The Villa

53.Toward the Unknown

　　As soon as the incident at the Villa was mentioned, Bai's expression shifted.

　　It was an expression of pure terror.

　　Seeing this, Ning couldn't help but feel curious about what had transpired at the Villa all those years ago.

　　In his eyes, Bai was an exceptionally calm and composed woman.

　　She had faced countless life-or-death situations, and regardless of her experience, her mental fortitude alone was far beyond that of ordinary people!

　　Yet, even someone as composed as Bai was afraid at this moment!

　　However, Bai didn't seem to want to elaborate on the incident, simply stating vaguely,

　　"...After that incident, most of the people in the Villa died... Almost all the veterans were gone. We had no choice but to take their places, inheriting their will, occasionally venturing into some dangerous Blood Gates... completing missions."

　　Although Bai didn't explicitly mention what the incident was, Ning could guess that it had something to do with the jigsaw puzzle piece in the Villa.

　　"They... was it for that puzzle piece?"

　　Bai remained silent for a long time before finally nodding slowly.

　　She sighed.

　　"What would happen if you didn't actively pursue these puzzle pieces?"

　　Ning asked another question that was on his mind.

　　Bai glanced at Ning, a bitter smile on her lips.

　　"I know what you're asking. As long as everyone keeps participating in missions at low-difficulty Blood Gates, their survival rate is greatly guaranteed, especially after obtaining a ghost artifact. It's almost impossible to fail, right? That's what you're thinking, isn't it?"

　　Ning nodded.

　　Indeed, that was what he had thought.

　　Bai sighed again.

　　"In the world of the Mist, every chosen one must go through nine Blood Gates. The interval between the first three Blood Gates is one week, six months between the fourth and sixth, and one year between the seventh and ninth. The difficulty of each Blood Gate increases progressively. Of course, excluding special cases like yours, statistically, the mortality rate of the seventh Blood Gate is already as high as 95.796%. Not to mention the eighth and ninth, which are almost certain death..."

　　"Therefore, in order to leave this place before the seventh Blood Gate arrives and escape the curse, every member of the Villa will try their best to collect puzzle pieces!"

　　"And these puzzle pieces only have a chance of appearing after the fourth Blood Gate."

　　"Only the Villa that assembles the complete puzzle will have the qualification to reach the endpoint of the world of the Mist."

　　Ning frowned.

　　"The endpoint of the world of the Mist, what's there?"

　　Bai shook her head, a look of confusion appearing in her usually clear eyes.

　　"I don't know... no one who has entered the endpoint of the world of the Mist has ever come back."

　　"In that case, how can you be sure that entering the endpoint of the world of the Mist will break the curse of the Blood Gate?"

　　Faced with Ning's sharp question, Bai remained silent for a long time.

　　"Sometimes... you don't necessarily need to be sure of something..."