Chapter 164: Ghost Shadows in the Abandoned Village
As expected, this round's mission was just as Li Zhi had predicted: explore to accumulate likes, and once the like count reaches five million, the stage would be cleared. The system even emphasized “before dying” in the mission’s preconditions, clearly indicating this abandoned village was extremely dangerous, with the constant threat of death during the exploration.
According to the system’s rules for likes, even if a single viewer stayed in her stream 24 hours a day and gave one like per hour, a hundred thousand viewers would only yield 2.4 million likes.
Li Zhi glanced at the real-time viewer count in the upper-right corner: 62 people.
Great, three more than the starting number.
How to quickly gain five million likes and that level of traffic? As a supernatural exploration streamer, the more thrilling the content, the higher the traffic.
For instance, the barrage of comments was already urging her to go dig up the Liu family ancestral tomb.
Clearly, this was the trap the system had set for the player. If one only explored in a safe, routine way, the like count would never meet the clearance threshold, and they'd be trapped here forever. The only way to get higher engagement was to constantly flirt with death. As the traffic surged, so did the danger.
Li Zhi recalled flipping through the Supernatural Exploration Guidebook earlier, which recorded a method of summoning spirits at midnight. Summoning ghosts in a haunted village was the height of recklessness—and therefore perfect for gaining views.
Still, there was an even better way to grab attention fast: uncovering the truth behind the Liu Family Village’s chained family massacre.
According to the comment feed, it was the village chief’s son—who had bipolar disorder—who had gone on a rampage one night, killing several households in the village before finally slaughtering his own family.
But the truth couldn’t be as simple as a mental breakdown. To massacre multiple families in a single night without any resistance from the victims, the killer had to be a strong young man. As the village chief’s son who grew up in Liu Family Village, he wouldn’t have gone on a killing spree unless provoked by something extreme.
After all, bipolar disorder isn't sudden. If he had shown signs earlier, the villagers wouldn't have been so defenseless, and the chief wouldn't have allowed him to roam freely.
The truth behind the massacre wasn't just juicy content for the in-game audience—viewers outside the game would be equally drawn in. What Li Zhi needed to accumulate wasn’t just five million likes, but also popularity beyond the instance.
She figured that in this solo-style mission, the system must have matched her with top-tier players—likely those in the top ten rankings—otherwise it would defeat the point of a solo competition. If everyone was equally skilled, the contest would be all the more exciting.
Li Zhi quickly settled on a direction. Holding up her selfie stick, she panned around the misty village and smiled, “Babies, I’ve entered Liu Family Village! I’m heading to the village chief’s house next to investigate the infamous massacre. Aren’t you curious too? What triggered the killer’s sudden madness? Which families did he wipe out? Who was killed first? Were there any grudges involved? Come along with your favorite streamer and find out! Click that like button in the top left to show your support—and if you’re scared, share this stream with your friends so we can explore together!”
Viewers outside the instance were laughing hysterically:
【Lychee, why are you so good at this?!】
【You actually called them “babies”! You never called us that! Aren’t we your old babies?!】
【She sounds too legit. Feels like she’s about to start plugging links any second now.】
【Clearly watches a lot of live streams off-camera.】
【No wonder—she’s an actress! She really sells the role. The other top players can’t compete on this front.】
After Li Zhi spoke, the bullet comments in her stream surged, and viewers finally stopped yelling at her to go dig up graves. Everyone’s knowledge of the ghost village was just hearsay—there had been no major news coverage back then, so they were just as curious about what really happened.
Especially the fact that the killer turned his blade on his own family in the end. With its heavy supernatural vibe, many speculated that he had been possessed by vengeful spirits and was exacting revenge on the chief’s family for harboring the killer.
While the chat was busy discussing, Li Zhi switched to a head-mounted phone rig. Though a bit awkward looking, it freed up both hands. She grabbed an iron pick from her backpack and began ascending the crumbling stone steps.
The entire village was in ruins. From the elevated entrance, she could see that most of the yellow-earth houses had collapsed. Farmlands lay fallow, the sky above was heavy and oppressive, and the surrounding mountains looked faded and gray.
There wasn’t a single living soul here.
Walking on the weed-infested mud path, Li Zhi glanced down at the cracked sunflower pendant in her palm.
This instance had no NPCs. Li Jianxi had no role to play.
Even if he did, he’d only exist as a wandering ghost stuck in Liu Family Village.
Li Zhi sighed softly and put the pendant away, choosing not to summon him.
He had already suffered greatly in the last instance, turning into a half-human, half-butterfly monster. Being a ghost wouldn’t be any easier. If the system’s punishment wasn’t over and she summoned him, he might be cast as one of the massacre victims, forced to relive the pain of being hacked to death over and over again.
Forget it. She couldn’t bear that.
The house closest to the village entrance had a collapsed wall, exposing the beams inside. Dirt and broken tiles were piled everywhere, and dead grass sprouted from the mounds like a neglected grave.
Li Zhi climbed over the mud wall and used her iron pick to clear away the weeds, revealing decaying wooden furniture. Against a cracked wall sat a ladder. These earthen-tiled houses were originally two stories tall, with the second floor made of wooden planks—but now the planks had caved in, and from the first floor, one could see the gaping hole in the roof above.
Aside from the large furniture that couldn’t be carried off, the place had been emptied. Since the massacre happened at night, the victims were likely asleep. Li Zhi carefully inspected the collapsed bed frame but found no bloodstains.
This house likely didn’t belong to any of the victims.
In another room, she found a toppled wardrobe covered in yellowing posters. The mirror in the center was shattered, only the frame remained.
Li Zhi squatted and gently pulled. The door fell apart instantly, and inside the cobwebbed wardrobe hung a red dress.
Why would the previous owners leave behind everything except this red dress?
Li Zhi took it down from the rusty hanger.
It was a vintage-style red dress with short sleeves and a ruffled collar. Though covered in dust and grime, the smooth seams and crisp waistline suggested it was almost unworn.
After inspecting it, Li Zhi dusted it off, folded it, and stuffed it into her backpack.
The chat exploded in panic:
——Streamer!!! What are you doing?! That red dress is clearly cursed! You’re actually taking it with you?!
——Okay, I take it back, you’re not just a pretty face—your guts are legit.
——At this rate, streamer, I don’t think you’ll survive the night...
With her phone mounted on her forehead, Li Zhi couldn’t read the comments, but she didn’t forget her role and cheerfully addressed the viewers: “Babies, I’ve finished searching the first house. It’s at the village entrance and has no bloodstains—so not a crime scene—but it did contain a red dress. I think there might be a story behind it. Let’s keep exploring deeper into the village.”
(continued...)