Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 49 Naturally Cold-Hearted

The person knocking on the car window was in his early twenties, carrying a hiking backpack. When he bent down to look at Yan Xun, he smiled politely at him.

“…Wusheng Village?” Mother Yan glanced at the young man again. “It is on the way, though.”

What are you going there for?

She asked curiously.

Wusheng Village is not a tourist destination; it's a remote place. If they hadn't come to attend the wedding, the Yan family probably wouldn't have returned to their hometown.

Yan Xun noticed that her tone was both probing and suspicious, as if Wusheng Village was hiding some secret and was afraid that this young man would discover it—of course, that was obvious.

"It's a terrifying dungeon, how could it not have secrets?" Yan Xun thought to himself.

"Some time ago, someone filmed a short video." Seemingly worried that they wouldn't want to give him a ride, he hurriedly took out his phone and handed it in through the passenger window, which was opened a crack. "I saw the video and was a little interested, so I wanted to come and see it too."

He then pulled out his makeshift recording equipment, saying, "You are the first passersby I've encountered. I don't know why, but the navigation suddenly stopped working..."

"The navigation is broken, and you still dare to come?" Yan Xun thought to himself. "No wonder this is a horror dungeon; there are really people who aren't afraid of death!"

The parents of the Yan family in the front row both saw the short video. In the video, a man was lying on the ground, introducing the red soil on the ground to everyone, saying that it was unique to Wusheng Village and that it was soil that had been soaked in blood. Yan's mother laughed as she watched, "Nonsense."

"An expert once said that this is because there is some substance in the soil..."

She handed the phone back to the young man, saying, "Okay, you can come up now."

"But let me tell you, our village is really boring."

"This is all filmed to deceive people."

"Xiao Yan, move aside and let him sit next to you."

Upon hearing this, Yan Xun moved the luggage next to him to the left and made room for the young man to sit down.

He was a fairly good-looking young man. After sitting down, he first thanked the Yan family's parents again, and then introduced himself—saying that he was a third-year student at Ocean University and was taking advantage of the summer vacation to travel around.

"Ocean University?" Mr. Yan said, "What a coincidence!"

“Our Xiao Yan is about to go to Ocean University.” He looked at Yan Xun in the rearview mirror. “Why don’t you hurry up and talk to your senior more!”

Yan Xun: "..."

How come he didn't know he had this feature?

“I’m Sun Zhao,” he said to Yan Xun. “You can add me on WeChat.” He handed his phone to Yan Xun. “If you have any problems when school starts, you can ask me for help.”

"Yan Xun." Yan Xun took out his phone and added Sun Zhao on WeChat.

Sun Zhao placed his backpack on the ground between his legs, then took off his hat and noticed Yan Xun looking at him. He smiled at Yan Xun again.

He has a small mole on his brow bone and below his eyelashes, and his hair is very black, as if it has been dyed on purpose.

"Is Xiao Yan going back to her hometown during the summer vacation?" Sun Zhao asked, turning her head.

"My cousin is getting married," Yan Xun said.

He stared at Sun Zhao, but in the end he still couldn't tell whether the other party was a player or an NPC... so he could only look away for the time being.

Soon, the car drove onto a straight cement road.

The road was lined with tall metasequoia trees. Although it was summer and the sky didn't get dark too early, the metasequoia forest, which formed almost a "tunnel," blocked out all the light, forcing Yan's mother to turn on the car lights.

The cicadas chirped incessantly on both sides of the road, which Yan Xun found somewhat jarring, but at this moment, on the deserted road, only their family remained.

There was no sound inside the car.

Mrs. Yan stared intently ahead of the car, while Mr. Yan looked down at his phone.

Sun Zhao turned his head to look out the window... For a moment, only the sharp cries of cicadas filled the entire space.

"Something's not right..." Finally, Yan's mother suddenly stopped the car.

"I remember this road shouldn't be like this."

"Are you lost?" Yan Xun asked.

“It has been many years since I’ve been back,” she said to Yan Xun. “I remember there wasn’t this cement road here before, and the metasequoia trees weren’t this tall.”

"But Yan Yu told me that if I followed the cement road, I would find the way into the village."

“This place is really hard to find,” Sun Zhao suddenly said. “I just looked around and couldn’t find any signs. If I hadn’t met Aunt Yan and your family, I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

"This place is indeed hard to find."

“If it weren’t for Yan Xun’s cousin getting married, we wouldn’t have come back…”

Looking at the road ahead, Yan's mother said with some anxiety, "Strange, Yan Yu said this road shouldn't be like this."

He said there was a cement house next to this road.

"After you see the house, knock on the wooden door three times, and the person inside will tell you how to get there."

By this time, it was completely dark outside. Perhaps influenced by the tense atmosphere inside the car, the cicadas chirping outside the window became even more piercing.

'Knock knock knock.'

Yan Xun suddenly heard a very soft sound.

It sounded like something was tapping on the ground.

Soon, he felt something jump on the trunk, causing the back seat to tremble.

'Da da da.'

Yan Xun could feel something coming onto the rear window of the car.

—At this moment, an image of God suddenly appeared in Yan Xun's mind.

In the exceptionally tall metasequoia forest, a car was parked on a cement path, its headlights illuminating the cement road ahead.

But behind them, a dark figure quietly crouched on the rear window, its face pressed against the glass, its head separated from Yan Xun's by only a pane of glass.

The people in the car were unaware that something had quietly climbed onto their vehicle and was still discussing something.

Soon, the thing darted under the car.

At this moment, three large characters finally appeared on the screen representing God—

The Village Without Life

Immediately afterwards, the names of the production company and the lead actor appeared on the screen.

When Yan Xun saw XXX playing Sun Shao, what else did he not understand?

It turns out this world is a horror movie!

"Hey, they're out."

The image of God quickly disappeared from Yan Xun's mind, and Yan's mother seemed to have found the location of the cement house, "It was just blocked by a tree."

At that moment, the people in the car were unaware that while they had stopped to look for the cement house, something had crawled under their vehicle.

—Except for Yan Xun.

Following the cement house she saw, Yan's mother drove for a while longer, but when she actually drove over, she became confused again.

"I clearly saw a house here just now."

Yan Xun looked in the direction she indicated.

It's still the same familiar dawn redwood, almost a copy-paste, with no concrete houses in sight.

"That shouldn't be!" Mrs. Yan muttered. "I clearly saw that house..."

“Aunt Yan.” Sun Zhao, sitting in the back seat, looked a little awkward. “…I was looking ahead the whole time.”

"Although I don't know exactly what you saw."

"But I'm sure it wasn't a concrete house."

"What do you mean?" asked Mother Yan.

Yan Xun was looking at the image of God and hadn't paid attention to the road ahead... When he heard Sun Zhao say this, he couldn't help but look at him.

Sun Zhao's forehead was covered in cold sweat, seemingly from fear or perhaps nervousness.

“I did see the house just now.”

"But it's very, very small..."

"It looks more like a house made of paper, placed by the roadside."

He spoke cryptically, but at that moment everyone understood what he meant by the paper house—

These are offerings burned for the deceased.

Even Yan Xun felt a chill run down his spine.

The previously annoying cicada chirping also disappeared at this moment... as if they had entered some other space.

"Ding ding ding..."

Just then, Yan's father's phone rang.

Everyone in the car was startled. Only after Mr. Yan saw the caller ID did he breathe a sigh of relief and say to everyone, "It's Yan Yu calling."

As he spoke, he turned on speakerphone in front of everyone—

"Aunt, did you and Xiao Yan encounter something on the road?"

"I've been waiting here for a long time, but I haven't seen you."

The voice on the phone was very soft, like a breeze entering the car.

“We’re lost,” Mother Yan said immediately. “We’re on the cement road you mentioned, but we haven’t found the cement house you were looking for.”

Yan Yu seemed to whisper something on the other end, as if asking someone else. Soon after, he said into the phone, "Then wait for me there for a while."

"I've come to find you."

After exchanging a few more polite words with him, Yan's parents hung up the phone.

"Is this your cousin?" Sun Zhao suddenly asked.

"You came here specifically for your cousin's wedding," he said, looking at Yan Xun. "I'm so envious."

"envious?"

"I envy your good brotherly relationship," Sun Zhao smiled. "I have a very bad relationship with my family."

Yan Xun didn't think they were close enough to talk about these things.

He glanced at Sun Zhao beside him, recognizing him as the film's male lead. He then scrutinized Sun Zhao a few more times. "System?"

"System?" Sun Zhao didn't quite understand what he meant. "You're playing a game?"

"It's nothing," Yan Xun said.

While waiting for Yan Yu, he decided to open his own live stream—after clearing the first dungeon, he had the authority to manage the live stream—and when he saw the barrage of comments, he wished he hadn't watched the live stream at all.

[Host, the person's here! When will she start bringing bad luck to her husband?!]

[Hey streamer! Is that your new husband next to you? (Curious) He's pretty good-looking, can you please make sure he doesn't die!]

【Aaaaaah! Honey, you finally opened the live stream!!! Look at me!!!】

[Is this the first time the streamer has participated in a movie-style dungeon? These dungeons are troublesome... especially since cannon fodder characters die so easily...]

[Movie-themed instances can't cause any disturbances beyond the instance's established rules. I've never heard of the movie "No Life Village," is it a new movie-themed instance?]

Yan Xun watched the comments for a while, then closed the live stream.

Because he had already seen a figure dressed in light-colored clothes at the end of the road.

He walked slowly and seemed to have a slight limp. When he saw their car, he immediately waved and then quickened his pace to walk over.

As the person drew closer, Yan Xun finally saw his cousin's face clearly—

His hair was quite long, almost reaching his chest.

He had long, narrow eyes with very narrow double eyelids, and his expression was very indifferent, giving him an impression of a traditional Chinese ink painting. He seemed to be in poor health, with an unhealthy pale complexion and a hint of illness. When he got closer to the driver's seat, he covered his mouth and coughed a few times.

“Aunt,” he said, then nodded to the people in the car, calling out to them one by one, until he paused when he saw Yan Xun.

He peered through the half-open car window at Yan Xun in the back seat. "You're Yan Xun?"

"This is our first meeting. I am Yan Yu."

He quickly looked away, seemingly uninterested in his suddenly appearing cousin. When he saw an unfamiliar stranger in the car, he looked at Yan Xun's mother with some confusion, "Who is this?"

Yan Xun's mother quickly explained Sun Zhao's background.

Yan Yu nodded.

“If you drive a little further ahead, you’ll see that concrete house.”

He said softly, "Maybe it's because the roads here are too similar... that you've gotten a little lost."

"Just follow me."

He said this without any intention of getting on the bus.

Yan Xun's mother was immediately displeased. "Get in the car right now."

"They still give directions in the car, don't they?"

"Xiao Yan, move aside, you and Sun Zhao can squeeze in and let your cousin sit next to you."

Yan Yu, who had been leaning against the driver's seat while speaking, turned his gaze to the back of the driver's seat upon hearing Yan Xun's mother's words. "Ahem... I see there are quite a few things in the back seat, which might be a bit troublesome..."

"What's the trouble?"

"Yan Xun! Hurry up!"

Yan Xun: "..."

He pulled the backpack next to him onto his lap. "Please, cousin."

"Yan Yu, you're not feeling well, so don't stand on ceremony with us," Yan Xun's father chimed in at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Yan Yu lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, he reluctantly said, "Thank you for your trouble."

As he spoke, he reached out and opened the back door of the car, then sat down next to Yan Xun.

The moment Yan Yu got into the car, Yan Xun also smelled a very faint scent... like the scent of incense and candles from a temple, but with a hint of sweetness...

Yan Yu's clothes were very loose, like some kind of traditional clothing. He wore layers of decorations on his chest. Yan Xun couldn't recognize the materials of those decorations, but he felt that they looked like they had been handled and polished, radiating an oily sheen.

Perhaps Yan Xun's observation was too blatant, for Yan Yu looked at him and asked, "What?"

"It's nothing," Yan Xun said, clutching his backpack.

It was summer, and in the movie, he seemed to be very afraid of the heat, wearing knee-length shorts. This cool outfit, compared to Yan Yu who buttoned his shirt up to his Adam's apple, made them seem like people from two different seasons.

"I just feel like my cousin doesn't seem to be bothered by the heat at all."

Yan Xun fanned himself with his hand as he spoke, "I'm about to faint from the heat."

"Don't talk nonsense again!" Father Yan suddenly spoke up, "Don't be so disrespectful to your cousin."

"It's nothing." Yan Yu stopped Yan Xun's father from scolding him, and turned to look at Yan Xun. "I'm naturally prone to feeling cold..."

As he spoke, he reached out and touched Yan Xun's knee, "That's why I usually wear more layers."

"Look." Yan Yu looked at his hand resting on Yan Xun's knee, then looked up at Yan Xun. "Isn't it cold?"