Chapter 144.1 The Horror Club
Wen Shi danced happily for several hours. At lunchtime, he even went out of his way to buy food and brought it to the police station.
“You all worked hard.” The young man choked back his sadness, his eyelashes trembling slightly with every word he spoke. “Please, find out my father’s cause of death.”
The police officers had a positive impression of Wen Shi. To put it simply, this morning, when no one wanted to leave the villa, he was the only one who willingly stepped forward.
“You didn’t go back. Is everything fine?” Though it wasn’t their family matter, the Lin family, being a respected local clan, was often a topic of discussion among the townsfolk.
Finally, they got to the main point. Wen Shi smiled sadly and shook his head. “I’ve heard that my father hid his will somewhere in the villa. Our house must be a mess right now.”
The police officers looked at each other. They were willing to talk more with Wen Shi, partly to learn about the Lin family’s internal matters, which could help solve the case.
Both sides cautiously shared information. Wen Shi’s main aim was to bring up the search for the will, and secondly, to find out where Master Lin’s body was currently kept. The police procedures here had some differences and similarities with the real world. In murder cases, the deceased’s body would be taken to the autopsy room first, and later, it might be moved to the mortuary. Following the usual process, family members would have to wait for a few days before they could claim it.
Wen Shi would later need to cooperate by signing a consent form for the autopsy. This would help him pinpoint the body’s location.
Moving the body was not right, but when Master Lin “comes back to life,” it wouldn’t be considered a body anymore. This might also help catch some criminals who tampered with the will. Wen Shi clasped his hands together and said, “The game will forgive me.”
Game: “……”
After finishing the prayer, Wen Shi smiled and chatted casually with the police officers. Meanwhile, he casually wondered if the people in the villa were still striving for the dream of finding the will.
The villa was currently in complete chaos.
Putting aside everything else, Pei Hongxin never made mistakes in interpreting tasks. The first word in the quest【Bloody Will】was the main reason he was willing to make a deal with the unknown demon.
He had given away one-third of his soul. Pei Hongxin promised that if he couldn’t bring three fresh souls to the demon within the specified time, he would pay the price of becoming a mindless puppet. The definition of “fresh” souls was quite clear. He only needed to collect the souls of newly deceased individuals with deep grudges using the soul bottle given by the demon.
There was a lot of commotion in the attic. Pei Hongxin stood on the floor below, blood seeping through the cracks in the ceiling above him.
Master Lin’s hatred for his children had reached an unprecedented level. Almost every side quest related to the inheritance involved bloodshed.
A dark red blood drop fell, and Pei Hongxin reached out to catch it.
The palm of the child’s hand had shallow lines, and the drop of blood seeped out from the gaps between the lines. A long-lost smile appeared in Pei Hongxin’s eyes. “The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”
He had already obtained the will and kept the news tightly sealed. His purpose was to watch others suffer injuries while trying to complete the quest. These players looked down on newbies, and when they were on the verge of death for not making it onto the will’s list, they would surely be very resentful. This way, he could indirectly fulfill the demon’s requirements.
The only thing that made Pei Hongxin somewhat uneasy was the person who hadn’t returned since leaving in the morning.
“Pei Wenwei…” Having missed the other person’s growth process entirely, Pei Hongxin could only make a character assessment based on fragmentary information. He persistently felt that Pei Wenwei wouldn’t easily place his hopes of life and death on others.
Pei Hongxin tried to coax clues from the monsters.
He deliberately used a mocking tone. “Young ones can never outplay the old ones. I wonder if my adopted son, who’s bent on revenge, knows about the impending disaster?”
The live chat was very quiet.
The reason for the silence was that spoilers had been blocked.
The monsters felt both physically and mentally tormented. Wen Shi had a unique charm about him, but the monsters were much more interested in seeing him suffer bad luck than others.
Watching a group of story characters being manipulated by one person, they wished they could jump in and help them clear the level.
Pei Hongxin suspected that the live chat might be blocked but didn’t know that Wen Shi was treating all the players like monkeys. The passage of time felt agonizingly slow for him. He frequently glanced at the clock, anxiously awaiting the arrival of seven o’clock for a sense of complete security.
There was still a big shot in the villa, and no one would suspect the will was on him. All that was left was to bide his time.
The day passed quickly. It was already past six in the afternoon, with the sun setting early.
A suspicious figure loitered outside the mortuary, concealed by the dappled shadows cast by the surrounding trees, making it difficult to detect without close scrutiny.
Wen Shi had been pacing for a quarter of an hour, getting ready to start the moving work. Because he didn’t want to do the manual labor, he ultimately chose to release the Wandering Corpse and direct it remotely.
“You took Master Lin away from the world, and now you’re bringing him back from the afterlife,” Wen Shi said seriously, “I guess that’s completing the circle.”
“Huh?”
The Wandering Corpse tilted its head, trying to digest the amount of information in the words, not quite understanding why, after baring the heart, it had to carry it back again.
But it had the strength for the task, so it shouldered it.
Under the cover of the night, the Wandering Corpse obediently followed orders, serving as the mortuary mover. Watching its silhouette for two seconds, Wen Shi thought that even a slight increase in loyalty could have a significant impact.
The Wandering Corpse climbed over the wall to handle the body, while Wen Shi stood aside and called Xiao Hua. Once the call connected, he skipped formalities and went straight to the point. “Has anyone found the will?”
“No,” Xiao Hua’s languid voice came from the other end. “But it seems they’ve found the location, although the will has already been taken.”
Wen Shi thought for a moment. “It looks like I need to trouble you with something, shift the focus onto my adopted son.”
This wasn’t really shifting focus. If they hadn’t found it yet, even though it sounded far-fetched, the will was most likely in the hands of Pei Hongxin. Wen Shi never underestimated any opponent. In this nominal father-son relationship, he had to ensure that Pei Hongxin’s name didn’t appear alone on the will. Otherwise, as the guardian, he would become the prime suspect.
If it came from Xiao Hua’s mouth, even without evidence, the other players would believe it.
Firstly, she had no reason to lie. If Xiao Hua found the will, even if she directly stated it was on herself, no one would dare to challenge her. After the quest was issued, Wen Shi was never at the villa, and the remaining people signed a contract. If one suffered, they all suffered, so it would be clear who had the will.
On the other side of the wall, the Wandering Corpse carried a white cloth bag and peeked out. Wen Shi temporarily ended the call.
“Let’s go,” he said to the Wandering Corpse. “We’re going to uphold justice.”
At seven in the evening, a lawyer in a suit and tie arrived at the villa.
The role of the lawyer was undoubtedly played by an NPC, representing absolute fairness.
Inside the villa, everyone, except Wen Shi, was present.
Pei Hongxin’s expression wasn’t very pleasant due to Xiao Hua’s words, causing a group of people to threaten him. Originally, Pei Hongxin had been prepared not to talk even if threatened, as players had limited use of violence. Who would have thought that these people would forcibly take him to the dangerous attic, shoving him into any place with monsters.
Pei Hongxin didn’t consider himself a good person, but compared to these players who would do anything to clear the level, his moral standards were too shallow. In the end, he reluctantly agreed to add the names of the others.
What slightly reassured him was that Xiao Hua didn’t forcefully demand to add Pei Wenwei’s name to the will.
The butler sneered, “You should be grateful that you didn’t use that pen to alter the will from the beginning.”
The special traceless pen could only be used once. If Pei Hongxin had wasted this opportunity, it would have caused big trouble. In that case, they would have sent each other straight to hell.
The lawyer valued efficiency and didn’t inquire about the origin of the will. After inspecting the scene, he simply nodded and said, “It’s genuine.”
His actions were very mechanical. After everyone had seated themselves, the lawyer stood in the customary position in front of Master Lin and began to read the will aloud. Once finished, it was considered notarized.
Originally, Master Lin had intended to donate most of his property in the name of doing good deeds. The remaining portion was left to his first love, somewhere in the world, and only his youngest son, Lin Tianci, received a few calligraphic paintings.
After the alterations, almost everyone had a share.
“…The butler, who has diligently served this family for many years, will inherit thirty million from me…”
The lawyer was in the middle of reading when he was suddenly interrupted.
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