Welcome to Rule City

Unlike when with Meng Hao, the current formation had Mu Ai leading and Chu Tiankuo following. There was no helping it; she was the weaker one, and he was even weaker than her. This arrangement was for the best for both of them.

Their pace was not fast. To conceal their true intentions, they still picked and bagged edible fruits and wild vegetables along the way, at least to have an alibi when they returned without raising suspicions.

After Chu Tiankuo identified unfamiliar plants for the fourth time, Mu Ai, intrigued, initiated a conversation. “I wouldn’t have guessed, but you have strong wilderness survival skills. You know unfamiliar plants, and you can dive and build shelters.”

Chu Tiankuo chuckled twice, “Heh, my family has a tradition of camping. I learned diving and shelter building from my dad. As for the plants… well, that’s related to my talent.”

Mu Ai nodded in understanding, not prying further about his specific talents. She had no intention of discussing her own, so why bother with his? That Chu Tiankuo was willing to share this much was commendable.

While they collected food and chatted quietly, they walked for about another 20 minutes before Mu Ai suddenly stopped.

“Your Mental Power is weak; I suggest you don’t go any further,” Mu Ai advised as she noticed the increasingly reckless appearance of the trees and plants around them. She turned to Chu Tiankuo and continued, “Believe it or not, I can feel a depressing presence ahead. Someone with low Mental Power like you might not withstand it-of course, it’s just a suggestion. If you insist on going, I won’t stop you.”

The choice was always up to him. Mu Ai was well aware that their partnership with Chu Tiankuo was temporary; it wasn’t her place to command or assign tasks. So, she merely made a suggestion, letting Chu Tiankuo decide for himself.

Chu Tiankuo pondered for only a few seconds before deciding to trust Mu Ai, “Will you share any clues you find with me?”

Mu Ai nodded, “As long as the Instance allows me to, I’ll tell you.”

She wouldn’t hide information from her partner unless revealing it could harm her.

Chu Tiankuo, not voicing whether he believed her or not, seemed only to need a positive response. The handsome young man took the bag from Mu Ai’s hands, his thumb pointing back the way they came.

“I’ll wait for your good news over there. Stay safe.”

With that, Chu Tiankuo turned and left without a backward glance, seemingly indifferent to the secrets hidden in the woods or the dangers Mu Ai had mentioned.

Mu Ai watched his retreating figure for a few seconds before turning her attention to the unknown ahead. If the trees and plants they had passed were merely wild and untamed, those in the distance belonged more to a Cthulhu system narrative.

-All the trees were black, as if someone had thickly painted them. Whether leaves, branches, or the gnarled, twisted trunks, all were the same color.

With no variation in shade and no play of light and dark, it was hard to believe these trees were products of nature.

Despite the dense foliage, from Mu Ai’s angle, the distinct branches were still visible, slender and flexible, rustling in the wind as if some tree spirit were waving its arms.

The tree bark seemed seamless, yet as Mu Ai stared at it for more than ten seconds, countless tiny cracks would appear, revealing objects resembling human eyeballs, exuding endless malice.

They wouldn’t stay open forever. After swiveling around aimlessly for a few seconds, they would quietly close, waiting for the next opportunity to open.

The sunlight hanging over Sunburn Island couldn’t reach into that part of the forest. Even if it broke through the barriers, it only created faint, mottled shadows.

The deeper Mu Ai walked into the forest, the colder it felt, and that strange sense of crisis welled up from within her once more. She had an unexplainable feeling that she was on the verge of uncovering the core secret of the island.

Suddenly, Mu Ai felt something crawl over her foot. Looking down, she saw a weird black mass moving swiftly forward.

It looked familiar. After observing it carefully for a moment, Mu Ai realized-the quaint appearance resembled the Black tentacles on her wrist. Or rather, the tentacles on her wrist were like juveniles, and the moving mass was their mature form.

Mu Ai glanced at the tentacles on her wrist, which seemed excited as if sensing their kin. Would these little things eventually turn into the mass she was now following?

If so, when would that happen?

If not, then where did these Black tentacles come from? Were they shed from a human body?

Mu Ai didn’t stand there pondering. Instead, she quickly followed the moving mass of Black tentacles, discovering that it was not alone-there were dozens, even hundreds of its kind.

They writhed and crawled on the ground and in the shadows, and as they moved, their bodies would spontaneously split.

One became two, two became four, continuously moving, splitting, and multiplying until they quietly covered the entire forest floor.

This sight was unnervingly creepy, and even someone with Mu Ai’s strong mental fortitude, who had seen her fair share of grisly and supernatural scenes, couldn’t help but want to look away.

Everyone has their phobias, right?

Thinking this, Mu Ai continued to follow the tentacles towards their destination.

Good news: With more tentacles, it was easier to follow the trail.

Bad news: The Contamination Value started to increase at a steady rate of +0.1.

Fortunately, these creatures didn’t travel far. After about 3-4 more minutes, Mu Ai noticed they began to converge towards a point until they burrowed under a black stone and disappeared.

Mu Ai cautiously approached the stone, upon which were inscribed strange symbols that should have been pictographs or the language of the locals. Yet, for some reason, the words that formed in her mind were in Chinese:

“Abandon your former body, gracefully accept the new changes, and you will draw closer to the gods.”

“New changes must refer to the Black tentacles,” Mu Ai mused, interpreting the stone’s message as some twisted doctrine-no sane person would willingly accept such changes unless they were brainwashed, turned into Believers of the Evil God.

She was certain she didn’t believe in such things. Just the thought of turning into an Abnormal Species made Mu Ai unwilling to accept it. She would rather die in human form than live as a mindless monster.

Like the Fish-Head Thinker from the Testing Ground-was that even living? Or rather, was that still the original person?

“Since there’s one stone, there should be a second and a third.” Mu Ai opened the Rulebook and saw her Mental Pollution had reached 29, deciding to speed up to endure a bit longer.

Her guess was correct. In that forest, Mu Ai found three more black stones, each inscribed with:

“Gods favor clean sacrifices, pray devoutly every day to be purified.”

“When dark clouds cover the sun, it is time to perform Rituals and offer sacrifices for protection.”

“Believers have the freedom of choice, and no one should interfere with this freedom.”

After reading all the stones and not wanting her Contamination Value to increase further, Mu Ai quickly left the terrifying forest. Once she stepped back into the blazing sunshine, she couldn’t help but shiver comfortably, the unsettling chill instantly dispersing.

Chu Tiankuo had indeed kept his promise and was waiting. The two bags by his side were packed full, easily enough to deceive Song Yu and the others.

Seeing Mu Ai emerge whole, Chu Tiankuo also breathed a sigh of relief, quickly picking up the two bags and joining her as they headed back, eagerly asking what clues she had found.

Mu Ai recounted what she had seen, emphasizing the regular jumps in Contamination Value and the tentacles, before discussing the content on the black stones.

“Clean sacrifices probably mean people who haven’t grown tentacles, or have very few,” Mu Ai analyzed as she took her bag from Chu Tiankuo and continued walking. “Accepting one’s new form probably means when tentacles exceed a critical point. As for the timing of the Rituals, do you think it’s related to when the ship arrives?”

“I believe so,” Chu Tiankuo nodded, then commented, “It’s contradictory, wanting cleanliness yet accepting one’s changes.”

Mu Ai nodded, holding up two fingers, “Different missions for two factions. Civilized People might want us to accept it since they don’t have a way to restrain or reduce the growth of tentacles. Indigenous People probably aim for purity; their leader hinted at this before.”

Chu Tiankuo clicked his tongue, “Feels like a trap on both sides. Choosing either seems like death.”

Mu Ai shook her head, “Trust no one’s sweet words, just survive on your own.”

Chu Tiankuo looked regretful, “Had I known, we shouldn’t have chosen sides at the start.”

Mu Ai glanced at him, replying coolly, “You can still opt out now-I’ve told you all the information and analysis I could find. Just to be clear, I’m off to do my task next. It’s dangerous, and I don’t recommend you follow, but if you insist, you must follow my lead all the way.”

Hearing Mu Ai’s words, Chu Tiankuo seriously weighed his options and finally, as the outline of the Civilized People’s camp became visible, he made up his mind.

“Can I survive on my own until the end?”

Mu Ai considered his question seriously before answering, “Your wilderness survival skills are excellent. If you stay away from dangerous areas and avoid looking at the sea at night, assuming no accidents, your tentacles won’t grow much, and you can definitely last until the rescue ship arrives.”

The Instance wouldn’t be endless. Based on what they had discovered so far, surviving until the rescue ship arrived while keeping the tentacles below a critical threshold was the simplest way to clear the game.

“That’s what I thought,” Chu Tiankuo said with a bright smile. “I’m not the brightest, and my Mental Power is weak, so I won’t hold you back. Let’s go our separate ways when we get back to camp. Here’s to your success.”

“Thanks for your good wishes, and I wish you a smooth exit from the Instance,” Mu Ai replied earnestly, then returned to the camp with Chu Tiankuo.

It was time to prepare for switching factions. Mu Ai gazed at the nine tentacles on her wrist, calculating how to convince Song Yu that she was heading to the Indigenous People’s camp on a mission.

Similarly, Mu Ai needed a good excuse to convince the Indigenous leader that her initial choice to join the Civilized People was out of necessity, and that her defection needed a plausible reason.

Being a Double agent was indeed very interesting.