Brussels had never imagined that he might die in a place like this.
Even before, when he was on the ship without food or land in sight, he had never thought he would die.
Though he hadn't intended to do that at first, if he hadn't, he would have been the one to die!
So after Bailey and Sofina made their move, he had helped subdue the others.
As long as they had all done it together, they were in the same boat.
It was thanks to him that they had survived and made it this far!
But why? Why was he the one who had to die?
Brussels let go and struggled to move, tugging at Xie Qi's pant leg with his bloodstained left hand.
"Y-you killed me. They'll definitely find out..."
The others had agreed beforehand to follow them after he went out. They had to be on their way now!
If only he could hold on a little longer!
Survive a little longer at this monster's hands...
[Haha, this guy's still counting on the others to save him. He doesn't know the chef locked the door ages ago.]
[A team full of villains, and he's still counting on the others? This guy's a little naive.]
[Just as I thought, Lord Kani really is the best!]
[Can the person above stop being so gross? I keep seeing you bouncing around. Can you stop praising him so mindlessly? Besides all that empty praise, can't you compliment something substantial? Like his bearing, his abilities...]
[Wow, even fans have a pecking order now? I thought you really wanted to criticize them.]
His clean pant leg stained with blood, Xie Qi frowned and looked down. "Seriously, don't get my clothes dirty. Now I'll have to trouble Lina again," he said with distaste.
Faced with a dying man, all Xie Qi thought about was his own clothes.
In the darkness, his dilated pupils were faintly visible, and traces of red showed in his black-and-blue eyes.
This body, like Xie Qi's original one, was of mixed heritage. Xie Qi was half Chinese and half Russian, while the chef was half Chinese and half American.
Under normal light, his eyes looked black, but in the dark, his pupils turned a deep blue, like an ocean that would suck everything in.
That chase scene just now, which barely counted as a chase, had earned Xie Qi a wave of gold coin tips, worth nearly two hundred points when converted.
His little stash now held seventeen hundred points, enough to make him somewhat wealthy even among prisoners who had been through several instances.
The farm had fallen silent again.
The hopes of the ingredients in the rooms had been dashed once more, and they all stopped moving.
Blood was scattered all over the floor, but Xie Qi certainly had no interest in cleaning it up.
As long as it was clean the next time he came, that was fine.
Carrying a two-meter-tall man was exhausting. After walking all that way to the villa's back door, Xie Qi couldn't help stopping for a rest.
Once he opened the door, he turned around and slid the lock into place on the inside. When he turned his head again, he saw a figure blocking his way.
Any normal person would have been startled by that sight.
But Xie Qi merely tilted his head until it touched the corpse on his shoulder. His heart didn't even beat any faster.
"Sai Basi, what do you need me for at this late hour?"
Xie Qi was in a very good mood, and he smiled at the silver-haired butler as he spoke.
Sai Basi said nothing for a moment. His eyes flicked to the thing on Xie Qi's shoulder before he said, "When you're making preparations, be careful that no rats follow you. Don't do whatever you please."
"Oh? Is that so? I'm always very careful~"
Xie Qi looked innocent, with even a hint of confusion on his face.
Seeing that he couldn't get through to him, Sai Basi dropped the matter and turned to another important subject.
"As long as you know what you're doing. Just remember not to hold up the master's plan. The ritual must be held on schedule in five days, and you're responsible for preparing all the materials. Do you understand?"
Xie Qi had known about the plan Sai Basi spoke of as soon as he entered this body. The main quest for this instance was to survive seven days, and two had already passed.
If a prisoner played one of the eight guests, surviving meant not only evading the chef's daily hunts but also finding a way to escape the ritual seven days later.
An instance of this difficulty shouldn't have appeared among the beginner instances. Unfortunately, because of the Magic Mark the warden had bestowed on Xie Qi, this originally F-rank instance had risen to E-rank. If a real newcomer had entered it, their chances of survival would probably have been less than ten percent.
By now, two guests had already died without the others realizing the secret hidden in the villa. Xie Qi felt a rare moment of concern for their situation.
If the others learned that the real culprit trying to kill them was actually worried about whether they lived or died, they might all be moved, wouldn't they?
That was what Xie Qi thought.
"Don't worry. The master's orders are my reason for living. Everything will go smoothly, won't it?"
His words were full of loyalty, while the darkness concealed the amusement on Xie Qi's face.