Rose Manor (I): Rules Horror

Dark clouds pressed over the grayish-purple sky, crushing the bleak, powerless cold sunlight. Damp vapor hung in the air, as if it might condense into droplets and fall at any moment.

Qi Si opened his eyes and found himself standing in a Gothic manor. The towering old castle before him cast a monstrous shadow over him.

The castle looked ancient. Its walls were covered in decaying vines like veins or fishing nets, dividing them into fragmented patches that seemed ready to collapse at any time.

Before the castle stretched a sea of roses. Every rose bloomed with vitality, its branches and leaves growing wildly and baring their claws.

A light-gray translucent panel appeared in the upper-left corner of his vision, no different from the system interface of some common third-rate game. Silver-white prompts refreshed across it.

[Instance Name: Rose Manor]

[Instance Type: Team Survival (6 people)]

[Main Quest: Survive for three days and decipher the rules]

[Preliminary Hint: Sweet talk is detestable. In this instance, all NPCs will not deceive Players with their words.]

"So we're already in the instance?"

Qi Si stroked the silver bracelet on his right wrist, his gaze moving across the four lines before finally settling on the last one.

—He knew full well that the truth could sometimes deceive people too.

Guiding someone down the wrong path with a series of incomplete truths was something he happened to be especially good at.

A soft narrator's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, mournful and plaintive.

[What is the most beautiful thing in this world? She spent her entire life searching for it, until her beautiful face became a skeleton of white bones.]

[A girl who loved beauty planted roses throughout the manor, hoping that the vast sea of flowers would pay the price for her beauty.]

[As she watched the roses in the garden gradually grow old, she began to wonder: Could roses stop withering? Could the beauty she loved stop aging?]

[Honored guests, welcome to Miss Anna's Rose Manor.]

The voice was deliberately thin and delicate, like the murmur of a frail little girl, yet its tone carried the lifeless decay of old age. It was like an ancient cemetery after rain—damp, with everything rotting away.

Unfortunately, Qi Si had always lacked reverence for ghosts, monsters, and the unknown. Nor did he have a habit of scaring himself with wild imaginings.

He gave a soft laugh, stepped onto the damp path, passed through the deep, dense sea of flowers, and stopped before a stone door covered in withered vines.

He pushed it open and entered.

The castle's interior was simply furnished. A huge, antique Mechanical Clock stood in the corner, carrying an era-spanning sense that blurred time and space.

The hall was dimly lit. A long marble table stood in the center, with a fruit basket on it. The flames on the nearby candlesticks flickered, forming the castle's only source of light.

A master's seat stood directly opposite the door, with three chairs on each side. Five people were already seated.

Naturally, all five were Players.

"This is a team survival instance. We need to work together and figure out the setting—why don't we introduce ourselves first?"

The first to speak was a middle-aged man with glasses. He had such an ordinary face that he would be impossible to pick out in a crowd, and he wore a suit and slacks. At first glance, he looked like a reliable business elite who inspired confidence.

"My name is Shen Ming. This is my third instance. Once I clear this one, I'll become an Official Player. I'm the general manager of a publicly listed company. You should be able to find my information online after you get out."

He paused, his tone relaxed. "I've made quite a bit of money over the years. Ever since I was chosen by the Eerie Game, I've invested part of my funds into researching these strange tales and have achieved a little something."

"A big shot! Looks like this instance is in the bag! Can I call you Brother Shen from now on?" A ponytailed girl eagerly picked up the conversation.

She looked no older than sixteen or seventeen. Two dimples appeared when she smiled, and she had shown no fear whatsoever from beginning to end. She looked more like she was here on vacation.

"My name is Liu Qingye. This is my second time entering an instance. You can call me Ye Zi. I used to be a paranormal livestreamer, so I'm pretty brave and naturally not afraid of ghosts. You don't need to worry about me holding you back."

With two people taking the lead, the other Players also began introducing themselves.

"It's my first time. My name is Lin Chen..." The last to speak was a young man in a hospital gown. His face was white as paper, and he looked so weak that even medicine could not save him, as though he were gravely ill and beyond treatment.

Halfway through speaking, he suddenly stared toward the castle entrance, his eyes widening.

Everyone followed his gaze and saw that someone was standing in the shadow by the door, though no one knew when he had appeared.

The man looked to be in his twenties. He wore a white shirt and black slacks, with a tall, slender build. Beneath his short black hair was a delicate, gentle face, yet his complexion was deathly pale, making him look more like a ghost than a human.

Looking more closely, they could see mottled bloodstains on his shirt, as though he had just come from a murder scene.

The latecomer showed no awareness of being regarded as a dangerous creature. Seeing that he had become the focus of everyone's attention, he simply smiled as if nothing were wrong. "Qi Si. Second instance."

By the time Qi Si entered, the Players' introductions were already nearing their end. He had only heard the young man in the hospital gown introduce himself.

The moment he heard the words "first time," he immediately realized that some of these Players were probably not entering an instance for the first time. Otherwise, there would have been no need to mention the number of times.

In a game involving life and death, even if teamwork was required, it did not mean strangers could trust one another.

Qi Si did not believe these people would look after newcomers, and he had no intention of being treated like a fool, kept in the dark, and inexplicably turned into cannon fodder for trial and error.

So, without changing his expression, he lied.

"Hello, handsome. You can call me Ye Zi." Ye Zi greeted him with easy familiarity, then curiously examined the blood on his clothes. "Is that real blood on you? Don't tell me you rushed straight here from a murder scene?"

Qi Si played with his fingers and smiled gently. "I'm a specimen maker. I was working on a specimen before I came, so I didn't have time to change."

Ye Zi's eyes widened. "Didn't you check the countdown? You didn't know you were supposed to enter the instance at this time? I was already lying in bed an hour before the countdown ended..."

The smile on Qi Si's face remained unchanged. "So what? I'm not here to attend a ball, and this isn't exactly a good place for a chance encounter."

There was nothing wrong with that. It made perfect sense and was impossible to refute—but why did it feel so strange?

Ye Zi pursed her lips. She was not entirely convinced, but she said nothing more.

The middle-aged man named Shen Ming took it upon himself to shoulder the responsibility of team leader and briefly repeated everyone's introductions for Qi Si.

Qi Si sat in the empty seat and listened attentively with his head tilted to the side.

At first glance, this group of Players seemed fairly capable, all belonging to the category worth turning into specimens. Other than the seasoned and competent Shen Ming and the jumpy Lin Chen, everyone else was entering an instance for the second time.

The young man in the black hoodie sitting at the corner of the table was named Chang Xu. He claimed to be a police officer. He sat upright in his chair with a blank expression and a dark, distant gaze, giving off an inexplicable coldness.

The tall woman opposite Shen Ming was named Zou Yan. She wore a white trench coat and was a psychologist in the real world. Even in the instance, a reassuring smile remained on her lips, making it hard for anyone to dislike her.

Ye Zi suddenly gave a mischievous smile. "Hey, have you heard that rumor? The major guilds might have Fu Jue leading them in a joint effort against the final instance..."

Gossip was human nature. Under Ye Zi's lead, the Players quickly became more familiar with one another and began chatting about anecdotes related to the Eerie Game.

The tension eased considerably for a time. If not for the gloomy, oppressive stone walls of the windowless castle and the faint scent of blood mixed into the floral fragrance, few would have remembered that this was a horror game where people could die.

They were already this composed after entering the game for only the second time?

Qi Si listened to the veteran Players' conversation with a smile, gathering quite a bit of useful information.

For example, Players entered instances in different ways. Some were driven by intense desires, while others were chosen for no apparent reason.

For example, no matter how badly one was injured in an instance, as long as they survived and cleared it, those injuries would not carry over into reality.

And for example, after dying in the game, one's body in reality would die by plausible means within half an hour.

Amid the animated conversation, the sound of wheels rolling suddenly came from around the corner of the castle.

Everyone fell silent at once.

From the shadows around the corner, a man in a black butler's uniform pushed a dining cart and appeared before the Players like a ghost.

To be fair, his features were handsome enough, but the texture of his skin was unnaturally distorted, like that of an inflatable doll.

Seeing that the Players were staring at him without blinking, The Butler's slick, shiny face broke into an exaggerated smile. "Honored guests, Miss Anna will arrive shortly. She will have dinner with you."

"Of course, our manor has many taboos. For the sake of your lives, I hope you will read them carefully and remember them."

The moment he finished speaking, a sheet of paper covered in writing appeared out of thin air in the center of the long table.

The blood-red words on the white paper were viciously twisted, as though they might break through the page and spill out at any moment.

Qi Si lowered his eyes to look. The instant his gaze touched it, lines of text refreshed on the system interface in the upper-left corner of his vision.

[1. The manor provides two meals, breakfast and dinner. Please come to the hall to eat promptly at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.; after 9:00 p.m. is rest time.]

[2. Time is the most important thing. If you wake up during the night, make sure you know the exact time at all times.]

[3. Miss Anna likes guests and bears them no ill will, but please remember the correct form of address: "Miss Anna," not anything else.]

[4. Do not refuse Miss Anna's requests. Try to satisfy everything she asks for. Miss Anna dislikes disobedient guests.]

[5. Miss Anna likes wearing red dresses. Miss Anna in a red dress can be trusted; if you see Miss Anna wearing black, keep your distance from her as much as possible.]

[6. Do not leave the castle at night. Do not pick the roses in the manor. Beware of the roses.]

[7. Only ghosts and monsters can kill humans. Firmly believe that you are human.]

[8. If, in an emergency, you have no choice but to violate certain rules, make sure to break as few rules as possible. Perhaps she will... spare you.]