It was broad daylight.
The townsfolk were probably all busy with their own affairs, working or going to school.
Mo Bai and the others waited by the bridge for a while but didn’t see any passersby.
They had no choice but to go door-to-door to nearby houses, finally finding an old woman hanging laundry in a small courtyard.
“Grandma, we’re tourists from the city. We heard there’s a temple near the town. Do you know where it is?”
Mu Bai, thinking her high Charm Value might make the other party more amiable, took the initiative to ask.
The old woman had initially looked impatient, but when she looked up and saw several pretty young girls, her expression softened considerably.
“Child, that’s not a temple, it’s the Mountain God Temple… It’s on the mountain across the river. Whether you pay respects or not is up to you, the Mountain God won’t mind. Just don’t do anything to anger him.”
The old woman spoke in a mix of dialect and standard Mandarin.
Fortunately, Mu Bai could barely understand.
“Is the Mountain God… real?”
Mu Bai continued, trying to fish for more information.
“Don’t speak nonsense…Back when they were building the factory, something happened. A Taoist Priest passing by found out and specially sought out the Town Mayor to warn him. The project was shelved for a time. Later, people in the town grew bold and started construction again. Within a few months, many workers came down with a strange disease. It wasn’t until every household went to the Mountain God Temple to pray for blessings that they gradually recovered…”
The old woman sighed.
A Taoist Priest?
Mu Bai perked up.
It seemed this was the key figure.
However, the old woman said the priest was just passing through, meaning he probably wasn’t in the town anymore.
Mu Bai, unwilling to give up, asked all sorts of questions related to the Mountain God Temple.
She only stopped when the old woman began to grow suspicious of their purpose for coming to the town.
“…Well, thank you for your trouble. Thanks for explaining all that to us, Grandma.”
Mu Bai was about to leave, offering a casual thank you.
“Wait.”
The old woman suddenly called out to them.
“Huh?”
Mu Bai thought she might have offended the other party somehow.
“If you’re not staying in the town, you need to leave before dark. These past few years, there’s been human traffickers in the town at night.”
Human traffickers?
“That’s right. People who go out after dark go missing. Boys, girls, adults… they leave not a single clue behind. Don’t take this lightly…”
the old woman warned.
“Many families in the town have left because of this… If you’re scared, it’s best to leave as soon as possible.”
Mu Bai and the others exchanged glances.
“Don’t worry. If it’s getting dark and we haven’t left yet, we’ll find a place to stay for the night,” Mu Bai replied.
She had a pretty good idea of what the so-called “human traffickers” were.
They left the small courtyard.
“Human traffickers… are those the elongated black shadows?”
Tang Shifu asked.
“Could also be the hands that reach out from walls… There’s just one thing I don’t quite understand. From our experience, when someone is ‘killed’ or ‘eaten’ by a ghost, at least some remains or bones are left behind. But that grandma said there were no clues at all. It doesn’t quite match up…”
Mu Bai fell into thought.
“It seems now that going to the Mountain God Temple during the day should be safe,”
Mo Cha concluded.
“Yes. But since anyone can go to the Mountain God Temple, it’s also highly unlikely we’ll find any clues there,” Mu Bai added.
“Regardless, let’s go take a look first.”
The four of them crossed the stone bridge.
Along the way, they passed a propaganda sign that read “Eradicate Feudal Superstitions.”
It was unclear how long it had been torn down and left to the elements.
If not for the characters being painted in eye-catching red, the writing would likely have been illegible.
It was still an Abnormal Site.
It was still a mountain path.
The scene felt familiar.
This time, however, Mu Bai’s Constitution and Strength had been greatly enhanced.
She wouldn’t be out of breath after just a few steps.
The Mountain God Temple was not sealed off.
The red lacquered walls were glossy, the ground paved with stone bricks, and only a thin layer of dust covered everything, suggesting it was regularly cleaned.
They followed the path from the entrance inward, investigating as they went, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
The innermost room housed the Mountain God’s spirit tablet.
There was no statue like in an ancestral temple.
Three clean prayer mats were neatly arranged in front of the tablet.
Notably, beneath the tablet was an altar covered by a cloth.
It wasn’t an ordinary table.
Judging by its size, if it were hollow inside, it could almost fit a grown man.
“You think the treasure chest might be under here?”
Tang Shifu, recalling their experience obtaining the Silver Chest last time, was eager to try.
“We can try…”
Mu Bai didn’t object.
Regardless of whether the mutation source was the Mountain God or not, since that thing had to hide itself during the day, it certainly wouldn’t reveal itself over a mere altar for placing a spirit tablet.
Unless there was something very important inside.
That would also be a good thing.
A Five-Level Site—how could they not take risks?
Tang Shifu lifted the cloth.
Inside was empty.
‘As expected, it’s never that simple…’
Using the Mountain God Temple as a dining room, they ate some of the food they’d brought, then returned to the town.
Mu Bai remembered that when the old woman mentioned the Taoist Priest, she also spoke of a Town Mayor.
She wondered if they could find a breakthrough there.
It wasn’t that they were dead set on completing the mission.
The main issue was that this time, without clues, they couldn’t even find where the Treasure was.
Seeing the mission at a complete dead end, if they couldn’t even obtain the Treasure, forget about the Upgrade Module.
If they were trapped in this town forever, that would be a real problem.
Forget whether the Gray Fog would shrink.
Who knew when the Mountain God would tire of sustainable development and decide to reel in the net?
Compared to confronting the mutation source of this site head-on, Mu Bai and the others felt finding the Treasure was safer and more rational.
They asked a few people and got the Town Mayor’s address.
When they went there, they found out the mayor wasn’t in town either; he had gone to seek investors.
Mu Bai was utterly exasperated.
The four of them wandered aimlessly around the town, hoping to stumble upon some clue.
Instead, they saw another Train.
Including theirs, there were two Trains at this site.
The other team hadn’t shown themselves at all so far.
The probability of them having malicious intentions rose significantly.
They had to be constantly wary of players’ underhanded tactics.
Recalling how they were ambushed at the entrance in the Game Site, resulting in Ye Yin getting injured, Mu Bai still felt a lingering fear.
‘Being held at gunpoint… I hope I never experience that a second time in my life.’
It was four or five in the afternoon.
The four were still trying their luck looking for clues, but Mu Bai was exhausted.
Her stamina was now on par with a normal high school girl’s.
It was indeed much better than before, but she still couldn’t handle a whole day of walking plus going up and down a mountain.
This time, Ye Qi finally had enough strength to carry Mu Bai.
Although carrying Mu Bai still increased her physical exertion considerably—not as effortless as it was for Tang Shifu—with her [Power Bank Constitution], the stamina drain didn’t matter much.
Before, when the team only had two people, Mu Bai couldn’t slack off like this because Ye Yin, as the sole combatant, needed to be able to react to danger immediately.
But now the team had a full three combat personnel, so it didn’t matter anymore.
It was just a bit embarrassing to endure the astonished looks from passing townsfolk.
As they walked, a commotion broke out ahead.
A large crowd had gathered around a courtyard, watching something.
The sound of their excited chatter carried from far away.