Infinite Peculiar Games

“Mastering the game lies in the actions behind the scenes—to observe, spy, and gather the most information while everyone else remains ignorant and unaware.”

“Sister Zou, isn’t this your second instance? Such items aren’t something a newcomer can obtain. You must be an experienced player who entered this instance by spending points, right?”

As time rewound, in Room 1, Zou Yan smiled at Ye. “You’re not simple either, are you? You and Shen Ming are both members of ‘Xila,’ aren’t you?”

At the mention of “Xila,” Ye’s eyes widened, and for the first time since entering the instance, she truly lost her composure.

She opened her mouth, forced a smile, and asked, “Sister Zou, how did you figure it out? Can you tell me?”

Zou Yan’s smile grew deeper, but she sighed. “He didn’t tell you, and yet you didn’t take the initiative to find out. I fear you still don’t understand what ‘teaming up’ means in this game, do you?”

Ye recalled how, before entering the game, Shen Ming had repeatedly warned her not to reveal their acquaintance.

She had thought it was just to play a double act. So, upon realising Zou Yan’s intention to cooperate, she immediately used Shen Ming as a bargaining chip.

Could it be…

“It’s quite interesting. Clearly, you’re the same type of person, yet you play different roles in front of each other, treating the other as a fool who is easy to control and manipulate.”

Zou Yan chuckled softly, suddenly and gently taking Ye’s right hand, lightly pressing on her pinky finger.

On Ye’s originally smooth and fair finger, a black ring slowly emerged. The surface had an engraved butterfly design, which also resembled the letter “S.”

Zou Yan removed the black ring from the girl’s finger. During this process, Ye found herself completely immobilised, only able to produce a guttural sound of anguish from her throat.

A loud clock chimed from outside, marking one o’clock in the afternoon.

Tilting her head, Zou Yan observed the fear in Ye’s eyes, smiling as she placed her hand on Ye’s neck.

“The gods will not protect you.”

…

“Shen Ming is a member of the Xila Guild. Liu Qingye knows him, so I suspect she’s one of them too.” Chang Xu’s voice was as calm as a still lake as he reached out to push aside the vines in front of him.

On the third floor of the castle, dark green tendrils emerged from the corners of the room, crawling up the grey-black walls like serpentine creatures.

The robust plants grew vigorously, rapidly reaching the ceiling and cascading down, layer by layer, sealing off the entire floor.

Qi Si attempted to cut one of the finger-thick tendrils with a blade. Green sap splattered onto his face, quickly congealing into fuzzy tendrils that burrowed into his flesh.

He tried to tear them off, but ended up ripping a thin layer of skin along with them.

“These vines are interesting. Could it be designed to parasitise within the human body?” Qi Si sheathed his blade and, like Chang Xu, used his hands to clear a barely passable path. “How did you know that Shen Ming is part of the Xila Guild?”

He was not familiar with the “Xila Guild,” but judging by Chang Xu’s matter-of-fact tone, it was clearly well-known, the kind of guild every veteran player would recognise.

Chang Xu stopped, took out a ring-like object from his pocket, and handed it to Qi Si.

It was a simple black ring, with a twisted black butterfly resembling the letter “S” embedded on its surface.

“I found this on Shen Ming. It’s their token,” Chang Xu explained. “The Xila Guild is very advanced in their study of the Peculiar Games. They’ve reached the point where they can create items that can be brought into the game. This ring, for example, increases the probability of two people entering the same instance together.”

The Xila Guild… Can they really manufacture items themselves?

Qi Si’s eyes flickered as he gently touched the bracelet on his right wrist.

Perhaps sensing the curiosity of his temporary teammate, Chang Xu said indifferently, “If you’re interested in this information, you can check the forums. Almost all publicly available information is there.”

He thought for a moment and added, “The Xila Guild has committed many heinous acts. They are now a target for many forces, both in the game and in reality. It’s only a matter of time before they are completely eradicated.”

…Is he worried that I might join this so-called “Xila Guild”?

Qi Si, always one to stir up trouble, raised an eyebrow at Chang Xu. “So, it seems that Shen Ming’s death had something to do with you, right?”

Chang Xu glanced at him with puzzlement. “What does it have to do with me?”

“…Nevermind.”

Behind the curtain of vines, the door was tightly closed, the rusted lock filled with dust.

Qi Si stepped forward, took out a thin iron wire from his bracelet, and inserted it into the lock, fiddling with it.

A few seconds later, with a click, the door was unlocked.

Chang Xu witnessed this with suspicion: “And you call yourself a taxidermist?”

“My father was a locksmith; I have learned from him since I was a child.”

Qi Si put away the wire, took a step back, and smiled at Chang Xu. “Brother Chang, I’m a bit of a germaphobe. Please bear with me.”

Chang Xu glanced at the thick layer of dust on the door handle. Without much suspicion, he led the way and pushed the door open.

Qi Si leisurely waited for a couple of seconds. Seeing no signs of danger, he then calmly followed Chang Xu.

The room ahead seemed long abandoned. As they entered, a cloud of dust rose, accompanied by a scent of decay, evoking a sense of “days gone by.”

In the centre of the room stood a large bed, covered with a quilt that had gathered a thick layer of dust. The contours of two bodies were visible beneath the blanket.

Qi Si stepped forward and lifted the quilt.

Under the quilt, two skeletons lay side by side on the bed, their white bones chilling to the core.

For a moment, the boundary between reality and the game blurred before his eyes, and countless memories that should have been deliberately forgotten surged in his mind.

First, there was the red dress under the sheet, and then the skeletons in the quilt… He had to admit, Miss Anna’s aesthetics were eerily similar to his own…

After a long silence, Qi Si let out a low laugh. “These two must be Miss Anna’s parents.”

Chang Xu, staring at the eerie white skeletons, felt a shiver run down his spine. He could not help but ask, “How do you know?”

Qi Si’s smile remained unchanged. “What if I said I guessed? Would you believe me?”

Death is inevitable, and the dead fade away silently. Only the living find it hard to accept, using various means to futilely preserve the remnants of the deceased, self-deceptively keeping them in their pre-death state as a form of memorial.

That is the true purpose of taxidermy.

Qi Si straightened up, his eyes falling on the skeletons lying quietly on the bed.

After a moment, he gently slid his hand under the pillow the skeleton was resting on and, as expected, found several sheets of paper.

With a pinch of his fingers, he pulled out the papers, revealing lines of writing on them.

…

【Anna and Annie were born at the same time. According to ancient legends, one of the twins was born cursed. We never believed these tales. They are both our beloved daughters, and we just want them to grow up happily.】

…

【Anna is always obedient, but Annie always has various strange ideas—it’s truly worrying.】

…

【Anna is becoming more and more beautiful. She is so perfect and destined to find happiness. Annie’s behaviour is becoming increasingly bizarre, and we suspect she plans to harm Anna. We are hosting a banquet at home; let’s lock her in her room for a day.】

…

【The family cat died. We found its body in Annie’s room. She killed the cat and used its blood to draw all sorts of terrifying runes on the walls. She’s cursing us!】

…

【Our illness is getting worse. We are going to die… It must be Annie…】

…

The notes ended abruptly.

Suddenly, a grating, creaking sound came from the direction of the bed.

Qi Si abruptly lifted his eyes and saw the two skeletons on the bed, sitting up stiffly at some unknown moment, turning their heads towards him.

His fingertips felt a slight dampness. On the paper in his hand, the black letters were gradually turning red, seeping out like blood from the paper and flowing downward.

He released the paper, but it clung to his hand as if glued, impossible to shake off. The blood-red letters extended like tendrils, piercing into his flesh like the roots of a rose.

Qi Si’s pupils contracted.

(End of chapter)

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