Chapter 258: You’re the Chosen One, Then I’m Heaven!
Inside the temple, even if the Chosen Ones couldn’t observe certain details or guess what had happened, most of them felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off.
At this point, the Chosen Ones could start investigating. After all, it was still only noon, and the horror world had already given them plenty of time.
Generally speaking, when the horror world gives the Chosen Ones enough time, it’s not meant for them to rest.
Of course, Zhang Yangqing could be considered an exception, because he had been slacking off the whole time.
In many situations, every second counts. Even during a ten-minute break, if you feel something is wrong or have any doubts, an experienced Chosen One will go look for information to investigate these oddities and clear up their confusion.
From the afternoon to the evening, they could try to get in touch with the remaining lone wolf from the Green Team and ask him what happened.
Then, they could investigate that somewhat off family of four. They were the ones hiding the most secrets.
From the very first day, it seemed like they had obtained something, but they never spoke a word about it.
As for whether to team up with others to investigate or go alone, that would depend on the Chosen Ones’ choices.
Zhang Yangqing chose a third option: letting others investigate on their own.
After hearing the information Zhang Yangqing had observed, the one-eyed young man swallowed hard.
His heart was already churning with shock, and his scalp was starting to tingle slightly.
Boss, you just took one look, and you could pick up on so much? The one-eyed young man never thought of himself as stupid, but wasn’t this teammate of his a bit too smart?
To verify the truth of Zhang Yangqing’s words, the one-eyed young man decided to do some digging.
It wasn’t just about being obedient; he also had some guesses he needed to confirm.
Because his goal was exactly the same as Zhang Yangqing’s: find a way into the city and then locate a doctor who could cure the virus.
At this stage, he was also worried about unexpected problems. So even if Zhang Yangqing hadn’t sent him to investigate, he would have taken the initiative to check things out.
Actually, figuring this out wasn’t too difficult for Zhang Yangqing. He combined what they said, judged what dangers might be at the places they went, considered the personalities these people showed, and then analyzed the changes before and after they left and returned.
It might not be one hundred percent accurate, but he could guess sixty to seventy percent of it.
This is what’s called “experience” in the horror world.
As for whether that family of four had obtained something, where they hid it, what their plans were, and what secrets they were really hiding—the one-eyed young man would need to investigate those things.
Without information, even the most skilled person can’t do their job. Zhang Yangqing was just good at guessing, not a fortune teller.
The top-tier Chosen Ones naturally had sharp eyes, and most of them had already started taking action.
Hilde, the transcendent from Hans Country, jumped down from the tree, ready to contact the lone wolf from the Green Mark team.
To win an NPC’s favor, you naturally have to give them what they like.
Because of the heavy rain yesterday, the temple was quite damp. Hilde helped the lone wolf tidy up his resting area and prepared some delicious food for him.
Coupled with some casual conversation to build rapport, he was basically able to win the lone wolf over.
The lone wolf quietly told Hilde, where no one else could hear, that in order to save their own skins while fleeing, that father and son had broken their teammate’s leg. He warned Hilde never to travel with those two and not to tell anyone about it.
This was the kind of intelligence you could get after building up enough goodwill.
After hearing this, Hilde acted somewhat surprised. Truth be told, he had suspected as much, but he hadn’t imagined the father and son would be that brutal.
Next came the main event: investigating the family of four.
There were no surveillance cameras in the temple, so a lot of things could only be observed with the naked eye.
When he had entered the family’s room this morning, he had searched it but didn’t find anything hidden.
But thinking back to yesterday, both the husband and wife in that family had traces of soil on their clothes, with some dirt still under their fingernails.
Looking closely around the temple, he seemed to be able to find some areas where the ground had been disturbed.
Back then, they said they were setting traps, and no one else paid much attention.
But now that he thought about it, had they found something good near the temple?
During this time, the Purple Mark team had been stationed around the campsite all morning.
So Hilde judged that the couple would definitely go check on the spot where they buried their treasure.
After waiting near the family’s quarters for a while, he finally saw the husband leave the house. Hilde followed him to a relatively hidden spot outside the temple.
Truth be told, being discovered here was very dangerous; the husband would kill any Chosen One he caught.
There are also many ways to tail someone. You just need a general idea of which direction they’re going, wait for them to return, and then follow their route yourself, looking for signs of digging along the way.
That was the simplest method.
Most of the top-tier Chosen Ones were transcendents they were bold because of their skills.
“What if I get caught? No big deal, we’ll just fight.”
When it came to following people, the one-eyed young man was in a league of his own. He naturally had very little presence, was short, small, and not easy to spot.
The one-eyed young man just didn’t dare to attack Zhang Yangqing; that didn’t mean he lacked skill.
He waited for the husband to stay in one place for a while and then leave.
A deadly trap would be waiting there.
It was best for the tail to make sure the husband returned to the house before trying to dig up the treasure.
If someone got anxious and started digging for the treasure right after the husband left, they’d get caught off guard by a feint and be ambushed.
At this stage, teamwork was the best strategy.
But very few Chosen Ones could get an NPC’s help.
As a representative of the cautious type, the one-eyed young man naturally made sure the target had returned before going back to that area to dig.
Digging was also a technical job. The place where the husband hid the items was relatively secluded and required careful searching.
With good luck, you could dig it up in one go; with bad luck, you might be digging in the dirt for one or two hours.
Around five o’clock in the afternoon, Zhang Yangqing was taking his medicine in the temple when the one-eyed young man came back looking exhausted.
“Find anything?” Zhang Yangqing asked casually after swallowing his pill.
Among all the Chosen Ones present, none were more at ease than him.
Other Chosen Ones had been picking flowers and digging up weeds since early morning, then spent the afternoon shoveling dirt—a huge workload.
“Those guys have a lot of disinfectant, about six bottles,” the one-eyed young man said, slumping onto the floor. Clearly, today’s work had been very tiring.
To avoid suspicion, he had cleaned his clothes thoroughly and hadn’t brought the disinfectant out with him. He just told Zhang Yangqing the information and let him decide.
From his words, Zhang Yangqing could roughly figure out what the couple had found.
They had plenty of disinfectant now. All they needed to do was find the right path in the underground tunnel, and they could go straight into the city.
Why didn’t they tell anyone? The reason was simple.
There were so many people in the temple. If this got out, there wouldn’t be enough disinfectant to go around.
To avoid causing chaos, they decided to keep it to themselves.
This led to two possible approaches.
If a Chosen One simply wanted to clear the game, they could just steal the potion.
They didn’t need to take it all, just enough for themselves.
Conveniently, tomorrow the Chosen Ones’ teams were scheduled to explore the sewer pipes.
Then, by finding the right path in the sewers, they could spray themselves with the disinfectant and get past the swarms of strange insects.
If they wanted to complete the hidden mission, they couldn’t take the disinfectant. Instead, they’d need to find a way to tell the family of four the correct path.
Then, the family of four would sneak away at night.
At that point, the Chosen Ones could follow them.
Once the couple’s insect-human child went inside, it would naturally lead them to the insect nest.
Then, they could complete the hidden mission.
The one-eyed young man’s suggestion was to find some containers at night and replace all the disinfectant with something else.
That way, they (the Chosen Ones) could go in tomorrow.
That approach wasn’t wrong, but Zhang Yangqing wouldn’t let him do it.
If you go in that easily, how am I supposed to complete my hidden mission?
So, Zhang Yangqing started painting a rosy picture for him.
“Would you rather spend your whole life dodging the virus, living a life of displacement, or would you try to find a way to eliminate the insect plague and make your future days easier?”
Starting with that sentence, Zhang Yangqing began his brainwashing campaign.
According to Zhang Yangqing, if it was just about curing the virus, they could do it anytime. Zhang Yangqing could guarantee that, because if he wanted to get in, there really weren’t many who could stop him.
After curing the virus, they’d definitely have to leave this place and continue searching for a new hiding spot.
The one-eyed young man wasn’t stupid either. Based on the information Zhang Yangqing had given him, he could deduce that many insect-humans were probably already infesting the city, which was why the defenses were so strict.
The insect-humans weren’t yet capable of destroying the city at this stage, so they could only stay hidden.
Next, Zhang Yangqing laid out his predicted plot for him.
This was also a plot that other Chosen Ones hadn’t thought of yet, but once they saw it, they would naturally make the connection.
The rules mentioned the mother insect, insect eggs, and some props.
That meant the mother insect had already infiltrated the city and was laying eggs in some hidden place, a huge number of eggs.
Those two types of potion were used to deal with the eggs.
That place was the so-called “insect nest.”
Because the two insect-humans in that family of four never left, it also suggested that the insect nest wasn’t outside.
That’s exactly why the Chosen Ones needed to follow the insect-humans; only the insect-humans could find the nest.
Once those eggs hatched, they would surely attack the city.
The first target would naturally be the city’s hospital.
If the insect race killed all the doctors, the plague among humans would spread faster and faster.
With the extinction of humanity, the insect race would undoubtedly dominate this world.
Seeing the one-eyed young man deep in thought, Zhang Yangqing continued his brainwashing.
“Right now, the chance to destroy the mother insect is in your hands. Are you going to just give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, or will you be bold and give it a try?”
These words hit the one-eyed young man like a thunderclap, making his head spin.
Right here, Zhang Yangqing had effectively urged him to become a savior. The fate of this world was in his hands.
If he used the resources he had now and bravely tried, maybe this world could still be saved.
If he gave up this opportunity just to cure the poison, then as Zhang Yangqing said, he would spend his whole life dodging strange insects, living under the threat of their attacks. Who knew how long he’d last?
If he got poisoned again next time, he wouldn’t know who to turn to for a cure or where to find more pills.
After Zhang Yangqing finished speaking, he didn’t continue, letting him think for himself.
This was what it meant to impose your own mission onto someone else.
In this horror tale, Zhang Yangqing could even be said to be playing the role of “the rules,” while the one-eyed young man played the role of “the Chosen One.”
Zhang Yangqing just told him what to do based on what the rules stated, and the one-eyed young man went and executed it.
Watching this, the audience really couldn’t sit still anymore.
: I thought I was an expert at slacking off at work, but ever since I saw Zhang the Heavenly Master, I realize I’m just a rookie. This guy dares to slack off even in the horror world!
: Zhang the Heavenly Master doesn’t want to do anything himself, but he still wants to complete the hidden mission. That’s insane!
: Wow, in just a few sentences, he’s packaged the one-eyed kid as a savior. Zhang the Heavenly Master really knows how to play!
: I didn’t even notice until you guys mentioned it. In this round, Zhang the Heavenly Master is the Chosen One.
Actually, what the audience said made some sense.
Anyway, Zhang Yangqing could go back as soon as he finished the mission. He didn’t care what happened here.
As a partner, wasn’t he just sharing the information he had? He provided the intelligence, the other guy provided the effort. Perfectly reasonable!
Even if the one-eyed kid messed up, Zhang Yangqing wouldn’t mind. He had his own plan.
After thinking for a while, the one-eyed young man looked seriously at Zhang Yangqing and said, “Alright, I think we can give it a try.”
After all, better to endure a sharp pain now than a long, dull ache later. If they could solve it all at once, it would be a permanent fix.
He had talked more today than ever before.
But the words he spoke represented his determination.
Zhang Yangqing nodded, satisfied.
If you think that way, it saves me a lot of trouble.
In summary, the one-eyed young man was the Chosen One of this horror world, and Zhang Yangqing was Heaven itself!
Time quickly reached six o’clock in the evening. Chosen Ones who hadn’t finished exploring or hadn’t gotten the props continued to bustle about.
After eating a delicious dinner, Zhang Yangqing started assigning others to keep watch.
He certainly had no inclination to do it himself. And his teammates were very happy to carry out the tasks he assigned.
Especially the lone wolf guy. He said he was used to keeping watch, preferring to sleep during the day, so he was happy to continue doing it.
Seeing him being so eager, Zhang Yangqing naturally agreed.
This made the other teams puzzled. How, in just one day, had this team become so harmonious, like a real team?
If the lone wolf guy had known, he would have said, “You haven’t seen what this boss can do. If you had, you’d be even more eager than me.”
The lone wolf guy had successfully managed to gain a bit of goodwill from Zhang Yangqing, ensuring his chances of survival later on.
Nothing major happened on the top-tier side tonight. Chosen Ones from other tiers were rushing toward the final destination.
The further behind a Chosen One was, the more severe their losses tended to be.
After all, their reaction speed was slow, which was why they had fallen behind the leading groups.
By this time, 124 Chosen Ones had already been killed.
The vast majority of these were transcendents. Once their strength dropped even a little, they seemed to have no idea how to fight anymore.
As for the 20 ordinary Chosen Ones, only 1 had been lost, leaving 19.
Moreover, these Chosen Ones had also reached the final stage, and some had even obtained the black slime.
This painful lesson made the major transcendent forces on Blue Star truly realize that in the horror world, brute force was secondary.
The fact that a Dragon Country Heavenly Master dared to use force was just because he dared to.
So, who to send next time and how to qualify for entry into the horror world were the things they were thinking about now.
The next day, as soon as Zhang Yangqing woke up, he smelled the scent of fresh soil.
It felt a bit like being back at the temple, since Dragon Tiger Mountain was also in the mountains.
The only difference was the lack of the smell of incense.
Zhang Yangqing walked outside the temple, and the lone wolf, who had been on watch all night, immediately came over to greet him.
Today, the Purple Mark team had the heaviest and most difficult task.
They needed to explore the underground passageways—the areas that other teams didn’t dare to touch.
If they didn’t make any progress, they would surely face criticism upon their return.
Zhang Yangqing had originally planned to let him rest today and lead the team out himself.
But the lone wolf insisted on coming along, no matter what.
“Boss, my physical condition is great right now. Don’t worry, I won’t hold you back,” the lone wolf assured him, thumping his chest.
His eyes were filled with pleading and sincerity, as if he would keep begging if Zhang Yangqing refused.
As an ordinary, common person in this world, he wasn’t like the one-eyed young man, chosen by Zhang Yangqing as the Chosen One.
He was just a dispensable passerby.
The lone wolf wasn’t very smart, but he also longed to survive.
He had no way to get into the city, and he didn’t have many pills left. His future looked bleak, and Zhang Yangqing was the only light he could see in the darkness.
He just wanted to follow that light in order to find a way out, to grasp the only hope he had left.
The lone wolf lacked the female nurse’s beauty and the one-eyed young man’s intelligence.
As an ordinary person, all he could do was beg Zhang Yangqing to take him along and not abandon him.
All he could do was try his best to use his own abilities to please Zhang Yangqing.
Seeing such intense pleading in his eyes, Zhang Yangqing hesitated for a moment, then agreed to take him.
Zhang Yangqing knew the lone wolf was afraid that if he left this time, he might never come back.
But Zhang Yangqing was only going out today to find the entrance and then return to tell the family of four.
If you insist on coming, I can’t stop you.
The female nurse acting as team leader received the rough sketch from the middle-aged man.
There were several copies of the sketch; she only got one.
The map showed locations marked by the previous two teams. According to the markings, some locations were clear, some had minor dangers, and others were marked as “suspected” correct locations.
That was what the Purple Mark team needed to explore.
After getting the map, Zhang Yangqing’s team left the camp directly.
Other teams also started their daily bustle.
The path down the mountain was long. Heading towards the city, Zhang Yangqing’s teammates began to feel excited inside.
Because yesterday and the day before, they might not necessarily encounter danger.
But they all knew they would definitely run into danger today.
The previous two teams had run into trouble while exploring the underground sewers.
If it weren’t for the steady hand on their team, the others might have already been ready to sacrifice their teammates at any moment.
The teammates standing next to Zhang Yangqing could practically feel an unparalleled sense of security!
They strutted forward with a swagger. Danger? What danger could be more dangerous than this teammate of ours?
Seeing this, Zhang Yangqing felt it necessary to give a warning: “When you all go in later, act normal. If you get yourself killed by being reckless, I’m not taking responsibility!”
