Chapter 13: The Price of Death |
Not long after Yezi arrived, Zou Yan heard the commotion and came over as well.
The group gathered around the corpse in the pit, a grim echo of how they had stood over Shen Ming’s body on the second floor.
Forewarned by the morning's grim discovery, the players remained relatively composed.
"This body must be the most important clue in the garden," Zou Yan analyzed. "If what Chang Xu said is true—that Miss Anna needs bodies to fertilize her roses—then I'm afraid we're all destined to become her prey."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted, intentionally or not, toward Qi Si, as if she were certain the young man would be Miss Anna's primary target.
Qi Si merely offered a nonchalant smile, his gaze looking past them to focus on the second-to-last rule on the system interface.
[8. If, in an emergency, you must break certain rules, ensure you break as few as possible. Perhaps she will... spare you.]
Yesterday, every player had broken the rule to "stay away from Miss Anna in the black dress," yet only Shen Ming had met a grisly end. This all but confirmed Qi Si's theory.
The NPC had a daily kill limit. To survive, you just had to make sure you broke fewer rules than everyone else.
Yezi let out a scornful laugh. "Either someone would find a way to trick another player into breaking one more rule, or she'd just randomly pick off whichever 'lucky' soul caught her eye. Maybe Miss Anna wouldn't even have to lift a finger. We'd start turning on each other soon enough."
Zou Yan shook her head. "Nothing's happened yet. There's no need for infighting. No matter what, this is a team dungeon. If we can just cooperate and unravel the world's secrets, we'll all make it out."
Yezi shot her a cold smile. "What act are you putting on now? Someone is dead, and you still want to play happy families?"
An argument erupted out of nowhere. Qi Si watched them with keen interest, his gaze shifting between the two women.
Chang Xu, shovel slung over his shoulder, had no intention of getting involved. He simply went back to digging in the garden.
The iron tool flung up shovelful after shovelful of soil and mulch, spraying dirt into the air until the garden was no longer a pleasant place to stand.
With a quiet, "I'm heading back," Qi Si turned and returned to the old manor, ascending the stairs.
The second-floor hallway was silent. The body and the pool of blood were gone, leaving only flecks of residue wedged between the floorboards, as if the floor itself had devoured the corpse and left nothing but crumbs.
Tracing the edge of the bloodstain from memory, Qi Si carefully avoided the grime on the floor as he made his way back to his guest room.
Lin Chen was already waiting for him inside.
His face was pale, but his eyes shone with a feverish light—the strange excitement of a survivor.
Before Qi Si could even speak, the words tumbled out of him in a rush. "All the doors on the third floor are locked, no idea what's inside. And I ran into this old woman who was clearly a ghost..."
Qi Si listened intently to his story, then offered a smile. "Good work. This information is very useful. I think I'm starting to get a handle on things."
It was important to offer positive reinforcement after a command was completed, to establish a reward feedback loop—even a purely verbal one.
Attention to such details was key to fostering a stable relationship.
Just as he'd anticipated, Lin Chen broke into a goofy grin and continued, "The layout on the third floor is a lot like the second, but there's a wider gap between the first two rooms..."
Qi Si moved to the desk, took up a pen and paper, and began sketching. Based on Lin Chen's description, he drew a rough floor plan of the third story. The lines weren't perfect, but they were clear enough to provide a basic overview.
After adding a few more details to the paper, he seemed to be struck by a thought and looked up at Lin Chen. "The old woman you saw on the third floor—was she wearing red?"
Lin Chen nodded, confused. "Yeah, a red princess dress, of all things. I thought my eyes were going to bleed..."
As he spoke, he saw Qi Si's expression harden, a flicker of genuine concern in his eyes. "I believe I warned you about how you address people. What did you call her?"
Lin Chen was bewildered. "I just called her 'Miss Anna.' What's wrong?"
This was all within Qi Si's calculations—in fact, it was the very outcome he had subtly guided Lin Chen toward.
But at that moment, he reacted as if he'd just heard the worst possible news, his expression turning grim. "Didn't I tell you not to use specific names so freely? Look at rule number nine."
Lin Chen didn't understand what was happening, but the look on Qi Si's face was enough to make his stomach clench with panic.
He instinctively glanced at the system interface.
[9. Do not go to the third floor if you can help it. If you must, do not let Miss Anna find you.]
Do not let Miss Anna find you...
They knew there were potentially two different "Miss Annas." The old woman in red was an unknown, and she had appeared on the third floor. What if *she* was the other Miss Anna?
Didn't that mean he had broken the rule?
Sometimes, all it takes is a small nudge from someone else to knock your thoughts out of a rut and see the crucial point you've been missing. In the space of a single second, the color drained from Lin Chen's face, leaving it ashen. "No... that's impossible. Isn't Miss Anna supposed to be beautiful? How could that... thing... be her?"
Qi Si flipped to a page in the notebook on the desk and pointed to a line of text. "Read this."
[We all survived. She is still withering, but there is a way... I will love her forever, and I will cherish her perfection even more than she does herself.]
"'Withering' implies ugliness. It's almost certain that the person you met on the third floor was Miss Anna." Qi Si reached out and brushed a stray rose petal from Lin Chen's shoulder, his voice cold. "If you hadn't called her by that name, you might have been saved by ignorance... But now..." He gave a short, mirthless laugh.
Lin Chen's mind went blank.
He remembered Qi Si's warning before they separated. He remembered how, upon seeing the old woman, something had just... snapped in his head. Yes, it was as if he'd been possessed, compelled to react that way.
Why did he have to try and be clever? He could have just said he didn't know...
Was it regret? Despair? Or both?
Lin Chen didn't know what expression to make. He acted on pure instinct, grabbing Qi Si's sleeve as if it were his last lifeline.
"Qi Si, save me... I don't want to die..."
He didn't want to die. It was his powerful will to live that had brought him into this twisted game in the first place, giving him a second chance at life.
He never imagined that chance would slip through his fingers so easily, that the hope he'd found would give way to an even deeper despair.
If only he'd been more careful. Even just a little...
Lin Chen looked at him with pleading eyes, but Qi Si merely stared back, his gaze as cold and detached as if he were already looking at a corpse.
His heart sank, plummeting into an icy abyss.
That's right. No one was obligated to save him.
It was just like that time with the thugs who had pinned him to the ground. He had screamed for help, but the pedestrians in the distance had only quickened their pace, as if he were a leper they were afraid to touch.
By the time the police—summoned by some unknown good Samaritan—finally arrived, he could no longer open his eyes. He lost consciousness moments after they got him to the hospital...
If that was how it was in the real world, what could he possibly expect here, inside a dungeon of this twisted game?
Lin Chen's grip loosened, and he let the corner of Qi Si's shirt slip through his fingers. The light in his eyes faded.
He backed away toward the window and slumped down, defeated. Then he heard the young man at the desk let out a soft sigh. "I'll see what I can do to save you."
"The price for breaking the rules isn't collected until nightfall. That gives us almost ten hours. If someone else breaks more rules than you in that time, you'll be saved."
A flicker of joy ignited in Lin Chen's chest, but it was just as quickly extinguished as the meaning of Qi Si's words sank in. He froze.
What was he saying? That for him to live... someone else had to die?
Lin Chen swallowed hard and shook his head. "Qi Si, don't... This is my mistake. I can't drag someone else into it."
He still had a conscience, a sense of justice that made him scoff at the idea of sacrificing others for his own gain. It was that very same impulse—acting to save someone else—that had gotten him killed and thrown into this game in the first place.
Qi Si himself was no saint, but he didn't dislike "good people" like Lin Chen.
The reason was simple: they were useful. A small kindness earned their unwavering gratitude, making them far easier to handle than cold-blooded rationalists.
He lowered his gaze, his voice calm and gentle. "Ultimately, I share some of the blame for this. If I had been clearer in my explanation, you wouldn't have made this mistake. I'm going up to the third floor. That way, we'll have broken the same number of rules."
Lin Chen was stunned, his words tumbling out in a jumble. "Qi... Qi Si, this has nothing to do with you! It was my fault! Don't worry about me, I'm not afraid to die..."
"Who said anything about dying for you?" Qi Si smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "I'm a veteran player. I've cleared a dungeon before. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to stay alive—unlike a rookie like you."
Lin Chen wasn't entirely convinced.
If veterans really had ways to save themselves, how had Shen Ming died?
He had to be saying it just to comfort him. But why would he go to such lengths? They had only just met...
While Lin Chen hesitated, Qi Si had already walked to the door, pushed it open, and stepped halfway across the threshold.
He paused and glanced back over his shoulder. "Don't thank me. I was planning on going to the third floor anyway. Just stay here and watch the room. Wait for me to get back."
A faint smile played on the young man's lips as he leaned casually against the doorframe, projecting an aura of quiet confidence.
Lin Chen watched him go, his mouth hanging slightly open, but no words came.
All he knew was that if he made it through the day, he would owe Qi Si his life.
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