CH 120

(Two untimely deaths)

This justification was absolutely omnipotent, and Shen Dongqing had no further questions. 

But generally speaking, on the basis of this villa configuration, it had a basement.

“Go and look for it?” murmured Zhou Wenyan, smiling and taking his man into his arms.

Shen Dongqing was worried that after eating his fill, he would be bored out of his mind, so he naturally didn’t refuse.

The two of them exited the room. 

The other players may have been terrified of going out at night and confronting something horrible, so they hid inside and didn’t want to come out until it was light. Nevertheless, Shen Dongqing stole a glimpse inside as they passed the entrance to the corridor on the second floor.

There was no one in the corridor on the second floor; it was totally empty.

Shen Dongqing lifted his feet and headed to the first level. He caught a glimpse of a black shadow from the corner of his eyes just as he stepped on the top step of the staircase. His body moved faster than his mind, and he lunged up to catch the shadow.

It’s only that the shadow was slick enough to slip through Shen Dongqing’s fingers and into the door crack.

Shen Dongqing took hold of the doorknob and twisted it.

Tsk! It’s locked.

He adjusted his strategy and kicked the door open directly.

The door swung open. 

Instead of the dark shadow, Shen Dongqing noticed something heaped on the ground.

No, it couldn’t be termed a “thing” either.

Considering the garments on the body, this should be the priest, but the priest’s current condition was not good. His skin and flesh appeared to have been gnawed by something and was riddled with holes that exposed more than half of his bones. His blood trickled onto the floor and formed a little puddle.

The small puddle, however, merely coagulated for a brief moment before seeping into the cracks in the marble floor tiles, leaving only one or two blood flecks. 

Shen Dongqing made a quite loud noise. People in the next rooms heard it and quickly came out to check on the situation.

When the young nurse saw the scene, she immediately covered her mouth and staggered back.

The bodyguard was a little better and asked with a pale face, “What the hell is going on here?”

Shen Dongqing disregarded the bodyguard and walked across the corpse on the floor, catching the shadow that had escaped before. 

It was a small rat.

To be precise, it was the skeleton of a rat. Its bones were still covered in moist soil, as if it had just crawled out of the earth. A closer inspection revealed that fresh blood and flesh dangled from the skeleton rat’s teeth.

“This thing did it,” Shen Dongqing said as he went out with the little bone rat and tossed it at the bodyguard’s feet.

The little bone rat squeaked and screamed, wishing to escape after breaking away from the evil clutches, but Shen Dongqing stepped on its tail, leaving it flapping its paws in place. 

“This…” The bodyguard looked down, “These are those things in the garden?”

Is it possible that all of the skeletons resurrected at night?

The bodyguard was initially terrified, and then he pondered why only the priest had been attacked. The others hadn’t come upon these creatures.

“His secret was found,” the lawyer said abruptly. 

The bodyguard and the nurse both inquired at the same time, “Secret? What secret?”

The lawyer looked at Shen Dongqing.

Shen Dongqing was busy teasing the small bone rat. When he became aware of the others’ gazes, he was puzzled: “Why are you looking at me?”

Mr. Lawyer explained, “You revealed the priest’s secret.” 

Shen Dongqing stared blankly and forgot to control his foot, crushing half of the small bone rat’s body. The bone rat simply surrendered, lying down on the ground and waiting to die.

“I actually wild-guessed it right!” he said in surprise as he withdrew his foot.

To be honest, Shen Dongqing was just guessing randomly and casually stated that the priest was an evil cult priest. He hadn’t expected to make a correct wild guess.

It’s so simple! 

Shen Dongqing ignored the bone rat that had snuck away and stroked his chin: “How about I take turns guessing?”

Ktf sbecu cegrf kjr atf olgra ab bypfma: “Rb!”

Ktfs cjaegjiis uejgvfv atflg rfmgfar wbgf mibrfis joafg klacfrrlcu atf qglfra’r agjulm fcv.

Vtfc Gbcudlcu qgfafcvfv cba ab tfjg jcs bypfmalbcr: “P uefrr…” 

Ktf tberfxffqfg qbqqfv bea ja atlr qblca jcv mblcmlvfcajiis lcafggeqafv Vtfc Gbcudlcu’r kbgvr, defralbclcu, “Qtja jgf sbe uesr vblcu tfgf?”

The young nurse and bodyguard who were blocking the entrance silently moved out of the way. When the housekeeper spotted the priest’s body in the room, he, too, jumped in fright.

“How could this be…” he mumbled, his voice a little hollow.

Mr. Housekeeper was shocked that someone died so swiftly. There was a murder on the first night itself, and he didn’t know what to do. 

“Call the police,” Shen Dongqing said calmly.

The other players: “Huh?”

Shen Dongqing: “Aren’t you role-playing? Shouldn’t the police be called after a murder?”

True, but is it really useful to call the police in the backdrop of a horror film? 

The young nurse shook as she took out her phone and unlocked the screen: “No signal.”

Shen Dongqing was shocked: “The wifi is gone too?!”

“All dead,” the young nurse nodded.

The other players thought Shen Dongqing’s reaction was very dramatic. After all, wasn’t it rather common in this game to have no signal and no Internet? 

How else might an atmosphere of terror be created?

They never imagined Shen Dongqing’s next words would be: “—then how can I play games!”

The other players: …

Damn, you’re really here to play games? It’s truly playing. 

Mr. Housekeeper, who was nearest to the window, glanced out and noticed that the garden’s perimeter was enveloped by a dense fog. Nothing could be seen since the fog was so dense.

Apparently, the highlight had arrived.

Mr. Housekeeper returned his gaze to the corpse in the room and remarked, “Everyone should rest first…”

Before he could finish, Zhou Wenyan cut him off: “Housekeeper, do you know where the villa’s basement is?” 

“I don’t know,” Mr. Housekeeper said stiffly. He made it apparent by trying to hide it: “Basement, what basement? I don’t understand.”

“Oh, it appears that the villa truly has a basement,” Zhou Wenyan observed.

Mr. Housekeeper realized he’d been duped, and his expression was awfully ugly. He gave the two men a hard look before turning and walking away.

Shen Dongqing had a brainwave: “Don’t tell me his secret is that the villa has a basement?” 

Mr. Housekeeper staggered and nearly fell down the steps. He stepped down, crossed the third stair, and vanished in an instant.

“But what type of secret is this?” Shen Dongqing added.

“It might not be the basement, but it could be something in the basement,” Zhou Wenyan suggested.

The other players on the side listened intently and couldn’t help but ask, “Basement?” 

They’d scoured the two floors for clues but hadn’t found any basement.

“Go down and check for it,” Zhou Wenyan said, raising his chin.

The other players exchanged glances and decided to accompany them to the basement.

After all, they didn’t discover any clues. If there was a basement, the contents had to be extremely crucial. 

The players, with the exception of the guilty housekeeper and the priest who died unexpectedly, all mobilized.

They couldn’t locate the basement despite looking for half the night.

“Is there really a basement?” wondered the young nurse.

The bodyguard turned his gaze to Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan. 

Shen Dongqing yawned.

Zhou Wenyan paused for a moment to ponder. Because this basement could be a secret, it must be incredibly hidden and difficult to find simply by looking for it.

“Let’s take a break and speak about it tomorrow,” he replied, looking up.

The other players were likewise sleepy, so they disbanded on the spot. 

The housekeeper was the first to awaken after the night had passed.

He was terrified that his secret would be revealed, and he hadn’t slept well all night. He emerged from his room at daybreak with noticeable dark bags under his eyes.

The rest of the players were still sleeping.

The housekeeper entered the kitchen silently, staring blankly at the kitchen utensils and, by a curious coincidence, grasping a cleaver. 

The cleaver’s blade was smooth, and it’s estimated that it could cut through the bones in a single try.

The housekeeper gazed at it for a long time before releasing his hand.

“No, no…” He shook his head.

There were still too many players upstairs, and he couldn’t get rid of them all with just himself and a cleaver. 

The old and rusted cupboard above opened by itself with a creak just as the housekeeper put down the kitchen knife, and a jar tumbled out.

Out of conditioned reflex, the housekeeper reached out his hand and caught it. Looking at it, he realized it was filled with a toxic plant that had been sun-dried.

This was like someone offering you a pillow as you were dozing off!

Mr. Housekeeper smiled smugly without even thinking about why there was such a coincidence. 

A small figure flashed by in a place out of his sight.

It was in the game after all, and the other players didn’t sleep well too, but in order to conserve their physical strength, they forced themselves to close their eyes until seven o’clock in the morning.

Breakfast was already on the table in the dining room at this point.

Mr. Housekeeper greeted them enthusiastically: “Enjoy!” 

The young nurse regarded him with suspicion.

It was difficult to believe that the housekeeper, whose secret had almost been disclosed the night before, could serve breakfast today as if nothing had occurred. Was he that mentally strong?

“What, don’t you have breakfast?” Mr. Housekeeper inquired knowingly.

The players took their places one at a time. 

Mr. Housekeeper: “Something is still cooking in the kitchen. I’ll go get it. You’re welcome to eat first.”

He then proceeded to the kitchen.

The brat was the first to begin eating. He grabbed a steamed bun and chomped into it, his cheeks bulging as he chewed hard.

“Eat slowly,” the young nurse advised him. She also reached for a steamed bun. 

She’d scarcely finished speaking when the brat spit out his steamed bun with a “gack!”

“Did you choke on it?” Shen Dongqing inquired.

The brat: “Ptui, ptui, ptui!—the taste is off. It’s awful!”

“‘Off,’ how?” asked Shen Dongqing. “Is it rancid?” 

“No, it simply tastes bad,” the brat considered for a bit. “You really shouldn’t eat it.”

Shen Dongqing chose to listen to the brat. He set the steamed bun down and went to eat something else.

With the brat’s example, the other players dared not touch those steamed buns.

An eerie spark flashed in Mr. Housekeeper’s eyes when he returned and saw the steamed bun that had only been tasted. 

He took a seat and feigned to offer inadvertently: “Why don’t you try some of the steamed buns? Did I do a bad job?”

Shen Dongqing: “It might be rancid. You can eat and see.”

Mr. Housekeeper’s smile froze: “I don’t particularly want to eat steamed buns either…”

The brat seemed to have thought of something and stated, “They’re not rancid; they should be poisoned. I’ve eaten this kind of thing before. Yuck! It’s terrible.” 

The players exploded immediately.

“Poisoned?”

“It contains poison?”

They retched in unison, terrified of consuming something poisonous. 

The brat rolled his eyes: “Hey, your reaction is too intense. It’s only in the steamed buns.”

Only then did the players stop retching.

The young nurse posed a key question: “Who poisoned it?”

The others all gazed at the housekeeper at the same time. 

Mr. Housekeeper’s brow was perspiring: “It’s not me, I don’t know, it can’t be poisonous…”

Who would believe him?

His secret was almost disclosed last night, and there was poison in the food he made this morning. Someone else couldn’t possibly have poisoned it, right?

“I believe him,” Shen Dongqing remarked abruptly. 

Mr. Housekeeper didn’t expect anyone to believe him, so he immediately shot Shen Dongqing a grateful look.

Then he heard Shen Dongqing say slowly: “Since he said he didn’t poison it, just let him have a bite.”

When Mr. Housekeeper heard this, sweat dripped down his face like rain: “Don’t, please don’t.”

Shen Dongqing: “That won’t do. You must prove your innocence; I’m rooting for you.” 

Mr. Housekeeper rose and prepared to flee.

What else was unclear once the other players observed his performance? He had to be the poisoner.

“Don’t let him get away!” shouted the young nurse.

Of course, the housekeeper couldn’t flee. Zhou Wenyan pushed him back as soon as he stood up. The brat on the side laughed at him and grabbed his hands. 

“Do you want me to feed you?” Shen Dongqing was in charge of taking a steamed bun and passing it over.

Mr. Housekeeper desperately shook his head: “Uh-uh-”

The poor chap didn’t dare to open his mouth for fear of the bun being shoved directly into it.

Shen Dongqing tried to force the steamed bun into the housekeeper’s mouth, but he refused to cooperate. 

“This strategy isn’t working,” he sighed.

Zhou Wenyan took direct action. God knows how he did it, but the housekeeper opened his mouth in agony.

Shen Dongqing saw an opportunity and stuffed the steamed bun inside. Their teamwork flowed smoothly and was perfect.

The poison’s effect was quite spectacular. The housekeeper’s face flushed and his eyes rolled as soon as he tasted the steamed bun. His head finally tilted, and he died. 

Shen Dongqing: “So fast?”

Zhou Wenyan: “He choked to death.”

Shen Dongqing: ?

Zhou Wenyan looked at the housekeeper again. When he noticed the black blood on the corner of the housekeeper’s mouth, he corrected himself, saying, “Poison also played a role.” 

After ascertaining that the housekeeper was the one who poisoned them, the other players had no objections to the housekeeper’s death and even wished they could have killed him more directly.

Shen Dongqing only thought of an issue after the housekeeper died unexpectedly: “We haven’t asked where the basement is.”

So here’s the dilemma. Did anyone else know where the basement was besides the housekeeper?

The other players were all stunned and appeared to be utterly ignorant. 

“It’s all because he died so quickly!” Shen Dongqing smacked his thigh.

Yeah, right. It had absolutely nothing to do with him.