Chapter 16: I’ll protect you the moment I look back

Li Yinan and Xiaoyu looked at Lin Kuo as soon as he spoke, their eyes filled with irrepressible expectation and hope.

Liang Sihong, however, stared at Lin Kuo with a guarded, conflicted expression.

“Is there really a way?”

First, he laid out the desperate situation.

In this atmosphere thick with fear and despair, even a difficult survival method would be seen as a piece of driftwood in a sinking sea.

If they didn’t cling to it tightly, they would drown.

Thinking this, Liang Sihong muttered, “It’s not a good method, is it?”

“Right. It’s a do-or-die, burn-the-boats kind of plan.” Lin Kuo didn’t understand what was going on in Liang Sihong’s mind. He readily admitted he had deliberately saved this method for last.

“Any more objections?” He wanted them to take this seriously. Any misstep could lead to a total team wipe.

Liang Sihong choked for a second. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

Lin Kuo cleared his throat.

Perhaps he had spoken too much in the past few days. The habit of keeping things brief had given way.

At this moment, he didn’t feel irritated—just wanted to explain the plan quickly.

“From the very beginning, when we were searching for clues, none of us noticed that the villa had three floors.” He raised a suspicious point. He considered himself meticulous. It made no sense that after several thorough searches, he wouldn’t think to check the third floor.

“I think something was interfering with our awareness.”

A wave of goosebumps instantly rose on Li Yinan’s arms.

“There should be important clues on the third floor,” Lin Kuo said seriously.

Li Yinan, suppressing the horror in her heart, replied, “But… Boss, didn’t you say that ‘the other side’ is deliberately driving us to the third floor tonight?”

Lin Kuo nodded. “These two things aren’t absolutely connected. I think… it’s because it has matured.”

Xiaoyu couldn’t quite follow Lin Kuo’s reasoning. “Matured?”

Lin Kuo thought for a moment, then offered a simpler analogy.

“The thing on the third floor might have been in an infant state before. It wasn’t aggressive and needed protection. So it made us forget the third floor even existed. Now that it’s matured, it’s become aggressive and self-sufficient. That’s why we suddenly remembered the third floor… and why the butler and the other side are pushing us to go up there tonight—to wipe us out.”

Xiaoyu clenched her jaw tightly, shutting her eyes to hold back the tears.

Liang Sihong still couldn’t quite grasp it. “If it’s like you said, then can’t we just not go to the third floor?”

Lin Kuo tapped his index finger rhythmically on the dining table.

“Have you noticed? The danger increases every night. And this is only the fourth night. There’s still a fifth. We’re constantly on the back foot. No one can predict what ‘the other side’ will do to kill us on the final night.”

He stopped tapping, his tone turning solemn.

“We have to go to the third floor tonight. I also have a hunch that our names are somehow connected to it.”

Liang Sihong’s gaze flickered. “That makes sense, but I suggest we don’t all go. Just one or two of us. If it’s too dangerous, at least we won’t all die at once.”

Lin Kuo gave a cold smile.

He could see straight through Liang Sihong’s thoughts.

“I know. I never planned for all of you to follow me.”

Liang Sihong looked a little embarrassed.

Li Yinan blinked in shock.

“Boss, are you saying… you’re going up there alone?”

Lin Kuo hummed in agreement and looked out the window.

Without them noticing, the sky had already begun to dim.

Time was always slipping away.

“I need your help,” Lin Kuo said.

The phrase your help felt strangely off.

But Li Yinan understood.

Lin Kuo was worried they might mess up.

She straightened, maturity settling into her expression.

“Boss, just give us the orders. We’ll do it.”

This wasn’t just helping anymore.

She would complete his instructions, even if it killed her.

“Someone has to stay on the first floor tonight,” Lin Kuo explained.

“The butler will notice if someone doesn’t go up with the main group. So the first floor won’t be safe either. That person needs to get the keys from the butler—without hurting him—then open the second-floor and third-floor doors. Finally, they must stop him from letting ‘the other side’ down.”

Xiaoyu paled as she recalled her experience from the night before.

The fear from being alone in the dark… even the rustling of wind could snap your sanity.

Lin Kuo turned to Li Yinan.

“You stay on the first floor.”

Though she was afraid, Li Yinan nodded.

This was her mission. It affected everyone’s lives.

Liang Sihong’s face darkened.

“Then… why not just all stay on the first floor?”

The sudden frustration was overwhelming.

Lin Kuo snapped, “Don’t let me see you after we leave this instance—I’ll beat you to death. If we all stay down here, won’t ‘the other side’ notice? Then they’ll just come downstairs instead. What’s the difference! If you’re still this suspicious at a time like this, then go solo.”

Facing Lin Kuo’s freezing glare, and the annoyed stares from the girls, Liang Sihong quickly backed down.

“That’s not what I meant. I just think… the Main God System doesn’t let us attack NPCs, but the butler might attack tonight. And Li Yinan’s a girl… it’s too hard to get the keys while only defending. So… I think I’m more suited to stay on the first floor.”

It made sense.

Li Yinan bit her lip.

She wasn’t confident she could get the keys.

If she failed, Lin Kuo’s plan would collapse—he could die.

Thinking of this, she agreed.

“It’s okay if he stays on the first floor. Boss, what do you think?”

Lin Kuo shot Liang Sihong a warning glare.

The assignment wasn’t the main point.

His look was to remind Liang Sihong: Don’t do anything stupid.

Liang Sihong got the message. He patted his chest.

“Don’t worry. I won’t abandon anyone. We’re a team.”

Lin Kuo turned to the girls.

“Xiaoyu, Li Yinan—your mission is to survive tonight.”

They would be bait on the second-floor corridor.

The longer they lived, the more time Lin Kuo would have to act.

He handed them knives and forks from the dining table.

His comfort was awkward, but sincere.

“Don’t be afraid.”

He pointed to the ‘foot’ overlapping with Xiaoyu’s shadow.

“The incense ash will make the other side visible. I’ll sprinkle it over them to reveal their form. I don’t think they’re Main God-designated NPCs. You can fight back as much as you want.”

“You have to help each other. If you really can’t beat them…”
Lin Kuo smiled softly.

“It’s okay. Call my name—and I’ll turn back to protect you the moment I hear it.”

For a moment, the bullet chat, usually full of mockery, went silent:

[Damn, the dog streamer’s kinda manly right now.]
[Me too. First time I’m actually rooting for him. Wuwuwu.]
[Go girls! 2 vs 6—be the pride of all girls!]
[I’m seriously getting nervous now.]
[Why are so many people cheering for him now? Did y’all forget how this dog used to roast us?]

Sheng Wen stared at the screen, watching Lin Kuo.

He couldn’t explain it, but… he was envious of those two girls.

In the instance, Li Yinan’s eyes welled with tears.

A boss like this… I want to marry him. What did I do to deserve meeting Lin Kuo?

The fear on Xiaoyu’s face slowly faded.

She nodded firmly.

“Thank you, Lin Kuo.”

Just then, the butler appeared at the dining room entrance, casting a resentful gaze toward them.

“It’s dark. Return to your rooms.”

Unlike the last three nights, there was less panic this time.

Instead, there was tension—task tension.

Lin Kuo looked at Liang Sihong.

Then he and the two girls stood up, walking toward the butler.

While they covered him, Liang Sihong bent down and slipped quietly behind a cabinet to hide and wait.

The butler didn’t notice one person missing from the group.

Seeing Lin Kuo and the others comply, he led them through the living room and up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, the butler paused, glancing at both Lin Kuo’s group and the other side.

“Tonight is up to you. Be careful… no, they… Mmm!”

Sensing something wrong, Lin Kuo immediately covered the butler’s mouth.

He patted the man down—no keys.

Then he began threatening and gaslighting him.

“There were seven of us. You’ve already killed four. You want our lives again tonight? Isn’t that a bit too much?”

The butler flailed. “Mmm mmm mmm!”

Lin Kuo coldly whispered, “I’ve lost 4 teammates. I’m probably going to die too. What if I drag you down with me?”

He added darkly, “I don’t care about punishment. I’m already dead tonight.”

Finally, the butler caved.

Lin Kuo let him go.

“Scram.”

The butler bolted, slamming the living room door behind him—loudly, as if to warn the second floor that the exit had been sealed.

After the door slammed shut and the lock clicked, Li Yinan asked nervously, “Boss… is it starting now?”

Lin Kuo crouched in a small stairwell corner and pulled out the incense ash he had gathered—four rinsing cups’ worth.

He nudged Li Yinan and Xiaoyu aside, took aim at the foot, estimated the other side’s position, and—swoosh—scattered the ash from two of the cups into the air.