Chapter 8 Wandering in the Villa...

The night was deep, and the rain outside was gradually subsiding. The villa's walls boasted excellent soundproofing; once you shut the windows and doors in the room, there was only silence.

In the darkness, a door close to the corridor opened gently.

Zhan Qian, in her long black dress, blended perfectly into the night. She touched the various mysterious decorations on her body, took a deep breath, and mustered the courage to step out of the room.

She had no desire to experience the consequences of failing the mission.

Previously, the system mentioned that newcomers could ask questions, so she specifically asked what would happen if she failed the main mission.

But the system only mentioned there would be penalties, without revealing what they were.

Whatever it was that had brought them into this world, she did not know, but it was definitely not something she could confront!

Zhan Qian recalled the variety of novels she had read and imagined all sorts of dire consequences for not completing the mission. She frightened herself into believing that failure was not an option.

Since it was a Scripted Murder Game, it was unlikely that there would be a completely impassable dead end. Moreover, the system mentioned this was a scenario for newcomers, maybe the ghost was a benevolent spirit...

She groped her way down the stairs, her mind filled with all sorts of muddled thoughts, all to keep herself from getting too scared.

She looked around the pitch-black villa; though it only had two floors, the dome was quite high.

Looking up, the darkness above seemed like an abyss ready to devour someone.

Zhan Qian shivered, quickly looking away, and began reciting the Great Compassion Mantra in her mind while taking a candle out.

She knew the others would surely have different missions, which might also commence tonight, but all that was irrelevant to her. She wanted to complete her own assignment.

Furthermore, searching for ghosts and seeking out secrets seemed like the kind of exploratory tasks that wouldn't conflict with the others' missions.

Shouldn't be, right...

I'll search for mine, you search for yours...

Muttering softly, Zhan Qian used a match to light the candle, then proceeded forward with the faint glow as her guide.

She focused on searching the corners of the villa, hoping to find something like a basement—a common feature in such large estates, usually designed as safe rooms.

Dark places often harbored the most secrets.

As she felt along the walls, there was a sudden "click" at the villa's entrance.

Zhan Qian shivered violently, whipping her head around to look. A chill breeze touched her, clearly distinct in the silence of the villa, accompanied by the gentle patter of rain.

What was that?

A ghost entered?!

At this thought, Zhan Qian's breathing became rapid. She looked down at the mysterious decorations on her body, then clenched the cross necklace in her hand and began to walk toward the door with quick, light steps.

The villa's main door was ajar, opened to the width of half a person.

Cold air seeped through the gap, with the vast darkness outside and the rain's gentle sounds drifting in, mingled with a chilling coldness.

Zhan Qian carefully observed her surroundings as she edged closer, the candle casting a muddled light around her. Up until now, she hadn't detected anything strange, and there were no prompts from the system.

Seeing the open door, Zhan Qian pursed her lips, pondered for a brief moment, and then boldly strode over to fling the door wide open!

The burst of courage caused her heart to race; her eyes wide open, staring into the outside. However, there was only the fragrance of moist earth and the drifting rain—no ghost in sight.

No, that wasn't right!

Either something had come in, or, something had gone out!

Having already mustered the courage to open the door, an increasingly motivated Zhan Qian walked out, holding the candle high under the eaves as she surveyed the surroundings.

The night wind blew, causing the candle flame to flicker gently.

Realizing the situation, Zhan Qian quickly shielded her light, glancing around superstitiously.

What on earth had just happened?

Could it be that the villa's main door, deteriorated with age, had opened on its own?

Not even a ghost would believe that.

Zhan Qian trembled both psychologically and physically as she stepped back to the doorway, peeking inside the villa. All she saw was pitch-black darkness, not even a ghostly shadow.

Suddenly, another cold wind came sweeping through, chilling her slender frame.

Zhan Qian shivered and began to think about backing out.

But just as she was about to turn around, a thick bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the sky, illuminating the courtyard not far away, and the white figure standing in the corner became strikingly clear in that instant!

"Ah!"

A subsequent peal of thunder roared, as if the whole mountain were bellowing, drowning out a brief, shrill scream.

[Congratulations on completing Task One: Find the ghost wandering in the mansion.]

...

In a guest room on the second floor, dark and silent.

Yang Ming was wearing night vision goggles when he suddenly paused and asked, "Did you just hear a scream?"

"You're losing your mind," Tan Xiaohe put on Bluetooth earphones and casually replied, "Do you think this is like a horror movie where we get a scream right before the action starts and then the escape prelude begins?"

Yang Ming twitched his mouth, "Sounds like you're the one who watches too many horror movies."

Both dressed in black suitable for stealth, after putting on their gear, they quietly opened the door and went out. Taking the lead, Tan Xiaohe signaled with her hand and then rapidly moved forward against the wall, looking highly professional.

Yang Ming, following behind with a tense face, wasn't quite as graceful as he scuttled along the wall, and he reached the second corridor on the left.

The two found the location of the study with precision. Tan Xiaohe was about to pick the lock when she realized the door was merely ajar.

"What's up?" Yang Ming, trailing behind, inquired softly as he saw her halt.

Tan Xiaohe didn't answer; instead, she turned and made a shushing gesture, then gently pushed the door open and scanned the interior. The study wasn't large, and after a quick sweep revealed no one inside, she slipped in.

Seeing this, Yang Ming followed quickly, closing the door and locking it behind him.

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

Tan Xiaohe urged while checking other places; she inspected both the bookshelf and under the desk.

Yang Ming moved forward, turned on the computer on the desk, and then connected his tablet with a data cable.

Their equipment was high-end, with detectors and computers, to directly steal the villa owner's information, making the search for items all the more convenient, right?

And Yang Ming happened to be a programmer.

While her teammate was hacking into someone's computer, Tan Xiaohe rummaged through the other items in the study, hoping to find more clues until she pryed open a locked drawer. That's when she finally noticed something odd.

A pile of full letter papers.

So many letters?

Tan Xiaohe casually picked up a piece of paper and looked it over, her expression growing blanker the more she read.

As Yang Ming busied himself with transferring data, he noticed the girl crouching beside the desk seemed off and took a moment to ask, "What's wrong, did you find something?"

Tan Xiaohe didn't respond, but passed the letter paper to him.

The words on the paper were written in pretty, delicate small script, seemingly by a woman.

But the content was rather explosive—

"Devil! Pervert! Madman! You will not die well! I will never let you off! Absolutely will not let you off! I want you to die alongside me! I want you to be consumed by demons! I want you to descend to the Eighteen Levels of Hell!"

Having read just a part, Yang Ming: "..."

The whole page was densely packed with curse-laden words that made one's skin crawl.

He shakily handed the paper back and refocused on the tablet, deciding to stick to his task.

No problem, don't be so curious.

They were just there to steal some riches.