Wen Shi listened carefully to the system prompts. According to this statement, all players are eligible to inherit, including the butler, and it is not ruled out that there are some NPCs of other professions whose identities have not yet been revealed.
Judging from the current information, these children do not often accompany Mr. Lin, and perhaps their importance in the old man's heart is not as great as that of the housekeeper or the caregiver.
"It's a bit tricky..."
Looking at several other happy families, Wen Shi knew that he lacked any innate advantages. First of all, his infertility was a shortcoming, and if discovered, it would definitely be used to make a fuss.
After announcing the complete competition goal, the game issued the first side quest:
[To conceal a hidden illness, you lied about having a child. Please successfully arrange for the grandfather and grandson to meet before the evening of that day.]
[Quest Reward: Master Lin's Favorability +5.]
The others remained motionless in their positions, and it was unclear whether they had accepted the quest or not. Wen Shi had no intention of hiding his identity as a player. He glanced at Pei Hongxin and motioned for him to follow.
"Where is my father now?" Wen Shi asked the housekeeper.
"The study on the second floor."
Since this task was specifically assigned, it would definitely not be easy for Mr. Lin to meet him directly, but Wen Shi had to go and confirm the situation first.
The floor of the stairs seemed to be made of wood, and it had a soft and strange touch when stepped on. When he reached one of the steps, Wen Shi saw a black liquid seeping out of a crack. However, when he looked again, the surface of the stairs was smooth, and everything seemed to be an illusion.
Wen Shi's rationality value dropped by one point.
He vaguely grasped some patterns, and once he noticed certain things in the world, his rationality would drop. In order to solve the game puzzles, these details could not be ignored. At this time, the number of readers was very important, and a large number of readers could help consolidate his rationality.
After stepping over the last step, Wen Shi finally knew what that feeling was.
...Paper.
The entire villa is like a building on paper, with ink seeping everywhere.
There were quite a few rooms on the second floor, and more than one study. Some were hung with calligraphy and paintings, while others were piled high with hardcover books. Wen Shi walked into one of them and found that all the books were carefully stored in glass display cases, the outer boxes unopened, and it was obvious that they were not used for reading.
For collection and decoration?
While Wen Shi was exploring, Pei Hongxin just stood at the door, carefully avoiding touching anything that might be dangerous. From this perspective, he could easily notice what Wen Shi was paying attention to.
After spending less than two minutes in the room, Wen Shi returned to the corridor and continued walking forward. There was a closed door in front of him, so he knocked directly: "Father."
Anyway, my personality is that I just returned to China, so I can get away with knocking on the wrong room.
After a while, a hoarse voice came from inside: "I thought you were having fun abroad and had no intention of coming back."
Wen Shi cleverly changed the subject: "I was going to come back anyway, I wanted you to see my grandson."
Mr. Lin didn't ask about the child or the child's mother like other parents do. He just asked, "How old are you?"
Wen Shi's character, Lin Hejing, was 27 years old, according to his ID. He thought for a moment and said, "Seven."
Pei Hongxin is about seven or eight years old now, and it is difficult to hide the look of an adult. He looks older than his peers. If he says he is younger, it may arouse suspicion.
The old man seemed to want to ask in detail, but after a cough, his voice became a little sleepy. "Since he is a member of our Lin family, please take him to the small ancestral hall in the back to burn some incense."
Wen Shi responded simply: "Okay."
Before going downstairs, he said in an emotional tone, "I'll let this kid kowtow to you through the door first."
Wen Shi smiled and looked at Pei Hongxin.
Inside the door, the old man neither agreed nor refused.
Pei Hongxin clenched his fist. It would be fine if he didn't kowtow, but walking away would inevitably leave the NPC with an impression of impoliteness. Pei Hongxin also had a mission to gain the old man's favor. He had never kowtowed in his life, so he had no choice but to kneel at the door and kowtow softly, showing off his childish good behavior: "Hello, Grandpa."
I have to bow, but it's all in vain. Anyway, nothing happens after I kowtow.
Wen Shi then went downstairs.
He happened to see a man downstairs winking at the housekeeper. Something occurred to him and he started fiddling with his phone. Sure enough, a few more phone numbers appeared in his address book. The contact cards showed not only their profile pictures but also their ages and identities.
Pei Hongxin also wanted to see, but unfortunately he was too short and couldn't see even if he stood on tiptoe.
After comparing them one by one, Wen Shi had a preliminary understanding of the family members.
The man with the more arrogant attitude is his eldest brother Lin Heguang. He also has a sister named Lin Helan, and his youngest brother Lin Tianci is only sixteen years old. I don't know where the romantic debt left by Mr. Lin came from.
Wen Shi is the third child, a position that is easily overlooked in the family.
It was his eldest brother who winked at the butler. If he wanted to discuss the old man's favor, it would be very useful to have a good relationship with the butler.
However, the butler is not a philanthropist, and benefits are needed to impress him. Wen Shi has always disliked dealing with middlemen, unless he himself acts as the middleman.
When they arrived at the hall, the butler deliberately glanced at Wen Shi, his eyes somewhat suggestive.
Wen Shi just smiled and showed no intention of cooperating.
"I'm going to burn incense, is anyone coming with me?"
The only sound in the living room was the sound of children playing.
Judging from their unwillingness to even respond directly, more than half of the friends and family group are definitely players.
The eldest brother, Lin Heguang, didn't know whether he was arrogant by nature or was deliberately acting in this direction. He said sarcastically: "He Jingke really knows how to be polite. He went to the ancestral hall as soon as he came back."
If anyone mocked him, Wen Shi would use Pei Hongxin as a hidden weapon.
Looking at the woman sitting with Lin Heguang, who was obviously a couple, Wen Shi said, "They say an elder sister-in-law is like a mother. My dear, go kowtow to my mother."
Pei Hongxin: "..."
Kowtow to your whole family! Are you visiting the grave? Kowtow.
He stood still, his focus unfocused on his friends and family, who harbored ulterior motives. Pei Hongxin glanced at the butler, his calm exterior betraying a heart eager to tear him apart. There were no players wearing cloaks or masks among the present, and he now had a deep suspicion that the dungeon he had teamed up with was Pei Wenwei.
From the beginning, everything was a game.
Seeing that the weather outside was gloomy and there were signs of rain at any time, Wen Shi did not delay any longer and went out directly.
After he left, someone in the living room said quietly, "The relationship between father and son doesn't seem to be very good."
This is a breaking point.
This means that these two players can be easily defeated one by one, and they are actually in a state of isolation and helplessness.
In the depressing atmosphere, everyone sat on the sofa, their eyes met with each other, and they reached a tacit understanding in silence.
·
Leaden clouds blocked the sky, making the entire sky seem suffocating, and the strange smell in the air fermented again.
Walking around to the lawn at the back, Pei Hongxin took the initiative to speak to Wen Shi for the first time: "If you don't give the housekeeper any face, you will soon become the target of public criticism."
While the words were provocative, they also accurately pointed to reality. Family feuds like this always require a beginning, a consensus to collectively expel one member.
Wen Shi knew this better than anyone else.
I am quite famous in the virtual world, and anyone would want to concentrate their main efforts on eliminating strong opponents first.
He was quite calm: "Even a flock of sheep can't defeat a wolf."
Pei Hongxin implied that the other party was too arrogant.
Little did he know that Wen Shi was planning to summon his parallel world self to have a mixed doubles match with him after finishing the incense burning task.
The distance between the front and back houses was quite far. Mr. Lin was definitely a person who loved money to the extreme. The lawn was paved with stone bricks, and each stone brick was decorated with copper coin patterns.
When I was almost at the end of the road, I looked back and saw that the densely packed copper coins had formed the shape of an animal.
"Money Leopard..."
Wen Shi thought of the jade leopard that he had asked someone to send to Pei Hongxin. That thing that could bring wealth might have been lost from here.
The two worlds seemed to him to be inextricably linked, especially the burning orphanage, which seemed too pointed.
I didn't see a single servant on the road.
The ancestral hall was beautifully built, with a red roof and white walls. In the center, a plaque inscribed in gold read: "Lin Clan Ancestral Hall." The only thing that felt out of place was the black door. The moment Wen Shi pushed it open, he was greeted by the faint scent of ink.
There was no light inside. Even if he opened the door at this moment, no light could shine in. It seemed as if something was lurking in the darkness, waiting for its target to actively feed it into the cage.
Just like in the study, Pei Hongxin refused to cross the threshold. Unfortunately, Wen Shi didn't let him get away with it this time and directly grabbed the child's collar from behind. The power disparity between the two was too great, and Pei Hongxin desperately kicked his thin legs, but the next second he was thrown directly in.
"Let's go~"
Wen Shi was completely using him as a pathfinder.
Every time Pei Hongxin rushed out, he would be thrown in mercilessly. After a while, he finally gave up. Wen Shi stood at the door and turned on the flashlight on his mobile phone. The focused light shone in and was also dissolved in half.
He asked Pei Hongxin to tell him about the internal situation.
Playing tricks on this kind of thing wouldn't benefit anyone. Using the dim light, Pei Hongxin observed while saying in a deep voice, "The spirit tablet is standing directly in front..."
He suddenly took a step forward and said, "There are incense and a matchbox on the side of the table."
A slight friction sound was heard.
Knowing they would force him to burn incense, Pei Hongxin simply lit the match and gave his answer: "The incense won't light."
There is no rule that young people should burn incense alone. Although Grandpa Lin did not say it explicitly, Wen Shi had to do it.
He looked at the blurry thin figure, sneered and walked into the ancestral hall.
While Wen Shi was burning incense, Pei Hongxin silently moved to the side. In fact, there was a very important piece of information he didn't say. The moment he came in, he heard a leopard's roar.
Among the numerous tablets, there is an inconspicuous blank spirit tablet in the middle, which overlaps with the position of the tablets below and cannot be found unless you look carefully.
According to Pei Hongxin's estimation, before burning incense, one must first find a way to lure the leopard into the tablet. The specific method of doing so is unknown, but if a leopard attacks people, it will definitely prioritize attacking the person burning incense.
As if he was completely unaware, the young man pinched the match with his slender fingertips and lightly struck it. This scene was inexplicably very tempting. Now he could also hear the leopard's roar, a sound that came from the soul.
roar--
A ferocious beast pounced out from the darkness, and the fishy smell from its bloody mouth rushed straight to my head.
Pei Hongxin retreated quickly, but Wen Shi remained standing still, still calmly lighting two incense sticks with a match.
He blew out the fire gently, and saw that the leopard's sharp fangs were about to bite off his neck. At the critical moment, Wen Shi confronted the monster head-on with a fist.
"Breaking the shell."
It's just a little incense, the task isn't too difficult. Fight first, and if you can't defeat it, let the zombie use its skills. The zombie's skills have a one-day cooldown period, so I don't want to use this trump card unless it's absolutely necessary.
This was the first time he used the skill A Sang, which, when activated, could randomly smash the head of a high-level monster.
There was a crisp sound of "duang", and Wen Shi clearly felt that the area where his fist touched the monster's hard skull had sunk, while his fragile fist was intact.
The turbid brain matter flowed all over the floor, eventually turning into black water and melting into the cracks in the stone bricks.
After the leopard's head was split open, visibility within the ancestral hall increased significantly. Wen Shi didn't even turn around and said coldly, "Come in and burn incense."
The hot and fishy smell in the air had not yet dissipated, constantly reminding Pei Hongxin of the bloody scene just now. Pei Hongxin's frail face twitched, and he reluctantly stepped over the threshold and stood next to Wen Shi again.
Violence always has the most intuitive deterrent effect.
Wen Shi closed his eyes and stood straight in front of the tablet, as if he were really a devout worshipper.
He knew what Pei Hongxin was thinking. On the one hand, he was afraid, but on the other hand, he looked down on attack skills. In short, it could make the other party relax their guard in fear.
Picking up the incense on the table, Pei Hongxin listened to his over-beating heartbeat and went through the process as quickly as possible.
After burning incense, Wen Shi wiped the monster's blood off his hands with the inside of his coat. "Remember your identity. You are nothing but a fake. After being exposed, I will lose a few points of favorability from the NPC at most, but there will be no place for you in this house anymore."
It's almost like saying that he is being treated like a dog.
After wiping off the last bit of blood, Wen Shi tidied Pei Hongxin's clothes, just as he had helped him tidy his clothes in the orphanage: "Put them in the right place."
When we returned to the villa, half of the people in the living room were gone. The maid was checking the windows. It was starting to blow outside and the weather station warned that there would be heavy rain tonight.
The butler was giving orders in an orderly manner. He could even call out the maids' names and had completely immersed himself in the role.
The two sides did not greet each other specially. Wen Shi kept walking upstairs, ready to completely complete the first side quest.
I knocked on the door twice and this time I heard a "Come in" voice.
The moment he pushed the door open, Wen Shi's expression changed subtly. He didn't know how to describe the smell inside. It was a bit like a refrigerator filled with stale ingredients. The cold air and a mixed refrigerator smell hit him in the face.
Old Master Lin was dressed in a black suit, which was not monotonous at all. It was decorated with plum blossoms embroidered with gold thread. His face showed that he was not in good health, and his whole body was weak.
Old Master Lin was flipping through a photo album. As people age, they tend to be nostalgic. He had abandoned his parents without mercy, but now he felt a touch of nostalgia. "Your mother passed away early. Fortunately, she didn't have to experience the pain of aging."
Mr. Lin pointed to a photo and said, "Look, she is forever stuck in such a beautiful moment."
Wen Shi quietly accompanied him in reminiscing about the past. When they saw the photos, Wen Shi and Pei Hongxin, one big and one small, both widened their eyes at the same time.
The woman in the photo has standard almond-shaped eyes, and Mr. Lin himself has single eyelids, but both Wen Shi and the child held by the woman in the photo have double eyelids.
I silently pondered the probability of two single eyelids developing double eyelids, and finally concluded that it must be a genetic mutation.
Wen Shi had just calmed down when Old Man Lin sighed, "Remember your mother was born prematurely when you were born? She suffered a lot."
He didn't even mention that he was hanging out with someone else at that time.
Wen Shi, who had just reminded Pei Hongxin that he had to put himself in the right place in this family, fell silent.
There are no double coincidences in the world.
"…"
It turns out that I am not his biological child either.
So why are they going to other people's homes?