Chapter 4

Lunch was sumptuous. Even the few newcomers who witnessed the process of the cranky male’s death, sat at the dining table. Smelling the fragrance, their stomachs rumbled in hunger, having an appetite.

There was nothing to be done, who made breakfast so unpalatable.

Zhao Ru soft sobbed while eating risotto, “Xiaoxiao, I really did not push him. Will he become a ghost to get revenge on me?”

“Don’t think about it anymore, just eat.” Wang Xiaoxiao didn’t wish to talk but her eyes looked towards the veteran surnamed Zhao. Just now when a few people were searching for clues, that person surnamed Zhao was also close by. Zhao Ru’s footing was unstable and she supported herself by holding onto the cranky male, causing him to bump into the wax figure and break it.

The veterans said they would protect the newcomers but the team did not mutually introduce themselves from the morning up till now. Who would be curious about the full name of a stranger who died?

These four wanted to use them to test the way.

What the veterans said was pleasant to hear, can’t kill a companion in the game. The violator would be fined with money and props but if it was to indirectly facilitate a ghost to kill people then there was no problem.

Wang Xiaoxiao’s heart sank, not caring about the endlessly weeping Zhao Ru and took a look opposite her.

Chen Caixing and Yuan Jiuwan sat at the corner of the table. He had a good appetite and was right in the middle of drinking soup. Sensing a gaze, he raised his head to take a look. Everyone was eating with their heads lowered on the quiet dining table.

But he knew who was looking at him. He didn’t speak and continued to eat.

Clack, clack, clack. The sound of stiff and heavy footsteps resounded from the staircase.

“Who, who is still upstairs?” Zhao Ru trembled until she couldn’t hold the ladle.

Currently, nine people were all in the kitchen, the second floor only had corpses so whose footsteps were those?

The veterans had grave expressions and were on guard. Chen Caixing put down his knife and fork. He looked at the NPC, Mr. House, who went to the backyard walking down from the stairs. The people at the dining table let out a sigh of relief but Chen Caixing noticed the expression of Mr. House was very gloomy, looking at them with his gaze full of murderous intent.

Clearly, he was calling them children with delight only a short while ago.

As expected the man’s mouth——

“You left your room after midnight? Damn it, didn’t I tell you that you must not go out.” Mr. House’s stiff was so agitated that his face twitched as he stared at them in resentment.

It could be seen that he was truly very angry.

But Chen Caixing felt under his anger and resentment, Mr. House seemed to be afraid, afraid of what?

The ‘thumping’ sound Zhao Ru heard after midnight?

The mood for lunch practically disappeared. Everyone finished their food in a hurry. They noticed Mr. House was still in the room and didn’t leave. He also didn’t do anything, watching them like a demon.

Jin ge originally wanted to let the newcomers go to the third floor but gave up on the idea for now, not taking action for the time being.

“Xiao Jiu, follow me closely.” Chen Caixing stretched his hand over. Yuan Jiuwan’s apricot stone eyes were round, very adorable like a cat, stretching his hand over to hold Chen Caixing’s hand.

From after midnight till now, three people had died. Chen Caixing feared that group of veterans would seize and act against the primary school student in a frenzy.

Undoubtedly, the primary school student was simply and lovable.

“Stay far away from those four.”

“I know, gege. I’ll only listen to you.” Yuan Jiuwan obediently stuck to Chen Caixing’s arm in assurance.

They started to search for clues. The first floor was full of wax figures. Everyone was careful in their search as they learnt from the mistakes of their predecessor.

Woven patterned cushions were placed on the sofa in the living room but after a long time, the colour faded. It was rather dirty and old. A flower vase was placed on the coffee table and also some decorations. Looking at the decorations, it was once a warm household.

There should be a mistress.

When Chen Caixing went to the kitchen, he was more certain that there used to be a mistress here. A scattered flowered patterned apron, a pink pot and other minor details made him arrive at this conclusion.

Yi.

A clock was hung in a high place on the wall by the door but the glass of the clock face was broken. The clock hand stopped at twenty-three and thirty-seven minutes.

Nine o’clock and thirty-seven minutes in the evening.

Cheng Caixing took notice of the time. When he left the kitchen, he found the NPC was standing at the kitchen doorway all along, with his gloomy eyes gazing at him.

“Is there a problem?”

”

”

Mr. House had his pair of muddy eyes directed at him for a long time. Chen Caixing spoke first, “If there’s no problem, I’ll trouble you to give way, you’re blocking the way. Thank you.”

A second later, Mr. House rigidly stepped aside.

Chen Caixing brought his little brother towards the second floor.

“Gege, you were quite cool just now.”

Yuan Jiuwan walked in strides, ‘da da da’, up the staircase and raised his head in adoration, “Gege, aren’t you scared?”

“When we were eating, he was itching to kill us but didn’t take action. There should be a death condition. Politely asking him to step aside, isn’t a death condition.” A moment ago, he sounded him out, Mr. House was the only NPC who appeared at present. It was impossible for his role to only be stating his fixed set of lines.

Furthermore, from his joy at the cranky male’s corpse to his anger and fear at finding a corpse on the second floor, proved that the NPC had emotions but he didn’t know if he had rational thinking?

“Gege is awesome, Gege is the best.”

Having a soft and cute primary school student as a little brother holding a moving rainbow fart machine.1 Chen Caixing was blown until his face flushed red.

“I’m not that great.”

The two corpses in the bathroom disappeared, leaving a floor full of dried bloodstains. The washroom was at the end of the corridor. Chen Caixing walked in there and opened a tightly closed window. He happened to be able to see that tree in the backyard.

Other than the original corpse there, there were others.

”

”

Chen Caixing looked over carefully, only the mutilated body parts of the cranky male were added.

He didn’t know if he saw it wrongly, the branch hanging with the cranky male’s head slightly moved, directly turning the cranky male’s head to face in his direction. The dead but unclosed2 pair of eyes stared at him.

Chen Caixing was startled.

Originally he wanted to swear but meeting Yuan Jiuwan’s eyes full of adoration, Chen Caixing could only pretend that everything was fine3, he wasn’t afraid at all! He was expressionless as he closed the window.

“Where did the bodies here go……” Chen Caixing sank into deep thought.

Nothing was special about the few rooms on the second floor. Chen Caixing stood at the staircase entrance and looked towards the third floor. It was too dark to see anything. He thought of Mr. House who came and went like a shadow, Chen Caixing decided not to go.

The clues were too little.

The dark and gloomy sky here was covered by the thick fog, no sunlight and the time could not be determined with or without a clock.

And also, Chen Caixing felt the time here passed faster. Only going on a trip to the backyard after eating breakfast in the morning, it was time for lunch.

Sure enough, not long after he went downstairs, a fragrance wafted out from the kitchen.

It was time for dinner.

“Time passes really fast. We didn’t do much and it’s already evening.” A newcomer woman said as she headed to the dining room, then said optimistically, “Monkey ge, time passes so quickly, doesn’t that mean seven days will pass by really quick? When that happens, we can go home.”

The veteran surnamed Wang heavily placed the bowl on the table.

The woman was startled, she didn’t know where she had said something wrong.

But Chen Caixing knew, the quick passage of time wasn’t a good thing for them. The veterans should have concealed something, not informing them about it. If time was up and they had not ‘deciphered’ the wax museum, what consequences would there be?

“Hehe……”

The gloomy and cold laughter of Mr. House resounded from a corner as if he knew what they were thinking, giving an answer.

The consequences——

He guessed it was quite horrible.

Dinner wasn’t sumptuous but the taste wasn’t bad either. Chen Caixing paid attention to the veterans who didn’t have the calmness they had in the morning. Monkey’s expression was especially ugly and he ate very quickly. The woman who spoke a moment ago looked confused. She didn’t know what happened but was affected by the atmosphere. She ate a few bites before she softly said, “Monkey ge, can you room with me tonight?”

“Sleep on your own.” Monkey was not in the mood to maintain the good person display he had at the start.

The cranky male had died so she was alone tonight. The woman looked miserably towards the three other veterans but they ignored her. Her gaze then landed on Chen Caixing.

Yuan Jiuwan who obediently ate, perceived the gaze and glared at the woman. He turned his head and said pitifully, “Gege, I’m done eating. Let’s go back to our room.”

“Wait, we’re not in a rush.” Chen Caixing’s attention was on the living room, on Mr. House with his back facing them. Thinking about the broken clock in the kitchen, he surmised he had to confirm it. Therefore, he completely didn’t see that act of Yuan Jiuwan glaring at the woman.

”

”

The veterans were done eating and wanted to go upstairs. Before Jin ge left, he saw Chen Caixing was still in the dining room so he scolded him for being a sham and that he wouldn’t live past tomorrow.

“Xiaoxiao, I’m scared. Can we go back together? Zhao Ru waited for someone.

“I’m not done eating, you go first.”

Zhao Ru was like a bird startled at a mere twang of a bow.4 The woman beside who had no one to accompany her hastily said to go together and the two of them travelled together up the stairs.

Not a few minutes later, Mr. House stood up, said a fixed set of lines in a strictly business-like manner, “Children, it’s getting late, you should rest early. I’ll come to visit you again tomorrow.” After he finished, he pushed the door and his figure sank into the fog.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

Chen Caixing started to estimate the time in his heart and brought Yuan Jiuwan to walk hurriedly. Wang Xiaoxiao followed behind and quickly whispered, “In the afternoon the veteran surnamed Zhao, lingered for a long time near the wax figures at the rear window. I heard them saying ‘blocked’, ‘door’, ‘basement’.”

“The broken clock in the kitchen stopped at nine-forty in the evening. It should be the time the NPC leaves.” Chen Caixing wasn’t finished with the clues and urged a sentence, “Don’t get close to the walnut tree in the backyard.”

After they finished with their information exchange, the three of them hurriedly entered the bathroom to wash up and went to the toilet before returning to their rooms. It took no more than five minutes from the start to the end.

“Xiao Jiu, did you smell anything? A sweet-smelling——” The closer Chen Caixing got to the bedside, the more obvious the smell was but it wasn’t a strong smell and was faint. He smelled it yesterday night but he just didn’t think of it.

Yuan Jiuwan, who was taking off his coat, nervously swept his eyes under the bed. He waited for Chen Caixing to turn around to look at him before he wrinkled his adorable chubby and handsome babyface. He made use of his nose to sniff then said in distress, “Gege, I don’t smell it.”

He looked like he was trying his best to help but wasn’t able to help his brother, like an extremely pitiful little milk dog.

“It’s nothing. I might have smelled wrongly.” Chen Caixing pinched his little brother’s soft and chubby cheeks, “Alright, let’s go to sleep.”

Yuan Jiuwan obediently got up the bed. Chen Caixing slept on the outer side, his nose smelled a faintly discernible scent——

“I remember this smell.”

Yuan Jiuwan on the inner side let out an ah in surprise.

“It’s the smell of wax figures but it’s much fainter than the wax figures downstairs.” Chen Caixing thought clearly before letting out a sigh of relief. It was really normal for a wax museum to have a scent like this. “All right, go to sleep.” He was waiting for the thumping sound.

Estimating the time.

After about ten minutes, the ‘dong’, ‘dong’, ‘dong’ sound came.

Because the wax museum was too quiet, a tiny bit of noise was really obvious. The sound was dull at first as if it was making its way out from the ground——

Chen Caixing thought of the basement Wang Xiaoxiao told him about.

Then, it was clear that the loud rhythmic thumping ascended the stairs.

“Gege, I’m scared.”

Yuan Jiuwan spoke softly, his small body slowly moved into Chen Caixing’s embrace.

It was normal for a child to be scared of the dark and ghosts. Chen Caixing held his brother in his arms when that thing made a ‘dong’ sound to come up. At the same time, the room lamp went out all of a sudden.

Chen Caixing: ……

He was scared out of his wits.

Luckily, he had his little brother in his embrace.