Chapter 16: Rose Earl 16

"Sob, sob, sob, where did you all go? I'm so scared..."

In the building downstairs, a girl's faint crying could be heard, sounding pitiful and helpless.

"It's the little girl from the Blue Side."

The Red Side woman and Cha Gong were hiding in the stairwell, and upon hearing the cries from below, the Red Side woman's face lit up with joy.

"Don't rush, let's wait a bit longer." Cha Gong held back the Red Side woman who wanted to rush downstairs, signaling her to wait a bit more.

The two continued listening to the commotion downstairs. They heard the little girl finish knocking on doors on the second floor before heading up to the third, crying continuously, "Brother Xia, where are you?"

"Go out and grab her." Cha Gong instructed, pushing the Red Side woman out.

The Red Side woman walked downstairs. When she saw the disheveled little girl, she smiled and asked, "Little sister, what's wrong?"

Seeing the Red Side woman suddenly appear, the girl took a cautious step back and said, "Why are you here?"

"I can't find my teammates either." The Red Side woman slowly descended the stairs, trying to look kind and approachable. "Since we've both lost our teammates, why don't we make peace? What do you think?"

The girl looked suspicious and said, "Don't come any closer..."

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, the Red Side woman jumped down and grabbed her by the shoulders, slamming her hard against the wall!

Dazed and dizzy, the girl was pinned to the ground by the Red Side woman. Cha Gong placed his right hand on the young master's shoulder and walked down the stairs, instructing, "Tie her up."

The Red Side woman pulled out a rope and swiftly bound the girl.

Surprised at how easily they had caught a member of the Blue Side, Cha Gong smiled in satisfaction.

The Red Side woman pointed at the girl and asked, "Should we throw her out for the NPCs to kill?"

Since players couldn't kill each other directly, they had to wait until night to hand over their captives to the NPCs for execution.

Hearing this, Cha Gong sneered coldly, "She was looking for Xia Qi, wasn't she? Let her accompany him then."

Sacrificing this little girl from the Blue Side would surely earn them favor from the Earl, who would be completely consumed by darkness.

Fearing that she might be gagged if she made a sound, the girl dared not scream and only sobbed quietly.

"Where is Xia Qi?" The Red Side woman pulled out a dagger and waved it near the girl's cheek, threatening, "If you don't tell me, I'll take your life."

Terrified, the girl stammered, "I... I don't know. Last night, I saw him head towards the East Hall..."

"So that's how it is." Cha Gong gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go to the East Hall."

They needed to find Xia Qi quickly during the day; otherwise, once night fell, with the interference of bosses and NPCs, it would become much harder.

The three, along with the captured girl, headed towards the East Hall together.

As they turned the corner downstairs, Cha Gong suddenly stopped and looked back suspiciously, "Why do I feel like someone is following us?"

Unfortunately, he didn't see anyone and continued walking.

Not far from the East Hall, a familiar figure suddenly came running towards them.

"It's Xia Qi!"

The young master spotted Xia Qi first. Overjoyed, Cha Gong ordered the Red Side woman, "Go catch him!"

The Red Side woman responded and dashed towards Xia Qi, quickly pulling out a tattered ball and throwing it forcefully at him.

Xia Qi had just run out of the East Hall when he saw the girl and the Red Side members arrive.

He secretly gave the girl and the old man a thumbs-up; he hadn't expected them to act so quickly. They had brought the Red Side members almost immediately after receiving the signal.

However, before he could greet them, a large ball came flying towards him.

"Whoosh!"

Xia Qi usually exercised regularly. Although he couldn't run too fast, his agility was decent. Seeing the ball about to hit his face, he rolled sideways, dodging the ball.

But after hitting a pillar, the ball bounced back towards him.

Xia Qi was stunned. Did this ball have GPS?!

"Whoosh!" The ball came again, and Xia Qi quickly rolled away once more.

At that moment, an angry roar, resembling a beast's howl, echoed from the East Hall.

"Xia Qi! I'm going to kill you!"

Xia Qi felt a surge of joy. The old Earl had arrived.

A strong gust of wind came from behind, and Xia Qi got up, rolling towards Cha Gong, dodging the ball again.

Xia Qi ended up very close to Cha Gong and smiled slightly before lunging towards him, "Cha Gong!"

Seeing Xia Qi's sudden smile, Cha Gong froze, feeling a surge of joy. Instinctively, he reached out to hug him.

Xia Qi was usually cold and distant, and it was rare to see him smile. In the past, Cha Gong had often felt like he was dealing with a cold, untouchable flower, making it difficult to win a smile from him.

But just now, Xia Qi had actually smiled at him!

That smile seemed to steal all the color from the world, leaving Cha Gong momentarily dazed.

"Brother Cha!" The young master cried out in alarm, trying to pull Cha Gong's arm, but it was too late. Xia Qi lunged forward without hesitation and punched Cha Gong in the face.

"Thud!" The punch landed squarely on Cha Gong's cheek, sending him reeling backward.

"You trash!" Xia Qi's smile turned into a sneer as he landed a punch, then quickly picked up the dazed Cha Gong who was falling and threw him towards a nearby flower bed.

Cha Gong wasn't weak physically, but he had been slashed by the Count last night and hadn’t recovered yet. As a result, he couldn’t dodge Xia Qi’s relentless moves.

"Ahh!" Cha Gong let out a scream as he fell back-first into the flower bed.

Despite being an adult man, Cha Gong only saw stars for a moment before regaining his senses.

Just as he was about to get up, a weathered voice sounded beside him: "Young man, you’re on my leg."

Cha Gong looked down sharply and realized there was another person lying beside him.

It was the old man from Blue Side whom they hadn’t seen in a long time.

"Old fart."

Adhering to the principle of sacrificing all members of Blue Side, Cha Gong’s face darkened, and he reached out to grab the old man beneath him.

Seeing Cha Gong trying to attack, the old man grabbed a handful of mud and threw it at Cha Gong’s face without hesitation.

"Hehehe, you little punk, still want to sneak up on me?" The old man, seasoned from months of indulging in the game, had never suffered a loss. After throwing the mud, he grabbed a fresh pile of bird droppings and shoved it into Cha Gong’s mouth!

"Mmph— I’ll kill... you!" Cha Gong, with mud smeared across his face and bird droppings stuffed in his mouth, choked on the damp droppings, struggling to breathe.

Taking advantage of Cha Gong’s incapacitation, the old man swiftly pulled out his untrapped leg, crawled out of the flower bed, and ran toward his sister.

"Ptooey! Ptooey!" Cha Gong vomited while crawling out of the flower bed. Unexpectedly, just as he opened his eyes, he heard a terrifying roar.

"Roar—!!"

The thunderous roar exploded in his ears. Though weaker than the Count’s roar during his rampage, it still brought a chilling wind that made one shiver uncontrollably.

A swift red blur streaked overhead, landing with a loud thud right in front of them.

Cha Gong focused his gaze and saw a vampire with bat wings sprouting from its back, entirely black, fangs bared, and blood-red eyes glaring fiercely at them!

The old Count surveyed the humans below. To him, the people from Blue Side were noble ladies sent for his son to choose a bride, while those from Red Side were spies sent by the Pope.

Thus, he immediately concluded that the Red Side also wanted to oppose him.

At that moment, due to Xia Qi’s flashy movements, the bouncing ball suddenly veered towards the old Count’s face.

"Smack!" Without even raising an eyebrow, the old Count slapped the Red Side woman’s ball, shattering it. He glared viciously at her and roared, "These insignificant humans! You will all die!"

Even with a burn mark from cheap holy water on his neck, the old Count remained resolute in his NPC role, ready to unleash a killing spree.

Though unable to display his full strength during the day, as an experienced vampire, dealing with humans was more than enough.

"Die!"

The old Count attacked with both hands, lunging furiously at Xia Qi and the Red Side woman closest to him.

Seeing the demonic old vampire charging at her, the Red Side woman froze with fear, frantically throwing countless life-saving items from her backpack to shield herself.

Xia Qi pulled out a silver dinner knife from his backpack and threw it wildly at the old Count.

Neither knew which item worked, but the old Count was forced to take a step back. Just as Xia Qi was about to escape, his sister shouted from behind, "Brother Xia, move!"

Xia Qi instantly fell to the ground, hearing a piercing gunshot and the Red Side woman’s scream.

Not far away, his sister held a revolver, her eyes bloodshot, staring at the Red Side woman.

"I’ll avenge my sister!" she yelled angrily, then turned the gun and fired two shots at the old Count.

Xia Qi didn’t know if the shots hit the old Count, but he knew his sister was buying him time. He quickly got up and ran, dragging his sister along without looking back.

As for the remaining teammate, the old man, Xia Qi didn’t bother with him. The old man was even more cunning and probably already gone.

Following their plan, Xia Qi ran to their residence, where the old man was waiting on the second floor.

"Here, keep the pass item." The old man thrust the black velvet box into Xia Qi’s hands.

After stealing the black velvet box from Cha Gong, he had untied Xia Qi’s sister.

Before Xia Qi could celebrate, the old man pushed him, saying, "We have 20 minutes left of daylight; let’s find the Count and finish this."

"But... where would the Count be during the day?" his sister asked.

Red Side was engaged in a fierce battle with the old Count, so they needed to find the boss quickly.

Xia Qi frowned, having pondered this question the previous night.

The Count had never appeared during the day, leading Xia Qi to suspect that he couldn’t withstand sunlight until evolving into a Blood Emperor.

"The room opposite mine is likely the Count’s bedroom," Xia Qi said, continuing to stride towards the fourth floor.

Upon reaching the door opposite his room, the old man took out a wire and started picking the lock.

Soon, the old man had the door open, and the three entered.

To Xia Qi’s surprise, it wasn’t a bedroom but a study.

The Count was not in the study.

Looking at the clean, empty study, Xia Qi felt confused.

Every night, he sensed the Count nearby, leading him to believe the Count lived opposite him.

Since the room opposite is the count's study, then the count's bedroom must be...

In just a moment, Xia Qi suddenly realized.

The count's true bedroom is the one he has been staying in!

Therefore, the room he has been living in for the past few days is not a "guest room," but... the count's own room.

Xia Qi's thoughts couldn't help but drift far away. From this perspective, the velvet mattress he sleeps on every day, the red leather sofa he sits on, and even the golden bathtub he bathes in... are all the count's things?!

He dared not continue thinking about it.

"Where is the count's room?" his sister stomped her foot anxiously.

Just now, she heard a few explosions, and she was worried that the old count might be arriving soon.

Xia Qi gritted his teeth, turned around abruptly, and pushed open the door to his room!

"This is his room!"