The Leons' Tea Party (8)

As the chime announcing that they had cleared the Selection Phase rang out, the scene before them instantly collapsed.

Countless fragments of space shattered and reassembled.

At its core, the selection instance was meant to pick out players who genuinely bore goodwill toward the Leons.

It was just that the way they had to express that goodwill differed each time.

During this process, the system's story introduction sounded in Shen Ru's ears.

"The Leons' Tea Party instance has officially begun."

"This instance has no time limit. Settlement mode will begin automatically once the Tea Party ends."

"The Leons are exceptionally hospitable. They have specially prepared four luxurious guest rooms for their eight distinguished guests to rest after their long journeys. At six this evening, the Leons will host a banquet for all guests in the back garden. Please attend on time."

"Incidentally, the Leons have recently been preparing to move. They find living here somewhat uncomfortable, often feel strange eyes watching them, and wake up with aching backs after sleeping at night."

Shen Ru did not know about the others, but after the system finished its announcement, a reward notification sounded in his ears:

"Congratulations, player. You have obtained the S-Rank Card: Mrs. Leon's Protection."

"While using this card, you may select any two people to immobilize. The selected players or NPCs will be frozen for 1 minute. Cooldown: 24 hours."

After the mechanical voice faded, white light flashed, and a fresh, natural floral fragrance washed over them.

Birdsong, wind, and the rustling of leaves mingled together. In an instant, the scene around them seemed to ripple into life.

Looking up, they saw a grand, imposing courtyard with a straight gravel path running through it.

White wooden fencing and steep, reddish-brown roofs gave it an unmistakably foreign charm.

Shen Ru glanced around at the surviving players. There were exactly eight, no more and no less.

When he saw that Qi Ning and his companion had also passed the selection, he raised an eyebrow. He had thought Guan Wenyue and his partner would be the only survivors among those twelve, but two more had made it through.

Qi Ning seemed to notice the young man's gaze as well, and nodded politely when their eyes met.

Shen Ru showed no hostility at all, merely sizing him up with a smile.

There was no way a seventh person could have known the answer to the Selection Phase, unless they had also been on the Top Floor at the time-and very close by.

It seemed becoming a guild leader really did take some skill.

"Good afternoon, everyone."

The greeting broke the brief silence.

Shen Ru looked toward the voice and saw an elderly butler standing in the courtyard.

The butler surveyed each of them with an appraising gaze, seemingly checking whether the guests' attire met his standards.

Then he nodded in satisfaction and said, "Thank you for making the long journey. The masters have prepared rooms for everyone. Please rest a while so that you will be refreshed for this evening's Tea Party."

Despite his kindly appearance, something in the butler's voice felt eerily unsettling.

Before anyone could respond, the elderly butler turned and headed inside.

They hurried after him. Shen Ru glanced at Guan Wenyue, blinking his innocent, grape-like eyes at him. He lightly tapped his own right eye, then flashed an utterly nasty smile.

Still not satisfied, he casually walked past Guan Wenyue and spoke softly in his sweet, gentle voice:

"Be grateful. I'm the only reason you're still alive."

In the Livestream Room:

[Hahahahaha, holy shit. How did I never notice how good my wife was at pissing people off?]

[Help, Guan Wenyue's face is as black as coal now, hahahaha.]

[Aaah! My wife really holds a grudge. I love him!!!]

[Man, I came for his looks, but now I'm hooked on my wife's impeccable mental state.]

[Me too!!!!]

A vicious gleam flashed across Guan Wenyue's dark expression. Heaven knew how many cards and points he had spent to save that eye. He would make that pretty boy pay in blood.

They followed the butler to the Villa's Third Floor.

Wei Lanxing was puzzled. The Villa only had three floors in total. Wouldn't putting them on the Top Floor violate etiquette? She asked the butler, "Forgive me for asking, but which floor do the Leons live on?"

The elderly butler placed great importance on etiquette. He turned and bowed slightly to Wei Lanxing before replying respectfully, "The masters live on the Second Floor."

The guests were staying on a higher floor than the hosts?

Wei Lanxing did not ask any more questions, simply nodding in acknowledgment.

The Villa's layout was rather strange. Both the second and third floors had rooms designed to face the stairway directly.

As they passed the second floor, the players briefly glanced at the interior decor. Once they reached the third floor, most of them noticed something was wrong.

Whether in terms of decor, room size, or amenities, the third floor looked far more like the owners' master suite.

Yet it had now become guest accommodation, and the butler offered no clear explanation.

"Excuse me, is the room facing the stairs unoccupied?"

Qi Ning had keenly noticed that although the room on the second floor was tidy, it showed no signs of anyone living there.

When assigning the third-floor guest rooms, the butler had also deliberately avoided the room facing the stairs.

"The masters' wishes."

The butler offered no further information. It seemed the players would have to investigate for themselves.

As Mo Yu's lover in name, Shen Ru naturally had to share a room with him.

The moment he entered, Shen Ru rushed straight into the shower without another word. He could not stand the sticky, bloody stench covering him. Every extra second Guan Wenyue's filth remained on him was an insult.

Mo Yu sat casually on the sofa and carefully examined the room's furnishings.

They were more worn than he had expected. Both the walls and the furniture showed signs of subsequent renovation.

A closer look also revealed obvious cracks in the walls. The room's owners had clearly tried to repair them; the wall around the cracks was paler, suggesting some remedial work had been done, but it did not appear to have helped.

Inside the bathroom.

The moment Shen Ru entered, he noticed something was off.

The space was enormous, yet its contents were far too basic: just a mirror, a toilet, and simple shower fittings.

He could also tell that the owners had deliberately reinforced these simple fixtures.

It was not exactly strange, but compared with the luxury of the rest of the Villa, it felt subtly out of place.

There was no immediate danger, so Shen Ru could only set his curiosity aside for now.

Washed by the falling water, his slightly curly hair lay obediently against his beautiful, fair cheeks. Through the haze, his red eyes flickered in and out of view, while the thing in the corner took in every inch of his slender, toned, alluring body.

In the Livestream Room:

[What the hell?????]

[Seriously, you won't let me see a gorgeous beauty stepping out of the shower, but you'll fucking show me this random corner???]

[Wait... look closely. Why is there a little white dot in that crack???]

[Holy shit, that little white dot moved!!!]

[Take a good fucking look! Is that a little white dot?? That's the white of a human eye!!!!]

[Aaaah, holy shit. Then... what's it looking at? Surely it can't be watching us...]

[It's over... my wife's in danger...]

[Uh... are you sure it's our wife who's in danger?]