Chapter Nineteen: Vacation Villa 19

At first, she could still hear faint cries for help, but soon, there was nothing but silence outside. Yet bright red blood began to seep in through the gap beneath the door. Watching the steady trickle, it was not hard to imagine the horror unfolding outside.

Knock, knock, knock. The sound of someone knocking returned, gentle and exceedingly polite, with a steady rhythm. If there was no answer from within, the knocking would resume.

Su Man peered through the peephole, seeing nothing, but the knocking persisted.

"Is someone inside?" At last, a voice spoke from outside, chilling her even more.

Su Man and Xiao Liang still did not open the door. Then came a harsh, grating sound—someone scratching at the door. "Why won't you open the door for me? Why won't you open the door? I know you're inside, I know it! Is Zhou Bin in there? Is Zhou Bin inside?"

At some point, the voice became a shrill female scream, laced with madness and rage.

Su Man glanced at Xiao Liang.

Xiao Liang shook his head desperately. "Don't listen to her nonsense. I'm certainly not Zhou Bin."

"I never said you were. Zhou Bin is long dead. What I want to know is—will this door hold?"

"It probably will," he replied, uncertain. No sooner had he spoken than the door was pierced, a hole appearing right next to Xiao Liang's leg. Fingers reached through, grabbing his pant leg.

Clearly, this was beyond Xiao Liang's expectations. He cried out in pain, his face contorted, and kicked hard at the door, finally dislodging the invading hand. Blood streamed down his leg.

"You won't get infected, will you?" Su Man asked, her voice uncertain.

"I...I don't think so." Xiao Liang had intended to answer confidently, but faced with Su Man's doubtful gaze, his certainty faltered.

After all, the situation was far beyond what he had anticipated. In his experience, entities from these horror scenarios should not be able to harm him. But the impossible had happened.

Unease gnawed at him.

"Then maybe you should find another room. If I'm with you, I have to be wary of you as well."

Su Man had no hesitation in voicing her suggestion.

"That's...you're a bit too pragmatic," Xiao Liang replied, his face mournful. "Don't worry. I won't get infected."

Truth be told, in this uncertain scenario, the longer he spent with her, the more he became convinced that sticking with this cold-blooded, ruthless woman was his safest option. He would never leave voluntarily.

But if he refused to leave, Su Man might well kill him, so he had no choice but to reveal his trump card.

"I have this, so I won't get infected."

He produced something resembling a syringe, clearly meant as some kind of reagent. He considered injecting himself, but hesitated. "This was really hard to obtain. If—just if—I actually mutate, can't I use it then? If nothing happens, it would be a waste."

"What is it?"

Sometimes fate brings exactly what one fears. Compared to life and death, Su Man was distinctly more interested in the item in his hand.

"I don't know its exact name, but it can clear all the negative energy from the body in one go. It's essentially a second life."

"How did you get it?" Her questioning was direct and unrelenting.

Xiao Liang had not wanted to say, but seeing her casual, almost bored interrogation, he felt inexplicably intimidated.

"It's something I got in exchange for those horror coins I told you about. I really can't say more. When you encounter it yourself, you'll understand."

In the end, Xiao Liang remained in the room, and did not use the reagent. Instead, he handed it over to Su Man.

As Su Man said, it was only safe when held in her own hands.

Xiao Liang had initially disagreed, but eventually relented. If she returned it, he'd be grateful; if not...he'd consider it an advance investment. Besides, he wanted to stay, and Su Man left him no real choice.

The scratching at the door faded away at some point, and there was no one visible through the peephole.

Only the hole torn in the door remained.

As Su Man looked out through the peephole, Xiao Liang bent down to peer through the hole. "Looks like the lights outside are off. Makes sense—on a rainy night like this, turning off the lights really enhances the atmosphere."

"No, they're on." Su Man observed the brightly lit corridor outside. She thought Xiao Liang was just spouting nonsense, but when she turned her head, she saw him bent over, peering outside. Her heart skipped a beat—she kicked Xiao Liang aside, drew her knife, and stabbed fiercely into the hole.

"Ah! My eye!" A piercing, anguished scream erupted. Xiao Liang immediately realized his foolish mistake, clamped his mouth shut, and retreated to the side, clutching his backside.

He was annoyed—his strength far surpassed Su Man's, so how could he make such a stupid error?

It was all because this was a beginner scenario, which had lulled him into carelessness.

"Alright, it looks like it's really gone now."

Su Man wiped her knife, confirmed there were no further sounds from outside, and settled back onto the sofa. For now, nothing else should come.

At the same moment, she received another task.

Final Task 3:

Resolve the issue between you and Xin Ling.

Three options are provided:

(1) Persuade

(2) Kill

(3) Do nothing

Reminder: Rewards will be settled according to the final outcome.

Task duration: Three days

If options 1 or 2 yield no results by the deadline, option 3 will be used for settlement. The prerequisite is survival to the last moment.

This task was peculiar.

Su Man wanted to know which option offered the greatest reward, but the light screen informed her that she must make her own judgment; it would only make the final decision.

In other words, there was a correct answer, but it would not be revealed. She was left to fumble blindly, and if she ignored the rewards, any option could theoretically be valid.

Still, three days...three days should be enough for her to decide.

If she wanted the reward, she would naturally aim for the richest one.

"Weren't you investigating Xin Ling's cause of death? What have you found?" Su Man, as expected, turned her thoughts to Xiao Liang.

"You say that, Su Man, we're partners, but you've never shown any concern for my progress!"

"But I did show you the clues I found."

"...Fine. I actually did uncover a clue." Xiao Liang relented, then asked her, "Did you find anything new?"

"No, but that's not important. You're saying you found a clue—was Xin Ling killed by Zhou Bin?"