit that, when they first entered the game world, they had been caught off guard by the sudden appearance of monsters. With no preparation and Alva injured, they had almost lost their lives. However, over the past few days, they had deliberately sought out opportunities to face the monsters, gaining considerable experience in dealing with them. They wouldn’t drag anyone down this time.
Gu Jiu said no more. The eight of them left the magical array space and headed toward the passageway.
At the entrance to the basement, the adventurers who had been brought here for refuge were still sleeping soundly on the stairs.
Gu Jiu slapped a wall, and the floor at the entrance sank, revealing a passage leading outside. The players quickly stepped aside, avoiding the debris falling from above.
When they looked up, they saw the entrance was blocked.
The Witch’s Tavern had been attacked by monsters and collapsed. It wasn’t surprising that the basement was sealed off as well.
Alva, the strongest among them, stepped forward and pushed against the obstruction with all his might. His arm muscles bulged as he exerted himself, and though he managed to move the debris slightly, it was clear that continuing this way wouldn’t get them out even by tomorrow.
“What do we do now?” Mina asked anxiously.
At that moment, Gu Jiu waved her hand and summoned three puppet rats.
The appearance of the puppet rats startled Mina and the others, causing them to jump back. Only after realizing the mice weren’t scurrying around uncontrollably did they finally relax.
Gu Jiu turned to Chai Yingying and asked, “What about your puppet mouse? You bought one, right?”
Chai Yingying looked embarrassed. “I only bought one.” puppet rats weren’t very versatile—though they could dig tunnels and chew through metal or stone, their uses were limited. She hadn’t been willing to spend too many points on them.
“One is enough. Bring it out and put it to work.”
With Chai Yingying’s puppet mouse added to the group, there were now four. The two of them directed the mice to start digging at the blocked basement entrance, creating a passage to the outside.
Though small, the puppet rats were incredibly efficient, digging through the debris as if it were tofu. In no time, they had carved out a clear passage.
After what seemed like just ten minutes, they began to feel a breeze of fresh air, signaling that the tunnel was complete.
“These puppet rats are amazing,” Mina and the others remarked enviously. They had heard that the Eastern players possessed a wide variety of tools, each brimming with ingenuity and creativity.
There were no useless tools—only tools waiting for the right moment to shine.
The puppet rats successfully cleared a passage leading outside the tavern.
As the players prepared to step out, the thought of the monsters lurking outside made them tense. They gripped their weapons tightly, their bodies ready for battle.
Gu Jiu took the lead and stepped out first.
When everyone was finally outside, they were struck by the absence of the monsters that had terrified them earlier. Had it not been for the ruined remains of the tavern behind them, they might have thought the earlier attack was just a bad dream.
“Where are the monsters?” Mina and the others asked in confusion.
Gu Jiu and Lu Ji were already walking briskly ahead. The group quickly snapped out of their daze and followed them.
“Miss Gu, is this what you meant by making the fog disperse early?” Chai Yingying’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she looked at Gu Jiu. “How did you do it?”
Instinctively, Mina and the others glanced at the sky. Only then did they notice faint stars shining through the night—a sign that the dense fog had indeed cleared. The stars were so dim that they hadn’t noticed them at first.
Ella Town at night was so dark that one could barely see their hand in front of their face. When they had stepped outside earlier, they hadn’t realized the fog was gone.
Even Jiang Ze, who had some idea of what to expect, was astonished.
As they walked, Gu Jiu explained, “I had Lisa and the mermaid doll adjust the time on the large clock in the town square. Right now, the clock shows noon.”
“Noon? That’s when the fog clears,” Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze said in unison, suddenly understanding. “So this morning, when you stayed inside the clock for ten minutes, you were setting it up?”
Mina chimed in, “How did you know the clock could control the fog’s dispersal time?”
Gu Jiu explained further, “When I first entered Ella Town, I appeared next to the large clock in the square. I thought it looked peculiar, so I studied it. By adjusting its time, I discovered it was actually a magical artifact.”
That morning, when she had spent ten minutes inside the clock, she had been testing its connection to the fog. Her experiment confirmed that the clock was indeed linked to the fog—when the clock struck certain times, the fog would dissipate.
By slightly manipulating the clock’s time, she could temporarily control the fog’s behavior.
That’s why she had left the two spirit dolls there to carry out her plan.
“But the two spirit dolls can’t maintain control for too long—at most, twenty minutes. We need to hurry,” Gu Jiu said solemnly.
The group, hearing this, immediately steeled themselves and followed her at a brisk pace.
—
Ten minutes later, they arrived on Lisle Street.
The nighttime silence in the small town was unnerving. All the residents were hiding in their darkened homes, not daring to make a sound. Without the howls of monsters, this eerie quietness made the atmosphere even more oppressive.
When they reached Little Ella’s house, Gu Jiu stepped forward and knocked on the door.
“Little Ella, are you home?”
The house remained silent, as though no one was inside.
After Gu Jiu patiently called out for the third time, a small voice finally responded, “Adventurer sister, is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me,” Gu Jiu replied gently, her soft voice carrying a soothing quality in the quiet night. “Little Ella, I’m here to take you to your grandmother. Would you like that?”
There was no response for a while.
Then, the door creaked open slightly. Little Ella stood behind it, peering out through the gap.
Gu Jiu lowered her gaze and smiled at the little girl—a warm, radiant smile. As Chai Yingying would later describe it, she smiled like a benevolent saint.
But children were always drawn to this kind of warmth.
Little Ella stepped out, her face showing a mix of unease and fear. “Adventurer sister, do you really know where my grandmother is? She was here when it got dark and put me to bed, but when I woke up, she was gone.”
By the end of her sentence, her eyes were red, but she bit her lip tightly, refusing to cry.
Gu Jiu picked her up and began walking quickly, saying, “Your grandmother is in a safe place. Don’t worry. By the way, Little Ella, weren’t you asleep? How did you wake up?”
“I don’t know,” the little girl said, puzzled. “It felt like someone was calling me.”
The players, overhearing this, exchanged curious glances. They suspected it might have been something Old Joseph and the others did, waking her up somehow.
Of course, another possibility was the danger in Ella Town itself—perhaps the little girl hadn’t been able to sleep deeply.
The group hurried toward the tavern, their steady footsteps echoing through the dark and silent town.
Little Ella clung tightly to Gu Jiu’s neck, her emerald-green eyes shining with a mysterious light in the darkness as she gazed quietly at the town.
—
“Roar!”
A familiar monster’s howl suddenly broke the silence. The players’ hearts skipped a beat as they snapped their heads up, only to realize that the stars in the night sky had disappeared. The thick fog had returned, blanketing the entire town once again.
“How is this possible? It’s only been fifteen minutes!” Chai Yingying exclaimed in shock.
She trusted Gu Jiu’s judgment completely. If Gu Jiu said the fog could be controlled for twenty minutes, there should have been twenty minutes of safety. The sudden change clearly indicated that something unexpected had happened.
Gu Jiu’s expression darkened. “Something’s gone wrong with the magic array. Hurry!”
Mina and the other Western players looked confused, unsure of what was going on. Meanwhile, Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze, being more perceptive, had already guessed that the magic array was far from simple. And within the story of Ella Town, there was another critical presence—the Devil. They couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t over yet…
The monsters began to appear faster than expected.
Gu Jiu handed the little girl to Chai Yingying and quickly unfolded the map Huo Ting had given her. After a glance, she said, “Stick close to me.”
Gu Jiu led the way, perfectly navigating according to the map Huo Ting had drawn. She managed to avoid every spot where monsters were likely to appear, ensuring they didn’t confront any directly.
Finally, they reached the Witch’s Tavern.
The tavern was once again surrounded by a horde of monsters, so many that they completely blocked the passage, leaving everyone anxious.
Alva stepped forward and punched one of the monsters, sending it flying. Turning to the group, he said, “I’ll clear the way. You guys rush in.”
As a strength-type player, Alva wasn’t capable of killing the monsters, but knocking them out of the way was something he could handle.
“There are too many monsters. It won’t work!” Mina objected, unwilling to risk her teammate’s safety.
“But—”
Before Alva could say more, someone pulled him back. It was Lu Ji, who said calmly, “I’ll clear the way. You wait for the chance to go in.”
Hearing this, Chai Yingying and Jiang Ze were thrilled.
Was the legendary Lu finally stepping up instead of riding on Miss Gu’s coattails? Had she decided to show her true strength?
Excited, the two retreated, even pulling Mina and the others aside to avoid disturbing Lu Ji’s moment of glory.
The monsters surrounding the tavern had already noticed them and were rushing toward their group.
Lu Ji held a black sword in his hand. No one knew exactly what he did, but the monsters charging toward them were suddenly flung backward, crashing far into the distance.
What followed was even more astonishing. Every monster that approached was thrown back, scattering like dumplings being dropped into a pot. The Western players were dumbstruck, staring at Lu Ji as if he were a god.
Their previous impression of Lu Ji had been vague. With the flamboyant Gu Jiu always taking center stage, Lu Ji had been overshadowed. Standing beside her, he seemed unremarkable, barely noticed by other players. If he hadn’t demonstrated his power now, they might have continued to see him as Gu Jiu’s sidekick—or perhaps her pampered lover, protected under her wing.
Thanks to Lu Ji’s display, the group successfully entered the passage.
As soon as they reached the basement entrance, an inhuman, eerie sound echoed from within, accompanied by the screams of players.