CH 35

Looking around at the oddly writhing human skins, Xiao Lan took a cautious step back, avoiding their dried hands.

As Xiao Lan dodged, the writhing of the human skin became more rapid, and the rustling sound spread through the chamber, making one’s scalp tingle slightly.

It looked as if the two were very welcome to stay as companions.

Xiao Lan slowly backed away, “Thank you Sister Xiao for your enthusiasm, but it really wasn’t necessary.”

I don’t know if the human skins could understand Xiao Lan’s words, but they still approached in Xiao Lan’s direction, and many of them had already fallen off the hangers they were hanging on, twisting and propping themselves up on the ground, coming this way in an odd pose.

“Hee hee ……”

“Hip ……”

Clearly devoid of tongues, these human skins emitted sounds from within, as if they held something inside.

The crisp laughter belonging to the young women rose and fell in the room. If they were still alive, this scene would probably be a fantasy haven for geeks, but unfortunately fantasy is always rubbed underfoot by reality.

Seeing this, Xiao Lan was not interested in making contact with their relatives.

These human skins look light and flimsy, they can’t stand up to the force, so if a kick doesn’t send them flying, they’ll be wrapped up in them, and then a group of human skins will press up directly, and you won’t be able to shake them off.

Xiao Lan gives Luo a look and the pair speed towards the entrance.

Along the way human skins kept coming at them from all sides, their dried, boneless palms reaching out to try to pull the two men, who dodged nimbly out of the way.

The two men made their way forward and approached the exit of the chamber near the corridor.

Instead, a human skin fell from above straight in front of the two men, blocking their path.

This was the skin that had been decorated with butterfly wings and ornate decorations and placed in the middle of the room. Now that she is closer, Xiao Lan realises that her colour is newer than the others and she has the texture of a living person, unlike the other skins which are so dead.

She stood in front of the two, her hollow eyes directed at them, the texture of her inner skin visible directly through the holes in them, her lips, painted red, opening and closing, a broken voice coming from her throat where no vocal organs should exist: “Don’t–try to -go-”

With that she lunged, surprisingly faster than the rest of the human skins, and the target was actually – Luo .

Luo has never had a presence in front of bosses or NPCs, whether it be Zhang Dong’s invisibility or Gu Mo’s treating him like a pet.

Now there’s one that has abandoned Xiao Lan and lunged straight for Luo?

The fierceness of that fierce stance also carried an air of immortality, how much revenge must this be?

Xiao Lan asks as she runs, “What have you done that she’s chasing you like that?”

Luo shrugged off the human skin and seemed to ponder for 0.5 seconds, “Irrelevant things I don’t remember.”

At the sound of this the human skin became even more furious, she ripped off the butterfly wings on her back that were affecting her speed and let out a shrill whistle, and at the sound the other human skins picked up speed as if inspired.

The human skin was close to the two men, but the hollow eyes stayed in Luo’s direction, “It’s all–you–that made me–fail, when it was clearly — the easiest — task!”

Xiao Lan is still hurtling along with the question marks.

It was then that Luo pulled out of the corner of his memory a night when it seemed that he had casually cleaned up after an oddly behaved maid who had tried to open Xiao Lan’s door.

So she’s the only female player?

It seems that her chosen mission was to assassinate a player, or perhaps to do something to the male players. She chooses Xiao Lan, but fails when Luo gets in the way and is made into a human skin and placed in this room.

What an unfortunate fellow, Luo thought indifferently.

By this time the female player’s human skin was getting closer to the two, and the dense mass of skins behind her had almost joined together. Luo threw the extinguished candlestick to the ground, sharp claws visible in one hand, and he had raised his hand –

Suddenly a figure flashed in front of him.

Xiao Lan turned around and grabbed the human skin close at hand, tied her hands, which were nothing but skin, in a knot, and then moved her hands quickly, wrapping her into a ball of skin with an unbelievable speed of skill, even with the decorations on her body properly wrapped in it.

The whole process took only a few seconds.

What a professional way to pack!

This is an exclusive skill Xiao Lan has acquired after packing countless times in all walks of life, and it allows him to pack any object to the right size in the quickest possible time. Out of professional habit, he even leaves out the decorations, which adds to the weight of the ball.

Xiao Lan then weighed the ball in his hand, looked at the succession of skins in front of him, then lifted his arm and threw the ball with a sudden thrust towards the skins coming from behind.

FUCK! Fucking faggot!!!

The former – female player who was already a ball of leather screamed and shouted in her mind, but unfortunately she was already balled up in a heap and could not make a sound.

“The human skins were not heavy enough to bear the force of Xiao Lan. As the skins in the front row were knocked backwards, those behind were brought down under unknown circumstances, and the army of skins collapsed in a heap.

Taking this opportunity, Xiao Lan and Luo quickly dashed out of the corridor and closed the door to the chamber. As the walls close in, the sound of the human skins that followed can still be heard tapping on the wall, but unfortunately they are not destined to open the door without bones.

Xiao Lan is relieved to be out of the dark and depressing chamber, and even Madame Bella’s bedroom, which looks like a tiger’s den, looks much smoother.

He looked out of the window.

At the moment, the sky outside the window is tinged with a golden red, and the sunset wraps around the evening sun to reveal its head, gilding the whole estate with a golden glow.

It was getting late and it was close to dinner time, so if they didn’t turn up they might arouse the housekeeper’s suspicions. The two men carefully avoided the maids and returned to their room to wait for them to be shown to the dining room.

Back in the room, luckily the maids hadn’t come knocking yet and they were able to rest for a while in the room, Luo even taking the time to make them some black tea.

With aromatic black tea in his hand, Xiao Lan sits unassumingly on the sofa and talks to Luo about the clues they have obtained so far.

“As far as we know, Lady Bella was originally a beautiful woman with a very affectionate sister. Then some kind of change happened that caused Lady Bella to decide to make a pact with an unknown being and lay hands on the maids of the manor, after which she gained health, and magical powers, and her appearance became what it is now.”

“So when did Anne die, and did Bella’s change have anything to do with Anne?”

“And what exactly is that thing that made a pact with Lady Bella and gave her power?”

” What purpose does Madame Bella have in calling strange men to the estate in the name of finding her fiancé? Where did all the men who came here before end up?”

Xiao Lan took a sip of his black tea: “There are still a lot of unanswered questions.”

Luo doesn’t interrupt Xiao Lan’s thoughts, just reaches out and refills Xiao Lan’s cup with tea.

Xiao Lan: “Another thing that also confuses me is that Bella, if she is to be addressed as Madame, is married. But neither from her gathering of men to come here, nor from the various details of the manor without a male owner, nor from the chatter of the maids, have we heard anything about Mrs Bella’s husband.”

“Does this person exist, and who is he, or what role does he actually play in the change from the Bella of the past to the Lady Bella of the present?”

“What exactly is the clue to our passage?”

Luo put down the cup of tea in his hand and smiled slightly, “Sir, should we find an opportunity to ask and see the other players and exchange information.”

“Good idea.” Xiao Lan’s eyes lit up with information about the human skin chamber, which should be traded for valuable information.

Xiao Lan then casually asks why the strange human skin was chasing Luo in the chamber full of human skins.

Luo gave a not very concerned look, “Well, one night a little bug came out and tried to disturb you, but I chased it away. Perhaps the little bug had a grudge against it.”

Looking at Luo’s calm expression, Xiao Lan had a rough idea of what had happened. The human skin was probably the female player, and it seemed that she had tried to get at herself when she didn’t know, but Luo had taken care of her.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

There was a knock at the door and the maid explained to the two men that it was time for dinner.

The maid still led the two to the morning dining room.

As the maid had said in the garden during the day, Madame Bella did not return to the manor today and the players were the only ones at the dinner table.

By the time the food was served, the players were a little surprised as the dishes were incredibly rich tonight, as if some kind of festival or celebration was going to take place.

A whiff of the Last Supper comes through.

The ominous suspicions of the players’ psyche were later confirmed by the appearance of the housekeeper, who, still holding her meticulously combed hair high, said to the players in a haughty tone, “Enjoy your dinner, after all, tomorrow is a very important day.”

“Oh, you’ll never forget it in your lifetime.”

When the players raised their doubts with her and asked what would happen tomorrow, the housekeeper simply smiled coldly and left without an answer, leaving a message on her way out, “Never, never let your ladyship down.”

The players looked at each other in disbelief, it was almost like announcing that there would be a big fuss tomorrow, so wash your necks and wait, it’s best if it cools off, if not we’ll keep trying.

If you don’t want to die, get through before Lady Bella returns.

After the butler left, a brief silence fell over the dining room.

“Thud–”

Suddenly there was the sound of something hitting the ground.

The players looked in the direction of the sound and saw the three male players who had eaten Mrs. Bella’s food before dropping their forks.

Their faces were a scowl and full of envy as they looked at the other players with a look that was tinged with hostility.

“The lady is mine!”

“You do not imagine that you can be favoured by the Lady!”

“Why don’t you all go to hell ……”

With that, the player sitting next to Luo tries to attack, his movements seeming rough and uncontrolled, as if he has lost his mind. He lunged at Luo, but was taken down by Luo’s leg while sitting on a chair, and then by Luo’s foot on the ground.

Luo’s body looked long and tall, but the foot on his back felt like it weighed hundreds of pounds and he couldn’t move at all. The player was still struggling, but Luo was already too noisy and kicked him unconscious.

Luo didn’t even stand up the whole time.

On the other side, the player who pounced on Qi Ning has also fallen to the ground unconscious.

In the end, the unlucky man who tried to lift the table when he saw what was happening was slapped into the table by Wang Ke’s head and probably passed out.

So with the combined efforts of the remaining players, the dinner was able to continue happily and without incident. After all, the danger is for tomorrow, and the dinner is for now.

Except for Qi Ning who is still admiring the cutlery and vowing not to take off his mask.

After dinner, Xiao Lan approached the Wang family, who had left the table early, and expressed his intention to exchange information.

Wang Taidi nodded: “Yes, and we have what looks like a crucial piece of information.”

Xiao Lan : “So, to show my sincerity, I’ll start.”

He spoke to the Wang family brothers about the human skin chamber, and also recounted in particular the messages of help left by the maids, as well as the doubts about the unknown indentured servant.

After listening to Xiao Lan’s account, Wang Taidi rubbed his goose bumps with a chilling look on his face: “That room is too creepy …… You dare to rub human skin with your hands!”

Wang Taidi has a look on his face like you’re a great man.

Xiao Lan shrugs.

Wang Taidi then took an old-looking letter out of his prop backpack.

The letter was sent by a gentleman named Onotti to a close friend who was a bishop. In the letter he mentioned that his family had a long-standing genetic disease that afflicted them and that more than half of the family members had developed it in childhood, leaving them with a short life expectancy and few heirs.

And just recently, Mr Onotti has been hearing a call that seems to be close to his ears.

And that voice was everywhere, at his side at all times.

The voice called itself Oti and said that he could give them health and hope, and that he could give them power beyond that of mortals, for a small price.

Mr Onotti is a faithful believer who fears that his family is under the spell of the devil and hopes that his good friend, who is a bishop, can give them some help.

It seems that Mrs Bella’s family was the Onotti family, but for some reason the letter ended up on the estate.

Xiao Lan looked at the letter in his hand, ” Oti …… Is this what the pact with Lady Bella is about? What is this, a demon or an evil god?”

Wang Taidi shook his head: “Aren’t both hobbies similar anyway?”

Is this a bit random?

Wang Taidi rubbed his little curly hair: “I hate these unscientific copies! I hate undead bosses!”

Xiao Lan wondered, “The immortality system?”

Wang Ke began to explain, “Those who have signed a contract with a demon or an evil god are very difficult to kill, and even after killing them, they will attract the existence of the one who has signed a contract with them.

“Many have speculated that it may take several indentured players to tackle a single demon, and that the evil god may be above that.”

Xiao Lan pondered, “So the pass won’t basically be to kill Lady Bella, will it be to find a way to escape before she returns?”

When they had been looking for clues, they had found themselves completely unable to leave the estate by scaling the wall.

Wang Taidi : “It also depends on what the steward is hiding and what exactly will happen tomorrow.”

Wang Ke sniffed and left without saying a word.

Xiao Lan wondered, “What’s wrong with your brother?”

Wang Taidi’s eyes shone brightly as she pulled Xiao Lan up: “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s see my brother’s unique communication technique.”

Following them, Xiao Lan always had a sense of foreboding.

A few moments later, his premonition was fulfilled when Wang Ke arrived at the door of the housekeeper’s room and kicked open the closed door without knocking.

The butler screamed in shock, “What are you doing! It’s rude to-”

Xiao Lan then saw Wang Ke kick the housekeeper to the ground and then stomp the lady with her hair in a messy bun.

It was as if he was stepping on a salted fish under his feet.

Wang Ke looked indifferent: “Madam, shall we talk?”

Xiao Lan at the door: “Fuck, has your brother always been this rigid?”

Wang Taidi nodded: “He said you can do whatever you want as long as you grasp it not to death.”

Xiao Lan suddenly felt that a new door had opened in front of him.