pertwk Chapter 4344 Advantages and Disadvantages
Chapter 4344 Advantages and Disadvantages
Chapter 4344 Advantages and Disadvantages
"When the stars from beyond the heavens twinkle, the sun will eventually return to the sky."
This prophecy comes from a prophet during a time of chaos.
What is a chaotic era?
When day and night were separated, the day belonged to humans and the night to ghosts. This era had clear boundaries and was known as the Age of Order. However, when the sun disappeared and the boundaries between day and night became blurred, the era in which humans and ghosts coexisted naturally became the Age of Chaos.
Six months after the start of the chaotic era, a prophet appeared in Night City.
The prophet spoke many mystical words: he said countless bonds pulled Night of Lancao together, ensuring it would never fall; he said the pheasant no longer howled, and the bear stood proudly in the clouds; he said thorns became a bulwark, and time would seal away hope…
At that time, no one understood what he was saying, and some even thought he was crazy.
Only now, many years later, has it been discovered that everything the prophet said was a prophecy—
Nightland was once a continent, but now the continent has disappeared, and Nightland is held in place by an energy orbit, preventing it from falling into the void.
Nightland was once ruled by the Orchid Clan, whose symbol was the Siberian Falcon. However, the Northern Bear Merchant Guild, along with eight major conglomerates, broke through the Orchid Clan's blockade. The Siberian Falcon became a thing of the past, and the Northern Bear Merchant Alliance stood tall in the Rainbow District.
The iconic Evening Bell of Rolando, three hundred years after the separation of day and night, was suddenly enveloped by a thorny wall. Time stood still inside, and people and objects became wax figures frozen in time. The closure of the Evening Bell also represented the disappearance of hope.
Every word he said came true in later generations.
Therefore, the madman of that time has become a prophet revered by all the residents of Night City.
Every word he uttered and every record he left behind has been meticulously interpreted by later generations.
Among them is this sentence: "When the stars from beyond the heavens twinkle, the sun will eventually return to the sky."
The meaning of this statement was later interpreted by the prophet faction.
The so-called prophetic sect refers to those who call themselves disciples of the prophets. Although no one ever takes them seriously, their interpretations are very popular. All previous prophecies were interpreted by them.
According to the prophetic interpretation, this means that one day in the future, Night City will welcome visitors from the distant void, who will shine like stars; and their arrival will cause the great sun, which has fallen for countless years, to return to the sky, and day and night will be separated once again.
The prophecy became an instant sensation in Night City as soon as it appeared.
Why is it so popular?
Perhaps it's a mix of ghosts and spirits, and humanity is in grave danger?
Or perhaps it's the rigid class system that makes it impossible for anyone to rise above their circumstances, so they yearn for a change to alter everything?
Regardless of the reason, this prophecy has been wildly popular among people in both the permanent and the hidden zones, and has even been regarded as gospel.
That's why everyone welcomes outsiders when they appear in Night City.
In their view, every outsider has the potential to become a shining star, bringing them light.
……
After hearing this prophecy, the Red Clay Team finally understood why Note 1 mentioned that outsiders had an "advantage".
Everyone reveres this prophecy, so when outsiders arrive in Night City, they are highly likely to receive help from the local residents.
Like them, the residents they encountered along the way were extremely welcoming.
The fact that this old lady has invited me to her home for a meal shows the advantages of being an outsider.
But now that we know the "advantages" of this identity, what are the "disadvantages" of it?
Nihu, the leader of the Red Clay Squad, suddenly remembered a detail: when the old lady was telling the prophecy, she mentioned that the people in the Normal Zone and the Dark Zone were very enthusiastic about the prophecy, but she didn't mention the Rainbow Zone at all.
Considering that the Rainbow District is a gathering place for the powerful and wealthy, belonging to the vested interests, this class dislikes "change" the most. Therefore, they may not want the arrival of outsiders, nor do they want outsiders to change Night City.
In other words, the people in the Rainbow District are very likely their enemies.
The disadvantage of one's identity may lie here!
They became saviors of ordinary people, but also thorns in the side of the powerful and wealthy!
After figuring out the true meaning of "Note 1", the Red Clay Team continued to inquire about information about Night City, focusing on two key points.
First, where did the sun go? Or, how can daylight be restored?
If they want to ring the evening bell, they need to separate day and night, and the prerequisite for separating day and night is to regain the day.
Therefore, they are very concerned about this issue.
But the old lady shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either. According to ancient historical records, on the last day of the Age of Order, day and night were still normally separated, but after another day, the sun would no longer appear, and daylight would disappear for no reason.
"Perhaps the higher-ups in Hong District know some of the reasons? But we ordinary people know nothing," the old lady said apologetically.
The Red Clay Team naturally wouldn't blame them and continued to inquire about another point of interest.
Aside from the Great Sun's whereabouts, the second thing they were concerned about was... ghosts!
In the text section of the quest, the description of the ghost is too brief, only mentioned twice: once as "The night belongs to the ghosts" and once as "Who can hunt the boundless ghosts?"
Apart from that, there's no apparent connection between the ghosts and the main storyline.
It's only a rough guess that the ghosts might be from the opposing faction, otherwise they wouldn't be sent to hunt them.
"Are you curious about ghosts?" Hearing the Red Clay Squad's question, the old lady smiled and said, "I do know some information about ghosts."
"Ghosts... They are special. In the world we live in now, they can't show their form. To put it bluntly, they are invisible. You can't see them or touch them."
The Red Clay Team exchanged bewildered glances: "The world we're in now? You mean there are other worlds?"
"Of course there is." The old lady nodded, a flash of reminiscence in her eyes. "The world we live in now can be called the surface world, the place where living people live, the world that we can see and touch."
"And there is the other world, which is the territory of ghosts."
"You can think of the surface world and the inner world as two sides of a coin. It's the same coin, but the front side represents the surface world and the back side represents the inner world."
“Under normal circumstances, this ‘coin’ cannot show both sides at the same time—only one side can be up at a time. The side that is up is the ‘manifest world’ that can be seen and can function normally, while the side that is down will be hidden and become invisible.”
“In the past, when day and night were separated, this ‘coin’ could switch on time: during the day, the surface world was up, which was the manifest world, and we living people could live normally, while the inner world was hidden below, and ghosts could not manifest; at night, it was reversed, the inner world was up and became manifest, ghosts could move freely, and people in the surface world would hide.”
"But later, we couldn't distinguish between day and night anymore, and this 'coin' broke down. It could no longer switch heads or tails on time, and it could no longer keep only one side facing up."
"And so the boundaries between the real and the real worlds began to blur. People in the real world might accidentally step into the other world; and ghosts from the other world could also sneak into the real world..."
The Red Clay Team understood now.
Simply put, Night City can only have one explicit expression.
This expression changes with the division of day and night.
But then daylight disappeared, and the surface world and the inner world became one and the same, both of which can be called explicit expression and implicit expression.
"According to you, humans cannot go to the inner world, and ghosts cannot come to the outer world. So now, things are confused."
What would happen if humans went to the Otherworld?
What will happen when a ghost comes to the surface world?
The old woman thought for a moment and said, "When humans go to the inner world, there are generally only two outcomes: either they perish in the silence, or they are transformed into ghosts in the silence."
"Because in the underworld, only ghost form can survive for a long time."
"When ghosts come to the surface world, they also have two states: one is to hide in various corners; the other is to possess a human body and walk in human form."
Red Clay Squad: "Can the ghost turn into a person?"
The old lady shook her head: "Of course not."
Red Clay Team: "Does that mean there will be no punishment for ghosts entering the surface world?"
The old lady nodded: "That's one way to understand it. However, it can't be said that there's no punishment at all. Ghosts also need to grow. In the inner world, there is dark energy necessary for growth, but in the outer world, this dark energy is quite scarce."
In other words, while ghosts can survive in the surface world, their growth rate will be slower; they can only grow rapidly by returning to the inner world.
"Then how do you determine if a human is possessed by a ghost?" Mud Pot asked seemingly casually.
The old lady smiled and said, "Oh, I don't know."
As she finished speaking, for some reason, the Red Clay Team suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a bit off, and the air was inexplicably cold.
The clay pot was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Thank you for informing me, Grandma. We may need to leave. Only by gathering more information can we fulfill the prophet's prophecy."
After saying this, Ni Hu wanted to leave with the Red Clay Team.
But just then, the old woman suddenly said, "Aren't you curious about why I know so much about ghosts?"
Nihu: "That must be because my mother-in-law is very knowledgeable."
"Knowledgeable? Of course not." The old woman shook her head, a red light suddenly flashing in her eyes, and the smile that had always been on her lips became more eerie: "Because, I am a ghost."
ghost?!
Before the old woman could even be shocked by what she had just said, she suddenly felt herself beside her.
Immediately afterwards, everything went black before the clay pot's eyes, and it lost consciousness.
……
Laplace: "Later, when the clay pot awoke, it and the team members had already arrived in the Otherworld."
"A ghost possessing a human body, brought into the underworld?" Angell raised an eyebrow: "It seems that Mud Pot was wrong before."
"The so-called disadvantage in status is not due to the targeting of the powerful and wealthy in the Rainbow District, but rather... the targeting of the Ghosts."
Laplace nodded: "Yes, the clay pot also reflected on its actions after being thrown into the Otherworld..."
The reason the Red Clay Squad was targeted by the Ghosts was precisely because of their status as "outsiders."
They look different from the people of Night City, like fireflies in the dark. So conspicuous, they naturally attract the attention of humans possessed by ghosts.
Therefore, note what was mentioned in point 1: the disadvantage brought about by one's identity is undoubtedly that being too flamboyant will attract unwanted attention.
Angel: "Are all the squads trapped in Night City Evening Bell, unable to leave or log off, because they've all entered the Otherworld?"
Laplace nodded: "You guessed right."
"After the Red Clay Squad entered the Inner World, a special status message appeared in the text box."
"You have been subjected to a spirit-breaking attack by 'Fassan (possessed by a ghost)'."
"Your resistance to spirit-attribute attacks is 0; this attack saving attempt has failed."
"You have entered the Otherworld."
"You have gained the special status of 'Ghost Transformation'."
This text contains two expandable entries: "Spirit Breaking Attack" and "Ghost Transformation".
"Spirit-Breaking Attack: A unique spiritual attribute ability of ghosts. Upon contact with a living being, it will automatically trigger a resistance check for spiritual attribute attacks; if the resistance fails, the target's soul will be directly banished to the underworld."
Clearly, the Red Clay Squad had no resistance to spirit-attribute attacks and was instantly sent into the inner world.
After entering the inner world, they all became afflicted with the special status of "ghost transformation".
"Ghost Transformation: If a soul lingers in the underworld for too long, its spiritual consciousness will be assimilated by the underworld and eventually transform into a ghost."
"Countdown to the end of the conversion: 30 days"
"Note 1: During the transformation process, you cannot manipulate any text boxes or exit the level, but you can explore the inner world."
"Note 2: The ghost transformation state will stop after leaving the Otherworld."
no doubt.
This status confirms that the various squads are trapped in the inner world and are unable to log off or send messages out.
It can also be inferred that all the squads were actually tricked by their "identity".
Their conspicuous "outsider" status not only failed to bring them help, but also attracted ghosts, who then tossed them one by one into the underworld...
But then again.
This "ghost transformation" may seem terrifying, but it's actually not that bad.
The supposedly 30-day extended conversion period is purely for show and has no real meaning.
Because after 30 days, the Sandbox Wonderland will be closed, and the fallen team will be automatically declared the loser and then teleported out.
Therefore, this 30-day period is essentially telling the team trapped in the Otherworld not to panic. If they really can't find a way out, they should stay in the Otherworld obediently until the Sandbox Wonderland ends.
Having determined the truth behind the fall of each squad, Angel is now more curious about... what the Otherworld is like?
And most importantly, how did the Rabbit Hole team rescue the Red Clay team?
Keep in mind, they haven't even entered the real-life Night City Evening Bell yet.
And shouldn't the Dream version of Night City Evening Bell be a small team experiencing a dream?