Chapter 280: Are You Cleaning the Room, or Are You Cleaning Me?
“I’m curious. Since that’s the key that can summon a demon legion, what do you want with it?”
Zhang Yangqing asked the loli girl.
After all, she and the gruff-voiced old man had just been arguing.
She’d even called them robbers—wouldn’t that mean she was cursing out her own father?
“Of course I want to find a way to destroy it. Leaving something like this in the world is a disaster.”
The loli girl tidied her hair and spoke with righteous conviction.
Her answer left Zhang Yangqing stunned.
In all his time in the horror story world, this was the first time he’d met someone so upright.
Everyone else was either following the rules for survival or acting out of selfish desire.
Was this some kind of hidden quest?
Or maybe this girl was lying to him?
Zhang Yangqing wasn’t sure. If it really were a hidden quest, there should have been some prompt from the rules.
So far, only seven rules had appeared. There was no rush.
After fixing her twin tails, the loli girl spoke again: “So, are you willing to cooperate with me?”
The audience was surprised to hear an important NPC extending an invitation.
That’s the benefit of being strong—you don’t even need to grind favorability; quests just come to you on their own.
Even the NPCs knew who the real powerhouse in this horror world was.
The loli girl had no idea of Zhang Yangqing’s true strength, but she did know he was far stronger than her.
“If it really is as you say, we can cooperate. But I need to look for something afterward.”
Zhang Yangqing left himself some wiggle room. If the loli girl was lying, there was only one outcome for her: death.
Hearing Zhang Yangqing agree, the loli girl couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Great! So, should we make some kind of oath? Or we could pinky swear? Do you guys have any cooperation contracts? I’ve heard that ancient pirates would swear oaths by mixing blood, but I don’t know the specifics. Why aren’t you saying anything—”
Zhang Yangqing: “…”
Right then, he was seriously considering slapping her upside the head again just to get her to shut up and stop interrupting his thinking.
It was strange. Last time, he’d run into a guy who was so frugal with words that he basically just answered with “Mm,” “Oh,” or “Okay.” If he didn’t speak, you’d think he was mute.
But this time, he got stuck with a chatterbox. This woman had been yapping non-stop the whole way.
Seeing Zhang Yangqing wasn’t responding, the loli girl rambled on for a full twenty minutes before finally losing interest.
And so, until Zhang Yangqing learned the settlement rules and the loli girl revealed her true motives, they became temporary allies.
The villa’s power was cut off, leaving the building pitch black.
After a brief silence in the room, the loli girl started making little “ow” and “ouch” sounds.
That soft, almost coquettish tone made the audience perk up—they turned up their screen brightness, eager to see what was happening.
But no amount of brightness helped. It was just too dark. Even if they maxed out the screen, they couldn’t see a thing.
The truth was, the room was completely black, the loli girl had never been in this room before, and Zhang Yangqing didn’t seem interested in talking to her, so she was trying to find a couch to sit on.
She stumbled around in the dark, bumping into things and making noises along the way.
After fumbling for a while, she finally found the sofa.
Neither of them mentioned the rule about not going out during this time, but they both seemed to be following it anyway.
That further confirmed Zhang Yangqing’s guess: the rules for humans were all roughly the same.
At this stage, the Chosen Ones’ fates were split into two main paths.
The first path, like Zhang Yangqing’s, involved sitting down in the banquet hall. That triggered tasks related to the loli girl and the raspy-voiced middle-aged man.
The second path involved standing up in the banquet hall, which triggered tasks tied to the long-haired mature woman and the gruff-voiced old man.
Whichever side they chose, as long as they completed their tasks, the Chosen Ones would learn what the villa’s treasure was. It was only a matter of time.
Zhang Yangqing just happened to find out early, so he could start preparing.
In this horror story, the one who truly had the professional edge was none other than Count Campbell, the British supernatural being.
He carried the blood of bandits, and at his age, he was the oldest among the 200 Chosen Ones.
Having lived in a castle for years, he had a fair understanding of these strange things.
Even before gathering intel, he’d already guessed: the guests were all here to snatch the treasure, not genuinely help the owner search for something.
But then why would the villa owner still ask for their help?
Because the owner couldn’t find it themselves.
Wasn’t the owner afraid the guests would pocket the treasure?
Of course they were. But surely they had ways to keep watch.
Old British castles had plenty of secret peepholes and hidden passages for surveillance.
Or perhaps they could attach monitoring magic to certain special objects for remote surveillance.
That was also why Zhang Yangqing had never chatted outside.
The villa might not have 360-degree no-blind-spot surveillance,
but there were always some suspicious gazes in the corridors.
The moment a guest found the treasure and tried to escape, they’d surely be attacked.
The rules also stated that only one’s own room was safe, so many things could only be discussed indoors.
While waiting out the time in his room, Zhang Yangqing stopped responding to the loli girl and started analyzing the intel in his head.
First was the three key sentences in the letter from the villa owner:
[“When you become aware of its existence, it will appear.”]
[“When you find it, you need not be afraid.”]
[“It is different from you, yet also the same as you.”]
He still couldn’t explain the first one. He’d even asked the loli girl, since she’d also read the letter left by the previous owner.
But this woman seemed a bit slow—or perhaps just naive. She said: “You’ll know when you find it.”
That left Zhang Yangqing completely speechless.
Though, to be fair, she wasn’t wrong. If you don’t find it, that’s a different story, right?
But the second and third lines were something the Chosen Ones had already encountered.
That’s right—it was the object on the bedroom bed that the Chosen Ones first touched, likely a skull.
Many Chosen Ones had realized this, since the intel had told them not to be afraid.
There was no smell of blood around that skull, only a sticky liquid.
If the Chosen Ones carefully compared the intel, they’d see it was similar to the liquid on the paintings and on the weapons.
It was some kind of special material used for preservation, concealment, or perhaps “sealing” certain things.
But how was it different from them yet the same?
Many Chosen Ones couldn’t make sense of that.
The Korean Chosen One, Kim Jung-ki, counted numbers while analyzing.
What does a skull have in common with me?
Do I have to chop my own head off to become the same as it?
Still, his thinking was certainly bold.
He was doing okay, but other Chosen Ones were still hesitating in front of mirrors, thinking the clues might have something to do with reflections.
Zhang Yangqing, being more experienced, quickly figured out what the intel was hinting at.
Why was this skull the same as the Chosen Ones? Because it once had a body too. What it lacked now were parts that the Chosen Ones still had.
He figured that if he could find the other body parts, something remarkable would happen.
And wasn’t there a guest right here? So he asked: “Do you have any body parts or remains in your room?”
Hearing Zhang Yangqing speak, the loli girl instantly perked up and started rambling again.
Since they were now partners, Zhang Yangqing couldn’t just slap her. He had to sift through her flood of nonsense for useful info.
After the loli girl had blabbered over five hundred words, Zhang Yangqing summed it up: she’d said, “No.”
It made him so mad he wanted to go over and slap her anyway.
If you don’t have it, just say no! Why all the useless talk?
If I’d known you talked this much, I never would’ve teamed up with you.
Around 12:30, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Then came a knock, followed by a eerie voice: “Please open the door. We’re here to provide room cleaning service.”
The voice had a seductive quality to it, making one’s body feel almost compelled to open the door.
This was the so-called mental contamination.
Wow, that was polite phrasing, but who knows whether you’re cleaning the room or cleaning me.
That line sent a chill down many Chosen Ones’ spines, and some even forgot what number they were on.
If they hadn’t prepared something to keep track of time, they’d have to start counting all over again.
Some with weaker resistance, to avoid mental contamination, slapped themselves to stay alert.
Even if the Chosen Ones didn’t come out, the relentless knocking continued, disrupting their counting.
It was pure mental torture.
This stage was meant to test the Chosen Ones’ abilities. If they wasted too much time, they wouldn’t be able to leave at the right moment.
But the Chosen Ones would rather go out ten minutes late than leave early.
So the supernatural beings had another advantage. Someone like Sidney was barely affected.
Even after half an hour of knocking, he sat steady in his room, counting like a mountain, unmoved.
Was there anyone even less affected?
Of course there was. At first, Zhang Yangqing ignored the knocking—a couple of raps, no big deal. But when the door kept getting pounded, that was just asking for it.
So, to the loli girl’s shock, he opened the door.
The moment she heard the door open, the loli girl’s face was filled with unease and fear.
Because at night, the maids would mutate and grow stronger, becoming beings even she found hard to handle.
The loli girl didn’t understand why her partner was so reckless. Did he truly not know the rules?
But then, she understood.
Seeing the door open, the eerie maid had been ready to give the rule-breaking guest a nasty surprise.
But the guest gave her one first.
At the sound of that crisp, resounding slap echoed outside, the loli girl—still sitting on the sofa—instinctively covered her own face.
She could almost feel the burning sting.
She couldn’t even imagine what would happen if that hand hit her face—would a layer of skin peel off?
She thought to herself: I guess he went easy on me after all…
With that, her frustration toward Zhang Yangqing eased a little.
After the maid got slapped, the door slammed shut again, leaving her dumbfounded outside.
What the heck? This guy doesn’t follow the rules at all!
This all-too-familiar scene had the audience in stitches.
: Here it comes—I knew Master Zhang would serve the horrors their favorite snack: a big ol’ slap!
: That’s right. In the horror world, nothing says “know your place” like a good smack.
: I’m also curious—why don’t other supernatural beings slap the horrors? Aren’t they supernaturals too?
: You can think of it this way: there are two types of supernaturals—first, Master Zhang, and second, everyone else.
By now, the audience knew how to analyze things. Other supernaturals, when faced with danger, only had a bit more fleeing or resisting ability than ordinary Chosen Ones.
Only a Dragon Kingdom celestial master could truly suppress and destroy.
Even viewers from Raman were stirring the pot, egging the Pope on.
But the Pope ignored them.
Because the Pope could tell—if he got infected, he wouldn’t fare much better either.
Back in the horror world, while other Chosen Ones endured over half an hour of torment, Zhang Yangqing’s room returned to silence.
Time slipped by, but the knocking continued.
This stage didn’t end exactly at 1 AM.
Many Chosen Ones were growing anxious—they’d been counting for over an hour, and then some.
Why was the knocking still going?
At this point, the Korean Chosen One, Kim Jung-ki, swallowed hard.
“Is the final test of this stage… daring to open the door?”
If it was past 1 AM, there shouldn’t be any danger, right?
[Rule 6: While staying here, if you hear shouting or knocking between 12 AM and 1 AM, please ignore it.]
That’s what the rule said. So it must be right.
With that thought, Kim Jung-ki gathered his courage and opened the door.
The eerie maid outside gave off a chilling aura, a cold draft hitting his face.
Since the Chosen Ones were all blind, and it was the dead of night, they couldn’t see a thing anyway—which oddly lessened their fear a little.
When the door opened, the maid said, “Hello, sir. Would you like room cleaning service?”
Kim Jung-ki shook his head. “No, thank you.”
“Very well, sir. Sorry to disturb you.”
With that, the maid turned to leave.
After all, it was past 1 AM. She couldn’t harm the Chosen Ones now.
But at that moment, Kim Jung-ki suddenly remembered something and called out, “Wait—can you take me to the butler?”
Now was the time to see who had the guts.
Who knows what strange things might happen next? He didn’t know where the butler was, so asking a maid who couldn’t hurt him right now was the best option.
This was the horror world giving the Chosen Ones an opportunity.
Because he had less than an hour to find the old butler and rescue his companions.
If the clock struck again, something unexpected might happen.
If he let the maid leave and searched on his own, unless he happened to run into a passing maid while wandering the villa, he’d lose his only chance to ask for directions.
“Certainly, sir. Please follow me.”
The knocking maid accepted Kim Jung-ki’s request.
Those who didn’t react in time missed their chance to speed things up.
By the time they remembered, it was too late.
There was no maid at Zhang Yangqing’s door—he opened it right on time.
Other Chosen Ones didn’t dare go out early, but he had no such hesitation.
That one slap had already told him how capable the maids really were.
Watching the pitch-black hallway, the loli girl said, “Do I have to come?”
Zhang Yangqing smiled faintly—like a demon in the dark—and said, “What do you think?”
His words usually left no room for negotiation, so the loli girl had no choice but to follow.
Since she’d been here often, she had some idea of the layout.
Normally, the owner wouldn’t let servants sleep inside the villa. They slept in smaller houses nearby.
At this stage, the loli girl’s chatterbox nature actually proved useful.
She kept pointing out what was where, giving Zhang Yangqing some sense of the place.
Other Chosen Ones could only follow along. Unless they asked, the maid wouldn’t offer any information.
It was deep into the night, and usually, the horror world at night was especially terrifying—Chosen Ones had to stay several times more alert.
But now, since they were all blind, day and night didn’t make much difference.
After counting exactly 39 steps, there was a small dip in the floor.
The maid seemed to be leading the Chosen One down another set of stairs.
Sidney reacted the quickest. “Wait—isn’t this the ground floor? Where are you taking me?”
The eerie maid answered, “Oh, there’s a path down here too. It’s a shortcut.”
“No thanks. We’ll stay above ground.”
“Very well, sir.”
Sidney had been polite, and the maid’s disappointment at not leading him astray was almost palpable.
If he’d gone down, she could have attacked him.
Though Sidney was a supernatural being, he still considered the risk of fighting the maid too high.
For most supernaturals, they didn’t dare test their combat power against horrors.
What if they couldn’t win? Wouldn’t they be killed?
What if there was contamination or a virus down there?
Even if they survived, they’d be seriously injured.
So they chose to endure, only unleashing their full strength in life-or-death moments.
That was the standard tactic among supernaturals.
Only someone like Zhang Yangqing—who believed no one was stronger than him—would slap horrors around so carelessly.
That kind of confidence only came from being at the very top.
In places where it was clearly a trap, the Chosen Ones wouldn’t make mistakes.
If it said 39 steps, they counted 39. Not one more.
After all, everyone who made it here had some skill—unless their brain suddenly failed them.
As Zhang Yangqing stepped out of the villa, the fresh scent of earth filled the air.
Probably from the grassy grounds around the estate.
“There used to be a lot of flowers here…”
The loli girl started rambling again.
“Hold on.”
Zhang Yangqing suddenly stopped her.
She obediently stood still, scanning the surroundings, thinking there might be danger nearby.
Then Zhang Yangqing said, “Take another route?”
The loli girl didn’t get it—like a child asking endless “whys”—and started questioning: “Why? This road is fine, isn’t it? It’s the shortest one.”
Zhang Yangqing had no patience for her pointless questions.
He just raised his hand, and the loli girl immediately changed course, muttering quietly, “Fine, fine, I’ll change paths. No need to be so grumpy…”
Because her body instinctively reacted, she was afraid of getting slapped too.
That was a good habit.
And those Chosen Ones who took that route? They probably wouldn’t survive the night.
