Chapter 5: Earl of Rose 5

Hearing the screams from the first floor, Xia Qi didn't even have time to put on his coat and came downstairs in his pajamas.

Just as he reached the first-floor corridor, Xia Qi encountered a Red Side member coming out of the door.

"What are you doing here? Are you here to gawk at our misfortune?" Although Xia Qi's cross-dressing was quite shocking, he was still a competitor, so the Red Side member spoke rudely, filled with hostility.

Xia Qi remembered his purpose and said, "I have no ill intentions; I just want to understand the situation."

"Hmph, don't pretend. You just want to use us to get clues." The Red Side member sneered. Clues were crucial in the game; sometimes one clue could change the entire outcome.

The Blue Side's plot progression was faster than the Red Side's, especially since the Red Side had lost two members, which made the Red Side's veterans feel very humiliated.

Seeing that persuading the Red Side was hopeless, Xia Qi was about to leave when suddenly, Cha Gong's voice came from inside the room: "Hold it."

The door creaked open, and Cha Gong appeared before Xia Qi, looking exhausted.

Cha Gong looked up at Xia Qi, intending to speak, but upon seeing him, he almost doubted his eyes.

Xia Qi looked radiant and energetic, even better than before.

Cha Gong's eyes revealed disbelief. He thought Xia Qi usually had a cold demeanor but was sharp-minded. How could he sleep so well after entering the game?

Feeling puzzled, but remembering that Xia Qi was now a novice, he wouldn't be so complicated yet. So he said in a conflicted tone, "Xia Qi, since you're new to the game, you probably don't know that the deceased carry clues, right? Even though we are lovers, I can't let you see the bodies."

Cha Gong directly mentioned "backdoor entry" in front of the Red Side member. Did he really think he was a fool?

Xia Qi crossed his arms and said coldly, "We've already broken up." They were competitors now.

"Are you still unwilling to forgive me?" Cha Gong sighed regretfully, "Actually, I don't want to do this to you, but we are in a difficult position... If you tell us the real identity of your dance partner, we'll let you see the deceased."

Hearing Cha Gong's proposed trade, Xia Qi almost laughed.

Two dead bodies for clues that advanced the plot to 41%? The Red Side might as well rob them.

"I have a question. If the Blue Side loses the game, what will happen to us?" Xia Qi asked, probing.

Cha Gong didn't expect Xia Qi to worry about losing the game. He thought, indeed, the Blue Side members were all novices; they still didn't know the rules.

It seemed the Blue Side's progress yesterday was purely due to luck, and the game was still dominated by the Red Side.

He needed to use the Blue Side to get clues and retrieve Xia Qi's S-class lottery ticket.

With a smile, Cha Gong said, "Losing the game won't matter much; you'll just get fewer rewards."

He was lying again!

Xia Qi sneered inwardly. If Cha Gong said losing the game wasn't an issue, there must be serious consequences.

This game could cost lives at any moment, and losing could mean facing something worse than death.

Cha Gong was now his enemy.

Pretending to be confused, Xia Qi replied, "My dance partner yesterday... wasn't one of yours? Why do you need to ask me?"

Upon hearing this, Cha Gong and the Red Side member exchanged glances.

The Red Side member carefully observed Xia Qi's expression and then shook his head at Cha Gong.

They couldn't tell if Xia Qi had encountered an NPC.

If Xia Qi insisted his dance partner was a Red Side member, they would confront each member. But since Xia Qi admitted dancing but didn't know the partner, forcing him to admit dancing with an NPC wouldn't reveal anything.

Xia Qi's single sentence blocked all their questions.

"Alright," Cha Gong sighed, then showed a troubled expression to Xia Qi, "Sorry, I can't let you in."

Good.

Xia Qi took a step back.

The Red Side was always scheming. Getting access to the bodies required a price.

What alarmed Xia Qi more was that the Red Side was even more ruthless than he imagined.

He almost revealed crucial clues to the Red Side.

Compared to the oblivious Blue Side, the Red Side reacted swiftly. They had identified that he met a key character and unlocked plot progression through that character. The Red Side's veteran players were formidable.

Even more surprising was Cha Gong, the Red Side leader. If not for this game, Xia Qi wouldn't have known Cha Gong could be so cunning.

However, Xia Qi wasn't worried about the Red Side's clues drying up because he had other ideas.

When Xia Qi returned to the corridor, the butler happened to be leading a group of maids to deliver breakfast. Seeing Xia Qi in his silk robe, the butler covered his eyes and exclaimed, "Madam! How could you come out improperly dressed? Go back to your room and put on your clothes!"

Seeing the butler's exaggerated expression, Xia Qi twitched his lips.

He was clearly wearing long pants and a shirt, so why did the butler make it sound like he was running around naked?

Seeing Xia Qi still dazed, the butler called over two maids, muttering about "proper ladies," and ordered them to "escort" Xia Qi upstairs to change into formal attire.

Hearing the butler emphasize "formal attire," Xia Qi rubbed his temples. His dignity was shattered in this game.

Returning to his room, Xia Qi found the formal attire he had carelessly thrown on the sofa missing. While searching, a maid suddenly said, "Madam, how did your formal attire end up on the terrace?"

The formal attire was on the terrace?!

Xia Qi walked through the stained glass door in confusion and headed towards the terrace.

At this moment, right in the center of the terrace, hung a brand new pure white lace dress. Under the soft sunlight, the dress seemed to be enveloped in holy light.

Two maids clasped their hands to their chests and said enviously, "Oh my God, I wish I had such a beautiful dress!"

Xia Qi was speechless. They say there's no middle ground with cross-dressing; it's either never or always. But he truly felt forced by circumstances!

Who could be so malicious, always sending him women's clothing to torment him?

Xia Qi closed his eyes helplessly and said to the maids, "Could you please leave for a moment? I'll change myself."

Unlike yesterday's rose-colored gown, which required a hoop skirt, this pure white dress was structured with multiple layers that naturally expanded outward, making it look less cumbersome.

After changing, Xia Qi felt much lighter than yesterday. He sighed, thinking sarcastically that this could be considered a "silver lining" in some twisted way.

As soon as he pushed open the door and stepped out, the two maids exclaimed, "Madam, you look like a beautiful angel in Master's treasured dress!"

Xia Qi: "..."

His naturally introverted personality made him even less inclined to speak now.

The maids chattered as they brought him breakfast. While eating, Xia Qi inquired about the location where the Red Side changed clothes yesterday.

The maid replied, "Are you talking about those distinguished gentlemen from various counties? Before the banquet yesterday, they prepared themselves on the second floor of the West Hall."

After thanking the maid, Xia Qi decided to head over to the second floor of the West Hall.

Since Cha Gong wouldn't let him see the deceased, he would find clues through other means.

After asking directions along the way, it took him nearly half an hour to finally reach the corridor on the second floor of the West Hall.

Just like the corridor in the East Hall that Blue Side had passed through, there were seven oil paintings hanging here as well.

However, upon reaching the corridor, Xia Qi noticed someone else was there.

"I knew you'd come," said the old man in a pink doll costume, holding a candlestick and looking at Xia Qi.

Xia Qi greeted the old man and approached the paintings.

With the light from the old man's candlestick, he could clearly see what the paintings depicted.

Unlike the dual portraits in the East Hall corridor, the paintings in the West Hall corridor were group scenes, each showing different men and women gathered together for various ceremonies.

After examining the seven paintings in the corridor, Xia Qi noticed that only the first two contained elements of death.

The first painting showed a tall altar, with a group of worshippers kneeling devoutly beside it. However, they were not worshipping the Pope but a dead person lying face-up on the altar, with the pure white tablecloth beneath him stained crimson with blood. The second painting depicted the same group standing joyfully beside a baptismal pool, watching a baptism ceremony. Yet, the water used for the baptism was not clear but blood-red, with a man's body hidden beneath the surface, his neck bleeding profusely, turning the entire pool red.

After finishing his examination, the old man asked with a smile, "Finished? Any thoughts?"

"These two men in the paintings should be the ones who died from the Red Side," Xia Qi said.

Compared to the painting that foretold the fat man's death, these group scenes didn't have as strong a visual impact, but after reflecting, Xia Qi felt a creeping unease.

Perhaps due to the heavy religious undertones, the paintings left a profound impression while also evoking a sense of fate's cruel twists.

"You're very clever," the old man nodded, chuckling. "They all died from massive blood loss. How tragic."

Xia Qi responded with a simple "Hmm" and said, "This morning when I went downstairs, I smelled blood."

Without seeing the bodies of the two men from the Red Side, combined with the smell of blood this morning and the information from the paintings, they could only deduce that the victims died from blood loss.

However, Xia Qi thought deeper, realizing that the men in the paintings seemed to be central figures, suggesting that their blood played a crucial role in the rituals depicted.

"Ding dong! Blue Side plot progress +5%"

Xia Qi: "..."

How did he stumble upon such key insights just by thinking casually?!

Including this 5%, their plot progress was now at 46%.

Before Xia Qi could explain, the old man quickly waved his hand, distancing himself, "I didn't think anything."

Xia Qi sighed and gave up on explaining.

In situations with fewer people, frequent plot progress announcements could easily expose targets. Learning from this experience, Xia Qi planned to think in more crowded or empty places next time.

After finishing with the paintings, Xia Qi and the old man returned to their residence.

Upon arriving at the entrance, a little girl suddenly rushed out, grabbing Xia Qi's sleeve and crying, "Sis... no, Brother Xia, please save my sister!"

Xia Qi recognized the little girl; she was the youngest member of Blue Side. From their conversation yesterday, it seemed she had entered the game with her sister voluntarily.

"What happened?" Xia Qi asked.

The girl sobbed incoherently, "The Red Side, they are devils. They want to harm my sister!"

Red Side?!

Hearing this, Xia Qi was startled. Had Cha Gong finally decided to target his teammates?