Chapter 197
Chapter 197
When Xiao Huai summoned Lu Qian, Lu Yuanshi had specifically asked which day of the game they had reached.
That meant he knew certain plot events occurred on specific days.
For example, Butler Yang’s disappearance.
Most players would assume his disappearance was part of the main mission.
Especially when combined with what Butler Yang had told them about Master.
“Master went to East City to handle several matters. He will return soon.”
That was one of their few pieces of information. Now Butler Yang had vanished as well.
Naturally, the players would wonder whether they should travel to East City and search for both men.
“Miss Yang? What are you talking about? The missing *man* can’t be a woman,” Chen Chong said casually. Then his expression changed.
He frowned tightly, considering both his own words and Xiao Huai’s.
They had never seen what Miss Yang looked like. They had never even met the person. What made them so certain the person was a woman?
Chen Chong was about to ask Xiao Huai something when their gazes met and Xiao Huai raised a finger to his lips.
Chen Chong immediately fell silent.
In truth, the Yang family had never had a young lady, only a young master. That was a World Truth, but they could not speak it openly. It resembled a taboo rule.
Perhaps no one had ever discovered it before.
Because uncovering the rule required finding Huo Lanxu.
The Side Mission was several times more difficult than the main mission. That was why the system did not require players to complete it.
Shen Yun had listened carefully to Xiao Huai. He stroked his chin, lowering his eyes in thought.
“Then is it possible that the main mission only requires us to find any one of them?”
They could not exclude the possibility, because the mission never specified a particular person.
Xiao Huai did not answer. He opened one of the food boxes on the table.
As on the previous day, it contained pastries and dishes. When he broke a pastry open, fish eyes filled its center.
The others understood. But just as they prepared to buy food from the System Shop, they discovered something wrong.
“What’s happening? Why can’t I buy anything to eat?” Chen Chong frowned in confusion.
“I can’t either,” Jiang Wenmei said coldly.
[Ding! A new rule is hereby announced: Please try not to waste food.]
[Rule Explanation: Refusing the food once may be forgiven. Refusing it again would be rather rude, wouldn’t it?]
Chen Chong rubbed his belly. “So what if I don’t eat it? I refuse.”
The instant he spoke, he seemed to grow even hungrier. His stomach growled audibly.
“It appears they’re forcing us to eat the food here,” Zhong Jiangyuan said. “We simply don’t know who provided it. If we could find him, perhaps we’d complete the main mission.”
Chen Chong sighed helplessly, walked into a room, opened its food box, and pinched off a corner of mung bean cake to eat.
Strangely, it did not taste bad. His hunger noticeably eased after one bite.
The blonde woman also rose from beside the well, returned to her room, and shut the door.
Jiang Wenmei glanced at her. “Something’s wrong with her.”
Chen Chong held a plate of food made from some unidentifiable ingredient.
He took several bites with his chopsticks as he walked over to Jiang Wenmei and agreed, “Definitely. She’s made it to the fifth level, yet a corpse rattled her that badly.”
Zhong Jiangyuan looked at them. “Not everyone has nerves of steel. Her reaction to a dismembered corpse was normal.”
Chen Chong and Jiang Wenmei were the ones behaving too calmly. The others’ refusal to discuss it did not mean they had escaped the shock.
Chen Chong smiled. “Then let’s hope she’s only weak under pressure and not a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Xiao Huai raised his eyes and glanced at Chen Chong.
Chen Chong had reminded everyone not to forget the game’s special mechanism.
Players with identity cards.
Players with hidden identities often had special missions as well. They were not necessarily harmful to the team, but in most cases, their interests could conflict.
Shen Yun said, “If one of us truly has a hidden identity, you two are just as suspicious.”
Jiang Wenmei sneered. “So are you.”
An inexplicable air of hostility spread between them.
Xiao Huai spoke. “There is no need to turn on one another.”
“We can simply wait and see what happens next.” He sat down and casually ate a bite of the food.
Zhong Jiangyuan also agreed that infighting would be unwise. They shared the same main mission, and finding someone remained the key. “Butler Yang said the master of the Yang Residence went to East City on business. Why don’t we return to town tomorrow?”
His proposal slightly defused the tension.
“Sure. Let’s see what’s really going on.” Chen Chong grinned.
After the discussion, everyone quickly went about their own business. The absence of NPCs tonight did not mean no horrifying event would occur.
No one knew what would happen next.
Lu Yuanshi still did not return to his own room. He expertly laid out his bed on the floor, but Xiao Huai said, “Sleep on the bed tonight.”
Lu Yuanshi arched a brow, excitement entering his voice. “Oh? Tonight, you want to…”
Before he could finish, a notebook appeared in Xiao Huai’s hand.
“What are you imagining? I’m staying up all night to finish a draft.”
“A draft?” Lu Yuanshi did not understand.
Xiao Huai smiled faintly. “Mm. I’ve thought of a story. If I don’t write it down immediately, I may forget.”
That night, by the light of one red candle and with one pen, Xiao Huai sat at the desk and wrote until morning.
He did not sleep. Lu Yuanshi lay on the bed, silently watching Xiao Huai’s profile as he wrote.
Xiao Huai looked at him twice. “If you aren’t going to sleep, return to your own room.”
Left with no choice, Lu Yuanshi closed his eyes.
Unlike the previous night, no one had deliberately released sleep-inducing smoke.
But around eleven, faint opera singing sounded outside.
Xiao Huai did not go out to investigate. At roughly five in the morning, he quietly left the room.
After he left, Lu Yuanshi opened his eyes and cracked the door, watching Xiao Huai’s departing figure.
He truly refused to give himself even a moment’s rest.
* * *
Xiao Huai reached the Jinlemen Club early that morning.
He had not forgotten his deal with Huo Dieyi.
Huo was already waiting. She wore a blue-green mask and a purple outfit today.
“You arrived earlier than I expected.”
“Mm. Let’s begin.”
Huo Dieyi smiled. “Your enthusiasm is commendable. Come, let me see your foundation.”
She clapped her hands, and trained practitioners emerged from nearby.
Fundamental skills mostly concerned flexibility and martial technique.
She intended to discover Xiao Huai’s true level.
The assessment ended about half an hour later.
In that brief time, Huo Dieyi’s expression shifted from initial indifference to astonishment.