Liu Xing had always considered himself a fan of mature women. Black stockings and long, pale legs were simply the best. But today, Liu Xing felt as if he had awakened some incredible new trait—he had a Lolita Complex!
Thinking of this, Liu Xing could not help glancing at Isabella again. He then kept trying to convince himself that he did not have a Lolita Complex; it was only because Isabella was too beautiful... Uh, why did that make him sound even more like a beast...
Liu Xing vigorously shook his head, throwing those messy thoughts to the back of his mind, then said to Isabella, "Miss Isabella, I'll go downstairs and notify my friends now. Then we can leave together."
Isabella nodded with a smile and said, "Mm-hm. Then I'll wait here for you, Mr. Liu Xing. But I hope you can do me one more favor. There's a photograph of me in the first-floor hall. I hope you can bring it back to me when you return."
"That won't be a problem. I'll definitely do it." Liu Xing nodded with a smile, then got up and left Isabella's room.
Although Liu Xing did not know what Gary had gone off to do, he understood one thing clearly now: they had to race against time if they wanted to escape Ains Castle, escape Ains Town, and finally complete the mission!
So Liu Xing did not even bother with the stairs. He jumped directly from the second floor to the first. Drawn by the sound of his landing, Bai He Cheng and the others "naturally" emerged from their rooms and gathered around him with concerned expressions.
"Everyone, Mr. Gary seems to have discovered that we took his roll of parchment. He's extremely angry. Just now, he even pointed a pistol at my head. I don't know where he's run off to now, but I still think we need to find a way to leave this castle, lest the furious Mr. Gary kills us." Liu Xing wholeheartedly played his role.
Wang Qi immediately nodded and said, "Mm. Since Mr. Gary has already pulled a gun, that means he's truly angry. If he finds out we were the ones who took that roll of parchment, he might really kill us. The best move is to get out of here. In this godforsaken place, even if we died, it would probably just end up being treated as a missing-persons case. I'll go open the Castle Gate first. If I remember correctly, the garage is beside the Main Building. Chen Ling, go look around and see if you can find a suitable car."
After hearing Wang Qi, Chen Ling immediately nodded and left the room with him. One headed to the Castle Gate to open it, while the other went to the garage to find a vehicle.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Si Yi said, "I'd better go help Chen Ling. There are five of us, and the vintage cars in the castle seem to be two-seaters. We may need to drive two cars."
"Mm. I still need to go up to the second floor and bring Miss Isabella down. She has agreed to leave the castle with us. After all, Mr. Gary has blamed our mistakes on Miss Isabella, so we can't just leave her behind." Liu Xing nodded, then turned to Bai He Cheng. "Bai He Cheng, wait for me in the room. Once I bring Isabella down, I'll take you to the garage. By the way, how's your condition now?"
Still smiling cheerfully, Bai He Cheng said, "The numbness in my body has disappeared, but my eyes still haven't fully recovered. Still, I can barely see things now."
"Alright, then. Bai He Cheng, don't run around. Don't go courting death again. I'll be right back." Liu Xing gave Bai He Cheng a worried look, then left the room with Wang Si Yi and headed into the hall.
"Come on, you can make an Investigation roll now," KP004 said somewhat boredly after Wang Si Yi left.
Investigation, 23/60, Success.
The instant his Investigation succeeded, Liu Xing noticed a flash of light in the southwest corner of the hall. He immediately walked over and saw an overturned picture frame on a small table.
Liu Xing picked up the frame. Sure enough, it contained a photograph of Isabella. At that moment, KP004's voice rang out again. "Liu Xing, you may now choose to make an Inspiration roll."
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. If KP004 had asked him to make any other kind of check, he would have agreed without hesitation. But this time, it was an Inspiration roll.
However, Liu Xing examined the photograph and found nothing unusual about it, so he decided to make the Inspiration roll.
Inspiration, 42/90, Success.
"Then you feel that this picture frame is somewhat heavier than you expected." KP004 said with a sinister laugh. "You may now choose to open it. But I must remind you that once this frame is opened, there will be no way to restore it to its original state."
A trap. This really was a trap!
Liu Xing finally understood that he had fallen into KP004's Series of Stratagems. And this final move was even a psychological ploy, leaving Liu Xing conflicted over whether he should open the frame. Clearly, something had to be hidden inside it.
But since the frame could not be restored once opened, it meant he would very likely lose Isabella's trust. That was not something Liu Xing wanted to see. Of course, Liu Xing was mainly afraid that if Isabella lost trust in him, she would report him to Gary. Then escaping Ains Castle would become difficult.
Therefore, Liu Xing decided to return the frame intact. He went to the second floor and handed it to Isabella.
Isabella accepted the picture frame with a delighted expression. Then, right in front of Liu Xing, she opened it and took out a necklace.
Clearly, Isabella had asked him to bring up the picture frame because of this necklace.
Isabella put on the necklace and smiled at Liu Xing. "Thank you, Mr. Liu Xing. This is the necklace my mother left me, so I had to take it with me."
Although Liu Xing was somewhat puzzled as to why Isabella had not retrieved the necklace herself, seeing her smile made him too lazy to think further about it.
"Miss Isabella, let's go. My friends have already started moving." Liu Xing heard the roar of an engine from the direction of the Castle Gate and knew Wang Qi had activated the Electric Door Opener.
Isabella nodded and followed Liu Xing downstairs.
Liu Xing had not expected Bai He Cheng to already be sitting in the hall.
"Bai He Cheng, why weren't you waiting for me in the room?" Liu Xing frowned, sounding somewhat displeased.
"Hehe, I heard Wang Qi had already opened the gate. And since I've recovered some mobility, I decided to wait for you in the hall first. That way, we can save some time." Bai He Cheng stood up with a smile.
Liu Xing helplessly shook his head. Time was tight, and this was not the moment to argue with Bai He Cheng. So he said nothing more and directly led Bai He Cheng and Isabella toward the garage outside the Main Building.
PS: Three updates tomorrow.
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