Chapter 222: Huaishu Road Construction Site Strange Tales 20

Chapter 222: Huaishu Road Construction Site Strange Tales 20

"??????"

The bullet screen was instantly filled with question marks.

"What happened?"

"Did the NPC lose his balance?"

"Ahhh, look, the door closed!"

Dense text filled the air in front of Qin Fei's eyes. The young man slightly lowered his eyelashes, his expression unchanged, and flicked his fingers to turn off the interface.

The door to the Property Management Office had been half-open, but after Hu Xiao fell out with his butt in the air, it immediately slammed shut at lightning speed.

"Bang!"

The wooden door slammed against the frame, shutting out Hu Xiao's scream.

No one knew what Hu Xiao experienced outside, but his scream was both tragic and piercing, lasting only a few seconds.

Soon, accompanied by a crisp "snap," the scream abruptly stopped.

If they hadn't misheard, that was probably the sound of a neck bone breaking in two.

Qin Fei's eyes darkened slightly as he took everything in.

"The eighth round of the game has ended. Congratulations to the surviving players!!!"

The game-ending system announcement, with its comical cheerful tone, echoed in the empty room, accompanied by the sound of fireworks.

The source of contamination stood up and walked towards where Qin Fei was.

The tall man held a lamp in his hand, the warm yellow light illuminating the room and brightening His features.

He stopped in front of Qin Fei, looking down at the young man's long lashes bathed in the light.

"Why don't you get up?" the source of contamination asked.

Qin Fei lifted his gaze. His amber eyes showed neither lingering panic nor joy from surviving; he simply stated a fact calmly: "My legs are numb. I need a break."

He was human, with bones and flesh, and had been squatting motionless for nearly two hours. Naturally, he couldn't get up right away.

The source of contamination looked at Qin Fei, pondered for a moment, and then squatted down next to him.

The two of them squatted tightly together in the corner, both dressed in black, like two mushrooms growing side by side.

When Mi Yang and Chen Zaocha limped through the door, this was the scene they saw.

They were taken aback.

Mi Yang blinked and hesitantly asked, "Um... what happened just now?"

Throughout the entire eighth round of the game, Mi Yang and Chen Zaocha had been on edge. After the game ended, they didn't rest like Qin Fei did; instead, they limped towards the Property Management Office with their blood circulation impaired.

Fortunately, Xiao Qin was fine.

Mother Sheep breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who opened the door?" Chen Zaocha asked curiously.

Was it their team's NPC, or did Xiao Qin have another plan?

Qin Fei nodded: "It was Hu Xiao."

Actually, not entirely.

To be precise, Qin Fei saw Hu Xiao's intention and went along with it, giving him a final push at the crucial moment.

"Hu Xiao understood the hint before the eighth round," Qin Fei said. "He tried to open the door to let the female ghost in, but I kicked him out."

In an unseen corner, the ghost infant squatted, its pale skin showing faint scars that quickly faded.

The little thing tilted its head, looking at everyone. The kick that sent Hu Xiao flying was its doing.

Qin Fei had noticed something odd about Hu Xiao quite early on.

Having stayed in the darkness for so long, Qin Fei's vision had adapted to the surroundings.

Therefore, when Hu Xiao entered the office, all those expressions he thought were hidden—crazy, vengeful, desperate—were seen by Qin Fei.

Some details Hu Xiao thought no one would notice had already been observed by Qin Fei.

When Hu Xiao first entered the room, he was trembling in fear, trying hard not to make too much noise but still adjusting his posture slightly.

Until a certain point.

Suddenly, Hu Xiao became completely still, his hands always in his pockets, though the gesture made his posture awkward.

Qin Fei was almost certain: Hu Xiao was planning to betray them, and he had some kind of life-saving item in his hand, which gave him the confidence to act.

Qin Fei's brief statement surprised Mi Yang and Chen Zaocha.

Chen Zaocha looked confused. He had assumed Xiao Qin opened the door to let the NPC die for clues, but it turned out the NPC had done it himself.

He knew Xiao Qin had no reason to lie about this, but he still couldn't understand:

"Although the system said the female ghost would only kill one person, how could Hu Xiao dare to do it?"

Indeed, in this strange tale game, opening the door did not require approaching it first.

However, the other two people in the room were not inexperienced rookies. Even if Hu Xiao had hidden himself in the farthest corner, he couldn't guarantee his safety, right?

The source of contamination spoke up for the first time:

"This scenario is set in a strange tale world where humans and strange tales coexist. Hu Xiao is a native of the strange tale world, so it's not surprising that he has some special items to deal with strange tales."

Qin Fei remained silent, his fingers moving slightly inside his pocket, rubbing against a gourd-shaped pendant between his index and middle fingers.

It was a red string bracelet with the pendant hanging in the center. The thing Hu Xiao kept touching was this very item.

Since he anticipated that Hu Xiao would open the door, he naturally made thorough preparations.

Hu Xiao's actions were too obvious. Qin Fei identified him within less than a minute, and when the ghost infant pushed Hu Xiao out, it also stole the item from his pocket.

Without the item, Hu Xiao was like a lamb entering a tiger's den when he fell at the feet of the female ghost, and the game ended smoothly.

Mi Yang was taken aback.

This W, wasn't he an NPC as well? He was clearly a native character from the strange tale world. Why did he speak as if he were detached from the situation?

Chen Zaocha scratched the back of his head: "It seems indeed... I heard from others in our guild that he met an NPC in the previous strange tale who should have died but somehow survived."

—As if he had two lives.

That was the player's exact words.

Chen Zaocha's words disrupted Mi Yang's thoughts: "Damn, so he planned to sacrifice the players because he had an item to avoid damage?"

Being betrayed by players in scenarios isn't uncommon, but Hu Xiao, an NPC who looked ordinary, turned out to be so ruthless.

Qin Fei responded with a soft "Hmm": "This NPC is definitely not just an ordinary person attending the research meeting for the first time, as he claimed."

Hu Xiao's disguise had been well-formed since the beginning of the strange tale.

In the past day or so, he successfully fooled everyone with his timid behavior.

His acting skills were impressive; if not for the pressure in the final rounds, his flaws wouldn't have been exposed so clearly.

Chen Zaocha spoke softly: "So, now that the game is over and Hu Xiao died at the hands of the female ghost, what about the clue you mentioned?"

Nothing seemed to have happened.

When Chen Zaocha and Mi Yang came from the accounting office, the corridor was still empty.

Mi Yang frowned even more: "Could it be a trick?"

The system has never been fair, and playing tricks on players to achieve better live streaming effects seems consistent with its style.

Qin Fei whispered: "Stay calm."

Whether there was a clue or not, they needed to go out and see for themselves.

...

First-floor women's clothing section.

Lu Cheng and Qi Xiu each stood behind a counter, their faces full of vigilance as they watched the entrance.

As time passed, the originally chaotic shop had been tidied up, with all clothes neatly hung in their designated places, and mannequins dressed appropriately lined up before the racks.

Despite this, the atmosphere in the store didn't improve much.

Lu Cheng tried to lower his breathing, forcing himself not to look at the mannequins.

Even though he deliberately ignored them, the strong sense of being watched persisted.

Lu Cheng lowered his eyelids, almost only seeing his shoes.

He knew that if he looked up, he would see:

Those plastic mannequins, which they had arranged neatly, were now twisting their stiff necks into an eerie and flexible angle, staring at the two men in the room with their pupil-less eyes.

Qi Xiu's lips were tightly pressed together, as if speaking to himself or comforting Lu Cheng: "It's almost 10 o'clock."

Less than five minutes left.

After 10 o'clock, the women's clothing section officially opens, and these unknown spirits should quickly disperse.

In the past two hours, they had already served six customers.

The boss lady hiding in the small dark room behind the shop hadn't broken her promise. When those six unexpected visitors entered the shop, she indeed gave them a hint, indicating whether the guests could be served.

Of the six guests, three were human.

The other three were ghosts.

From previous experiences, humans could be communicated with normally, while the requests of ghosts had to be refused.

Lu Cheng's face was pale: "It's been twenty minutes since the last guest came in."

This meant that before 10 o'clock, they might have to serve another customer.

Lu Cheng's breathing quickened. The ghostly customers who had entered the shop earlier were quite gruesome.

There was one whose limbs were crushed by a truck, asking if there were sleeveless vests available; another with half a shattered skull, dripping brain matter as they walked, looking for a hat; and one carrying a child that looked like it had been dead for eight days, covered in rot and crawling with maggots, seeking baby clothes.

Because the shop named Cosmo Lady Women's Clothing Store had clear rules:

"Our inventory is well-stocked, sizes are complete, we have everything you need."

Therefore, Lu Cheng and Qi Xiu, during their three interactions with the ghosts, used the same refusal:

"Sorry, we can't take this job."

A reason without a reason is least likely to trigger any mishaps.

After all, there was another explicit rule in the store:

"Our staff is paramount; the employees have the right to refuse any customer's purchase request."

Relying on this straightforward approach, the two successfully muddled through three rounds.

Although they suffered no physical harm, the losses in other aspects were considerable.

Each time the ghosts were refused, they would fly into a rage, emitting a chilling aura that caused the two players' sanity points to plummet.

Even though they could recover some of it with potions afterward, Lu Cheng, having endured until now, was already experiencing ringing in his ears, blurred vision, and frequent palpitations.

He felt that if he didn't get off this damned shift soon, he would faint immediately. Qi Xiu, standing beside him, didn't look much better either.

No more customers, please, no more customers... The pitiful player kept praying inwardly.

"Is anyone here?"

A voice sounded in Lu Cheng's ear.

Lu Cheng was initially stunned but then suddenly burst into a joyful expression.

Because the voice did not come from outside the shop; it was that familiar voice...

"Xiao Qin?!" Lu Cheng quickly opened the Guild channel and realized that in the past five minutes, Mi Yang and Qin Fei had sent him messages.

Mi Yang: "We just cleared a small instance on the sixth floor."

Mi Yang: "The sixth floor is full of offices, which were locked before. After clearing the instance, they became accessible. We're trying each room."

Qin Fei: "How's it going on your end?"