Trust

After finally sending Er Wa away, Zhang Chen could at last take a peaceful afternoon nap.

"Mmm~~~" After sleeping for an hour, Zhang Chen stretched lazily and sat up in bed. Looking at the beautiful lakeside outside the window, he really wanted to spend a relaxing vacation here.

He had not been sitting quietly on the bed for five minutes when wisps of water mist suddenly seeped from the floor beneath his feet. As the mist emerged, Zhang Chen sensed an intense aura of sorrow, clearly coming from directly below his room.

"I just woke up and ran into this? Isn't there a swimming pool below my room? Could it be that guy from No. 1 High?"

Zhang Chen put on his shoes and went straight downstairs toward the Indoor Swimming Pool. He pushed the door, but it was clearly locked. He used Telekinesis to open the lock, yet when he pushed again, the door still would not move.

"What's going on?"

There was no time to waste. Without stopping to think, Zhang Chen punched the door, leaving a large round hole in the wooden panel. Looking through it, he saw a layer of water membrane blocking the doorway. No wonder the lock had opened but the door would not budge.

Zhang Chen looked around and saw that everyone seemed to still be asleep. He directly compressed the air before him and blasted it at the door.

With a deafening boom, the large wooden door and the water membrane behind it shattered together and fell to the ground. Yet the scattered membrane gathered back together and headed for the swimming pool.

Zhang Chen sensed a distinct Ghostly Creature Aura from that mass of liquid. How could he let it escape? He dashed forward, activated Telekinesis, and pulled the liquid mass back before swallowing it whole.

A voice rang out: Devoured a minute amount of an Intermediate Grudge Ghost's body. Saturation gained: 2%. Original skill: Water (Extremely Incomplete)

Incomplete value increased by 12%.

"Oh? There's something big in there. If I eat all of it, I'll gain another skill."

But after he swallowed that liquid mass, the sorrowful aura inside the swimming pool disappeared.

"It ran away? Hm, what's that?" Zhang Chen looked toward the middle of the pool, where a person was floating. Wasn't that Gong Yuanwu from No. 1 High? With a movement of Telekinesis, Gong Yuanwu slowly floated back from the surface and landed before Zhang Chen.

The tremendous noise from Zhang Chen shattering the wooden door with a telekinetic wave woke everyone up, and they rushed into the swimming pool.

"What happened?" Jia Xin, the first to enter, asked.

"The swimming pool door was locked from the inside. I heard someone calling for help, so I had no choice but to break in."

"Brother Chen, what kind of bomb did you use? You blew the door into this state." Tan Fei looked at the scattered chunks of wood.

"Quit talking nonsense. Anyone who knows how to save people, come see if he can still be saved," Zhang Chen said.

Jia Xin immediately stepped forward, pressing two fingers against the carotid artery in Gong Yuanwu's neck. Then he inserted a silver needle into the back of his head. After a while, Jia Xin shook his head helplessly and told everyone,

"He's dead."

As soon as those words were spoken, the girls from No. 1 High huddled together and burst into tears. Wang Yizhi covered her mouth, staring fearfully at the corpse on the ground. Zhang Chen hurried over and held her in his arms.

"Someone died. Hurry and call the police! And call the travel company too. Let's go back," Tan Fei said in a panic.

Hong Yi from No. 1 High was deeply saddened, but he knew the truth of the matter and said nothing.

Just as Tan Fei was about to make a call, his phone suddenly flew from his hand toward Zhang Chen. Tan Fei's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Actually, only you and Dai Xu don't know yet. I'm different from you. I can kill ghosts. And there are ghosts in this house. That person was already possessed by a ghost last night. His death was only a matter of time."

Er Wa kept giving Tan Fei meaningful looks from the side. They had thought the short, chubby guy would not be able to accept it, but he unexpectedly burst out laughing. A moment later, though, he began to hesitate again.

"Brother Chen, are you sure you can handle this? Shouldn't we consider leaving? Someone has died, after all."

"It's not that I don't want to leave. I wanted you all to leave yesterday, but from the first day we arrived at Jiaoping Village, we had already fallen into this deep trap. Getting out won't be so easy. But Jia Xin and I are confident we can eliminate the mastermind behind this house. The only thing you need to do is live as normally as usual and play along."

"But this is walking into a tiger's jaws. Will we end up like him?" Tan Fei said, pointing at the drowned Gong Yuanwu.

"Don't worry. Don't be afraid. I have a way to protect you." Zhang Chen wanted to give everyone the Blood Beetles, but after thinking it over, he decided to wait. It was still necessary to keep a hidden trump card from Jia Xin.

After seeing Jia Xin settle the emotions of his own classmates as well, everyone first buried Gong Yuanwu's body in the ground beside the villa. Then they returned to the hall and sat down on the curved sofa.

"Jia Xin, tell everyone what they need to watch out for."

Jia Xin nodded and said,

"You all probably know by now that something is wrong with this villa, but there's no need to worry too much. As long as you do everything I say, the danger can be reduced to the minimum. I guarantee no one else will come to harm."

"First, once night falls, do not enter the first floor of this villa. The three most dangerous places are the Indoor Swimming Pool, the oil painting room, and the kitchen. During the day, no one may enter those three rooms alone either."

"The kitchen?" Someone suddenly cried out.

"We've cooked there several times already. Nothing happened."

"And what about the dance practice room? Is there really nothing wrong with it? Didn't Qiutian get injured there?"

"The dance practice room has already been cleared of that ghost by Zhang Chen and me last night. There are ghosts in the other three places. The one in the kitchen seems relatively mild, but you still cannot let down your guard. All right, second: no swimming in the lake behind the villa. Do not approach it alone, and forget about fishing as well."

Everyone nodded dejectedly. Aside from the villa itself, the biggest reason they had come was that enormous, clear lake, untouched by the world's dust.

"Third, I have made a talisman for each of you. Please make sure to keep it on you at all times."

With that, Jia Xin took out a stack of talismans from his bag. I didn't expect this guy to be so responsible, Zhang Chen thought when he saw it.

Jia Xin handed the talismans out one by one. In the end, two were left.

"Huh? Why are there two extra? Only Gong Yuanwu is missing, isn't he?" Zhang Chen asked curiously.

"Xiao Lan didn't come." The curly-haired girl from No. 1 High, Miao Shuangshuang, suddenly said.

"It must have been too sudden just now, so no one noticed that someone was missing. Xiao Miao, go see whether Xiao Lan is taking a nap. Give her this talisman while you're at it," Jia Xin instructed.

Miao Shuangshuang nodded and ran upstairs. Zhang Chen also remembered that Xiao Lan had eaten a piece of fish at noon. He did not know whether she was all right.

Before long, Miao Shuangshuang came back downstairs.

"Sister Xiao Lan said she still wanted to sleep for a while. She told me to leave the talisman outside her door."

Upon hearing that Xiao Lan was fine, Zhang Chen did not think much more about it.

"Lastly, I hope everyone will obey Zhang Chen's and my instructions. Do not act alone under any circumstances. No matter what happens, stay calm and inform us immediately. That's all." Jia Xin sat down after finishing.

Everyone sat on the sofa and thought silently for a long time. Perhaps they each had different thoughts, but at that moment, they all chose to trust the two of them.

"Damn, this vacation turned into a survival game. It's actually not bad. A lot more exciting," Er Wa said.

To everyone's surprise, they slowly began to laugh.

"Exciting my ass. My swimming trunks were wasted. Fine, we can't swim outside, but now we can't even swim in this pool. Looks like I'll have to switch careers and learn to dance." Tan Fei even gave Shen Qiutian, who knew how to dance, a flirtatious wink.

Seeing the lecherous fat man's expression, Shen Qiutian immediately turned her face away. Everyone burst into giggles and laughter.

Watching all this, Zhang Chen suddenly felt that his two brothers did have their strengths. They were far better than him at easing the mood.

"Since there's nowhere to have fun anyway, everyone should go back to your rooms first. Get yourselves together, then come down later to make dinner. After dinner, we can all gather and play something," Zhang Chen said, and everyone nodded.

Zhang Chen gave Jia Xin a look and glanced toward the swimming pool at the same time. Jia Xin smiled and nodded.

After everyone returned to their rooms, Zhang Chen called everyone from his class to his bedroom. They were all somewhat curious, not knowing what Zhang Chen intended to do.

"Hey, this trip was actually my fault. The day I received that flyer, I thought it was strange. How could there be such a good deal in this world? And there are no telling how many people get into key high schools, so how could they possibly choose just us?"

"Brother Chen, don't say that. We all chose to come ourselves. Besides, good brothers live and die together," Er Wa said.

Smack! Tan Fei slapped Er Wa on the head.

"Why are you talking about dying the moment we get here? Brother Chen is so powerful. Die my ass. Besides, don't you have a combat knife, Er Wa? When the time comes, you guys can go kill the enemy at the front, while I and the two beauties cover you from behind."

"Exactly, don't talk like that. Yi Zhi is my best friend. How could I leave her alone?" Dai Xu said, patting Wang Yizhi's head.

Zhang Chen looked at Wang Yizhi. Her eyes still held that silly, happy look, which put him much more at ease.

"Actually, Jia Xin and I aren't the same kind of person. He's the sort of righteous Taoist priest you see on television, the kind who slays demons and exorcises evil. I'm more on the evil side."

"Haha, what evil? I think that pretty boy is much more evil than you."

"I'm serious. Keep the talismans Jia Xin gave you safe. They'll be useful at critical moments. Also, I called you back here for another reason. Don't be afraid."

After Zhang Chen spoke, he extended his left hand. A slit slowly opened in his palm, and four Blood Beetles flew out and landed on the back of his hand.

"Ah, that's disgusting!" Dai Xu seemed unable to bear the sight.

"I told you, I'm on the more evil side. But they won't hurt you. These are called Blood Beetles. They feed on Ghosts. I only have five in total, and every one of them can sense the others. I'll put these four into your bodies separately. If you encounter Ghosts, I'll be able to sense it. They can also fight some low-level Ghosts on their own."

Though Zhang Chen had said so, everyone felt somewhat conflicted. After all, letting such disgusting bugs crawl into their bodies was enough to make even the bravest person hesitate.

"Zhang Chen, put one in me." Wang Yizhi was unexpectedly the first to step forward, and there was not the slightest fear on her face.

"Idiot, hold out your left hand. Don't be afraid. It won't hurt."

Wang Yizhi gave an "Mm" and held out her left hand. A Blood Beetle flew onto her arm and instantly burrowed inside, leaving no trace behind.

"That's amazing. It really doesn't hurt. Hehe, and after it went in, it feels like it fell asleep. It's completely still."

After Wang Yizhi said that, Er Wa stepped forward as well. Then everyone, trusting Zhang Chen, held out their hands, and all the Blood Beetles were implanted.

"I've got double insurance now!" After seeing the Blood Beetle enter his arm, Tan Fei happily bounced around.

"All right, go back and rest. If anything happens, I'll get there immediately. Once this is over, I'll remove the Blood Beetles from you."

Seeing the trust in everyone's eyes, Zhang Chen clenched his fists and swore to protect them all, even at the cost of his life.