The woman was extremely efficient. She said she wanted to attract an audience for Wen Shi, and immediately took out a small rattle with a peculiar shape.
Wen Shi stopped her: "It's not too late to recruit them when the time comes. If there are too many people, it will be difficult for us to communicate."
It would be troublesome to rashly create too many monsters without thinking about how to pass the level.
"Alright."
The woman spoke in a coquettish tone, more like a willful little girl from a wealthy family, but her unfathomable expression made people afraid to act rashly.
"If you need anything, just ask directly. Don't hesitate." Compared to other family members, women seem to know more, and the game also gives them relatively free speech. "As long as you think independently, you can borrow the help of others."
Wen Shi almost obeyed his elders' orders and nodded shyly.
The woman further introduced herself: "My name is Ayu, but you can't use this name even if you know it. You should call me mom anyway."
As he spoke, he ran out into the rain and rubbed his face, "I got such a big son for free. I've made a fortune this time..."
Wen Shi's temple twitched.
He couldn't figure out what basis his parallel world self used to decide the relationship between the two parties.
It doesn't make sense to divide them purely by age. The boy is a devil and his life span must be longer, but he calls himself brother. The woman looks young and is positioned as a mother.
The most outrageous thing is that there is no conflict between these relatives.
"Come in quickly." In a flash, Ayu was already standing under the eaves: "Don't get cold."
The doubt in Wen Shi's eyes had not yet dissipated, and seeing that the woman had no intention of explaining, he could only focus on business first.
Before entering, he introduced Ayu to the family members and explained that they were currently in a story. The key priorities were survival and making the story interesting. The latter wasn't a specific requirement in the game, but Wen Shi, considering the context of "Horror Society," believed that making the story more engaging would be beneficial later on.
Ayu nodded: "The audience are all monsters, so let's create a story that is terrifying if we think about it carefully."
Hearing the old internet slang for the first time, Wen Shi looked at A Yu in surprise.
"I've dealt with all kinds of monsters and know a lot." Ayu suddenly leaned close to him: "I'm good at telling this kind of story. For example... you already have many family members in parallel worlds, right?"
Wen Shi nodded.
A Yu said meaningfully, "Do you think there could be a real person mixed in? For example, if you two are truly related by blood, he is just coming to you through the name of a parallel world."
Wen Shi didn't react at first, but after two seconds, he got goosebumps all over his body.
Ayu smiled and stood on tiptoe to touch his head: "Just kidding."
"…"
As soon as he entered the house, the maid came towards him and told him that the room had been cleaned. When she saw another strange woman visiting, the maid did not show any surprise. When Mr. Lin was in his forties, he still brought a different woman home every day. It was only in the past two years that his health suddenly deteriorated and he stopped.
"Please help me clean up another guest room, preferably closer to my room."
When the maid went upstairs, Wen Shi followed behind.
When passing by one of the half-open rooms, the servant said, "The young master said he was used to sleeping alone, so I made an empty room for him next to yours."
Through the gap in the door, Wen Shi met Pei Hongxin's gaze inside and curled his lips playfully. Was he actually afraid of him to this extent?
As expected, it is easy to lose some energy as you get older. Ten years ago, Pei Hongxin would rather take risks and keep a close eye on his every move.
A Yu noticed that Wen Shi looked at Pei Hongxin with unfriendly eyes, and gently gestured with his neck. He had a grudge and wanted to kill him?
Wen Shi nodded slightly, but pointed at himself, indicating that he was ready to do it himself.
The thing that was most abundant on the second floor was rooms. There was a vacant guest room diagonally opposite Wen Shi, which was available for A Yu to stay in.
"The master said dinner will be served at 7 o'clock in the evening." The guest room was clean. The maid quickly cleaned up the dust and stood outside Wen Shi's door and said.
Wen Shi responded: "I understand."
At six-fifty, everyone who had returned today, except Mr. Lin himself, sat at the long table. Outside, a violent storm raged. Before seven o'clock, the weather was no different from that at nightfall.
The crystal chandelier on the ceiling was turned to the brightest, and Ayu's presence attracted a lot of inquiring eyes.
The eldest son, Lin Heguang, narrowed his eyes and said, "Who is this, my sister-in-law?"
"No." Wen Shi said expressionlessly: "My godmother."
Pei Hongxin instinctively felt a chill, and sure enough, the next moment Wen Shi said, "Why don't you go kowtow to your grandma?"
Pei Hongxin sat still in his seat, looking at Wen Shi with a very cold look.
Others secretly thought that the two must have had a lot of grudges in the past.
The farce was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs.
The first thing Mr. Lin did when he came downstairs was to throw the newspaper in front of Wen Shi: "Look at what you've done!"
When Wen opened it, he saw that the news portrayed him as a typical garbage man, with allegations of academic fraud, drunk driving, and even a rumor that he had killed someone. It was criticized from beginning to end, and the summary was that the Lin family's wealth could not last for more than three generations.
Lin Helan, who personally delivered the newspaper to Old Man Lin in the afternoon, was still very calm while confirming Wen Shi's crime and playing the role of peacemaker: "He Jing has always liked to make trouble. Dad, please forgive him again."
The old man kept complaining until the food was served.
Ayu sat in an inconspicuous position, turned the jewel ring on his hand, and thought that it was time for the old man to pass away.
As the person being scolded, Wen Shi was not angry at all and seemed very filial: "You eat first, and then scold me after you finish eating."
Old Master Lin sat at the head table and finally changed the subject before picking up his chopsticks. "Everyone is subject to misfortunes at any time. I actually wrote out a will a long time ago, but I recently wanted to make some changes. If nothing else, at least I want to leave the majority of my property to my most filial child."
The youngest son, Lin Tianci, had tears in his eyes: "Dad, don't say such discouraging words. With your physique, you will definitely live to be a hundred years old."
When you have a child in your old age, you always love him more. The name Tianci also shows Mr. Lin's preference for him. However, he did not follow his youngest son's sentimental words today. Instead, a strange light flashed in his eyes.
"Filial piety cannot be expressed through words. Those who are truly filial can go to the study and see how it is done in the books."
Everyone had no taste for the meal.
Mr. Lin kept saying that he was not in good health, but the table was full of meat and fish.
After dinner, everyone said hello and ran to the study room impatiently.
The mission is more important, and some people are too lazy to even pretend.
Only Old Master Lin was still sitting in his original position, watching a group of people rushing up the stairs. He picked up the chopsticks again, picked up a piece of meat, and chewed it fiercely, as if he had a grudge against someone.
study.
No one went to the study where Mr. Lin often stayed for the time being. Everyone preferred to go to a relatively safe place to check things out first. Wen had been here in the afternoon and was curious about what the books inside were used for.
The first person to pull out a book about benevolence and filial piety was Lin Tianci. Seeing that something was wrong with his expression, Wen Shi also pulled out a book about curious folk stories about filial piety and started reading.
The opening story is about a man who cut off his own flesh to use as a medicine to cure his parents' illness. There are many strange stories, and every time I read one, the prompt will pop up.
"Congratulations on triggering the "Severing Flesh to Lead" quest. Completing this quest will increase Mr. Lin's favorability by 20."
"Congratulations on triggering the Heartblood quest. Completing this quest will increase Mr. Lin's favorability by 25 points."
Wen Shi frowned when he heard these tasks, and was completely certain that the old man was coming for the lives of his children.
[Side Quest: The Most Filial Child
Mission content: Before 9:00 AM tomorrow, players whose favorability with Mr. Lin falls below 30 will be permanently removed from the list of heirs. Players with a favorability above 50 may be directly designated as one of the heirs.
Wen Shi first looked around, and from their expressions alone, he could tell some of them were players. The eldest son of the Lin family was a player, but his wife was probably an NPC. The eldest daughter, her family, and her children were all players.
In reality, this mission wasn't difficult at all, and was undoubtedly designed to lure players into self-harm. For example, the flesh-cutting mission had clear requirements for the knife, the amount of cutting, and the time it took to cut. Wen Shi deeply suspected that the damage inflicted using this method couldn't be reversed, even with potions.
Xiaohua found a shrine in a hidden door behind a bookcase.
The carvings around the shrine are not traditional auspicious patterns. The patterns are consistent with the plum blossoms embroidered with gold thread on Mr. Lin's body. The old man seems to like plum blossoms very much.
The shrine enshrined a pitch-black statue, its features blurred. Xiaohua's eyes were filled with coldness: "Every time I see people worshipping these evil spirits, I want to beat them to death."
The corners of his eyes, which were naturally tinged with red, caught sight of Wen Shi, who was quietly standing beside the bookshelf. He flipped through the books rather hastily, and after finally putting the book back in its place, Wen Shi even yawned slightly.
Xiaohua moved to Wen Shi's side and asked him if he had figured out how to improve Mr. Lin's favorability.
"I guess so." Wen Shi did not hide the truth from her: "I think I have already figured out how to pass this test."
The information he had gathered tonight was enough for Wen Shi to manipulate everyone in the room. Just as he was about to use an anti-eavesdropping device to explain it, Xiao Hua waved her hand: "If you tell me now, others will be watching my every move."
Then make predictions based on her behavior, and the original plan will not succeed.
After thinking about it, Wen Shi felt that what Xiaohua said made sense, so he just saved the phone number of his nominal "stepmother" and prepared to inform her a few words at the critical moment.
Pei Hongxin was watching all this in the corner and noticed that the housekeeper was watching them at the door. He walked out and inquired about the relationship between Wen Shi and Xiaohua.
"They seem to be very familiar with each other." Pei Hongxin did not mention the fact that the young man tricked him into making a bet, as if he was still unaware of it.
The housekeeper introduced him with surprising patience: "Xiaohua is a core member of the second largest union in the virtual world. If they reach some kind of cooperation, then there will be no problem for you and me."
After saying that, he took out a bloody nail and said, "If you can find a way to put this thing under Pei Wenwei's pillow, there is still a chance."
Unexpectedly, Pei Hongxin refused.
If Pei Wenwei can hook up with powerful players, it proves that his own strength is not too bad, and there is a high probability that he will be discovered if he does such a small trick.
Pei Hongxin didn't know what he was thinking. He turned around and looked through those bloody favorability plans again, selecting the ones that would not kill people temporarily.
After wandering around the study for about half an hour, Wen Shi was the first to leave.
His eccentricity inevitably made him the focus of everyone's attention, and for a moment, everyone's heart was boiling with excitement.
How can you be so nonchalant that you don't even check the shrine carefully?
They couldn't help but worry that Wen Shi might have discovered some unknown secret, and the books that Wen Shi had read before were taken out and read over and over again.
After Wen Shi left, A Yu followed him.
"I'll go take a walk around." Ayu said.
Wen Shi nodded, remembering the other party mentioning catching a pet. His fingers unconsciously reached for the heart-blood pendant hanging around his neck, and he muttered, "Strange."
Why hasn't the little octopus come yet?
If he doesn't come soon, he will have passed by this short story.
Late at night, the wind howled violently.
A woman was pointing a knife at herself, and her eyes gradually became firm.
From a mission perspective, the most filial child will definitely eliminate the player. Anyway, there is a painkiller potion, so as long as the favorability is high enough, this round is safe. If the favorability exceeds 50, it can even be eliminated once and for all.
This setting is completely consistent with the difficulty of C+.
There were lights on in several rooms along the corridor, and it was obvious that everyone was struggling with how to be ruthless to themselves in order to maximize their benefits.
If there is more than one heir, you can raise their favorability to 50 at once. Even if other players have also raised their favorability to 50, it will not be affected.
Because of the light seeping into the hallway, the entire corridor didn't seem particularly scary, except for the occasional thunder outside. At the moment of lightning, a door slowly opened, and the child, like a ghost, tried to keep his footsteps silent as he walked all the way to the third floor.
The third floor is where the maids and housekeepers live.
Pei Hongxin knocked on the housekeeper's door. Seeing the housekeeper's slightly surprised look, he extended his hand and said, "I can help you try to release the cursed object, but you must give me the best painkillers and potions."
The reason for refusing once before was to make the housekeeper subconsciously feel that he was not very willing to do this, so that he could take a certain initiative.
The butler smiled and was about to make a request.
Pei Hongxin shook his head: "I won't sign the contract. If I fail, the most you'll lose is a potion." He stated the facts: "For my own safety, I will also try my best to complete this task."
Pei Wenwei's survival meant that he would be attacked sooner or later.
Of course, the housekeeper also understood this truth. If it weren't for a deep hatred, Pei Wenwei wouldn't have used such a troublesome method to trick people into forming a team.
Before forming a team to go to the base, the butler also made a deal with the people from Wangcai Bank. As long as Pei Wenwei died, he would make a huge profit.
He looked at Pei Hongxin deeply, and finally tore off his disguise: "If you don't get the result I want, you may have to pay more than just the price of returning the potion."
The butler finally provided Pei Hongxin with potions, which were not rare for veteran players.
Pei Hongxin returned to the room with the things.
He stared at the electronic dial, watching the monster comments that popped up from time to time, his eyes vicious and resolute.
If he wanted to survive, he had to break away from the unrealistic luck. Now that he knew that Pei Wenwei had connections with powerful players, his situation was like an ant that could be crushed to death at any time, but he was not without a way out.
For example, the shrine in the study.
Mr. Lin must be offering something as a sacrifice, and there must be a price to pay, otherwise there wouldn't be a single biological child in the house.
He could try to find what Grandpa Lin was offering and go there to worship as well, or he could look for the demon who was making deals in the comment section. He would definitely find it among so many readers.
Borrowing the power of the devil will definitely not end well.
Killing a thousand enemies will only result in a thousand casualties of your own. Pei Hongxin closed his eyes, but if he could become a believer of the devil and help the devil find prey, it would be of great benefit to him in the future in the game.
He entered the game too late and could not have the same advantages as the young people, so he had to find another way.
Pei Hongxin picked up the cup on the table and prepared to do the medicine-inducing task first with a rather ruthless expression.
…
The temperature in the room was a bit low.
Wen Shi had just finished a shower and had a cup of coffee to refresh herself. During intimate activities, the electronic disk would temporarily disappear, and when it reappeared, Wen Shi, fresh from the shower, could be described as quite attractive.
Everyone in the comments was silent for a moment because of the attacks on her beauty, but soon, extremely unfriendly comments began to sound.
Patient 112: I was called in by Patient 109. The other characters in the story have already been having their flesh cut or blood drained. I don't understand why you're still hesitating.
[Grandma Scissors: I'm familiar with this business.]
Patient 109: *
Some comments were blocked due to spoilers.
Wen Shi looked at the heavy rain outside, wiped the water droplets from his hair, and suddenly said: "The weather is getting cold, it's time to let the old man go on his way."
The barrage is full of question marks.
Wen Shi sipped his coffee, his lips pale due to the temperature of the room. "Once Mr. Lin dies, the favorability points earned by others will be reduced to zero."
He snapped his fingers, released the zombie, and calmly gave the order: "In half an hour, go and kill the old man."
Wen Shi's plan is divided into three steps, and the first step is to deal with Mr. Lin.
After a brief silence, the comment section became completely boiling.
"…"
"!Are you human?!"
"The story of 'Horror Club' has been online for so many times, but this is the first time I've seen someone want to fuck an old man on the first day of returning home!"
Wen Shi ignored these comments.
Mr. Lin is a certain authority in the property dispute. A normal player would never forcefully kill an NPC like that to increase the difficulty; after all, they just need to follow the rules and level up the character's favorability.
Compared to the pain, the unknown is the real trouble. Who knows if killing an NPC will lead to him turning into a ghost and taking revenge?
But Wen Shi didn't have the patience. In the evening, while having dinner, Mr. Lin said that he had made a will in the past, which meant that the game could still go on even after his death.
Besides, the man was killed by a zombie, so what does it have to do with him?
Thinking of this, he specifically instructed Youshi: "When you strike, you must be quick and conceal your aura if you can."
After finishing this job, Wen Shi didn't plan to let the zombies come out again before the end of this short story just to be on the safe side.
After gracefully finishing half a cup of coffee, Wen Shi suddenly felt a little cold and put a woolen blanket on his knees.
In the lonely midnight, he looked up at the ceiling and muttered to himself: "No one would be so stupid as to choose me, right?"
Just as he finished speaking, there was a sound of something heavy hitting the ground from somewhere in the house, accompanied by an angry curse: "It hurts so much."
Wen Shi: "…"