(The song featured in this chapter is "Insane," by Black GryphOn/Baasik.
Listening with the song playing in the background is recommended for this chapter.)
Hearing this, Xie Qi raised an eyebrow, a hint of pleasant surprise on his face.
"Then thank the master for his generosity on my behalf. I was just thinking of decorating the kitchen, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to find the materials."
His words drew no unusual reaction from Sai Basi, who merely warned him not to have so much fun that he interfered with the master's plans.
"Don't worry, I know my limits."
Smiling, Xie Qi watched the silver-haired butler leave.
Meanwhile, the bullet comments behind him began flooding the screen because of Sai Basi's words.
[What did that butler mean? What plan?]
[I've watched this instance before. The characters are different every time, but the general direction stays the same. All I can reveal right now is that the owner of this villa is no ordinary person. (Covers mouth)]
[Wasn't that obvious? Who couldn't tell? (Mocking)]
[I'm more curious about tomorrow's game. I wonder what kind of game it'll be.]
[The popular games on the market these days are all AI-made 6D games. This instance looks ancient. What fun games could it have?]
[Everyone else is either sleeping or rummaging around their rooms. The chef's point of view is more fun. You can never guess what he'll do next.]
The system in Xie Qi's head announced that his livestream had reached a thousand viewers. Naturally, he was still ranked first, and the system shop had also opened.
The system said the ranking was among the newcomers. By rights, no one but him should have entered an instance yet, but Xie Qi didn't think so.
Thinking of the people who had been taken away after making mistakes, he didn't know what their punishment was, but presumably it wouldn't be easy. It was very possible that, just as he thought, they were being sent into instance games right now to make up for their earlier mistakes.
Even if those newcomers hadn't received special treatment from the warden like he had, their chances of surviving an instance without going through the beginner's tutorial could only be described as extremely low.
These thoughts lingered in Xie Qi's mind for only a second before he turned his attention to the system shop.
He tapped the shop icon. Most of the items inside were grayed out, and only the daily necessities category was still lit up.
It seemed the items in the shop became available according to his level and the points he possessed.
He casually browsed the other items and moved on, stopping at only two.
Xie Qi nodded in satisfaction. The shop had opened just in time. He could buy what he needed for tomorrow's game here, so he wouldn't have to mobilize all the servants to make it.
Though the night was still long, there was too much to do.
Xie Qi had no time to waste. After closing the door, he turned and opened the wardrobe, pretending to rummage through it as he pulled his knife from his backpack.
Dressed in black from head to toe, he held the gleaming long knife in his hand, his smile growing wider.
He opened the door, then turned around and locked it.
Candles burned along both sides of the dim corridor, stretching his shadow out behind him.
His room was at the very end of the second floor. As he passed the guests' rooms, he stopped at each one and listened carefully to the sounds inside.
After passing four rooms, he heard footsteps moving around in only one of them.
Judging by the sounds and the footsteps, Xie Qi reckoned it was probably a man.
He just didn't know which of the five it was.
The other four lived on the other side of the stairs, and Xie Qi didn't plan to go over and check just yet.
He followed the curving banister downstairs. The living room was still empty.
Following his memory, Xie Qi headed toward the back of the villa. There was a small door there, opened specifically for him to reach the farm behind it. Including him, only three people had keys to it.
Seeing that he seemed to be going to select ingredients, viewers in the bullet comments began to lose it.
[Nope, I can't. I'm closing the stream for a while. Call me when it's over. (Goodbye)]
[Are we about to see a real-life slasher horror movie? (Rubs hands excitedly)]
[Tch, it's all just data anyway. What's so scary about it...]
[I'd believe you if you hadn't gone offline right after saying that.]
Dense tree cover filled the area behind the villa. From the outside, there was no sign that a farm lay within.
Moonlight spilled onto the gravel path. Walking on it in leather shoes, one could feel things being crushed underfoot.
"Hello~ it's nice to meet you~"
(Hello, it's nice to meet you)
"Can you tell me where you are?..."
(Can you tell me where you are?)
Xie Qi hummed a popular song from his previous world as he walked through the darkness as if taking a stroll.
"Hey! Sorry but you just got in my way~"
(Sorry, you got in my way)
"I promise, honey, I can feel your pain~"
(Honey, I promise I can feel your pain)
"And maybe I enjoy it just a little bit~"
(Maybe I'll enjoy it a little bit)
The cheerful tune mingled with the eerie shadows of the surrounding trees, and Xie Qi grew more and more enthused.
His voice kept time with the dry leaves crunching beneath his feet:
"Does that make me insane?"
(Does that mean I'm a madman?)
"Haven't been the same since I expired"
(Everything changed after I died)
"Doesn't mean that I plan to retire"
(But that doesn't mean I plan to retire)
"And now I have the power to battle all of you in entertaining fire!"
(Now I have the power to bathe all of you in flames!)
At the song's climax, Xie Qi raised the long knife in his hand like a conductor waving a baton, dancing as he sang, "La-da, da da da~"
"Da da da da da da da da ~"
Birds were startled from the woods one after another, but all of them avoided the spot where Xie Qi stood.
By the time he finally saw the gate of the farm, Xie Qi's song had also reached its end.
"...make me insane~"
Facing the iron gate, covered in moss and visibly mottled with rust, Xie Qi stopped and held his right hand before him. As though a crowd of spectators stood before him, he gave an elegant bow, as if taking his curtain call.
The viewers who had witnessed Xie Qi's entire solo concert were dumbstruck. Only now did they remember their accounts.
[Elegant, truly elegant!]
[I'm speechless. There are different kinds of perverts, and this chef is the highest grade!]
[This song sounds so good! It's got this crazy yet gentlemanly feel to it. What's it called?]
[I couldn't find it. My smartbrain's analysis says the musical style is really old, like something that was popular over a thousand years ago.]