While constantly grumbling inwardly, Song Ren also controlled Ethan and caught up to the mysterious old woman.
Wearing a black hooded robe and leaning on a skull-topped staff, she looked like a sacrificial witch.
It had a very strong religious vibe.
One has to admit, horror games, paired with religion and occultism, are a perfect match.
Including in Dark Souls and Bloodborne, as well as Nebula Games' first horror game Outlast, it can be said that all contained related religious content.
Suddenly, that somewhat grim atmosphere seemed to sweep over them.
When Ethan caught up to the old woman, she also stopped and muttered incomprehensible words.
'From birth to death, glory to...'
Ethan looked at the strange old woman in front of him and cautiously asked.
'Hey, hello? You shouldn't be out here, it's too dangerous.'
'Hey, can you hear me?'
Hearing Ethan's words, the old woman slowly turned around, revealing a sinister smile.
'It's you! The child's father.'
Song Ren's spirits lifted. Here it comes! Here it comes!
The clue for the main story quest is here!
Clearly, this game, like The Witcher: Wild Hunt, is about finding a daughter.
Except one is an adult daughter and the other is still an infant girl.
In the game, Ethan also reacted immediately.
'Child? Wait... are you talking about Rose? Is she here?' Ethan asked urgently.
The old woman in front of him burst into laughter: 'Rose? Rose! Yes!'
After a brief fit of wild laughter, the old woman stared intently at Ethan: 'She is in danger. After Mother Miranda brought her into the village, we have fallen into darkness!'
'The castle bells announce danger! They are coming!'
Watching the old woman turn and leave, Ethan stepped forward, wanting to press her further.
'Wait! Where is Rose? And who is Mother Miranda?'
But the old woman ignored Ethan completely and walked straight towards the village gate.
'The bells toll for us... they are coming again!'
'Uh hahahaha... hahaha!'
Amidst the old woman's wild laughter, she 'thoughtfully' closed the big iron gate for Ethan.
By the time Song Ren could control Ethan again, he looked at the closed gate in front of him, utterly speechless.
Riddler-like behavior, plus one.
If you know something, just say it directly; if you don't know, say you don't know. What's with this mysterious act?
And if you're going to leave, just leave. Why did you lock the big gate on him?
Can't handle losing, can you?
After grumbling inwardly for a bit, Song Ren wasn't in a hurry to find a way out, but continued to wander around the village.
Looking at the map, he still hadn't found collectibles in many houses.
Moreover, all the monsters in the village now seemed to have been affected by the previous bell tolls and had all disappeared.
So, the village seemed safe for now.
Soon, not far away, Song Ren found a stone gate with two reliefs on it, whose figures seemed to be angels and devils, but the faces of both reliefs were missing.
Clearly, this meant players had to find two stone carvings and fill in the empty spaces.
Without much effort, he found one of the stone carvings in a room, and at the same time, several portraits in the room also caught his attention.
The large portrait in the very center was of a woman wearing a strange headdress and mask.
Was this the so-called Mother Miranda?
Song Ren guessed. And to her left was a woman wearing a lady's hat and a string of jewelry around her neck.
"Hehehe..." Looking at the photo of the noblewoman, Song Ren couldn't help but let out a snicker.
If he had to say what attracted him most before playing this game, it was undoubtedly the figure in the photo before him.
A very big BOSS.
Big in every sense of the word.
What a pity he was only seeing a photo, not the real thing!
Song Ren felt a little regret. As for the other three, there was an ugly, hunchbacked deformed person resembling a dwarf, a doll, and a very cool man wearing a cowboy hat and round sunglasses.
"The ultimate BOSS and her Four Heavenly Kings underlings?"
Looking at the five portraits in front of him, Song Ren also recalled the dark fairy tale from the beginning.
It was clear there was an allegory then; the old witch at the end undoubtedly corresponded to Miranda.
Then Bat Lord, Iron Warhorse, Deep Sea Fish King, and Dark Weaver clearly corresponded to the four Heavenly Kings.
He just didn't know who corresponded to whom.
As a veteran gamer who had played many games, Song Ren immediately made the connection.
After a detour, seeing the house on the map change from red to blue, Song Ren left again.
Next up was the outsider's scavenging segment.
Until every house on the map turned from red to blue, he just wouldn't feel right!
While searching for the second stone carving, passing through a patch of reeds into a farmhouse, Song Ren also encountered a pure and adorable girl named Elena and her father, who had been injured by monsters.
The girl was quite good-looking, but her old man was rather annoying.
Kind-hearted Ethan helped them open the door, but was then sarcastically disliked by the old man.
"In my experience, an old man like you definitely won't survive more than two or three episodes, but a cute girl like her might make it to the grand finale." Song Ren grumbled inwardly.
After a short cutscene, Song Ren, the girl, and her injured father entered the farm, which was the house of Luisa, mentioned earlier on the radio.
There were seven or eight other people sheltered inside: a heavy drinker, a constantly weeping woman, and a critically injured, unconscious man lying on the sofa.
Everyone was sighing with sorrow. And through conversation with Luisa, Ethan also obtained some crucial information: namely, that everyone in the village worshipped a being called Mother Miranda.
It seemed Miranda had always protected them in the past, but for some reason, this time so many strange monsters had appeared.
Just as Song Ren was still pondering the connection between Miranda, the village, and the werewolves.
Elena's father, that annoying old man, suddenly let out a painful roar, and with a swift swing of his hand and blade, chopped to death Luisa, who had stepped forward to care for him.
Instantly, the entire room erupted in chaos. The drunkard who had been causing internal strife was the second to fall, bitten to death. Women screamed, trying to escape, but were similarly tackled by the old man and had their necks bitten through.
The kerosene lamp ignited the house, and blood splattered across the floor.
At this moment, the old man, transformed into a werewolf, lunged at Ethan.
His gaping maw opened wide, every tooth clearly visible.
"Damn you! I knew this injured old man was a hidden danger!"
Song Ren shivered, but wasn't actually scared, just a little startled.
Just as the old man's teeth were about to sink into Ethan's neck...
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and Elena, holding a shotgun, blasted her own father away.
'I'm so sorry, Dad...'
Holding the shotgun and saying 'I'm sorry,' looking at the old man lunging at her, Elena decisively fired another shotgun blast.
"Holy cow, filial daughter! Iconic scene! But well done!" Song Ren frantically controlled Ethan to get up, looking at the slightly sad Elena, holding the shotgun, and couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up.
Although this also presented an iconic 'filial daughter' scene, the feeling brought by Elena was clearly completely different from when Jaina brought down her father Daelin in Warcraft.
After all, Elena took down her unconscious father, while Jaina's action was more like 'turning her elbow outwards.'
"Just for that performance of yours, girl, you'll definitely make it to the grand finale!"
(End of Chapter)
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