Chapter 108: Entering the Curse
One hour later.
Marcus's storage box contained two more items: tactical armor custom-made for 200 survival points, and a pile of specialized grenades.
He wasn't sure if the armor could dispel evil spirits, but even if it couldn't, it was still effective protection.
After resting for half a day, Marcus arrived at the Shadow Hall.
Since both reality and the Base were dangerous, the only thing he could do was to seize the time to become stronger.
"Enter the story world ahead of schedule!"
[Identity information locked, System number: SL914]
[Anchored world this time: "Incantation"]
[Teleportation countdown: 5 seconds.]
[4 seconds!]
[3 seconds!]
Space twisted, and Marcus had already passed through a barrier, appearing high in the sky. The terrain below showed a mountainous region.
Marcus sensed the information transmitted by the system.
World: Incantation
[Survival Mission: Survive for 30 days (Complete the mission, reward 500 survival points.)]
[Story Mission 1: Destroy the Mother Buddha Deity (Complete the mission, reward 4000 survival points)]
[Number of Entrants: 1]
[Descent Countdown: 10 minutes (Enter Now)]
The Mother Buddha Deity!
Marcus recalled its origins in the story. It was said to be a malicious cult entity from Southeast Asia, which by chance spread to the Hsu family in a remote mountain community, where they worshipped it for fortune.
This was an evil spirit that sacrificed children. The Hsu family sacrificed children in their clan, using the children's flesh to feed the Mother Buddha. As the deity's evil power and influence grew, they suffered a backlash, and the entire clan was cursed.
To protect themselves, they placed the Mother Buddha Deity inside a Buddha statue, trapping her in a winding cave within their ancestral grounds. They scrambled the order of the symbols inside, pointed a clay formation towards a dead end, and used a mirror to reflect the Mother Buddha's evil thoughts within the cave.
But this wasn't enough to break the curse of the Mother Buddha.
To lessen the curse, they reversed the sacred hand gesture, a Buddhist symbol of accumulating merit, creating their own unique cursed hand gesture that subtly spreads the curse and shares its burdens. They also developed special incantations to accompany it.
Simultaneously, they maintained a sacrificial ritual; the clan's only young girl had been chosen as an offering, and her finger had been cut off and offered to the Mother Buddha.
This so-called Mother Buddha Deity was clearly a malevolent, demonic entity; calling herself the Mother Buddha would be enough to provoke any real divine force.
In the movie, ordinary people who watched the video inside the Mother Buddha's cave all died, but the high-ranking Buddhist monk named Master Yuan watched it twice without incident.
"Enter immediately!"
A series of chaotic footsteps reached his ears, and Marcus instantly opened his eyes.
Before him was a street in a small mountain town; the shops and cafes on both sides were open, but three young men in casual clothes were yelling and rushing towards him.
"What's going on? A street brawl?"
Marcus frowned slightly, but he didn't sense any murderous intent and noticed there were onlookers nearby.
With a slight push, he sent two young men to the ground, rolling around.
The remaining young man in the middle, with styled hair, was stunned.
Marcus reached out and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up, intending to ask what was happening.
"Stop, stop!"
A portly middle-aged man with a megaphone rushed over, shouting.
"Cut! Director Chen, put him down! Put him down!"
At the director's shout, a group of people instantly surrounded him.
"Dylan, is Dylan alright? Are you hurt?"
A woman in professional attire quickly ran to the young man with styled hair.
"This is hilarious! He's gotten so carried away, he's even lifted up the lead actor!" The onlookers murmured and laughed.
Marcus turned around at the sound and realized there was a row of cameras following him. He immediately understood—it was a film shoot—and gently put the young man down.
He then recalled the information about the body.
This time it was a burly, muscular man, about 6'1", with a shaved head and goatee. He was a spiritual medium, known as the "Iron Bearer," during the annual local religious festival.
This was his traditional role; he could earn a living by performing once a year.
But the job wasn't easy. The so-called "Iron Bearer" was an iron sphere covered in spikes. During each festival, Ronan would swing the Iron Bearer back and forth, striking the man's back until it was bloodied.
Each festival usually required him to stay bedridden for half a month.
However, the spiritual medium held a very high status in the area.
This time, he was just bored and heard that a distant relative was filming a movie, so he came to participate, playing a minor role and earning some extra money.
Actually, given his status, he wouldn't be short of cash, but he insisted on earning his keep, so the director gave him a minor role as a security guard acting alongside the lead actor.
But as soon as Marcus arrived, this security guard pushed over two supporting actors, then grabbed the lead actor by the collar with one hand and lifted him up like a ragdoll.
It was only because of his status as a spiritual medium that he could manhandle the popular young actor they had hired, and the director even held back his anger.
If he really scolded Marcus, he would face consequences from the community elders.
"Sorry, I was distracted. Are you alright?"
Marcus, having learned his identity and the situation, awkwardly asked the young man, Dylan, who had been grabbed.
Dylan's eyes were red, his lips were pursed, and he shook his head slightly.
The middle-aged woman next to him quickly comforted Dylan, glared at Marcus, and handed him tissues while helping touch up his makeup.
Marcus took the opportunity to check the time on his phone: November 10, 2020.
"Are we good? If so, let's start again."
"Action!"
The director, seeing that Marcus and Dylan had calmed down, spoke up.
Marcus cooperated with the nervous Dylan several times before finally finishing his minor role, leaving the set with a noticeably thicker payment envelope.
He recalled the plot; the female lead, Li Ronan, should have taken custody of her daughter, Dodo, from her foster father in November.
It was already November 10th; he wondered if she had taken Dodo yet.
This woman, Li Ronan, had signed a contract with the Mother Buddha Deity while pregnant, ignoring the Hsu family's warnings to break into the cave where the demon was imprisoned, resulting in complications and her drinking blessed water to preserve the pregnancy.
Of the three people who entered the cave, only she survived, precisely because her unborn child had been chosen by the Mother Buddha Deity—something she herself knew.
Master Yuan told her not to show the video of the Mother Buddha's cave to outsiders, but she showed it to her parents and the authorities. Everyone who saw it died, yet she kept the video.
The birth of her daughter brought her no joy, nor did she feel like a mother. She knew the Mother Buddha Deity kept her alive because her daughter was destined to be a sacrifice. To avoid developing too much affection for her daughter, Li Ronan sent her to foster care shortly after birth, entrusting her to welfare institutions.
As her daughter, Dodo, grew up, she began planning to hand her over to the Mother Buddha Deity. On the day she brought her daughter back, even the "welcome" banner in the room was misspelled as "we come."
The Mother Buddha Deity needed to know Dodo's real name to fully possess her. A video from six months ago at daycare clearly showed the deity's presence near Dodo, but she couldn't actually touch her.
Everyone believed Dodo's real name was what was on her foster care documents, and even Dodo herself thought so.
In November, the first thing Li Ronan did after taking her daughter Dodo home was to teach her to write her true name repeatedly, leading Dodo in reciting it. She even said to the laptop's webcam,
"Come on, let's show it, this is Dodo's real name."
Only then was Dodo completely captivated by the Mother Buddha, becoming completely cursed that very day.
Ronan, however, remained tight-lipped about her own name, refusing to sign even legal documents, fearing any exposure.
Could it be that she didn't understand these things, or didn't know what the consequences would be if she told her daughter her real name?
(End of Chapter)
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