Escape from the Thriller World – Chapter 33
by Little PandaVolume One: The Old Corpse in the Mountain Village
Contract
【Tong Lau Side Quest Mission Accomplished】
Three hours ago.
Tong Lau, 18th floor.
Shen Qingyou walked out of the master bedroom while drying her hair with a towel, while Ning Lan was searching for clues in the space connecting the living room and side bedroom.
Ning Lan scanned the living room, looking for possible hiding spaces except for…
Upon spotting the worn leather sofa, Ning Lan turned to Shen Qingyou and said, “Qingyou, give me a hand.”
She had gone from calling her Officer Shen to just Qingyou.
Shen Qingyou nodded and replied, “At your service.”
She returned the towel to the bathroom and walked toward the living room.
The two positioned themselves on either side of the sofa, counted “one, two, three” and lifted it, placing it three meters away from the coffee table.
A clean white wall appeared before them.
“What do you think, could it be behind this?” Ning Lan asked Shen Qingyou.
Ning Lan knocked on the white wall behind, discovering it was hollow, just like the wall behind the bed in the side bedroom.
“No… it’s not here.” Shen Qingyou followed Ning Lan’s inspection of the white wall but found no hidden mechanisms.
“Could my theory be wrong? Is there no sealed space?” Ning Lan wondered aloud.
“We haven’t checked your side bedroom yet. It’s too early to draw conclusions.” Shen Qingyou said with a slight smile, walking directly toward the side bedroom.
“Qingyou… wait, I… haven’t had time to tidy the bedroom.” Ning Lan blushed, feeling as if Shen Qingyou might see through her thoughts.
Shen Qingyou raised an eyebrow: “Hmm? You haven’t hidden anything from me, have you?”
Ning Lan drew a sharp breath: “Hide… what could I hide? I’m with you all day, aren’t I? You think I’m hiding someone?”
“Being with me all day – I like the sound of that,” Shen Qingyou said, her smile warming.
Then, Shen Qingyou opened the side bedroom door.
On the bedside table were Ning Lan’s clothes, with scattered cosmetics on the dressing table.
The mirror was turned face-down – Ning Lan feared Akita Kyoko might appear in it to frighten her.
Strangely enough, Akita Kyoko didn’t dare enter the 18th floor, only daring to frighten her through dreams, mirrors, and hallucinations.
Perhaps the hidden space in this house would be different?
Shen Qingyou chuckled: “Ning Lan, you haven’t hidden anything at all. Why were you so afraid of me checking? Hmm?”
Ning Lan met her gaze, her heart skipping a beat: “Shen Qingyou, you…”
This was all there was to the bedroom she’d been embarrassed about – just a bit messy, but not too bad.
Shen Qingyou stepped forward to pack everything into a makeup bag, saying: “Ning Lan, next time I’ll recommend a lipstick shade that suits you better.”
Today, Shen Qingyou had traded her beloved vintage qipao for a V-neck white shirt and black shorts.
Tall and graceful, with rosy lips, elegant and composed.
The lipstick shade recommended by Sister Shen would probably be nice.
However, they hardly had time for makeup now.
“We’re in a horror instance, forget about cosmetics,” Ning Lan said pitifully, looking at her nearly empty setting powder.
Forget about makeup – they needed to focus on survival.
The woman before her had a gleam in her eyes as she surveyed the side bedroom, finding nothing unusual until her gaze landed on the oddly placed wardrobe.
Shen Qingyou paused before the wardrobe: “Ning Lan, have you noticed this wardrobe? Its placement is strange.”
Usually, wardrobes were placed opposite the foot of the bed, but this side bedroom’s wardrobe was next to the bedside table.
“I haven’t opened it yet. Since it contains the previous residents’ clothes, I’ve just been keeping my clothes folded on the bedside table,” Ning Lan said, pointing to her clothes.
Behind the bedside table was another white wall.
Could it be…
Ning Lan’s deep eyes dimmed as something suddenly occurred to her!
The two were perfectly in sync as they stepped forward to open the wardrobe.
They removed the clothes hanging in the upper part of the wardrobe, and with the clothes no longer concealing it, they discovered a hidden compartment inside.
Shen Qingyou held her breath and said to Ning Lan beside her: “Let’s open it together. It’s time to confirm our theory…”
Ning Lan made a sound of agreement, and together they opened the hidden compartment.
As expected, the compartment revealed a hidden space, perhaps a separate room?
Ning Lan crouched down and peered inside, saying: “I’ll go in first and check, you follow behind?”
Shen Qingyou replied worriedly: “Let’s go in together.”
The hidden space was small, forcing them to crouch and inch their way in from the outside.
Once inside, Ning Lan discovered the space widened considerably, allowing her to slowly stand up.
Ning Lan activated her flashlight and shone it around, revealing male and female skeletons lying on a wooden bed.
Spider webs covered the area around the bed, with the two skeletons appearing to be in an embracing position.
Ning Lan pondered before saying: “Your theory was wrong. Lan Fang’s husband didn’t run away – he died.”
Ning Lan gestured toward the male skeleton.
“Are you so certain these are Lan Fang’s husband’s remains? Couldn’t they be someone else’s?” Shen Qingyou asked.
Ning Lan pulled an old watch from the skeleton, saying: “I saw a photo in their study – this is the same watch that man was wearing. It can’t be wrong.”
The watch hands had stopped, and there were slight scratches on its face.
Shen Qingyou examined the degree of skeletal decomposition and said: “We should notify the Hong Kong police. A forensic examination would better determine their identities.”
“By the time we get the forensic results, Akita Kyoko will have killed us. We have to take a gamble now,” Ning Lan shook her head.
They didn’t have much time left – only three short hours.
“There’s another skeleton beside him, though it looks rather petite,” Shen Qingyou continued examining.
Ning Lan shone the flashlight on the other skeleton: “Female skeletons have shorter pelvic bones, and their ribs and sternum are more slender compared to males, so this skeleton should be female.”
Beside the wooden bed was a small table with an opened glass jar, its lid carelessly thrown on the ground, containing numerous shriveled, petrified insects.
Ning Lan dusted off her hands and said: “Qingyou, come quick, there are strange runes carved on this table.”
Shen Qingyou followed closely and, upon seeing the symbols, said in shock: “These are Southeast Asian dark magic runes. They say when a ghost makes a contract with a person, their remains become a sacrifice…”
“Lan Fang… I’m thinking of Lan Fang. The woman controlled by Akita Kyoko,” Ning Lan said thoughtfully.
Shen Qingyou looked at the female skeleton’s right fist, which still gripped a dagger pointed at the male skeleton: “Ning Lan, I have a bold theory…”
Ning Lan blurted out: “Lan Fang made a contract with Akita Kyoko, who possessed her body and helped her kill her gambling-addicted husband!”
“Correct, but this type of contract has a weakness,” Shen Qingyou continued.
“A weakness? A way to break it?” Ning Lan asked.
Shen Qingyou’s lips curled into a smile: “If we destroy the host’s remains, their contract becomes void, and Akita Kyoko will vanish into dust.”
Akita Kyoko surely never expected this hidden space to be discovered, believing that after Lan Fang’s death, no one would destroy it or even know about it.
“What if we’re wrong, and these aren’t Lan Fang’s remains?” Ning Lan said anxiously.
Shen Qingyou furrowed her brows: “We can’t confirm their identities – it’s a problem. But we’re running out of time.”
Ning Lan spoke urgently, ready to take a final gamble: “A dual plan, let’s make a dual plan.”
Shen Qingyou leaned in as Ning Lan whispered her two-part plan:
Plan A: Stick to the original plan – Ning Lan would go to the 23rd floor rooftop with the two Daoist priests to subdue Akita Kyoko. (Best case scenario.)
Plan B: If Akita Kyoko survives their combined effort, Ning Lan would call Shen Qingyou to burn the remains in the room.
If both plans were executed and Akita Kyoko still lived, it would prove their theory wrong – perhaps the remains weren’t Lan Fang’s at all.
Ning Lan nervously clutched the phone in her pocket, pressing the familiar dial button at the crucial moment.
(When Akita Kyoko possessed Watanabe Keiko, Ning Lan deliberately provoked her while pressing the dial button.)
Shen Qingyou, waiting in the hidden room, heard the cheerful ringtone and without hesitation took out her lighter to burn the two skeletons on the wooden bed.
On the 20th floor rooftop, present time.
Xiaoqiang sighed: “Good and evil have their rewards. Akita Kyoko, it’s time for you to leave this building.”
Xiaoqiang lit a talisman at the ritual altar, and the black mist gradually dispersed…
His junior disciple had died tragically, leaving Xiaoqiang heartbroken.
“Junior Brother Ming, let big brother take you home.” Xiaoqiang walked to the altar, carried Xiaoming’s body on his back, and slowly descended.
Xiaoqiang’s figure disappeared from the 23rd floor rooftop.
【Game System Notification】
【Tong Lau Side Quest Mission Accomplished】
【The Corpse in the Mountain Village Mission Story Exploration: 50%】
【Players Shen Qingyou and Ning Lan have earned 600 points.】
Ning Lan exhaled deeply: “We won… we actually won…”
While Ning Lan was still basking in the joy of their victory, Watanabe Keiko limped toward her, clutching a Japanese military sword.
She bit her lip against the intense pain from the wound Shen Qingyou had inflicted on her that day, gripping the military sword.
The completion of the Tong Lau side mission meant they no longer needed to concern themselves with the life or death of other team members.
The Hell Game was designed to not interfere with conflicts between players, and even strongly encouraged player-versus-player looting.
The Devil, creator of the Hell Game, most wanted to see humanity’s self-destructive nature and selfish side in the struggle for survival.
“You may have won, but I’ll kill you now and steal your points,” Watanabe Keiko spotted the isolated Ning Lan and swung her sword frantically at her.
Ning Lan rolled away, dodging Watanabe Keiko.
Her blade cut through empty air.
A cold smile appeared on Watanabe Keiko’s lips as she said: “Without Shen Qingyou by your side, let’s see who’ll help you now!”
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