Chapter 42

Feng Bu Jue briefly recounted the plot of the novel, then described his experience in the cellar and the hidden quest he had received. Subsequently, the others could see his quest in the quest log, but they could only see it; even if Feng Bu Jue completed it, the reward would be his alone.

Halfway through his explanation, the lantern on the table dimmed again as the skill's duration had expired. However, Si Yu and Bei Ling did not interrupt him and listened attentively.

After Feng Bu Jue finished recounting all the information he knew, he concluded, "So... based on my analysis, the plot of this script should be as follows. This family has a hereditary condition, Huntington's disease, and this house itself has some kind of supernatural power similar to a curse. Rodrick, who has been obsessed with his sister, has already suffered from a mental breakdown. Therefore, he buried Madeleine alive despite knowing she was still alive, and then he suffered greatly from this, leading to a complete mental breakdown. On the night the story ends, his sister, using the mysterious power of the house, returned to the mansion and scared her brother to death, and then she herself died from exhaustion.

Madeleine's soul is likely trapped somewhere in the house along with her body, and this house itself harbors a strong hostility towards us living beings.

From a game perspective...

The main quest is to find the patterns or weaknesses of the house and then escape. The side quests are optional, merely testing our completion of map exploration. If we explore more rooms and search thoroughly, we can find all six segments of the ghost palace and receive rewards. As for the fate of the brother and sister's souls, it's just a poor continuation of the novel's plot, existing as a hidden quest, which is also optional."

After listening to his explanation, Si Yu was the first to speak, "No problem, we can cooperate with you."

Feng Bu Jue had just explained the situation: passing the game is not difficult, the side quests are optional, and the hidden quest is not mandatory. He was about to ask Si Yu and Bei Ling if they were willing to assist him in completing the side and hidden quests, but he didn't expect them to answer before he could ask.

"Thank you both," Feng Bu Jue said.

Si Yu did not respond this time; she really didn't like talking much.

Bei Ling politely replied, "You're welcome. We were going to do the side quests anyway. As for the hidden quest, it's definitely not easy, but we'll do our best to help you within our capabilities."

Feng Bu Jue then stood up and said, "Now, let's return to the question that was interrupted... why did we all end up here at the same time?"

Xiao Tan immediately said, "Isn't this house changing? It just needs to alter a few corridors and connect the spaces to guide us here."

Long Ao Min said, "You're talking about how we got here, not why we ended up here."

Bei Ling licked her lips and muttered, "The factors that trigger such events are few... a certain time has arrived, an item has been obtained, or..."

Feng Bu Jue continued, "The map exploration is approaching a critical point."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Tan asked.

"Have you heard of 'The House of Usher'?" Feng Bu Jue said.

"The board game?"

"Right, that one. Suppose the map tiles for a certain floor are all used up, what happens then?" Feng Bu Jue asked.

"Then this floor... " Wang Tanzhi seemed to understand the issue: "can no longer reveal new maps."

"Based on the current situation, it seems that the first floor has been thoroughly searched, and further exploration will lead us back to places we've already been. So, we all ended up in the same room, and this dining room is like the last unexplored piece of the puzzle," Feng Bu Jue explained.

"Then... should we go to the second floor next?" Long Ao Min asked, adding uneasily, "Wu Di Wu Li died there for no apparent reason."

"There are three segments of the ghost palace on the first floor, and one is hidden in the cellar. The remaining two segments are undoubtedly on the second floor. To complete the side quests, we have to go up," Feng Bu Jue replied. "Also, the first floor has been explored almost completely, but the main quest hasn't changed. Therefore, to complete any of the main, side, or hidden quests, we must go upstairs."

Bei Ling added, "As the final part of the script, the difficulty... or the curse power on the upper floors, is clearly stronger. The traps on the second floor are certainly more dangerous, and the illusions and horror elements are more numerous, which is why Wu Di Wu Li died when he went alone."

Xiao Tan, hearing this, said to Feng Bu Jue, "Bro, listen, acting separately can be fatal."

"Wu Di Wu Li died because he wasn't strong enough..." Feng Bu Jue shifted his gaze, revealing a "the wind is so noisy today" expression.

...

After more than ten minutes, the five of them crossed several corridors and found a staircase leading to the second floor.

The wooden stairs emitted a musty smell and creaked underfoot. Xiao Tan, due to his nervousness, accidentally broke a rotten handrail, scaring himself.

On the second floor, Long Ao Min took the lead again. His new title, "Team Defender," granted him a passive skill, "Team Protection," which increased his defense by 10% for each teammate nearby. Although the attack, defense, and health values in the game were not displayed, this did not affect the calculation of such bonuses. In short, Long's current resistance to damage was 40% stronger than when he acted alone. Even if he faced the powerful blood zombie again, he wouldn't be knocked back by a single blow.

Feng Bu Jue and Wang Tanzhi followed behind Long Ao Min, then came Bei Ling and Xiao Gu, with Si Yu bringing up the rear.

After walking for a while, Bei Ling suddenly patted Wang Tanzhi's shoulder. Due to his tense nerves, he turned pale but didn't scream.

"Hey, Xiao Tan."

"What is it?"

"Let's make a deal. We should exchange items."

"Which one?"

"Hehe... what do you have?" Bei Ling asked with a smile.

Xiao Tan, while walking, began listing the items in his inventory: "Well... I have a Western kitchen knife, a baseball bat, a slow-acting..."

Feng Bu Jue, walking in front of him, covered his face and shook his head, sighing inwardly, "This idiot..."

Bei Ling burst out laughing, quickly interrupting, "Okay, okay, you really told me everything?"

Xiao Tan was taken aback, "Eh? Yes, you asked to exchange items, why should I list them?"

Even Long Ao Min at the front of the group rolled his eyes and muttered, "This kid is really something..."

"Don't bully the kid," Si Yu said coldly from behind.

Bei Ling stuck out her tongue and said to Xiao Tan, "Sorry, I was just joking, I didn't expect you to actually tell me."

Xiao Tan, still defending himself, "I'm twenty-four this year!"

Feng Bu Jue couldn't hold back any longer, turning to glare at Xiao Tan, "I've noticed your emotional intelligence is getting worse."

"Huh?" Xiao Tan was confused.

Bei Ling tugged at his sleeve, "Okay, let's get serious." She handed him a miner's helmet, "I want to exchange this for your flashlight."

Xiao Tan checked the attributes; it was an equipment item with a lighting function.

**Name: Miner's Helmet**

**Type: Armor**

**Quality: Common**

**Defense: Moderate**

**Attributes: None**

**Special Effect: Has a lighting function, requires batteries.**

**Equipment Requirement: General Proficiency F or Tool Proficiency F**

**Note: A safe and reliable piece of armor, the miner's lamp on the front is also very practical.**

"How about it? I see you don't have any head armor. Exchanging this for your flashlight, you won't be at a disadvantage, right?" Bei Ling said.

Xiao Tan looked at it, "But isn't this clearly a disadvantage for you?"

"The yellow color doesn't suit me, and girls look silly wearing it." She smiled slyly, "I think you look good in it."

"No, I have a head armor," Xiao Tan replied, taking out another new flashlight from his inventory (at the shopping center, Feng Bu Jue suggested everyone take two flashlights, and Xiao Tan had kept all his items in his inventory), and handed it to Bei Ling, "I have two flashlights, I can just give you one."

Bei Ling stared at Xiao Tan's face for a few seconds, "Hey! If you didn't tell me, you could have gotten an equipment for free."

"Wear it if you think it looks silly," Xiao Tan smiled.

Hearing this, Bei Ling suddenly understood what "innocent and naive, but cut open, it's all black" meant.

She took the flashlight and put the miner's helmet back in her inventory, saying with a complex expression, "Thanks," without showing any joy.

"Deserved it," Si Yu added from behind.

"Something's not right..." Long Ao Min suddenly stopped, noticing something odd, "Didn't we already pass this place?"

"We've been on a corridor identical to this one since we came upstairs," Feng Bu Jue continued, "We turned left once, then right twice. The lengths of the straight sections after each turn were different, but it's clearly not a loop..."

"Is it an illusion, or..." Long Ao Min left the sentence unfinished, wanting to hear Feng Bu Jue's opinion.

"It's probably an illusion," Si Yu said from the back of the group. At that moment, she was standing in front of a full-length mirror, seeing herself in it. Her body looked normal, and her clothes and equipment were unchanged, except for her abdomen, which revealed her intestines.

In a second, the entire corridor was lined with mirrors, the change happening abruptly without any visible spatial distortion.

Feng Bu Jue also turned around and chose the nearest mirror, facing it, "Not bad, clearer than an MRI." He stepped closer and examined it, "Oh, the cross-section of the intestines even shows the details of the corridors, quite bizarre..."