Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 694 The Final Sacrifice

"Oh my God."

Yu Shijiu blinked and asked in surprise, "Did we stay there for a whole night?"

He felt like he had been inside for a short while!

Lu Chusheng silently gazed at the scorching sunlight shining through the clouds, looking at the seemingly normal crew NPCs on the deck... and slowly closed his eyes.

After staring at the sun with curiosity for a while, Yu Shijiu looked away, rubbed his sore eyes, and turned to walk towards the dormitory-style sleeping area.

【Ding】

Yu Shijiu stopped in his tracks.

The long-lost game system notification sound rang in his ears, cold and mechanical, as if announcing something extremely important.

The number of surviving players in the "Sheep Sacrifice" instance has decreased to less than 10, with 26 players dying last night.

[Note: The sacrificial ritual will conclude completely tonight. If players are unable to defeat the BOSS at the final moment, all players will be permanently trapped in the current game instance and unable to leave.]

Unable to leave.

Yu Shijiu tilted his head and looked at the NPC crew members coming and going around him.

The NPC crew members no longer had the blankness and fear of last night on their faces. Everyone, no, all the NPCs had smiles on their faces, some more intense, some less, but all of them were smiles that came from the heart, which were very easy to infect anyone who passed by.

Yu Shijiu also heard them talking—"The sun is out."

"Thank God!"

"It's not God!" an NPC crew member interrupted him, whispering, "It's the Sea God! The Sea God heard our cries for help these past few days!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's the sea god who protected us, it's the sea god who made the sun rise!"

"So, can we safely return to base now?"

"Of course! But why did Brother Wu and Brother Wang fight last night? Although they're not as close as they used to be, they haven't fought in all these years, have they?"

"...I don't know, I didn't even dare to pull them away."

"Why would we pull them in?" an NPC crew member sighed. "We're all people who came on board to make a living. Wu Ge and his crew are the ones who get bonuses. If we go up to break up a fight and accidentally offend one of them, we're all doomed."

"You're right, thank goodness we didn't try to break up the fight last night..."

"Let's thank the Sea God for protecting us and ensuring our safe return. These past few days have been nerve-wracking, with everyone worried that the rain wouldn't stop."

"..."

More NPC crew members burst into laughter, their faces filled with the excitement of surviving a disaster and the anticipation of a safe return home.

"..." Yu Shijiu stared blankly as the living NPC crew members passed by him one by one, the system notification sound ending in his ears.

Stay in the game instance?

To stay alive?

Is this some new punishment mechanism in Dawn Games?

Stop thinking about it.

Last night, Xiao Li, who had only been online for a few minutes, spoke up in a chilly tone: "[It's not a new mechanism; it's just that some people have never properly listened to the Dawn game mechanics.]"

Yu Shijiu snorted: [If you're dead, you're dead; if you're alive, you're alive. What does it have to do with staying in the game instance?]

Xiao Li was furious: "That's why I said you don't even bother to understand! Being stuck alive in a game instance is far more terrifying! Imagine your consciousness being completely suppressed, forced to run around like a robot as an NPC—do you think that's a good thing?"

No one knows why Xiao Li broke down, since it was, strictly speaking, just a game system.

【I know, I know.】

Yu Shijiu didn't even bother to hide his perfunctory attitude; he yawned and said:

"Fatty, are you hungry?"

The frequency of this sentence was ridiculously high. Lu Chusheng completely ignored the words "Are you hungry?" and simply assumed that Yu Shijiu was calling his name.

"Meow."

"Looks like they're hungry."

Yu Shijiu nodded seriously: "It's getting light, we should go to the cafeteria to find some breakfast."

As for the sacrificial ceremony tonight... well, we'll talk about that later.

Yu Shijiu really couldn't believe that the BOSS still hadn't appeared even though it was the last day.

What kind of behavior is this, hiding and showing their true colors?! They're the core of a game instance, isn't it a bit inappropriate to be so afraid of dying?

Lu Chusheng followed along helplessly.

Let's eat... It's good to be full and not hungry anymore.

----------

Compared to Yu Shijiu's cheerful departure to the cafeteria, He Lingling and Sun Qin, who were in their cabin on the second floor, looked rather grim.

Wu Huimin has been missing since last night.

He Lingling went out to look for them once in the early morning, but she didn't see a single trace of Wu Huimin's people, let alone any of the other strange NPCs.

Where could she go?

After Sun Qin woke up, she went to wash a towel to wipe Shi Yuan's hands and face on the bed. She was so busy that she asked him casually.

"who knows?"

He Lingling's tone was not good; she had barely slept all night.

"Ugh."

Sun Qin, being quite understanding, reached out and patted her hand, then carefully wiped the spaces between Shi Yuan's fingers, who had her eyes closed, until they were completely clean.

"It shouldn't be a big deal if we can't find Wu Huimin," Sun Qin hesitated, wondering whether she should wipe Shi Yuan's feet as well. "I don't think it's very likely that she's the BOSS."

"Not big?"

He Lingling was a little annoyed: "I think it's quite big."

These were said in anger, but the possibility that Wu Huimin is the BOSS is very small... If she really is the BOSS, then Wu Huimin is being far too "kind" as the BOSS.

The two were chatting when they heard a game system notification.

The notification sound indicating the remaining number of players silenced He and Sun.

He Lingling's hand froze as she got up to grab the cup.

Sun Qin's movement of bending down to wipe Shi Yuan's feet also froze in place, motionless.

After a long while, the two people, who looked as if they had been frozen, slowly began to move.

He Lingling filled a glass with water, and the icy water flowed down her throat and into her stomach, making her shiver.

What do you mean... there are only ten players left alive?

There were at least thirty players when they entered.

Not a single player died in the past few days, but more than twenty died in just one night?! What terrible news is this?! This news is so terrifying that even He Lingling wants to question it.

How could so many people die at once last night when no one died a few days ago?

Sun Qin was also startled, holding Shi Yuan's foot and looking up in astonishment:

"Is this... is this what I understand it to mean?"

"……should be."

Although she didn't know what Sun Qin meant, He Lingling nodded nonetheless.

Feeling utterly exhausted, she plopped down next to Sun Qin and sighed deeply.

"What I'm worried about now is that if that's the case... then I'm probably not the only one who will be sacrificed tonight."