PTYS Chapter 5

“Ah!” The people behind screamed in unison, and Xiao Muyu’s heart almost stopped beating for a moment.

The mouth of that skin person, which had only a slit left, was filled with rows of sharp, dense teeth, and the eye and nose holes were particularly twisted. At this moment, it was facing Xiao Muyu directly, less than a fist away! The pungent smell of rot and musk was so strong that she almost threw up!

However, the skin person couldn’t get an inch closer because Shen Qingqiu kicked it fiercely, pinning its face under her foot without any hesitation.

Then she pinned down its hands and legs, completely immobilizing it. The skin person howled, making everyone’s hearts tremble. The group of men and women huddled together, watching those two women stepping on that horrifying skin person, seeing it writhing and struggling until its voice completely faded and it lay motionless, emitting a foul white smoke.

Xiao Muyu let out a breath and immediately moved her foot away. Her gaze fell on the skin person, noticing what seemed to be a line of stitching on it. However, finding it extremely disgusting, she frowned and moved a bit farther away, her foot subtly trembling.

Moments later, she turned her head and saw the group of people cowering in fear, looking more terrified of her and Shen Qingqiu than of the skin person.

Shen Qingqiu ignored them, picked up a dagger, examined it, and then wiped it on a piece of rag.

Outside, the skin persons dared not come in, wailing reluctantly around the house. The group of people, having narrowly escaped death, were still so frightened by the wailing that their legs went soft.

Moreover, the behavior of the two women in front of them was too terrifying, leaving no one daring to make a sound for a while.

The wailing continued outside, while inside was deathly silent, creating a very eerie atmosphere.

Shen Qingqiu seemed tired, finding a long bench to sit on, lazily watching Xiao Muyu.

Having gone through a life-and-death struggle, Xiao Muyu was also exhausted. She glanced at Shen Qingqiu, dragged her heavy legs over, and said softly, “Thank you.”

The sincerity in her words was evident, but her eyes lacked genuine gratitude. Shen Qingqiu, knowing the reason, smiled and said, “No need to thank me. I said I hoped we would meet again.”

The two talked as if no one else was there, finally showing that they were normal people. Inside, except for two men who shrank back, the others were scrutinizing them. A young girl with a high ponytail, dressed neatly and tidily, asked in a low voice, “Is it… is it dead?”

Her question drew everyone’s attention to the skin person. Apart from Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu, there were nine others, all staring at the crumpled pile of skin, clearly still terrified.

Xiao Muyu didn’t want to speak, but Shen Qingqiu was more aloof, not moving an inch, leaving Xiao Muyu no choice but to simply nod.

One of the braver men cautiously approached, using a stick to prod the skin person. Unlike its flexible and smooth appearance when flying, the skin now looked shriveled and dry, indeed dead.

“It’s dead. Fortunately, those things dare not come in.” The man in the black leather jacket, appearing in his thirties, was much calmer than the others, whose faces were pale with panic.

His words reassured many, but a woman started crying hysterically, “What’s the use of them not coming in? Why did we end up in this hellish place? Playing a stupid game without any explanations, how are we supposed to get out? And who knows what horrors await us tomorrow?”

Her words struck a chord with everyone, causing many to lower their heads in despair.

The girl who first spoke also looked despondently at her feet, and the atmosphere became extremely oppressive again.

After a while, the girl broke the silence, “We can’t just sit here and wait. There must be a reason we were brought here. This house looks big. Should we search for clues or see if there are other people?”

A bald man, looking dejected, retorted, “If there are others, do you think they’re still human?”

The girl’s face changed slightly. The man in the jacket frowned and said, “I think she’s right. When I ran in, I saw this house has three floors. There might be other things, even if not people.

Especially at night, who knows if there’s electricity? We need to find some lighting, or it will be very inconvenient and unsafe.”

This suggestion was unanimously agreed upon. The bald man pursed his lips and said no more.

Xiao Muyu listened to their discussion and glanced at Shen Qingqiu. Her mind was in chaos with many unresolved issues.

Shaking her head, she cleared her thoughts. The immediate priority was to get through the current crisis. The mystery of Shen Qingqiu’s intentions and the strange scenes before the incident would have to wait until they were safe.

Seeing the group starting to form teams for the search but not daring to invite them, the man in the jacket hesitated and asked, “Would you two like to join us?”

Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow, looked at Xiao Muyu, clearly intending to stick with her.

Xiao Muyu was about to agree when she suddenly felt a weight on her left shoulder, as if someone had placed a hand there.

But everyone was in front of her, and Shen Qingqiu was on her right. So, this hand…

Her eyes slowly moved to the left, and she saw a skeletal hand on her shoulder, with shriveled, wrinkled skin like dried bones…

Xiao Muyu’s expression changed slightly, and Shen Qingqiu’s lazy expression also froze, her eyes narrowing as she looked behind Xiao Muyu.

Xiao Muyu quickly turned around, drawing everyone’s attention to a wrinkled face appearing woodenly behind her in the dim light!

The face’s skin was loose and cracked like dried bark, and its eyes were cloudy with small pupils, looking particularly eerie.

This sudden, silent appearance scared the already terrified group almost to tears. A young couple nearly broke down crying.

“What’s the commotion?” The face’s sunken mouth moved, producing a hoarse, deep voice.

Shen Qingqiu immediately pulled Xiao Muyu over. Caught off guard, Xiao Muyu, already frightened, went weak in the knees and fell into Shen Qingqiu’s arms.

She quickly stood up, glanced at the woman’s mocking expression, said nothing, and frowned at the strange old woman.

No one dared to answer, all staring in fear at this old woman who had appeared from nowhere.

In this remote, eerie house, the old woman was very likely a ghost.

“Shouting and disturbing my peace. You’re really annoying an old woman. Who are you, and who allowed you into my house?”

Her small eyes glanced over the woman who had screamed the loudest, making the middle-aged woman shrink back.

Then she looked at the nearest Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu, “I’m asking you!”

Xiao Muyu, who usually disliked talking, was once again forced to speak.

“Sorry, ma’am. We were chased by some creatures and had nowhere to go, so we hid in your house.”

Xiao Muyu had just finished speaking when she noticed the old woman trembling at the mention of the creatures. The previously frightening face now looked terrified, “You saw those skin persons?”

The players immediately realized that this old woman was human, likely the first NPC they encountered in this game world.

Before anyone could respond, the old woman saw the skin person on the ground. She trembled, her small steps seemingly unsteady but quick, soon standing beside the skin, examining it closely. As the group exchanged glances, the old woman suddenly turned around, her aged voice, now youthful with excitement, asked, “Who… who killed this skin person?”

Her eyes burned with a crazed intensity, scaring everyone into silence.

Xiao Muyu, watching this strange old woman, calmly said, “I did.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Shen Qingqiu, who shrugged indifferently. Xiao Muyu added, “And this young lady.”

The group murmured. The man in the jacket and the girl looked anxious, thinking it was unwise to admit without knowing if the old woman was friend or foe.

Sure enough, the old woman stared at them with a strange expression. Xiao Muyu, glancing at Shen Qingqiu, saw they both remained calm.

In the next moment, the old woman shakily knelt before them, crying and pleading, “After so many years, finally someone can deal with those things. Please, kind ladies, help this old woman. Life is too hard to bear.”

Simultaneously, a line of text appeared before everyone’s eyes:

Storyline activated…

Main Quest: The Old Woman in the Mountain;

Quest 1: Learn about the old woman’s plight and help her overcome it.

Quest 2: Survive for 72 hours;

Quest Difficulty: A-level Quest Time Limit: 72 hours;

This was followed by a long-lost voice announcement:

Congratulations to players Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu for completing the first kill in the Skin Person Mountain Villa instance!

Reward Points: 10;

Shen Qingqiu was a bit surprised, glancing at Xiao Muyu with a meaningful expression.

Then, on her own panel, a screen popped up showing her points. Her expression became somewhat nuanced upon seeing it.

The group was also perplexed. What was going on, and why was there suddenly an announcement?

But the prompt left no time for them to ponder, as the broadcast continued.

Please listen carefully to the rules for clearing this instance. Note that the following dialogue will only be read once, with no time to review the options.

Everyone: …

They were using such an old trick. Did they think this was an English listening test?

“Won’t it broadcast in English?”

A weak voice rose from the crowd, causing everyone’s heart to skip a beat.

It was already 2060, with highly advanced technology, language barriers were no issue. But now, few were proficient in English, especially these semi-educated players.

“Hello everyone…”

“Damn it! It really is in English. This is insane! I quit!”

Hearing the beginning, everyone’s hearts sank, some on the verge of breakdown.

“Shut up and listen!” Shen Qingqiu, who had been silent, coldly commanded, her icy gaze successfully silencing them.

“The game will last 72 hours, and the storyline quest has begun…”

The mechanical voice rattled off a string of heavily accented English. After a few garbled sounds like a stuck record, it switched back to Chinese.

Everyone: …

**During the mission, you may randomly trigger events and achieve milestones or hit score points. The system will allocate points based on contribution.

At the end of the game, players with 60 points or more will pass. Those below 60 points or who die during the mission will fail! Failure means becoming one of the skin persons outside!**

Xiao Muyu clearly heard a collective sigh of relief. This system was truly malicious, seeming quite familiar.

She glanced at Shen Qingqiu, but strangely, Shen Qingqiu remained calm, as if unsurprised.

Countdown: 71:59:59