Looking at the grotesquely squirming human skins around him, Xiao Lan took a cautious step back and avoided their wizened hands.
Seeing Xiao Lan evade them, the human skins wiggled even more rapidly as the rustling spread throughout the secret room, and Xiao Lan’s scalp turned numb at the sound.
It was as if they were warmly welcoming the two of them to stay and keep them company.
Xiao Lan slowly backed away. “Thank you for your enthusiasm, ladies, but there really is no need.”
Who knew if the human skins could understand Xiao Lan’s words, but they still moved in his direction. Some had already fallen off their hangers to writhe on the floor and prop themselves up as they moved in his direction with monstrous postures.
“Hee hee…”
“Hee…”
They clearly already had no tongues, yet these human skins still made sounds as if there was something inside them.
The tinkling laughter of a young girl rang out again and again in the room. If they were still alive, this scene may be an otaku’s fantasy of heaven. Unfortunately, reality always trampled fantasy underfoot.
Seeing this situation, Xiao Lan had no interest in interacting with these fans.
These human skins looked flimsy and light as a feather, as if a gentle breeze would knock them over; however, if a kick not only didn’t send them flying, but even wrapped him up instead, he would be dead for sure. When the time came, a bunch of human skins would directly press down on him and he wouldn’t be able to throw them off; how would he not see death then?
Xiao Lan gave Luo a meaningful look, and the two of them swiftly headed for the door.
On their way, a constant stream of human skins rushed at them from all directions. They stretched out their wizened and boneless hands and tried to drag the two of them back, but Xiao Lan and Luo nimbly avoided them.
They pressed on and were about to reach the exit of the secret room that was close to the corridor.
But then a human skin fell straight down from above to block their path.
This was the human skin displayed in the center of the room which had butterfly wings and wore gorgeous accessories. Up close, Xiao Lan now noticed that she had a newer shade of colour compared with the other human skins, and unlike the heavy aura of death on them, even had a bit of a living person’s disposition.
She stood in front of them, her empty eye sockets facing them directly; the vein lines on the inner skin could be seen right through the eye cavities. Her lips, painted red, opened and closed, and a throat which shouldn’t have vocal cords somehow produced broken sounds. “Don’t — think — of — leaving —”
With that, she pounced. She was unexpectedly much quicker than the other human skins, and her target was — Luo.
It should be pointed out that in the last two instances, Luo was the type who was ignored, whether by Zhang Dong who couldn’t see him or Gu Mo who regarded him as a pet; to a boss or an NPC, Luo had never had a sense of existence.
Now, there was actually one who cast Xiao Lan aside to go straight for Luo?!
That violent attitude even had the air of a fight to the death. How great was this animosity?
As he ran, Xiao Lan asked, “What did you do to make her chase you like this?”
Luo shook off the human skin and seemed to ponder for 0.5 seconds. “I cannot remember insignificant matters.”
The human skin who heard what he said became even more incensed. She tore off the butterfly wings on her back which were slowing her down and let out a sharp whistle. At this sound, the other human skins seemed to receive a boost and sped up.
The human skin was close on their heels, her empty eye sockets fixed on Luo. “Because of — you — I failed — what was obviously — the easiest — mission!”
Xiao Lan was still running away with a question mark over him.
It was only at that moment that Luo dug out the memory of a certain night from the corner of his mind. He had casually dealt with a maid who had been behaving strangely and had tried to open Xiao Lan’s door.
It turned out that she was the sole female player.
It seemed that the task she had chosen was to assassinate one of the players, or perhaps play some trick on the male players. She chose Xiao Lan, but unexpectedly failed because of Luo’s obstruction, and was even turned into human skin and placed in this room.
Truly an unfortunate person, Luo thought indifferently.
At that moment, the female player’s human skin was gaining on them, and the dense pack of human skins behind her had also practically merged into one sheet. Luo threw the extinguished candle to the floor, and the sharp claws on his hand could faintly be seen. He raised his hand —
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.
A figure suddenly darted out in front of him.
He saw Xiao Lan turn around and grab the human skin that was inches away from them. Tying her hands, which were now nothing more than skin bags, into a knot, he then bundled her up into a (skin) ball. with deft, inconceivably quick movements; even the accessories on her were nicely wrapped up inside.
Ktf fcalgf qgbmfrr bcis abbx j ofk rfmbcvr.
Qtja qgbofrrlbcji qjmxlcu afmtcldef!
Ktlr kjr atf fzmierlnf rxlii Wljb Ojc tjv ifjgca joafg vblcu mbecaifrr qjmxlcu lc njglber agjvfr: tf mbeiv qjmx jcs lafw ab atf wbra relajyif nbiewf lc atf rtbgafra jwbeca bo alwf. Ktjcxr ab qgbofrrlbcji tjyla, tf vlvc’a fnfc obgufa jcs bo atf jmmfrrbglfr, ktlmt pera rb tjqqfcfv ab jvv kfluta ab atlr yjii.
After that, Xiao Lan weighed the ‘ball’ in his hand and looked at the wave of human skins coming towards them. He then raised his arm and, with a sudden burst of strength, hurled the ‘ball’ at the endless stampede of human skins.
Fuck! This damned gay!!!
The ex-female player who was already a ball screeched and yelled in her heart. Unfortunately, she had already been rolled into a lump and couldn’t make a sound.
“Bang —” The human skins didn’t weigh anything in the first place and couldn’t endure Xiao Lan’s strength. The front line of human skins was sent slamming into the skins that didn’t know what was going on behind them. They were also knocked down, and the human skin army instantly collapsed as one big sheet.
Seizing this chance, Xiao Lan and Luo quickly ran out of the corridor and activated the switch to close up the secret room. As the wall flipped shut, they could still faintly hear the human skins that rushed over later to slap the wall repeatedly. Unfortunately, they who didn’t have any bones were doomed to be unable to open this door.
Finally leaving that gloomy and oppressive secret room, Xiao Lan sighed in relief; even Madam Bella’s room, which was practically a tiger’s den, appeared much more pleasing to the eye.
Xiao Lan looked out the window.
By now, the sky outside was dyed in red and gold. The setting sun wrapped in the evening glow revealed its head and enveloped the entire manor in a layer of golden brilliance.
It was late and almost time for dinner. If they didn’t show up, they might make the housekeeper suspicious. Thus, both of them carefully evaded the maids and returned to their room to wait for the maids to lead them to the dining hall.
.
When they returned to their room, the maids fortunately hadn’t come knocking on their doors yet. The two of them were able to rest for the time being. Luo even found the time to steep black tea for them.
Clasping the fragrant black tea in his hands, Xiao Lan nestled bonelessly on the sofa and chatted idly with Luo about the clues which they had so far.
“What we now know is that Madam Bella was originally a beautiful woman and had a little sister whom she was very close with. Something happened after that which led to Madam Bella deciding to sign a contract with an unknown entity. She even made use of the maids in the manor, and after that, gained a healthy body and a mystical power. Furthermore, she changed into her current appearance.
“Then when did Annie die? Was Bella’s transformation related to Annie?
“And what on earth is that thing that signed a contract with Madam Bella and gave her power?
“Also, what’s Madam Bella’s motive for gathering unfamiliar men in the manor in the name of searching for a fiance? Where did the men who came here before go?”
Xiao Lan took a sip of his tea. “There’s still so many unsolved mysteries.”
Luo didn’t say anything to interrupt Xiao Lan’s musings, and merely reached out to top up Xiao Lan’s tea.
Xiao Lan: “There’s also something else that puzzles me. If Bella wants everyone to call her madam, that means that she’s already married. But we haven’t heard anything to do with Madam Bella’s husband, whether from her gathering men here, or the fact that there are no signs of a master in this manor, or from the maids’ gossip.
“Does this person exist? Who is he? Or what role did he play in the former Bella’s transformation into the present Madam Bella?
“In the end, what on earth are our clues to clearing the instance?”
Luo put down the tea cup in his hand and smiled slightly. “Sir, perhaps we should find an opportunity to ask the other players and exchange information.”
“Good idea.” Xiao Lan’s eyes lit up. The information about the hidden human skin room could probably be exchanged for valuable information.
After that, Xiao Lan casually asked why that strange human skin had been so relentless in chasing Luo in that hidden room filled with human skins.
Luo’s expression was indifferent. “It’s like this: one night, a little bug popped out to try and bother you, and I chased it away. Perhaps that little bug felt resentful over this.”
Looking at Luo’s serene face, Xiao Lan could more or less guess what happened: that human skin was most likely the female player, and it seemed that she had tried to make a move against Xiao Lan without him knowing, but Luo had dealt with her.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
There was knocking at the door, and the maid informed the two of them that it was time for dinner.
.
The maid again brought the two of them to the dining hall from that morning.
Like what the maid in the garden had said during the day, Madam Bella didn’t return to the manor today, and it was only the players at the table during dinner.
When the dishes were served, the players were a little astonished because the food tonight was unbelievably sumptuous, as if for some festival or celebration.
It felt like the last supper.
After that, the housekeeper appeared to confirm the players’ ominous speculation. The lady housekeeper still had her head, which didn’t have a hair out of place, raised high as she spoke to the players in a haughty tone. “Please enjoy your dinner. After all, tomorrow is a very important day.
“Hehe, it’ll be something you’ll never forget in your lives.”
When the players raised doubts and asked what was happening tomorrow, the housekeeper just smiled coldly and left without a word in reply. Before she left, she left them with a sentence: “Don’t disappoint the madam.”
The players looked at each other. This was basically declaring that there would be a large-scale operation tomorrow: You guys better wash your necks and wait. It’s best if you die; if not, we’ll continue working hard.
If they didn’t want to die, they had to clear the game before Madam Bella returned.
After the housekeeper left, the dining hall sank into a brief silence.
“Thump —”
Suddenly, there was the sound of something falling to the floor.
The players turned to look in the direction of the sound and saw that the three male players who had eaten Madam Bella’s food before had dropped their spoons.
There were malevolent yet jealous expressions on their faces as they gazed at the other players with hostile eyes.
“The madam is mine!”
“You all better not dream that you can get the madam’s favour!”
“It’s better if you all die ba…”
As he spoke, the player sitting next to Luo tried to attack him. His movements were crude and wild, as if he had lost his rationale. He threw himself at Luo, but Luo raised one leg from where he was sitting to knock him down and then step on him.
Luo was slender and tall, but the foot which pressed down on the player’s back was like a several hundred-kilogram weight under which the latter was completely unable to move. That player still struggled, but Luo was already tired of the excessive noise and simply kicked him unconscious.
Throughout the entire thing, Luo didn’t even stand up.
On the other side, the player who pounced at Qi Ning had already fallen unconscious to the floor.
Finally, the poor devil who saw that the situation had taken a turn for the worse tried to flip the table over, but Wang Ke directly grabbed him by the head and slammed it into the table, and the player probably fainted.
Thanks to the united efforts of the remaining players, this dinner proceeded smoothly and happily. After all, they would face the danger tomorrow, while dinner could be settled right now.
Except for Qi Ning, who still just admired the tableware and wouldn’t take off his mask even on pain of death.
.
After dinner, Xiao Lan found the Wang brothers, who had left earlier, and expressed his intent to trade information.
Wang Taidi nodded. “Alright. It just so happens that we also have a piece of information that seems very important.”
Xiao Lan: “Then, to express my sincerity, I’ll speak first.”
He told the Wang brothers about the secret human skin room, and in particular, recounted the message which the maids left behind asking for help as well as his suspicions about that unknown contractor.
After hearing Xiao Lan’s account, Wang Taidi felt cold and rubbed his goosebumps. “That room is just too horrifying… you actually dared to touch the human skin with your hands!”
Wang Taidi’s expression said, ‘you really are an amazing man’.
Xiao Lan shrugged.
After that, Wang Taidi took out what looked like a very old envelope from his bag.
The letter was from someone with the surname Anotti who was requesting help from his good friend who was a bishop. In the letter, he mentioned that his family had a hereditary disease that had afflicted them for a long time. More than half the family would contract it in their childhood, which caused them to generally not have long lifespans and their sons to be weak and frail.
And recently, Mr Anotti would hear someone calling out to him, as if right next to his ear.
Moreover, that voice was everywhere and would occasionally appear by his side.
That voice called itself Otey. He said he could grant them health and hope, and even allow them to obtain supernatural powers. All they had to do was just pay a small price.
Mr Anotti was a devout believer and was concerned that his family was being enticed by a devil; he hoped that his good friend the bishop could help them.
It seemed that Madam Bella’s family was this Anotti family. But for some reason, this letter was ultimately left behind in the manor.
Xiao Lan looked at the letter in his hand. “Otey… Is this the thing that Madam Bella signed a contract with? What is it, a demon or an evil god?”
Wang Taidi shook his head. “In any case, both of those have pretty much the same interests.”
Wasn’t this a bit sloppy?
Wang Taidi twisted his little curls. “I hate these sorts of unscientific instances! I hate bosses with no death conditions!”
Xiao Lan was puzzled. “Death conditions?”
Wang Ke explained, “People who sign a contract with a demon or evil god are very hard to kill. Even if they’re killed, it’ll attract the existence they signed a contract with. An entity of that level is something even advanced players cannot go against, and they have no choice but to rely on items to restrain the entity as they flee.
“Many people guess that a contract player is required in order to deal with a demon, while an evil god may be above that.”
Xiao Lan wondered, “So the condition for clearing this instance basically wouldn’t be to kill Madam Bella. Could it be that we have to find a way to escape before she returns?”
When they were looking for clues earlier, they discovered that there was no way at all to climb over the wall and leave the manor.
Wang Taidi: “We also have to see what on earth the housekeeper is hiding, and what’s going to happen tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Wang Ke wordlessly left.
Xiao Lan was curious. “What’s with your brother?”
Wang Taidi’s eyes were bright as he pulled Xiao Lan along. “Come, come, come, let’s go watch my brother’s unique form of communication.”
As he followed them, Xiao Lan had a bad premonition.
A moment later, his premonition came true. He watched as Wang Ke reached the housekeeper’s room, then directly kicked open the shut door without even knocking.
The housekeeper screamed in shock. “What are you doing?! How rude —”
Xiao Lan then watched as Wang Ke didn’t even say a word and simply sent the housekeeper flying with a kick across the floor, before he stepped on the housekeeper, whose hair bun was now in disarray.
As if what he was stepping on was a salted fish.
Wang Ke’s expression was indifferent. “Madam, let’s chat?”
Xiao Lan outside the door: “Fuck me, has your brother always done things this way?”
Wang Taidi nodded. “He said that you can do whatever you want as long as you’re certain you won’t die from it.”
Xiao Lan suddenly felt like the door to a new world had opened before his eyes.
Woah…Wang Ke…That’s so brutal…+1 respect for the housemaid who endured this.
Thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter and your hard work!
I’m getting curious about Qi Ning (• ▽ • )
Thank you for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️
thank you for the chapter!
WT is really riding his brother’s coattails XD
QN is the people that die for their aesthetics, tbh plague clothes do seem cool
Thanks for the chapter!
Truely inspirational.
（╹◡╹）
thanks for the translation!
Thank you for translating! <3
I wonder if the person(or persons) Qi Ning is after is Xiao Lan and Luo? Luo did technically rip an opening in the world for Xiao Lan to escape from the hotel. 🤔
I like the interactions with the Wang brothers, but so far no interaction with the other players leaves me a bit curious.
and Xiao Lan xD you are way too cute. Using all your practical skills in the game is so smart. Also “opened the door to a whole new world.” are they being a bad influence on our Xiao Lan? 🤭🤭
Wang Ke’s expression was indifferent. “Madam, let’s chat?”
I already love him
So handsome ah
Thanks for the update
Thanks for the chapter!!
» Xiao Lan shook off the human skin and seemed to ponder for 0.5 seconds.« I think it should be Luo here, not XL.
Violence can be a solution too lol
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
Unlike at the supermarket instance, I think the difference here is that you can beat up the NPCs if the Boss isn’t around 😂
Wonder how the heck Qi Ning has been surviving off (lack of) food at all… maybe he eats in his room when he’s sure no one can see him…..
Also Wang Ke you are savage HAHAHHAA…
Thanks for the chapter!!!!!
Is Wang Ke a Triad boss before his death? 😅
how does the dead girl know he’s gay aaaaa
Thanks for the chapter! I guess MC will try to destroy everything now that he knows.
“Madam, let’s chat?”
Omoo!! Me! Me! You can chat with me!!
[Faint from Wang Ke’s handsomeness]
I was waiting for the authors note when XL said fuck me… you know like maybe Luo might say: yes, with pleasure😳🙃
lol xiao lan time to take notes from wang ke😂
I- oh wow… Xiao Lan learned something new from brother Wang Ke
“Violence is never the answer,
Violence is the question and the answer is YES”.
brooo i love wang ke(ji) lmaoooo😭🥺
Go go Wang Ke!