Super Righteous Player
Chapter 527 - 68 Inside the Web, Only the Spider Remains Unharmed_1

Chapter 527: Chapter 68 Inside the Web, Only the Spider Remains Unharmed_1

"Let me see... if my judgment is correct,"

Annan slowly said.

Since this copy only had one chance to clear.

Annan’s original plan—to set the mill on fire before entering to see what happens—was no longer an option.

That would have easily resulted in NE.

But to solve the puzzle, one couldn’t simply go with the flow.

One had to approach it in the opposite way.

Annan had already learned from Naifertali about the tragic fate of Ian’s family.

—Due to the conspiracy of the "Black Widow" devotee "Deword," poison was deployed in the mushrooms. The lumberjacks, either in hopes of curing themselves or due to past grievances, turned against the only unpoisoned "Ian’s family," seeking the "antidote" made from their livers.

In the end, they murdered Ian’s family, whose corpses transformed into the toxic spores that enshrouded the Sporogenesis Mill, consuming everyone inside and giving birth to Nightmare: Spore Mill.

And for things to develop to this stage... it was all because the messenger Glover arrived too late. He brought a message from Master Seti, but it was already too late.

—It seemed like a reasonable sequence of events.

But if you look at these three incidents side by side, you can immediately spot the problem:

If the messenger had already gone to find Master Seti, why didn’t Deword immediately flee?

Master Seti was the Underground Federation’s most powerful idol Wizard, a true Gold-rank Wizard—and also an "old wizard," an elderly Ritualist.

What made Deword dare to stay? Did he think he could deceive Master Seti with his plot?

Or rather... did Deword somehow predetermine that Master Seti wouldn’t come back with the messenger? Or did he know when the messenger would return?

And moreover.

"Messenger Glover..."

Annan inquired, "Did you really go to find Master Seti?"

"Of course I—"

Glover let out an emotional voice, stepped forward, and excitedly said, "Three days! Just wait three more days, and Master Seti will be here!"

"What good will it do when he arrives?"

Faced with this exaggerated act, Annan calmly retorted.

All the infected, that is, the lumberjacks, were already dead inside the Sporogenesis Mill. The poison was no longer spreading but was trapped inside the house... Did they really need Master Seti to "detoxify" it?

And moreover, if the lumberjacks suspected someone deliberately poisoned them, why didn’t they suspect that a devotee of the Black Widow had infiltrated their ranks?

Or rather... did they really not suspect? Not even a single person?

Thinking this far, one was already very close to the truth.

Upon hearing this, Glover hesitated for a moment.

He sized up Annan, was silent for a long time, and then suddenly laughed.

"...It seems I have succeeded in the end after all."

He said cryptically.

And by doing so, admitted his own guilt.

Clearly, Glover had recognized—this was a nightmare.

"But how did you guess it?"

Glover asked with interest, "How many times did you try?"

Annan didn’t answer the second question.

He simply replied calmly, "It’s simple, since all the parties involved are already dead..."

The information about "the lumberjacks suspecting someone poisoned them" and "their demand for an explanation."

Who then spread these details?

Or rather...

—Did Deword really die? How could they be certain that Deword was dead? Did they use a ritual to confirm that "Deword" had passed away?

Then, how could they prove that the devotee of the Black Widow was this deceased "Deword"?

After eliminating all the impossible answers, the remaining one must be correct—not to mention, Annan had no second option in front of him.

Since the only survivor on scene was the "messenger" Glover.

Then this contradictory and strange narration could only have come from Glover!

Knowing that there was definitely something wrong with Glover, and assuming he was the mastermind behind the scenes, everything became clear when deduced backward.

If Deword and Glover had originally been conspirators.

Then everything had an answer—

Why would Deword—assuming the person who dispatched the message was named "Deword"—why would he spread the news that "the messenger had fled"?

—Because they didn’t want these people to quietly wait for Master Seti.

Why was Deword so audacious even knowing Master Seti might arrive at any moment?

—Because he knew that the messenger either had not really gone to find him, or Master Seti simply wouldn’t be able to arrive in time.

Why did the lumberjacks not suspect that it might be the Black Widow’s doing? If Deword, the lumberjack, and the miller’s family all died inside the Sporogenesis Mill, their bodies torn apart...

Who then, is "Jobe," the character controlled by the player?

The answer is quite simple.

Just as the little bear hinted.

The first name she asked, "Who are you?"

This hints at the question, "Why is there a character named ’Jobe’?"

And the second question was, "Name a dead person—the name of a bystander, a wrongdoer, or a late-arriving messenger."

There is still only one answer to this riddle.

He is both "the bystander" and "the wrongdoer," as well as "the late-arriving messenger."

All these roles pertain to the same person.

Then.

Why wasn’t Jobe, who got lost in the forest and never entered the mill... counted as "one of the survivors"?

"Because ’Jobe’ was already killed by Glover."

Annan replied slowly, "Even though the person is dead, one can tell that the quantity of flesh is wrong.

"Jobe could only die within the Sporogenesis Mill. Otherwise, people would notice... an extra person.

"If you consider it from this angle, you can see it clearly.

"These fairy tale-style riddles, the ’gentle’ mechanism that only increases erosion by 1% with each death, the deliberately leaked ’logout points’... along with so many save points.

"Clearly, the nightmare’s subject’s subconscious is trying to ’prevent Jobe from entering the Sporogenesis Mill’."

Annan spoke slowly.

As he narrated,

The ground behind him began to tremble, and the forest started to flake off piece by piece.

There’s no need to "enter the fairy tale world" at all.

That’s just the nightmare’s subject, hinting at the Purifiers.

Generally speaking, nightmares are the wounds that deceased Transcendents leave upon the world. The will of the nightmare deceives Purifiers, making them fall into traps... Nightmares and Purifiers are naturally adversarial.

But here’s the problem.

What if...

The subject of this nightmare does not wish to harm others?

The obstacles in the middle are only meant to deter.

Why is it that proceeding with the messenger always leads to failure?

This is the biggest hint that Four Dark Decks should have noticed long ago.

"I need to go back and study."

Beyond this, there are many more hints:

The Candy House is "for two people";

"Fairy tales" are untrue;

The guide has no facial features...

All these questions continuously pose doubts to the Purifiers, reminding them:

"Who exactly is guiding the way?"

But, unfortunately,

For many years, not a single person has understood this silent, desperate plea for help.

Because the one guiding the way—

"...is the spider."

Annan sighed, "I had hoped I was wrong, but unfortunately... it seems I got it right.

"This is going to be problematic."

Behind him, the forest shattered into fragments, and the ground turned to dust.

Except for the small area where Annan stood, the surrounding world had turned into a web.

It looked like a deliciously sweet cake.

Annan turned his head back.

A massive spider was staring at him.

——Ah, that’s right.

"I also overlooked a hint..."

Annan murmured.

Within the [Web]... naturally, only the spider can stay unharmed.