Rodin Villa

This was a large room covered in blood. The white fluorescent lights flickered erratically due to unstable voltage. In the center of the room stood a massive white bathtub, filled to the brim with blood.

"Gurgle gurgle~" Bubbles rose from the bathtub, and slowly, a red head emerged from the surface of the blood. Upon closer inspection, this person had no skin. Like the abnormal titans in Attack on Titan, their facial muscles and bones gradually grew fine strands resembling capillaries, intertwining to form skin.

Finally, the face of a handsome foreign man took shape. He glanced at the mirror opposite the bathtub, touched his smooth skin, and was quite pleased.

"Hmm? Salo is dead?" the man suddenly muttered to himself. "Haha, it seems the livestock that came this time are of good quality."

At that moment, the skin on the man's face instantly loosened and collapsed, wrinkles appearing suddenly.

"No, still not enough?" The man tore off the skin on his face with his hand and slowly submerged himself back into the bathtub.

This was the first time Zhang Chen had swallowed such a massive ghost. A powerful force instantly filled his entire body.

Swallowed one intermediate corpse ghost, obtained saturation: 24%, physical strength enhanced, acquired skill: Flesh and Blood (Incomplete).

Discovered skill: Flesh and Blood (Incomplete) has a compatibility of 11% with Water (Extremely Incomplete). Proceed with fusion?

"No," Zhang Chen refused without hesitation. He didn't know what would happen if it failed, and only a fool would take such a small risk.

Zhang Chen

Main Soul Frame Status: Active

Main Soul: Gluttonous Ghost

Saturation: 100% (Saturated)

Compatibility with Current **: 41%

Secondary Soul Frame Status: Inactive

Skill Slots: 3

Used Skill Slots: 2

Owned Skills: Telekinesis (Evolvable, Used), Nail Growth (Arm Portion, Used), Water (Extremely Incomplete, Unusable), Flesh and Blood (Incomplete, Unusable).

Telekinesis: Can control invisible forces with one's will, current proficiency 82%.

Nail Growth: Left and right arm strength increased by 350%, nail hardness increased by 1000%, length can be controlled at will.

Physical Condition: Medium

Perception Ability: High

Overall Evaluation: Medium

Jailer Rank: Pawn

"Intermediate corpse ghost, truly not much different from that 'Yang Zi'. This harvest is huge. Although my physical condition is still medium, I feel my strength has more than doubled. And that incomplete skill, I should be able to fuse it when I encounter a skill with high compatibility."

Jia Xin, standing nearby, watched Zhang Chen swallow everything, including his Five Wood Confinement Array and the giant monster, in one gulp. He was greatly shocked. At the same time, after the monster was swallowed, he felt a change in Zhang Chen's body – it was definitely not an influence, but a change as his body grew stronger.

"This kid, I thought there was a gap in strength between us, but now it seems we're almost equal. This is troublesome, I need to change my plan."

Jia Xin put away the wooden tray on the ground. The five fingers on his left hand all had small to medium-sized blood holes. Moreover, due to the previous explosion, his clothes were somewhat tattered, instantly losing his fresh, handsome demeanor.

Jia Xin walked over and looked at Zhang Chen, bowing slightly.

"Thanks."

"Ah, what for? We were working together on this," Zhang Chen was somewhat surprised by Jia Xin's attitude and felt a little better about him.

"Your name is Zhang Chen, right? Master told me that besides us, there seems to be a group of dead guys in this world who hunt demons and monsters. Are you one of them?"

Zhang Chen didn't expect Jia Xin to say that, so he smiled and nodded, saying, "But I'm not dead."

"My master only instructed me to eliminate those dead guys when I meet them. But since classmate Zhang isn't dead, that's another matter. Can we be friends?" Jia Xin said with a smile.

"Are we friends for seven days, or friends forever?" Zhang Chen asked.

"Of course, friends forever. Since I've made friends with classmate Zhang, you must accept this meeting gift." With that, Jia Xin poured a green pill from a small wooden jar at his waist.

"If you get injured in the future, with too large a wound and too much blood loss, swallow this pill directly, and it will save your life."

"Thank you." Zhang Chen didn't refuse, took it, and put it into the Cosmic Bag at his waist.

"Brother Jia, we should hurry and find the others. If we're not there, it won't be good if they encounter anything," Zhang Chen said.

Jia Xin smiled at being called that, patted Zhang Chen on the shoulder, nodded, and the two ran towards the group at their fastest speed.

"Haha, this big forest, I've finally walked out of it!" Er Wa saw that the space between the two trees ahead was no longer an endless expanse of trees, but a corner of the white villa from the flyer.

Hearing Er Wa say that, Tan Fei and the two girls also ran forward. Seeing the exit, they also shouted happily.

At this moment, Zhang Chen and Jia Xin stopped when they saw everyone. Jia Xin even put his hand on Zhang Chen's shoulder, pretending to be slightly injured, and walked towards the group.

"Ah, Brother Xin!" A girl from the first high school saw Jia Xin's tattered clothes and black liquid all over him and immediately pulled her classmates from the first high school over to help Jia Xin. She also looked gratefully at Zhang Chen.

Compared to Jia Xin, Zhang Chen was much better off, only having a lot of black blood splattered on him.

"What happened, Brother Chen? That guy from the first high school seems to be injured," Tan Fei asked.

"We hadn't gone far when we ran into a black bear. The two of us ran, and that guy got hit by a paw swipe from the bear. He was pretty injured, and then after not running for long, we encountered a black swamp. The bear didn't follow us anymore. We... got this stuff on us."

Zhang Chen was used to lying and making up stories, his face not even flushing.

When Wang Yizhi heard that Zhang Chen had been chased by a bear and almost gotten into trouble, she rushed over to check him all over. She didn't consider that Zhang Chen could handle ghosts, let alone a bear. She was truly single-minded.

"Zhang Chen, this black stuff on you is so ugly," Wang Yizhi said, covering her mouth.

"I think Er Wa found the villa. We can go in, take a shower, and change clothes later," Zhang Chen said, sniffing it and realizing it was indeed very ugly.

So, following Er Wa, everyone walked out of the woods.

The feeling of seeing daylight again was wonderful, and in front of them stood a white villa much larger than anyone had imagined. Everyone was so happy they were practically dancing.

"Holy crap, I can actually live in a place like this! This is awesome!" Tan Fei exclaimed, jumping around excitedly.

Er Wa, however, was very quiet. Without a word, he sprinted to the villa's entrance at top speed and stood there, looking around, as if searching for something.

"Hurry up, everyone! There's a letter here!" Er Wa seemed to have found a letter on the ground and waved his arms, signaling for everyone to come over quickly.

"Er Wa, why didn't you knock? Is no one inside?" Tan Fei asked.

"I knocked for a long time, but there was no response. Then I found this letter on the ground."

The group from First Middle School also arrived then, but they were much more polite this time. No one spoke up; they just listened to Zhang Chen and his companions.

"Since the tour group isn't here, you should open the letter first," Zhang Chen said.

"We really came to the right place! First, a jungle adventure, and now a mystery puzzle. Oh my!"

Er Wa excitedly opened the envelope. A large, bronze-colored key dropped out, followed by a small note that read:

Dear Travelers, We trust you are well-prepared for this holiday trip. You have passed through the forest and arrived at our tourism center, Rodin Villa. This villa has a very long history, but after renovations by our agency, the entire villa has been restored to its former glory.

Additionally, certain valuable items within the villa are not to be touched. Any damage incurred will require compensation at full value. We will not interfere with you during the seven-day tour.

Finally, we have prepared seven days' worth of ingredients for you, which you will need to process yourselves. However, considering that it is past lunchtime today, we have prepared a lavish feast for you in the dining room. Please feel free to allocate your own rooms. Two maps are included within the envelope.

Wanda Travel Agency

Er Wa loudly read the contents of the letter to everyone. Essentially, there were only two key points.

First, the tour company staff would not be present. Second, food and meals would need to be handled by themselves.

Zhang Chen took a map from Er Wa's envelope and smiled as he handed it to the group from First Middle School. The sturdy man who had been a bit temperamental earlier also smiled and accepted it.

"I'm opening the door! I'm starving," Er Wa said, picking up the bronze key from the ground and inserting it into the central keyhole of the main door. With a "click," the lock opened. Er Wa pushed the heavy door open slowly with all his might.

"This..." Everyone was stunned as soon as they stepped inside. The place was opulent, to say the least. Above them, a massive five-tiered glass chandelier blinded them. In the lobby, a circular sofa, a full six meters long, faced a large, classical European-style fireplace. On the other side stood a grand piano.

Directly in front of them, a spiral staircase with glass decorations led to the second floor. A coffee-colored carpet covered the entire room. Everyone changed into slippers in the shoe-changing area, and some even walked in without shoes.

Additionally, the walls were adorned with numerous oil paintings, seemingly depicting the daily life of the villa's owners. Some showed a family of three enjoying afternoon tea on the lawn outside, while others depicted a young boy playing the piano alone...

Most striking was the wall in the center of the lobby, where a portrait of a foreign man with brown hair, around 30 years old, hung. He had high cheekbones and prominent eye sockets, making his eyes appear deep-set. His nose was high, and he wore the 15th or 16th-century European noble attire seen in movies, looking solemn and dignified. Especially his deep-set eyes, as if they were watching over the entire house.

Zhang Chen glanced at Jia Xin, who was being accompanied by someone from First Middle School. They both smiled slightly and nodded.

The moment Er Wa opened the door, Zhang Chen felt an extreme sense of unease, but he couldn't pinpoint why.

However, the instant he stepped into the house, he understood. This feeling was something he had encountered before and remembered vividly: it was in Xie Wen's basement.

This house... was alive