Chapter 93 The Hunter’s Island 9
Feng Bujue used the flashlight to examine his surroundings. After confirming that there was no trap around, he moved toward the object of interest. The body had decayed to beco a skeleton. Based on the skeletal structure, the body belonged to a man. There were conspicuous wounds on the body, so this might not be the first cri scene. The body might have been dragged there by the animals after the man died.
The clothes worn by the man were tattered and torn, probably the result of being pulled by the wild beasts. Feng Bujue stooped down to take a closer look and soon found a small iron box inside one of the pockets that remained sowhat intact.
The box was about half an inch thick, and the size was no larger than a normal photograph. In fact, that might be its use, to keep photographs. The box was rusted, which was normal considering the humid environnt. Feng Bujue used the dagger and pried the box open by cutting along the rusted seam.
Photographs did not fall out from the box. Instead, inside were a pen and a folded piece of paper. It appeared to be a letter.
———
Item Na: The Last ssage of an Unknown Victim
Item Type: Plot Item
Quality: Poor
Function: Unknown
Can be taken out of the scenario: No
Remark: Even though you have discovered this, it is not necessary for you to read this because once you look at the content, everything will be different.
———
What appeared before his eyes was the item attributes. Once he saw the item remark, Feng Bujue could not shake the feeling that sothing was up. It was clear that the man’s dying ssage was incredibly crucial, at least plot-wise, but the system told him that it was not necessary for him to read it. What did that exactly an?
"Could it be that... after reading this letter, the plot will change sohow?" Feng Bujue mumbled to himself. "Should I read it or not? Currently, I am the only player left in the scenario, and as long as I stick to the plan, the chances of clearing this scenario are more than ninety percent. But if I read this and... cause so unfortunate changes..."
Other players might have given up on reading the letter, but this was Feng Bujue’s weakness. He might not be shaken if you found a beauty to seduce the man, but if you placed a piece of paper before him and told him that this was a piece of plot that other people might not understand, he would be the first one to charge forward to grab it.
Understandably, Feng Bujue’s reading mania was acting up, and he was feeling very uncomfortable. Unless there was a teammate like Passing Rain who was there to grab the paper and stop him from touching it, the man was going to read it. Unfolding the paper, he used the flashlight to provide the reading light, and he was surprised to find the letter was written in Russian.
At the ti, Feng Bujue’s heart skipped a beat, and a very scary thought appeared in his mind, one that was proven to be the reality in the next few minutes. Even though our mystery novel writer was quite well-read, he did not understand Russian. Thankfully, the system provided an attached translation service, and the Chinese version could be read from the nu.
"If you are reading this, it can only an that I’ve died. That’s good because, for , death is a release, and I can’t say that I do not deserve it.
"My na is Zaroff, the owner of this island. Perhaps you have t soone who called himself General Zaroff in the castle already, perhaps you have not. In any case, you should know that he is rely assuming my identity. His real na is Sanger Rainsford.
"I invented a hunting ga, a crude activity where I hunted human beings on this very island. Rainsford was once my prey and the only person to have survived my ga. Until today, I rember every detail of that hunt. He was the perfect candidate and managed to craft a Malay man catcher and Burse tiger pit with just a simple dagger. Of course, that does not an that he stole the upper hand away from . In fact, I purposely let him go several tis.
"The result was that he managed to survive for three days and won the ga. Even though I lost, I was in a good mood because it was indeed an enjoyable ga. Following the promise, I allowed him a full rest and provided him with sufficient food, water, and a single-sail boat to help him depart from the island.
"I thought that would be the last ti I saw Mr. Rainsford, but to my surprise, six months later, he returned to the island. He told that after leaving the island, he started to miss the ga. No other entertainnt could bring him the excitent that the ga could. He professed the wish to join .
"Initially, I requested him to leave, but he begged by even volunteering to be the prey.
"I thought that I was mad, but at that mont, I realized he was the real mad one.
"Therefore, I competed a second ti with Rainsford, and the promise was that I would never hold back this ti. If he still managed to survive my hunt for three days, I would make him my hunting partner.
"To my chagrin, success was his again. In fact, he seed to have achieved it much easier compared to the first ti. Even now, I have no idea how he managed to do that. During those three days, Rainsford never once appeared in my range. It felt as if the man could hear from very far away, and before I could even get close, he would move away from his location. The tracks that he left mimicked those of an experienced and agile macaque. The most confounding detail was that the tracks showed that the man did not have the need for ingestion, resting, sleep, or even defecation.
"On the third day, I released three hounds to hunt Rainsford. All I ended up with were three dead hounds, and they did not die from any trap or knife wound. All of them were mangled by a person’s bare hands.
"After that, Rainsford started hunting with . After so ti, I noticed how strange he was acting. He kept requesting to capture more people, and I told him too many sea disasters around the area would attract the officials’ attention. However, he was like a drug addict, and the hunt was his drug of choice.
"He introduced so changes to the ship trap and brought many wild beasts to the island through mysterious ans. I told him that the beasts would present a danger to us as well, but he did not seem to mind. Rainsford has completely lost his mind; he’s ten tis madder than I was and ten tis eviler.
"On the night of the ninth day, I wanted to kill him in his sleep. It was not a gentleman’s behavior, but I had no other choice. I was the one who created this demon, so I should be the one who ended him. However, when I tiptoed into his room and creaked the door open, he was just standing behind it with a smile on his face like he was waiting for all along.
"Ivan tackled from behind, apprehended , and tossed in jail. He was my most loyal subordinate; he would never betray . I was never a superstitious person, but there was no other explanation other than he had been cursed by Rainsford. Incidentally, that would explain many things.
"Now, I am the prey. For the past nine days, Rainsford has had a clear understanding of my location. As a forr hunter, I know that perfectly well, but he has never finished or even co to find . He never allows to get close to the castle or escape from the island. He wishes for to be killed by the wild beasts in despair and be torn by these ’prey’ into pieces. The irony of the whole situation did not elude .
"On the fourth day, I ran into a dying sailor who was ambushed by a tiger. He told that there was a man who called himself General Zaroff that forced them to play a ga. It was at that mont that I understood that I had been replaced.
"Now, everything is already too late. I’m seriously wounded, and the humid environnt proves too disagreeable with my body. I wonder how long it’s been since I was able to close my eyes without jumping up from fear. If death is coming soon, my only wish is for it to be peaceful and swift.
"I’m not writing all this for repentance, and I do not dare yearn for forgiveness. I rely wish for those who might read this letter to understand that... Rainsford is no longer a human but an embodint of so kind of unknown evil.
"Run! Run as far as you can! Should you drown in the ocean, that is far better than staying on the island!"
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