461: 8.61 Luck Booster

8.61 Luck Booster

Time flew by increasingly slow when you were waiting for it to pass. With nothing to do, Ji Yan and Olivia once again searched around the mansion and found a few packs of rations containing dry bread, compressed biscuits and water. Enough for them to pad their stomach that had not eaten anything since breakfast.

After that, they took a little rest. Lu Yizhou chose to re-read Ella's diary one more time as Ji Yan and Olivia chose to have a shower (he did not want to know whether they were doing it together or not).

His gaze once again drifted to the smudge of ink on the very first page. [Have you found out what's the word here?]

[666: Aye, aye, Host. Prepare yourself for this unimaginable, otherworldly surprise—]

Lu Yizhou rolled his eyes. [Spill it.]

[666: Ellen.]

Lu Yizhou blinked and sat up from where he was lounging on the bed. [...What?]

[666: The name that was crossed out. It's Ellen. Host… exactly how many villains are there in this world?]

That was also what Lu Yizhou wanted to know. 

Ellen, Ella, Ellie. The three of them rhymed perfectly. 

Lu Yizhou recalled Ellie saying that she had chosen her name herself. Now that he thought about it, why hadn't her name been given by Luca or Madam Knox? How could she choose her own name? 

Unless… Ellen was her former name and for some reason, she did not like it and decided to change it? Then what about the man he had seen in his dream? Could he be Ellen?

Lu Yizhou threw himself back on the bed and groaned low. Ugh, this was all so confusing! He had so many speculations and utter lack of answers. Sensing his frustration, Ozzie who was curled up on the bed, gave his hand a little soothing lick. Lu Yizhou absentmindedly patted her head, making her yawn out loud and doze off in no time at all.

As he was lost in thought, Ji Yan and Olivia appeared on the doorway, fresh from the shower. Judging from their body language, they clearly had something to say. Lu Yizhou sat up again. "What's wrong?"

"Um… Olivia and I have thought about it and we have decided to bring Ailín here. After all, he was our teammate." Ji Yan suggested tentatively. "What do you say?"

They must have been uncomfortable to see a former teammate hanging from the ceiling amidst tens of mannequins. To be honest, Lu Yizhou was not any better either. To think that the man who had conversed, fought and interacted with him for two days turned out to be a mannequin made him feel sick all over. He still had no idea when was the exact time Ailín became one of the black witch's sacrifices, but he did not mind bringing him out of here. 

Lu Yizhou nodded. "Let's go."

Together, they returned to the kitchen. Ji Yan and Olivia stuck to him closely and this time, Lu Yizhou did not complain. He kept a close eye on the two in case they were to disappear too. Yet as it turned out, their whole journey had been smooth sailing. With Ji Yan and Olivia covering his back, Lu Yizhou unhooked the chain from Ailín's neck and carefully lowered him to the ground.

He looked at Ailín's blank, peacefully smiling face and the array markings on his chest. [Is it possible to save him?]

After all, he had made a promise to himself that he would save Ailín once in exchange for the favor the man had done for him. Alas, before he could fulfill it, Ailín had become like this.

[666: I don't know, Host…]

'I don't know either, Daddy. Sorry meow…'

Lu Yizhou shook his head. Then he reached out to close Ailín's eyes. Like this, he looked like he was peacefully sleeping rather than a mannequin. 

"We don't know when the black witch will awaken him so it's better if we put him in a different room." He told Ji Yan and Olivia, which earned him two nods of approval.

In the end, they decided to put Ailín in their temporary basecamp — the only room they had a lock to — and moved Diana back to the room she had shared with Ailín. 

"Brother." Ji Yan's head was hung low as he stood by Ailín's bedside. "Our time together is short, but I will remember you forever. If… If someday there's a chance we will meet again, let's have some chicken and beer together, okay?" He took a few deep breaths and then resolutely turned away, eyes rimmed red on the edges. "Let's go."

Lu Yizhou and Olivia nodded.

The three of them stood on the base of the stairs leading to the third floor, looking up to the area that would determine their fate tonight.

"Listen." Ji Yan said with all seriousness. "Based on my experience, the final boss will be difficult to fight against, but not impossible. Just pay attention to their period of buffer. It's like playing a game, you know? When they reach a certain period, they will release an ultimate attack. That's the one we have to watch out for. Let's do it like this. I will take the lead, Olivia in the middle, and Miss Irene on the very back to cover us. Is that okay?"

Lu Yizhou nodded. He had no problem with that.

"Wait!" Olivia suddenly stopped them, nervous. "W–Wait a moment." 

When Lu Yizhou and Ji Yan turned to her in confusion, she was flustered for a split second before throwing her hands up in the air in a gesture of 'fuck it all'. And then, in front of Lu Yizhou's eyes, she yanked Ji Yan forward by his collar and kissed him right on the lips!

Goddamnit! Lu Yizhou screwed his eyes shut as if they had been burned. Why couldn't they do it somewhere private?! Why in front of him?!

[666: Why is 666's screen mosaicked when something like this happens?! This is totally unfair!!! QAQ]

'Oh, oh, this is spicy meow~' Ozzie giggled heartily. 

Ji Yan made a noise of surprise on the base of his throat, clearly not expecting it. After half a second of shock, he quickly recovered, closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss. Lu Yizhou counted to fifteen in his mind before he cleared his throat loudly.

They sprung apart, faces flushed in shyness and pleasure. 

"W–Why you…" Ji Yan stammered out as he touched his lips, staring in wonder at Olivia who could not look him straight in the eye.

"D–Don't misunderstand, okay?!" Olivia stomped her feet. Her face was so red that it resembled a boiled lobster. "It's one of my skill cards! It can increase our luck through k–kiss! Like the prayer of Mother Maria or something!" Then she whipped her head to glare at Lu Yizhou.

His heart immediately lurched as an ominous premonition filled his chest. No, nonono. She couldn't be—

"Come here." Olivia glowered.

Lu Yizhou forced a smile on his face and took a step backward. "I don't need a boost of luck." He would be damned if he were to let Olivia kiss him! What if… What if his lover saw that? It would definitely become blackmail material in the future! Lu Yizhou did not need anyone to provoke his lover's possessive and crazy side!

Olivia rolled her eyes especially hard. "Screw you. It's not like I want to kiss you on the lips. Gimme your hand!" When Lu Yizhou did not move, she lunged forward to snatch his wrist then pressed her lips to the back of his hand. The whole movement was completed in less than one second time but for some reason, Lu Yizhou still got chills down his spine. "There!" Olivia harrumphed in satisfaction.

"Eh?" Ji Yan was confused. "If you can kiss her hand then why do you kiss me on—"

"L–Let's go!" Olivia cut him off as she hooked each arm around both of them and dragged them upstairs, forcing calmness albeit anybody with eyes could see that she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. "We don't have any more time to waste! Better get this done as soon as possible!"

Lu Yizhou not so discreetly pulled his arm out of Olivia's hold and stepped away from her. Not that she would complain either way. That just gave her a reason to cling to Ji Yan tighter. Not only that, she also gave Lu Yizhou a small triumphant smile. What the fuck…? Lu Yizhou was dumbfounded. Had she thought that Lu Yizhou was into Ji Yan all this time and got jealous all by herself? Fucking digusting. 

Lu Yizhou could only heave out a sigh and sincerely prayed that the protagonists would get together from now on, sparing everyone from mortal suffering.

As soon as they stepped onto the third floor, a notification sounded in their mind.

[[Congratulations for making it to the last stage! All players, try your best to survive and clear the game!]]

Was it only his imagination or the temperature was even colder than before? Lu Yizhou resisted the urge to rub his arms together for warmth. Together, they stood still in front of the master bedroom. The tension was so thick in the air that one could cut through it with a knife.

Lu Yizhou clenched his fists, his heart bubbling in anticipation. Finally, he would find out the mystery surrounding the Knox Family. Finally, he would be able to take his lover out of here — no matter what it took.

"Ready?" Ji Yan stepped forward to take the lead. 

"Yes," Lu Yizhou and Olivia said in unison. 

Ji Yan took a deep breath. "Okay. We will get out of this game together. All of us, okay?" After saying that, he reached out to push the door open. Except before his hand could even touch the wooden surface, Ji Yan suddenly froze. "M–My guardian angel—"

Lu Yizhou's eyes quietly widened. Ji Yan's guardian angel card was activated, indicating that behind the closed door was a threat that nearly killed him — and most likely, all of them!

Alas, before anyone could react, the door in front of them suddenly swung open and swirls of dark shadows surged out from the depth of the darkness. Lu Yizhou sucked in a surprised breath. He only had time to duck his head and protect his vital organs when darkness forcefully yanked him in. 

Somewhere around him, he heard Ji Yan and Olivia's muffled scream. Lu Yizhou noted distantly that they sounded further than they should have been. But soon, he could no longer think anymore because his consciousness had started flickering in and out of reality.

He tried his best to resist and struggle against the constraints around him to no avail. It was too powerful and between one breath and the next, Lu Yizhou was knocked out cold.

Behind them, the double door slowly closed with a long ominous creak, leaving the third floor bereft of any soul. 

Unbeknownst to anyone, on the second floor, Diana's eyes snapped open with a sharp gasp.

.0

.

.

A/N: Thank you so much for the 200 GTs!! You guys are awesome! Please continue to support VSS to motivate author~ (12/09/22)

pqdm.com