CH 47.2

The faces of the crowd all changed.

Lin Jue said “veteran players” but his eyes were on Bai Lixin and Xia Chi.

Xia Chi had been sitting quietly and obediently since the beginning, when he suddenly heard Lin Jue ask, “You said your name was Xia Chi?”

Xia Chi looked up stiffly, “Yes, what’s wrong?”

Lin Jue looked at him and shook his head, “Nothing, someone’s here.”

Someone’s coming?

The crowd was wondering why Lin Jue said that when they next heard the sound of footsteps outside the apple orchard. Then six people in uniform appeared.

The uniforms somewhat resembled the costumes of Western priests, and these six, both male and female, were all between the ages of thirty and forty. They had gentle and kind smiles on their rosy faces.

The leader was a male of about forty, “Come along children, the teachers have arrived.”

This was the NPC for the transition plot. The players were so used to it that they stood up without much reaction and followed the priests and nuns without saying a word.

Bai Lixin and Xia Chi came last, and Emil slowed his pace to come to them.

Emil leaned close to Bai Lixin, his long blond hair falling from behind his ears.

He lowered his voice and there was a threat in it, “You two, don’t tell anyone about what happened on the 50th floor, especially Lin Jue.”

Bai Lixin looked at the blond man and asked, “Doesn’t your president know about it? Isn’t the man in the hood your president?”

Emil’s face reddened with annoyance, “That’s our vice president! Anyway, you must not tell anyone about this, or don’t blame me for being rude.”

Xia Chi couldn’t help but interject, “What can you do? You’re welcome to try.”

Emil’s face turned even redder as he glared at Xia Chi and Bai Lixin, unable to say anything.

Lin Jue, who was walking at the front, looked back at them with an inquisitive look in his eyes.

—————————————–

It was said that this was the House of the Red Apple, and the most striking thing is this apple orchard. Twenty players followed behind the nuns and the priests, walking through the orchard. Then they walked through a long corridor before finally arriving in front of a building.

It was a church-like building, but not quite.

The outside of the walls were pure white, and in the middle of the triangular roof above was a painted round red apple.

The words “apple” were inscribed.

Several stretch limousines were outside the building, and the scene looked very luxurious.

The priest, “Children, take a few steps, the guests have arrived.”

Guests?

What guests?

The players looked at each other and walked into the building.

Once inside, they saw a living room beyond the entrance hall, and beyond the living room was a long table, presumably a dining table.

They were led by the priests through the living room and the dining table to a room painted with an antique brass finish.

“The guests are very kind, and they always bring us many supplies.” The old priest spoke, “Come on in.”

The players didn’t know what to expect.

The priest pushed the door open, and the players finally saw the “guests” as he called them.

Behind the door was a long aisle of red carpet, and on either side of it sat two rows of people, both men and women. The men were dressed in suits and the women in exquisite dresses. Each of them held a book and pen in their hands, their heads lowered as they recorded something in them.

The priest, “Form a line and remember what I usually teach you, children. Hold your heads high, step out with a bit of boldness and confidence, and remember to set your feet at the end of the red carpet so that the guests can see you.”

Players: “???”

Was this a group catwalk?

A group of nuns and priests came out in unison and placed the 20 players in a row, with Bai Lixin, Xia Chi and Emil in the last row, and Lin Jue in the front.

Standing in the first position was the female player who was located above the 300th floor.

At the urging of the priest, she took a deep breath and walked out.

With her head held high and her hips lifted, she took the catwalk.

The men and women sitting on either side had smiles on their lips as they looked down and recorded something.

Bai Lixin noticed that every time someone walked out, the men and women on either side would take notes. Their expressions remained the same the whole time, always with the most standard smile, as if they would only make that one expression.

When it was Bai Lixin’s turn, he took the time to scan the notebooks out of the corner of his eye as he walked. Unfortunately, he couldn’t recognize the words.

When Emil, who was last in line, had finished, they were brought up the aisle again in unison, and the priest stood beside the players, looking at the guests expectantly, as if waiting for something.

“Good, they are good children.” One of the guests smiled and stood up, “Thank you, Red Apple House, for raising our future hopes so perfectly.”

He drew a card from his pocket and handed it to the priest, “Here is the sponsorship money for this time.”

The smile on the priest’s face widened, “These children have been raised with love; of course they are the best. Don’t worry guests, we will take good care of these children.”

The players looked at each other.

After sending the guests away, the priest brought the players to the table.

The table was filled with an array of beautiful food, and he said, “Children, this is what those guests have left for you. Eat up.”

The crowd sat down and one man opened his mouth.

“Why are those guests treating us so well?” Lin Jue looked at the priest.

The priest’s smiling face stiffened, and the smile under his eyes disappeared for a second before it quickly returned, “Because they are all the kindest of philanthropists. It’s thanks to them that the House of the Red Apple is here. It is also thanks to them that you have been able to grow up so carefree.”

His tone changed a little, “But child, next time you have a question, don’t ask it at mealtime. I won’t punish you for your offense this time, but eat without speaking.”

However, Lin Jue continued to ask, “Then when can I ask?”

The priest’s smile suddenly disappeared, “Any time after the meal, of course. Do you know how precious the food in front of you is? We want to thank these foods with the most sincere heart.”

He paused, “You have broken the rules again. You will go to the confinement cell after the meal and stay there tonight!”

Sure enough, even the most gentle and amiable looking NPCs were eccentric when they tore off their disguises.

The other players looked at Lin Jue with worry, but Lin Jue himself looked very unconcerned. He just put his head down and ate dried food.

Half an hour later, Lin Jue was taken away by a nun, while the others were taken upstairs.

It was already afternoon when they entered this copy, then they had to walk the red carpet and eat. When they got to the third floor, the group looked outside through the window and found that the sun had set at some point.

It was a paradise for the living during the day.

It was a paradise for the dead during the night.

The priest looked out the window and his face, which had been wearing a smile, scrunched up, “Hurry to your own rooms. You all have sleeping pills beside your beds so just take them if you can’t sleep. It’s two people per room.”

He then gave them a warning, “You must remain asleep until the end of the night. Even if you accidentally wake up, don’t open your eyes, and don’t open them if you hear any sound, okay? Any sound includes someone calling your names.”

With these words, he left in a hurry with the other nuns and priests.

The players’ expressions were very grave.

To make the NPCs that appeared in the daytime so scary, what appears at night must not be simple.

Lin Jue was the half-hearted leader of this impromptu group, but the leader had now disappeared, and everyone was a little overwhelmed.

The male player from the 300th floor spoke up, “Listen to the priest. The sun is setting soon, let’s quickly find a room to sleep in first.”

The allocation of rooms was quick.

Xia Chi was sharing a room with Bai Lixin. There were three women in the group. He expected one woman to have a room to herself, but it turned out that the man and woman on the 300th floor were a couple.

As a result, everyone came together, and Emil was left alone.

Emil’s face turned green: “……”

Fuck, Lin Jue you come back here!

Xia Chi and Bai Lixin chose an inner room. They pushed the door open and went in. Inside was a standard bedroom with two single beds, a large bedside table in the middle, and smaller bedside tables on each side. On each bedside table was a small pill and disposable paper cup.

There was a window in the bedroom, and the sun outside was setting fast, and only a trace of the afterglow wrapped in orange and red gold in the distant sky remained.

Outside, the window was dark and empty.

The wind blew by, the leaves rustled and in the extreme silence of the darkness came a sound like a dog barking.

The environment that seemed normal during the day had an unmistakable eeriness at dusk.

Xia Chi glanced outside and shuddered, hastily drawing the curtains closed.

The man was numb.

He felt like something would be peeping in through the window at night if he left the curtains open.

But when the curtains were closed, he felt like something would hide behind them.