CH 51

The landlord hummed as he dragged the bodies of the mother and daughter away.

The sound of an absurd song echoed down the corridor along with the rustling of clothes and floor, mixing with an eerie sensation that made your head spin.

Xiao Lan The two men quietly followed the landlord's movements, still concealing themselves with the feature of the place's seven corners and twists.

Suddenly, just as the landlord rounded a corner somewhere ahead and disappeared briefly from the sight of the two men, the sound died away.

Xiao Lan thought he was just resting for the moment, but after waiting for a few moments, there was still no sound, including the sound of breathing. Sensing that something was wrong, Xiao Lan cautiously stepped forward and looked around the corner.

As it turns out, the corner seems to have been designed in a careless manner, with only a small, narrow and irregular space full of dust and rubbish, with no room and no access to anything else.

The landlord just disappeared into thin air!

There was no place to hide in this small space, and Xiao Lan knocked on the walls around him, which told him that they were all solid and that there was no special space inside.

Xiao Lan turned his head to greet Luo: "Luo, come and take a look."

Luo stepped forward and dark shadows filled the floor as his part spread out, wrapping the area from the floor up to the walls and finally connecting to the ceiling.

A few moments later Luo frowned lightly, "Sir, there is no trace of the landlord, except for a footprint just past the corner."

It's really vanished into thin air ......

"Do you think the landlord he ...... is a human being?" Xiao Lan surveyed the place and voiced his doubts, "After that mother and daughter, I now suspect anyone who looks at him is not human."

Luo: "Perhaps the power of this copy interferes with our judgement, when I saw the mother and daughter before, they were no different from the living in my perception."

It's a bit of a problem, which means they can't tell whether the people here are dead or alive, and it's possible that some of the people they're eating with have bodies that have already started to decompose.

For the sake of appetite, forget about it.

"Forget it, let's go." Xiao Lan said, "Let's go and see the rest of the place first."

But there was no answer from Luo.

Xiao Lan felt bad and looked to his side, but where was Luo?

Now he was alone in the whole corridor and there was silence all around.

The dense doors, the narrow, dark corridors, the drab, worn walls, everything looked at him silently, like a path leading one to the underworld.

--

On the other hand, Luo, who has lost sight of Xiao Lan, moves quickly through the corridor.

Xiao Lan had just disappeared from his sight in a split second. But at that moment, Luo sensed a slight fluctuation in space, which meant that Xiao Lan was not in the same space as he was.

Luo tries to find a way into that space here, and although it is a little difficult for him, whose powers are not currently complete, it is not impossible to do so.

At that moment a redundant person came on the way.

He Rui gave Luo a kind smile, "Fei Luo, what a coincidence, you're here looking for clues too?"

"Hello, Mr He Rui." Luo kept his usual elegant smile, "I have some business on my side, so excuse me."

Having said that he tried to go around He Rui to explore another area.

But as if not sensing his intention to get away, He Rui took a step across the room and stood in front of Luo: "Fei Luo, you and Xiao Lan seem to be working well together, have you known each other for a long time?"

Luo stopped in his tracks, a slightly puzzled look in his eyes, his smile unchanged, "We're teammates, so we naturally work well together."

But it doesn't reveal anything at all about how long the two have known each other that He Rui wants to know.

As if chatting, He Rui said, "Your skills should complement each other, right? I'm sure you'll be able to work together like that in a lot of replicas, I'm envious."

"Not me, every time I find a teammate it takes ages to grind it out, ugh ......"

Luo pretended not to understand: "Good luck finding the right teammate soon."

Seeing this, He Rui understood that Luo didn't want to talk about skill related, so he changed the subject, "Speaking of which, there should be many organisations recruiting you for someone of your calibre, I wonder which side you chose?"

"If not I do know a bit about quite a few of the forces, and on the rare occasion that I have the chance to get into the same game, I can introduce you to them."

Luo narrowed his eyes slightly, this man seemed to be overly interested in Xiao Lan. From Xiao Lan's teammates, to the time he entered the game, to his skills, to the power behind him, what was he trying to do by prying into all this?

Thinking of the little bug that appeared last night, Luo did not speak again.

Disguised as dark eyes staring at the man in front of him, sharp claws appearing slightly at his fingertips, would it cause trouble for Xiao Lan if he were to be finished off now?

He Rui looked at the handsome man smiling in front of him and a sudden chill ran up his back.

It was an instinctive feeling of danger. Now this instinct told him that this man - wanted to kill him.

He took a cautious step back, "I didn't mean anything else, sorry if my question made you feel offended it was a slip of the tongue."

Under Luo's viper-like gaze, He Rui takes one step backwards.

He hardly dared to breathe for fear that one wrong move would cause the beast in front of him to change its movements and pounce.

He Rui did not breathe a sigh of relief until he had fully exited Luo's corridor. He lifted his hand to wipe his forehead, which was already covered in cold sweat. He glanced back to see that Luo had not caught up with him and hurriedly accelerated in the opposite direction.

--

In the silence, Xiao Lan walks forward in a corridor that seems to be cut off from reality and seems surreal.

Around a few corners, Xiao Lan is heading the way she came and is slowly approaching the lift.

"Snapped--"

"Snapped--"

What could be called a familiar sound suddenly rang out from behind him, the crisp tap of another small leather ball on the ground.

The girl in the cute little dress stood at the entrance to the lift, her body shrouded in shadow.

Her clothes were covered in stains and her exposed arms were an unnatural colour. The little girl's head was bowed so that her features could not be seen and her hands hung naturally as she stood there in silence.

The little red leather ball next to it, however, bounces spontaneously, as if there is another unseen person here somewhere tapping the ball one at a time.

"Brother, can you pick up the ball for me?"

The child's voice was still soft and sticky, the innocent clarity characteristic of a child. But in this setting, there was no way anyone looking at it could find the voice cute anymore.

So it was you, the bear, who broke into the bathroom earlier.

Xiao Lan did not answer her and continued to walk on, not sharing a single extra glance with her.

Little Girl Ignored: "......"

Mum, you haven't taught me what to do in this situation ......

Seeing this, the little red ball next to him bounced reluctantly a few times and snapped slowly towards Xiao Lan in an attempt to even the odds.

Looking at the little ball of leather slowly rolling in front of him, Xiao Lan, the unsympathetic dogby adult, once again completely ignored it and continued on his way without even a superfluous pause.

Pee Wee: "......"

So aggravating, you indifferent adults.

An atmosphere called awkwardness suddenly filled the corridor.

Angered at being repeatedly ignored, the young girl disappeared from her spot in an instant, and the next moment she appeared violently in front of Xiao Lan.

Xiao Lan finally turned his attention to her, and to be honest Xiao Lan didn't really want to beat up the bear, but if the other man was sincere in his request he wasn't above pushing it a little.

In Xiao Lan's dangerous line of sight, the angry little girl raised her hand and threw an object aggressively at the ground in front of Xiao Lan, which hit the ground with a crisp sound, as if she had thrown the white glove that indicated a duel.

Then ...... probably for fear of being hit, she disappeared with a whoosh.

Also missing is the dutiful little ball of leather.

What is this about?

Xiao Lan shifted his gaze suspiciously to the object on the floor.

[Name: Canned Herring with Durian]

[Ability: Clears all creatures within 50m of the surrounding area, with a slight chance of attracting something strange (use 1/1)]

[Description: Go away! You nasty stinker! Nobody wants to be with you!

Nasty Stinker - Dogby Adult - Xiao Lan: "......"

Are you mocking me little friend?

For scolding me and giving me a prop, it's so hard on you ......

Xiao Lan picked up the can on the ground, it was a bit of an odd way to get it, but at least it was a prop, wasn't it? Maybe it would work wonders when he needed to get out of it, and he was now very glad that Aunt Xiao hadn't just opened it.

He had a feeling that this Aunt Xiao might never want to come and play with him again.

--

After Aunt Xiao disappeared, Xiao Lan felt that everything around her was normal again.

The sound of the wind outside the window had returned, as had the occasional creaking of the old house, and he seemed to faintly hear Luo's voice.

Xiao Lan walked a little further and saw Luo's back a short distance away, seemingly staring in one direction.

" Luo ." Xiao Lan stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder "What are you looking at?"

Luo turned back, his face taking on a warm smile as he whispered, "Just now He Rui was asking about you, from the time you entered the Advent world, to your skills and even the power behind you."

Xiao Lan wondered, "I don't know this man, what does he want?"

Xiao Lan frowned, his life in the real world was very boring and he didn't think he had anything special to offer that would warrant a special enquiry. He hadn't known many people since he entered the Advent world, and Lin Yan, who was barely an enemy, had already cooled off, so he couldn't think of anyone who would ask about him.

"Perhaps he came to you for reasons that belong to a part of you that is not clear to you." Luo says.

"I'm not sure about that either ......" Xiao Lan's eyes widened slightly, "You mean - my dad? "

Luo nodded: "In sorting out your situation, the part that is least clear is from your father, perhaps we can target him properly when we return to reality."

In the light of the current situation, Xiao Lan has a suspicion that his dad might have something to do with the Advent world, perhaps a connection to the players, or maybe he was a player in the first place.

His disappearance, which no one could investigate, could be explained if it was attributed to the Advent world.

Such unnatural forces are, of course, untraceable in reality.

I would love to have a harmonious and friendly discussion with He Rui if I get the chance.