Chapter 24 Blood Moon Night (Twenty-Four)
Rest area and game room.
Not knowing what happened, many players instantly crowded around the small light screen in the corner.
The surroundings were in a mess, with players crowded together. Many of them were looking at the light screen and had not yet organized their words.
The crowd was eerily silent for a few seconds before a curse word erupted.
"Shit, is there something wrong with the game system? Why did this game instance go directly from C-level to S-level? Isn't it said that game instances can only be upgraded incrementally and not leapfrog? There are several levels of difficulty between C-level and S-level?"
He was obviously an old player, but he lost his composure because it was his first time seeing this situation.
In the crowd, another player who had been here two days earlier corrected him weakly, "It's not C-level. The Blood Moon Night instance was originally D-level..."
Now the players who were crowded here to watch the fun became even more agitated.
"Isn't it said that even if the difficulty level of a game instance is floating, there is only one possibility of upgrading? Why did this game upgrade twice in a row?"
"And this instance was just opened not long ago. According to the time inside the instance, only a day and a half has passed."
"A day and a half? Did some big shot go to this dungeon? Otherwise, how could they have explored the entire dungeon in such a short time, and maybe even discovered the hidden area?"
The players talked at once and raised many possibilities, but could not see the answers to the questions in each other's puzzled eyes. Finally, they all turned their eyes to the player information at the back of the copy.
In order to protect the privacy of players and to prevent someone from taking advantage of the opportunity to play the dungeon to seek revenge.
Therefore, the system will not announce the specific status of each player in the ongoing copy, so the player information after the copy will only show the initial number of players in the copy and the real-time number of survivors.
At this moment, the number 3/7 written after the Blood Moon Night once again frightened the surrounding players.
"Is there something wrong with my memory? I remember that there were always six initial players in the entire Blood Moon Night dungeon, right?"
"Could it be that the game has been upgraded? But wouldn't there be an announcement for a normal upgrade?"
"Are you focusing on the wrong thing? Isn't the point that a D-rated game killed more than half of the players in just one and a half days?"
"You are wrong. This instance is already at S level, so this death rate is normal. I think the extra player is probably some hidden boss."
"Never mind who's a big shot or not. Think about it. When has the system ever had clear rules or guidelines regarding game upgrades and dungeon exploration? Those rules and precautions that everyone has been following are just rules summed up by so many big guilds from hundreds of games. What if these big guilds keep their secrets?"
In the crowd, some people immediately started conspiracy theories and pointed the finger at the Grand Council.
"Have you heard? Recently, several major guilds seem to have taken action. I don't know what they are doing, but it's so mysterious..."
"Hey, I heard that too. I wonder how long this rest area will remain quiet?"
…….
The sounds of discussion beneath the screen had begun to fade away, and the topics of discussion were becoming increasingly off-topic.
However, there were a few unnoticeable players in the crowd, whose eyes were fixed on the copy of 'Blood Moon Night' on the light screen.
As the crowd dispersed, these people left the game hall without a trace and moved quietly in different directions towards the bases of several large guilds.
One of the players, shortly after leaving the game hall, confirmed that no one had spotted him, and then turned into the manor closest to the game hall.
Yes, it is not an ordinary house, but a building with a garden and ancient charm. Looking from the door, you can see the winding stream and the manor with pavilions and terraces.
If a player enters the game for the first time and sees this manor, he might think he has just accidentally entered the back garden of a wealthy family.
Even in this bizarre game world, to build a base of this type in a location as close to the game hall as one where every inch of land is valuable, having a lot of points is definitely not enough.
It also requires extremely high taste, artistic attainments, and tremendous patience.
After all, this is in the game world, and players face life and death threats every day.
For most people, having a roof over their heads is enough.
After a while, someone knocked twice from outside in a study room on the top floor of the main building in the center of the manor.
"Enter."
The monosyllabic words, spoken from the room owner's mouth, contained no emotion, but rather a hint of coldness.
The visitor pushed open the door of the room. Even though she was very familiar with the structure of the study, she still felt dazed for a moment every time she broke into this study which was full of the colors of the real world.
But the woman sitting behind the desk did not feel uncomfortable at all. She lowered her head and looked at something. Even when someone came in, she did not move immediately.
It was just that the slender fingers made a slight sound when rubbing against the paper.
"President, there's news from the game hall." The visitor gathered his thoughts and hurriedly reported, "An abnormality has been discovered in the Blood Moon Night dungeon. Not only has the number of people entering the game dungeon increased from six to seven, but the difficulty of the dungeon has also increased twice within a day and a half of the game dungeon time, from the original D level to S level. There are only three surviving players left now."
The person reporting was clear and organized, and gave a brief introduction to the situation in the copy in just a few sentences.
Then, as if he had thought of something, he quickly added, "The players who entered this dungeon game have also been found out. They are Cui Zhongming from the Secret of Witchcraft, Liang Yu and Bai Wei, the killer CP from the Order of No Order, an unknown player without a guild, and two players from our guild, Xiaoxue and Li Shuai..."
Hearing this, the woman behind the desk finally raised her head, and her eyes, hidden behind her gold-rimmed glasses, finally showed a hint of doubt.
As if knowing what the president was thinking, the visitor hurriedly continued, "Xiaoxue and Li Shuai came to this dungeon by accident. They reported it to the guild before entering. Because the initial level is only D, it is not a difficult dungeon, so..."
“But the people from Secret of Witchcraft and Order of No Order should have received the news long ago. Otherwise, with their abilities, it would be impossible for them to enter this initial level D copy for no reason. With Xiaoxue and Li Shuai’s abilities, I’m afraid…”
The woman's eyes flashed with emotion, but were quickly blocked by her glasses. "Their family situations and reasons for entering the game should be recorded. Also, find out if they have other players in the game who need to be taken care of. After the game is over, we can follow the rules."
These words were said very calmly, as if they were not discussing a matter of life or death.
After the woman finished explaining all this, she remembered that the other party had not finished speaking, so she asked a question.
"Didn't they say there were seven people entering the game? What happened to the last one?"
The person reporting the incident showed an embarrassment on his face. "President, I have investigated and found that this seventh person did not log into the dungeon game in the game hall like the first six people. Even the increase in the number of initial players was a sudden change after the game had been going on for half a day. So we currently have no idea of the other party's identity or how he suddenly broke into the game that was already in progress."
The woman did not speak immediately, but stretched her body back, and her eyes behind the lenses became sharp.
"Have someone keep an eye on the game lobby. The game difficulty has been upgraded, which means the game could end at any time. If anyone comes out of the game instance, tell me immediately."
"OK."
After the woman explained everything, she reached out and pressed her temples, which were a little swollen from staying up late, and asked, "Do you have any clues about the copies I asked you to sift through?"
"We have some clues. We still need some time to distinguish them carefully. We should have results soon."
The woman nodded and said nothing more, but her gaze was fixed on the picture frame on the desk.
The person reporting the incident rarely saw the woman showing signs of fatigue, and originally wanted to persuade her to rest, but when he saw the woman's gaze, he stopped talking and left the study.
——
In-game.
Nan Huan didn't know at this time that his actions had caused such a big change outside.
Of course, she had no time to notice other situations, because the light flashing from the wooden wall was too dazzling, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.
Following the system's prompt, the air wall that originally led from the third floor to the fourth floor slowly disappeared.
Under the bloody moonlight, the wooden wall collapsed.
Amid the dust and smoke, the sound of footsteps could be heard from the other side of the wall.
Click. Click.
Those steps seemed to be stepping on Nanhuan's heart, heavy and long, making it hard to breathe.
The witch at the door was already stunned by the scene before her.
The arrogance that had been on his face was gone, leaving only disbelief mixed with blatant fear.
Xiaoxue and Li Shuai, of course, also heard the footsteps.
Seeing that the voodoo doll had disappeared and the witch seemed to have lost some of her fighting power, they quickly stood up and ran towards Nanhuan's position.
In the dust, the familiar figure appeared again.
The slender legs are wrapped in long boots, outlining tight and charming lines.
The Gothic black dress, paired with a slit cape, creates ripples as she walks.
It is paired with a dark red bow tie around the neck, with a long tail hanging down to the waist.
The mixed atmosphere of abstinence and temptation made Nan Huan unable to look away.
The body hidden under the silver-grey uniform is so white that it is almost transparent.
Under the blood-red moonlight, Nan Huan could even see her translucent fingertips.
Her hair was longer than before, long silver hair reaching her waist. It swayed as she walked, with the ends of her hair slightly curled up, like a kitten's paw, scratching Nan Huan's heart.
If it weren't for the familiar silver mask on her face, Nan Huan would have no way of connecting her with the previous housekeeper.
Until the next second.
A familiar feeling of floating in the air came over Nan Huan, and before he could react, he found himself being picked up sideways by the person who had walked up to him.
Nanhuan was already looking a little dusty and dirty because of the fight just now.
Looking at the other person again, although he had walked out of the dust, his body was as clean as before, without a speck of dust on it.
Nan Huan had not yet recovered from the shaking and subconsciously wanted to reach out and grab something for balance.
But maybe Nan Huan was keenly aware that the housekeeper at this moment was no longer in the restricted state he was in before.
Still looking at the smooth shoulders and white collarbones, I really couldn't find where to start.
Nan Huan finally had to deceive himself and grab the tail of the red bow tie, trying to maintain his balance, but the effect was not very good.
The purple-black shadow chains on the housekeeper's body had disappeared. Apart from the fact that her body was still cold, there seemed to be no difference. However, Nan Huan could keenly perceive that she was different from before.
"Anan, are you...are you okay?"
Xiaoxue and Li Shuai ran over together and saw this familiar scene.
"This butler...what's going on with the butler? What should we do now?"
Although the atmosphere between the two seemed quite harmonious, Xiaoxue didn't want to be the one to break it.
But now the witch is still at the door, the main task has been activated, and it is not clear whether the butler in front of her is an enemy or a friend. In addition, the butler made such a big noise that she had to be on guard.
Nan Huan was also pulled back to reality by the other party's words. She struggled with her legs and said, "Put me down. I can do it myself."
Before realizing the housekeeper's true identity, Nan Huan could still treat her as a normal NPC, and he didn't feel too much psychological burden when she picked him up.
But the current situation is really awkward.
The housekeeper seemed a little stunned as well, but she was not stunned by Nan Huan's order and refusal.
After she put Nan Huan down, she stared at her outstretched hand, as if she didn't quite understand why she had picked up Nan Huan without any hesitation.
It seemed that since the moment I saw Nanhuan, there was a voice of longing in my heart.
The sound was like an instinct, it could not be avoided or escaped.
"Cough..." As if realizing that it was inappropriate for him to hug the housekeeper while others were fighting for their lives, Nan Huan coughed slightly before speaking.
"Well, let me introduce you two. There has never been a housekeeper in the castle, and this person in front of you is the owner of the castle. She has not been traveling, but has always been in the castle."
In fact, there has never been a butler in the castle, Nan Huan was just suspicious before.
After all, when she asked the maid in charge of cleaning about the housekeeper, she acted as if she didn't hear her, which made her suspicious at the time.
In addition, the owner of the castle, who had already gone on a trip, still asked the maid to clean his room every night.
What does this indicate?
This means that the owner of the castle never left the castle, so the cleaning time has not changed at all.
But what made Nan Huan truly certain of this was the first maid who had turned into a pool of blood.
When she asked about the housekeeper's news, she gave Nan Huan an affirmative answer - there had never been a housekeeper in the castle.
At this point, putting the relevant clues together, it is not difficult to conclude that the butler who has always appeared in front of them is actually the owner of the castle.
Because the witch stole the castle owner's things, the castle owner's behavior was restricted and he could only appear in front of the player as a butler.
Such an introduction seemed a bit strange, but Nan Huan did not forget that they had now started the main quest and had to find a way to deal with the witch first.
Xiaoxue and Li Shuai opened their mouths so wide because of the sudden news that they could swallow an egg.
They knew that Nan Huan was more capable than themselves, and they also felt that the other party seemed to be playing a different game than they were.
After all, from the information they had obtained, they had no idea about the secrets and rituals of witches, not to mention the fact that the butler was the owner of the castle.
However, Nan Huan didn't have time to explain more to them now. He just turned around to look at the calm eyes behind the silver mask and handed over the scepter in his hand.
"This is something the witch stole from you, and now it is returned to its rightful owner."
The scepter had no effect in Nan Huan's hand. She had just verified it, otherwise she would not have risked breaking the wooden wall, breaking the restricted area, and releasing the owner of the castle.
Her original rescue plan was to deal with the witch after that.
But after realizing that he, Xiaoxue, and Li Shuai were no match for the witch, he decisively moved the rescue plan forward.
It is obvious that the scepter is what the owner of the castle lost. This thing is more powerful in the hands of the owner of the castle than in the hands of the witch.
Otherwise, those purple-black shadows and the voodoo dolls would not have to run away.
This means that the awakened owner of the castle will definitely be able to deal with the witch.
In this way, they can complete the main mission and rescue people at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.
So after Nan Huan confirmed that the owner of the castle did have such ability, he prepared to offer the scepter with both hands to show his sincerity.
But unexpectedly, the owner of the castle did not reach out for the scepter, but just lowered his eyes and looked at Nan Huan.
【bite--
Warning, the castle owner, a potential target of attack, has been detected. His trust in the player is ninety-nine.
Warning, this NPC is not within the scope of the player's skill usage. 】
The system prompt sounded without warning, and Nan Huan noticed that the number hanging above the castle owner's head had changed to ninety-nine at some point, but the color was still the light color of an unlocked car, and there was still a lock in the upper right corner.
Ninety-nine, a number close to one hundred but always a little short.
Just because I helped her find her things, does that mean she trusts me so much all of a sudden?
Could it be that this thing is really important?
Nan Huan looked at the thing in his hand in confusion.
The owner of the castle kept his eyes on Nan Huan, and he seemed not to care at all about the thing in her hand.
Xiaoxue and Li Shuai were even more confused.
Does the scepter belong to the owner of the castle?
Stolen by a witch? When?
The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and everyone seemed to have their own thoughts.
I don’t know how long it took, so long that Nan Huan’s outstretched hand was already a little sore, and finally something moved again.
It wasn't the person in front of me, but a gust of wind that came from somewhere.
The wind was like a sharp sword, breaking the silver mask on the face of the owner of the castle.
With a click.
The silver mask broke into two pieces, revealing the delicate face underneath.
The evil wind seemed to have completed its mission, it spun around and slipped away again.
The remaining three players, looking at the amazing face under the mask, were stunned at first, obviously not expecting it, and then they couldn't help but blurt out.
"Bei Xi..."
“President…”
The first name was called by Nanhuan, and the second name was called by Xiaoxue and Li Shuai.
The two groups were so surprised that their voices were loud and could be heard by each other.
As expected, they both saw disbelief in each other's eyes.
But before they could investigate further, the system prompt sounded.
【bite--
The copy is upgraded and the main task is updated.
Main quest: On the night of the blood moon, eradicate the roots.
Mission description: When the blood moon appears, the evildoers will appear.
The owner of the castle did not actually travel far away, but had been sleeping. Now the sleeping monster has been awakened.
Attracting tigers and repelling wolves is never a good idea. The only solution is to cut the weeds at their roots.
The blood moon has been extended to six hours. Players are requested to kill all monsters in the castle within this time limit and restore peace to the castle. 】
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