455: 8.55 What Did He Want?

8.55 What Did He Want?

666, this use— this trash gremlin system, did not even realize its own status as a player in this world. Fortunately it had gained a badass skill to make up for its idio— obliviousness. If Lu Yizhou counted from yesterday, then they had completed three side quests and one special quest. Of course, Lu Yizhou was going to loot them all because he was the one who was going to fight whereas 666 was only a salted fish.

But first thing first, he checked his own inbox. 

[[Reward for completing side quest 'Obtain more clue about the mystery of the Knox Family in the library': x5 stamina potion.]]

Lu Yizhou: "..." He should have fucking seen this coming.

[[Reward for completing special quest 'Gather the broken pieces of Madam Knox's beloved comb': Skill Card 'Reverse']]

Oh? Lu Yizhou raised a brow. This was the first time he had ever received a skill card as a quest reward. He clicked on the description.

[[Reverse — Bound Skill Card

Ever been frustrated that you have to wait for hours until you can use your skill again? Use this card to nullify the cooldown time of your skill. Remaining uses: 1/1]]

[666: Oh my Admin God, Host, this is a very good card! Every single one of your skills has one hour of cooldown period at the least. With this card, you will be able to use them in an instant!]

Lu Yizhou nodded. Yes, this was a very useful skill card but at the same time, it was tricky as hell. Lu Yizhou could only choose to use it once and only on one skill. The battlefield was always unpredictable. To maximize the use of this card, he had to ponder seriously on which skill he had to reverse and also the best time to use it. One slight mistake would result in instant regret. Well, there was no use to get himself worked up now. He would cross the bridge when he came to it. 

He saved the card to his storage. By now, he already had three skill cards at his disposal. 'Silver Shield' from Ella, 'Death Reaper' from Ellie and 'Reverse'. They were all literally life saving skill cards. 

[Now, let's see your rewards.]

[666: Oh, oh! 666's reward! This is the first time 666 obtains something inside the simulator. Oh my Admin God, so exciting!]]

[[Reward for completing side quest 'Survive the dinner with Master Knox': x5 strength potion.]]

[[Reward for completing side quest 'Strike a conversation with the hidden Young Miss Ella': x5 health potion.]]

[[Reward for completing side quest 'Obtain more clue about the mystery of the Knox Family in the library': x5 stamina potion.]]

[[Reward for completing special quest 'Gather the broken pieces of Madam Knox's beloved comb': x10 stamina potion.]]

Lu Yizhou: "..."

[666: …]

[666: Why is 666's luck this shitty?! QAQ Stamina, health, strength… 666 doesn't need them all uwaaaa! This world must have been messing with 666!!!]

The saying that 'there would always be another sky beyond this sky[1]' couldn't be more true. Lu Yizhou thought that his own luck had hit rock bottom in this world, but unexpectedly 666's luck was buried even deeper underground. Knowing it really soothed him, it was like drinking cold watermelon juice on a hot summer day. 

[666: QAQ so mean!!!]

No problem. He would not look at a gift horse in the mouth. These potions had all become his. Lu Yizhou had so many of them that he could afford to squander now. He thought he had to save them all for battle tonight but he looked at his storage of x24 stamina potions and felt oddly appeased. He chugged one down, just because he could.

Fresh from the shower and energized from the potion, Lu Yizhou carried Ozzie in his arms and returned to the room where he left Diana in. Ji Yan, Olivia and Ailín had already arrived. Lu Yizhou could hear their voices even before he entered. 

"...scared me to death!"

"Who knows how long he's been standing there?!"

"Anyway, this blood—"

Lu Yizhou knocked on the door to draw their attention. "Good job, everyone."

"Irene!" "Miss Irene!" Ji Yan and Olivia shot up standing. They were sitting on the couch opposite Diana with a distraught look. Ji Yan pointed at the pool of half-dried blood on the floor. "Are you two fighting here? Where is that blood coming from?"

Olivia followed up with her own barrage of questions. "Why is she unconscious? We can't wake her up no matter how many times we call her! You didn't torture her here, did you…?"

"Let her rest." Lu Yizhou simply said. He offered a nod of acknowledgment for Ailín who was leaning against the window as he took a seat on the bed. "She needs it. It seems like she won't be awake for the last fight tonight."

"But…" Ji Yan asked hesitantly, shuffling on his feet like a nervous student. "But why…? Did something happen between you two?" 

Beside him, Olivia was also eyeing Lu Yizhou warily. She seemed adamant in her argument that Lu Yizhou had indeed locked Diana here to torture her, for some reason he could not even begin to comprehend.

Lu Yizhou heaved out a sigh. He had known that the protagonists would not let him be just like that if Lu Yizhou failed to give them the answer he wanted. Thus he could only blurt out nonsense. Well, half nonsense, in this case. "She's sick so I am healing her. You see, I am actually a white witch."

"You're a white witch?!" Ji Yan and Olivia exclaimed in shock. 

"Wait, wait a moment. You're a white witch! Holy shit, that's so cool!" Ji Yan's eyes sparkled so bright. If he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging right now. "I knew it! You're definitely not an ordinary NPC! We have to fight a black witch and the game gives us a white witch to assist us! Tonight, we will definitely win with you by our side!"

Olivia looked lowkey impressed albeit there was no way she was going to admit it honestly. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? Ji Yan kept on yapping how worried he was about leaving you all alone. If he knew that you're a white witch, then he would not have to fuss around you all the time!"

Lu Yizhou raised a brow, mildly amused. Was it jealousy he heard in Olivia's tone? Exactly what had transpired in these two days when they were left in close proximity to each other? Could the romance be blooming already?

Ji Yan sputtered, his face flushing in embarrassment. "W–What are you saying? I am worried about everyone, including you, okay?"

Olivia turned away with a harrumph. "I didn't see you worrying about me. All you do is to argue with me all day long."

"That… That's because—"

Alright, that was enough. As much as Lu Yizhou was entertained by their dynamics, he really did not want to be in the first row seat to munch on dog food. He cleared his throat to draw their attention. "I heard you talking about someone when I came here. Did something notable happen when you're searching for the pieces of comb?"

Like a bursting dam, Lu Yizhou's question instantly switched both Ji Yan and Olivia into a mad spiel. From what Lu Yizhou could gather — they fought to add one sentence one atop of the other just like children, sigh… — the places which they found the comb pieces in were completely random. 

Except for the third and fourth floor, they really turned the whole mansion upside down and finally found the second piece buried amid the withered stalk of roses in the garden, while the third inside the piano room. To be exact, inside one of the vinyl record cases. 

After that, they were stuck.

At first, Ji Yan had the thought of searching the empty rooms on the second floor so the three of them split up. To their frustration, it bore no result at all. They were tired and had not even had lunch yet. And then Ji Yan's stomach suddenly growled so he led the group to the kitchen to see whether there would be edible food there. 

When Lu Yizhou recalled that it was the very place which produced the eye meatball and finger sausage, he could only offer Ji Yan a disgusted look. He wanted to scourge for food in that place?

Ji Yan hastily explained with a wave of his hand, "It's nothing like that, I swear! Perhaps you don't know, but if the game's period stretches longer than five days, there will always be emergency rations and first aid kits that will be spread in random locations. I was just searching for that!"

Who could have guessed that rather than food, they found the last two pieces of comb hidden in the upper cabinet and inside the cooking pot respectively? This was really Ji Yan's dumb luck!

Just when the group was rejoicing that they had completed the side quest, they suddenly discovered that Baines was standing in the doorway, staring at them with that creepy smile on his face since God-knows-when!

Lu Yizhou frowned. All day, he had not even seen the shadow of any member of the Knox Family. Even the chefs disappeared as if they would only conveniently show up when it was time to prepare food for the guests. So how could Baines appear all of a sudden?

"What did Baines want?" He asked in suspicion.

"That's also what we want to know!" Ji Yan remarked passionately. He then cleared his throat, straightened up and put on a fake smile so similar to Baines that Lu Yizhou lips twitched upward. "'Misses, may this servant know what you're looking for? You're not in the library so I am wondering if you might need assistance with something. No? Well, that's too bad.' That's all he said."

Ji Yan patted his chest. "Scared me to death. I thought I was going to get a heart attack when I saw him! But the weird thing is, my Guardian Angel skill was not activated. It means that Baines did not actually mean harm!"

Something was amiss here. Lu Yizhou surmised that Baines would not appear just for the sake of making an appearance. He tapped his fingers on his thigh and asked again, "How was the kitchen? Was there anything strange? Or… was Baines carrying something?"

Ji Yan and Olivia glanced at each other, troubled. They were too focused on hiding the comb from Baines' sight and making an excuse to leave that place as soon as possible that they did not pay attention to anything else.

"He was." Ailín suddenly piped in for the first time. All eyes turned to him, surprised. "Ji Yan and Olivia were searching around the cooking area. As for me, I walked around to inspect the storage freezer inside. You know, the room they usually used to store vegetables, meat or something like that. I did not have time to actually enter the storage, but I noticed that there were bloodstains around the floor and the handle." Ailín's face grew somber as he added. "...Quite fresh. The blood is still not completely dried up yet. I can't ascertain whether it's animal blood or…"

Ji Yan shivered violently. "Brother, you don't think that they're storing human meat inside, do you?"

Ailín shrugged. "Judging from the nature of this game, it's not impossible. Moreover, when we left, I caught sight of Baines' hands that were clasped behind his back." 

"His hands…?"

"It might be the trick of the light but I seemed to see him holding a kitchen knife." Ailín said in a grave tone. "...and it's completely covered in blood."1

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[1] There will always be another sky beyond this sky = idiom meaning that no matter how good you are, there will always be someone better than you. But it can also be applied in this case eh? *laugh*

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