A Strange Welcome

　　When they regained consciousness, they had all arrived behind the blood-red wooden door.

　　They were separated into a beautiful villa complex in a suburban area.

　　However, strangely, although the villas were built with great sophistication, they seemed to be lifeless.

　　After passing through several villas, Ning confirmed that there was no one in the villa complex.

　　It was eerily quiet.

　　"Is it uninhabited, or are they all out at work?"

　　Ning carefully observed the villa complex, as if he had discovered something.

　　"No..."

　　"The gardens have been recently trimmed, there are goldfish in the pond, and there are some commonly used tools in the yard...There should be people living here."

　　"But...where did they all go?"

　　A hint of doubt flashed in Ning's mind, and he continued walking forward.

　　Soon, he saw the villa that the task required them to enter.

　　It was not difficult to recognize.

　　Because in the entire villa complex, only this villa had someone standing outside.

　　It was a woman dressed in a glamorous, stylish outfit, carrying a suitcase.

　　She was wearing a sun hat with a small red flower pinned on it, and she was holding the hand of a young girl, about eight or nine years old. 

　　They were standing in the yard under the not-so-hot sun, smiling at the people who came here.

　　The woman smiled beautifully, the kind of wife who gets prettier the more you look at her, but for some reason, Ning felt a chill down his spine when he looked at her smile.

　　That smile didn't seem like she was welcoming guests, it was more like...

　　Just as Ning was lost in thought, a big hand patted him on the shoulder.

　　Ning jumped in surprise and turned to see that it was Liu with the bushy beard.

　　"Bro, you're here too?"

　　Ning nodded.

　　"Yeah, it looks like that villa is where we need to go."

　　Liu took a distant look at the villa and his expression became much more serious. 

　　He then pinched his fingers and muttered:

　　"Damn..."

　　Seeing him like this, Ning's eyes lit up:

　　"You can tell fortunes?"

　　Liu shook his head.

　　"Outside, I do help people tell fortunes...but I just realized, I actually can't tell fortunes, I'm just a charlatan."

　　Ning's breath caught in his throat.

　　This is crazy.

　　This guy really...is the quintessential example.

　　He's told so many lies that he believes them himself, right?

　　Also...

　　Why can you say this so confidently?

　　"Forget it..."

　　Ning helplessly shook his head and directly took a step forward, walking towards the villa where the woman was standing.

　　There were already people there.

　　The villa's hostess didn't speak to them, just gave them an official smile.

　　The smile was neither cold nor warm. 

　　When they spoke to the hostess, she would only reply with: 

　　"Please wait, a few nurses haven't arrived yet."

　　After about ten minutes, the seven of them were finally all present.

　　At this moment, as if a certain condition was triggered, the hostess, who had only been smiling, suddenly spoke to them:

　　"Are you all here now?"

　　"I'm so sorry to ask you all to come and take care of my mother. My husband is out on business, and I need to take my daughter to the beach for her birthday, so there's really no one at home..."

　　"My mother is old and not only paralyzed in bed but also has severe cognitive impairment. I was worried that two or three nurses might not be able to take good care of her, so I simply hired you all from the company..."

　　"You don't have to worry about the money, I'm not short of money."

　　"After I come back...if my mother is well taken care of, I will pay you individually."

　　She spoke, leading the group into the villa and onto the second floor, to a spacious room.

　　The room had poor lighting.

　　There was...a not very pleasant smell inside.

　　On the large bed by the window, lay an elderly woman with a kind face, looking calmly at Ning and the others.

　　A subtle, eerie smile hung on her face, giving everyone a feeling that their hairs were standing on end.

　　"This is my mother..."

　　The woman introduced her mother to them, then squatted down beside the old woman, her eyes filled with affection.

　　"Mom, I'm going to take Tuan Tuan to the beach for her birthday, I specially found seven nurses for you, they will take care of you for the next five days..."

　　After she finished speaking, she leaned closer to the old woman's ear and whispered something.

　　Then the woman stood up, looked at the group, and smiled.

　　"My mother is paralyzed in bed and has some senility, but she can understand some simple words. And my mother's body is generally good, she doesn't have any other diseases, and her appetite is good...oh right, I haven't taken you to the kitchen yet."

　　She spoke, and then led the group downstairs to the villa's kitchen.

　　The kitchen was also very large, with a full set of kitchen utensils on the table, all of which were meticulously cleaned.

　　On the left side of the kitchen entrance, there were two huge refrigerators.

　　"It's summer here now, and the rainy season is coming soon. The rainstorms here are terrifying, and there may be strong winds and heavy rains in the next three to five days, which will make it very inconvenient to buy vegetables and meat..."

　　The woman spoke, pulled open one of the large refrigerators, revealing the meat and vegetables that were packed inside, and smiled at the group.

　　"But you don't have to worry."

　　"I have already prepared plenty of food and water for you..."

　　"Also...my mother doesn't like vegetables, so when you make meals for her, just cook more meat."

　　After the woman finished speaking, she didn't immediately leave with her daughter, but asked the group:

　　"Do you have any other questions?"

　　Ning was the first to speak:

　　"Excuse me, does anyone else live in this villa area?"

　　The woman was stunned for a moment, then smiled confidently.

　　"Yes, actually, this villa complex has been built for some time, but because it's too remote, no one else lives here except for us. In fact, if it wasn't for my mother, we wouldn't live here either..."

　　After a pause, she added:

　　"During these five days, just treat yourselves as the owners of the villa. I've already tidied up the accommodation on the second floor for you, just choose the room you like."

　　"But pay attention, everyone...you absolutely, absolutely cannot enter the third floor of the villa, understood?"

　　As she said this, the woman's expression suddenly became extremely serious.

　　Everyone agreed.

　　Seeing that everyone agreed, the hostess smiled again.

　　"Since you all understand, then...I'll leave my mother in your care!"

　　"Oh, the car is about to leave, I have to leave with my daughter now, or we'll miss the train..."

　　She spoke, hurried to the door in her high heels, and took her daughter and luggage to leave.

　　Ning vaguely felt something was not right, so he went to the window and watched the woman leave.

　　Just as they were getting in the car, the little girl held by the woman turned her head and met Ning's gaze through the window.

　　This glance directly stunned Ning.

　　His eyesight was very good.

　　So, Ning clearly saw a hint of...fear in the little girl's eyes!

　　She was afraid.

　　Afraid of what?

　　Afraid of going to the beach?

　　Afraid of her mother?

　　Or...afraid of the villa they were in?

　　Just as Ning was thinking, Liu, the big man with the bushy beard, came over and clicked his tongue.

　　"What are you looking at? They're gone."

　　"Bro, I didn't expect you to be into married women at such a young age...not bad, not bad, you have a bright future!"