Edited by Rinrin
Apologies for skipping the previous week. Izrate will be taking a break to deal with irl stuff
“Waaah… Waaah… Waaah… Waaah… Waaah… Waaah…”
The doll screamed, shrill like the cry of an infant and like the yowling of cats at night. It had everyone’s breath stuttering.
The entire manor seemed to shake, and there was the sound of something clicking echoing from all around the house. Yet, no one cared. Their attention was entirely, completely caught by the doll on the coffee table.
“Waaah… Waaah… Waaah…”
It was almost like the doll had now come to life, wailing as it pulled out the knife inside its body.Its body was filled with cotton, but the sharp blade was covered with blood.
The bleeding doll glared at them hatefully, as if looking at a group of dead people.
“Let’s go.”
Host’s voice shocked everyone out of their stupors, and the players all fled from the living room like startled animals.
The doll and its cries were left behind. It was still slowly pulling the knife out of its body. When the knife left its body, that was when hide and seek would begin.
Shan Ziwei already had an idea for a good hiding place in mind. Currently, there were only a few open rooms in the Manda Mansion. The master bedroom on the first floor was a pretty good idea. But when Shan Ziwei arrived in the hallway, he found that, to his surprise, all the rooms were open.
Was the clicking just now the sound of locks unlocking? Shan Ziwei looked from the open bathroom door towards the stairs that led to the second floor. He was shocked at the lengths the game was willing to go to for this game. All of Manda Mansion’s rooms were opened just for hide-and-seek?
Discarding his previous ideas, Shan Ziwei ran for the second floor.
Previously, the only room that had been open on the second floor had been the lounge. Now, all six rooms on either side of the hallway in front of Shan Ziwei were open. Shan Ziwei didn’t hesitate to charge straight into the first room on his right – it was the study he had set his sights on before.
In the majority of mystery horror games, studies and libraries with their bookcases were areas that held the most information. It usually had at least 10 percent of all information sppearingin the game, and would even have clues on unlocking the true end hidden inside. The other reason Shan Ziwei was so eager to get inside the study was because the pen and paper required for pen spirit were here.
After entering the study, the first thing Shan Ziwei tried to do was turn and lock the door, but there was a mysterious force that prevented the door from fully closing, stopping it halfway.
Shan Ziwei wasn’t too disappointed. He never had any hopes that this thin door would be able to keep out a vengeful wraith. Closing the door was just to give himself a sense of security. After closing it halfway, Shan Ziwei turned to take a look at the study.
He already knew the layout of the study from the blueprints, but when he was faced with it, the hypersexual still felt immense stress. Apart from the wall behind him, bookcases covered up the entirety of the other three walls, the shelves packed densely with a variety of books. Perhaps it wasn’t enough to be called a sea of books, but just this “pool” of books was enough to drown Shan Ziwei.
#This area is glowing##It’s the two-hundredth year of no mkb games, I still miss them#
#Useful information was like a needle in a haystack… Come and catch me, if you do, I’ll let you heheheh~#
Shan Ziwei randomly picked up a book: Stray Birds. He stared blankly at the words inside that read “You can’t see yourself, all you see is merely your own shadow,” and “Birth like the elegant bloom of summer flowers, death like the silent beauty of autumn leaves”… These weren’t just part of the background, all these were real books! They were books you could actually flip through and read, holy fuck!
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.
Roughly estimating, there were at least three hundred books in this room. Shan Ziwei wasn’t sure if he would be able to get through them all even if he were given an entire year. Clearly, what he needed right now was a hint like the white paper book from the prison chessboard. Shan Ziwei quickly approached the center of the room. There was a two meter long mahogany desk there, paired with a black leather executive office chair. It gave off a rather elegant and imposing air.
Ktf lafwr bc atf vfrx kfgf cbatlcu bea bo atf bgvlcjgs. Ktfgf kjr j qfc tbivfg klat j mbeqif bo qfcr jcv j ofk rtffar bo ktlaf C4 qjqfg. Ktf tlca atja Vtjc Ilkfl kjr fzqfmalcu kjrc’a atfgf. Aera jr Vtjc Ilkfl qlmxfv eq atf qfc jcv qjqfg, afggbg vfrmfcvfv.
Heheheh~~~Heheh~~Heheheh~~~
The laughter sounded like a rusted saw cutting through rotten wood, so shrill that Shan Ziwei’s temples began to throb with pain. He never knew that laughter could be so twisted, so crazed, so hysterical. It was like a shocking Friday the thirteenth song, each and every note discordant and hitting where it was least comfortable. Whoever heard it wouldn’t feel anything but nausea and revulsion.
Heheh~ Fi, fi-fi-fin-fin-find… I’m cooomiinnggg to fiiinnd yooouuu heheheh~~~ Heheh~~ Heheheh~~~
Even though he was so terrified he felt like he was about to throw up, Shan Ziwei didn’t dare cover his ears, instead trying to focus on the sounds as much as possible. That “thing” had started moving.
Heheheh~~~Heheh~~Heheheh~~~
Tap… Tap… Tap…
Amidst the nightmarish laughter, came the quiet, strange sound of footsteps, and it grew clearer and clearer – because it was getting closer and closer!
It was like Shan Ziwei’s brain had exploded with a tremendous boom. He paled. He had wanted to leave right after getting the pen and paper, but he didn’t expect that thing to skip the first floor and directly come to the second!
Within moments, the footsteps had arrived at the stairwell. Shan Ziwei could feel cold sweat on his body. His current situation was dangerous. The study was a terrible place to hide. All the bookcases were glued to the east, north, and south walls. You could see everything in the room with ease. There was nowhere to hide.
The only place in the room that could provide cover was the desk. Hearing the tap tap sound of footsteps approaching, Shan Ziwei could only accept his misfortunate fate and quickly duck under the desk.
“Bang.”
That was the sound of the door slamming against the wall and bouncing off. A deformed figure stood at the door, looking around the chillingly silent study.
Heheheh~~~Heheh~~Heheheh~~~
The terrifying laughter echoed throughout the study. Curled up under the desk, Shan Ziwei was so nervous that his body felt as tense as a bowstring drawn too tight. The mahogany desk he hid under was a classic European style executive desk. It had three solid wooden sides, the wood thick and heavy. That was why the thing couldn’t see him at first glance.
Don’t come in… don’t come in… please, don’t come in…!
Shan Ziwei prayed desperately. The desk he was hiding under was too large. Even with the leather chair in front of it, it only provided limited cover. If anyone went to the front and looked down, they would be able to see him.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
For a moment, Shan Ziwei wished he were deaf. That way, he wouldn’t be able to hear the sound of those footsteps becoming clearer and clearer, symbolising his impending demise.
—— The “ghost” had come inside.
It swayed this way and that as it walked, as if unused to its new deformed body. All that was left on its bones was a layer of white skin. When it moved, it looked like that thin layer of skin was jerking its bones around.
Though its movements were crooked and uneven, it wasn’t in any way slow. It only took a few steps for it to get halfway across the room. It was completely unaware of how each tap its feet made against the ground was like a heavy knock against the white-haired young man’s heart.
“Heheheh… gorge out my eyes, and I’ll still see you.”
Its eyes, devoid of eye whites, looked over the neatly stacked bookcases. It turned, looking towards the desk in the center of the room.
“Heheheh… plug up my ears, and I’ll still hear you.”
It swayed and stumbled its way to the desk, flopping onto it haphazardly.
“Even without feet, I’ll still come to your side, heheheh…”
Its broken laughter leaked out from its lipless mouth as it hung its head upside down, looking under the desk.
“Even without a mouth, I’ll still-”
There was nothing there.
It seemed to have forgotten its lines, its voice breaking off. Then, it continued laughing without a care in the world as it got back up and headed outside, still singing that song of death.
“Heheheh… gorge out my eyes, and I’ll still see you… Plug up my ears, and I’ll still hear you…”
The study descended into silence once more silence.
After a while, Shan Ziwei fell down from the underside of the desk, his entire body soaked in cold sweat.
This desk was designed with a beam on the underside. It wasn’t very wide, only there for decoration. In that tense moment, Shan Ziwei had pushed his hands and feet against the left and right inner sides of the desk, squeezing himself into the angle created by the beam and the underside of the desk. He had just managed to avoid disaster by a hair’s breadth.
Hah… Hah…
Shan Ziwei lay on the ground limply like a dead dog. It had only been twenty seconds or so, but it had felt like an eternity. Heavens knew how terrified Shan Ziwei had been under the desk, anticipating that in the next moment he might see a ghastly face stretching towards him, smiling.
That was terrifying…
The two thirds of his MP that he had lost slowly started to recover. Shan Ziwei had really thought he was done for just now. If that ghost had stretched its head down just a little further, or if it had stayed that way a little longer, he would’ve been caught. Even while he was resting, Shan Ziwei didn’t dare let his guard down, keeping his attention on the movements of the ghost. From the steadily fading sound of footsteps, it seemed that the other was a distance away from him now, but it didn’t seem like it had left the second floor.
Shan Ziwei crawled out from under the desk. He wasn’t in any hurry to leave the study now. That thing had only just finished searching the study, so it probably wouldn’t come back any time soon. He was in a relatively safe spot for a while.
Little Gaia opened its mouth wide, swallowing the pen and paper Shan Ziwei offered with a chomp. Then it was lifted up by its collar in front of its master’s face like a little pet.
The white-haired young man’s gaze began to wander. Though it wasn’t the first time he had confessed to his Toybox for his Hearts SP, he still had a hard time saying it. After all, this was a fully-immersive online game that was basically no different from reality. It was completely different from typing out a few lines on a keyboard.
“… I… like you.”
After the first expression of love, the rest came out much smoother. Shan Ziwei quickly confessed his love several times in succession, looking back to see that Little Gaia had pulled its mask down over its face. The plush seemed both shy but delighted, making the hypersexual even more embarrassed.
Shan Ziwei pinched his burning earlobes. The word “like” was like a spell. Humans had loaded it with too much meaning and emotion. Just saying it would make one’s heart jump.
Perhaps only playboys, well versed in the battlefield of love and attraction, would be able to stay unfazed by such things. It reminded Shan Ziwei of host. That black-haired young man made everything seem so easy, no matter if it was “love” or “monopolise”. Speaking words of affection seemed as simple and normal as drinking and eating. He always remained so unmoved.
Huh, how unexpected. Someone so uptight in game, was actually a flirt in real life?
Chuckling and “tsking” to himself behind the other’s back, the current Shan Ziwei still didn’t realise that sometimes, the more subdued someone’s expression of “liking” was, the more terrifying the energy within it. This meant that their “like” wasn’t just a matter of feeling their heart flutter once or twice, but like eating and drinking, something that had become an objective truth.
——It’s normal for people to need to eat.
——It’s normal for me to like you so much.
His red Hearts SP rose steadily in the rosy atmosphere, and both man and toy were very satisfied. After dealing with his own afflictions, Shan Ziwei focused his attention back onto his current situation. The ghostly footsteps were still wandering about the second floor, but the sound was getting weaker and weaker. It seemed like the ghost had gone further inside to continue its search. Shan Ziwei could take this chance to run downstairs but…
The white-haired young man swept his gaze over the dazzling array of books. He was a little unwilling to just give up like this. If only there was some way to determine the location of key books…
… Wait, location?
Then it hit him. He remembered the ‘one in three choice’ for the cupboards!
——Since he could find the doll using the mystery horror game from his past, then couldn’t he also use the bookshelves from that game to find useful information?
With that in mind, Shan Ziwei tried to recall his memory of that game. In that game, there had been three investigatable spots of glowing light. The creator was, perhaps, somewhat ocd and had placed the glow at the very center of each bookcase. Back then, Shan Ziwei had gotten stuck in the study for a long time, so the memory was quite clear.
Following what he remembered, Shan Ziwei took the center-most book of each of the bookcases and placed them side by side on the desk.
Strange Beings, Rebirth: Becoming the Master of the House 3, PTSD.
Shan Ziwei fell silent. Just from the names, he had a feeling that his superstitious reliance on his past had failed him this time.
Shan Ziwei flipped open the first book, Strange Beings, with a sliver of hope, and all he could see was hard to understand classical Chinese text.
[Mers… In the Southern flotes doth Mers dwell, living in water as fish doth. They hath not surrender’d the art of the loom. When they weep, pearls falleth from their eyes… Their tongues wast different, hence refusing to eat, and death tooketh hold. The corse dismember’d and eaten, so t’wast said. Thus wast the tradition of Mers, others ought not passeth judgement.
Human Jade… There exists those with talents in nurturing jade in Guizhou, the Su Clan. One son born with jade, obtaining spirit of heaven and earth, and essence of sun and moon, a symbol of great futures yonder… Success from the human jade, failure from the human jade. Had they known of today, they would regret everything.
The Rhypophagous…]
This was likely a collection of strange stories, compiled from all kinds of odd and supernatural tales. Just a few glances had Shan Ziwei’s head spinning. He struggled to digest what was written, but just getting through two tales made him feel like he was at his limit. But ignoring the vague and hard to understand wording, the fascinating and strange tales were quite interesting. For example, out of the two tales Shan Ziwei had read, Mers introduced a race of humans who lived in the Southern oceans, who could live in the water as easily as fish did. They would tirelessly create silk and their tears would turn into pearls. Once, a mer fell in love with a human and kidnapped them. However, because they couldn’t understand one another, that person refused to eat and eventually starved to death. The mer tore the corpse asunder and devoured it, believing that this would allow them to be together forever. In the end, the author then commented that this was the tradition of the mers. Though it sounded horrifying, there was no worth in other races passing judgement on them.
While Mers was a tragedy caused by differences in species, Human Jade was a tale of humans falling prey to the consequences of their own greed. It was about the Su Clan, a family that made its business from jade for generations and generations. One day, a holy child was born to that family. After some consideration, the Su Clan decided to use their family’s secret technique to make the child into human jade. Though they took the form of a human, their essence was no different from jade stones. They could only be kept at home, not allowed to interact with the outside world. Humans nurtured the jade, and the jade nurtured the humans; the family nurtured the human jade, and the human jade nurtured the family. With the human jade, the Su Clan grew prosperous, becoming as rich as an entire country. Yet one day, the human jade managed to slip out of the house due to a lapse in the guard. Human jade was far too pure. When it comes into contact with the outside world, it would be tainted by evil, becoming a source of catastrophe. The Su Clan immediately dismembered the human jade, turning it into a human stick, and built a manor of malevolent energies to suppress it, but it was too late. Under the malevolent jade’s influence, the Su Clan fell into decline and was eventually wiped out. The author commented in the end, that if they didn’t make the holy child into human jade, but instead let them grow free as a normal child would, then that child would surely become a prodigy of the ages. Though the Su Clan wouldn’t become so prosperous, it wouldn’t have ended with the entire clan being wiped out either.
Shan Ziwei guessed and stumbled his way through the text, getting the gist of it. This was a little too rough of a task for a hypersexual who hadn’t even graduated from middle school. Since he wasn’t sure if this book was useful, and it was hard to understand, Shan Ziwei quickly gave up on it, turning to the next one… Rebirth: Becoming the Master of the House 3.
…This book didn’t look very serious at all.
Rebirth: Becoming the Master of the House 3 was the third book in a novel series. Just by looking at the name, it was clear it was a cliche face-slapping novel. Shan Ziwei couldn’t even be bothered to look at the contents, flipping the book over to check the blurb on the back.
[Summary: When everyone betrayed him, Sima Hao was reborn in the past, and given a new beginning.
This time, he was no longer a helpless child, plagued with illness, but the uncontended ruler of the Sima Family.
His elder cousin who covetted his position, his parents who watched on coldly, his uncle’s family who robbed him of his resources…
When the time came, none of them would be able to escape his revenge.]
As expected, it was a cliche “loser gets reborn, counterattacks, and beats everyone down” story. The third book just so happened to get to the part where the main character saw through his older cousin’s ploy to bring him down and began his glorious fight against his evil relatives. Absolutely nothing to do with the current chessboard. Shan Ziwei set it aside in despair and picked up the last book with very little hope remaining.
Ohhhh, i hate hide and seek so much :”)
Thank you for your great translation!!
thanks for the chapter! ♡
i just refreshed novel updates and this chapter still isn’t showing up there. thought i should mention it; apologies if this isn’t the optimal place.
Thank you for another great chapter! I love the trope of “mc hides at the last second” but now I just wanna know how that desk even looked haha
Just think about it this way, what if the child(the ghost ofc) was reborn and the big arrow pointing out that it was the child was the line, ” This time, he was no longer a helpless child, plagued with illness, but the uncontended ruler of the Sima Family.” With the underlined line, in a way truly stated just like in RoseBlood analysis, the master of the game or king of the chessboard was the child.
BUT!!! The line,” His elder cousin who coveted his position, his parents who watched on coldly, his uncle’s family who robbed him of his resources… ”
Actually makes me think of the said guest or the fourth outsider’s perspective of the scenario like Shan Wizei had thought. So maybe the servant was actually a relative or the info that was in the newspaper was only the written analysis over the case that was actually made out of fabricated lies.
Like for example, Shan Wizei wanna retort how the child able to lift the ax then what if it wasn’t the child but the uncle?
hehehe, sorry for my rambling but thanks for the update 😅😅😄😄
The line that was supposed to be underlined was “the uncontented ruler of the Sima family”
Haha… Shouldnt read this during night… 😂🙂
Love it when Shanzi is too thick to see the gems in his hands! Ah well, at least he got a good scare and gave Gaia some love ❤️