CIATB Chapter 461: Inside the Ancient Castle
Chapter 461: Inside the Ancient Castle
Upon hearing this, some people who were originally quite worried—worried that they might find too much, that the prizes were too large, and they couldn't guard them in time, leading to them being taken by others—felt relieved.This was perfect now. The small card format made it very convenient for them.
"Long live the class monitor!"
Someone shouted this, and the crowd erupted in a chorus of cheers.
Gu Bei pressed his hands down, signaling them to stop shouting and hurry up with their time!
Thus, the crowd at the entrance of the castle estate immediately dispersed, swarming like locusts and charging into the entire castle estate.
And not even two minutes after they scattered, someone suddenly shouted in surprise:
"I found it! I found a prize!"
Those who heard this looked towards the sound and asked him what prize he had found.
That person gestured with the small card in his hand: "A Fruit Phone!"
"Wow, where did you find it?!"
Someone was puzzled;it had only just started!
"Oh, right here on this lawn. The small card was just lying there. Didn't the class monitor say? The small cards are anywhere and in any corner within the estate grounds, not just hidden inside those buildings!"
Perhaps inspired by this person who had found a Fruit Phone prize first,
Everyone became even more pumped up, as if injected with chicken blood.
...
On the third floor of the castle, the wooden floorboards were tightly fitted, not making any creaking sounds despite their age.
The gray stone walls on both sides were somewhat mottled.
But they were also very clean, as could be seen from the array of brilliant paintings hanging on the walls;it was clear this place was regularly cleaned.
By the arched window on the third floor, the high-quality, colored glass window from that era was pushed open.
A boy with relatively dark skin looked at the large crowd of people on the distant lawn ahead and couldn't help but frown.
He was Dark Killing Explorer No. 1, Little Black Black.
Because one didn't need to use their real name to participate in the game, and his skin was relatively dark,
he had given himself the name Little Black Black.
These five explorers—Little Black Black and the others—had arrived at the castle at 8 o'clock in the morning.
After arriving at the castle and receiving their corresponding equipment, they split up and began acting separately.
They started searching the vast castle for those ten keys.
Little Black Black pulled a phone from his pocket.
It was unclear what brand this phone was, but it was probably some Android phone.
This was the only piece of equipment they had received after arriving at this castle estate, on the lawn.
They could use this phone to receive game information and contact other explorers.
Within this castle estate, ten keys were hidden.
Their phones had the approximate locations of these ten keys.
The hunters did not have these approximate locations;otherwise, the explorers wouldn't be able to play at all.
The hunters could just camp and wait.
The explorers needed to rely on these approximate locations to find the keys.
So, they split up to find two keys each, aiming to find the keys faster and leave this castle estate,
to each obtain the prize money of ten million yuan.
And now, the strange thing was, why had so many people suddenly flooded into this castle estate?
Were they also people participating in this game?
Little Black Black didn't know. He could only use his phone to take pictures and record videos of what he saw, then send them to a group chat.
The group chat included the other four explorers.
The other four explorers all saw the photos and videos Little Black Black sent almost simultaneously.
In the group chat.
Explorer No. 3, Never Forget the Original Intent, said: [Oh my god? How can there be so many people? Are they explorers like us? Or are they hunters?]
Explorer No. 2, Zombie Tyrannosaurus, sneered: [Are you stupid or what? Didn't the Dark Killing game rules say? This time there are only five of us explorers and three hunters. How could there possibly be so many explorers or hunters?!]
Explorer No. 3, Never Forget the Original Intent: [No. 2, can you watch your language? Don't just casually call others stupid.]
Explorer No. 2, Zombie Tyrannosaurus: [You are stupid;I'm just telling the truth.]
Explorer No. 1, Little Black Black: [Alright, stop arguing, be united, okay? Don't be like those god-awful Survivors in Identity V, sabotaging each other!]
Explorer No. 4, Seeking Defeat in the West: [No. 1 is right, everyone be united. There are ten keys! Finish early! Get the money early!]
Explorer No. 5, Kaitou Kid's Older Brother: [Right, everyone be united. Now, let me share my thoughts!]
[About those people No. 1 photographed, I think no matter what their situation is, they seem very much like obstacle NPCs. Don't games often have these kinds of entities that disrupt players? Stirring the waters into utter chaos!]
Explorer No. 1, Little Black Black: [That makes sense. I think so too. If we encounter them later, we could actually make contact. I think those people should be harmless to us. If they were harmful, the game rules should have mentioned it.]
Explorer No. 3, Never Forget the Original Intent: [Okay, I understand. By the way, I want to ask you all a question.]
Explorer No. 1, Little Black Black: [What question?]
Explorer No. 3, Never Forget the Original Intent: [This is my first time playing this game. The game rules and gameplay are very similar to Dead by Daylight and Identity V.]
[I want to ask, if we are caught by a hunter, will we really be killed like in the games?]
As soon as these words appeared, the group chat fell silent for a moment.
Because for this third round, both the explorers and the hunters were participating for the first time.
So, the other explorers couldn't answer this question either!
However, soon, Explorer No. 2, Zombie Tyrannosaurus, cursed: [I said you're stupid, and you, this woman, still refuse to admit it.]
[Isn't it clearly stated in the game rules? And with such a large prize money at the end, do you really think if a hunter catches you, it's just elimination? Don't forget, we all signed agreements. By participating in this game, we are responsible for our own life and death. Of course, if you think it's fine, you can test it out for us—see what happens when you encounter a hunter.]
The chat ended there.
And in the Dark Killing game live stream room,
these audience members with the creator's perspective
were also confused by the sudden appearance of a large group of strangers.
Because this game was only in its third round, and the first two rounds hadn't had this situation.
So, what was going on?
It wasn't until the live stream screen switched to the studio screen,
and that screen displayed lines of bloody text,
that they learned those suddenly appearing people were pretty much as guessed in the explorers' group chat.
They could be treated as accidental intruders in this game.
...
Within the Blue Forest Castle Estate, there were over a dozen different large buildings.
Jiang Ran and many others walked into the largest castle within the estate.
This castle was also the main character of the six words "Blue Forest Castle Estate"—the Blue Forest Castle.
Judging just from its exterior, the castle they entered
was solemn, sacred, and filled with a sense of historical depth.
It had a strong Western flavor, with careful arrangements by the designer everywhere.
Furthermore, the feeling it gave Jiang Ran was one word—big.
It was very wide from left to right, and absurdly tall from top to bottom.
A casual glance revealed windows of all sizes.
Who knew how many rooms and corridors were inside.
It felt like anyone entering here for the first time would definitely get lost.
A long, muffled sound.
The castle's large black door, adorned with countless dark golden patterns, was pushed open by several people.
On the white marble surfaces flanking this tall wooden door were exquisite relief carvings.
The first floor of the castle
was essentially a super large hall.
The kind where you could casually ride a bicycle inside.
It had passages leading in all directions.
Two wooden spiral staircases, one on the left and one on the right, led upstairs.
A casual glance revealed many exquisite murals and Western-style statues.
"Wow!"
Those who entered the castle all exclaimed in unison.
Probably, their mental imaginations of the castle's interior were not as full or shocking as the reality before their eyes.
And Jiang Ran, among the crowd, noticed the super-long woolen carpet beneath his feet.
It felt very soft to step on.