Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 49

[Player Zhu Qiang uses the item: “Disguise and Illusion”]

[Effect: Appear in the game with a fake name and face, deceiving everyone’s eyes, even their system. Want to split your personality in the game and test if your boyfriend/girlfriend can recognize you or be “seduced” by you? This will be a very useful item.]

[Item Usage Status: Normal]

[Remaining Duration: 72 hours]

At this moment, Zhu Qiang opened his item bar, confirmed that his item was working properly, and temporarily relaxed.

Zhou Qian took a full ten days off after coming out of “Last Wish”, but Zhu Qiang dared not stop at all.

After being admitted to Zone 2 of the Spring Hill Mental Asylum from Priest recommendation, he got the qualification to enter the game. After that, he was introduced by several veterans from the Peach Blossom Legion that specialized in leveling up in regular instances.

These regular instances were very different from those with hidden achievements and gave relatively low experience. However, Zhu Qiang was diligent. Guided by veteran players, he quickly reached Rank C and had relatively good attack power.

Of course, this was also because Zhou Qian had never practiced offensive skills, so even by the basic panel, Zhu Qiang was slightly stronger than Zhou Qian.

On the other side, by the fireplace, Wu Ren’s face was very gloomy. In contrast, Zhou Qian, who should have been the most likely to be killed by him, was laughing very relaxedly.

Sitting casually on the carpet, Zhou Qian seemed not to care at all that there was a charred head not far away and a slightly disgusting torso.

Looking into Wu Ren’s eyes, Zhou Qian whispered, “This ‘Escape the Study’ mini-game is just like a warm-up before the official match—very simple.”

“I think both you and your gambler are smart. You have probably already thought of the real answer. However, because the answer is too simple and can be guessed by luck, you are not entirely sure. You’re worried about missing some hidden clues and whether it’s the real answer or not…”

“In any case, you dare not bet. You dare not touch that doorknob and open the door.”

Glancing at the reactions of the other players, Zhou Qian continued, “I guess that Yin Jiujiu also figured out the answer. But she won’t open the door either. In fact, everyone in this room is waiting for your reaction. Do you know the real reason?”

At this point, Wu Ren’s face turned a shade paler.

Zhou Qian said with a provocative smile, “Even if you are 99% sure of the answer, you still dare not open the door. Because the consequences of that 1% error are too great for you to bear. So, your current life point is—”

Zhou Qian stated the harsh truth with a smile, “Less than ‘2’.”

Wu Ren’s eyes seemed to suddenly lose all their shine. Zhou Qian continued in a mesmerizing tone, “So, you be the ‘king’. I’ll open the door for you.”

Taking a deep breath, Wu Ren glanced at his watch and said wearily to Zhou Qian, “Li Buhui has tried three times, losing 6 points. He definitely won’t try again. Yin Jiujiu is ranked fourth by life points, so she’s not in a rush. As for the others…”

“Yes, I’m anxious, but Situ Qing and Ke Yuxiao, ranked second and third respectively, should also be anxious. Yet they haven’t made a move…”

“It must be because they all received your message. You told them not to act rashly, right?”

With a much darker tone, Wu Ren looked at Zhou Qian. “Don’t drag other innocent people into this. Isn’t it just you and that woman Yin Jiujiu who wants to test my score? You think I can’t see that?”

Zhou Qian sincerely replied, “Of course, you can see it. I’m not hiding anything. But you still have to let me open the door for you. It’s a clear-cut deal. I’ll try the door for you, ensuring you won’t lose 2 life points; you’ll be the ‘king’. Deal?”

“Alright. Deal.”

30 seconds later, Wu Ren finally said these words. He then stood up and said to everyone, “Let’s cooperate first. Anyone who dares to kill will face my wrath. If I say this, I’ll make sure it happens.”

After speaking, Wu Ren looked back at Zhou Qian and whispered, “I’ve said it. Satisfied? But Zhou Qian, don’t be too smug. You’ve revealed your own problem to me as well.”

“Oh?” Zhou Qian was still smiling. “How so?”

“Technically, your team has four members. You all could have grouped together. You could be the ‘king’ yourself. Why try to pull me in…” Wu Ren said with a sinister smile, his demeanor became more somber. “You don’t fully trust your teammates.”

“Oh dear…” Zhou Qian replied half-heartedly. “You noticed. But this means our cooperation will be stronger. You know my weakness, so you can trust me more, right?”

Wu Ren snorted coldly and didn’t continue discussing the matter. He just pointed at the door. “You can open the door now.”

Zhou Qian smiled at Wu Ren and then headed towards the door.

The town was called Beautiful Flower Town. Witches weren’t welcome here and would be burned publicly if discovered.

A little girl who had wavy brown hair named Lily lived here. Starting from around the age of seven or eight, she began to transform into a monster, possibly related to the “Strawberry Music Festival.”

Lily refused to admit she was a monster and was scared of her reflection, so she broke all the mirrors.

Meanwhile, her mother Eva was a witch who locked Lily inside the house. Lily resented her mother and wanted to expose her as a witch to get her burned, but she probably didn’t succeed.

Based on the clues the players found, this was all the information available. The deduction was that Lily’s killer could only be her mother, Eva. After all, players couldn’t make up a killer’s name out of thin air.

However, Li Buhui tried that. The answer was incorrect.

Why was it wrong?

With limited clues, there was only one possibility—

The deceased wasn’t Lily.

At this moment, as Zhou Qian approached the door, he said, “We initially thought the ‘ghost’ trapping us was Lily. They are both little girls with wavy brown hair. But they might not be the same person. After all, we never saw Lily grow up. Children’s appearances change rapidly. The baby and childhood photos in albums don’t reveal much. So—”

“The ‘Strawberry Music Festival’ ticket mentioned that it’s a grand event for all children in town. No adults attended. It’s very likely that Lily went to the festival with a close friend. Upon returning… Lily killed her.”

“I’ve always found it odd. Since parts of Lily’s body were sealed by her mother in various parts of the house and only a part of her was in the study, it’s possible she wasn’t killed there. So, why would her soul remain in the study, seeking an answer?”

“Now everything makes sense.”

Zhou Qian reached the door, placed his hand on the doorknob, and said, “It was Lily who killed you. She murdered you in this study. Deep down, you probably knew the truth. But you couldn’t face it and waited for someone to confirm it—”

“Because you couldn’t believe your best friend would kill you, right?”

Suddenly, a strand of wavy hair appeared in front of Zhou Qian.

A little girl appeared, hanging upside down.

This time, she didn’t strangle Zhou Qian. Instead, she gazed at him sorrowfully and said, “Was it really her? But we were best friends. I didn’t want to believe it…”

“But you’re right… That day, only she and I were in the study. Her mom wasn’t there, and neither was anyone else.”

“It could only have been her.”

Zhou Qian asked, “What exactly happened that day?”

The little girl sighed. “That day, all the kids went to the Strawberry Music Festival… There were caretakers for the children at the festival, so the adults took the rare opportunity to go on a vacation to the neighboring town…”

“I was supposed to go to the festival with Lily. I specially came to her house to join her. But I suddenly got a fever and stayed at her place to rest. She later went with other kids.”

“I remember… It was very late that day when Lily came back. Seeing that I was feeling better, she took me to the study of her house to read. Then… then I died… I don’t remember the details of how I was killed. I just wanted to find the killer. I was so young… I loved the world so much, and I loved Beautiful Flower Town. So I didn’t want to leave… I have a grudge.”

“So… the killer really was Lily. But why? I can’t understand… She was my best friend. Why did she kill me… and how did she kill me…”

“Please leave the study. I would like you to investigate what really happened at the Strawberry Music Festival!

“Oh yes, my name is Lina.”

Finally, Lina handed Zhou Qian a card. “The town seems a bit strange. I’m giving you something to protect yourself.”

Zhou Qian took it and found the number “6” written on it.

“This was stolen from you. Now I’m giving it back.”

The little girl took 6 life points from Li Buhui and gave them to Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian felt the gaze from Wu Ren, filled with cold, greed, and threats. With a smile, Zhou Qian held the card between his index and middle fingers, raised an eyebrow at Wu Ren, and taunted him with a shake.

Wu Ren quickly approached, reaching for the card, but Zhou Qian evaded him with a step back.

“Zhou Qian? I’ve agreed to the terms. Are you going back on your word?” Wu Ren immediately questioned.

Although Wu Ren didn’t reveal anything, dark clouds seemed to appear in the study, indicating he might take action.

Under the dark cloud, Zhou Qian laughed. “Don’t be so eager, Wu Ge. You’re skilled in using hidden weapons, and if you wanted to kill me, there’s no need for such a threatening stance. You won’t kill me.”

“What are you playing at?” Wu Ren was clearly agitated.

“Just a joke. Let’s be friendly.” Zhou Qian handed over the card.

Wu Ren took the card as sweat appeared on his forehead. He could hear his heartbeat slowing down, realizing he had an additional 6 hours to live.

By now, Lina had disappeared from the study. Zhou Qian turned the doorknob, which opened smoothly.

“Let’s go and see.” After saying this, Zhou Qian was the first to leave the study, entering a corridor.

Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao quickly followed Zhou Qian, with Wu Ren, Yin Jiujiu, and Li Buhui close behind. Situ Qing chose to walk at the back, perhaps to keep an eye on the new teammates.

Along the way, Qi Liuxing discussed with Ke Yuxiao. “Our actions don’t seem to be assisting any evil spirit. It’s not as complex as Li Buhui analyzed. Maybe Lily is the evil spirit. But the one who trapped us is Lina, whom she killed.”

“Right. I was overthinking things,” Ke Yuxiao replied. “These two girls have similar names, similar hair, and were good friends. But their fates changed after one attended the music festival and the other didn’t.”

Qi Liuxing remarked with emotion, “Indeed… if Lina hadn’t suddenly fallen ill and had gone to the music festival, she might have become an evil spirit or a monster.”

The two conversed briefly and followed Zhou Qian to the end of the corridor.

Exiting the end of the corridor, they should be in the living room.

They noticed that Zhou Qian’s steps suddenly halted.

Could there be something unusual in the living room?

Qi Liuxing immediately gripped his sword tightly.

Seeing this, those behind him also held their weapons in a defensive manner.

With the movements of his teammates echoing in his ears, Zhou Qian, with half of his body stepping into the living room, indeed halted because of a scene that surprised even him—

This room indeed belonged to a mansion and was elegantly constructed.

Exiting the corridor, there was a turn leading to a staircase going up to the second floor. The staircase faced a large wall, which was entirely built with floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, there wasn’t any iron sheet welded to seal it. Instead, it resembled a prison cell with thick iron bars vertically placed one after another.

Finding an iron sheet to seal the size of a window might be relatively easy.

However, sealing such a large floor-to-ceiling window entirely with iron sheets would be challenging. Perhaps for this reason, the Witch Eva opted to use thick iron bars instead.

Up to this point, everything was still somewhat comprehensible.

What truly astonished Zhou Qian and all the players was what was outside the floor-to-ceiling window.

The ground should have had a small path, but now that path was completely covered by massive plants.

Dark green vines, originating from an unknown place, danced in the wind, resembling countless green snakes.

Suddenly, something flew by, casting a shadow over half of the living room. After a while, it left, revealing a dazzling silhouette. Its back was truly magnificent, emitting a radiant blue-purple hue.

It resembled a butterfly magnified countless times, but it was much more terrifying than any butterfly.

Just as it moved away from the window, one could clearly see that it had feet, and its feet had five toes, eerily resembling human feet, smooth and white. The nails had a hint of pink to them, as if they were painted with nail polish.

But the most bizarre scene involved a gigantic red flower.

The stems and leaves of the flower covered the entire path. The bloom was so vibrant that it almost entirely obscured the villa opposite.

At this moment, the root of one of the flowers passed through the gaps between the iron bars of this prison-like house, breaking a glass pane, and directly entered the living room, allowing players a close-up view.

When the stem entered this room, the bud must not have been developed.

But at this moment, the flower was in full bloom, its five petals covering almost the entire living room, and the color was the purest bright red.

The flower itself should have been beautiful, but due to its enormous size, it was genuinely terrifying.

Especially the pistil at the center of the flower, which was a thick yellow, resembling writhing yellow snakes.

And the “head” part of each of those “snakes” actually had facial features…

From the pistil of the flower grew human faces.

“Fuck. What the hell are these things? So, did we really get a fantasy script this time?”

The one who cursed out loud was Wu Ren.

Having just escaped death, before he could even rejoice, he was thoroughly stunned by the scene before him.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>