translator: honeydew
Before the competition started, its venue and content were strictly confidential. But Xu Ruwang was so familiar with the villa in front of him that it seemed he had already investigated before arriving. It wasn’t anything to ignore the matter, but if it was taken seriously, it could really be considered cheating.
Before, Xu Ruwang saw Zhou Jiayu appeared to have a gentle personality and seemed quite soft-hearted. Who knew he would be choked to death with just one sentence? In the end, Xu Ruwang didn’t say anything and just gave Zhou Jiayu a thumbs up, then turned around and left.
Zhou Jiayu smiled at his back and slowly followed the group of contestants into the villa.
The villa was indeed very large, and upon entering the iron gate, there was a spacious garden. It was lush with trees and flowers, all of which seemed to have been carefully pruned.
The villa had four floors in total, with the curtains drawn on the bottom three floors, giving it the appearance of being inhabited. The contestants entered the villa one after another, but Xu Ruwang stood by the door without moving.
Zhou Jiayu walked over and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Xu Ruwang spoke: “It’s interesting.”
Zhou Jiayu said, “What’s interesting?”
Xu Ruwang pointed to the trace of a stain on the stone wall by the door and said, “Do you see that?”
Zhou Jiayu looked in the direction he pointed and saw a black patch that looked a bit like solidified paint, with a faint hint of crimson showing through: “What’s that?”
Xu Ruwang grinned from ear to ear and said, “It’s blood, of course.”
Zhou Jiayu pursed his lips.
Xu Ruwang spoke: “En… this house really is interesting, let’s go in first.”
Zhou Jiayu nodded and the two of them entered the room together.
There were only a few staff members and three referees on-site to prevent contestants from violating rules, while the judges watched the contestants’ performance through monitors.
Lin Zhushui had a special situation, and the organizers had originally planned to arrange him on-site, but he directly refused.
The other judges were not surprised by this, after all, even if Lin Zhushui was blind, he definitely had his own way of seeing things, so there was no need to worry.
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.
The judges saw all twenty contestants enter the villa through the monitor, and the only female among them, Chen Xiaoru, laughed. “Sure enough, they’re scared. The first time I went in, I also had chills down my back.”
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There were countless vermilion-red cabinets around the living room of the villa, and on each cabinet dolls with different appearances were placed. Some of the dolls were made of cloth and some were made of ceramics, but without exception, they all looked very lively and made people feel uncomfortable.
In addition to the cabinets, there were dolls everywhere. Even on the tea table, there were dolls about the size of a palm staring with cat-like eyes at the contestants entering the villa.
The lighting in the house was very dim, and thick curtains hung on the windows, like they were completely separating the villa from the outside world.
“Welcome, everyone.” On a sofa in the living room sat a beautiful girl. She seemed to have lived in the dark house for a long time. Her skin was a bit too pale, and she was wearing a gorgeous long dress. If she wore such an outfit outside, she would definitely receive some strange looks, but in this stuffy and mysterious house, it was very appropriate.
“You can call me Xiao Dou.” Xiao Dou gave a slight smile and said, “This villa now belongs to me.”
All the contestants remained silent and continued to listen.
There was no host here, and it seemed that Xiao Dou played the role. It was really quite difficult for the competition staff to be able to find such a special place in modern society.
“As you can see, dolls are everywhere here.” Xiao Dou continued to introduce, “Some are cloth, some are plastic, some are ceramic, and there are also dolls made of other materials.” She did not elaborate on exactly what the other materials were. “Every one of them was created by my master.”
“Master?” Upon hearing this word, Xu Ruwang muttered, “She’s even role-playing.”
Xiao Dou spoke: “I used to be a maid, but later, there was a homicide here. My master and his wife were both killed by a cruel murderer.” Upon saying this, she revealed a sad expression.
Her sad expression was a bit perfunctory, as if she was in a play. She reluctantly pulled down the corner of her mouth, but her eyes were still smiling.
Zhou Jiayu looked very uncomfortable.
“This case happened a few years ago, but the killer has not yet been apprehended,” Xiao Dou said. “My master and his wife, along with their two children, were both hacked to death in this house. He struggled to escape, but in the end, he didn’t succeed… if you’re observant enough, you will find his bloodstains outside the door.” Xiao Dou’s voice drifted, light and weak.
The contestants began to discuss quietly, and everyone thought that this competition would be related to the murder case.
However, Xiao Dou laughed and said, “You might think I’m here to ask you to find the killer, but it’s not like that, after all, such a dangerous task…”
She paused for a moment and continued, “Today’s competition is very simple.”
Everyone was highly focused, and Zhou Jiayu listened carefully.
Xiao Dou spoke: “My master’s wife is also an expert in dollmaking, but her collection has another location. When she married the master, she only brought ten dolls with her.”
Zhou Jiayu instantly understood Xiao Dou’s meaning.
As expected, she pointed upstairs, then out the door, saying, “These ten dolls are your qualifications for advancement. You have one day, and of course, if you make any other discoveries, you may also get extra points.”
Other discoveries probably referred to the murderer… Zhou Jiayu thought.
Then, Xiao Dou announced the rules. The search area was up to the third floor, including the garden, but the fourth floor was blocked and could not be accessed. The ten dolls varied in size, with no known material or appearance. The time limit was one day. Of course, if all ten dolls were found before a day passed, the competition would be considered over. Players only had one chance to choose, they could touch a doll, but they could not damage it.
The rules were simple, but finding a target among so many dolls was like finding a needle in a haystack, and blind guessing was definitely not an option.
Xiao Dou glanced at the time and announced the start of the competition.
The contestants who had originally gathered in the living room dispersed and all went looking for dolls.
Zhou Jiayu felt uncomfortable from the moment he entered the room, and when he saw Xiao Dou, his discomfort became even more severe. Others may not have been able to see it, but he could see very clearly the entire room was shrouded in a layer of black mist, layer upon layer, as if it was pouring out from the countless bodies of the dolls.
Xiao Dou sat on the sofa in the living room, smiling, but her smile had no sincerity.
Xu Ruwang didn’t rush to go anywhere. He circled around the living room and walked up to Xiao Dou, saying, “Miss Xiao Dou, do you have foreign ancestry?”
Xiao Dou tilted her head: “Why do you ask?”
Xu Ruwang said, “Otherwise, why would your eyes have a bit of blue?”
Xiao Dou had black hair and eyes, but in the dim light, her eyes were a beautiful deep blue.
When Zhou Jiayu heard the conversation between the two, he was also curious. However, Xiao Dou laughed and said, “Little brother, didn’t you know there’s something in the world called cosmetic contact lenses?”
Xu Ruwang: “…”
Zhou Jiayu: “Pu…”
Xu Ruwang turned his head and glared at Zhou Jiayu. “Why are you laughing? Be careful of me sexually harassing you again.”
Zhou Jiayu: “…” My friend, how can you speak so straightforwardly about sexual harassment?
Xiao Dou chuckled and said, “Your relationship seems very good.”
Zhou Jiayu and Xu Ruwang glanced at each other and saw their mutual dislike towards each other. Of course, Xu Ruwang’s dislike was a bit more complex than Zhou Jiayu’s. Although Zhou Jiayu’s type was indeed to his taste, they were in a competition, and the two were considered competitors.
Zhou Jiayu said, “Xiao Dou, do you usually live here?”
Xiao Dou nodded. “Yes, I manage this place alone.”
Zhou Jiayu said, “This place is so big, it must be very troublesome to manage.”
Xiao Dou smiled. “It’s not too bad.”
Zhou Jiayu showed a thoughtful expression.
Xu Ruwang walked around the living room and didn’t find anything special. He said to Zhou Jiayu, “Let’s go upstairs and take a look together.”
“Okay,” Zhou Jiayu agreed, seeing he couldn’t seem to get any special information from Xiao Dou.
So the two of them left the living room and headed for the second floor.
The wooden boards underfoot seemed to have not been walked on for a long time, making a creaking sound. The two of them went up to the second floor and sucked in breaths of cold air as they looked around the corridor.
If the dolls on the first floor were somewhat different from humans, then the dolls on the second floor were almost the same as humans, with the same proportions, appearances, and even the same texture of skin.
These dolls were placed in glass cabinets in the corridor, one more lifelike than the other, smiling and staring blankly at the intruders.
To be honest, if it weren’t for the competition, and if it weren’t for the many contestants present, Zhou Jiayu would’ve turned around and never entered again. This villa was really too horrifying.
And a really interesting chapter! Thanks a lot for the update 💕
Do everyone scared of dolls? Maybe atmosphere is important, but I’m not scared of dolls at all
Thank you for your translation 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
😬😬
Anyone else thinks the maid is the doll and the killer?