Rose Manor (12): Death Substitution

After Ye Zi arrived, Zou Yan heard the commotion shortly afterward and came over as well.

The group gathered around the corpse in the pit, much like they had gathered around Shen Ming's body on the second floor earlier.

Having been warned by what happened that morning, the Players remained relatively calm.

"This corpse should be the most important clue in the garden," Zou Yan analyzed. "If Chang Xu is right and Miss Anna needs corpses as nourishment for the Roses, then all of us may become her prey."

As she said this, she glanced at Qi Si intentionally or otherwise, as though convinced that the young man would be Miss Anna's primary target.

Qi Si smiled unconcernedly, his gaze passing through the empty air to settle on the second-to-last rule on the system interface.

[8. If you are forced to violate certain rules in an emergency, make sure to violate as few rules as possible. Perhaps she will... spare you.]

Yesterday, all the Players had violated the rule about staying away from Miss Anna in black, yet only Shen Ming had ultimately met with disaster. This largely confirmed Qi Si's guess.

The NPC could only kill a limited number of people each day. To survive, they only needed to make sure they violated fewer rules than everyone else.

"Judging from last night, only those who violate relatively more rules will die." Qi Si paused, his implication clear. "I'm curious what would happen if every one of us violated the same number of rules."

Ye Zi smiled mockingly. "Either find a way to make another Player violate one more rule, or randomly pick a lucky bastard she likes the look of and kill them. Maybe Miss Anna won't even need to do it herself. Someone among us might soon harm a companion."

Zou Yan shook her head. "It hasn't happened yet. There's no need for us to turn on each other over it. No matter what, this is a team instance. As long as we work together to unravel the world setting, we'll all be fine."

Ye Zi sneered at her. "What are you putting on now? Someone's already dead, and you're still playing happy-family make-believe?"

An utterly pointless argument broke out for no apparent reason. Qi Si swept his gaze over the two women with interest.

Chang Xu had no intention of getting involved. Carrying his shovel, he continued digging pits in the garden himself.

The iron tool turned up shovelful after shovelful of flower soil, scattering dirt everywhere. The garden was no longer fit for people to stand in.

Qi Si said, "I'm heading back first," then returned to the castle and climbed the stairs.

The second-floor corridor was utterly silent. The corpse and pool of blood on the ground had long vanished, leaving behind only tiny scraps embedded in the cracks between the floorboards, as if the floor itself had chewed the body clean.

Qi Si followed the edge of the bloodstain from memory, avoiding the filth on the floor as he returned to the guest room.

Lin Chen was already waiting inside.

His face was pale, but his eyes shone brightly with the strange excitement of someone who had survived a calamity.

Before Qi Si could speak, he rapidly reported what he had found. "All the doors on the third floor are locked. I have no idea what's inside. I also ran into an old woman who was obviously a ghost..."

Qi Si listened carefully to his account, then smiled. "You worked hard. This information is very useful. I think I have an idea now."

After someone carried out an order, they had to be given appropriate affirmation to establish a reward-feedback mechanism—even if it was only verbal.

Only by handling such details properly could a relationship become more stable.

Sure enough, Lin Chen grinned foolishly and happily before continuing, "The third-floor layout is very similar to the second floor, but the first two rooms are spaced farther apart..."

Qi Si walked to the desk, picked up a pen and paper, and began sketching. Based on Lin Chen's description, he drew a floor plan of the third floor. The lines were not especially neat, but they were clear enough to reflect the general layout.

After adding a few more details, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He looked up at Lin Chen. "Was the Old Woman you saw on the third floor wearing red?"

Lin Chen nodded, confused. "Yeah. A red princess dress, too. It nearly blinded me..."

As he spoke, he saw Qi Si's expression turn serious, with visible concern mixed in. "I believe I reminded you about forms of address. What did you call her?"

Lin Chen looked puzzled. "I just called her 'Miss Anna.' What's wrong?"

Everything had gone exactly as Qi Si expected. In fact, it was the result he had deliberately guided Lin Chen toward with his words.

Yet now, he looked as though he had heard terrible news, his face abruptly turning grim. "Didn't I tell you not to casually use names with specific referents?... Look at Rule Nine."

Though Lin Chen did not understand what was happening, Qi Si's expression made him panic.

He instinctively looked at the system interface.

[9. Try not to go to the third floor. If you do, never let Miss Anna discover you.]

Never let Miss Anna discover you...

There were known to be possibly two Miss Annas. The identity of the Old Woman in red was unknown, and she had appeared on the third floor. What if she was the other Miss Anna?

Wouldn't that mean he had violated the rule?

Often, when one's thinking got stuck in a blind spot, all it took was a slight prompt from someone else to grasp the key point.

In just one second, Lin Chen's face went white as paper. "N-No way, right? Didn't they say Miss Anna was beautiful? How could someone who looks like that be Miss Anna?"

Qi Si flipped the notes on the table to a page and placed a finger on a line. "Read it."

[We all survived. She is still withering, but there is still a way... I will always love her and cherish her perfection more than she cherishes it herself.]

"Withering means becoming ugly. We can basically confirm that the person you met on the third floor was Miss Anna." Qi Si reached out and brushed the Rose petals from Lin Chen's shoulder, saying coldly, "If you hadn't called her that, ignorance might have spared you. But now... heh."

Lin Chen's mind went blank.

He remembered Qi Si's warning when they had parted. He remembered how, after meeting the Old Woman, his head had somehow heated up... Yes, as if he had been possessed, making that response.

Why had he tried to be clever? All he had needed to say was "I don't know"...

Was it regret, or despair? Or both?

Lin Chen did not know what expression he should make. By instinct, he tightly grabbed Qi Si's sleeve, as though it were his last lifeline.

"Brother Qi, save me... I don't want to die..."

He did not want to die. It was precisely that powerful desire to survive that had brought him into the Eerie Game and given him a chance at a new life.

Yet he had never expected that chance to slip through his fingers so easily, leaving an even deeper despair after hope.

If only he had been more careful back then, even just a little...

Lin Chen looked at him pleadingly, but Qi Si only stared at him coldly, as if looking at a corpse.

His heart sank inch by inch to the bottom, as though he had fallen into an icy cellar.

That was right. No one was obligated to save him.

Just like when those thugs had pinned him to the ground and beaten him. He had screamed for help, but the pedestrians in the distance had all quickened their pace, as though afraid of catching a plague.

By the time the police summoned by some unknown kindhearted person arrived, he could no longer open his eyes. He lost consciousness shortly after being sent to the hospital...

Reality was already like that. How much worse was it in an Eerie Game instance?

Lin Chen let go, allowing the hem of Qi Si's clothes to slip from between his fingers. His eyes dimmed inch by inch as well.

He backed toward the window step by step and slumped down, only to hear the young man by the desk let out a faint sigh. "I'll see if I can save you."

"The price for violating the rules won't be settled until night. There are still nearly ten hours left. As long as someone violates more rules than you during that time, you'll be saved."

Lin Chen's heart first leaped with joy upon hearing that, but after grasping the implication in those words, he froze where he stood.

What did that mean? Did it mean he had to kill someone else to survive?

Lin Chen swallowed and shook his head. "Brother Qi, forget it... I caused this trouble myself. How can I drag someone else down with me?"

He still possessed a passionate sense of justice and had always scorned selfish acts that harmed others for personal gain. Otherwise, he would not have died accidentally while standing up for what was right and entered the Eerie Game.

Qi Si was not particularly kindhearted himself, but he did not dislike "good people" like Lin Chen.

The reason was simple: they were easy to use. A small favor would make them deeply grateful, making them far easier to handle than rationalists.

He lowered his eyes, his voice calm and gentle. "In the end, I bear some responsibility for this too. If I had explained things more clearly, you wouldn't have made this mistake. Next, I'll make a trip to the third floor. That way, you and I will have violated the same number of rules."

Lin Chen was stunned and stumbled over his words. "B-Brother Qi, this has nothing to do with you. I was the one who wasn't careful! Don't worry about me. I'm not afraid to die..."

"Who said I was planning to die in your place?" Qi Si smiled, his eyes curving. "I'm an experienced Player. I've cleared an instance before, so I have some means of staying alive. Unlike a newcomer like you."

Lin Chen did not fully believe that.

If experienced Players truly had ways to stay alive, then how had Shen Ming died?

Those words were probably only meant to comfort him. But why would Qi Si go so far for him? They had only just met...

While he hesitated, Qi Si had already reached the door, pushed it open, and stepped halfway outside.

He paused and looked back over his shoulder. "You don't need to thank me. I was going to the third floor anyway. Guard the room properly and wait for me to return."

A smile rested on the young man's lips, one arm casually leaning against the doorframe, giving him an air of reliability.

Lin Chen watched his retreating figure, opening his mouth, but ultimately had no idea what to say.

He only knew that if he truly survived today, then he would owe Qi Si his life.