Chapter 133
Chapter 133
The thing was under his bed. Xiao Huai did not move, remaining perfectly still.
He was waiting for it to reveal its intentions completely.
After a while, Xiao Huai heard it moving nearby. The sound was so faint it resembled a feather touching the floor.
It was searching for something.
Surely no one actually thought Xiao Huai would leave his gold coin in the room.
Gold coins were special items in this instance and could not be placed in the system inventory. They had to be carried or hidden somewhere.
Lightning arced down as rain pattered against the window.
The downpour outside seemed to be making the room damp.
But Xiao Huai sensed that this was not the case.
The dampness did not come from the rain. It came from the thing in the room.
Xiao Huai remained silent and motionless until… the thing finally crawled out from beneath the bed and climbed onto it.
His brows drew together. His limbs grew as heavy as if they had been filled with lead, while an endless hissing sounded beside his ears.
Realizing something was wrong, he opened his eyes and froze.
A pair of round, pitch-black eyes stared at him from inches away.
A chill crept silently up his spine, and Xiao Huai’s fingertips trembled.
This truly was not human.
It was a monster resembling a drowned ghost.
Long hair clung to slimy skin. The creature was so thin it had lost all human shape, its face covered in moss and water stains. Its complexion was almost deathly white, making every blue vein in its face starkly visible.
The instant their gazes met, the monster’s eyes bulged even wider. Its savagery was impossible to hide. It seized Xiao Huai by the throat and roared from deep within its chest, “Master likes gold coins! Hand yours over!”
“Tsk.” Xiao Huai had not expected such a small monster, no larger than a seven-year-old child, to possess so much strength.
Disobedient children were such a nuisance.
A faint golden glow spread from Xiao Huai. In the next second, a small hand settled over the monster’s hands where they gripped his throat.
With the slightest application of force, the little monster shrieked in pain.
“Big Brother, are you afraid of a tiny thing like this?” Hanako giggled. With one hand, she seized the drowned ghost by the neck and lifted it like a chicken.
Xiao Huai rubbed his throat and smiled faintly. “A little.”
In truth, he could have followed the drowned ghost’s scent and killed it before it ever reached him, but that would have been pointless.
A player capable of controlling such a monster was hiding among them.
A hundred-player game was already large-scale. There was no chance every participant had innocent motives.
Finding the true culprit was what mattered.
Xiao Huai was not skilled at extracting information through torture, especially from a monster shaped like a child.
Hanako, however, was different. She was very good at “dealing with” little creatures like this.
In the previous instance, the information Hanako had extracted from the Wraith Child proved quite useful.
Information was crucial in the gods’ horror game.
And important work should naturally be left to a professional.
“Hanako, please ask it as many questions as you can. As for how you ask them… you know what to do.” A chill flashed through Xiao Huai’s eyes.
A brilliant smile bloomed across Hanako’s face. “Hanako loves asking questions!” She turned toward the drowned ghost, bloodthirsty madness glimmering in her eyes.
“Let’s start with hide-and-seek!”
As soon as she finished speaking, a black hole opened beneath their feet, and they vanished in the blink of an eye.
The rain outside grew heavier. A red ring stained the skin around Xiao Huai’s neck.
He rose and went to the window. From that angle, he could make out part of the west wing’s stained glass.
Its windows were not simple panes of clear glass, but rose windows like those found in a church.
He reached out and rested his fingertips against the window. His gaze remained on the rose window, but his thoughts had already drifted far away.
* * *
When Hanako appeared again, her head hung low and her brows were faintly furrowed. A gloomy air surrounded her.
Dark green liquid covered her body, carrying a faint scent of blood.
Hanako returned alone. The drowned ghost was gone.
“Big Brother…” Hanako was about to apologize when Xiao Huai spoke first.
“Are you hurt?” Xiao Huai went over, crouched beside her, and checked her for injuries.
Hanako froze. “Shouldn’t you ask whether Hanako completed the task first?”
“Oh. Should I?”
Compared with the task, Xiao Huai cared more about his companion’s condition.
Hanako’s brows smoothed out and her expression brightened. “Big Brother is the best!”
She took out a small notebook. It contained few notes, along with several drawings she had made.
“Hanako wanted to ask it more questions, but it suddenly exploded. All this green stuff is its blood, so Hanako wasn’t hurt.”
She turned to a page with a drawing. “Hanako found this symbol on its body. I don’t know if it will help.”
Xiao Huai looked down at the notebook. The symbol depicted an eyeball pierced by a sword.
His lashes trembled lightly. “Was there anything else besides this symbol?”
“Yes. It seemed to love its master very much and wanted to do something to please its master.”
Hanako added, “Its master might not have known it came after you, Big Brother.”
Xiao Huai merely said, “How could its master not know?”
The creature knew its master wanted gold coins, which meant the master had planted that suggestion in its mind.
Its final explosion might not have been voluntary. The person behind it could have discarded it without hesitation.
That person had tamed the drowned ghost, made it utterly loyal, and even induced it to hunt for gold coins on its own.
Yet the moment the pawn slipped out of control, its master threw it away. Someone like that was mixed in among the players.
Who could it be?
Hanako’s remaining time was almost over, and she was still reluctant to leave Xiao Huai. “Big Brother, Hanako won’t be able to help you anymore, but Hanako will always pray for you in her heart!”
Xiao Huai nodded. He unscrewed the bottle of sugar cubes Xiao Qian had given him, took one out, and handed it to her.
Hanako’s eyes widened at the sight of the candy. Just as she prepared to eat it, her brows suddenly furrowed.
“How strange,” she muttered.
“What is it?” Xiao Huai raised his eyes, leaning lazily against the bed.
Hanako carefully studied the shape of the sugar cube. “I don’t know. It just feels strange. Hanako thinks she’s seen a piece of candy like this somewhere before.”
Xiao Huai’s gaze darkened. “Do you remember where?”
Hanako clapped her hands. “I remember! While we were playing hide-and-seek, a piece of candy just like this fell from its body.”
“Hanako can go find it for you.” She returned to the hide-and-seek space.
The other sugar cube she brought back was still stained with traces of green blood.
Xiao Huai took it and held it beneath his nose. He inhaled very softly.
His brows seemed to twitch. “Mm. I understand.”
“What is it, Big Brother? Could the person who gave it the candy be its master? Have you met that person?” Hanako sensed something was wrong and immediately began asking questions.
Xiao Huai only shook his head. “It’s nothing.”