Chapter 12: Hide

In terms of voice alone, Lin Kuo thought of a clear stream rushing forward, of the autumn wind on a vast plain, of the silver glow cast upon twilight.

Following the voice, Lin Kuo looked up and only then realized he was in a space similar to a small, dark room.

There were occasional flashes of light—the only illumination in the entire space.

The man before him was the light source.

It must have been a special transmission method projecting Room Manager S’s image into this place.

Lin Kuo saw the man, surrounded by radiant glow, sitting on a chair.

He was leaning forward, his right foot resting on a small round stool.

If one were to consider his appearance alone, even the somewhat reclusive Lin Kuo might have approached and asked if he could model for him.

But voice and appearance aside, this person was an annoying existence.

Sheng Wen hadn’t yet realized he was disliked.

His gaze brazenly swept over Lin Kuo again and again, then he licked his somewhat dry lips and said in a troubled tone, “You’re making things very difficult for me.”

Lin Kuo wasn’t afraid of him. “Do whatever.”

“It seems you didn’t read the file I gave you carefully,” Sheng Wen said.

“Being perfunctory with me will do you no good.”

Then again, “Seeing as you’re very cute, I’ll personally tell you about the Walled City.”

Lin Kuo finally showed a trace of emotion—but it was all negative. “You’re really noisy. Also, I have no interest in the Walled City at all.”

Sheng Wen paused for a moment, a little resentful. “If someone else were standing here, would you be happy?”

Lin Kuo didn’t understand what he meant. He looked at Sheng Wen warily.

Sheng Wen noticed the Polaroid in Lin Kuo’s hand.

Lin Kuo hadn’t had time to put it down when he was pulled into the confinement space.

Sheng Wen thought for a moment and hinted tactfully, “Is this thing useful?”

The detachment that usually surrounded Lin Kuo suddenly upgraded. His whole body was now covered in sharp thorns— Not just defensive, but dangerously aggressive.

He thought of Sweet as the Wind. “If I did something wrong, come at me. What does it have to do with anyone else?”

After saying this, Lin Kuo even threatened fiercely, “If you dare to hurt her, I will absolutely, absolutely not let you go.”

Sheng Wen looked at the bristling Lin Kuo, momentarily filled with a thousand emotions and sighs.

“We’ve reached a stalemate,” he finally said after a moment of silence.

Lin Kuo looked at him coldly.

“But what can be done?”

Sheng Wen didn’t seem to see Lin Kuo’s expression. He looked down at the time.

“We still have to stay here in this tense standoff for another 15 minutes.”

Lin Kuo observed Sheng Wen without a change in expression.

Seeing that he didn’t seem to have any ill intentions, he finally reined himself in a little.

“Just shut up.”

“That won’t do,” Sheng Wen said.
“A heart-to-heart talk must involve talking. I have to write a report after we’re done. Little streamer, tell me— With this unyielding attitude of yours, how am I supposed to write my report? I just want to earn points, but you’re making me lose them instead. Blocking someone’s path to wealth is like killing their parents. I don’t think I’ve offended you, have I?”

After listening to Lin Kuo’s words, he actually felt a little bit that he’d been excessive.

He pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and said, “Then… let’s talk.”

Anyway, he was convinced that the Main God System was no good.

No matter what anyone said, he wouldn’t change his mind.

At worst, it would just go in one ear and out the other.

Sheng Wen raised an eyebrow.

“What’s your name, how old are you, how many people in your family, what do you usually like to do, what is your dream?”

Lin Kuo: “…”

“My dream is for you to shut up,” Lin Kuo said coldly.

Sheng Wen let out a low laugh.
His peach blossom eyes curled into crescent moons, filled with amusement.
“I said it won’t do. Why are you still being stubborn?”

Lin Kuo’s face was full of disgust.

Sheng Wen tried to suppress his smile, but the amusement in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

“So impatient after just a few words… fine. If this way doesn’t work, let’s try another.”
After a pause, he added,

“How about I sing for you? You’re an artist anyway. Do you think that’s acceptable?”

Lin Kuo was still pondering the phrase you’re an artist anyway when Sheng Wen had already taken his silence as tacit agreement.

A song began to play by his ear.

Lin Kuo’s expression quickly soured.

He never knew someone could sing so terribly—deliberately avoiding every correct note.

And this person had even cleverly woven an introduction to the Main God System into the lyrics.

“The Main God System must not be disdained, those who disdain will pay with their lives. Little streamer is so cute, what a pity to lose your life, what a pity. Even if you want to be unique, hide it in your heart and don’t say it out loud, don’t say it out loud. The Main God System must not be disdained, those who disdain…”

Lin Kuo had never felt time drag so painfully.

To make matters worse, the person in front of him sang with increasing enthusiasm.

He tried to interrupt several times but couldn’t find the chance.

When Sheng Wen finally finished, Lin Kuo felt like he had no energy left to argue with him.

Sheng Wen checked the time.

Twenty minutes was almost up.

He said seriously, “Next time you offend, I’ll sing to you in person.”

Lin Kuo: …

f*ck.

The light before his eyes slowly dissipated, and the confined space fell into darkness.

A mechanical female voice spoke from mid-air, emotionless:

_________________________________________________________________

Punishment over. The livestream will reopen in 3 seconds. Streamer, please remember the lesson and turn over a new leaf.

_________________________________________________________________

A nerve twitched at Lin Kuo’s temple.
After a blink, he was back in the instance villa.

As soon as he returned, everyone rushed over to ask about the situation.

Li Yinan rubbed her eyes.
“Boss, are you okay?”

Lin Kuo shook his head wearily, his face pale.
“I’m fine.”

Liang Sihong stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
“It’s good that you’re fine. But I still have to apologize to you. After all… it was because of me.”

Lin Kuo turned his shoulder.
“Don’t touch me.”

Liang Sihong’s hand froze mid-air, but he wasn’t embarrassed.
Instead, he continued naturally,
“In the 20 minutes you were gone, the butler cleaned the room.”

The room was as clean as ever, as if nothing had happened last night.

Lin Kuo thought for a moment.
“What was his expression? Was he scared?”

Li Yinan recalled, “He was quite scared when he saw us, but when he was cleaning up the bodies, he wasn’t scared at all. I thought he looked… quite relaxed.”

Lin Kuo frowned in thought.

Liang Sihong retracted his hand. “It’s broad daylight now. Since you’re back, let’s go to the dining room first.”

Li Yinan looked at Lin Kuo for confirmation.

“Let’s go,” Lin Kuo said.

The room was already cleaned up.

Even if there were undiscovered clues, there was nothing they could do.

It was better to approach it from another angle.

When they arrived at the dining room, they saw the butler, who had waited for them at the door for the past two days, was now standing by the dining table, watching the diners with a smile.

But in their vision, the table was completely empty.

None of them dared to move further.

They just crowded at the doorway, watching the scene in horror.

Lin Kuo walked through the crowd and sat down without any pressure.

The first thing he did was observe the butler’s expression.

After seeing Lin Kuo, the smile on the butler’s face slowly disappeared.

Finally, his facial muscles twitched, replaced by a panicked expression.

“D-Don’t disturb your meal. I… I’ll leave first.” After saying this, the butler greased his soles and tried to slip away again.

Lin Kuo suddenly shouted,
“Stop him.”

Everyone at the door instinctively obeyed and blocked the butler.

Lin Kuo looked at the food on the table.

Just like the previous two days—whether there were 7 of them or only 5 left now—there were always 6 portions of food.

“You prepared one extra portion,” Lin Kuo said.

The butler swallowed hard and turned back stiffly to remove the extra portion.

But as soon as he picked up the tableware, he froze.

His face turned paler and paler.

Bang—

The butler’s hands slipped.

The tableware shattered on the ground.

“I can’t see anything, I don’t know anything. Don’t ask me anymore!” As if on the verge of a breakdown, he stomped on the fragments repeatedly, grinding them into powder before stopping.

No one dared to stop him anymore.
The butler bolted out the door without looking back.

Liang Sihong led the group inside.
Everyone had witnessed the butler’s breakdown.

He asked Lin Kuo anxiously, “Did you discover something, or were you trying to provoke him? Angering the NPC won’t do us any good.”

Lin Kuo thought that it wouldn’t matter if the next instance was five stars or a hundred stars—
As long as he wasn’t matched with these pig teammates again.

It was already the third day.

Seeing as only two remained, Lin Kuo suppressed his frustration and explained, “Six breakfasts proves the owners of the house aren’t just the three people in the film. If I’m not mistaken, there should be six of them.”

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

Now there was a numerical difference between them and the unseen other side.

It would be even harder to survive tonight.

“Every time he saw us, he looked scared. But just now, when we weren’t around—what was his expression? I think you all have eyes.”

Lin Kuo took a deep breath and continued, “So I deliberately told him he’d prepared one extra portion. His reaction proves he can see us and them.”

Liang Sihong thought for a moment.

“They probably can’t see us either, otherwise the butler wouldn’t have said he couldn’t see anything and didn’t know anything, and told them not to ask anymore.”

Lin Kuo was noncommittal.

“Have you thought that maybe the other side was asking about our remaining number?”

Liang Sihong was too shocked to speak.

Lin Kuo looked at the window.

The sky was dimming again.

Night was quietly falling.

“Regardless of whether the butler told them or not, they already know they haven’t completely driven out the intruders. Someone will die tonight.”

Li Yinan choked.

The scar-faced man stared at Lin Kuo in panic.

“Then what do we do?”

“Deal with it,” Lin Kuo said coldly.

Liang Sihong laughed awkwardly.

“Anyway, they can’t see us. We can just hide.”

That method was indeed the last resort.

The scar-faced man muttered bitterly, “You say they can’t see us—then how did Zhu Hai and Wang Miao die? What’s the use of hiding!”

He noticed Lin Kuo’s expression.

Compared to everyone else’s panic, Lin Kuo’s eyes held calm confidence.

He immediately grew suspicious. “Do you have a way? Are you planning to hide it from us and let us die so you can live?”

Lin Kuo found it funny. “Besides hiding, is there any better way? Even if I do have a way, and I don’t want to tell you, what can you do?”

The dining room fell into silence.

Night fell with eerie quiet.

The butler appeared at the doorway. “It’s late. Everyone, go back to your rooms to rest.”

Despair spread across the room.

Lin Kuo glanced at him and said to the others, “It’s best to hide in the closet tonight.”