Chapter 65 Shut Your Mouth

Chapter 65 Shut Your Mouth

Of course, the manor's master isn't that generous. After Chen Shijin ate the second piece of red plum cake served by a maid, he realized the piece Yue Feng gave him must have had something added to make it so energizing.

Chen Shijin looked at Yue Feng across him with a mix of suspicion and surprise. This guy, from the moment he met him in the devouring world, always wanted to bite into his energy, never giving anything away. Why would he suddenly decide to 'shed fur'?

Something's fishy.

Yue Feng must be up to no good.

But what's eaten is his, and Yue Feng can't expect him to spit it out.

Let's assume Yue Feng had a momentary lapse of reason.

However, seeing Yue Feng's proud and somewhat boastful smile, Chen Shijin thought him more of a peacock showing off its feathers than someone having a brain fart.

Just like a wealthy dog bragging about its stockpile of food.

But compared to Yue Feng, who might act foolishly or boastfully but crucially wouldn’t hold him back at a critical moment—this "uncertain ally"—he was more concerned about the charming, gentle-smiling blond man.

It was he who caught a chill when his cloak was pulled down by the gardener in the Plum Garden, yet it was another woman on his team who ended up coughing to death.

This ability to transfer one's own afflictions to another seems rather deadly.

Chen Shijin's eyebrows drooped, pondering if the next time this transfer occurs, would it target him?

It's apparent that the exiles entering this Silent Manor all aim to kill him. With such a potent coughing weapon, might the blond man target him next?

Chen Shijin felt a gaze on him and looked up to see the blond man smiling at him.

Chen Shijin forced a smile.

Ah. It seems he's definitely going to make a move on him.

After all, such a deadly method is too useful—

The healer who also lost his cloak and caught a chill in the Plum Garden, now with greenish skin, is still in danger.

Even though he's a level-four healer, continuously healing himself and restoring his health and vitality, he still coughs uncontrollably at the peak of his endurance.

He's already coughed uncontrollably four times.

At this moment, everyone in the hall is watching him, their eyes filled with a mix of pity and indifference, waiting for his death.

After all, the body of the woman who coughed herself to death is still there, and everyone is reminded of the inviolable rule of survival in Silent Manor—

Speak no more than five sentences, or face certain death.

Even though coughing wouldn't normally count as speaking, Silent Manor is far from normal.

Any sound made is prohibited.

As the man with the greenish complexion turns red-eyed and starts gasping for air as if he's about to lose control and cough again, the burly man sitting next to him is so anxious that he's sweating profusely, rubbing his hands, trying to think of something to do.

Yet, he doesn't know how to help his companion avoid this deadly crisis.

Chen Shijin indeed had a solution.

Yet, he took another warm sip of his red tea. Why should he share it with these enemies wishing for his demise?

With one less enemy, he gains an advantage.

If possible, he'd prefer to silently endure until the end and emerge as the victor without shedding blood.

However, the man with the green face ultimately did not die.

Just as he couldn't suppress the fifth cough, the extremely tall and thin man sitting on his other side acted swiftly, precisely pinching the green-faced man's carotid artery and rendering him unconscious within two seconds.

The green-faced man wore a relieved smile as he passed out. Knowing the team leader's intention as soon as he was targeted, he offered no resistance and fainted as he had hoped.

Once unconscious, he wouldn't feel the itch in his throat, and even if he had a fever or runny nose, he definitely wouldn't cough uncontrollably.

At least in this silent world, passing out was much safer than succumbing to a cold.

This time, Chen Shijin's gaze turned towards the tall, thin man in the trench coat, clearly the leader of this elite team. Although he hadn't looked Chen Shijin directly in the eye from the start, Chen knew this man was the strongest among all those wanting to kill him in these three squads.

Through his "Heaven's Eye," the energy aura on him shone excessively bright, outshining everyone except Yue Feng and the lady in the green cloak.

He's probably already at the level of a fifth-tier ruler.

Such a person, if determined to kill him, stands a great chance in this world.

Yet, for some reason, he has not made his move, but Chen Shijin is certain there's not a shred of goodwill towards him.

Sometimes, a critical strike at the right moment is all it takes to determine the outcome.

Tsk.

His current situation isn't too good.

Although the three squads intent on killing him have drastically reduced in number, leaving only nine, those who have survived thus far are tough elites.

If they were to attack him recklessly at the same time, he would indeed have difficulty responding.

But the beauty of it lies in their choice to consume him in such a world.

If it comes down to it, he's prepared for a mutual destruction.

Achieving this in other worlds might be difficult, but in this world, it's truly simple.

All it takes is countless screaming chickens.

Thus, by using this world's restrictions on him, they've also limited themselves.

Chen Shijin drew a caterpillar on his writing pad.

Perhaps it's only a limitation for those people themselves.

[Ladies and gentlemen, lunch is ready. You may proceed to the dining room.]

By the time they sat down at the dining table, the number of exiles had decreased from thirteen to twelve.

Fortunately, with the experience from last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast, today's lunch also had its surprises, but everyone managed to catch or prevent accidents, avoiding situations where they had to make a sound.

After lunch, Chen Shijin, who was almost universally suspected by the three squads, walked out in full view of everyone, indicating he wanted to stroll around Silent Manor on his own.

He intended to take a good look at the hundred servants of Silent Manor.

To see what tricks their shadows held.

Seeing this, Yue Feng stood up without hesitation and followed him, knowing that seeking amusement alone couldn't compare to the joy of finding trouble with Sweetheart.

This must be the case of shared joy being better than solitary happiness.

After the two left, Wu Qingyu rolled her eyes at their retreating figures and, in front of everyone, went straight to the fireplace to begin dozing off, seeking solitude.

She came here to enjoy some quiet, not to be disturbed by anyone, wishing to sleep peacefully.

The remaining nine glanced at the long-haired woman sleeping lazily by the fireplace, showing no interest, and then at Sweetheart Jin and Yue Feng, who seemed to be looking for trouble or perhaps the man-eating monster.

The target was almost blatantly obvious.

The remaining eight alert elites exchanged looks.

The first to raise their writing pad was from the team that had lost the most members.

They had started with eight, and now, in less than two days, only two remained.

The team leader and deputy had become the sole survivors.

[The one in the plaid skirt, Sweetheart, that's him, right?]

[How about we join forces?]

The writing pad was directed at the blond Alun and the tall man in the trench coat, clearly the strongest among them.

The man in the trench coat remained silent.

Blond Alun smiled.

[He's highly vigilant and wary of us. If we can't kill him in one strike, I've seen a determination in his eyes to drag everyone down with him, a mix of cold indifference and madness.]

The thug looked annoyed at the message.

[So we do nothing?! I don't want to stay in this damned place any longer!]

This world is more dangerous and worse than he thought.

Blond Alun then showed a resolve to persevere.

[Let me try first, then.]

[I think I've got a simple plan. But, I might still need a little help from you all.]

The others looked up at him.

*

By this time, Chen Shijin and Yue Feng had already started wandering around Silent Manor, encountering seven janitors cleaning and six bodyguards patrolling the grounds.

Chen Shijin closely observed their shadows on the snow.

All were normal, either elongated or shortened human silhouettes. There were no more deformed monsters like the ones with several heads atop their shadows.

Does attacking them reveal shadow anomalies, or do such monsters only show their true form in uncontrollable accidents when caught off guard?

Chen Shijin focused on the shadows flickering before him, deep in thought.

Yue Feng poked him, only to be ignored.

He poked him again, continuing to be ignored.

Bored and seeking mischief, Yue Feng began squatting down to form snowballs. His intentions were clear.

Then, he found himself kicked into a snowdrift by Chen Shijin.

Joyfully, he hurled a snowball at Chen Shijin's face.

Chen Shijin: .

Wanting to laugh yet feeling the urge to scold.

Never mind, at least he thought of an [accident] that no one could avoid on a snowy day.

So, Chen Shijin picked up his writing pad and earnestly wrote down a few words.

Yue Feng leaned in to see what he was writing:

[Whoever I glare at, slips!]

He pressed hard on the last stroke, and the silent spell took effect.

Yue Feng: ?

Chen Shijin turned and gave him a fierce glare.

Yue Feng: ...

Yue Feng cooperatively took a step and then slipped, falling over.

He was still laughing as he fell.

As if the spell had indeed taken effect on him.

Chen Shijin: Damn it, I shouldn't have wasted energy on this guy!

He turned and glared angrily at two bodyguards who happened to walk by, their faces seemingly mocking their likelihood of slipping.

Then, both bodyguards simultaneously slipped, their faces twisting in disbelief, legs flung high, and they landed hard on their backsides!

！！！

The expressions of pain on the faces of the two bodyguards were identical.

But they both remained professionally silent.

Chen Shijin paid close attention to their shadows and, noticing no distortion from the fall, coldly turned to glare at three janitors cleaning nearby.

？！

！！

……

He glared at the first janitor, who then slipped and sent his broom flying. The shadow was normal.

He glared at the second janitor, who nearly sliced the third janitor's pants with his shovel.

Then, startled, the third janitor stepped back and also slipped, causing Chen Shijin's gaze to sharpen suddenly—

The third janitor's shadow showed that two-second distortion and transformation again.

It was the strange appearance with several heads.

So, it was the third janitor.

Previously it was the gardener, now it's the janitor.

This doesn't quite match the hint given by the world task.

Chen Shijin sneered inwardly.

The world task never mentioned that this man-eating monster could have several different faces.

Chen Shijin began to closely observe what set the third janitor apart from the other two.

This led to—

The moment the third janitor steadied himself, he uncontrollably slipped again, and after falling eight times in a row, to the incredulous looks and questioning glances of the other two janitors and the two security guards wondering if his cerebellum was malfunctioning, the janitor suspected of being a man-eating monster simply lay down in despair, motionless.

Even his shadow couldn't maintain a human form anymore.

What's happening to this body?! Can't it keep its balance all of a sudden?!!

It was then that Chen Shijin noticed something different about the third janitor's body—

He was significantly chubbier than the other two janitors.

Not naturally chubby, but as if there was an extra layer… like a skin wrapped around a human body.

Chen Shijin was about to investigate further when his view was suddenly blocked by a group of people arriving together.

Among them was the very genial-smiling blond Alun, who was giving him a very, very, very provocative smile, even his eyes seemed to sparkle with a captivating allure.

Clearly, they were up to no good.

Chen Shijin stopped in his tracks.

Watching them approach with a certain secretive, determined look in their eyes.

Suddenly, a cold laugh.

So, as they were approaching Sweetheart, the five people with blond Alun suddenly saw him, after a moment of silence, reveal a cold laugh and glare fiercely at them with wide eyes!

Alun paused for a moment but then quickened his pace. Chen Shijin might have sensed the danger, but so what? They had laid a trap, and as long as he could get close to Chen Shijin, disguised as Sweetheart, and touch him, he would surely, huh?!

Suddenly, Alun felt his feet slip, losing his balance and uncontrollably crashing to the ground.

Before he could react, the four exiles walking beside him to provide cover and set the trap also slipped without warning, sprawling in all directions towards him.

One by one, they thudded down, legs in the air, converging on blond Alun from four different directions.

Alun: ...Damn!

Unwilling to believe their misfortune, Alun and the others gritted their teeth and stood up, attempting to continue towards Sweetheart.

Then, like the earlier incident with the third janitor, they experienced the same uncontrollable, cerebellum-malfunction-like “slipping disaster” of slipping with every step they took.

Even as they flailed and used all their core strength trying to stay upright, it was utterly futile.

From the moment they spotted Sweetheart Jin to the painstakingly close distance of less than ten meters from where he initially stood, they fell dozens of times.

By this time, Sweetheart Jin had already walked away towards the glasshouse with Yue Feng.

Blond Alun, doubting his life choices after the fall: ...

He glared at the snow under his feet. Was it really this slippery?!