Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Qian Xing arrived at the main hall of the Bar.

The hall was brightly lit now.

Qian Xing was stunned for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. He figured the other Players must have already taken action. He looked around and eventually chose to head in the opposite direction of the Private Rooms.

He found the Surveillance Room.

The door was closed and fitted with an electronic lock. Qian Xing tried it, but it wouldn’t open.

His gaze fell on the electronic lock. To open the Surveillance Room, he would need a passcode. Where was he supposed to find it? This was a difficult problem, and since Qian Xing had no answer at the moment, he could only cast a regretful glance at the lock before choosing to leave.

After leaving the vicinity of the Surveillance Room, Qian Xing wasn’t quite sure where he was going. After several twists and turns, he suddenly found a set of Stairs leading upward.

The Bar wasn’t just a single floor.

This realization made Qian Xing pause.

He looked up toward the top of the Stairs.

It was pitch black up there. Aside from the first few steps in front of him, everything else was shrouded in darkness. The Stairs were designed between two walls, a layout that deepened the gloom. Considering the current situation, Qian Xing reached out and pressed a hand against his chest.

His heart had already begun to race.

There should be something he needed upstairs, but important information always came with immense risk.

Qian Xing shifted his feet. It took a good while before he finally took a step forward.

He had searched the surrounding area and found no light switch for the Stairs. Left with no choice, he hugged the wall and began to climb step by step, moving cautiously through the darkness.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a scream rang out through the Bar.

Qian Xing jumped in fright and missed his footing. Fortunately, he hadn’t moved far, so he only ended up falling back onto the Stairs.

The sound seemed to have come from the direction of the main hall.

After a moment’s thought, Qian Xing used the wall to pull himself up and then eased his way back down. The Stairs weren’t going anywhere; he could investigate them later. The main hall seemed more important right now.

Besides, if he could find the other Players, perhaps they could explore this stairwell together.

Naturally, the Player Qian Xing had in mind was Jian Fan.

While Qian Xing was heading toward the hall, Qin Nan’s group also heard the scream.

They were currently in the Corridor, heading toward the Staff Passage exit by the counter. When the scream suddenly erupted, they instinctively stopped in their tracks.

“That voice…” Qin Nan looked at Jian Fan.

It was a man’s scream. The five of them were together, which left only four other men. Given Xia Zeqin’s brains, it was highly unlikely to be him. Wang Hao and his companion had probably already become the property of the Vampires, so it wasn’t likely to be them either. Was it Qian Xing?

Thinking of the previous interaction between Jian Fan and Qian Xing, Qin Nan subconsciously observed Jian Fan’s expression more closely.

“It wasn’t Qian Xing,” Jian Fan said, reading Qin Nan’s unspoken thought.

Qin Nan blinked. Before he could ask, Jian Fan added, “It wasn’t Xia Zeqin, either.”

Could it be one of those two with Wang Hao? Weren’t they already caught by the Vampires…

“Professor Qi,” Jian Fan suddenly smiled, looking somewhat relieved.

As Qin Nan watched Jian Fan’s reaction, a thought gradually began to surface. If their suspicions were correct and there really was something wrong with Wang Hao and his companion, then if one of them was in trouble now, it meant-

Professor Qi was teaching them a lesson.
One had to admit, a big shot was a big shot for a reason.

“We’ll know once we take a look,” Qin Weiyi said, not bothering to think too hard about it.

The five of them set out again, quickening their pace as they headed for the Bar’s main hall.

Qi Shuping stood in the middle of the hall with Xu Tian at her side. Xu Tian stared at the scene in front of her; shock flickered in her eyes, then turned into guarded caution.

Qi Shuping swept her a brief sidelong glance without any reaction, her gaze staying on the floor a few paces away.

Two Skin Sacks lay there.

In the most literal sense.

They were what was left of Wang Hao and the other man. After that scream, both of their bodies had rapidly deflated, as if they’d turned into flat paper cutouts in an instant. Now, only the skins that had sloughed off remained on the ground. Their clothes were still there too, but with their bodies collapsed, the fabric hung loose and empty.

This was the first time Qi Shuping had seen something like this.

Even so, she stayed remarkably composed.

“Grandma, when did you notice something was off about them?” Xu Tian asked carefully.

Qi Shuping’s tone didn’t change. “When they left and then came back to look for me.”

Qi Shuping had long since sized up the people following her. She didn’t mind dragging a few dead weights along-so long as those dead weights stayed under her control.

When Wang Hao and the other man chose to leave, Qi Shuping understood perfectly. They’d seen her say Jian Fan was her junior. In truth, the two of them had been sick of her for a while; they just hadn’t had a better way out. So, while danger still hadn’t arrived, they took a chance and slipped away without trying to offend her.

With their personalities, Wang Hao and the other man would have shamelessly latched onto Jian Fan’s group. It wouldn’t have mattered whether Jian Fan’s trio accepted them; as long as they could follow behind Jian Fan and avoid danger, that was enough.

And if Jian Fan’s side really couldn’t accommodate them, they could always come crawling back to her.

But that “coming back” would never have happened at a time when danger hadn’t yet descended and they still knew nothing about what was going on.

At that point, with their temperaments, there was no way they would’ve returned to the Bar’s main hall to find her. Which meant that, back then, there was something wrong with them.

Qi Shuping had also heard the legend of Bloody Mary, so she already had a vague guess in her heart-she just couldn’t confirm it completely. Jian Fan’s reminder, however, had essentially sealed it.

As for that reminder, Qi Shuping clearly had no intention of telling Xu Tian.

“Since you noticed so early, Grandma, why did you still keep them with you? Weren’t you scared?” Xu Tian’s gaze darkened for an instant, but she immediately asked as though it was casual.

Qi Shuping suddenly turned to look at her.

“Grandma, what is it?” Xu Tian panicked for a split second under that direct stare.

Qi Shuping smiled warmly. “Have you ever heard a saying?”

“What saying?” Xu Tian asked.

Qi Shuping turned back, eyes returning to the two Skin Sacks. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” If she hadn’t kept them close, how could she have crushed those two threats before they had a chance to erupt?

Xu Tian grew even more unsettled, instinctively taking a step back to widen the distance between herself and Qi Shuping.

“I may be old,” Qi Shuping said with a faint smile, “but the older I get, the more my insight and experience grow. Don’t underestimate anyone. Otherwise… you’ll lose so badly you won’t even have a shred of dignity left.”