Chapter 142.2 The Horror Club
Listening to these quests made Wen Shi furrow his brow, completely convinced that the old man was after the lives of his children.
【Side Quest: Most Filial Child
Quest Details: Before nine o’clock tomorrow morning, players with a favorability rating of less than 30 with Master Lin will be permanently excluded from the category of inheritors. Players with a favorability rating higher than fifty may be directly designated as one of the inheritors.】
Wen Shi first looked around and determined some players’ identities just by observing their expressions. The eldest son was played by a player, but his wife should be an NPC. The eldest daughter’s family, including the child, were all players.
Actually, this quest had no difficulty at all. It seemed like an attempt to tempt players into self-harm. For instance, in the task of “Cutting Flesh,” there were specific requirements for the type of knife, the amount of flesh to cut, and the duration of the cut. Wen Shi strongly suspected that the damage caused by this method would be irreversible, even with potions.
Xiao Hua found a shrine behind a hidden door in a bookcase.
The carvings around the shrine were not traditional auspicious patterns but had the same plum blossom design as the gold thread embroidery on Master Lin’s body. It seemed the old man really liked plum blossoms.
The shrine contained a pitch-black statue with vague features. Xiao Hua’s eyes brimmed with coldness. “Every time I see these messed-up offerings to evil spirits, I want to smack them.”
The naturally reddish corners of her eyes noticed Wen Shi standing quietly by the bookshelf, flipping through books quite hastily. By the end, after putting the book back in its place, Wen Shi even let out a soft yawn.
Xiao Hua moved to Wen Shi’s side and asked if he had already figured out how to improve Master Lin’s favorability.
“Sort of,” Wen Shi didn’t hide it. “I have a rough idea of how to clear this level.”
The information gathered tonight was enough for Wen Shi to manipulate the people in this room. Just as he was about to use an anti-eavesdropping item to discuss his plans, Xiao Hua waved him off, “If you say it now, others will start watching my every move.”
Predicting based on her actions and behavior would foil the original plan.
After some thought, Wen Shi agreed with Xiao Hua’s reasoning. He decided to save the contact information of his “little mom” and would inform her with a word or two when the time was right.
Pei Hongxin observed everything from a corner, noting that the butler was standing at the door, keeping an eye on them. He walked over and inquired about the relationship between Wen Shi and Xiao Hua.
“They seem quite familiar.” Pei Hongxin didn’t mention the young man’s deception, as if he still had no awareness of it.
The butler patiently explained, “Xiao Hua is an important member of the second-largest guild in the virtual world. If they reach some kind of cooperation, it won’t concern us anymore.”
He then produced a bloodstained fingernail, “If you can find a way to place this under Pei Wenwei’s pillow, there might still be a chance.”
Surprisingly, Pei Hongxin refused.
If Pei Wenwei could align himself with skilled players, it suggested that his abilities were not too shabby. The probability of getting caught pulling such petty tricks was high.
Pei Hongxin, lost in thought, turned back to review those bloody favorability plans, trying to find ones that wouldn’t immediately kill someone.
After wandering around the study for about half an hour, Wen Shi was the first to leave.
His independent actions inevitably drew everyone’s attention, and for a moment, each of them had their own thoughts.
He didn’t even carefully inspect the shrine. Was he being too casual about it?
They anxiously wondered if Wen Shi would find out undisclosed secrets. The books he had previously looked at were taken out again and examined repeatedly.
After Wen Shi left, A’Yu followed suit.
“I’m going to explore the surroundings,” A’Yu said.
Wen Shi nodded, still thinking about the mention of catching some kind of pet for him. His fingers unconsciously touched the heart-blood pendant hanging around his neck. “Strange.”
Why hasn’t the little octopus arrived yet?
If it didn’t arrive soon, he might just skim through this short story.
Late at night, the howling of the fierce wind filled the air.
A woman was holding a small knife and gesturing towards herself, and eventually, her gaze became resolute.
From the quest’s perspective, the most filial child would certainly eliminate the famous players. With painkillers on hand and sufficient favorability, this round would be safe. If the favorability exceeded fifty, it might even be a permanent solution.
This kind of setup perfectly matched a C+ level of difficulty.
Several rooms had their lights on, clearly indicating that everyone was struggling with how to harm themselves to maximize their gains.
There were more than one heir, so getting favorability at once wouldn’t affect others, even if they managed to raise their favorability to fifty.
Because of the light seeping into the hallway, it didn’t seem particularly terrifying, except for the occasional thunder outside. In the moment when lightning flashed, a room door slowly opened, and a child-like figure tried hard not to make any noise as they walked all the way to the third floor.
The third floor was where the housekeeper and butler lived.
Pei Hongxin knocked on the door of the butler’s room and, with a slightly surprised look from the butler, extended his hand, “I can help you try to place a cursed item, but you’ll need to give me the best painkillers and potions.”
He had previously declined once to make the butler subconsciously feel that he wasn’t very willing to do this, which would help him maintain some control.
The butler smiled and was about to make a request.
Pei Hongxin shook his head. “I won’t sign a contract. At most, you’ll lose some potions if I fail.” He stated a fact, “For the sake of my safety, I’ll do my best to complete this quest.”
Pei Wenwei being alive meant that sooner or later, they would have to deal with him.
The butler understood this logic quite well. If it weren’t for a deep-seated hatred, Pei Wenwei wouldn’t have used such a troublesome method to trick people into forming teams.
Before forming a team, the butler had also traded with people from【Wangcai Bank】. Once Pei Wenwei was dead, he would reap huge profits.
He gave Pei Hongxin a deep look and finally tore off the facade of his mask. “If I don’t get the results I want, you might have to pay more than just returning the potions.”
Eventually, the butler provided the potions to Pei Hongxin. For experienced players, these were not rare items.
Pei Hongxin returned to his room with the items.
He stared at the electronic watch screen, watching the occasional comments from monsters, his eyes fierce and resolute.
If he wanted to survive, he had to dispel any unrealistic hope. Now that he knew Pei Wenwei had connections with skilled players, his situation was like an ant about to be squashed at any moment. But he still had options.
Like the shrine in the study.
Master Lin definitely offered something in exchange, otherwise it wouldn’t have resulted in an entire room devoid of any biological offspring.
He could try to find out what Master Lin was worshipping, pay his respects there, or perhaps find a demon in the live chat willing to make a trade. Among so many viewers, he would surely find one.
Using the power of a demon would surely lead to unfavorable consequences.
Killing a thousand enemies would cost a thousand cuts. Pei Hongxin closed his eyes. But suppose he could become a demon’s follower, helping the demon find its prey would be a great advantage for him to navigate the game world later.
He entered the game too late to have the same advantages as the younger players. He needed to find an alternative path.
Pei Hongxin picked up the cup on the table, with a determined expression, he prepared to commence the quest of being a medicine guide.
……
The room was a bit chilly.
Wen Shi had just taken a shower and made a cup of coffee to refresh himself. During private activities, the electronic panel would temporarily disappear. When it reappeared, Wen Shi, who had just finished showering, looked quite attractive.
The comments were momentarily silenced by his beauty, but soon, extremely unfriendly comments began to flood in.
【Patient 112: Called by Patient 109, other story characters have already cut themselves. I don’t understand why you’re still dawdling.】
【Scissor Granny: I’m an expert in cutting business.】
【Patient 109: *】
Some comments were blocked because they contained spoilers.
Wen Shi looked at the pouring rain outside and wiped the water droplets from his hair. Suddenly, he said, “It’s getting colder. It’s time for the old man to hit the road.”
The live chat was filled with question marks.
Wen Shi sipped his coffee, his lips looking pale due to the room’s temperature. He calmly explained, “When old Master Lin dies, the favorability others have built will be wasted to nothing.”
He snapped his fingers, summoning the Wandering Corpse, and gave a nonchalant order, “In half an hour, go take care of the old man.”
Wen Shi’s plan had three steps, and the first step was to eliminate Master Lin.
The live chat experienced a brief silence before erupting in frenzy.
“……”
“! Are you even human?!”
“In all the chapters of ‘The Horror Club’ that have been released, this is the first time I’ve seen someone decide to take out the old man on his very first day back home!”
Wen Shi paid no attention to these comments.
In the inheritance feud storyline, Master Lin held a certain level of authority. Normal players wouldn’t dare to kill such an NPC to increase the difficulty, as it was sufficient to follow the usual method of raising the character’s favorability.
Unknowns were more troublesome than pain. Who knew if killing an NPC would lead to bloody retaliation?
However, Wen Shi lacked that patience. When Master Lin mentioned during dinner that he had made a will before, it indicated that even after his death, the game would continue.
Moreover, it was the Wandering Corpse that did the deed, so what did it matter to him?
With this in mind, he specifically instructed the Wandering Corpse, “When you strike, make sure it’s swift. Conceal your presence if possible.”
After finishing this task, just to be safe, Wen Shi didn’t intend to let the Wandering Corpse come out again until this short story concluded.
Gracefully finishing half a cup of coffee, Wen Shi suddenly felt a bit cold and draped a woolen blanket over his knees.
In the lonely midnight, he stared at the ceiling and muttered to himself, “No one could be that foolish to choose to harm themselves, right?”
As soon as he said that, a sound of heavy object hitting the ground came from an unknown room, accompanied by angry cursing, “This hurts like hell!”
Wen Shi: “……”
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