407: 8.7 Team Quest

8.7 Team Quest

Lu Yizhou's boots made sharp clicking sounds against the marble floor. The interior of the mansion was mainly built on wood, illuminated by the flicker of candlesticks along the way. The shadow reflected on the wall was akin to the soundless struggle of the trapped spirits, giving off an uncanny vibes that was a perfect addition to such a gloomy mansion.  0

A huge staircase greeted him as soon as he entered, divided into both sides that led to different wings of the building. But that was not the thing that drew Lu Yizhou to a stop. 

It was the large painting that was hung in the middle. 

There were three people on it. It was easy to guess their identity; Master and Madam Knox, as well as their daughter. Master Knox looked in his thirties, with dark raven hair and razor sharp eyes that seemed to pierce through the canvas. However, his stern expression seemed to mellow in the presence of his beloved wife and child, making him look like a loving husband and father. As for the Madam and Miss…

"Holy shit..." Ji Yan stopped beside him, eyes wide in apprehension as he scanned the painting. "What the hell has happened here?"

The Madam and Miss' faces had been blackened by charcoal. The aura of hatred was especially strong, or so Lu Yizhou perceived. It was as if whoever had done this had wished that the people in the painting would be condemned to Hell. 

Remnants of skin could be discerned through the black marks, and the stark contrast just made it all the more disconcerting. If the light was not bright enough, Lu Yizhou would have thought that both of them were headless. 

He turned to Baines who was watching their reaction with a somber look on his face.

"This is the only family painting Master has," Baines explained, actually looking a bit forlorn as he gazed at the ruined canvas. "At least when everything was still fine and Madam and Miss hadn't succumbed to illness yet. After that… Madam's physique was not the same anymore. This painting must have reminded her too much of the happy times and in exchange, inflicting more pain on her current stead. So she tried to burn it down…"

[[Obtained a new clue: burned family painting.]]

Lu Yizhou instantly detected a discrepancy in Baines' words. "Judging from her body frame, Young Miss was around nine or ten years old when this painting was drawn. So you're saying that there's a ten years gap between the time Young Miss was born until the time they were contracted by the illness? What are their first symptoms? Who showed it first, Madam or Miss? Can you remember anything notable before and after the illness struck?"

The quest background was too abstract. At first, Lu Yizhou had thought that Madam Knox had a weak body from the start and most likely passed on the same illness to her daughter. But it turned out he was wrong! Baines had said that this painting was drawn when everything was still fine, so something must have happened to Madam and Miss that caused them to be sick. To complete the main quest of curing the illness, it seemed they had to dig into what happened that year first!

[[Player Irene has successfully triggered the main team quest: Find out what happened to the Knox Family ten years ago. Progress: 0/100%]]

Lu Yizhou was startled at the notification that sounded different from before. And judging from the change of expression in others' faces, it seemed like the same notification also rang in their mind. 

So this was a team quest and it would also be broadcasted to everyone. Lu Yizhou cursed under his breath. For others, it might be good to keep track of their team's progress but for Lu Yizhou who had a different purpose, wouldn't it just be a pain in the ass?! It was as if every move he made would be announced to the whole world!

Lu Yizhou's gum ached from how hard he was grinding his teeth. Was this the bug's way to keep watch on him?! Ozzie was right. This time, the method they used was truly vicious and sly!

"Woah!" Ji Yan exclaimed, his eyes sparkled in wonder as he looked up at Lu Yizhou. "You have triggered the main team quest! You don't understand it, do you? If we complete the team quest, then we will get many rewards and important clues that will lead us to finish the game! That's why it is so hard to trigger the main team quest! I have gone through five games and I have only triggered it once near the end of the game! And look at you, how long has it been since we started? Five minutes? Miss Irene, you're so awesome!" Ji Yan almost bounced on his feet, every strand of his brown hair was radiating happiness. 

Lu Yizhou: "..." There went his plan to meld into the background. Why did he have to be such a blabbermouth…

"Good job, Big Missy. You're a real savior!" Ailín gave him a thumbs up, laughing vivaciously. Olivia merely let out a displeased harrumph whereas Diana…

Lu Yizhou met her blue eyes across the room, taken aback. That gaze was too familiar… because Lu Yizhou himself had always used it. It was the gaze of someone assessing whether the other person was a friend or foe, and what she might do in each case. Why did she look at Lu Yizhou like that? They were already in the same team so wouldn't it mean that they were automatically standing on the same side? Unless…

Baines showed a blank expression at being shoved with that barrage of questions. He then turned to the painting and repeated the same sentence he had said earlier, with the exact same look on his face! "This is the only family painting Master has…" 

"Ah, don't worry." Ji Yan said upon seeing the frown on Lu Yizhou's face. "He is most likely an NPC."

Lu Yizhou nodded sagely while inwardly he was asking, [What the fuck does NPC mean?]

[666: Ckckck, Host, how do you not know even such a thing? NPC means non-player character. It's like cannon fodder in the world. He already has a set of sentences he has to say every time someone triggers the right question, so there is no use in pressing him for an answer because he will not know it either! Hehe, what will you do without 666 here?!]

[Shut up, now that there's the possibility that you will also trigger the team quest, it's better for you to lay low and not say anything at all.]

[666: QAQ that's cruel… 666 doesn't want to be a salted fish…]

After Baines finished his monologue, he pulled out a pocket watch from his inner suit and exclaimed softly, "Heavens, look at the time! Master has been waiting for you all. Let us hurry up. Be careful, he doesn't like tardiness."

Lu Yizhou and Ji Yan glanced at each other before they swiftly fell into steps behind Baines, the others following behind. They strode along a long dim hallway decorated with many abstract and landscape paintings until a large double door stood in front of them. Sounds traveled from inside and it seemed a little… rowdy?

As if guessing the line of his thoughts, Baines elaborated, "Master is also throwing a farewell dinner for the previous batch of doctors at the same time. They might not have succeeded but they have done us a huge favor. Master is very grateful for all of them."

The question 'what kind of favor could they possibly do for you if they didn't succeed' almost slipped out of Lu Yizhou's mouth but he firmly held himself back. He spared Ji Yan a discreet glance and saw that he did not seem to realize there was anything wrong with Baines' sentence. The same went with the other three. 

That was close… Lu Yizhou let out a sigh. He did not want to draw any more attention than he already did.

Nonetheless, Baines' sentence ticked him in a wrong way and he couldn't stop pondering on the meaning beneath it. Except for curing Madam and Miss, how could the doctors be said to have done the family a huge favor? 

If Lu Yizhou were in Master Knox's position with his lover and daughter suffering from a grave illness, he would put a hole on the doctor's head every time he received bad news. Why would he throw a farewell party for them? Ah right… it had been said in the quest background that Master Knox was kinda a saint and philanthropist so it was no wonder that he was being courteous. 

Still… could that be the only reason?

He tried to replay the quest background, and one sentence came to mind — "the doctors who have visited the Knox Family start to disappear one after another." 

He had guessed early on that the doctors' disappearance might have something to do with this family but to what extent? It seemed like Lu Yizhou had severely underestimated the degree of danger he would be facing…

Baines knocked on the door and the sounds inside paused. "Master, I have brought the new guests," he said.

A deep voice answered, "Ah, my good Baines. Just in time. Please invite them in, will you?"

Baines pushed open the door and gestured for them to go inside. 

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A/N: LYZ, don't bother covering your brilliance because it's no use heheh~

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