Chapter 281: Since You’re My Partner, Show Some Initiative!
The path before the Chosen Ones looked perfectly normal. Underfoot was nothing but grass, surrounded by neatly trimmed shrubs and ornamental trees.
Logically speaking, there were no flowers here at all—just greenery everywhere.
Yet Zhang Yangqing caught a whiff of floral fragrance in the air.
Even for Chosen Ones who couldn’t tell if it was the scent of roses, anyone familiar with how these games worked knew they should pick a different route, one without any flowery smell.
It was possible that the old butler had used some peculiar method to hide roses within this area. If someone walked through and destroyed his flowers, that would be a dead end. Not only would they fail to gain the butler’s help, but he might even turn hostile toward them.
For an average Chosen One, just reaching this conclusion was already commendable.
But the sharper ones could take it a step further.
If someone wanted to set up a guest for failure, they’d simply steer them down this path—and that guest would violate the butler’s rules.
Zhang Yangqing had obviously thought of this too, but he figured it wasn’t necessary. If he wanted to make a move, he could do so directly without all the fuss.
His blindness didn’t hinder his combat ability in the slightest.
At this stage, even the audience could tell which Chosen Ones had made the wrong call. The moment they saw their country’s participant take a different route than the Dragon Country’s celestial master, they knew trouble was coming.
Back when the horror tales first began, people still questioned the Dragon Country celestial master’s abilities.
Now, even the trolls posting skeptical comments probably didn’t believe their own words.
After circling through a few more paths and pushing past shrubbery, the Chosen Ones finally arrived at a small courtyard. The old butler held a relatively high status among the servants, so he had his own modest cottage.
They knocked on the butler’s door, which opened quickly to reveal an elderly man with a thick white beard.
“Guests, might I ask what brings you here so late at night?”
The butler’s demeanor and tone were impeccably courteous.
He wore white gloves and a neatly pressed butler’s uniform.
Not that the Chosen Ones could see any of this—all they could detect was a faint hint of rose perfume.
Yes, this was indeed the one who wouldn’t harm the Chosen Ones.
Some participants began whispering cautiously to the old butler.
Others were more careful, saying they had business with him, then finding excuses to slip inside while sending the eerie maid away.
Zhang Yangqing, however, skipped all those complications. Since the young girl beside him had voluntarily partnered up, he simply asked the butler directly: he’d lost track of his companion from when he arrived, and could the butler help him find out who had received him?
That was the right person to ask—the butler would definitely know.
Even those who hadn’t guessed the butler’s fondness for roses could still come to him with this question.
The old butler paused in thought, then replied: “If my memory serves, you were received by a substitute maid when you arrived. Your companion’s mental state seemed off at the time, so that maid took them downstairs for treatment.”
Zhang Yangqing nodded. “Do you know where my companion is now? I need to see them.”
At this, the butler gave Zhang Yangqing a quick once-over, then agreed to his request. He fetched a small lantern from inside and began leading the way.
Along the path, the young girl asked Zhang Yangqing what kind of companion he had. He didn’t answer.
You’re asking me? I just got here myself.
Soon, they arrived at a courtyard secured with iron chains.
The moment he stepped inside, Zhang Yangqing could sense a volatile, agitated energy in the air.
It was like a crazed beast—and as he drew closer, that violent aura only intensified.
When the butler’s lantern light spread through the room, it revealed a golden-furred guide dog locked inside an iron cage.
The dog looked incredibly fierce, but it was clearly unhinged.
Dark, ominous energy swirled around its body. Its eyes were bloodshot, its teeth bared, and saliva dripped from its jaws.
The old butler let out a soft “Hmm,” then stepped forward to examine it.
According to him, the guide dog had been contaminated.
Normally, a contaminated creature only needed some rest to recover.
But for some reason, this dog had reached a critical stage. Without immediate treatment, it would undergo a full mutation.
At that point, the guide dog would lose all reason and become a complete monster.
The butler’s recommendation: put it down before the transformation was complete.
Every Chosen One responded the same way—refusal.
Are you kidding? We went through hell to get here, braving life and death, just so you could kill my dog?
Zhang Yangqing asked: “Is there any other solution? Something that could restore it?”
After careful thought, the old butler replied: “I recall that on the old master’s desk, there’s a special potion that can purge contamination before full mutation occurs. But that room is on the seventh floor of the villa, and I’m not permitted to enter the building anymore.”
The villa’s new owner could impose rules on the servants. He didn’t like the butler’s floral scent, so he’d banned him from the villa.
The old master, meanwhile, had a fondness for deer heads, and had placed one outside his door.
So finding a door with a deer-head trophy meant finding the old master’s room.
And on the seventh floor, there was only one such room.
Hearing this, most Chosen Ones were dumbfounded—because some of them had already dismissed their maids, or the maids had silently slipped away.
Once the destination was reached, the maid’s task was complete. Unless the Chosen One insisted they stay, they wouldn’t remain.
Fortunately, the butler would escort them to the entrance. From there, the Chosen Ones would have to navigate on their own.
At this stage, Zhang Yangqing—who had already explored all the floors—had a massive advantage.
And the smarter participants, like Sidney who was hitting his stride, would ask the crucial question: “What color was the substitute maid’s uniform? The one who took the guide dog?”
This was logical, because contamination takes time to spread. To avoid infecting others in the villa, keeping the contaminated guide dog isolated in the small courtyard made perfect sense.
But since the dog’s condition had worsened, the substitute maid must have tampered with it.
And since she was a substitute maid, surely her uniform looked different from the others, right?
At Sidney’s question, the butler answered: “If I recall correctly, it was purple.”
Sidney nodded and pushed open the villa’s main door, stepping inside.
The audience expected Zhang Yangqing to race up and down the floors in record time.
But anyone familiar with him knew: why do the work yourself when you have a tool at hand?
Zhang Yangqing turned toward the young girl. “You heard that, right?”
The girl, still a bit clueless, replied: “Yeah, I heard. So what?”
“So get going. Show some initiative.”
“Why don’t you go?”
“Because I’m blind.”
“…”
She was about to argue back, but the moment she saw Zhang Yangqing slowly raising his hand, she thought better of it.
For some reason, every time he raised his hand, she instinctively stepped back.
Resigned, she took the butler’s lighting equipment and made the trip to the seventh floor herself.
She couldn’t help thinking: Did I find a partner, or did I sign up to be someone’s servant?
This guy could navigate dark hallways faster than she could, and he had the nerve to use blindness as an excuse. Unbelievable.
As for having an errand girl deliver herself to his doorstep, Zhang Yangqing was happy to make use of her. It was also a test of her sincerity—so far, they hadn’t clashed over interests.
If she was offering to cooperate, she needed to actually contribute.
By this point, the Chosen Ones had been inside the villa for hours, yet the massive estate still felt utterly foreign.
Late at night, in this empty, sprawling mansion, silence and dread gripped everyone like invisible hands squeezing their throats, making it impossible to breathe.
If it were completely silent, that would be one thing. But the occasional creak or rustle—that was truly terrifying.
This round tested memory and judgment.
Why not courage?
Because anyone too fearful wouldn’t have made it here in the first place. In a horror tale of this difficulty, those who dared enter were already exceptionally bold. If they lacked nerve, then most people would have been scared to death long ago.
The supernaturally gifted had a clear edge, climbing stairs quickly.
At this point, many Chosen Ones wished they’d run into a passing maid—but that opportunity had already passed.
The maids seemed to have vanished into thin air. The Chosen Ones groped along stair rails and walls in the dark.
The worst part was that each floor’s staircase was in a different location—no spiral stairs here.
Heads, hands, and legs kept colliding with the architecture.
After more than ten minutes, the Chosen Ones finally reached the seventh floor.
Not a single step beyond—they’d counted every stair.
Both the maids and the butler had said there were only seven floors, so any extra steps up or down led outside the villa!
So far, few participants had made fatal mistakes—unless they’d been caught off-guard by sudden death rules.
For normal people, an hour was plenty of time to climb seven floors.
But for the blind, simply reaching the top was a monumental effort.
Now they had to fumble their way from door to door.
After another ten minutes of searching, South Korea’s Chosen One, Kim Jung-ki, finally touched a deer antler—and then the whole deer head.
Strangely, it didn’t feel like a mounted specimen; it was almost warm.
But he was past caring. He’d made it up, and now he had to get back down.
Pushing the door open, the horror descended.
A horned, eerie figure blocked his path.
Its aura was terrifying, sending chills down the spine—pure killing intent.
It seemed to be waiting for the Chosen One to break its rules.
The creature asked: “What color are my clothes?”
The meaning was clear: answer correctly, and you may enter.
Answer wrong, and you won’t be leaving.
At this, most Chosen Ones were baffled. I’m blind, how would I know? And it’s the middle of the night.
Earlier that afternoon, many had asked the maids about the color of their uniforms. The maids wore black and white; they’d also inquired about the other guests’ attire. In their minds, they’d formed a color-coded list.
But the voice they heard now didn’t match any of those mental notes.
Panic set in.
Only now did many realize that the one blocking them must be the substitute maid—the only one who wanted the guide dog to mutate, which was why she was lying in wait.
Not knowing her exact outfit left them with two choices:
First, if you’re lucky enough, take a wild guess—about a one-in-ten chance.
Second, hurry back downstairs and ask!
Sidney, the paladin from Noodle Country, took a deep breath and readied himself for a fight. Even though he knew the answer, he didn’t let his guard down.
“Purple.”
“Congratulations. Correct.”
With that, the substitute maid stepped aside.
For those who knew the answer ahead of time, this phase flew by.
Those who didn’t could still manage, of course—Zhang Yangqing hadn’t known, but he’d sent someone with functioning eyes to fetch the information.
With proper lighting, a round trip took maybe ten minutes.
Other Chosen Ones, without mistakes, spent about thirty minutes going up and down.
And the delay at one o’clock had cost them some time.
As for those who fumbled, the fastest could still barely make it.
The slower ones would hear the bells toll as the guide dog fully mutated—and even the potion would be useless by then.
Nine Chosen Ones felt their hearts sink when the butler said the dog was beyond saving. They knew that with the guide dog’s mutation, their own lives were hanging by a thread.
Those who timed it right had a much easier time.
After the butler poured the potion over the guide dog, its demeanor gradually calmed. The wild rage in its eyes softened.
As the dark energy faded, the dog returned to normal.
The butler opened the cage, and the guide dog ran to its owner, licking their arm in a gesture of friendship.
For other Chosen Ones, the dog’s recovery meant more than just mobility—it boosted their combat power. The guide dog was their lifeline.
For Zhang Yangqing’s guide dog, though, the real lifeline was right in front of it.
As long as the dog didn’t act up, this stage seemed secure.
After thanking the butler, the Chosen Ones led their guide dogs out of the courtyard and back toward the villa.
After a long, exhausting day, a wave of drowsiness washed over everyone. The rules said the only safe place was the room, so it was best to get inside quickly.
It was now past two in the morning. Walking through the villa, that feeling of being watched crept back in.
Zhang Yangqing parted ways with the young girl and returned to his own room.
Here, the Chosen Ones had two choices.
First, sleep on the sofa—but only if they took out the radio first, because the bed held a mysterious, unidentified head.
Second, sleep on the bed and toss the head out.
Either way, they had to be able to hear the rules.
Most surviving Chosen Ones chose the first option.
Even Zhang Yangqing did—sleeping with a head on the bed was just too unsettling.
He wasn’t afraid, but that didn’t mean he had no limits. Who wants to share a bedroom with a random head at night?
After placing the radio on the table, Zhang Yangqing leaned back on the sofa and rested.
At four in the morning, the villa’s clock chimed. At the same time, the radio crackled to life.
That familiar voice—audible only to the Chosen Ones—returned.
Veterans knew by now that everything so far was just the introductory sequence, meant to familiarize them with the setting and their roles.
The real horror tale was about to begin.
But some Chosen Ones wouldn’t make it to the next stage.
After the static faded, the rules appeared.
Some participants grumbled, as if waking from pleasant dreams, but all perked up their ears to listen.
Mysterious Villa Survival Code:
[Rule 8: The guide dog is your most loyal companion. Unless contaminated, it will never harm you.]
[Rule 9: In case of fire inside the villa, stay calm and do not run outside—unless you started it.]
[Rule 10: You are blind. Do not ever let anyone see you reading. That is very dangerous.]
[Rule 11: If you feel your body is no longer your own, find a way to have the guide dog kill another guest—your body will be restored.]
[Rule 12: Be aware—if you show friendliness to one guest, the others will become hostile toward you.]
[Rule 13: Those who cannot leave this villa grounds also do not wish for you to leave.]
[Rule 14: True maids obey the villa’s master without question, no matter what the master commands.]
[Rule 15: The head chef has been troubled lately. You might try speaking with him—but he doesn’t like dogs.]
The radio continued broadcasting the rules on loop.
Until the Chosen Ones pressed the off button themselves.
At this stage, they discovered that pressing other buttons only made the rules repeat again—probably in case anyone forgot after falling asleep.
Late at night, few dared to sleep. Most studied the rules thoroughly before resting.
Because if they didn’t understand them, and danger struck early the next morning, they’d be caught off guard.
“The rules clearly define the guide dog’s role—so I’ve got an ally. And according to Rule 11, the dog’s combat ability seems formidable.”
South Korea’s Kim Jung-ki felt his fate was back in his own hands.
Like most Chosen Ones, he couldn’t see, and couldn’t trust anyone else.
For an ordinary participant with no combat power, this was a powerful weapon.
Kim believed Rule 13 was obvious—it meant finding a way out of this place.
But it wouldn’t be that simple. He guessed the rule wasn’t telling them to sneak away, but to first deal with those who didn’t want them to leave.
At that point, his thinking was actually quite close to Zhang Yangqing’s approach.
Veterans of the horror tales knew that emulating Zhang Yangqing’s past logic was often the key to solving seemingly convoluted rules.
“So Rule 9 is telling me to start a fire? But how? My guide dog can pee on command, but it can’t set things on fire…”
Kim pondered this for half an hour without figuring it out.
If Zhang Yangqing had known about his dilemma, he’d have said: Didn’t you just try to mimic my thinking? Can’t keep it going? Can’t start a fire? Look at Rule 15—there’s someone who definitely can.
Without fire, can you even call yourself a cook?
Chefs are among the best at knowing how to get flames going.
Sidney, the muscle-bound hunk, had overexerted his brain today. Add exhaustion to the mix, and his mind was a chaotic mess.
He felt the rules seemed disorganized—which meant tomorrow’s exploration would require gathering as much information as possible to interpret them.
Following Gregori’s advice, Sidney extracted key terms from the rules:
[Fire] [Book] [Maid] [Head Chef]
These four words would be his mission for the next day.
The next morning, the knocking came like a death knell—right on time!
