The Hand of Confession – Chapter 122

Volume 5: Days of Applying Makeup to Corpses

The Night Watch

Lou Jingmo is really good at comforting people

This was the first time Shen Maomao had been so obviously rejected. She felt hurt, but Lou Jingmo didn’t give her much time to wallow in sadness, directly taking her and Guan Qiwen downstairs.

“I’m annoying… he’s sick… I’m annoying… he’s sick…”

Lou Jingmo: “…Are you chanting sutras?”

Shen Maomao: “I’m questioning life…”

Lou Jingmo comforted her: “It’s fine, you’re not money [不是錢 | bù shì qián | idiom meaning you can’t please everyone], not everyone will like you.”

Shen Maomao: “……” Lou Jingmo was really good at comforting people.

Guan Qiwen said: “Why don’t we switch?”

Shen Maomao refused: “No need, I’m fine, I can handle it.”

Lou Jingmo gave her a deep look, then lowered her eyes and said to Guan Qiwen: “It’s fine, you stay with me, she has the ability to protect herself.”

Shen Maomao nodded repeatedly.

Golden Retriever and Guan Qiwen were different. Golden Retriever was their friend, while Guan Qiwen was an employer. She wasn’t so selfish as to ask Lou Jingmo to abandon her employer to live with her.

The first-floor lobby was currently empty, the others seemingly hadn’t come down yet.

The three of them didn’t stay idle, wandering around the lobby.

The lobby floor was laid with clean white ceramic tiles, so bright they could almost reflect one’s image. With no windows, natural light was dim, but the interior lights were turned up high, so it didn’t appear particularly dark.

On the side of the lobby was a simple sign indicating the location of the payment counter; near the entrance was a square room with a sign reading “Security Room”.

In the center of the lobby stood a cube-shaped platform, which Shen Maomao curiously glanced at. On top of the platform was a glass cover, underneath which was a depression several tens of centimeters deep, covered with frost, appearing very cold.

Lou Jingmo said quietly beside her: “This is where family members view the deceased.”

Shen Maomao silently moved her feet away.

Lou Jingmo didn’t leave though, instead standing beside her and saying softly: “You don’t have to be so sensible…”

Shen Maomao looked at her, finding her somewhat puzzling: “If I forced my way into sharing a room with you, would you kick me out directly?”

Lou Jingmo imagined that scene and said against her true feelings: “How could I?”

Shen Maomao: “…Your expression says otherwise.”

Humans are such complex creatures, and Lou Jingmo couldn’t help but find herself in such a conflicted situation.

If Shen Maomao had been noisy and demanding, she would have found it annoying, thinking her inconsiderate; but with Shen Maomao being so undemanding and quiet like this, she instead felt guilty for letting her down and sympathetic towards her being so understanding.

Shen Maomao leaned close to her ear, whispering: “Don’t worry about me, Lou jie, I still have one life left.”

Lou Jingmo was unusually uncomfortable, lowering her eyes as she held Shen Maomao’s restless hand, and the atmosphere between them suddenly became harmoniously strange.

Shortly after, several others came down from the second floor. The previously spacious lobby instantly became crowded.

Xiaoqiao dragged the newcomer Gong Lian downstairs, and upon seeing Shen Maomao’s group, immediately raised her arm to greet them happily: “You’ve come down too? Which rooms are you in? I was so busy grabbing a room, I didn’t even notice where you’re staying!”

With these words, she suddenly appeared like a naive sweetie.

But among those who could enter the game, how many could truly be naive sweeties?

Not knowing what she was planning, Shen Maomao changed the subject: “You’re staying with Gong Lian? Aren’t you two girls scared?”

Xiaoqiao smiled: “It’s fine, I can protect Lianlian well.”

Just a few minutes, and she’s already using such an intimate nickname?

“Huh?” Gong Lian’s face was pale, looking particularly pitiful. She seemed out of sorts, and only after a good while did she realize Xiaoqiao was calling her name, responding dazedly: “Ah… oh oh… I trust Xiaoqiao jie…”

As they were talking, the NPC who had been guiding them walked in from outside and said: “Please quiet down everyone.”

The lobby immediately fell silent.

The man said: “Men please stand on the left, women on the right, I will assign your work.”

The players obediently followed instructions, consciously arranging themselves as required. Guan Qiwen and Lou Jingmo exchanged glances, Lou Jingmo giving him a slight nod, and after this brief exchange, both turned their gazes forward, looking straight ahead.

The man said: “We need three body collectors and drivers, three mortuary cosmeticians, three crematorium operators, three security guards, and one funeral director.”

After speaking, he looked around at everyone: “Among you, does anyone know how to do makeup?”

Xiaoqiao, with obvious elaborate makeup on her face, didn’t move.

Lou Jingmo lightly touched Shen Maomao.

Shen Maomao immediately understood, voluntarily stepping forward: “I know how.”

“Good.” The man nodded, “Anyone else?”

Xiaoqiao’s eyes made a turn [眼珠轉 | yǎn zhū zhuǎn | indicating calculating behavior], pulling Gong Lian’s hand as she stepped forward: “We know how too.”

With the mortuary cosmeticians selected, the players locked their gazes on the man, waiting for the selection of remaining positions.

The man: “Does anyone know how to drive?”

The driving job was for the body collectors, and collecting bodies meant they would need to leave the funeral home to go outside.

But outside was a layer of dense fog, and within that fog was that terrifying monster… the outside world was certainly more dangerous than inside the funeral home, but it also held opportunities.

The players each had their own thoughts, but no one volunteered.

The man wasn’t in a hurry, just unhurriedly watching them.

After a while, it was Guan Qiwen who stepped forward to break the silence: “I can drive, I’ll do it.”

The man stared unblinkingly at the platform in the center of the lobby, saying: “We still need two more people.”

After a few more seconds, Xiaokong said: “I can too.”

The final body collectors were set as Guan Qiwen, Xiaokong, and a man with a scar on his face who looked rather unapproachable.

After selecting the cosmeticians and collectors, the remaining seven people looked expectantly at the man, ready to compete for the security guard positions.

After all, compared to the crematorium operators and funeral director who would frequently deal with corpses, the security guard position sounded safer.

But the man didn’t play by the rules. After selecting people for the two jobs requiring “professional knowledge,” he directly pointed out three men, saying: “You’ll do the cremation work.” Among them was the man who had earlier clashed with Xiaoqiao.

The man was wearing a plaid shirt typical of engineering students, and though he looked young, his temper was quite bad. Upon hearing the man’s arrangement, he immediately protested: “Why can’t we choose our own jobs?”

The NPC coldly looked at him and said: “I never said you had the right to choose. Do it if you want, if not, get lost. Our temple is too small to accommodate such a great Buddha [廟小容不下您這尊大佛 | miào xiǎo róng bù xià nín zhè zūn dà fó | sarcastic saying meaning someone is too important for a humble place].”

Plaid Shirt’s teeth made grinding sounds, but ultimately surrendered to the NPC’s pressure and chose to compromise.

The NPC continued assigning work, circling Lou Jingmo and two other men, saying: “You’ll be responsible for night watch and patrol.”

None of the three had any objections. Finally, there was one slightly plump middle-aged woman left, who naturally took the position of funeral director.

Thus all thirteen players, eight men and five women, were assigned their roles.

The NPC said: “There’s a cafeteria outside, providing three free meals daily for staff. Today the security guards officially start work, assign someone among yourselves for night duty. Others can familiarize themselves with the environment, formal work starts tomorrow.”

At these words, Plaid Shirt noticeably relaxed, probably relieved he wouldn’t have to face ghosts and monsters that night.

After arranging the work, the NPC announced their dismissal, and the players separated to search for clues, leaving only the three security guards behind.

Shen Maomao sat down on the stairs, resting her chin while waiting for Lou Jingmo to finish discussing with the other two.

Although Guan Qiwen had hired Lou Jingmo as a carrier, he himself wasn’t some useless parasite, otherwise he couldn’t have supported such a large business empire. So he didn’t wait for Lou Jingmo, instead choosing to search for clues inside the building himself.

Shortly after, the three reached a consensus, the other two left through the main entrance, while Lou Jingmo walked up to Shen Maomao, extending her right hand to her.

Shen Maomao grasped that hand, being pulled up forcefully.

She patted the dust off her pants and asked: “Who’s tonight?”

Lou Jingmo said: “The young boy.”

The first night was undoubtedly the most perilous. Players had no idea what would happen in the game, and the unknown was often the most frightening.

Shen Maomao remarked with feeling: “He seems like a nice person…”

Lou Jingmo shook her head with a smile: “You’re wrong, the first night is actually the safest.”

Shen Maomao: “Hm?”

“He required that once the order is fixed it can’t be changed, and everyone must report what happened during their night.”

In other words, he would be responsible for the seemingly dangerous first day and the fourth day when ghost mutations would be lighter.

Though the first day was unknown, as long as he didn’t court death, generally nothing would happen, so he had a high probability of survival.

Shen Maomao pressed: “What about you? Which days are you on?”

Lou Jingmo’s lips curled slightly: “The third and sixth days.”

“Damn,” Shen Maomao cursed, “Two big men, bullying a weak woman?”

Guan Qiwen, walking out from the corridor: “?” Don’t you have some misunderstanding about weak women?

Shen Maomao noticed him at the same time, immediately waving: “Xiaoguan! Found anything?”

Guan Qiwen: “……”

He joined the two and said: “Nothing found yet, the payment office isn’t locked, no one’s inside, and there’s no written information, just a desk, a printer, and a money counter.”

Lou Jingmo nodded, indicating she understood, and said: “It seems there’s no one else in the entire funeral home except that male NPC.”

Who knows if this was because the instance was lazy with creation, or if it was plot-related.

After a moment’s thought, she instructed: “Try to get friendly with the people who took the main road, find out what they did earlier that drew out that kind of monster.”

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