DLMSWSHH Chapter 28

TL: Hua

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Chapter 28: Sunday

On this side of the hall, Li Yizhi made a face at Archie. He stepped lightly over the layers of corpses and walked up to Zhong Ming. Seeing the youth using a napkin to wipe the dagger Jack had tossed him, Li Yizhi reached out and, with an inexplicable flick of his wrist, snatched the blade away.

“Hey.” Jack’s brow furrowed instantly, his face darkening as he glared at Li Yizhi.

Li Yizhi tossed the dagger aside carelessly. Resting a hand on Zhong Ming’s shoulder, he looked at Jack with a half-smile. “This one here is the Duke’s current favorite. You’d better watch yourself.”

He intentionally pitched his voice into a mocking, theatrical lilt, sounding for all the world like a scheming concubine in a palace drama.

Zhong Ming had been busy counting the corpses, mentally calculating how many lives these mercenaries had left. Hearing this, he snapped his head up and looked at Li Yizhi with utter exasperation. What kind of nonsense is he spouting now? Jack was clearly even more revolted by Li Yizhi’s act; his face turned pitch black as he stared the two of them down.

“He wanted to wipe it for me. What’s it to you?”

Li Yizhi smiled and said. “He was just being polite, and you took it seriously? No way, right?”

To be honest, Li Yizhi’s persona was exceptionally grating. Zhong Ming silently looked away, brushing Li Yizhi’s hand off his shoulder. He had no desire to mediate whatever quarrel these two were having.

He turned his head and, amidst the field of corpses, saw the girl and the student in the white hoodie still sitting by the desk. They hadn’t participated in the ambush. Though they were still alive, their complexions weren’t much better than the bodies on the floor.

The college student was deathly pale. His mouth hung open, and his glasses had slipped down to his cheekbones, yet he didn’t even think to adjust them. His body shook uncontrollably as he watched Archie and the others begin dragging the bodies away; to him, they looked like living demons.

A moment later, a faint trickling sound could be heard, and a sharp, acrid scent began to waft through the heavy smell of blood.

Zhong Ming frowned slightly. He looked at the trembling man and lowered his gaze, discovering a puddle of pale yellow liquid on the floor.

“Crap, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Li Yizhi covered his nose in disgust and pulled Zhong Ming back two steps. Knitting his brows, he called out to the student.

“Brother, calm down. We aren’t going to kill you.” Unable to stand the stench, he offered a blunt explanation: “We can only counter-attack if a player strikes an NPC first. Just stay put and you’ll be fine.”

The student’s eyes widened, and he began to pant heavily as if he had just escaped the gallows.

Beside him, the girl was slightly more composed. She took a few sharp breaths, then forced herself to inhale deeply, suppressing her terror. With a trembling voice, she asked Li Yizhi: “Then… what will happen to them?”

Li Yizhi turned his gaze toward her and arched an eyebrow. “They go in the backyard. Those with lives left will wake up tomorrow. Those without… well, they’re dog food.”

By “dog food,” he meant the Spider Duchess.

The girl’s face turned ashen.

Hearing this, the student nearly lost control of his bladder again. He exerted every ounce of will to hold it in, scrambled out of his chair with his legs clamped together, and fled. Seeing him run, the girl didn’t dare stay; she stood up and left as well. She had been resentful of her boyfriend for abandoning her earlier, but now she felt a strange sense of relief. Her boyfriend wasn’t a strong person, and if he had seen this scene, there was no telling how badly he would have broken.

Once the players had all departed, Archie tossed the fork still skewering an eyeball onto the ground. He grabbed a corpse by the legs and began dragging it out, leaving two long smears of red across the floor Zhong Ming had worked so hard to clean.

Zhong Ming watched the streaks, his eyelid twitching violently. He tried to endure it, but eventually, he couldn’t hold back: “Could you please carry him?”

Archie’s hands paused. He looked up blankly, not quite following. “Huh?”

Li Yizhi clicked his tongue and turned to Sun Qian, who was standing to the side. “Hey, you. Go help him.”

Sun Qian, tall and thin as a bamboo pole, was leaning against the wall. He looked at Li Yizhi and frowned. His lips moved as if to protest, but no sound came out; he was clearly unwilling but lacked the courage to refuse. He turned to Jack for help.

Jack was sitting on the stairs smoking, exhaling a slow cloud of haze, seemingly oblivious.

Finding no support there, Sun Qian’s face fell. He walked over to Archie with visible reluctance and helped lift the corpse’s legs. The two of them carried the body toward the backyard.

Zhong Ming watched them, sensing the underlying dynamics from this little performance.

Jack and Li Yizhi were undoubtedly the two bosses among the lower-level servants. They couldn’t stand each other, but Li Yizhi could still order Jack’s men around as long as Jack himself didn’t object.

Zhong Ming grew thoughtful. Li Yizhi usually ran faster than anyone when trouble started. He was slippery and seemed a bit cowardly. But just now, when he moved against the players, Zhong Ming hadn’t even been able to track his movements.

“What are you thinking about?” Li Yizhi saw him staring at the floor in silence and assumed he was still dwelling on the mess. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you scrub it in a bit.”

Zhong Ming snapped out of it. Not wanting Li Yizhi to realize what he was actually thinking, he raised an eyebrow. “In a bit?”

Li Yizhi’s expression stiffened, and he immediately straightened his back. “Going now, going now!”

He turned and headed for the bathroom to get a rag. Zhong Ming watched his back for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to find Jack sitting on the stairs, watching him through the smoke.

Jack had just personally executed a player. Dried blood stained his arms, and his massive frame sat like a mountain. Killing the player who had held Zhong Ming hostage seemed to have restored his masculine pride. The dejection he’d felt after being rejected by Zhong Ming and suppressed by Matthew and the upper-level servants had vanished; he looked at Zhong Ming with an almost boastful air.

His blue eyes were intensely predatory, tracking Zhong Ming through the smoke. His gaze traveled downward, then slowly scanned back up, inch by inch.

Zhong Ming frowned almost imperceptibly and turned his head away.

Jack watched the youth’s pale, delicate profile under the lamplight. After a pause, he let out a smirk, crushed his cigarette out on the stairs, and walked away.

Zhong Ming watched his retreating figure, his heart sinking. He had a feeling this matter wouldn’t be settled so easily.

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Fifteen minutes later, the corpses had been cleared, the floors scrubbed, and the mansion restored to its pristine state.

The following day, the mercenaries who had lives remaining woke up. They crawled out of the dirt and slunk back to their rooms, locking their doors. Aside from mealtimes, they stayed hidden, no longer scurrying around the mansion looking for clues. They seemed to have given up entirely.

Li Yizhi shook his head, clicking his tongue as he looked at the calendar on the wall. “Not even a week and they’re done. This batch of players is low quality.”

Zhong Ming asked, “Is this considered fast? What’s the longest anyone has lasted?”

Li Yizhi narrowed his eyes, resting his chin in his hand as he reminisced. “The long ones can stay for months. The food supply never runs out, so you won’t starve to death.”

“Or maybe even longer?” Li Yizhi tilted his head. “For specifics, you’d have to ask Madam Mary. She’s the longest-serving servant here.”

Zhong Ming nodded with little interest. Truthfully, he didn’t care who stayed the longest; after all, guests just meant more work for them.

For instance, the male half of the young couple had completely broken down. He spent his days pounding on his door. Every time Zhong Ming passed by, he heard the girl inside tearfully trying to comfort him, begging him to pull himself together. Zhong Ming had to repair their door every day because of the damage caused by his struggle. However, mental trauma in this game couldn’t be repaired; the man had been entirely consumed by fear.

Fortunately, for the next few days, the Spider Duchess didn’t emerge to hunt. Joan had returned to her role as the icy tutor, ignoring the players she occasionally bumped into as if she had forgotten the “guests” even existed. The haunted house was peaceful, returning to the state of a grand Western mansion with no monsters and no slaughter. Everything was as tranquil as a beautiful pastoral painting.

But everyone knew it was an illusion. An illusion that could be shattered by a night of madness at any moment.

It was as if the haunted house were intentionally giving the players a chance to breathe, letting them sink into this false security.

Once they had healed and forgotten the pain, the next wave of terror would arrive.

The archives hadn’t been reorganized yet. Following Madam Mary’s instructions, Zhong Ming emptied the murky water from the vases and replaced it with fresh water. A basket of freshly picked flowers sat beside him, their pale pink petals emitting a crisp fragrance.

Zhong Ming picked up a flower and tucked it into a vase. He tilted his head to examine the arrangement, feeling like something was missing.

Just then, a timid voice spoke up behind him: “Maybe add a yellow one?”

Zhong Ming blinked and turned around. It was the girl from the couple. Seeing him look over, she gave a fearful shiver before forcing a small smile.

Zhong Ming observed her. She looked terrible with dark circles under her eyes, her face haggard. Convincing her frantic boyfriend had clearly drained her.

Zhong Ming looked back at the basket and, following her suggestion, picked out a yellow rose and placed it in the center. He tilted his head again and found it looked much better.

“Thank you,” Zhong Ming said.

Seemingly stunned that he would actually say thank you, the girl froze for a long moment before murmuring bashfully, “N-no problem.”

Zhong Ming turned back to continue his work.

Behind him, the girl stood awkwardly. She watched Zhong Ming’s profile, noticing his thick, long eyelashes. Like the other players, she had noticed this beautiful NPC early on. There were many handsome NPCs among the menservants, such as Li Yizhi, Archie, and even Jack wasn’t bad-looking.

But they all carried a bone-chilling coldness, especially in the way they looked at players as if they were looking at ants. Sometimes, she could feel a deep sense of loathing coming from them, making her want to curl into a ball.

But Zhong Ming was different. His gaze was peaceful, his dark eyes warm. He carried a faint scholarly air that made her instinctively lower her guard.

If it’s this person, he probably won’t hurt me.

She had a strange intuition. A woman’s sixth sense is often accurate, and she chose to trust it. She plucked up her courage and took a step closer to him.

“I-I wanted to ask…” her voice was tense. “What exactly happened that night? Why did m-my boyfriend become like that?”

Zhong Ming’s hand paused. He looked back at her. “You don’t know?”

The girl blinked, looking lost as she shook her head. “I don’t. I was asleep that night.”

Zhong Ming narrowed his eyes. He had heard the frantic pounding on their door that night. No matter how heavy a sleeper she was, she should have heard it.

Sensing his suspicion, the girl hesitated. “Actually, I…” Her voice dropped, sounding embarrassed. “I have some… emotional issues. I need medication to help me sleep, so I usually sleep very deeply.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Ming understood. The girl was probably referring to sleeping pills or something similar.

She thought for a moment and then said, “But that day was indeed quite strange.” She continued, “I think I slept very soundly and I didn’t hear any sound, but my head still hurt a little when I woke up in the morning.”

She paused, a look of terror crossing her face. “When I woke up… the door was covered in claw marks. And Chengcheng collapsed at the entrance.”

“But there wasn’t a single scratch on him.” She knit her brows in confusion. “It’s so strange… he keeps saying he was eaten. What could have eaten him?”

The girl hadn’t seen a single monster in the mansion. Those who had were already mentally broken and wouldn’t speak of it, so she still didn’t know the horror her boyfriend had endured.

Zhong Ming remained silent, unsure how to respond.

Seeing his hesitation, the girl looked at him pleadingly. “Please, I beg you, tell me. Chengcheng and I are getting married next spring. I can’t bear to see him like this.”

Listening to her, Zhong Ming felt a sudden surge of absurdity.

He looked at the girl’s exhausted but hopeful face. She truly seemed to expect that they would clear the game together and find a beautiful place to hold a wedding next spring. Zhong Ming frowned, replaying Li Yizhi’s words in his head: No one who participates in this game is a good person. He thought of the student upstairs who took hallucinogens.

Seeing him not answer, the girl assumed it was outside the scope of what an NPC could say. Her hand dropped in disappointment. But just as she turned to leave, she heard Zhong Ming ask: “Why did you join this game?”

The girl froze, her expression shifting as she avoided his gaze. Under Zhong Ming’s calm stare, however, she eventually bit her lip.

“Chengcheng… started a business in college and ended up with a lot of debt,” she said sheepishly. “We heard that if we clear this game, there’s a massive prize. We thought we could use it to pay off the debt. And if we want to get married, we need to buy a house… everything costs money.”

Zhong Ming fell silent for a moment upon hearing this. “Did you never consider what would happen if you failed?”

The girl answered quickly, “It’s alright. We signed a contract with the company. Even if we don’t clear the game, we still get a base salary.”

The moment the words left her mouth, a scoff erupted from the other end of the room.

Stunned, the girl turned to see the NPC with the phoenix eyes standing by the wall, arms crossed. His mocking gaze fell upon her. “…To think there are actually people left who believe that load of rubbish.”

He curled his lip, his eyes overflowing with malice. “Truly stupid to the bone.”

The girl’s face turned deathly pale. Normally, she would have been angry if someone spoke to her like that, but ever since she’d seen these NPCs slaughtering players like they were chopping vegetables, she had developed a deep-seated dread of these menservants.

Even though Li Yizhi was always smiling and his methods weren’t as brutal as the others, her intuition told her that the man before her was no more harmless than the rest. In fact, he might be even more dangerous.

The girl was terrified, and as if seeking Zhong Ming’s protection, she subconsciously took a step in his direction.

However, at her movement, Li Yizhi’s expression suddenly darkened.

He snapped upright, strode over to the girl, and grabbed her by the shoulder, shoving her away. “Who the hell told you that you could get close to him?”

The girl, who had a slender frame, let out a short shriek as she tumbled to the floor. Zhong Ming frowned instinctively, but before he could say anything, Li Yizhi deliberately blocked him from view.

“Hey.” Out of Zhong Ming’s sight, the smile vanished from Li Yizhi’s face, replaced by a cold mask. “Did you think I don’t hit women?”

Though Li Yizhi was lean and lacked the bulging muscles of Jack or the other menservants, his broad shoulders and long limbs gave him an immense sense of pressure when he truly turned cold.

The girl slumped on the floor, her face ashen, unable to speak.

Li Yizhi stared at her, narrowing his eyes. The atmosphere around him made Zhong Ming’s heart skip a beat. He couldn’t help but reach out and press a hand onto Li Yizhi’s shoulder.

“Calm down.”

Li Yizhi paused and turned to look at Zhong Ming. With one hand still on his shoulder, Zhong Ming cast a glance at the girl.

“Go.”

Although the girl was quite frightened, she still retained her composure and quickly scrambled to her feet, running upstairs. Zhong Ming watched her retreating back, his lips moving as he called out, “Watch out for your boyfriend.”

The girl likely heard him; her figure faltered slightly before she disappeared into the distance.

Li Yizhi didn’t give chase. Instead, he caught Zhong Ming’s hand that was still resting on his shoulder and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Why are you so soft-hearted?” Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he frowned and looked Zhong Ming up and down with a scrutinizing gaze. “You don’t actually like women, do you?”

Zhong Ming: “…”

Sometimes, he really wondered how the brains of these people functioned. He lowered his gaze, refusing to answer.

Li Yizhi didn’t get angry. He rubbed his thumb against Zhong Ming’s smooth arm a few times before letting go. “Fine.” He turned and reached out to pluck a stray petal that had fallen onto Zhong Ming’s shoulder. “I’ll let you off this time. Just remember: don’t talk to the players. Got it?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but there was a distinct note of warning in his tone.

Seeing Zhong Ming keep his head down without answering, Li Yizhi narrowed his eyes. Before he could speak again, Zhong Ming looked up. “I know.”

Li Yizhi wasn’t fooled. “You say you know, yet you still do it. Don’t think you can play me.”

Zhong Ming remained silent. Looking at him, Li Yizhi felt his teeth itch with frustration; he wanted to reach out and give this disobedient fellow’s face a hard pinch. But then he heard Zhong Ming speak: “I know you mean well.” Zhong Ming looked up at him and said softly, “After tomorrow, I’ll know for sure.”

Li Yizhi was baffled. He frowned. “What?”

Zhong Ming looked at him and said quietly, “Have you forgotten? Tomorrow is Sunday. We’re going to the chapel.”

Realization dawned on Li Yizhi. Indeed, tomorrow was Sunday.

The next day, after breakfast, Madam Mary announced at the dining table that everyone was required to go to the chapel to pray. Upon hearing this, the faces of the players around the table changed instantly.

No one dared to speak. The surviving mercenaries looked as if they had completely given up; their eyes were hollow. Hearing the news, they merely shivered and returned to their silence.

The girl from the couple glanced at her boyfriend, who was still shaking his legs and muttering to himself. She bit her lower lip and plucked up the courage to ask, “Does… does everyone have to go?”

Madam Mary’s grey-blue eyes shifted toward her. “Yes.”

Her withered face looked like a dried orange, craggy and lined. The girl shuddered violently. The question she had intended to ask whether they could stay behind got stuck in her throat. In the end, she said nothing.

The group set off toward the chapel behind the mansion.

Madam Mary led the way, with Zhong Ming following half a step behind her, carrying an oil lamp.

The early morning air was damp, and a light mist began to seep through the valley. The lamp in Zhong Ming’s hand flickered with a warm glow in the increasingly blurred vision, marking the path for the procession. Among the ranks, the girl and the college student looked dazed. The others, especially the remaining mercenaries, looked worse than corpses the moment the mist began to rise.

Zhong Ming cast a glance backward.

In the middle of the line were all the surviving players, followed by the menservants. Li Yizhi, Jack, and the others walked at the very rear, their gazes fixed on the players ahead. To Zhong Ming, the formation looked less like a procession and more like prison guards escorting convicts.

The group moved through the thickening fog. Finally, before the mansion was completely swallowed by the mist, they arrived at the chapel.

Atop the chapel spire, a statue of the Virgin Mary looked down upon them with mercy.

Seeing the chapel, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid it would be something bizarre; fortunately, the building looked normal enough.

Madam Mary bowed her head to kiss the crucifix around her neck and reached out to push open the heavy chapel doors.

Everyone filed inside. Because the exterior was shrouded in thick fog, the interior of the chapel was exceptionally dark. Zhong Ming raised the oil lamp higher. Standing at the front of the group, he illuminated the objects arranged neatly before the altar.

There were five confessionals, lined up side-by-side.

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