Translated by Eve
Edited by Wuxian
Everyone tried out all sorts of escape routes: the doors, the windows, the balcony...however, this manor seed to be sealed shut, leaving them without even the slightest hope for escape.
The manor was also completely different from its shabby, dust-covered self yesterday. The entire manor seed to have been completely replaced with a new one that was clean, tidy, splendidly lit—as if it had always been well-kept by its owner and used attentively. There was not the slightest trace of its previous antique feel.
anwhile, contrary to the manor’s liveliness, this place was completely empty. Aside from the seven of them, it was completely void of life.
"It really seems like...we have mistakenly entered an entirely different dinsion...a different tiline," The bespectacled youth pushed his glasses up, trying to analyze, "There have been quite a few stories of this kind that have been published in Sci-Fi magazines. In our dinsion, or our tiline, this manor has been abandoned. However, in another dinsion or tiline, it was always kept in usage by its owner. We suddenly broke through the dinsions, which is why we see this clean manor. However, because the people that live here are not in the sa space as us, they completely cannot see us."
"...If it’s like that, then why are there seven portions of breakfast and that bloody ’welco’...?" The robust girl asked, powerlessly. Right now, she was in great pain. She was clearly famished to the point of not being able to hold it in anymore and yet she had to suffer being enticed by food. She also didn’t know when they would be able to leave, or when she would be able to eat. It was simply a kind of cruel torture.
The bespectacled youth did not speak. Obviously, even he wasn’t convinced by his ’scientific’ inference.
"What we need to concern ourselves with the most right now is whether we can eat this stuff..." The bad boy tightly clenched his face, expression revealing his internal struggle.
Just now, when he realized that they were trapped, his reaction had been the most intense. He had inspected the entirety of the manor, and used great strength to pull at the door and windows. This expenditure of physical power had depleted the rest of his agre energy. At this mont, the already exhausted bad boy could only use the residue of his willpower to combat his hunger.
"I once heard a story...if you eat food from the underworld, you’ll be trapped there forever..." The quiet and gentle girl licked her lips, voice hoarse, "You can give it a try. I won’t stop you. However, I, for one, don’t want to eat that at all."
"Who knows what was used to make that?" The robust girl snorted. She sounded like she was trying to persuade herself, "This manor evidently has so kind of ability to confuse people. In one second, it can completely change a dilapidated manor into one that looks completely new. Perhaps this food has already spoiled, or maybe it’s made of rats, cockroaches, or maggots. Only, this manor is confusing our senses, preventing us from perceiving what it truly is. If we eat it, we might end up dying of food poisoning, ne!"
The bad boy retched upon hearing her words. His heart that had originally been wavering because of the delicious-looking food fird up at once. He basically did not dare to even so much as glance at the ’seemingly delicious’ food, as if he could see the nauseating ’true colours’ beneath the beautiful exterior.
The four supporting leads huddled around the dining table for a discussion. anwhile, the two protagonists were also not idle. However, they did not share their opinions regarding the food.
"Since ’welco’ is written here, and the number of portions placed here matches the number of people we have, this ans that this manor has an owner. Furthermore, this owner has a very clear self-awareness," Yang Yue told his analysis to Ming Hai, who was tightly clutching onto Sui Yuan, as if afraid that in a lapse of concentration, he would be led away by the allure of food and eat those things of unknown origin, "We can’t sit here and wait for our deaths. The longer this drags out, the more disadvantageous it is for us. We must find the owner as soon as possible, ascertain his goal, or...."
Yang Yue did not actually say the last four words of ’find his weak spot’. He had already confird that the owner was an entity that they could not see. With the entity clearly around, it was prudent that they do not reveal all of their plans and thoughts.
Ming Hai’s eyes flashed and he nodded slightly, tacitly understanding Yang Yue’s line of thought.
Since they made such a decision, everyone began to move with haste, examining closer the manor’s interior once more. Although at the very beginning they had explored the manor once while looking for an exit, the crucial point had been finding so kind of escape route. Right now, however, what they had to do was inspect things more carefully, not missing even a single detail.
The first place they visited was the kitchen that neighboured the dining room. The kitchen seed like it had been used by soone: the elent on the stove was turned on with a pot cooking atop of it. The bubbling sound that echoed around the room, and the enticing aroma proved that there was indeed sothing cooking within.
Everyone could not help but swallow down their saliva, trying their best to bear with their stomachs that were currently rebelling against them, and painstakingly shifted their gazes away from the pot. The bad boy walked up to the counter, hesitated for a mont, and then pulled out a kitchen knife, inspecting the knife’s sharp edge.
"Hey, what are you doing?" The quiet and gentle girl subconsciously backed up when she saw his actions. The robust girl was also given a fright and couldn’t help but assu a guarded position.
"Looking for a self-defense weapon, ah," The bad boy shot them a glance from the side, full of disdain over their cowardice, "In this damnable place, wouldn’t you feel more at ease with a weapon to protect yourself with?"
"...What weapon? Will that even work against the ’things’ here?" The bespectacled youth was quite hesitant.
"Who cares if it’ll work or not? It’s still better than not having one, ba?" The bad boy waved his knife, satisfied upon hearing the sound of the sharp blade cutting through the air. Soon after, he revealed a very fierce smile, "If sothing ignorantly dares provoke , then I’ll hack it to death!"
"OK, OK, we all understand. Be more careful, don’t hurt yourself!" The quiet and gentle girl promptly placated him. Although she had an instinctive fear against this sharp weapon, at this mont, she couldn’t help but admit that the bad boy was right.
To have a self-defense weapon was better than not having one. At least it would give oneself comfort.
Even the two protagonists couldn’t help but hesitatingly gaze at the knives stand and begin planning on finding a weapon to use to defend themselves with. However, who would have expected that just as they were assessing the knives, the bad boy, who had just been waving his knife, imasurably self-satisfied with his foresight, would suddenly let out a terrified shriek.
Everyone was frightened and reflexively stepped away from the bad boy. Afterwards, they gazed at him and t with the sight of the bad boy clenching the knife with both hands, subconsciously backing up, as if he was fighting against so invisible thing in a tug-of-war for the knife.
——It was really...sothing invisible!
"What are you doing?! Release quickly!" Yang Yue’s cry of alarm woke up the bad boy. He ca back to his senses and released his grip abruptly, his retreating steps sounding ’thump thump thump’. His legs went weak and he fell down to the ground.
Everyone stared blankly at the bad boy’s knife that was floating in midair, waving around in a threatening manner. Soon after, it floated back towards the chopping board on the counter and moved up and down, as if it was rhythmically chopping so invisible ingredients.
Everyone was stupefied at the unscientific scene before them. Even if they knew that this manor was abnormal, to personally see this made them suffer quite the serious attack.
The first to break the deathly stillness was Yang Yue. His complexion had changed greatly as he spoke, "...Oh. Sorry. We didn’t know that the things here belonged to the owner and we casually touched things. We were truly impolite."
"Yang Yue?!" The robust girl could not help but raise her voice, looking at him as if he’d grown another head, "W-what are you saying, ah?"
"Yi?" Yang Yue looked at the robust girl, stunned, "Didn’t you guys hear its words just now?"
"What words?! I utterly did not hear a single thing, ah!" The robust girl could not help but shriek, subconsciously backing away, staying far away from Yang Yue.
Yang Yue was stunned. He looked around and tried to make out a contrary response from the others’ faces, but everyone’s infinitely bewildered gazes told him a truth—it was only he who had heard the voice just now.
Ming Hai was obviously the calst out of them all. Or rather, he was the closest to Yang Yue and would not distance himself from him, be guarded against him, or treat him as a monster because of this. Ming Hai reached out to press his hand against Yang Yue’s shoulder, just as he was about to lose his head from fear, "Just now, what did ’it’ say?"
"It said..." Yang Yue subconsciously repeated, ’it said ’ kids these days are really becoming more and more impolite. Not only did they casually enter another’s ho, but they even ssed with soone else’s things’...."
In an instant, everyone’s expressions flickered through a variety of colours. To be ridiculed by a ghost as if it was teaching the younger generation a lesson...it really made one feel complicated....
"Can you see what it looks like?" The bespectacled youth asked probingly.
"No, I can’t see it. I can only hear its voice," Yang Yue shook his head.
"This is a good opportunity," Ming Hai stared at Yang Yue, encouraging him, "Only you can hear their words amongst us. You can communicate with them. Can you try asking it what we have to do to leave here?"
At this mont, Yang Yue’s heart also began to settle. The shock of feeling ’abnormal’ also disappeared. Right now, they weren’t in the mood to care about other things. To be able to communicate with the ghosts in the manor ought to be a good thing no matter how you looked at it. At least, they had a direction to head towards. It was much better than flitting around randomly like a headless fly.
Yang Yue nodded gently at Ming Hao and then faced the spirit that had been chopping sothing all this ti, trying to extract information regarding this manor from it.
Unfortunately, while this ghost seed friendly, it was actually very shrewd. It expressed that it could tell them about the manor, but the condition was that they had to help it retrieve the rings that was stolen away by a ’Clown’.
"Those were the wedding rings belonging to my wife and I. If I let her know I let Clown take away out wedding rings, she would definitely not let off..." The ghost’s tone was mournful.
Yang Yue："........................"
——A ghost also has a wife and wedding rings? This was breaking the fourth wall!
Although it was disconcerting, Yang Yue still honestly told everyone else the ghost’s demand. No one disagreed. At present, aside from accepting the ghost’s commission, they had no other choice. Moreover, if they refused, what would they do if the ghost suddenly got angry and beca hostile? They, who had no way to protect themselves, did not want to face off against the ghost at all!
"OK. We can try to help you get your rings back," After seeing that everyone was of one mind, Yang Yue once again turned to the ghost, "However, can you tell us where ’Clown’ is? You know that we can’t see you guys so it’s really difficult to look for soone."
"Clown? The place he likes to stay at the most is the entertainnt room. He is most likely there. So long as you guys call his na while in the entertainnt room, it should be fine," The ghost happily gave them a clue, "Oh, right, Clown likes to play gas and pranks. Be careful, oh~!"
Yang Yue politely said his thanks and then took the others out of the kitchen.
Everyone’s steps were heavy. Although things have progressed, however, the developnt was a bit unexpected. They had originally thought that these ’non-human entities’ in the manor were their enemies. Thus, it was surprising to see, this enemy beco their client the next second. It seed rather friendly. Was there really nothing wrong with this kind of unusual developnt?
"Actually, this isn’t that bad," As the only person who could communicate with the ghosts, Yang Yue’s impression of the spirit in the kitchen wasn’t bad. He felt that it was more-or-less a kind-natured uncle, "At least, it seems that it isn’t as dangerous as we initially thought. To be able to communicate is much better than not understanding anything and only knowing how to slaughter."
"It would still be better to be careful," Ming Hai slightly furrowed his brows. He was not as kindhearted and optimistic as the protagonist shou, "Sotis, intelligent beings are even more dangerous than things without intelligence that just act out of instinct."
Everyone had their own thoughts. For a mont, no one spoke. They searched for the entertainnt room in silence and eventually located it.
The entertainnt room seed tidy but was actually a complete ss. There were so rather high-end instrunts of all kinds, as well as toys for children, all arranged in a terrible ss around the room. Yang Yue swept a look around and did not see any silhouettes. Ultimately, beneath the others’ anticipating gazes, he gathered the courage to raise his voice and shout, "Clown, are you here?"
After calling out several tis. Yang Yue finally heard the reply he was hoping for: "Why, there are newly arrived fellows, ah~ Why did you guys co looking for ?"
Clown’s voice was frivolous and lively, as well as a bit ear-piercing. Yang Yue sighed in relief, slightly, and told him of their reason for coming. Clown laughed and unexpectedly agreed, "I have to return that old fellow’s wedding rings? No problem, ah! So long as you guys play a ga with !"
Yang Yue recalled how the ghost from before had ntioned that Clown liked to play gas and pranks and was not surprised, "Then, what kind of ga, ne?"
In the next second, everyone watched as seven coloured dolls appeared: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple. Very quickly, they were arranged in a straight line before them.
Clown’s voice was especially happy and perked up, "The rings are in the stomach of one of these dolls. When you pat their heads, each of the dolls will tell you one sentence. Only, only one of the dolls will tell you the truth, hey~ You have five minutes to find the doll that has the wedding rings. Furthermore, the child that guesses wrong will receive a pun~ish~nt~oh~"
Yang Yue’s face paled and reflexively felt that this ’punishnt’ was not sothing to trifle with. He quickly told the others of Clown’s demand and soon after, he heard Clown happily shout, "Begin~!"
This was a very common logic puzzle. Only, because ti was short and because of the threat of the ’punishnt’, very few people were able to calmly think at this ti.
Fortunately, the protagonist gong and shou were unlikenot ordinary people. Not only were their minds flexible, but their ability to work under pressure was first-class. Without any hesitation, they walked up and patted the first doll’s head.
The red doll emitted a sharp and clear laugh: "The rings are in the yellow doll’s stomach, oh~"
The second, orange doll had a shrill voice, "It’s definitely in the red doll! The wedding rings are in the red doll’s stomach!"
The third, yellow doll snorted, "No matter what, you can’t trust the purple doll. It’s always full of nonsense!"
As each doll was patted, everyone’s faces went taut, afraid of missing a clue. However, the more nervous they were, the more sluggish their thoughts beca.
At this mont, it was probably only Sui Yuan who was not nervous in the least—oh, and probably also that Destroyer, if he/she was a human, that is.
With the plot that held the walkthrough in hand, Sui Yuan did not need to trouble himself. Moreover, it was the ti for the protagonists to shine right now. As for him, this cannon fodder that was equivalent to a background prop for the entire story– except for at the very end when he had to fiercely up his presence–, he just needed to stay quiet.
Five minutes passed by very quickly. Yang Yue clenched his sweaty fist and exchanged glances with Ming Hai. Then, he calmly answeredresponded when Clown asked for his response, "The wedding rings are in the green doll’s stomach."
"Green...."
——Wait a second! Green?! Sui Yuan’s worried expression that was directed towards Yang Yue suddenly changed, pupils contracting. He nearly gave himself away.
It-It’s not green! The answer in the plot is clearly indigo!
The author has sothing to say:
The protagonist gong and shou cannot be replaced by the Destroyer. They can be eliminated first, oh! As for Zhao Xihe...en, actually if he truly appeared, everyone will be able to tell....
Eve: Ooooh~?
Wuxian: Huh. Still no ZXH. Interesting...
Reviews
All reviews (0)