The Cats Are Here

After a quick look around, the boss led the second group of players into the Castle.

He pushed open the oak doors at the entrance. Beyond them lay a vast banquet hall with a table so absurdly long it could probably seat more than fifty people.

Ten Mouse Mascot Costumes lay on the table. They had gray-brown fur, slightly curved tails, round mouse ears, and off-white incisors and whiskers.

"Are these the Mascot Costumes the rules mentioned?"

"They're almost indistinguishable from real mice."

Meng Chengcheng cast them a disgusted glance. She had expected cartoon-style costumes at an amusement park, not realistic ones. They were honestly a little revolting.

Chen Feng, as carefree as ever, still found time to scare everyone. "Why put mouse costumes on a dining table? It's a pretty clear hint. Once we put them on, we're cat food."

While they talked, the Vampire boss left.

Apparently, he wasn't part of the game.

Chen Feng suddenly thought it might have been a good thing to try the Air Rifle attraction early. The more attractions they played, the harder it became to realize the boss might also be a monster.

"Spread out and scout the layout first."

At Captain Wu's command, they discovered that the Castle had four levels.

The basement held the Dungeon and the Cellar.

The ground floor had a kitchen, a Bathhouse, the hall, and a Chapel. Outside were the Flower Greenhouse, Swimming Pool, Training Ground, stables, and Cattery.

The second floor consisted of several bedrooms.

The third floor was the castle tower, which housed the Collection Hall, a study, a meeting room, a music room, the Alchemy Room, and the Painting Studio.

With bathrooms on every floor as well, the Castle had at least a hundred rooms by their estimate. Simply walking through it would probably take more than ten minutes.

If they ignored supernatural factors, hiding for thirty minutes should be easy.

Captain Wu searched around but found no bodies. He cursed. "Damn it. They've cleared away the players who failed. I wanted to see which places weren't safe to hide in."

The Pastor noticed swords and suits of knight's armor in the Training Ground. "Maybe they're hinting that we should fight the monsters with weapons?"

Meng Chengcheng looked toward the horses in the stables. "Can horses outrun the monsters?"

Lin He had his eye on the Swimming Pool. "Cats hate water. Maybe soaking in the pool for thirty minutes is the answer."

Together, they came up with quite a few useful ideas.

Meng Chengcheng's was the boldest. "Maybe the most dangerous place is the safest."

Captain Wu frowned. "You mean the Cattery?"

Meng Chengcheng nodded. "The rules say the cats won't start hunting until thirty minutes have passed, but they don't say whether the cats will go back. If we find a chance to hide in the Cattery, we might survive."

It was a daring idea, but not impossible.

Chen Feng glanced at the Cattery. Since the cats wouldn't attack during the first thirty minutes, he suggested they go in and take a look.

Know your enemy, and you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles.

So even though they knew the monsters that killed people were inside, they pushed open the Cattery doors.

Hiss!

The sound came from a cat, and everyone's jaws dropped.

Bright yellow eyes round as lightbulbs, T-shaped pink noses, little fanglike teeth—normally, it would all have been adorable. But when the cats were as big as lions, adorable turned terrifying.

Worse, their mouths were covered in blood. Some gnawed on severed limbs; others carried heads between their teeth.

"One, two, three... There are ten of them!"

Now Chen Feng understood why there were no bodies in the Castle.

The cats that weren't eating studied them with open malice, their mouths curled into eerie grins, as though they had spotted new toys.

Meng Chengcheng swallowed but couldn't make a sound. Her training kept her from fainting like an ordinary person might, but it couldn't stop her from being afraid.

Even Captain Wu couldn't resist lighting a cigarette. "Damn it. Now I know why mice freeze when they see a cat."

While everyone's hearts pounded, Chen Feng suddenly made a startling suggestion. "If we're safe for the first thirty minutes, why don't we kill them now?"

"What?"

No one had expected him to be so bold. They were lucky the monsters weren't eating them, and he wanted to provoke them?

But... it might actually work!

Meng Chengcheng immediately agreed. "He's right! Captain, let's try it!"

"I'll go first!"

Lin He drew the Coin Sword, channeled Magic Power through it, and struck at the eyes—the most vulnerable part of any creature.

Meow! The cat shrieked.

A flash from the sword blinded a Black Cat.

At the same time, the cat lashed out in pain and slapped the skull it held, shattering the strongest bone in the human body.

"My strongest attack barely hurt it. If that paw hit my head, would I still be alive?"

Cold sweat ran down Lin He's back as the monster glared at him. Fortunately, these first thirty minutes were for hiding. Otherwise, he would already be dead.

Then Captain Wu stepped in. He raised Holy Judgment, aimed shot after shot at the Black Cat's head, and pulled the trigger.

Every weapon had its purpose. Against a beast, bullets worked far better than Daoist arts.

After three shots, the one-eyed Black Cat finally collapsed.

Was it dead?

Just as Captain Wu winced at the thought of spending thirty bullets, the one-eyed Black Cat got back up as if nothing had happened.

Even the eye that had been blinded opened again.

It had come back to life.

Having already dealt with the Landlady and the Nurse, Chen Feng wasn't surprised. "They say cats have nine lives. Maybe we can kill them for good if we do it nine times."

"Bullshit."

Captain Wu couldn't help swearing. "By your logic, it takes three shots to bring one down and twenty-seven to kill it. There are ten of them. Where am I supposed to get that many bullets?"

Since that plan wouldn't work, they had no choice but to leave the Cattery.

Meng Chengcheng took out three incense sticks and began Spirit Communion.

The moment she lit them, she frowned. "Why are you still here?"

Captain Wu blinked. "Who's still here?"

"That Lesser Ghost who latched onto me yesterday. He still hasn't disappeared. Forget it. I'll ignore him."

Meng Chengcheng made a sign with her fingers. Her luck was good this time: she reached a female visitor who had owned a cat. Knowing cats hated baths, the woman had chosen the Bathhouse as her hiding place.

"The deceased also knew cats hate strong smells, so she sprayed the perfume she'd brought around the Bathhouse entrance."

"Cats hear at least three times better than humans, so she turned on every showerhead to make noise and interfere with their hearing."

"Finally, she hid in the sauna and locked the door."

After hearing Meng Chengcheng's account, they had to admit the woman had known what she was doing.

And yet she had still died.

The Pastor, who had been rather quiet since being disabled the day before, sighed. "If they found her even then, the cat must have stumbled onto her by sheer luck. What rotten luck she had."

At that moment, all three incense sticks snapped.

After what had happened last time, Chen Feng knew this meant Meng Chengcheng had seen the victim's final moments.

Meng Chengcheng's face turned deathly pale. "She died."

Everyone hurriedly asked what had happened.

Meng Chengcheng gasped for breath, her chest rising and falling. "The water, the noise, the perfume—none of it worked. The moment the game started, a cat rushed into the Bathhouse and caught her."

Not only were they unafraid of water, they had used that assumption to search the Bathhouse first?

Chen Feng couldn't help remarking, "The rules said the cats were as smart as people. They weren't kidding."

Meng Chengcheng struggled to catch her breath. "And then... then..."

Captain Wu pressed her. "Then what? Tell us!"

Meng Chengcheng said fearfully, "The cat tore off her arms and legs, pulled out her intestines, and tortured her for five whole minutes before she died."

During Spirit Communion, Meng Chengcheng saw everything through the dead woman's eyes. After witnessing a living person butchered by a monster so vividly, it was no wonder she was shaken.

Seeing how upset Chengcheng was, Captain Wu ordered, "Xiao Hu, look after Chengcheng."

Chen Feng froze. "Me?"

Well, of course. This was his cue to play the devoted admirer.

Chen Feng went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. "Here. Drink some warm water."

They returned to the hall.

Only six Mouse Mascot Costumes remained on the table.

Chen Feng remarked, "Only one person skipped the costume? They've all got guts."

Then again, anyone who had seen how the first group died and still dared to come in had to be capable.

Captain Wu led by example and put on a Mascot Costume first. To his surprise, despite the extra layer, he didn't feel weighed down. Instead, he felt as though he could run faster, and his hearing had grown sharper.

"Damn it, I'm just like a mouse now."

That was what Captain Wu meant to say. What came out instead was, "Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak."

Captain Wu kept squeaking.

Chen Feng understood at once. "So once you put on a Mascot Costume, even your speech turns into mouse noises?"

Unable to speak, Captain Wu pointed at the watch on his wrist. "Squeak squeak squeak squeak."

Chen Feng gave him an OK sign. "Got it! You mean time's almost up and we need to hurry and pick hiding places."

Captain Wu nodded, then left first.

The others began putting on their costumes too.

Strangely, the costumes seemed to adjust their sizes automatically. They fit both the tall Pastor and the slender Meng Chengcheng perfectly, without looking the least bit out of place.

It was as if they really were human-sized mice.

When the thirty minutes were up, a cat's cry rang through the Castle.

The Cattery doors swung open, and giant Black Cats came running out one after another.

The game had officially begun!