Chapter 34.1
The faint melody of the musical box was particularly clear in the silent castle. Xiao Tangqiu couldnât help s.h.i.+vering as his hair stood on end.
Tang Mianmian shook uncontrollably, âf.u.c.k! â¦â¦.Is that the musical box?â Isnât that musical box broken?â Then, on second thought, he realized that he wasnât making any sense. Under normal circ.u.mstances, a broken musical box wouldnât play again, but the problem was â this wasnât a normal place at all!
Lu Siâer hadnât gone very far; she stopped, looking horrified.
Short and Skinny couldnât stop s.h.i.+vering and whimpering with fear.
âDo you want toâ¦â¦ go back and have a look?â Tang Mianmian gulped and asked Xiao Tangqiu somewhat hesitantly.
Xiao Tangqiu thought about it for a moment, then said, âForget it, itâs too late today. Weâll come back tomorrow.â
Tang Mianmian immediately breathed a sigh of relief. âI also thinkâ¦.. that we should come again tomorrow.â
Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian sent Short and Skinny to the second floor. Seeing that Lu Siâer had entered her room, they gave each other a look, turned around and walked upstairs together.
âI wonder if Shen Yuan has been to the attic.â Xiao Tangqiu said to Tang Mianmian in a low voice, âIf theyâve already been there, then weâre a step too lateâ¦â¦.â
Tang Mianmian was also a little uneasy. âI donât think so.
They shouldâve searched elsewhere today. I donât think they searched the attic first, right?â
Xiao Tangqiu laughed bitterly, âI hope so. If it werenât because we planned to go with Shen Yuanâs team to the attic, we couldâve gone back into that room with the musical box just now. There might be some clues inside.â
Tang Mianmian muttered, âIt could be a trapâ¦.⦠What do you think is in the attic?â
Xiao Tangqiu winked at him, âCrazy woman in the attic?â
Tang Mianmian immediately understood what Xiao Tangqiu was trying to say. âDo you think Lippin.o.bert locked Maria in the attic?â
Xiao Tangqiu calmly said, âItâs also possible that itâs all three wives of Lippin.o.bert. After all, theyâve never appeared before.â
âThat makes sense!â Tang Mianmian nodded. Inspired by Xiao Tangqiuâs conjecture, his imagination went wild. âMaybe itâs Lily Marlene!â
Moments later, the two finally came to the attic of the old castle. Not surprisingly, the attic door was locked with a solid bra.s.s padlock.
Xiao Tangqiu studied the bra.s.s padlock and said, âI donât think anyoneâs been here beforeâ¦â¦. Itâs so strange, this padlock is rusty and the keyhole is blocked. I donât think anyone has opened this lock for a long time. Was my guess wrong? Maybe thereâs no one locked inside after all?â
âBut I donât think your guess is wrong.â
âIf Lippin.o.bert really locked someone up in the attic, there must at least be a small entrance to send a meals or something. Doesnât the person inside still have to eat and drink?â Xiao Tangqiu retorted, but halfway through, he suddenly realized that something was offk2026;k2026; The voice just now didnât seem to be Tang Mianmianâs!
Xiao Tangqiu turned around, only to find that Windbreaker Man was standing behind him since G.o.d knows when, and was smiling while he played with the scalpel in his hand.
Both he and Tang Mianmian jumped in shock and stumbled to the floor.
âYou two rookies really have such great courage. You actually dare to come up to the attic.â Windbreaker Man smiled as he sized up Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian, âDonât you know, the greater your courage, the sooner you die?â
Xiao Tangqiu was afraid of Windbreaker Man, but after catching sight of Shen Yuan not far away, he suddenly felt unafraid again, and somehow, even felt a peace of mind.
âWh-whatâ¦. whatâ¦. what do you wantâ¦â¦.â Tang Mianmian was terrified. âDonât think that just because I look like this, Iâm weak. In fact, Iâm really strong! With this one fist of mineâ¦â¦. even I donât even know what will happen! â
Windbreaker Man grinned. âOh?â He casually bent the scalpel with two fingers, and then casually bent it into shape again.
Tang Mianmian, ââ¦â¦Big brother, Iâll kneel for you!â
Xiao Tangqiu stepped forward and stood in front of Tang Mianmian. His tone was calm, âWhat do you want?â
Windbreaker Man shrugged, âNothing, we just want to go in and have a look, but youâre in the way.â
âWeâll move right away. We wonât get in your way.â Xiao Tangqiu frowned slightly, âBut we want to follow you guys to take look inside the atticâ¦â¦â
âOh? Are you talking terms with us?â Windbreaker Man hooked his lips. âWho are you to do that?â
Xiao Tangqiu flattened his lips, âOf course not. Iâm just giving you a heads up because it seems a little impolite not to.â
âSo youâre not talking terms with us, but informing us?â Windbreaker Man blinked in disbelief, âDo you know who I am?â
Xiao Tangqiu blinked sheepishly, ââ¦â¦.Right now, I still donât.â
âYou actually donât know who I am?â Windbreaker Man widened his eyes, pointing his scalpel at Xiao Tangqiuâs nose. âIs it because Iâm not well-known enough or are you just too ignorant?â
ââ¦â¦This is only our second instance.â Xiao Tangqiu said cautiously. âWe really are newcomers.â
âSo youâre just ignorant.â Windbreaker Man suddenly narrowed his eyes, âThatâs not right, youâve just entered the game not too long ago but your second mission is an S-level mission? How is that possible?â
Xiao Tangqiu looked stunned. âWhy is that impossible? Is there some reason behind that?â
âOf course! This d.a.m.n game is similar to the games in the real world. Based on the principle that all things are difficult before they are easy, the difficulty is increased little by little. Everyone starts with a D-level mission and is only qualified for S-level missions after countless experiences. Except for a few abnormal conditionsâ¦â¦â Windbreaker Man subconsciously glanced at Shen Yuan at the side, then glared at Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian. âEveryoneâs mission level is basically in line with their own level, and itâs unlikely that theyâll receive a mission beyond their level. How can you two rookies receive an S-level mission for the second task? â
One of the women interrupted Windbreaker Man, frowning as she said, âNot necessarily. The system also distributes missions according to the playerâs innate abilities and potential. If a playerâs potential is especially good, it is possible to skip a few levels and receive S-level missions in advance.â
âBut do you think these two rookies look like they have special potential?â Windbreaker Man sneered.
The other woman casually added, âMaybe they have props or skill cards to forcefully enter S-level missions.â
Windbreaker Man looked at Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian from top to bottom and concluded, âThat seems even more impossible. They look like two poor beggars.â
Xiao Tangqiu, ââ¦â¦â
Heartbroken!
All he had was a flashlight and a hemostatic spray. All his points added up werenât even enough to buy a weapon.
One word â poor!
Just then, Shen Yuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked, âWhat was your first task?â
Xiao Tangqiu paused for a moment. He hadnât expected Shen Yuan to take the initiative to speak to him and merely stared dumbly at him for a while before he quickly explained, âIt was just a D-level taskâ¦â¦â
After he finished speaking, Windbreaker Man raised his eyebrows, âDid the mission difficulty get upgraded in the end?â From D-level to S-level â this leap in difficulty really was unheard ofâ¦â¦
One of the women looked at Xiao Tangqiu impa.s.sively and explained, âIt isnât uncommon to see an upgrade in the difficulty of a mission, but generally it will only increase by one level, for example, from B-level to A-levelâ¦â¦ Usually, if players perform well in an instance, the system will increase the mission level if the player is judged to have great potential.â
âWhat is the system?â Xiao Tangqiu couldnât help asking the question he was most curious about.
âIt is the supreme will of the city of the abyss; you can also think of it as the Supreme G.o.d,â the woman explained. âIt has power over the life and death of every players and is a force superior to all players. It sets all the rules of the city of the abyss.â
Xiao Tangqiu nodded thoughtfully, while Tang Mianmian laughed gleefully, âDoes the system think we have great potential?â
The other woman rolled her eyes at him. âYou failed your mission. What gives you the right to say that?â
Tang Mianmian hid behind Xiao Tangqiu while Xiao Tangqiu subconsciously looked at Shen Yuan. Shen Yuanâs eyes flitted lightly over him, as if looking at him but not seeing him.
âYou will join us for this mission.â
Listening to Shen Yuanâs cold voice, Xiao Tangqiu suddenly froze: âMe?â
âShen
gÄ
!â The outspoken woman immediately pouted discontentedly. âHeâs just a rookie. Why do you want him to come with us?â
The indifferent woman also frowned slightly, âShen
gÄ
, should you reconsider?â
Windbreaker Man pursed his lips and said nothing, but he obviously didnât agree.
âShen
gÄ.
â The indifferent woman paused and tried to persuade him, âIf this was any other mission, even if it was an A-level mission, taking a rookie with us is nothing. But this is an S-level mission. If weâre not careful, we may not be able to get outâ¦â¦.â
Shen Yuan lightly interrupted her, âIâve decided.â
The woman bit her lip and stopped trying to persuade him anymore.
Shen Yuan looked at Xiao Tangqiu again, âDo you want to join us?â
Xiao Tangqiu couldnât believe his ears.
Shen Yuan had invited him to join the team?
Although he didnât know why, he immediately agreed. âOf course! But can my friend also come along?â
Shen Yuan casually glanced at Tang Mianmian, who immediately held his head high and showed off, âIâm very strongâ¦â¦ and I eat very little!â
Shen Yuan nodded, âOk.â
Xiao Tangqiu grinned broadly. âThank you â¦â¦.â
Shen Yuan glanced at Xiao Tangqiu but quickly withdrew his gaze. âOpen the door.â
Xiao Tangqiu scrunched up his face, âI donât know how to pick locksâ¦â¦..â
Why didnât he know how to pick locks ah?!
~~~
P.S. Sorry for the late update! Guess who had to work overtime till 1am yesterdayâ¦â¦? Anyways, I will release another chapter tonight, as usual, so stay tuned