LGSG Chapter 2
by VolareAfter Xia Ran’s unintentional compliment, Shen Hua quietly retreated.
Xia Ran didn’t pay much attention.
After all, with his lukewarm attitude, it would be strange if others kept pressing on.
The bus stopped at the entrance of a small town. The modern infrastructure along the way existed but looked old. It should be a relatively remote and underdeveloped area. However, in such a small town, there was actually a classical and luxuriously decorated ancient mansion, which seemed a bit out of place, like an ancient costume drama set appearing in a rural drama.
But since it’s just a niche, small-studio game, Xia Ran could tolerate the detailed setting issues.
After all, the modeling of the main NPCs was quite handsome.
The mansion scene modeling was also surprisingly good. After crossing the stone screen, an ancestral hall was located in front. The butler led them to a stop in front of the ancestral hall.
In the quiet ancient mansion, the sound of a suona could be faintly heard in the distance. It floated uncertainly from the distant clouds, much like a sorrowful wail.
“What’s that noise?” a one-eyed man cursed. “Damn, it’s really spooky.”
A secluded ancient house and festive suona music.
It was simply the standard for Chinese horror.
“The youngest son of the village chief next door is getting married,” the butler said slowly. “They happened to send an invitation to Sui Yuan Ju. Since you’re so concerned, why not deliver the gift for us?”
The one-eyed man immediately widened his eyes in horror.
What good could a marriage in an Infinite Flow game be?!
Wasn’t this clearly sending him to his death?
“No, no, no,” he said, cold sweat breaking out immediately. “I… I’m new here, I’m afraid I’ll be negligent and disgrace Sui Yuan Ju!”
The butler sneered twice and let the one-eyed man go.
But the one-eyed man wasn’t happy at all.
Now he would probably be resented by the NPC!
Shen Hua was so scared that he shrank back behind Xia Ran again.
The one-eyed man’s death wish just now made him realize that not all old players were experienced.
Although the boss’s desires were strange, his mental state was really stable!
Butler: “Now, I will distribute identity cards to you.”
He took out a bamboo tube from his sleeve. The tube was filled with bamboo sticks, but in the moonlight, nothing could be made out.
The butler looked at Xia Ran: “Come, draw one.”
Xia Ran: “…”
Why was he the first one chosen?
The other players immediately retreated a step away from Xia Ran as the center. At the same time, the gazes directed at Xia Ran were full of sympathy.
They didn’t know why this guy was targeted by the butler first.
Generally, the unlucky guy who first attracts the attention of an NPC in a game will be sacrificed.
The one-eyed man hurriedly muttered a few “misfortune be gone” and silently retreated to the very end of the line. He could only hope that this handsome black-haired youth could draw all the NPC’s hatred away.
Under the gazes of a crowd of people, Xia Ran’s scalp went numb.
A socially anxious person didn’t want to be the center of attention!
He could only quickly walk to the butler and quickly draw out a bamboo stick.
The butler looked at him strangely.
He didn’t expect his psychological quality to be quite good.
It just so happened that he was also the type that Mr. Xie appreciated.
Xia Ran handed the bamboo stick to the butler.
The butler smiled: “Congratulations, you have become Mr. Xie’s personal servant.”
Xia Ran asked in confusion: “Mr. Xie?”
Butler: “The young master of Sui Yuan Ju…”
His tone was strange and erratic, making the players present feel uneasy.
The young master of Sui Yuan Ju must be on the level of a final Boss. This handsome youth was indeed inexplicably being used by the NPC as a sacrifice, right?
They had never heard of a final Boss’s focus being on someone who could survive until clearing the game.
The unlucky Xia Ran, who was the center of everyone’s attention, was very calm.
So calm that the butler couldn’t help but feel restless.
He knew that some players had a stable mental state, but was the youth in front of him a bit too stable?
Like he was dead.
“Do you have anything you want to ask?” the butler said.
Xia Ran: “.”
Under everyone’s gaze, Xia Ran had gradually lost all his courage. Being exposed to the public eye as someone with social anxiety was a painful and tormenting thing in itself. He was so nervous now that his toes were digging into the ground, and the more nervous he became, the stiffer and more rigid his features became.
The butler’s question broke through the last line of defense of his reason. This was no different from the social death of being publicly questioned by the teacher while spacing out in class.
Xia Ran’s mind went blank, and his rationality was in critical condition. In desperation, he didn’t even know what he blurted out.
Until he saw the butler’s subtle expression.
Xia Ran: “…”
Wait, did he just say his inner thoughts out loud?!
Under the gaze of everyone, facing the high pressure of death, the handsome black-haired youth showed a terrifying psychological quality. Under the NPC’s questioning, he didn’t flinch or panic. There wasn’t even a slight change in expression on his face. He said something that shocked everyone in a calm and steady tone—
“Is the young master more handsome than you?”
One sentence silenced everyone.
Players: “…”
Was he flirting with the NPC and the final Boss?!
Butler: “…”
This was a death trap.
“Ahem,” the butler’s brain worked urgently for a moment, and he showed a proper and elegant smile, “The young master is naturally quite handsome.”
“I’ll take you to the dormitory.”
A little girl suddenly popped up in front of Xia Ran, startling everyone.
She was wearing a pink JK uniform, with straight bangs and hair that reached her heels. But her face was as white as if it were painted with a layer of white paint, and her eyes were wide open, with the black pupils taking up almost two-thirds of the whites of her eyes.
Everyone instantly became alert.
Except for Xia Ran.
Xia Ran: “Thank you.”
As expected, this game was low budget.
The modeling quality fluctuated up and down.
This little sister looked a bit unbearable.
Xia Ran glanced at the butler.
The butler hurriedly waved his hand to let this living disaster go.
He was afraid that the other party would continue to make outrageous remarks and alienate his relationship with Mr. Xie. Being a working stiff was really not easy, sigh.
Xia Ran followed the little black-haired girl towards the servants’ dormitory area.
One-eyed man: “…He just left like that? That NPC is so weird, isn’t he afraid of triggering death conditions?”
Shen Hua: “…”
Shen Hua rolled his eyes in secret.
He silently moved a step away from this idiot.
The boss was so calm, obviously he had a plan in mind. Besides, his combat power was so awesome. Shen Hua’s left cheek was still swollen high.
But this one-eyed man was completely clueless.
He was already criticizing the “senior” NPC before he even started working. Although it was an Infinite Flow instance, he really had no tact.
The one-eyed man didn’t know that Shen Hua already regarded him as half-dead. On the contrary, he was completely relieved.
Although he didn’t know why that youth was targeted by the final Boss, he had been disrespectful just now and must have drawn all the hatred away.
He should be fine for now.
After Xia Ran left, the players also came back to their senses. Most people still didn’t dare to be as reckless as Xia Ran. They obediently drew their identity cards and were led to their residences by their respective strange NPCs.
＊
After Xia Ran arrived at his residence, the little girl who led the way disappeared.
Opening the door to the room, Xia Ran was a little surprised.
It was much better than he had imagined.
The exterior of the ancient mansion was too deceptive, leading Xia Ran to imagine that the interior would be relatively dilapidated. He didn’t expect that the bedroom had a separate bathroom and they were all modern technology. Besides the furniture being made of mahogany, which made it seem a bit retro, it was clean and tidy, almost giving Xia Ran the illusion that he had traveled back from ancient times to the 21st century.
He almost forgot that this game wasn’t set in ancient times.
After carefully inspecting the room, Xia Ran sat on the bed. On closer inspection, the bamboo stick was actually a brooch. Xia Ran found a robe in the closet that was similar in style to the butler’s. There was a circle of lace around the chest of the robe. The position of the lace was exactly the size of the bamboo stick.
He guessed he would have to wear a name tag later for work.
Xia Ran scratched his hair.
The room was not only fully equipped, but the clothes and toiletries were also brand new.
He simply changed into his pajamas and took a shower.
After showering, Xia Ran walked to the window and noticed that the window was covered with a layer of oiled paper painting.
The oiled paper was slightly translucent, with a painting of a beauty under the moonlight. Under the moonlight, the back of a beauty in a white dress looked delicate and graceful.
Xia Ran watched for a while and inexplicably felt a bit creepy.
He hurriedly looked away and decided to go to bed.
All of his social energy for today had been used up.
Xia Ran lay on the bed and closed his eyes peacefully.
A world without anyone bothering him was great.
He wondered how awesome the modeling of that Mr. Xie would be tomorrow.
Hehe. Looking forward to it.
Xia Ran drifted off to sleep.
On the oil painting next to him, the beauty in white turned her head. Empty, pitch-black eyes, and a crimson mouth stretched to the corners of her eyes. She greedily stared at the sleeping youth on the bed, and a few strands of black hair slowly extended from the oiled paper.
As the hair touched the edge of the bed, the white-clothed beauty’s face gradually occupied the entire picture. Black silk threads, like worms, wriggled in the pitch-black eye sockets.
She slowly crawled out of the painting, her body and limbs made of wriggling maggots. Viscous blood fell from her body, dripping onto the floor with a drip-drop sound. The wriggling black hair crawled all over the ceiling and walls like spider webs.
The painting ghost touched the youth’s cheek.
She hated good-looking people the most.
She really wanted to peel off this skin and wear it on her face.
“Wake up…” she said maliciously, “Wake up…”
She wanted the youth to open his eyes and show fear.
The moment of death in the most terrifying state would be the most beautiful and flawless skin.
However, the youth slept soundly.
Painting ghost: “…”
How could he sleep so well?
She couldn’t help but reach out and pinch the youth’s neck.
But the moment her fingertips touched his skin, she heard the youth give an impatient whimper.
“Where did this mosquito come from?”
Before the painting ghost could react.
She was already spiraling into the sky.
Painting ghost: “?”
Xia Ran dreamed that there was a mosquito in his sleep.
He couldn’t help but slap at it out of nowhere.
The unprepared painting ghost was caught off guard and was slapped by Xia Ran into the wall opposite the bed.
He smashed out a deep pit in the shape of a person.
Xia Ran turned over.
He continued to sleep soundly.
Painting ghost: “…”
The painting ghost, embedded in the wall, had all her courage shattered by the slap. She shivered, holding her hair, and crawled back into the painting.
The next day, Xia Ran woke up to the butler’s knock, stared at the deep pit in the wall, and fell into contemplation.
Did he do some free-style fighting in his dream?
He shouldn’t… have to pay for it in the game, right?