The Hand of Confession – Chapter 220

Volume 7: Days of Stargazing at the Inn

Data

Simple data, NPCs with lives? Xiao Fu actually has a shadow?

Shen Maomao’s small head was filled with huge doubts.

Why did Tang Song tell them Xiao Fu didn’t have a shadow? Was he trying to trick information out of them? Or was Xiao Fu originally supposed to not have a shadow?

Xiao Fu on the counter was still screaming. Shen Maomao snapped back to her senses and quickly comforted her, “Don’t be afraid!! I’ll deal with it!! Stop screaming!!”

Xiao Fu instantly became quiet as a chicken.

Shen Maomao’s body adopted a defensive stance. Mustering her courage, she walked step by step towards the chair behind the counter.

She was afraid of people and ghosts, but not this kind of living animal.

Now, even ghosts couldn’t scare her. What could a mere small snake do to her?

Thinking this, Shen Maomao kicked the rocking chair aside. Xiao Fu, beside her, held her breath, staring intently at where she had been sitting, seemingly ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.

The moment the chair was kicked away, a long, strip-shaped object flashed past. Their eyes blurred, and they saw it rapidly dash towards the innermost part of the hall—the restroom.

Xiao Fu screamed and fell off the counter.

Shen Maomao quickly went over to help her up, but Xiao Fu yelled, “Don’t mind me!! Go find the snake first!!”

Shen Maomao recalled the fleeting glimpse she had caught earlier. She felt that the thing’s body wasn’t slender like a snake’s, but rather like… an arm?

Thinking of this, she said, “It probably wasn’t a snake…”

Xiao Fu’s expression turned grave. “Are you sure?”

Shen Maomao nodded. “Pretty much. That thing was wider than a snake, and shorter.”

Xiao Fu immediately relaxed a lot. She climbed up by herself and smiled weakly at Shen Maomao. “Sorry for making a fool of myself… I’m terrified of snakes.”

Shen Maomao shook her head. “It’s alright. Everyone has things they’re afraid of. My name is Rabbit. Next time you encounter something like this, if I’m nearby, just call me. I’m very skilled.”

Xiao Fu said, “Thank you, Rabbit. My name is Fu Chu¹.”

After this incident, Fu Chu’s attitude towards her improved considerably. Shen Maomao chatted with her for a couple more sentences before slowly returning to Lou Jingmo’s side.

Golden Retriever and the other two had also returned. Just as she plopped down, she heard Lou Jingmo say dryly, “Had a good chat? Was being the hero saving the damsel exciting?”

Shen Maomao instantly channeled her inner overbearing CEO². “Woman, this is not your concern.”

Lou Jingmo: “How many side dishes did you have with your drinks to get this plastered³?”

Shen Maomao couldn’t hold back and “Puchi!” she burst out laughing. “Alright, let’s get down to business! Did you guys get a clear look at that thing that rushed past?!”

Lou Jingmo shook her head. “It was too fast, couldn’t see clearly.”

Shen Maomao hesitated. “Should we go take a look?”

Sanmu thought for a moment and refused, “Let’s forget it. Less trouble is better⁴. We can just not use the first-floor restroom.”

Shen Maomao: “…” Then which f#cking restroom can we use now?!

Lou Jingmo also said, “Tell us, what information did you manage to get by selling your charms?”

Shen Maomao: “??? What do you mean selling my charms? I was selling my □□!”⁵

Lou Jingmo: “He—tui⁶!”

Shen Maomao waved her hand. “Don’t try that disgusting stuff with me here. Xiao Fu’s name is Fu Chu, she’s afraid of snakes, has a shadow, and all the room cards are kept in a cardholder. The cardholder is just thrown on the counter, but it’s also right under Fu Chu’s nose. It’ll be quite difficult to get it without alerting her.”

Sanmu said, “Should we find a snake to scare her away?”

Shen Maomao immediately objected. “Let’s not, okay? She hasn’t done anything to harm us so far. There’s no need to target her like this, right?”

The NPCs in the game weren’t all ghosts or bad people. Shen Maomao had received help from NPCs before, and often, she couldn’t just see them as simple data.

They had their own lives, different personalities, each one so vivid…

Sanmu glanced at her and said ambiguously, “It’s the most convenient method.”

Shen Maomao didn’t back down. “It might be, but it’s not necessary.”

At this moment, Lou Jingmo suddenly spoke, “There might not be any clues in the other rooms either.”

—Even though they had already searched all the public areas.

Shen Maomao couldn’t help but glance at Lou Jingmo, her eyes full of gratitude.

Lou Jingmo had, yet again, without a second word, stood by her side and spoken up for her!!

In the end, Sanmu didn’t say anything more. Xia Tian rarely voiced his opinions, so this plan died in the womb⁷. The group had to think of another way to steal the room cards.

Time ticked by, and soon it was afternoon. However, the five people in the lobby still hadn’t seen anyone else come downstairs.

The NPCs seemed to have given up on treatment⁸, squatting in their respective rooms waiting for the snow to stop. But sealing themselves off couldn’t prevent the arrival of Death. When a scream pierced the walls of the hotel, the five people downstairs stood up in unison.

Shen Maomao felt inexplicably nervous. “Did something happen to someone?!”

Golden Retriever said, “You can tell.”

Lou Jingmo said softly, “Let’s go up and see.”

Shen Maomao directly rushed towards the elevator.

The elevator stopped on the second floor. As soon as the doors opened, a pungent smell of blood assaulted their nostrils, making Shen Maomao cough twice. She quickly covered her nose.

It seemed the incident happened on the second floor; they didn’t need to go any higher.

A group of NPCs crowded in front of a door on the right side of the second floor, forming a large circle, chattering in low voices.

Shen Maomao rushed to the back of the crowd and overheard things like “too bizarre,” “is this retribution,” “isn’t anyone going to deal with this corpse.”

She pushed aside the NPCs who were there to watch the commotion, saying softly, “Stop crowding around! Make way… Make way!”

Golden Retriever, who was behind her, also caught up. “Excuse me, please make some space for us!”

Shen Maomao, with his help, successfully pushed aside four or five people and reached the center of the crowd.

There was a large pool of dark-colored blood on the floor, and in the middle of the blood lay a person who had died tragically, bleeding from all seven orifices⁹.

It was the old TCM¹⁰ doctor.

His eyes were wide open, filled with blackish-red blood, and his pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpricks, looking exceptionally terrifying.

Beside him sat a person, slumped down. Shen Maomao recognized this person; it was Qu Jing from the young couple.

Qu Jing clearly lived on the third floor, why would she suddenly appear on the second floor? Although the scream earlier was tragic, one could tell it was made by a woman. Thinking about it now, Qu Jing might have been the first witness?

Besides Qu Jing, there was another man squatting beside the corpse. He didn’t seem to feel any fear, directly reaching out his hand to the old man’s face and, disregarding the bloodstains, closed his eyes for him.

Then the man stood up, turned to face the crowd, and said, “Let’s carry him out together, shall we? Leaving him here isn’t a solution.”

This person was the Seer Tycoon.

Upon hearing they had to carry a corpse, several NPCs immediately backed away, making excuses about having other things to do. The next second, they all returned to their own rooms, wishing they had never come out.

Lou Jingmo gently nudged Golden Retriever, her movement very subtle, unnoticed by the Tycoon.

Golden Retriever was startled. Although scared, he trusted Lou Jingmo wouldn’t harm him, so he didn’t hesitate much and stepped forward. “I’ll help you carry him out.”

The Tycoon glanced at him, his face expressionless, and just nodded silently.

He didn’t see Lou Jingmo’s small gesture, but Sanmu and Xia Tian saw everything clearly. Sanmu stepped forward and said, “We’ll help too.”

The Tycoon didn’t agree, but he didn’t refuse either. The two men consciously went up and lifted the old TCM doctor’s legs, picking a relatively easy part to handle.

Golden Retriever was a step too slow and could only reluctantly and awkwardly grab the old man’s arms with the Tycoon. The four of them walked towards the elevator, leaving a trail of black blood spots.

As the four men gradually moved away, Shen Maomao helped up Qu Jing, whose legs had turned to noodles, and asked softly, “Are you alright?”

Qu Jing shook her head. “My legs are weak…”

Shen Maomao, for her own selfish reasons, didn’t want Lou Jingmo to support her. She also presumptuously thought Lou Jingmo wouldn’t want her to get too close to others, so she said, “Why don’t you go sit over there in a clean spot and rest for a bit?”

Qu Jing: “…?”

Afraid of being misunderstood, Shen Maomao quickly linked arms with Lou Jingmo and explained, “We’re lesbians, a couple. You understand avoiding arousing suspicion, right?”

Qu Jing’s face was full of shock, even forgetting her earlier fear. But she was very good at conducting herself (as a person? or ghost?), anyway, she quickly composed herself. Her legs weren’t weak anymore. She said, “Let’s hurry up and leave this place…”

The three women entered the elevator together. Qu Jing wanted to press the button for the third floor but was persuaded by Shen Maomao, and in the end, decided to go downstairs with them.

Downstairs, the four men happened to be returning. Golden Retriever was the fastest, practically rushing back. His eyes lit up when he saw Lou Jingmo and Shen Maomao.

Shen Maomao asked strangely, “You’re back so quickly?”

Golden Retriever, bringing a chill with him, rushed to their side, poured himself a glass of warm water with a cup, and gulped it down before saying, “It’s really bizarre!! That old man’s corpse got heavier and heavier… The snow was deep and cold. We didn’t get far before we couldn’t walk anymore, so we had to dump him in the snow… I’m freezing to death.”

Sanmu and Xia Tian, who followed him, also poured themselves water. The Tycoon, however, just nodded at the group and then silently went upstairs.

The group silently watched his figure disappear. Sanmu put down his water cup and asked Qu Jing, “What happened?”

Qu Jing swallowed and said, “My boyfriend kept complaining about his leg hurting, so I thought of coming down to ask Grandpa TCM doctor what to do. But as soon as I knocked, the door opened. He was standing behind the door, staring straight at me, his eyes all whites, blood pouring from his nose, eyes, and mouth… He was also muttering something unclearly, like ‘I’m sorry,’ ‘I was wrong,’ ‘I regret it’…”

Regret…

Had the Seer finished checking the wolves and was preparing for a massacre?

But listening to Qu Jing’s description, it sounded more like a plot of a vengeful spirit seeking revenge.

Just then, Qu Jing added, “And I don’t know if it was my imagination, but when he fell, I heard a child’s laughter…”

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