Hu Jiayao, at first glance, saw the person slung over Yang Mingzhong's shoulder wrapped like a mummy, and was so startled he jumped off the table, pulling out his big hammer, holding it up with one hand, and pointing at the person while shouting:
"What the hell is this?!"
His first reaction was that this was probably a ghost from some hidden map, but he quickly realized another problem, "Why can this thing enter the respawn point?"
Only players and player-controlled characters above ten-star level can enter the respawn point of each map, right?
Gu Jinxing couldn't stand it any longer, got up from the sofa, and reached out to help Yang Mingzhong lift the person off his shoulder, "Another player with the Reverse Heavenly Strategy?"
"Possibly." Yang Mingzhong nodded, not making a definitive statement.
Gu Jinxing looked at the man lying flat on the ground and quickly understood Yang Mingzhong's meaning, "Conscious? Can you communicate?"
While speaking, Gu Jinxing waved his hand in front of the person's eyes.
The person immediately nodded vigorously, making "mm mm mm" sounds, as if afraid that if he reacted slowly, these "saviors" would abandon him.
Gu Jinxing became even more curious, staring at the person's face, "You triggered the soul threads, but weren't completely controlled?"
The person quickly shook his head, then after a moment, nodded again.
"Can we postpone the interrogation? Let's figure out how to untie him first." Yang Mingzhong raised his hand, pinched the man's cheek to control his head, "Don't move, I'll start with the mouth."
The man saw the black rhinoceros beetle magnifying infinitely in front of him and, upon seeing the alloy pincers "clacking" in its pincers, went cross-eyed in fear and started struggling with "mm mm mm" sounds again.
"Uh, Brother Mingzhong," Gu Jinxing couldn't help but speak up, "I think, without a clear understanding of Mr. Jiao's temperament, maybe we should try first on fingers or toes, which are less critical parts?
"Just pushing into his mouth now, what if we don't sever the soul threads and instead chew off his tongue or gouge out his eyes..."
As Gu Jinxing said this, the person lying on the ground struggled even more violently, his head outright slipping out of Yang Mingzhong's palm.
Yang Mingzhong helplessly withdrew his hand and shifted his target to the person's hand, "Alright then, let's try the hand first."
He said, glancing warningly at the person on the ground, "If you don't want a finger cut off, you better not move."
The man immediately froze, not daring to move at all.
Yang Mingzhong pinched two fingers tied together, then brought Mr. Jiao close, adjusted the angle, positioning one of the alloy pincers right on the soul thread between the two fingers.
Mr. Jiao's two top antennae twitched, followed by—
With a "swish," the two alloy pincers on its mouth retracted into its head like a switchblade.
Yang Mingzhong paused, tapping Mr. Jiao's head with a finger and pinching the antennae on top of its head.
Mr. Jiao retracted its antennas too, like a turtle withdrawing its head, refusing to reveal its sharp alloy pincers.
Last time, when he tested with a metal rod, it chewed with a crunch, obviously enjoying it, so why is it so resistant now?
Gu Jinxing leaned in, observing, and tried to deduce, "Is it because of the soul threads? Mr. Jiao afraid of soul threads?"
Yang Mingzhong was uncertain, "It's possible."
Gu Jinxing thought for a moment, summoned his chat window from the system, shrunk the laser keyboard to palm size, and placed it next to the man's hand, placing a relatively flexible finger on it,
"Can you type to communicate?"
The person immediately nodded vigorously.
Gu Jinxing: "Great, I'll ask, you type your answer. Are you a player?"
The person seemed to have mastered the single-finger Zen, and with just one question from Gu Jinxing, he began typing rapidly, producing a long response shortly:
"Yes, I'm also a player, I triggered five soul threads, was completely controlled, and stuffed into that equipment room, trapped like in a cocoon, it's terrifying.
"Just now, I heard the NPCs outside selling private lessons, and mentioned something about newcomers, then I heard the voice of the little brother behind, guessed he was also a player, and frantically pounded on the door, seeking help.
"I hardly escaped from the room and saw that little brother running without looking back, felt utterly hopeless, luckily you guys returned, willing to help me.
"Thank you, thank you so much! Thank you for taking me back to the respawn point, I beg you, no matter what, don't abandon me, please don't send me back!"
Gu Jinxing read his reply with a serious expression and then pushed the screen towards Yang Mingzhong opposite him.
Yang Mingzhong's gaze lingered on the long text for a moment before looking towards Gu Jinxing.
Gu Jinxing nodded, displaying an expression of 'I also think the problem is here.'
He looked again at the player lying on the ground and continued to ask, "You triggered the Reverse Heavenly Strategy? Trapped like in a cocoon?"
The person quickly typed again, "Yes, you probably don't know how terrifying it is. Can't see, can't hear, can't move, just waiting indefinitely like a vegetative state, not knowing when it ends, not even having the right to die, it's truly terrifying. If I encounter the Reverse Heavenly Strategy again next time, I'd rather end myself on the spot!"
At this point, even Hu Jiayao, who usually wasn't too sharp, noticed the problem and couldn't help but interject, "Can't see? Can't hear? Can't move? What are you doing now? Aren't you seeing, hearing, and not completely immobile?"
Faced with the skepticism, the man was not flustered at all and immediately began typing again, "No, I was always in that state, until just a short while ago, about... half an hour? Or an hour ago? Anyway, around that time, I suddenly heard the 'zeng! zeng! zeng!' sound in my mind, like a string breaking. After that, I could see, hear, and even wriggle.
"Then I started trying my best to bang on the floor, the equipment, making as much noise as possible to attract people in."
Gu Jinxing and Yang Mingzhong exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.
This doesn't sound like a lie.
So, on this map, a strategy character suddenly lost control of a player...
After leaving the café, Wen Nan quickly arrived at the couple's hotel specified by Sun Yi.
Finding the corresponding room and entering the password sent in advance, Wen Nan walked in.
At a glance at the room's setup, Wen Nan stopped in her tracks.
This themed room... is a bit too literal!
For a moment, Wen Nan even suspected she had crossed over into that old movie called "Flower and Snake," standing on that spotlight-lit stage...