I Rely On Poverty To Sweep Through Survival GamesCh31 - Night

Xiao Lan stared at the dark cuisine on the plate. Just now, Madam Bella had said, “I personally made this for all of you.” Was she able to influence players because she had added something to the food, or because she had some special ability? Even Luo couldn’t identify the specific contents.

In a word, it didn’t seem that the banquet food could be touched. CeSHvr

Xiao Lan looked at the vegetables that were used as decorations around the sides of the plates; it was better not to touch these either, just in case.

He didn’t know if this game would last for several days. If that was the case, it clearly wasn’t realistic for them to never be able to eat, so there were probably other ways to get food in this place.

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After that, the atmosphere during the banquet was extremely odd.

The maids served the other dishes in succession. Almost all these dishes were scorched, dark cuisine; it was hard to figure out what ingredients had been used in them. 31RQWJ

The two players who had eaten Madam Bella’s cooking praised each dish to high heavens, using exaggerated adjectives to compliment them as they ate up with joyful smiles.

A normal chef would probably love these guests who weren’t picky eaters and could even kiss ass until they were shitting rainbows.

Meanwhile, none of the other players touched the food. They observed the two people who were behaving weirdly, and occasionally chatted quietly among themselves. They didn’t even touch the wine accompaniment placed on the side, and allowed each course to be served and taken away.

The two sides were entirely different, like a boring comedy standing off against a hard-to-amuse audience.

Faced with this scene, Madam Bella no longer seemed interested in personally feeding everyone in front of her. She only smiled where she sat as she sipped her wine and listened to the two players flatter and praise her.

The normal-sized wine glass looked dainty in her enormous hand, and she could finish the whole cup in a single mouthful, after which the maid next to her would promptly refill her glass.

In this strange atmosphere, the banquet started to draw to a close.

Just as the players were about to sigh in relief, Madam Bella stood up and clapped her hands. CldAwK

Hearing this, the odd-looking maids entered in a row and switched out the players’ wine glasses for new ones, then poured new wine. The aroma of the wine was dense, and the sparkling, amber liquid glittered with an enchanting luster in the exquisite glass.

During this time, a fem… perhaps not a female maid, whose looks couldn’t even be imagined, even approached Xiao Lan and took the opportunity to say into his ear, “Dear guest, if you feel lonely tonight, feel free to visit me. We can while the time away at night.”

Xiao Lan had no expression on his face. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

The maid giggled. “Dear guest, no need to be shy~” Dcymat

Xiao Lan: “…”

Aren’t you going to see if I’m shy or not?!

After the maids left.

Madam Bella smiled as she raised her glass. She surveyed the various expressions of the players. “Thank you, everyone, for coming today. To our meeting. Cheers.” VPIrUO

This untimely toast caused the players to fall silent.

They knew very well what the consequences of eating Madam Bella’s loving meal were, so what was up with this sudden toast? What was her motive?

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Xiao Lan stared at the glass next to his hand. He had noticed just now, when the maid was pouring the wine, that the packaging was very uniform, and the wine bottle had the name of the brewery and the year clearly indicated on it; it probably wasn’t something that Madam Bella would have brewed personally.

Although, with Madam Bella’s wealth, it wasn’t difficult for her to set up her own brewery. Logically speaking, however, the game wouldn’t allow the boss to murder all the players at the very start, right? Jd4mkc

There was a very high probability that the wine was safe; perhaps the danger was in not drinking it.

Xiao Lan had just reached out for the glass, when he saw Wang Ke, who wasn’t far away, directly stand up, snatch up the glass, and finish the wine in one gulp. After drinking, he slammed the glass down on the table with the domineering heroism of a gangster.

Sure enough, seeing was believing. Wang Ke truly was an awesome person ah!

After drinking the wine, Wang Ke sat back in his seat and was taciturn as always; there didn’t seem to be anything abnormal about him. UrWXhd

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Seeing how decisive his family’s big brother was, Wang Taidi instantly understood. He picked up the glass and drank as well, giving Xiao Lan a look in passing to indicate that he should do the same.

Xiao Lan picked up the glass; the wine was smooth when he drank it. It had a mellow and rich texture, and a unique woody fragrance slowly spread in his mouth. It revealed itself layer by layer, making him feel… a strong craving for cola ah.

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Madam Bella also noticed this. Her asymmetrical eyes shifted over, and her tone was a little dangerous. “What’s wrong, dear guest? Is my wine not to your liking?”

Hearing this, the players all looked at this mysterious, plague doctor-like player. PFw32c

What would be the outcome of disobeying Madam Bella?

Qi Ning was still as calm as ever. He stood up and gave Madam Bella a gentlemanly bow, and his voice was low and hoarse, and seemed a little frail, as if he lacked qi and blood. “Beautiful madam, your beauty is as bright as the moon and as splendid as a rose flower. Before your beauty, I am too preoccupied to taste any food. Please forgive my lack of manners.”

This earnestly spouted nonsense astonished everyone. Forget this person’s noble and aloof attitude; it turned out he was this decisive in abandoning his integrity. Furthermore, he seemed extremely practised; who knew how many times he had experienced something like this.

He would go this far just to not take off his mask! Doesn’t your bottom line hurt, as an advanced player? eAxpH0

Or perhaps it could be said that there was no such thing as a bottom line to become an advanced player.

“Hahaha, you truly are a guest who makes me happy.” Hearing his words, Madam Bella laughed until the flowers shook. Her enormous body hit the table and rocked it. It was evident that she was extremely satisfied with such high quality praise, and didn’t care about the sincerity of his words.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Under the players’ dumbstruck expressions, she let Qi Ning off.

It seemed that being able to accurately determine the boss’s temperament and demands helped immensely in smoothly clearing an instance. A7wrc8

After the banquet, the housekeeper brought the players away, having already arranged rooms for them.

The players’ rooms were on the highest floor of the manor; maids waited in the corridor that the players passed through, purportedly so that they could serve the players at any time, but perhaps in no small part to monitor them in reality.

As such, all the coming and goings of the players were in the line of sight of the manor’s servants.

The top floor was four floors away from the ground floor and very far away from other rooms that might contain clues, which made it even more difficult for players to sneak out to forage for food at night. pizgud

Xiao Lan was sizing up the corridor’s layout when Wang Taidi just happened to open the door opposite him.

Wang Taidi looked a little weak. “This door doesn’t look very sturdy ah.”

Hearing this, Xiao Lan turned and touched the door. It was made of genuine wood, and the quality was good, but in the face of a monster’s strength, it was very flimsy.

He said consolingly, “It’s useless even if it was sturdy; they have keys, anyway. The doors in fact are just for our mental comfort.” LIfeEJ

Wang Taidi: “…”

This sort of comfort made people lose hope.

Xiao Lan noticed that this time, the housekeeper didn’t say that it had to be one person to one room, but the players still chose a single room each. Could it be that teaming up wasn’t safer? He raised this issue with Wang Taidi.

Wang Taidi appeared to suddenly recall something. “It seems I forgot to tell you, but the more players there are together, the higher the chances of encountering danger. Players thus generally team up in twos or threes and look out for each other for the time being. Any team that has seven to eight people are most likely using the rest as cannon fodder.” ZzNoMl

Xiao Lan was puzzled. “Then why aren’t you sleeping with your brother? Isn’t it just nice with two people?”

Wang Taidi hung his head. “My ge hates that I grind my teeth and kick off the blankets, and I also gnaw on his hair in the middle of the night…”

Xiao Lan: “…”

In the end, Wang Ke’s life was actually so full of such suffering. 0mK4UI

Wang Taidi scratched his short curls. “But I’m already very used to responding to dangers at night. Generally, I’ll just stay quiet and not go looking for death. If there really is trouble that I can’t deal with, I can still use an item to slip directly to my ge’s side.”

He drew closer to Xiao Lan and quietly asked, “Say, what should I do if Madam Bella sneaks over to attack me in the middle of the night?”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

Xiao Lan thought of Madam Bella’s appearance. “If you sleep so deeply that her footsteps can’t wake you up, then you can pretty much just be buried.”

Wang Taidi: “…” zXHSDb

Our little boat of friendship is already leaking!

.

Xiao Lan returned to his room.

He surveyed the guest room, which was as lavish as it would have been in the past. The bed looked big and soft, and four to five adults could lie on it without any problem. There was even a sofa and small tea table next to the exquisite window. It looked several times bigger than the miserable little room in the player hub. k1aL8s

Next to the bed was a flower vase, which held white roses that had dewdrops on them.

There was also a letter next to the vase, with an enormous lipstick mark on it. There was no need to guess who the owner of this mark was; aside from Madam Bella, there was no one else here who had lips so large and shaped so peculiarly.

Xiao Lan reached out to open the letter, or perhaps it was more appropriate to call it a love letter. The letter spoke of her longing for him and her joy at being able to meet face to face, and she hoped that he could happily enjoy himself in the manor. From beginning to end, however, she used “my little sweetheart” – it looked just like a mass email.

The handwriting in the love letter was elegant and fine, as if it had been written by a noble lady who had received a good education. It was completely unlike Madam Bella’s fearsome physical appearance. Was this “not judging a book by its cover”, or did someone write this in her place? lfhAsb

It was still early, and the maids in the manor were still moving about; now wasn’t a good time to go out and search for clues and food.

Xiao Lan sat on the sofa by the bed. The teaset in the guest room was especially delicate, its colour and lustre like jade. It looked even more delicate and white compared with ordinary porcelain, and even emitted a faint light.

He didn’t really think about making tea, and casually poured himself a cup of cold water.

Xiao Lan had just brought the cup to his lips and was about to take a sip when something pressed down on his shoulder to keep him still. dETZjp

“Sir.” Luo’s voice came from the direction of the windowsill.

Xiao Lan turned his head and saw Luo sitting on the windowsill, smiling faintly. Behind him was the night sky, which flickered with stars. He had come right from the wall outside the window, and surprisingly hadn’t made any sound.

Luo withdrew his hand. “In my room, I noticed that the teaset by the sofa is made of bone china. Since the bone composition of humans and most vertebrate animals are the same, I have some doubts about where this bone is from.”

Xiao Lan looked at the cup, and felt like it was stinging his hand. 6opuis

If this was human…

Luo came down from the windowsill and walked confidently towards the cabinet in the room. He had long familiarised himself with the setup and the items on display, and he took out a new teaset from the cabinet. “Please wait a moment. I’ll prepare you a new pot of tea.”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

After a short while, a cup of black tea overflowing with fragrance was placed in Xiao Lan’s hands.

Xiao Lan drank the black tea, missing the taste of cola at the same time. He also discussed with Luo what they should do next. “I was planning to take a short nap and wait until the maids get some rest in the middle of the night before going out to search for clues.” wfHpJ7

Luo said earnestly, “Sir, I have no need to sleep. I can watch over you the whole night and ensure your safety. Just leave the dangerous matters to me.”

Xiao Lan shook his head. “This is considered my game, and I have to clear it with my own strength. I can accept your help, but I can’t leave you to handle all the danger.

“Moreover, me sleeping while you keep watch on the side or whatever would make me feel like an unconscientious boss.

“You go back and rest ba; when the time comes, you can wake me up, and we’ll go together.” QswlYr

“Alright sir,” Luo responded with a smile.

“Oh, right, don’t climb through the window anymore, it’s not safe,” Xiao Lan added.

Luo nodded, and closed the room door behind him.

After that, Xiao Lan extinguished the candle flame and lay down on the large, soft bed, sinking into dreamland in the dark. SdVz0y

And after Xiao Lan’s breathing evened out, a pair of faint gold pupils appeared in the night, reflecting a faint light in the gentle moonlight. In this way, he kept silent guard. In order not to disturb Xiao Lan, he even stopped imitating the breathing and heartbeat of a human, and was like a quiet and soundless creature without life which grew in the shadows.

At that moment, he missed the inconvenient form of the black cat; at least the black cat wouldn’t be chased out…

.

As the depths of the night approached, Madam Bella’s manor gradually quieted down. Most of the maids had returned to their rooms to rest, and only a small number who had to be on night duty were still working. KxmWMf

A stealthy figure moved through the manor, carefully avoiding the few maids who were on night duty. The figure seemed to know the inside of the manor very well, and in this way, stole furtively up to the floor which the players were staying on.

One, two, three… This person silently counted the rooms the players were in, and finally found their target.

Ecstatic, the stealthy figure took out a spare key from their bosom, and was about to put it into the keyhole.

“This sort of behaviour is very rude, miss.” Suddenly, there was a deep male voice behind her. 9EV1pf

The maid was alarmed. How could this be?!

She clearly hadn’t sensed anyone behind her.

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Didn’t the maid who had changed shifts say that these guests had returned to their rooms earlier on and hadn’t come out again after that? Then where did this person pop out from?

The maid abruptly turned around. If Xiao Lan was here, he would have recognised this maid as the one who had poured wine for him at the banquet and invited him to have fun at night together. UDFufg

After she turned around, she still didn’t see a trace of anyone.

Before the maid could speak, there was the feeling of a sharp object pressed to her neck.

The maid stiffened, and now didn’t dare move at all.

“Please don’t disturb my master, alright?” She heard a soft voice with a cello-like timbre in her ears, and then there was a sharp sting on her neck. “Otherwise, though it may be a little rude to a lady, I can only invite you to enter an eternal sleep.” M7Cmfy

A chill ran straight down her back; it was like being stared at by a fierce predator in the dark, and she didn’t dare move at all. She could only softly say, “O- okay…”

After that, the sharp sensation on her neck vanished, and a hand lightly pushed her back. “You can leave.”

The maid didn’t dare object, and swiftly departed with small, quick steps. She didn’t dare turn her head to verify who the person behind her was either.

She didn’t realise that during that short confrontation, the key in her pocket had already been taken. qLvC4y

Looking at the key in his hand, Luo put it in his chest pocket. Then, taking back that cold and murderous expression, he put on the gentle smile which Xiao Lan was most familiar with, and gently knocked on Xiao Lan’s door.

“Sir, it’s almost time.”

The author has something to say: lIySpP

Wang Ke’s little theater:

Usual times in the player hub: I’ll wear however high I want, I’m the most handsome guy.

About to enter the instance: Five centimeters… Um, I might have to fight, so three centimeters is better ba. Flats are out of the question! Absolutely impossible, I won’t wear flats even if my life is on the line!