Edited by Izrate and Rinrin
A dish made with hydrogen, fluorine, sulfur and iodine? Never mind making a good dish, would it even be edible?
This was clearly a riddle they had to solve.
Shan Ziwei was at a loss. He didn’t know anything about chemistry, because he hadn’t even graduated from middle school. More specifically, his hypersexuality had K.O.ed him in eighth grade, and chemistry only started in ninth grade. Though his parents had hired teachers to homeschool him after that, it ended up going nowhere with no apparent cure or way to improve his condition. After that, Shan Ziwei flipped open a book called Basic Computer Language by chance, and thus began his path as a gamer and programmer.
Thus, never mind chemical reactions or formulas, he had barely even looked at the periodic table.
Luckily, he wasn’t the only one in this fight. Shan Ziwei looked at his companions and then jumped when he realised everyone was staring at him.
Shan Ziwei: ???
The two sides stared at each other for a moment before RoseBlood eventually spoke up. “Any ideas?”
Shan Ziwei shook his head rapidly. “I don’t understand chemistry.”
Hearing this, RoseBlood seemed a little surprised. She and Hyacinth exchanged a look before Hyacinth stepped forward and said, “I have an idea, I wanna know what you guys think.”
The girl held up the phantom’s tray.
“We have water, vinegar, glucose, hydrogen, fluorine, sulfur and iodine. It seems like we have to use them to cook, but the shadow never said we had to use what’s in these vials to cook. His words are vague, leading us to think a certain way, but the only thing we can be sure of is that we can ‘use anything in the kitchen’.” Her glasses flashed as Hyacinth announced with certainty, “Thus, these vials are just clues. The actual ingredients are in the kitchen.”
Shan Ziwei looked around at the kitchen they were in. It was a typical twenty-first century kitchen, fully equipped with cupboards, cookery, prep counters, a sink, and a fridge.
Hyacinth walked up to the fridge and opened the door. Cold air creeped out, and under the fluorescent lights inside, they could see all sorts of food packed inside.
Hyacinth continued to speak, “Hydrogen, fluorine, sulfur, iodine, the atomic symbols of these elements are H, F, S, I…”
Hearing those symbols, Shan Ziwei immediately understood. He watched as Hyacinth bent down and pulled open a drawer at the bottom of the fridge, taking out something pungent.
“Change the order and you get… fish.”
Hyacinth held a yellow croaker fish in her hands. Now Shan Ziwei got it. The remaining vinegar and glucose as clues made it obvious what they were meant to make.
“Sweet and sour fish,” Hyacinth concluded. “That’s my guess.”
Very well done. Shan Ziwei gave her a thumbs-up in his head, and then saw the other look at him questioningly.
Shan Ziwei was a little taken aback, but then he realised: the previous riddle the shadow had given them had really shook them, causing Hyacinth to still look to him for his thoughts even though her logic was flawless. So, he guessed he had kinda won their approval?
Shan Ziwei immediately declared, “It sounds good to me.”
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.
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Shan Ziwei’s gaze drifted from PearlMilkTea, who still looked as if she had lost her soul, to host, who didn’t seem to care at all, and he sighed, then went up to the fridge and took out onion, ginger, and other ingredients and seasoning.
Luckily, he was used to fending for himself, and had at least some skill points in cooking. He was no master, but it was edible and didn’t taste too bad. Plus, this was sweet and sour fish, something he really liked and one of his best dishes. It should be enough to complete the task.
Shan Ziwei tried pulling open the cupboards under the sink and counter. Before, when RoseBlood and the others were investigating, these cupboards were locked, but now they could be opened just fine. The first thing Shan Ziwei saw in the open cupboard was all sorts of knives: mulberry knife, piandao and wenwu dao
Shan Ziwei took out a mulberry knife and a florist knife. He used the mulberry knife to descale and gut the fish, putting the florist knife to the side. Host silently approached, putting the florist knife into his toybox. The shadowy figure didn’t respond to this at all, still waiting for the dish to be ready with an expression of anxiety.
Shan Ziwei breathed a sigh of relief, and swiftly prepared the fish and rubbed a layer of corn flour over it. The only thing that made him uncomfortable now was how host didn’t move away after grabbing the knife, but instead stood behind him, watching closely.
Shan Ziwei required more personal space than most other people in the first place in the first place. He couldn’t help but look back at host to try and get the other to move away, but he instead fell into the gaze of the abyss. The other’s eyes were like pools of dead, stagnant water deep in the mountains, unmoving as if nothing could arouse any kind of emotion from the black-haired young man. Yet, at the same time, the black eyes under his dark hair were bright, his gaze so intense it almost felt invasive.
To Shan Ziwei, this gaze made him feel as if his soul was being pierced through, like he was a foolish rabbit caught in the gaze of a well-fed black panther. Though the other had no intent to hunt, if he dared take another step forward, the other wouldn’t mind having an extra little snack.
Have you never seen a man cook sweet and sour fish before? Shan Ziwei complained to himself. He didn’t dare pry into host’s strange behaviour, and the sense of impending doom stabbed at his mind, warning him against looking into it further.
A certain hypersexual turned back around silently, acted as if nothing had happened and continued cooking.
Soon, the plate of sweet and sour fish was done. The sweet, aromantic sauce was drizzled over the crispy, golden yellow croaker fish, tickling one’s appetite.
Gazing at the fragrant plate of sweet and sour fish, Shan Ziwei swallowed thickly, almost drooling. It had been a long, long time since he had made this for himself, and he was curious how the taste of in-game food would differ, if at all, from the real world.
“Oh, thank god!” The downturned corners of the shadow’s mouth finally stretched upwards. It reached out to take the sweet and sour fish, “I’ll take it to ma-”
But there was someone who was faster to take the dish. Host let go of the sweet and sour fish in his hand and it disappeared into thin air – he had put it into his toybox.
Shan Ziwei was still too scared to respond. RoseBlood who was beside them raised her eyebrows, “What are you doing?”
Host turned his head and glanced at RoseBlood with nonchalance – was there anything wrong with a king taking what was part of his territory?
“I’ve monopolised him,” host said. His tone was mild, but there was an intensity that made RoseBlood’s skin crawl. “Him, what he cooks, everything about him, it all belongs to me.”
Can’t you roleplay your relationship at a more appropriate time? That was what RoseBlood wanted to say, but she observantly noticed that something was off… That’s not right, not right at all, this wasn’t a “monopolise” relationship, but actual, real possessiveness at work.
Monopolise, possessiveness, two words very similar in meaning, but implying completely different things. One was superficial, referring to one’s visible behaviour, while the other came from deep within – a possessiveness that refused to allow any interference from others, a desire that consumed and devoured with endless greed.
It took a good while for RoseBlood to find her voice again. “Don’t forget the mission!”
Without the sweet and sour fish, what were they going to give in?
Host used his actions to respond to RoseBlood. He pulled open the fridge and took out another yellow croaker fish and headed to the counter to descale and gut the fish. The black-haired young man was clearly planning to make a new plate of sweet and sour fish.
Hyacinth informed them anxiously, “We’re a little short on time…”
They had taken three minutes to solve the riddle and Shan Ziwei had needed around ten minutes to cook. Right now, there was less than eight minutes until 7 o’clock.
Host acted as if he couldn’t hear the other, seasoning the fish carefully and then turning on the stove to fry it in the pan. The entire process seemed easy and smooth like flowing clouds. Host was clearly skilled and familiar with this, and his movements seemed even more learned than professional chefs.
However, they couldn’t really say that the sight of black-haired young man cooking was a sight for the eyes, because only one word popped up in their minds when they watched him: textbook. It was just so… textbook, meticulous like a machine with each and every step compressed for maximum efficiency – a method where even a second’s pause would cause everything to go wrong – and executed flawlessly. His spectators could only watch and try to keep up, but couldn’t enjoy it.
In the last thirty seconds, a plate of sweet and sour fish that could be put on the menu as a sample picture was placed in front of the shadowy figure.
“I’ll take it to my master.”
The shadow took the plate of sweet and sour fish and left, clearly excited. Everyone stared at host. What host had done just now had really given everyone a huge shock.
Was this guy a high level chef in real life? Shan Ziwei thought to himself. He actually wanted to ask host for his fish back. When the other took his plate of fish, he had felt an inexplicable sense of embarrassment. Yet, before he could open his mouth, his intuition already told him: perish the thought, kid. Have you seen a rabbit successfully take food from a tiger’s jaws before?
An awkward silence descended, and it was in the middle of this awkward atmosphere that the shadow returned with clear delight. Its mouth had finally changed from its downturned frown into a wide upturned smile. Seeing this, the players all felt a sense of relief. It looked like they had completed the task perfectly. From the outcome, this was great. It was just Shan Ziwei in the end who had bustled around the kitchen making that dish for nothing. However, seeing the diamonds SP he had recovered, the hypersexual couldn’t really say anything against it.
“Master was very pleased, saying that this was much more delicious than people are,” the shadowy figure told them, offhandedly making a rather chilling and terrifying comment. Then it took something out from its body and placed it on the stove. “This is your compensation.”
Everyone gathered around it. It was two pieces of paper. More accurately, it was the blueprints to this building, with the structure of Manda Mansion clearly displayed on them.
The first piece of paper was labelled “first floor” at the bottom, with bedroom, electric room, living room on the left, and bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room on the right from top to bottom. Shan Ziwei’s gaze landed on the uneven edge at the top of the diagram. Clearly, someone had crudely torn off a part of this sheet of paper. No, actually, both pieces of paper were torn. The second piece was even more damaged than the first, missing the label of the floor number and some of its rooms.
One piece was torn at the top, the other at the bottom. Comparing the type of paper and their sizes, Shan Ziwei deduced that it was very likely that these two pieces of paper were once part of the same diagram. The middle had been torn off and taken away by someone for some reason.
His previous experience in gaming told him that this missing middle part was definitely something they had to watch out for. Shan Ziwei then began to look over the second piece of paper. The second piece of paper was clearly the blueprints to the second floor of Manda Mansion. From top to bottom, on the left were three identical guest rooms. On the right, was the study, the lounge and the learning… something. The paper was torn off below there, but it was likely there was a “room” or similar word after it.
At this, Shan Ziwei felt his heart skip a beat – this was so similar to the horror escape room game he had played before! The building wasn’t completely the same, but at least 80 percent of it was identical!
After the tattoos in the prison chessboard, Shan Ziwei once again found a hardcore fan of horror escape games in the game dev team. After all, that horror game was a pixel game made through RPG maker. It was like a trilobite of this era. It was surprising that the game dev could even find it and not just play it, but use it in RPG. He must’ve really loved that game!
At first, Shan Ziwei wanted to tell everyone, but then he realised there was no point. Apart from the building being similar, nothing else was the same. That unknown game dev was just being nostalgic.
Even if he could determine the structure of the building through that old game, there was no point to it now that they had the blueprints.
“Here, and here too.” RoseBlood pointed at the study and the learning room on the second floor as well as the top right corner of the first floor with the adjacent bathroom and bedroom. “Apart from these places, we’ve seen everything else.”
On the blueprints, the learning room doesn’t have any obstacles near the walls, so it’s good for playing touch the wall. The pen and paper needed for pen spirit have to be in study, but right now, that room is still locked. The only thing we can play at the moment is hide-and-seek.”
She glanced at host. “We have the knife now. Once we find a doll in one of the guest room drawers, we can start the second paranormal game.”
Hearing the words “paranormal game”, the silent PearlMilkTea shuddered and then walked out of the room first. The others were surprised for a moment before quickly following in pursuit.
The moment everyone walked out of the kitchen, a shrill telephone ring was suddenly heard.
“Ring ring ring~~~ Ring ring ring~~~ Ring ring ring~~~”
To Shan Ziwei, it felt like his eardrums were being torn apart. The volume of that ringing was probably enough for the whole mansion to hear. Not only was it shrill, it was also blood curdling.
Who on earth would call this haunted mansion at a time like this…?
Everyone put their hands over their ears at the same time, gazing at the living room opposite them in terror. On the coffee table there, a bronze rotary dial telephone shook and trembled.
“Ring ring ring~~~ Ring ring ring~~~ Ring ring ring~~~”
They didn’t know if it was just them, but that ringing was getting progressively shriller, like it was prepared to blow their ears off if they didn’t pick up. They all looked at each other, seeing fear reflected in each other’s gaze.
Just as was said before, someone who called at a time like this… likely wasn’t human…
“Ring ring ring~~~ Ring ring ring~~~ Ring ring ring~~~”
The ringing echoed throughout the mansion, screeching without restraint. Hyacinth uncovered her ears to cover her mouth, that ringing feeling like death knocking at her insides, making her feel nauseous. Shan Ziwei gritted his teeth, about to go and pick up, but there was someone who was faster than him in getting to the living room.
Host looked down at the telephone on the counter. This was a very old style telephone. It had no callback button or speaker button. If one picked up, they’d have to put it to their ear to hear. However, none of that made host hesitate at all. He bent down and picked up the phone, putting it next to his ear without a single tremor.
The ringing stopped abruptly.
The others couldn’t hear. They could only stare at host’s expression, afraid that they’d witness a murder scene in the next second.
Under everyone’s gaze, the black-haired young man quietly listened to the call for a while before he hung up without a hint of emotion. He was so calm it was unbelievable.
Shan Ziwei asked, “What did you hear?”
“A man, crying for help.” Host summarised it briefly, “He said his wife died, and when he was talking about the murderer… crack.”
The last “crack” was spoken softly, but it reminded Shan Ziwei of when SagoMilkTea died… Crack, and the round head rolled onto the ground.
Just hearing it from host was chilling to the bone. Shan Ziwei rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, unable to understand how host could remain so calm.
RoseBlood and the others came over. They didn’t even have time to speak when the brutal contents of a new scenario stole away everyone’s attention.
[Scenario 4: You/your companion has triggered ghost calls. From now on, when the telephone rings, if no one picks up within a minute, the wrathful spirit will not be pacified and will appear to kill living people one by one, until there is no one left. (00:00:05)]
Sorry for being late orz I’m back and done with dissertation and tests as well, yay! This chap was legitimately terrifying lmao
this is interesting but my small brain cannot comprehend what they will do.
sob i want this scenario to end fast… it’s too scary QAQ
+1
Ah yes the classic ringing phone~ also love and hate that host knew how to cook but he let Shan Ziwei made the dish first 😂
Hope you have the best result on your dissertation and tests! Stay healthy and thank chu so much for the chapter 💕
thanks for the chapter! ♡
ah yes, the sweet and sour fish personally does not want a romantic relationship. “Soon, the plate of sweet and sour fish was done. The sweet, aromantic sauce was drizzled over the crispy, golden yellow croaker fish, tickling one’s appetite.”
so exciting!! host continue your possessiveness lolol
thanks for the chapter!!
Welcome back!! Thank you for the chapter. I wonder what host is thinking at all times honestly, we really know nothing about him. Though I did like that whole monopolize segment haha
I really love that monopoly scenario 🤣 and yeah, scary ghost phone calls are too much for me
Host making SZW make the food just so he could take it😂 aiyaaa~~~ Is he gonna preserve that or eat it, cuz both seems likely but I feel like he’ll just preserve it💀