Chapter 12: Rose Manor (XI) First Exploration of the Third Floor

After placing the notebook back on the table, Lin Chen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in the guest room, peering down at the garden with a sense of unease.

He watched as Qi Si walked to the iron gate, tapped the ground, and exchanged a few words with the suddenly appearing butler. Then, Miss Anna emerged from the manor, and Qi Si approached her with a smile to strike up a conversation.

Lin Chen knew the moment had come. Qi Si had finished his part, and now it was up to him.

He jogged out of the guest room, headed straight for the stairs, and hurried upward, clutching the banister. It was only one floor, but his nerves caused him to stumble repeatedly. By the time he reached the third-floor landing, he was already gasping for air, cold sweat soaking his skin.

The third floor, like the second, contained only three rooms, but with one difference: there was no clock in the corner.

Lin Chen clenched his fists, suppressing the useless hesitation in his heart, and walked step by step into the depths of the floor. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but he felt the layout of the third floor was narrower and longer than the second, giving him the sensation of being inside a coffin. As he ventured further, this feeling intensified; it felt as if the floor would never end. For a moment, he suspected that everything around him had frozen in time, and that the passing of time itself was merely an illusion.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on his palms. He shook his head, trying to cast these bizarre thoughts from his mind.

"Qi Si has already handled Miss Anna; how can I fail at something so simple?"

With this thought, he turned toward one of the rooms. Looking at the thick layer of dust on the door, he gritted his teeth, gripped the brass handle, and tentatively pressed down.

It wouldn't budge. The door was locked.

Lin Chen felt a wave of relief. He had no desire to open an unknown door in a horror game; even if it didn't trigger a jump scare, there was no telling what terrible thing might be inside. He repeated the process for the remaining two doors. Both were locked.

"That should be enough... Qi Si only asked me to scout the layout anyway..."

Lin Chen muttered to himself, carefully retreating toward the stairs. Just as he was about to reach the landing, a soft, feminine voice spoke unexpectedly behind him: "Who are you?"

The voice was thin, slick like the refined singing style of an opera, and it was unmistakably Miss Anna’s voice!

Miss Anna... how could she be here?

Lin Chen felt the blood in his veins stop flowing. His fear reached its peak, rendering him unable to make any significant movement. He opened his mouth to scream, but the sound seemed stuck in his throat, unable to escape.

I’ve been found. It’s over. I’m going to die...

Memories from the past twenty years flashed through his mind like a dying man's final visions. His heart hammered against his ribs as he forced his stiff body to turn around.

Standing at the top of the stairs was a little old woman wearing a red European-style princess dress. Her white hair hung loose down her back, and her wrinkled face was covered in rotting scars, with the bone visible around her lips and eye sockets.

It was a gruesome, terrifying sight, yet Lin Chen felt a surge of relief.

At least it’s not Miss Anna...

If I haven't been discovered by Miss Anna, there is still hope for survival...

"Who are you?" the old woman asked in her cloyingly sweet voice. The beautiful tone, paired with that face, created a jarring contrast.

Lin Chen took a step back and stammered, "I... my name is Lin Chen."

The old woman stared at him intently and asked again, "Then do you remember who I am?"

Lin Chen froze. He recalled that when he and Qi Si parted ways, Qi Si had walked a few steps before pausing as if remembering something. He turned back and said, "No matter which NPC you encounter on the third floor, do not casually mention any specific titles."

At the time, he hadn't understood and asked why. Qi Si had smiled coldly, gesturing for him to look at the third rule on the system interface.

[3. Miss Anna loves her guests and holds no malice toward them, but please remember the correct form of address: "Miss Anna," and nothing else.]

The young man had said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "In any case, since the rules mention the issue of titles, you should try your best to avoid making mistakes in that regard."

Lin Chen realized then. Had Qi Si anticipated this all along? An expert is truly an expert.

His mind wandered, recalling memories related to Qi Si, including the speculation he had written on paper about there possibly being "two Miss Annas." Those black-and-white words were more vivid than any other information.

The identity of the ghost before him was obvious.

"Who am I?" the old woman watched Lin Chen, asking again, word for word. "Tell me... who am I exactly?"

Lin Chen shivered, swallowed hard, and stuttered, "You are Miss Anna..."

...

In the garden, the soft soil steamed with damp moisture, and no traces of earthworms could be found in the deep black clumps of dirt. Qi Si and Chang Xu both stared down at the corpse in the freshly dug pit, speechless. Chang Xu still held a shovel; he had obviously dug the hole.

Qi Si had just sent Miss Anna away, passed by on his way back, and stumbled upon this scene.

The corpse in the pit was a mass of mangled flesh, though the face had been carefully cleaned, making it just barely possible to discern what the person looked like in life. It was a young man with a nondescript face.

The technique used to prepare the body for burial was familiar. If Qi Si hadn't searched his memory and realized he had no impression of this face, he would have suspected he had done it himself.

It was known that Miss Anna had a habit of tossing corpses at the gate; she certainly wouldn't waste time tidying up the deceased. So, who was the one laying these bodies to rest? The thought that someone in the world possessed mortuary skills comparable to his own made Qi Si want to find them and have a chat. Unfortunately, that person left no extra traces, being as cautious and meticulous as he was, leaving Qi Si to only sigh in admiration.

The deceased was wearing a white T-shirt that didn't belong to the manor's era, printed with a large, silly emoji.

Chang Xu judged, "It's a player. Same method of death as Shen Ming—drained of blood by the roses."

This was an obvious conclusion.

Qi Si asked, appearing casual, "Brother Chang, how did you know there was a body buried here?"

Chang Xu retorted expressionlessly, "What did you and Miss Anna talk about just now?"

This clearly stated his stance: everyone has their own secrets, and they are not to be probed or touched.

Qi Si understood and flashed a sincere smile. "Me? I complimented her on her looks and asked about her age. You know how many women hate talking about age. She seemed a bit annoyed and just left me behind."

Chang Xu peered into Qi Si's eyes, likely trying to determine if he was lying. Qi Si didn't blink or look away, his expression open and honest.

The silence lasted two seconds. Chang Xu seemed to believe Qi Si's nonsense, lowered his head to stare at the corpse in the pit, and explained, "One of my clues said that Miss Anna believes death is the best nourishment for roses. I deduced from that that there were bodies buried in the garden."

Qi Si hadn't expected Chang Xu to be so honest; he actually explained when asked. Of course, without hard evidence, Qi Si wouldn't believe a word anyone said.

He smiled mockingly. "The word 'garden' covers about a thousand square meters. How did you know the body was right here?"

"Intuition." Chang Xu squatted by the pit. "My intuition is always very accurate."

"Impressive, impressive." Qi Si offered a perfunctory compliment, squatted on the other side of the pit, wrapped his finger in a napkin, and poked the corpse's face. He quickly formed a judgment: "Judging by the feel, it hasn't been dead for more than seventy-two hours. This dungeon is quite busy; players keep coming in waves."

Chang Xu raised an eyebrow. "You know a lot about corpses."

"Professional habit. I spend every day immersed in corpses; I’d have to know something even if I didn't want to."

"Animal corpses and human corpses are surely not the same thing."

"Just a preconceived stereotype." Qi Si had already folded the napkin and tucked it into his pocket. He stood up, looked down at Chang Xu, and smiled with his eyes narrowed. "Humans are animals too, aren't they?"

The statement was made as a matter of course. It was a light, casual tone, but it made one shiver, wondering about the implications beneath the surface.

Chang Xu looked up sharply, his voice turning cold. "Have you killed people?"

"No, don't slander me." Qi Si stuffed his hands into his pockets, teasing with an innocent expression. "To throw around the word 'murder' so easily, could it be that you've killed people?"

Chang Xu answered earnestly, "I have."

Qi Si savored the meaning of the words and asked, drawing out the tone, "Are you a paramilitary officer?"

"Something like that." Chang Xu seemed hesitant, pausing for a moment before adding, "The missions I was assigned were basically kill-on-sight, and I never missed."

"Is that so? Well, it can't be verified in the dungeon anyway, so whatever you say goes." Qi Si offered a sarcastic smile, silently recording the information.

He keenly realized this could be a point to exploit.

—People accustomed to carrying out kill-on-sight missions easily develop a conditioned reflex to kill.

To have a character who symbolizes justice be forced into killing an innocent person under imminent pressure—what an interesting story that would make...

Ye Zi walked over at some point and stopped beside them, frowning as she peered into the pit. She claimed to be studying the new clue, but it looked more like she was here to scout their movements.

It wouldn't be wise to continue down such a dangerous topic. Qi Si put on his mild, harmless smile again: "Anyway, Officer, if you run into any issues involving corpses in the future, feel free to ask me. Simple tasks like determining the cause and time of death are things I can still handle."

Chang Xu stared silently, offering no commitment.