In the bustling market, Wen Shi's space seemed isolated from the world. After the child finished speaking, everyone around him fell silent.
Ji Yuanzhi asked himself a soul-searching question: "What if no customers come to our store?"
A Sang looked at Wen Shi’s eight paired guests.
Last night, everyone was so busy thinking about the wealthy widower that no one took a little kid seriously. But Ah Sang's words just now really scared the paired guests. A normal child would never say such a cruel money-making strategy in such an innocent tone.
The deformed man standing at the front silently pointed at the tattered straw sandals he was wearing. They were all well-known poor families in Fengguan Village.
This time it was Asang's turn to remain silent.
He wiped his face with his sleeve to make sure he was clean, "There's no way I don't have a market."
He doesn't look like he has much meat on him, but he eats crystal meat all year round, so it's easy to create the illusion that he's full of blood and super fresh. A Sang is confident that he can catch a big fish for his father!
"What a tender child!"
There happened to be a fat man in silk among the countless stalls, and he immediately fell in love with the straw boy. The fat man wore a small black hat, and the golden silk was embroidered with dense copper coins, like countless eyes.
Ah Sang's expression changed in an instant, and he looked at Wen Shi with his watery eyes: "No, don't sell me."
Wen Shi squatted down and hugged him, pretending to be reluctant, and said in a private voice that only the two of them could hear: "You can raise the price by pretending not to sell it, but you are about to rob his wallet, there is no need to do that."
A Sang opened his mouth and said, this makes so much sense!
When he stood up again, Wen Shi said coldly, "Five hundred."
The fat man rolled his eyes and said, "Okay."
Wen Shi pushed Ah Sang forward and said, "Deal."
Having picked up a great bargain, the fat man took a sniff and confirmed that the child was covered in the smell of human flesh. He no longer doubted it, paid the money and left with A Sang.
Wen Shi looked at the banknote in his hand. It was slightly different from the one given by the host. The pattern in the upper right corner did not have that grainy feeling.
He sneered, "Counterfeit money."
But it doesn’t matter, just consider it as the fat man’s life-saving money.
Wen Shi gestured to the corner, and a thin black shadow disappeared around the corner. He then tore up the counterfeit money and said, "Let's go and help you complete the rest of the transaction."
Liu Yun: "Don't wait for the reunion?"
Wen Shi waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, as A Sang had a communication tool on him so they could keep in touch at any time.
Besides, he had just sent wandering zombies to follow him. It is better to be safe than sorry. Only with the wandering zombies protecting him in secret could Wen Shi feel completely at ease.
Before they set off, the deformed man whispered, "It's not like counterfeit money can't be used."
He was still feeling sorry for the counterfeit money that the other party had torn into pieces.
"Let's resist counterfeit currency, starting with me." Wen Shi said with a serious face.
The deformed man looked at Liu Yun and Ji Yuanzhi with an indescribable look.
Liu Yun spoke the truth: "It would take more than 40 minutes to describe all the good things he did."
"… "
Before leaving, Ji Yuanzhi looked at the girl who had lost her wheelchair. The girl waved her hands vigorously and said, "Don't worry about me."
She would rather crawl out than hang out with this group of people anymore.
Ji Yuanzhi did not force her this time and respected her idea.
the other side.
The fat man was very happy to get a child in exchange for almost no investment. However, he was soon spotted by some malicious eyes and followed behind him.
The fat man dressed like a local rich man in order to avoid suspicion when using counterfeit money, but this, in turn, would easily cause other troubles.
He turned and walked into the dark alley, knowing that he had encountered robbers. Those who dared to rob people in the ghost market were really capable. The fat man made a quick decision: "Why don't we share the child and eat him, and then go our separate ways?"
The people who came with him discussed it for a while and didn't want to fight, "Okay, but the upper body belongs to us."
Everything else was easy to deal with. The fat man loved to eat brain marrow the most. Just as he was about to bargain again, he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that the child was missing.
Where are the people
The fat man and the robber looked around.
"here."
Asang answered the other party's doubts considerately. He climbed up the wall at some point, and while speaking, he jumped hard and smashed the bowl down vertically.
The child's movements were as fast as lightning, and even the eyes of ghosts could not catch them. With a "pop" sound, the fat man's head was cut open on the spot, and blood and brain juice splattered everywhere, splashing even onto the camera that was following closely to take the photo. The cameraman's legs went weak and he almost fell to his knees.
The robbery group tried to run away.
When it comes to speed, A Sang has never lost. Boom, bang, bang... The small group didn't even have time to scream. Their cries were stuck in their throats, and their heads were smashed open in an instant.
This time, A Sang smashed it very carefully. Except for the fat guy who missed, he made sure that only the skull was broken.
A Sang suddenly looked towards the corner.
A tall and thin figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It was a zombie.
"Together." Ah Sang was extremely sensitive and had sensed the breath of the wandering corpse early in the morning. He called him over: "Your nails are long. I will smash your internal organs and force them out of your skull first, and you can do the secondary cleaning."
The fat man is a corpse monster, belonging to the level of a general evil creature, and his organs are relatively intact.
The zombie walked over sluggishly. He liked to do delicate things, such as playing the piano. He was not very good at it, but his hands were steady.
In the dim alley, the little zombie balls and the brain-sucking zombies worked together perfectly.
On the way, Ah Sang quickly climbed up the mulberry tree behind the wall, picked a few fresh leaves, and squeezed the crystal in his hand. The solid crystal turned into powder in an instant. The green leaves wrapped the powder. After Ah Sang was sure that it was wrapped well, he waved his arm at the zombie, signaling him to lower his head: "Ah-"
The wandering corpse, which always obeyed Wen Shi's orders, somehow obeyed A Sang's request and opened its mouth.
Ah Sang fed him one piece after another, and at the same time, he never forgot to instill his own theory: "Save every grain of food."
Last night, Ah Sang thought for a long time and finally realized something: he couldn't eat if he hadn't digested the food completely, but he could feed others.
After a busy half an hour, A Sang and You Shi left the dark alley with only the stench of blood. You Shi was holding five relatively intact human skins in his hands. In the jargon of the ghost market, these were called "corpse shells".
The big and the small attracted a lot of attention. Ah Sang looked weak and harmless, but the long and sharp nails of the zombie showed that he was not a serious person. When Ah Sang was about to contact Wen, the zombie pointed to a direction.
The crowd was surging. Not far ahead, Wen Shi and Ji Yuanzhi pretended to be calm and followed a customer.
Ji Yuanzhi was very good at judging people, which was related to his mysterious second skill, and he accurately picked out the relatively weak visitors to the Ghost Market.
Liu Yun and the paired guests were some distance away from them, responsible for observing the surroundings.
The deformed man had never seen much of the world and asked, "Do you want to rob?"
No one answered him.
Ji Yuanzhi thought Wen Shi was also thinking of this, so he reminded him, "This guy doesn't look rich."
Wen Shi taught him, "We are here to sell reasonably. How can we expect to get something for nothing?"
Ji Yuanzhi looked at the wheelchair he was pushing and sighed that he had understood in 0.001 seconds: "You want to..."
Wen Shi nodded heavily: "If we want to create a market for wheelchairs, we must first create demand."
Then he raised an eyebrow and said, "Go ahead, Dad."
"… "
The visitor to the ghost market who was targeted by them had a face covered with flesh granulations and a belt made of a string of skulls. He was just short of saying "I am a ghost and you are not to be trifled with."
This kind of bluffing monster is the easiest to deal with. Ji Yuanzhi activated the [Hallucination] skill, and the attention of people within a ten-meter radius was focused on an inconspicuous corner. Originally there was a garbage basket there, but in their eyes, it seemed like there was some glittering treasure.
When Ji Yuanzhi locked on his target, he not only avoided his teammates, but also avoided his paired guests in order to save points.
"Hurry up." Wen Shi shouted and winked at Liu Yun behind him.
The body was faster than the mind. Liu Yun pulled out the long whip and swept it steadily, accurately and fiercely. The silver whip cracked the monster's kneecap. At the same time, Wen Shi and Ji Yuanzhi pushed the wheelchair and ran to the next intersection like the wind to sell.
Seeing this, Liu Yun quickly hid aside.
The illusion faded, and the monster first looked dazed, then its legs went limp and it fell to the ground.
After struggling to get up, he saw the whip marks on his knees and looked around angrily: Who dared to attack me? !
The monster gritted his teeth and walked to the next intersection. He found a stall selling wheelchairs and bought one without hesitation.
It's no wonder he didn't think much about it. Who could have thought that someone would break a customer's legs in order to sell a wheelchair in the ghost market.
A Sang was ten meters away from them and was not affected by the illusion. There were too many people, so he climbed up a high pole and saw the whole scene.
"I got it, I got it." A Sang looked at Wen Shi with admiration.
Dad is indeed the best.
Ah Sang couldn't wait to bring Youshi back to meet Wen Shi, and said, "Dad, I want to sell crutches too."
He pointed to the crutch made from the leg bones of a zombie in his hand.
A woman passing by suddenly stretched her neck over from a few meters away and asked: "How much do you sell this for?"
The horrifying shape did not scare the zombie at all. He did not quite understand, because he was holding the corpse shell in his hand and stretched out a finger.
"Five for one hundred, not bad."
The zombie stood there stiffly, with that finger extended.
The woman laughed and said, "You want to sell a few broken shells for a thousand? Go away."
The zombie had no other emotions. Seeing that he had no intention of lowering the price, the woman said, "One thousand is one thousand."
The gates of hell are about to open, and her old enemy might come out, so she needs a few shells for camouflage.
Ah Sang pointed at Wen Shi and said, "Give him the money."
The woman was honest and gave real money. She left immediately after the payment and goods were settled.
Ah Sang looked at You Shi seriously and said, "So you are the best at business in our family."
The zombie nodded slowly.
Wen Shi had not paid much attention to the zombie before, but now he found that not only his hair had grown longer, but his skin color had also darkened. The ghost market was full of dirty things, so he must have been tricked. Wen Shi immediately opened the attribute panel to check:
[Variety: Corpse
Current rank: Low-level monster
Rationality: 6
Loyalty: 6
IQ: 82
In addition, your zombie has an unspeakable secret.]
Upgraded? All aspects of the stats have increased.
Wen Shi was surprised and asked, "Don't they say that becoming bald will make you stronger? Why do you have more hair?"
The zombie didn't answer.
Wen Shi looked at Ah Sang, who said, "I fed him, but it was a little strange."
Ah Sang frowned, which was rare: "He eats more than I thought."
This crystal is very difficult to absorb. Two or three is the limit for an ordinary monster. A zombie ate the fifth one before shaking its head to show that it was full.
Wen Shi heard this and whispered about the mutant pomegranate flower, saying, "He might be pregnant with..."
Before he could finish his words, he watched his loyalty level drop to 5.5.
Wen Shi: “…”
Blame me for being mean.
The zombie suddenly spoke the first words of the day: "Sleep."
He's going to take a short hibernation.
The zombie was also a vengeful person, and Wen Shi was worried that his loyalty would continue to drop if he continued to deal with him, so he decisively responded to the other party's request to recover the money.
A Sang, who was standing by, felt a chill in his chest for a moment. He lowered his head and found that the big eyes were looking thoughtfully at the place where the zombie disappeared. After a while, the thoughtful emotion in the eyes faded away, and there was a bit more confusion, as if he had lost his memory halfway and became a different person.
They're all weird.
Ah Sang shook his head and handed the fat man's purse to Wen Shi. Wen Shi checked it and found that there was no real money in it. He cursed the fat man for being stingy and said, "Finish the task first."
Wen Shi used five banknotes to buy an old pot and water. A Sang threw the bones in and prepared to stew them first. He would sell the bone soup and then the crutches.
Ji Yuanzhi glanced at Wen Shi: "Water is included in [food]."
The implication is that there is no need to sell soup anymore.
Wen Shi pulled him aside and whispered, "Children like to play house. We need to let them have a complete childhood."
"… "
Ji Yuanzhi turned his head speechlessly and suddenly said "Huh".
Wen Shi looked in the direction of the sound and found a man with a scary face tied up with chains in the stall across from him. He had tiny chicken feathers on his cheeks and his clothes on his back were torn, revealing a pair of fleshy wings. At this moment, the man's neck was pinched by the stall owner and he was carried to a large scale to be weighed.
The man struggled hard, and when he saw Wen Shi, his eyes almost popped out, but he could only make a "gurgling" sound from his throat.
"Looks a little familiar." Wen Shi touched his chin.
Ji Yuanzhi: "That's a harsh statement."
No one knows how the rules of death will come about. Yan Yan gave a standard demonstration that what you buy will become what you buy.
Wen Shi actually had a cold personality. After taking a few glances, he felt bored and looked up at the sky, ignoring Yan Yan's miserable condition.
Ah Sang also watched, but apart from the thick clouds, he didn't see anything special.
"Does the flow of time in this ghost market flow the same as in the outside world?" Wen Shi suddenly asked a question.
The sun was invisible, and according to his observation, no one around him wore a watch. The ghost market had everything except clocks. When Ah Sang went to see Fatty off, Wen Shi had asked at a stall, but the stall owner told him to give up, saying that the ghost market never sold hourglasses or clocks.
Wen Shi would suspect that there was a time difference, simply because he was tricked by the game. The task requirements mentioned that a few words should be completed as soon as possible, so he had to think more about it.
Ji Yuanzhi thought for a moment and said with a serious expression: "Speed up."
No longer obsessed with setting up stalls, they also began to take the initiative to buy items.
Most of the products are related to animals. Even the handle of an old bicycle is carved with animal patterns. If you don’t know in advance to avoid livestock-related items, you will definitely step on a landmine.
While Wen Shi was strolling around, he wanted to see if there was anything good he could bring out of the dungeon. He randomly touched a bronze cup and tried to use the game's identification system to see if it was an item, but he only got a prompt of [Yin Qi Entering the Body]. After three consecutive times, Wen Shi lost interest and knew there was no bargain to be found.
The remaining money couldn't be wasted, so Wen Shi called out the misfits who were following him curiously.
"Tell me about Fengguan Village, especially about the Mid-Autumn Festival. If you can satisfy me, the money will be yours."
The matchmaking guests talked at once. The information that the NPC could reveal was based on the clues that the players currently had, which was very limited. Few of their sentences hit the point, but they could still summarize a few points:
First, the average life expectancy of the people in Fengguan Village is not long. Every year, young people leave their hometown and trick strangers into coming for tourism in order to borrow their life span from the living. Second, while borrowing their life span, the dead also want to find a scapegoat. It is said that with a scapegoat, they can wander around.
The last and most important point is that the ghost gate has actually been opened, but the opening is very small now. It will be completely opened between 1:00 and 2:00 in the morning, which is the most dangerous time period.
"Ordinary monsters are not qualified to enter the Ghost Gate. I heard that there is another world behind the gate, which is more suitable for ghosts to survive. Generally, they only come out to hunt in the wild and look for living people to eat during the 15th day of the seventh lunar month." The deformed man looked yearning, "If I can find a scapegoat, I can also go to the Ghost Gate."
While shopping and chatting, Wen Shi received a notification sound indicating that the task was completed.
"Sponsor, go sell the livestock clues to other players with points, and we'll split the profits among the three of us." Wen Shi pondered, "Remember to make them sign an agreement that they can't sell the items a second time. The buyer of the contracted items will pay for it, so we can sell them once more."
Players will be very cautious in the early stages, but will gradually become anxious as time goes by. If you reveal clues at this time, you can definitely sell them at a good price.
Ji Yuanzhi suddenly felt that compared to Wen Shi, he was not a capitalist.
Liu Yun: "I don't want my share."
She didn't contribute much.
Wen Shi said, "You guys are welcome to do whatever you want. I'm going to play house with my son first. He never played this game when he was a kid."
This simple sentence immediately reminded Ji Yuanzhi of Wen Shi’s miserable childhood. He added one more thing to his previous conclusion: No one is born a capitalist. This is because everyone has suffered too much in their childhood.
Besides, parents are role models for their children. Pei Hongxin is a ruthless person. Pei Wenwei has been with him for several years and is inevitably influenced by him. He insists on not using counterfeit money, and his values are already very positive.
As time goes by, the number of customers in the ghost market increases instead of decreases.
Wen Shi’s parent-child activity ended after hearing the transfer prompt, and he decisively packed up and left.
When I reached the exit of the market, the sky darkened almost instantly.
"Sure enough, they are playing with the time difference."
Not long after spending time in the ghost market, it was already dark outside.
Wen Shi was the first to come out. Ah Sang was still surprised: "Dad, it's dark."
Wen Shi looked far away, where the fog and the dark sky intertwined, the host and the TV station staff were building a stage. Above the stage stood a white banner, swaying in the wind, with the words "Martial Arts Competition to Recruit a Marriage" written in a flamboyant style. The stage was built very high, and the wood was brought from the mountains.
During the market segment, the host didn't even interview the guests, as all his energy was put into preparing for the martial arts competition to win the bride.
Wen Shi frowned and walked over quickly: "The arena is set up outside the ghost market?"
"right."
The host took great pains to do this. The agreement required that it only last until 00:04. At that time, the Ghost Gate would not be open very wide and not many ghosts would come out. Setting it up here could also attract visitors to the Ghost Market and further increase the popularity of the program.
Noticing a hint of disappointment in Wen Shi's expression, the host became even more proud.
Wen Shi was indeed disappointed. He would certainly prefer the venue to be in Fengguan Village. It would be best if the earl went crazy and destroyed the village as well.
It was already past eleven o'clock when the last player came out of the ghost market. He had no time to marvel at the change in the weather. When he saw the stage for the martial arts competition to win a bride, he was shocked.
There were red lanterns hanging in a row, flickering a faint red light in the darkness, and the square platform looked extremely eerie.
The host got a gong from somewhere and struck it hard. The sound waves spread further through the microphone and vibrated to the ghost market.
"The production team of Crazy Love Season passed by this precious place. At the request of the special guest Mr. Aaron, we held a competition to find a bride for him—"
The host is in no hurry to start, the later the time, the more important the show becomes.
The sound was transmitted into the ghost market intermittently.
As soon as they heard that someone was holding a martial arts competition to find a bride, the vendors who had set up stalls at the market entrance spread the news as a joke. Word spread quickly, and in a short time, many people came out to watch the fun.
The night tore off their last fig leaf, revealing their true faces.
The one with three ears, the one with a bull face, the one holding a trident... and the bloody, skinless, barefoot monster nearby, all surrounded the arena with strange smiles, whispering and gossiping.
As an elite player, Zhou Lulu was considered quite powerful among this group of players, and couldn't help but shiver.
"Who is looking for a bride?"
A bald man with a large string of beads hanging on his chest asked with a smile like Maitreya Buddha.
The host introduced the station's programs again. As a paid subscription variety show, Crazy Love Season must continue to attract customers: "Welcome everyone to subscribe to our show!"
After saying that, he looked at Wen Shi and said, "This is him, Mr. Aaron, sincerely seeking a partner."
There are a bunch of weird monsters around, and the players try to get closer to the program crew.
Compared to the visitors to the ghost market, the program crew seemed much more friendly.
When they gathered together, Wen Shi had no choice. He let go of A Sang's hand and told him to follow Ji Yuanzhi first, while he walked towards the platform in silence.
As the fishy red lantern shone, when Wen Shi stood on the high platform, his pale pupils began to glow with an eerie red light.
The wind was blowing hard, and the fog gradually turned red. Soon the moon appeared. In the previous two days, there was only a blood-red full moon, but tonight the red light completely swallowed up all the other light on the moon's surface. The blood moon was in the sky, and the ground on the ground was loose, as if an earthquake had occurred in a far distance.
boom!
Even though they were separated by an unknown distance, the loud noise weakened by layers of air still made people tremble in their hearts. The noise was even louder than when Wen Shi used the sword dance.
"The gates of hell are open." The bald man looked into the distance.
Sometimes they would have disputes with the things coming out of the Ghost Gate. For safety reasons, they would avoid them if possible, but it was only midnight now, and the things that could scare visitors to the Ghost Market would only appear after 1 a.m.
You can also read some gossip for a while.
The visitors to the ghost market showed no intention of moving away, but instead gathered in greater and greater numbers.
A foul-smelling gust of wind blew by, and a woman with only half of her face painted with makeup appeared on the stage, while the other half was covered with bones.
The host excitedly introduced: "This is our program team's loyal fan - Sihei Dada, who was invited to participate in the anniversary celebration."
Before the words fell, the player suddenly felt a terrifying chill crawling up his spine.
"Ah, another audience member of our show!" These audience members had received special information before coming. They were considered to be participating in the recording and needed to follow the prescribed procedures.
"I'll go first." The new audience member No. 2 asked the woman on the stage to come down.
"You can do it together!" the host said with a smile, "Mr. Aaron's agreement with us didn't mention how many people can be beaten at once."
The visitors to the Ghost Market became even more interested when they saw this. The person seeking a marriage partner was definitely a human. They didn't know how he had offended the creatures over at the Ghost Gate. They could all imagine the scene of him being skinned and dismembered later.
Wen Shiwei lowered his head, did not accuse the production team of being shameless, and said slowly: "Then wait until 0:03, and then we can go on stage together."
In just one minute, seven or eight more ghosts appeared on the stage, and a few visitors from the ghost market also came up to join in the fun.
I haven't eaten a living person for a long time. There is no reason to miss it if it's ready.
It was almost 0:03 when the host picked up the gong again, ready to announce the start of the first ring match.
The number of viewers at this moment has broken the record in the program's history, and his eyes are now shining with excitement!
In the last ten seconds, a large group of ghosts are coming in the distance!
Liu Yun was so nervous that her nails were about to dig into her flesh. "Is Pei Wenwei okay?"
There are ghosts everywhere, and even the sword with terrifying power at the wedding may not be able to sweep away all of them.
Ji Yuanzhi: "I think we are the ones in trouble."
There will definitely be a big commotion soon. Since ancient times, when the city gate catches fire, the innocent people are the ones who suffer; when the gods fight, the mortals are the ones who suffer.
Wen Shi adjusted his breathing gently. The program team was here, and the players definitely couldn't leave without a reason. Only when the program team started running, everyone would have a legitimate reason to follow.
Crazy, murderous gazes were focused on him, and the first wave of show viewers couldn't wait!
The host raised his arm and the gong hammer was about to strike.
Under the bloody moon, the system's voice was as cold as ever:
“Should we use the family crest?”
Wen Shi no longer hesitated, "Yes."
As a word fell, ripples appeared in the air. This was an illusion caused by the distortion of the entire space. A vortex appeared in the center of the ripples. The platform under the feet shook violently, but the onlookers ignored the inconspicuous vortex.
Everyone thinks that this earthquake is related to the opening of the ghost gate. Several earthquakes will occur on the 15th day of July.
However, the next moment, the world seemed to tremble and collapse for a moment!
Wen Shi suddenly jumped off the platform.
The host and the challenger did not try to stop him. The opponent looked terrified and it was obvious that he was trying to escape. Catching a turtle in a jar has always been the favorite game of ghosts.
"Run!" Wen Shi shouted at the top of his lungs.
Thinking that this program might be doomed, Wen Shi still had a conscience and tugged at the host's tie: "Run!"
The host was about to take out the agreement and inform the punishment for running away during the competition, but he was pulled by someone and his foot slipped. His sight accidentally swept to the back. It is no exaggeration to say that the host's pupils were shaking like the ground.
On the high platform, a man appeared where Wen Shi was originally.
People come to the ghost market wearing all kinds of clothes, but this man is still unique. He is wearing a gorgeous long nightgown. Under the open collar, there is a graceful neck. One-third of his marble-like chest muscles are exposed. He holds a scepter in his hand, and the cuff of his left hand is inlaid with gold thread and gems, which makes him look noble and luxurious.
These are not the main points. The main point is that the aura he exudes is already above that of an evil spirit. Although it is far from a true spirit, it is already a rare and terrifying existence.
The pale man stood there, with bloodshot eyes deep in his different-colored eyes. He gave people only one feeling: a madman, a truly powerful madman.
Wen Shi had already run 500 meters. The stimulation of the fishy wind was so great that he almost burst into tears: "Speed up—"
He urged his friends around him.
If he doesn't run, he will definitely die miserably. The use of the [Family Badge] says that he can summon the Count to take action once at night, but after going through the castle copy, Wen Shi knows very well that this guy hates going out at night the most; coupled with the butterfly effect, the mental state of the castle owner is even worse.
With the double buffs stacked up, it will definitely be a killing spree!
"How fast should we run..." someone asked breathlessly.
Even from a distance, one could sense the murderous intent behind them. Wen Shi's smile was uglier than crying: "Leave the program team 300 meters ahead first."
Anyway, you can’t be the last one, whoever is the last one will be reincarnated!
(End of this chapter)