Chapter 275: If You Want to Live, You’d Better Not Mess with Me!
“What’s wrong?”
The maid saw Kim Jeong-ki standing there in a daze and asked with confusion.
She didn’t forcibly pull him downstairs.
“It’s nothing. Sorry for the trouble,” Kim Jeong-ki said, his heart full of anxiety, but he still followed the maid down the stairs.
Every step he took was careful and cautious, as if there were needles pricking his back.
From this, he could already tell that the maid was definitely not human.
But he couldn’t show it too much, since the rules mentioned that aside from himself, there was only one person in this villa.
It’s actually quite normal that other living beings aren’t human.
At the very least, Kim Jeong-ki figured that the maid probably wouldn’t hurt him, unless he broke her rules.
If the Chosen Ones could see this, maybe they wouldn’t be so panicked.
But since they can’t see, they’d start imagining all sorts of things. Maybe the maid leading him by the arm is actually a blue-skinned monster with four or five mouths, sharp teeth, and drool dripping down.
If he angered her, he might not even make it to the banquet hall before getting eaten.
This kind of unnecessary overthinking actually makes the horror world even more dangerous.
Zhang Yangqing’s imagination was much simpler: no matter who you are, if you want to live, you’d better not mess with me.
I may be blind, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight.
After the maid went down the stairs, Zhang Yangqing followed right behind her.
This time, not just the audience, but even the maid was a little surprised.
If Zhang Yangqing weren’t blind, he would’ve seen the maid’s eyes go wide, as if she’d witnessed something unbelievable.
She even started to wonder if the person following her was really blind.
But soon enough, the sharper viewers noticed something.
When the maid moved, the Taoist Master Zhang behind her moved too.
When the maid stopped, he stopped.
Did he have superhuman hearing?
The audience guessed correctly. This was simply a matter of locating positions by sound.
In the training courses at Mount Longhu, there’s a class where you’re blindfolded to learn how to avoid danger.
It’s meant to help you react quickly if your eyes are impaired or if you encounter danger at night.
Zhang Yangqing had mastered this simple skill of sound localization perfectly.
He could precisely step exactly where the maid had stepped.
Whether it was height or distance, he could hear it all.
If the maid had walked there, then it was safe to walk there.
After all, the maid’s purpose right now was just to take him to see the owner of the villa. Even if she wanted to make a move, it wouldn’t be now.
He could also assume that this person was probably some kind of beginner guide NPC. Maybe dangerous, but not right this moment.
On the way, Zhang Yangqing asked a few questions.
As the maid of this villa, she might know something.
“How many guests are at this banquet, and who are they?” Zhang Yangqing asked a key question, wanting to know who he would meet.
“There are five guests in total. You are one of them. As for the identities of the other guests, I don’t know,” the maid replied.
She was the type who would answer if you asked, but wouldn’t say much if you didn’t.
So if a Chosen One didn’t ask questions, they’d definitely be missing out.
From the maid’s words, he could tell that besides the Chosen One and the owner, there were probably four other guests.
“What’s on the menu? Meat or vegetarian? And what about drinks?” Zhang Yangqing continued, since that determined what he could eat.
In the horror world, food is a major source of corruption.
Eating the wrong thing could lower your combat ability at best, or kill you on the spot at worst.
“The head maid tells the cook what the owner wants to eat each day. I don’t know the details,” the maid answered honestly.
From this, Zhang Yangqing figured that there was probably more than just one maid in the villa.
The maids likely formed a faction of their own.
Based on how they’d acted so far, this maid faction didn’t seem very hostile toward the guests.
“Did you see my companion?” Zhang Yangqing asked tentatively, even though he already knew the answer.
“Sorry, I wasn’t the one who received you when you arrived, so I don’t know what companion you’re referring to.”
The maid’s answer was expected.
If it were that easy to find out, there’d definitely be plenty of traps.
But the maid might have given some useful info—maybe if he found the person who received him, he’d find out where his companion was.
“What kind of flowers does your owner like? Should I prepare a bouquet?”
This was a crucial question, as it would tell him whether the owner could be trusted.
After all, only people who like roses won’t harm the Chosen Ones.
Since the rules said so, there must be a hidden meaning.
Hearing this, the maid stopped walking. After a pause, she answered, “Our owner doesn’t like flowers. He’s allergic to pollen. Whatever you do, don’t give him flowers, or he’ll get very angry.”
Her tone was serious, and she didn’t seem to be joking.
It was as if the maid was warning the Chosen Ones: if you want to die, go ahead and offer flowers to the owner.
Kim Jeong-ki, the Chosen One from South Korea, also kept that in mind. Not only would he not give flowers, but he’d better not even mention the word ‘flower’ in front of the owner.
Sidney, the paladin from Ramen Country, figured that since the owner didn’t like flowers, that meant he might harm the guests—he was ‘untrustworthy.’
But that made sense, really. The owner must have invited them here for some reason.
If there were no danger, why would there be so many rules?
The rules were there to tell him how to survive—that’s what Grecco had taught him.
At this point in the horror world, Sidney actually admired Grecco. Grecco always managed to save his own neck at critical moments, because in this world, one wrong step often means death.
Only those who had been here knew that this place devours people without spitting out the bones.
Just when the Chosen Ones thought this horror world was too difficult…
Zhang Yangqing had his own plan. If the owner didn’t like flowers, that made things easier!
If he did like flowers, that would be messy.
The rest of the conversation didn’t yield much useful information.
She was just a maid with a low status in the villa, and she didn’t know many things.
One more detail: the number of steps.
The Chosen Ones were blind and couldn’t see their surroundings.
They had to pay attention to every little detail.
Each flight of stairs in the villa had 13 steps.
He had walked down 39 steps before moving forward.
According to the maid, the banquet hall was on the first floor.
That meant his room was on the fourth floor.
Based on the information so far, there was no reason for the maid to lie to him.
He just needed to wait for the owner to appear, and more information would follow.
For now, following the process was the right move.
The other Chosen Ones wouldn’t make mistakes either—after all, they couldn’t see, so they had to follow the process.
Even if someone got lucky and ran out, they wouldn’t know what to do next.
The settlement rules hadn’t even appeared yet.
Before long, after turning two corners, the Chosen Ones arrived at the banquet hall.
The maid kindly pushed open the large doors for them.
As they entered the hall, the audience’s eyes were immediately drawn to its lavish decorations.
High above, a magnificent chandelier sparkled like a cluster of stars, lighting up the entire hall.
The walls were covered with portraits of past owners and ancient tapestries.
These portraits were so lifelike that they seemed to show different expressions from different angles.
Following the red carpet forward, they reached a long dining table.
The table was filled with all kinds of delicacies and fine tableware.
But only the audience could see all this—the Chosen Ones couldn’t.
It seemed the Chosen One was the first to arrive. There were no other voices in the hall.
Everyone felt out of place. In the pitch-black darkness, sitting in a spacious hall felt a little helpless.
And ever since they entered, they felt as if countless eyes were watching them.
The maid led each Chosen One to a seat and told them that the other guests and the owner would arrive shortly.
Then, as if she had completed her task, she left and closed the door.
Some Chosen Ones tried calling out, but the maid didn’t return.
That made them uneasy.
After all, they couldn’t see anything. The maid said this was the dining hall, but who knows where it really was.
With the door closed, the eerie, suffocating atmosphere began to spread once again.
Kim Jeong-ki felt terrible all over. He kept shifting in his seat, as if sitting on needles.
As the maid had said, the owner didn’t like flowers. There was no scent of flowers anywhere, not in the hall, not in the corridors.
When he sat at the table, Kim Jeong-ki smelled a hint of cleaning solution, as if it were masking something else.
Unable to see and not daring to move, he could only feel the items on the table.
But they were just normal utensils. Nothing useful.
Time passed slowly. Sitting in this cold, empty place, the Chosen Ones felt as if they were just waiting to die.
Many couldn’t even tell the time accurately. They just sat in silence, making rough guesses in their minds.
The smarter ones counted their heartbeats, breaths, and so on, to estimate the time.
About five minutes later, a creaking sound echoed.
It was the sound of the door being pushed open—they remembered it from when they entered.
Then came the sound of the door closing. Someone had come in.
But part of the hall was carpeted, so footsteps were very quiet.
As long as they could hear something, the Chosen Ones wouldn’t panic too much.
But after this ‘person’ came in, the sounds stopped completely!
“Who’s there?” Kim Jeong-ki asked, trembling with fear.
But there was no response, no sound at all.
Only his own heavy breathing and heartbeat.
It was as if no one had entered. Did I imagine it?
Just as he was wondering, he felt an itch on his head.
He instinctively reached up to scratch, but as he did, he realized something strange. He didn’t remember his hair being that long!
No—it wasn’t his hair. It was countless strands of… long hair hanging down from above!
At that thought, Kim Jeong-ki felt an overwhelming urge to pee.
Because without a doubt, the person who had entered was now standing silently right behind him!
And those long strands of hair belonged to that person, whose head was hovering just above his own.
Caught off guard like this, Kim Jeong-ki shook all over in terror.
He felt death was very close.
But as someone who had cleared previous rounds, he knew he couldn’t just sit there and die. His left hand quickly gripped his blind cane, ready to strike the person behind him.
His right hand slipped into the inner pocket of his coat, fumbling for a mirror.
He didn’t know if it would help, but it was worth a try.
But just then, the long hair above him disappeared, and he heard the sound of a chair being pulled out across from him.
Clearly, the person who had just entered had sat down opposite him.
Kim Jeong-ki sighed in relief. He managed to hold his pee and relaxed his grip on the cane slightly.
Seeing his frightened state, a soft laugh came from across the table—a woman’s voice.
It had a mature, alluring quality, as if she were mocking his cowardice.
At that moment, Kim Jeong-ki didn’t care if she was mocking him. As long as she didn’t kill him.
Maybe this was the ‘human’ mentioned in the rules?
She seemed familiar with the place—perhaps she knew some inside information about the villa?
Wasn’t the wait time perfect for gathering intel?
Just as he was about to greet the long-haired woman, the hall door opened again.
The soft laugh from across the table stopped abruptly, and the atmosphere turned eerie once more.
Soon after, a warm breath brushed against Kim Jeong-ki’s right cheek. So close, it nearly made him lose control of his bladder again.
“Miss across the table, please stop scaring me,” Kim Jeong-ki said, forcing himself to speak.
“That’s not me~” the alluring voice replied, carrying a certain enchanting charm.
In any other setting, Kim Jeong-ki might have been moved, but right now, he had no mind for it.
Still, he had played a little trick here. At least the long-haired woman had responded to him. That might make the newcomer think that he and the woman were connected.
So maybe the newcomer wouldn’t dare to harm him so easily.
And in this case, he guessed right.
After the long-haired woman spoke, a very cutesy, little-girl voice whispered right by Kim Jeong-ki’s ear.
“Boring! No fun at all!”
The voice moved away, and he heard another chair being pulled out beside him.
The woman with the little-girl voice had also taken her seat.
Compared to his panic with the first guest, Kim Jeong-ki reacted much faster to the second.
He seemed to be slowly getting used to being blind, which was a huge advantage for him.
Out of over two hundred Chosen Ones, more than half would be terrified by these two women.
But some were calmer.
Most of the calm ones were superhumans—because they had the power to fight back.
Since they didn’t sense any killing intent, they didn’t act. They just sat quietly.
Sidney, the paladin from Ramen Country, was like that. When the two women appeared and tried to scare him, he didn’t move a muscle.
Because by the time he sat down, he had already analyzed some of the situation.
Normally, at a banquet like this, the host holds the highest status.
And someone with high status usually makes a grand entrance at the very end.
Since the host hadn’t arrived yet, how could these guests kill anyone in the hall?
Even if they wanted to kill the Chosen Ones, they wouldn’t do it here.
If they did, they’d be disrespecting the host, and the consequences would be severe.
Sidney wasn’t panicked for another reason: he had finally understood some of Grecco’s teachings.
Grecco once told him that if you follow the procedure and end up in a strange, dangerous environment, you need to use the rules to judge how dangerous it really is.
If the rules tell you how to avoid danger, then the environment is indeed very dangerous.
Because of the risk of death, the rules give warnings.
By the same logic, if you follow the procedure into a strange, dangerous place and there are no rules telling you how to survive, there are two possibilities:
First: The environment may seem dangerous, but it isn’t, so the rules don’t warn you.
Second: If it’s later in the horror world’s progression, you need to find corresponding items on your person to survive. These items usually appeared in earlier rules.
Like the disinfectant from the previous horror world. When danger appears later, the rules won’t tell you to use it—you have to understand the situation and use it yourself.
Thinking this far proved that Grecco, the SSSS-rank survivor, wasn’t just famous for nothing.
Sidney judged that the two women weren’t dangerous, so he didn’t use any items.
Zhang Yangqing’s approach was even more direct. When the hair touched his head, he grabbed it, yanked the woman’s head close to him, and gave her a hard slap right across the face.
The sharp smack echoed through the hall, followed by a woman’s scream.
Seems Zhang Yangqing didn’t hold back.
Scare me? Looking for a slap, huh?
Zhang Yangqing had his own logic: in the horror world, the best way to deal with eerie beings that harass or scare you is a solid slap.
That shuts them up.
There’s almost nothing one good slap can’t solve.
If one slap isn’t enough, Zhang Yangqing wouldn’t mind just knocking their head off!
One slap is a warning. A second one isn’t so simple.
In the horror world, the best way to deal with beings that want to kill you is to finish them off once and for all.
“Scram,” Zhang Yangqing said coldly.
The long-haired woman immediately moved away from him and quietly sat down in her seat.
See? One slap, and the eerie being behaves.
Next came the little-girl-voiced woman.
Zhang Yangqing wasn’t polite either. Since she brought her face right next to him, wouldn’t it be rude not to slap her?
So with a backhand slap, the little-girl-voiced woman fell to the ground with a scream.
A bright red handprint was left on her face, making the long-haired woman across from her laugh out loud.
The long-haired woman had deliberately kept her head down so the little-girl wouldn’t see her own handprint, just waiting for her to provoke Zhang Yangqing and get slapped too.
Otherwise, she’d be the only one beaten—how unfair would that be?
When the little-girl saw the handprint on the long-haired woman’s face, she finally realized she had been slapped too.
She glared at the smirking woman across from her, eyes full of rage, as if to say, “Why didn’t you warn me?! If I’d known he was this strong, I wouldn’t have dared to scare him!”
Whether or not the two women held a grudge against Zhang Yangqing, they both quieted down and sat still.
The doors opened one by one, and two more people entered.
But they didn’t speak, so it was impossible to tell if they were male or female.
Neither of them tried to scare the Chosen Ones. They found their seats and sat down.
All the guests had arrived. Then, with the sound of footsteps, the doors swung open.
The owner of the villa had finally arrived!
