The three of them looked in Lan Ya's direction. Zhou Zhou had a look of surprise in his eyes, while Elvia was calm. He noticed the moment the other party opened the door.
The tall man who was leaning on Zhou Zhou's shoulder and crying aggrievedly had a look of shock and horror in his eyes, especially when he found the high stool in Lan Ya's hand, he remembered what happened to him not long ago. He subconsciously hid behind Zhou Zhou, but Zhou Zhou was not as tall as him, and most of his body was exposed when he hid behind Zhou Zhou.
The lights in the corridor were dim. Most of the man's body was hidden in the darkness. Half of his hideous face looked even more terrifying under the orange light. One hand tightly grasped the boy's shoulders, completely covering his entire shoulders, making the boy who was imprisoned by the other party look even thinner. The boy was looking at her steadily at this time, with surprise and hope in his eyes.
Lan Ya held the stool legs with both hands, staring at the man and Zhou Zhou. Tension and fear filled her body, and her breathing was very rapid, but she did not retreat.
Zhou Zhou was originally happy that he finally found Lan Ya, but when he saw her frightened and defensive expression and actions, his joy gradually turned into confusion.
"Lan Ya, what are you doing?"
Lan Ya: "Don't be afraid, Zhou Zhou, I'm here to save you!"
Zhou Zhou:? ? ?
However, the man behind Zhou Zhou looked at Lan Ya's "ferocious" eyes opposite him. He was already very aggrieved and immediately started crying again. His crying was deafening and hoarse.
Elvia stood in the middle, looking at Lan Ya, who was trembling all over but still trying to save people, and the man who showed obvious grievance and fear after seeing Lan Ya, his eyes flashed slightly.
Alvia: "You guys, is there any misunderstanding?"
Zhou Zhou also noticed that the two people looked strange. He originally wanted to walk over to Lan Ya to ask her, but the man behind him grabbed his shoulders tightly and he couldn't move at all. The man behind him cried so sadly that he almost wiped his tears on Zhou Zhou, and he grabbed Zhou Zhou's hand very tightly.
"Why are you crying?" Zhou Zhou couldn't leave, so he could only shift his attention to the man behind him.
When the man heard someone caring about him, he pointed his hand, which was shorter than the shoulder, in the direction of Lan Ya and accused her, "She was the one who hit me."
He clearly had a frightening look on his face, and his voice was deep, like that of a mature man, but his movements and tone of complaining were very skilled, and even had a bit of boyish childishness.
Zhou Zhou looked at Lan Ya, then shifted his gaze to the stool in her hand: "Lan Ya, you..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lan Ya.
"Zhou Zhou, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you!"
Seeing that the other party was holding Zhou Zhou back and not letting him leave, Lan Ya didn't bother to think about the strange atmosphere between them and rushed over here with a stool raised high.
The man behind Zhou Zhou was so frightened that his crying stopped for a moment and he immediately wanted to turn around and run.
Zhou Zhou also stared with wide eyes at the petite Lan Ya who was rushing towards him with a stool in her hand. After all, Lan Ya looked shy and weak, and she didn't even dare to speak loudly, but now she was rushing towards here with a stool in her hand.
If Zhou Zhou knew that she had fought two rounds with the man behind her, and that each time ended with the man's defeat, he would probably be even more shocked.
Lan Ya's warrior-like action was unsuccessful. When he passed by Alvia, the stool he held high was easily taken away by Alvia. He put the stool aside and said, "What are you going to do? Zhou Zhou is fine."
Lan Ya was stunned because her weapon was taken away. Looking at Elvia who played it nonchalantly, and Zhou Zhou who looked calm despite being "kidnapped", she finally realized that something seemed to be wrong.
When the people behind Zhou Zhou saw that Lan Ya had lost her weapon, they stopped running away and instead quietly looked at Lan Ya from behind Zhou Zhou. Facing that hideous face and strange arms up close, Lan Ya felt her breath choke. Her legs, which had been holding up tightly, became a little weak. Tears welled up in her eyes and were about to fall the next moment.
“Uwaa ...
Just before Lan Ya was about to cry, she didn't expect that the man cried even more miserably than her, which made Lan Ya hold back her tears.
The people in front and behind him were in tears. The man let go of his hand because he wanted to escape. Zhou Zhou took a few steps to Lan Ya and said, "Lan Ya, what's wrong with you?"
Lan Ya looked at Zhou Zhou, who had a concerned look on his face, and a feeling of grievance and fear surged in her heart. For the timid girl, the previous experience was too terrifying, but fortunately she finally found two companions.
"Where have you been? I'm so scared."
Zhou Zhou stroked her hair and comforted her softly, "We have been looking for you too."
Elvia, who was standing next to the two of them, did not participate in their conversation. She just glanced meaningfully at Zhou Zhou's hand on Lan Ya's head.
The owner of the castle behind the three people looked at the scene in front of him and finally realized that they were actually in the same group!
"Master!"
Suddenly, the old butler's hoarse shout was heard on the stairs. He came up hurriedly with a crutch, hunched over, and holding a piece of arm in his hand. It was the part of the man's body that was kicked away by Lan Ya and fell outside the window.
"Why are you here? What happened? Why is your hair wet? I found your arm underneath." Changing his silent and taciturn image in front of the players, the old butler was like an ordinary old man who cared for the younger generation. He nagged at the man and personally put his arm back in place.
The man with his arm fixed now doesn't look so scary anymore. Apart from his slightly ferocious appearance, he looks no different from other people.
For Lan Ya, if she had seen the man in his current appearance when she first met him, perhaps so many unexpected things would not have happened. All I can say is that the first sight of the other person's head rotating 180 degrees and the entire body being dismembered in an instant left too many shadows on Lan Ya.
Even though both parties have now explained clearly that what happened before was just a misunderstanding, she still follows Zhou Zhou closely, not daring to leave for a moment, let alone get close to the man.
The same goes for the castle owner. No matter how harmless Lan Ya looks, he cannot get rid of the shadow he has for her for the time being, and at this time he is following the butler closely. He kept looking towards Zhou Zhou with a resentful look. He wanted to talk to Zhou Zhou, but Lan Ya was too close and he didn't dare to go over.
The old butler had a calm expression on his face. He did not explain why he had been torn apart before. He just introduced the man's identity to several people.
"This is the owner of the castle, Locke."
Zhou Zhou also introduced himself and his companions' names to them. After hearing Zhou Zhou's name, the castle owner Locke looked at Zhou Zhou seriously and nodded. When Zhou Zhou introduced the female player as Lan Ya, he turned his head away with a look of disgust, and what he was thinking was completely reflected on his face.
"You said before that you wanted to thank the castle owner for taking him in. There happen to be some people downstairs. You can thank him in front of the young master." There were not many people left on the first floor. After all, several of them had already run away, and a few were hiding upstairs and had not come down yet.
Several people walked down the stairs together. Locke and Lan Ya were very far away from each other, wishing that the other would disappear immediately.
Walking to the corner, Zhou Zhou saw the player who was still unconscious and asked casually, "Why hasn't he woken up yet?"
The old housekeeper did not say that the other party woke up once in the middle, but was frightened by him again and replied to Zhou Zhou lightly: "Maybe he is not in good health."
"Oh." Zhou Zhou had no doubt.
The remaining players on the first floor did not leave, which meant they were still thinking about clearing the level. Even when they saw the old butler with only a head standing in front of them intact, although they did not dare to approach, they no longer shouted like before.
After all, compared to a talking head, his current appearance is very normal. As long as it doesn't become fragmented, it is still barely acceptable.
The old butler introduced the identity of the castle owner to the remaining players, and the players looked at the man who was following closely behind the old butler.
Before going downstairs, the old butler helped Locke tidy up his clothes, so he looked neat and tidy. His tall figure always looked out of place in a suit.
Moreover, his face was covered with scars, centipede-like scars winding on his face. Each scar was round, either a circle-like scar on his face or extending from his face to the back of his head. There were so many scars that players could only notice the criss-crossing scars on his face at first glance and completely ignored his appearance.
He just looked a little scary, and the players who didn't know that Locke would be torn into pieces like the butler breathed a sigh of relief and introduced themselves to Locke one by one.
Locke nodded politely to everyone but did not speak.
The key to passing the level lies in the castle owner. The players looked at each other and asked Locke if they could stay in the castle for a few more days.
The old butler looked at Locke, as if asking what he meant. Locke looked at the old butler, then at Zhou Zhou, and then replied, "Okay."
The players were immediately relieved. They had already obtained the consent of the castle owner. All they had to do next was stay for three days to complete the game. This dungeon was really too simple.
"But..." Locke took a deep breath and continued, "There are restrictions on staying here."
"What are the restrictions?" the player asked.
Old housekeeper: "You can't leave your room at night, and you have to clean the castle during the day."
It didn't sound too difficult, and the players all agreed.
Afterwards, the old housekeeper prepared lunch for everyone, saying that it would be easier to work after eating.
The player who ran out of the castle never came back, and the unconscious player on the stairs was dragged out by the old butler. His teammates wanted to plead for him, but were rejected by the old butler, who said that the player did not ask to stay in the castle, so he had to leave now.
The others could only watch as the player was dragged out the door.
The lunch prepared by the old butler was very sumptuous. Everyone sat at the big round table on the first floor. They looked at the food on the table and no one started to eat it. Without the freedom they had when they first entered the castle, the players were now much more restrained.
The players didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the old butler left after serving the dishes. Locke sat in the main seat. Although he looked ferocious, he looked much friendlier than the old butler who could turn around.
The players whispered to the people nearby, discussing the identity of the old butler.
"That old man couldn't be a ghost."
"It should be an NPC. It just looks a little scary. Maybe it's not dangerous."
"No danger? Didn't you see that he was still talking after his head fell off? I guess my sanity points have all dropped."
"I don't think it's that simple. Look at the scars on the castle owner's face. Maybe there's some hidden clue in it."
Locke kept his head down. The players looked at him from time to time when they were talking to their companions. When the butler was here, no one dared to even breathe. Now that the butler was not here, it was a good opportunity to ask him about things.
This player felt that the mission to complete the game could not be as simple as staying in the castle for three days. Who knows what might happen during these three days. The weird butler, the scars on the castle owner's body, and the player who disappeared last night, each of them could be the key to passing the level. While the old butler is away, he started a conversation and asked Locke why he had so many scars on his face.
Although the players were also very curious, they never asked. In the interstellar age, any kind of injury can be restored to its original state through medical means, so they also speculated whether there would be any hidden secrets behind these preserved scars, which were most likely related to the copy clearance mission.
Locke never cried again after he came down the stairs. He had the same stern face as the old butler, and his face was covered with scars, making him look very difficult to deal with.
"It's innate." Locke said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the food on the table.
Natural?
How can it be innate?
A player suddenly had an idea, so the scars have hidden meanings? For example, can it form a certain pattern, or be a map that can be passed? Or is it just cursed? And their mission is actually to help the castle owner break the curse during this time?
"Is it natural? Do these scars have any other meaning?" the player continued to ask.
Among the players present, except Zhou Zhou and Elvia, they knew that Locke and the old butler were higher-level players. Everyone else treated them as NPCs in the dungeon, so every NPC, what happened to them, and what they said, might be related to clues to passing the level.
Locke looked up at the player who asked him a question and asked seriously, "Do you really want to know?"
It sounded as if there really was some hidden secret. The player nodded immediately, and the others present also became alert.
Seeing that everyone was interested, Locke looked at Zhou Zhou again and found that he was also staring at him curiously. After thinking for a while, he said, "Okay then."
After saying this, he stretched out a hand and touched his forehead. Everyone stared at his movements closely.
On Locke's forehead, there was a hideous centipede-like scar that ran through the entire forehead and extended from the front to the back of the head. Although it was covered by hair at the back, the scar could still be vaguely seen under the hair.
Locke put his four fingers together and placed them on his forehead, with his index finger pressing on his temple.
Just when everyone was wondering what he was going to do, Locke's forehead was opened where the scar was.
It’s open! ! !
The scar that surrounded the entire forehead was like a closed box. With a slight opening, the top of the head was revealed. There was no brain inside the revealed top of the head. It was just like the cross-section of the old butler's broken limb, pitch black.
The dining table, which had been making some noise, suddenly became silent.
The players were dumbfounded.
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