[Congratulations to the player for killing two red players, please collect the player relics.]
The game prompt lit up, and Xu Huo took a brief look. This couple was really poor—their potion supply was practically nonexistent, and in their pockets, they each had only a few hundred White Notes and three items.
[Fair Wallet: Although there isn’t much wealth in the wallet, losing it is still an irritating matter. The dark psychologist Qiqi Lu once said, "The best way to soothe a loss isn’t to recover what was lost, but to make others suffer with you."]
[Note: Throw the wallet at an unlucky passerby, and they will randomly drop an item (the penniless will drop something else). Can be used three times per day.]
[Luxurious Private Room: A steak knife that can instill fear in opponents. Note, its function is to intimidate, not to cause harm, but causing psychological trauma to others still bears the risk of imprisonment.]
[Aphrodite’s Armguard: A beautiful and sturdy armguard, suitable for women with slender arms.]
Of the three items, the last two were almost useless; only the wallet was somewhat useful.
However, if the opponent was strong, the wallet would most likely only be used once, and the items it caused to drop would literally fall to the ground, buying only a second or two of time.
But for an Evolver, a second or two was already enough.
Mr. Ma and Mrs. Ma’s evolution rates were both above 35%, indicating that they had likely traded all their money and non-essential items for Evolution Potions.
Xu Huo felt the difference in physical strength, being 15% behind and a Cannibal Player, and realized finding the Perfect Evolution Potion was a matter of urgency.
He picked up the wallet, glanced out the window, removed his coat, and covered the heads of the Ma family couple, then went outside to retrieve the Crimson Sword.
When he came back inside, the two bodies were gone, and his coat lay on the ground.
He paused slightly, picked up the coat, and went to the outside data room.
Turning on the light, the room brightened.
He looked around and walked over to the shelf by the fireplace.
It was filled with photos and medals, all spider-related. Aside from the honors for breeding rare species, the rest were trophies from beauty contests for spiders in different game divisions, medals from spider web-making competitions, and even a gold prize for a spider-taming contest.
The contests seemed boring, but the trophies and medals were genuinely significant.
However, Xu Huo noticed that although the photos of the award winners all featured He Pu and Mr. Dong together, the awards were accredited to Mr. Dong.
Over in the main building, there weren’t many photos of He Pu and Mr. Dong together, and those that existed were at least five years old. The award-winning photos here were the same. From these photos and trophies, it was evident that He Pu and Mr. Dong used to be very close—He Pu, as the castle’s owner, accompanying the butler to spider beauty contests across different places, meant they were more than employer and employee, at least good friends.
Yet from what he had seen over the past two days, Mr. Dong seemed to care less about He Pu than even the equipment in the castle, and would sometimes cause small discomforts for He Pu, such as using inferior paint and not serving food to He Pu’s tastes.
Their relationship wasn’t simply a falling out.
Using five years ago as a dividing line, the changes in He Pu were too drastic. The He Pu from five years ago was a talented, knowledgeable, and broad-minded individual. Over these past five years, He Pu claimed illness and abandoned his hobbies and research; even the handwriting in the Potion research notes had changed, not at all resembling that of a single person.
Mr. Dong was not an ordinary butler; he most likely was an Evolver like Hu Shan, and he surely would have noticed that if his previous relationship with He Pu wasn’t that great, then the current He Pu being able to comfortably assume the role of the castle’s owner would have been acceptable. But the annexe was tidied up spotlessly, and many items bearing the traces of their relationship were still here, showing that Mr. Dong had feelings for He Pu.
If that were the case, why would he tolerate the current He Pu?
In an instant, Xu Huo’s mind flashed with a multitude of possibilities, overturning his own deductions and starting over, only to return to the same line of thought.
Unless the task was completed in advance, he could not leave the ancient castle until the end of the instance. He had already more or less guessed the truth behind the guests’ disappearances, and to complete the first task, he would inevitably have to confront He Pu, Hu Shan, and Mr. Dong, which had become the most dangerous thing to do.
Mr. Dong was a key figure.
After cleaning the bloodstains from his clothes, Xu Huo stepped out of the pavilion, walked around the building under an umbrella, and when he came back from the rear, Mr. Dong was already standing in the rain.
He instinctively went on high alert, but soon relaxed again.
In the darkness, Mr. Dong’s eyes were tinged red as he said through ventriloquism, "Mr. Xu, it’s not safe to be out at night, especially with such heavy rain. You should head back early."
Xu Huo smiled, "I’m looking for Mr. Ma and Mrs. Ma."
"They’ve already returned to the main building." Mr. Dong gestured invitingly with his hand.
Xu Huo went forward with his umbrella and added, "So it seems that it’s not Mr. He who likes to keep spiders, but Mr. Dong. You and Mr. He were close friends before, right?"
"He is a senior worthy of respect."
Mr. Dong followed silently behind him, his eyes fixed on the person beneath the umbrella.
Oblivious, Xu Huo talked non-stop about topics related to He Pu on the way back.
Reaching the main building without incident, Xu Huo nodded his head in acknowledgment to Mr. Dong before returning to his room.
The Chen Brothers were waiting for him. Seeing him, Chen Nan spoke first, "We’ve been to Hu Shan’s room. There were no clues, and no human-shaped ceramics."
This was something Xu Huo had instructed them to do during the day: don’t go to the third floor at night, but instead distract Hu Shan and check her room.
"Do you suspect she’s turning people into ceramics?" Chen Tu asked, "Because of Fang Min?"
Xu Huo nodded, "Hu Shan is likely one of the truths behind the disappearance of the guests."
The brothers glanced at each other, and Chen Tu added, "We planned to have one person distract Hu Shan while the other searched the room, but she wasn’t there when we arrived, and she didn’t return until we left."
Xu Huo’s motion of wiping away the rainwater paused, "Then she might have been lured away by another player."
"Who could it be?" Chen Nan asked bluntly, "She hasn’t been turned into ceramics, has she? If she were, someone could just shatter her and bury her anywhere. It would be impossible to find."
Xu Huo didn’t speak, but pondered something, and Chen Tu’s gaze followed his to the sofa, "If Hu Shan is part of the truth, with this truth, we should be able to complete the second task. Next, we just need to find the body, right?"
"Finding the body is the most dangerous step," Xu Huo said. "The presence of non-task players in the castle means the game boss wants to exploit loopholes in the game to kill all the players."
Chen Nan looked around, "Besides the Ma Family Couple and us, who else do we need to be wary of?"
"The Ma Family Couple are already dead," Xu Huo said. "No need to guess who the non-task players are anymore. The day after tomorrow’s music appreciation event is the focus."
If it were him, he would definitely finish things then.