Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

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

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Chapter 88

The lights in the workroom were brightly lit. The tattoo master Chang Shu started working quickly.

When He Xiaowei saw the dense needle piercing Zhou Qian’s arm, he watched and clicked his tongue twice. “Fuck, Qian’er, does it hurt? It’s a pity that the instance is special; I can’t heal you, or I would have healed you immediately.”

“It’s okay.” Zhou Qian replied to He Xiaowei, but his eyes were on Bai Zhou. “It’s better than when I ate that apple. Zhou Ge, you were pretty ruthless.”

Before Bai Zhou could respond, He Xiaowei curiously interrupted, “What apple? Does eating an apple hurt?”

Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, and Hidden Blade: “……”

Bai Zhou seemed to want to say something but was interrupted by He Xiaowei. After glancing at Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou turned to Chang Shu and gestured for him to tattoo a “Z” on him as well.

Seeing this, He Xiaowei was even more surprised. “I understand Qian’er getting the ‘Z’, but what does your ‘Z’ mean, boss? Don’t follow Qian’er’s quirky trends. That—”

“Would you keep it down?” Hidden Blade interrupted, covering He Xiaowei’s mouth, and quickly pulled him towards the door to observe the situation in the main hall of the tattoo shop.

Inside the hall, a man and a woman stood by the entrance. The four from the Invincible Legion were quietly chatting in a corner. Even though their voices were very low, with his enhanced senses, Hidden Blade could hear them clearly.

Dami: “Boss, what do you think?”

Erdan: “I peeked outside and listened a bit. They really did tattoo the ‘卐’ on their hands. This is genuine.”

Batu Fei sighed. “Actually, the new recruit we had not long ago, Wen Bin, was pretty smart. It would have been great if he was here to give advice. Unfortunately… Unfortunately, he’s dead.”

Wen Bin was indeed present, but under the identity of “Liu Wansan”. Maintaining his cover, he responded in Liu Wansan’s tone, “Actually, I think we should listen to Zhou Qian. He led me and Erdan to clear the instance. As long as we don’t provoke him and decide to make peace, he won’t harm us.”

Batu Fei snapped, “You want me to ask him for peace? What have I become? Ma Luoluo probably died at his hands! I need to avenge Ma Luoluo!”

Liu Wansan reasoned, “Right now, we have no choice but to yield. The instance is designed to match Rank God players with ordinary players. We made a mistake there. I think the system favors Rank God players.”

“Why did the tattooist only choose two Rank God players? It’s all pre-arranged! So, Zhou Qian has a Rank God player to rely on, and there’s nothing we can do.”

“Yes, we made a mistake.” Batu Fei looked grim. “But isn’t he asking for too much?”

Liu Wansan: “We can hand over our items to friends outside the instance for safekeeping. This way, we will minimize our losses. As for gold, we can negotiate with him.”

“Right, you did remind me. Damn it, who do I give the items to? My only brother, Ma Luoluo, just died like that. If I give it to someone else, they might not return them to me!

“Damn… If I list them on the trading market and sell them, I might not even be able to buy them back! Besides, the gold coins from selling will still have to be given to Zhou Qian! I might as well not bother at all!”

Batu Fei grumbled and cursed all the way, his face as pale as a vegetable.

As for Wen Bin, who was using the alias Liu Wansan, the one thing he was grateful for was that he had already used up his secret camera.

This camera was compact and made almost no noise when pressing the shutter. He quietly took two photos of the people next to Zhou Qian without anyone noticing. After using up the film, he discarded the now-useless camera.

A short while later, after Zhou Qian finished getting his tattoo, he negotiated with the four of them and agreed to give them a 20% discount.

As a result, Zhou Qian successfully took 80% of the gold coins they had, as well as all the items they handed over.

“I know you guys took the opportunity to send away some of the valuable items you have just now, not wanting to give them to me. I didn’t fuss about it with you. See, I’m not really greedy. I take what I can get, and I’m content with that.”

The four who just handed over their items: “…”

In the end, Zhou Qian fed each of them an “I Can Only Speak the Truth” pill and asked, “I have only one question for you all. Have you truly handed over 80% of your gold coins and all the items you can offer?”

Everyone replied: “Yes.”

None of them were judged to be lying.

Zhou Qian scrutinized each of them with a discerning gaze. He didn’t further trouble them, though. After returning to the workspace and having the tattoo artist mark them with the swastika, he waited by the shop entrance.

At this time, the tour guide was hurrying everyone to board the bus, mentioning he had received a call from the hotel’s Receptionist Wang, saying the police were urging them to return for questioning.

Zhou Qian and his three companions, along with a skinny man from Hall D, boarded the bus first.

As they waited for Batu Fei and the others, Zhou Qian’s gaze drifted outside the bus window, as if he was observing anyone passing nearby. He seemed lost in thought, not really focused on anything in particular.

During the ride, the newly tattooed areas on his forearms began to itch and sting. As he unconsciously raised his hand to scratch, Bai Zhou stopped him in time. “Don’t scratch. We’ll apply some ice when we get back to the hotel.”

Zhou Qian turned to him, asking, “How will you apply ice for me? You’re not staying in the same room as me.”

Bai Zhou turned his head, directing his gaze to He Xiaowei seated behind. “We’ll swap rooms tonight.”

He Xiaowei: “…Oh.”

Even though I have no idea what’s going on from start to finish, it’s fine as long as I don’t encounter any ghosts.

Patting Zhou Qian’s shoulder, He Xiaowei asked, “Qian’er, you were staring out the window earlier. Do you think the murderer might be nearby?”

“Not necessarily,” Zhou Qian replied in a low voice. “I suspect the killer might be a hotel employee or even the owner.”

“Indeed,” He Xiaowei added, “the tattoos in the tattoo shop don’t have the swastika. But the human skin decorations in the hotel do. This indicates that those in the hotel weren’t bought from the tattoo shop but rather made by the murderer after killing someone and then carving the symbol into them.”

“Wait a moment… That’s not necessarily true. Since the murderer is fond of tattoo art, he might have bought a regular human skin tattoo ornament from the tattoo shop and added the swastika later on.”

“Regardless, since the murderer has the authority to arrange the rooms, the probability of him being a staff member is quite high!”

“Hmm. Besides what you mentioned, there’s another reason. We can infer why those two players died.”

Zhou Qian said, “The ‘risk of death’ they faced might be because the killer was pondering who to kill that night. Knowing that there were new tourists checking in, he suddenly decided to target them.”

“If there were two people in a room, the real risk of death might not be triggered, as the killer, facing two, might not be confident. But if someone is alone, according to this killer’s character, he might go all out. The two tourists from Hall D happened to be staying separately, one in 1101 and the other in 1102. They just walked right into his trap.”

“So, why would the killer know that a batch of new people checked into the 11^th floor of the hotel? From this perspective, the probability of him being a staff member is quite high.”

“It could be the receptionist; it could be the cleaner who needs to clean the rooms in advance; it could be the lobby manager or the bellboy helping tourists with luggage; and the probability of the hotel owner being the killer is especially high.”

“So, the characteristics of this killer might be: first, he’s tall and powerful, very strong in combat. In a one-on-one fight, no one can match him; second, he’s a hotel staff member.”

By the end of the conversation, Zhou Qian, as if realizing something, seriously added, “Of course, this is just my preliminary judgment.”

“Haa. We must stay together tonight, always sticking together,” He Xiaowei said earnestly, looking towards the silent Hidden Blade. “Master, we need to protect each other.”

Hidden Blade: “……….”

“Ahem, I feel we’re getting close. Since we’ve identified the killer’s characteristics… we should be able to pinpoint who he is soon. Shouldn’t we try to kill him then? In this instance, everyone’s just a regular person, using ordinary means to kill.”

As He Xiaowei spoke, he leaned forward from the chair, positioning his head between Bai Zhou and Zhou Qian’s lines of sight.

Then he turned his head to Zhou Qian and asked, “Right, Qian’er? What do you think?”

Zhou Qian pushed his head away, looking serious. “Not necessarily.”

He Xiaowei: “You’re scaring me again!”

“It’s true. It’s really not necessary,” Zhou Qian said earnestly. “If you were the game designer, would you design similar scenarios?”

He Xiaowei: “Um…”

Zhou Qian continued, “Both groups of us and the people from Hall D have visited different exhibit halls, but just one each. The three exhibit halls had parallel difficulties and similar risks and solutions.”

“However, this time, the system seems to be leading all three groups here together, which obviously increases the difficulty. Don’t forget, this is a virtual game within the exhibit hall. While Blue Harbor City might lean towards reality, anything can happen in a virtual game. Maybe there really are ghosts behind that wall.”

“Damn, Qian’er, don’t scare me!” He Xiaowei cried.

Hidden Blade couldn’t take it anymore. “Enough. I’ll protect you. Among all your brothers, none of them cry as much as you. Don’t embarrass me.”

He Xiaowei: “…”

After the other four were tattooed with the swastika, the nine players boarded a bus back to the Saiya Hotel. The hotel was bustling with police investigating the two bodies.

Receptionist Wang from the front desk had been waiting at the hotel entrance. As everyone got off the bus, he quickly ushered them to sit in the waiting area of the lobby.

Soon after, two policemen came over to question them about their activities, whereabouts, and if they knew the deceased.

Everyone had a consistent answer, claiming they were just part of the same tour group and didn’t know the victims personally.

During the process, Zhou Qian overheard a conversation between two junior police officers nearby, roughly discussing how the hotel was cursed and frequently had deaths.

After some thought, Zhou Qian addressed the police officer in front of him. “Officer, may I ask how they were killed? If… If the killer hasn’t been caught, we can’t afford to stay anywhere else. If we’re staying here and he wants to kill again… can you tell us whether he used a knife or a gun, or something else? We’d like to be prepared!”

“The victims were killed with a knife,” the police officer replied. “Their throats were slit with a single cut, but after that, out of anger or spite, the killer stabbed them once more, as if venting frustration. So, rest assured. He probably had a grudge against those two. You don’t need to worry.”

Judging from the police officer’s response, there seemed to be no restriction in this instance against police revealing details of the murder case.

So Zhou Qian asked further, “Were there any symbols left at the scene?”

Hearing this, the two police officers exchanged uneasy glances, clearly becoming suspicious of Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian quickly explained, “I’m afraid of ghosts, officer. I just got a protective tattoo at a tattoo shop based on the tour guide’s recommendation, so I’m naturally curious. I have an alibi. I was at the tattoo shop when the crime occurred.”

After a brief pause, the police officer responded, “Yes, a swastika symbol was drawn at the scene.”

Having said that, the police officers proceeded to question Receptionist Wang at the front desk.

Watching their retreating figures, Zhou Qian turned to the four members of the Invincible Legion. With a hint of malice, he said, “I’ve suddenly found a foolproof way to survive: turn yourselves into the police and get jailed. I doubt the killer would murder someone in a police station.”

“Why don’t you do it?” Batu Fei immediately retorted.

Zhou Qian replied, “Because I want to complete the hidden mission. How would I follow the plot or counter the upcoming conspiracies from inside a cell? But I advise you, if you have a chance to stay safe, take it. Don’t be like me.”

Flaunting his protective charm, Zhou Qian once again showed off Bai Zhou like a mascot and arrogantly said, “After all, I have the protection of a Rank God player, which you don’t have.”

Batu Fei was so angered by Zhou Qian’s words that he nearly spat out blood.

Wen Bin, impersonating Liu Wansan, quickly stepped forward, patting Batu Fei’s back to calm him down.

Then, something no one expected happened—

Erdan suddenly turned, ran towards the police, and shouted, “I’m the murderer! Arrest me!”

Surprisingly, he was indeed handcuffed and taken into a police car.

Letting out a regretful sigh that the “Egg Fried Rice” team hadn’t formed properly before splitting ways, Zhou Qian saw the police leaving in succession, while the hotel’s main entrance was completely sealed.

Erdan’s unexpected action stunned the other three members of the legion. Probably no one expected him to take such a step.

Eventually, it was Wen Bin who spoke, looking at Zhou Qian with a complicated expression. “Seems like after the last instance, he really trusts your words.”

“Compared to him, you fall short. I have no reason to harm the innocent,” Zhou Qian responded, walking towards the elevator with Bai Zhou. “Opportunities to stay safe are fleeting. Brace yourselves. The killing is about to begin.”

Inside the elevator, Zhou Qian’s expression grew cold and serious. Through the closing elevator doors, he stared at the glass entrance of the hotel’s lobby.

The police had cordoned off the entire hotel.

If this place was full of tourists, why set up a cordon?

The story was beginning to feel off.

Zhou Qian’s uneasy feeling seemed to be on the verge of coming true.

……

11 p.m.

Zhou Qian had taken a shower and was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out. The entire city was still shrouded in fog, making it impossible to see clearly.

While he was deep in thought, he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw Bai Zhou, fresh from his shower, approaching.

“Did your tattoo get wet during your shower?” Bai Zhou asked.

“No, it’s just a small tattoo. It doesn’t matter,” Zhou Qian replied. He noticed that Bai Zhou was holding a bowl of ice cubes.

Wrapping several cubes in a towel, Bai Zhou approached Zhou Qian. “I went downstairs to get these from the front desk while you were showering. Let’s use them to cool down the swelling.”

Zhou Qian extended his hand, watching as Bai Zhou carefully placed the cold compress on his swollen skin. For a moment, Zhou Qian’s thoughts drifted to memories of his friends facing various perils.

When his focus returned to the present, all he could see was the red and swollen skin on Bai Zhou’s arms. Zhou Qian asked, “You always ask if I’m in pain. What about you?”

While continuing to apply the cold compress, Bai Zhou replied, “Zhou Qian, no matter what happens to me, it’s worth it.”

“Why?”

“Because if I hadn’t chosen this path, I would have died a long time ago.”

Zhou Qian understood.

If Bai Zhou hadn’t sought treatment for his ALS at the Spring Hill Mental Asylum, he might have succumbed to the disease by now.

“But that might not have been the case,” Zhou Qian countered. “Stephen Hawking had the same condition and lived a long life without letting it hinder his achievements.”

He stopped mid-sentence, seemingly coming to a realization. If it were him, he would have made the same choice as well. If given the chance to walk independently, who would want to rely on machines or others for their entire life?

The only thing Zhou Qian couldn’t understand was why Bai Zhou hadn’t told him everything at the start. Was it to protect him from the game, or was there another reason?

Before Zhou Qian could voice his question, a loud argument from the hallway interrupted them. The run-down hotel had poor soundproofing, allowing them to clearly hear a woman’s voice exclaiming, “You’re useless!”

A man retorted, “I’ve given you all my fucking money! What more do you want? After so many years of marriage, you’ll never be satisfied with me, right?”

The female voice replied, “Are you thinking it’s about the money? Can’t I earn money myself? What I’m saying is, you’re not even a real man!”

Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou both pressed their ears against the door to eavesdrop on the argument outside. This action brought their bodies incredibly close. Zhou Qian’s nose was so close to Bai Zhou’s face that he could even feel the warmth of Bai Zhou’s freshly bathed skin clearly transmitting to him.

Zhou Qian chuckled, nudging Bai Zhou’s leg with his knee. “If she’s not complaining about the money, she must be unsatisfied with… well, something else. Seems like her husband isn’t up to the mark.”

Bai Zhou looked expressionlessly outside, but Zhou Qian noticed a slight blush on his ears.

Reaching out, Zhou Qian grabbed the cold towel in Bai Zhou’s hand, filled with ice cubes, and tried to grab his ear. “Feeling hot? Let me cool you down?”

Bai Zhou swiftly grabbed Zhou Qian’s hand, stopping his teasing gesture, and gestured outward with a tilt of his chin.

Zhou Qian stopped teasing and once again pressed his ear against the door, hearing what sounded like a body being forcefully pushed out and falling to the ground. This was quickly followed by the loud sound of a door slamming shut.

From what they gathered, two people had been arguing with the door open, and now one had pushed the other out into the hallway and then shut the door on them.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qian saw the message notification sent by the system:

[Players from room 1107, please proceed to the corridor to view the storyline. This is a mandatory action.]

[NPCs will interact with players. Players must fulfill the NPC’s request.]

Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou exchanged glances, opened the door, and walked into the corridor together.

They saw a woman lying on the ground.

She was wearing a red skirt and had stunning makeup on. However, her expression was grim, sharply contrasting with her bright attire.

She slowly got up from the ground, took off the ring from her ring finger, and threw it away with force.

With a few “ding” sounds, the ring rolled into a corner of the corridor.

She didn’t even glance at it and spat toward the door of room 1103.

It seemed that she had just been pushed out of that room by her husband. Clearly, she was extremely disgusted with him.

At that moment, a man emerged from room 1104, which was opposite room 1103.

The man was tall and handsome. He quickly approached the woman and helped her stand.

The moment the woman leaned on his shoulder, all sorrow vanished from her face, and she seemed to melt, leaning heavily against him.

Zhou Qian watched the scene with interest and said to Bai Zhou, “I guess they had an affair before. Tsk, such cuckoldry, right across each other’s doors.”

Soon after, there were some flirtatious whispers. Zhou Qian looked up to find the two of them kissing right there in the corridor.

After the kiss, the woman hurriedly entered the room, while the man turned to Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou, handed them some money, and said, “I ran out of condoms. Can you help me buy some from the front desk?”

Zhou Qian thought to himself that he had checked his room 1107 thoroughly and hadn’t seen any. Moreover, given their role as frugal tourists, they would indeed run errands for money.

So, the system’s prompt did fit the storyline logic—players must fulfill the NPC’s request.

The only problem was… This man was too eager and hasty about intimacy, even having others buy such items for him?

Raising an eyebrow, Zhou Qian quickly took the money from the man and, together with Bai Zhou, headed downstairs.

In the elevator, Zhou Qian jokingly asked Bai Zhou, “It’s quite fun, isn’t it? Ever imagined one day we’d be taking an elevator together to buy that sort of thing?”

“In the past? If I’m not mistaken, are you referring to our first year in high school?”

Bai Zhou looked at him with a sidelong glance, asking rather seriously, “Did you ever think about it?”

“Not really,” Zhou Qian responded earnestly. “I’m not like you, getting love letters from girls all the time. Who would I buy it for? To blow up as balloons for myself?”

Bai Zhou: “…I never received love letters.”

Zhou Qian continued with a straight face, “And besides, we were underage! What were you thinking about all the time, Zhou Ge?”

Bai Zhou: “……”

After making their purchase without any fuss, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou returned to the 11th floor via the elevator.

As they reached the end of the corridor, Zhou Qian noticed something odd.

The room opposite theirs, 1107, was supposed to be just a wall.

According to Tour Guide Hua, a family of three died there. Afterward, anyone who stayed there committed suicide, so the room was sealed off with cement.

But now, there was a door labeled “1108”.

Suddenly, a chilling scream echoed from room 1108, followed by sounds resembling a bludgeon striking someone’s head.

Zhou Qian heard a fierce male voice sounding through the door. “Having made a mistake, who do you hope will protect you now?”

A faint female voice, filled with extreme fear, began to speak almost incoherently: “God, Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva… I don’t know. Whoever is there, save me, please…”

With a “bang”, another muffled blow landed.

The menacing male voice rang out again. “You’re wrong. You must believe in Satan. Swear allegiance to him; always be loyal to him!”

Sounds of several blows followed, and blood began to seep out from under the door, staining the carpet.

Zhou Qian frowned in displeasure and took a few steps back. Thinking of something, he turned to look at a certain corner of the hallway.

The discarded wedding ring was gone.

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