CH 16

(The utmost terror upon meticulous scrutiny)

Edited by Silver Wind 

Wu Jia backed away: “Look.”

Zhou Wenyan raised his jaw slightly and saw the housekeeper standing at the door.

After a period of digestion, the female housekeeper had roughly accepted the setting of having six virgin maidens that were all men this time around, and she called them “young ladies” with a placid expression.

“The evening banquet will begin soon, and an exquisite dress has been prepared for every young lady without exception. Please follow the servants to attend the evening banquet once you are done changing.” 

Once she was done speaking, the housekeeper bowed respectfully and left with big strides.

Wu Jia: “Dresses which have been prepared?”

He casted his eyes on the dress draped over the soft and big bed.

Everyone in the room looked over.

Their gaze converged as if they wanted to torch the skirt until there was no trace of it left.

Wu Jia muttered, “It can’t be, right?”

He did not have weakness for women’s clothing.

But when they were in copies, not abiding by the NPC’s words had a high likelihood of death. 

After Wu Jia got over his despair, he remembered another point: he was not the only person who had to wear it; everyone had to wear it, especially…

He gave Zhou Wenyan a quiet and sweeping glance.

Zhou Wenyan’s eyes flitted over. “What are you looking at me for? Weren’t you going to leave?”

Wu Jia swiftly rolled back to his own room. 

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would not be able to hold back his laughter.

Meanwhile, Shen Dongqing sat on the bed, picked up the dress and threw it aside.

The dress landed on the carpet and made a dull noise.

Itbe Qfcsjc rabbqfv bnfg ab qlmx la eq jcv rtbbx la lc tlr tjcvr. 

Ktf vgfrr kjr fzdelrlaf jcv fifujca; atf rxlga tjv ijsfgr eqbc ijsfgr bo ijmf ja atf rlvf jcv la kjr eaafgis gfrqifcvfca.

Coafg wjxlcu rbwf mbwqjglrbcr, Itbe Qfcsjc ofia atja la kjr delaf relajyif.

Vtfc Gbcudlcu kjr rifcvfg ab yfulc klat, jcv lo tf kfgf ab kfjg la bc tlr ybvs, la kbeiv vfolclafis rtbk j qbgalbc bo atf rcbk-ktlaf rxlc bc tlr yjmx, jcv la kbeiv cba mjerf j rfcrf bo lcmbcugelas.

Rolling his eyes, Shen Dongqing stated, “I’m not wearing it.” 

Zhou Wenyan put down the dress he was holding: “Then don’t wear it.”

Similarly, he had no intention to wear it.

Zhou Wenyan pushed open the door and went out.

A servant was already standing by the door. Despite seeing two guests refusing to change into the prepared dress, he said nothing, and only lowered his head before he led them down the long corridor. 

Wu Jia, however, expressed his doubts: “Why didn’t you wear it?”

He was wearing a gorgeous dress but because he felt ill-suited to it, he had worn a pair of pants underneath it as well, and it looked odd.

Zhou Wenyan glanced at him.

Feeling like his thoughts of caution had been seen through, Wu Jia laughed dryly and explained: “This is an A-level copy, it is better to exercise caution…” 

The servant continued to lead the way in front.

From his back view, he walked with an extremely stiff posture and the hands by his side were littered with purple bruises which looked like… liver mortis.

The castle was huge.

After walking for more than ten minutes, the party finally arrived at the hall where the evening banquet was being held. 

At the centre of the hall, an extravagant crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.

Below it was a long table overlaid with a scarlet-colored velvet tablecloth,  and polished forks and knives, with fresh and delicate roses were placed before every seat.

The only displeasing thing about the scene were the three guests who were already seated, especially the “young lady” with thick sideburns.

It was obvious that the bearded muscular man had tried his best to jam himself into the dress, but his muscles were swelling through the fabric, and it was as if he could split the seams in any second. 

And because Shen Dongqing was positioned in front of the bearded man, he could not stop snorting and laughing from his seat.

Zhou Wenyan could not suppress his chuckles either.

The bearded man glared at him: “What are you laughing for?”

Shen Dongqing composed himself and sat properly: “Actually, you look pretty good.” 

Despite being the host of dinner, Earl Carlisle had yet to arrive which gave the players time to communicate with each other.

The balding middle-aged man took the initiative to speak: “The clearance prompt stated that we had to either kill Earl Carlisle or survive through the Bumper Harvest Ceremony, and I reckon that Earl Carlisle is definitely not human. Judging from the world’s western setting, the possibility that he might be a vampire, demon or something along those lines cannot be ruled out.”

None of the players present were novice players who lacked in knowledge, and they started opening their mouths to analyse the situation.

The chequered shirt otaku picked up the fork and knife on the table and knocked it against the table: “The knife and fork are not made from sterling silver.” 

The balding middle-aged man: “Then it’s highly probable that he might be a vampire.”

The bearded man then asked the most important question: “Have any of you ever experienced a world with a western setting?”

The others went silent.

Within the infinite number of nightmarish game worlds which were riddled with ghosts and monsters who ran amok, most settings were oriental. No one had expected that a western monster would appear. 

And therein lied the question: were oriental charms and peach wood effective against western ghosts and monsters?

The bearded man turned towards the three individuals who had yet to speak: “Did you discover anything?”

“No,” Zhou Wenyan leaned back against the chair lazily, and said carelessly, “However, we’ll know after we kill him once.”

No matter what kind of creature Earl Carlisle was, they would know once they killed him. 

It was simple and crude, but effective.

The bearded man laughed coldly, “It’s simple to say but who is willing to try?”

No one would willing offer to be the guinea pig.

Ding— 

Just then, a bell rang from outside the door.

Servants walked in with a dining cart and placed the plates on the table.

The housekeeper stood at the end of their ranks, and apologies coloured her visage: “The Earl is feeling unwell and he will not attend the banquet tonight, but he invites the six ladies present to enjoy their meals. The Earl will host the banquet on another day and he will entertain you then.”

Having finished conveying his message, the servants bowed and made their leave. 

The huge doors closed again.

Leaving the group of players alone in the hall.

Bearded man scolded: “This smells way too fragrant.”

The food on their plates looked extremely delicious. 

The steak was grilled to perfection, and the sauce drizzled on it held a waft of black pepper; a whole turkey was set on a tray, and underneath the candlelight, it looked extremely glossy and moist……

But no one dared to eat it.

Before they were certain of the circumstances, anything before them could be fatal to their lives.

Shen Dongqing did not have such qualms. 

After the last copy ended, not only did he not earn new points, a fair amount of points had been deducted and he could not exchange it for anything. Now that a table full of food was presented before him, he could no longer suppress his urges so  he picked up his fork and knife and started to eat.

He even ate it with relish.

The bearded man swallowed the saliva welling in his mouth, and could not resist asking: “Are you not afraid that it is made out of something strange?”

In the previous copies he experienced, it was not uncommon for human meat bun meals to occur. 

Shen Dongqing’s movements stilled, and he slowed down his chewing. After he swallowed it, he thought about the aftertaste seriously and stated, “It’s not human flesh.”

He took a piece of steak and placed it on Zhou Wenyan’s plate in order to share the food with him: “It’s quite delicious.”

Zhou Wenyan took a bite and commented: “It is pretty good.”

From his tone, it sounded like he was dining in a restaurant instead of a world where they could meet their deaths at any given moment. 

When the others heard him say that, they immediately settled their hearts and started to dig in.

However, as they were half-way through their meal, the chequered shirt otaku whispered, “How does he know that it isn’t human flesh?”

Other people: ……

Wait, wasn’t that extremely terrifying upon meticulous scrutiny?