Chapter 2 Rose Manor (1) Weird Stories About Rules

The gray-purple sky opened above the head, and the clouds that did not leak out the sun were thickly accumulated. The humid air floated around me, as if it would condense into water droplets and fall at any time.

Zis opened his eyes and found himself standing in a Gothic manor. The tall castle in front of him cast a monster-like shadow and enveloped him.

The castle looked old. The walls were covered with decaying vines like meridian fishing nets and divided into fragmented pieces. The whole thing conveyed a message that it was in disrepair and could collapse at any time.

In front of the castle is a sea of ​​roses. Every rose is blooming with vitality, its branches and leaves are growing wildly, and they are showing their teeth and claws.

A light gray translucent panel appeared in the upper left corner of the line of sight. It was no different from the system interface in common third-rate games on the market, with silver-white prompts refreshed on it.

[Copy Name: "Rose Manor"]

[Copy type: Team survival (6 people)]

[Main mission: Survive for three days and crack the rules]

[Pre-tip: Sweet words are disgusting. All NPCs in this copy will not deceive players verbally]

"Has it entered the dungeon now?" Qisi stroked the silver bracelet on his right wrist, his eyes wandering between the four lines of text, and finally landed on the last sentence.

——He knows that the truth can sometimes lie.

He happens to be very good at using a series of incomplete truths to lead people down the wrong path.

A soft narration sounded in my ears without warning, like a complaint.

【What is the most beautiful thing in the world? She spent her whole life pursuing it until her beautiful face turned into skeletons and white bones]

[A girl who loves beauty plants a garden full of roses, hoping that the sea of ​​flowers will pay the price of her beauty]

[She looked at the aging roses in the garden and began to think, can the roses stop withering? Can the beauty she loves never grow old again? 】

[Dear guests, welcome to Miss Anna’s Rose Manor]

The voice was very thin, like the murmuring of a weak girl, but its tone gave people a lifeless and twilight tone.

It's a pity that Qiss has always lacked awe of ghosts and the unknown, and he doesn't have the habit of thinking too much and scaring himself.

He chuckled lightly, stepped onto the wet path, passed through the deep and dense sea of ​​flowers, and stood in front of the stone door covered with dead vines.

Push the door open and enter.

…

The interior furnishings of the castle are simple. A huge mechanical clock with a simple style is placed in the corner, conveying a sense of age that confuses time and space.

The empty hall was dimly lit, with a long marble table in the middle. A fruit basket was placed on the table, and the candlelight beside it swayed, forming the only light source in the castle.

There is a main seat on the long table facing the door, with three seats on each side. Five people are already seated.

These five people are naturally players.

"This is a team survival dungeon. We need to work together and work together to crack the world view - why not get to know each other first."

The first person to speak was a middle-aged man wearing glasses. He had a face that could not be distinguished from the crowd. He was wearing a suit and trousers. At first glance, he looked like a reliable social elite, which was convincing.

"My name is Shen Ming. This is my third dungeon. If I clear this dungeon, I will be an official player. I am the general manager of a listed company. You should be able to check my information online after you go out."

He paused and said in a relaxed tone: "I have made a lot of money over the years. Since I was selected by Weird Game, I have invested part of the funds in the research of Weird Tales, and I have achieved some success."

"It's the boss. It seems that this copy is stable! How about I call you Brother Shen from now on?" A girl with a ponytail answered the question actively.

She looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, and she had two dimples on her face when she smiled. She showed no sign of fear from beginning to end, and she looked like she was traveling.

"My name is Liu Qingye. This is my second time entering the dungeon. You can just call me Ye Zi. I have been a ghost-detecting anchor and am quite courageous. I am naturally not afraid of ghosts. You guys don't have to worry about me holding you back."

Two people took the lead, and other players introduced themselves one after another.

"This is my first time. My name is Lin Chen..." The last person to speak was a young man wearing a hospital gown. His face was as white as paper, and he looked like he was exhausted and seriously injured.

Halfway through his words, he suddenly stared in the direction of the castle gate and his eyes widened.

Everyone followed his gaze and saw someone standing in the shadow of the door.

The man was in his twenties, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, with a slender figure and a delicate and soft face under short black hair. His face was rather pale and charming, making him look more like a ghost than a human.

If you look closely, you can still see that his shirt is stained with blood, as if he had just experienced a murder.

This latecomer had no consciousness of being regarded as a dangerous creature. Seeing that he had become the focus of attention, he smiled nonchalantly and said: "Qiss, the second copy."

When Qisi entered the door, the introductions of the players had come to an end, and he only heard the self-introduction of the young man in a hospital gown.

After hearing the word "first time", he immediately realized that some of these players might not be entering the dungeon for the first time, otherwise there would be no need to mention the number of times.

A game involving life and death, even if it requires teamwork, does not mean that strangers can trust each other.

Ziss didn't believe that these people would take care of the newcomers, and he didn't want to be treated as a fool and kept in the dark, and became cannon fodder for trial and error inexplicably.

So he lied calmly.

"Hello, handsome guy, you can call me Ye Zi." Ye Zi greeted him quite familiarly, then looked at the blood stains on Qisi's body and asked curiously, "Is the blood on your clothes real blood? Could it be just now? Coming from the murder scene?"

Qisi stroked his fingers and smiled gently: "I am a taxidermist. I was processing specimens before I came here. I haven't had time to change clothes yet."

Ye Zi opened his eyes wide: "Don't you even watch the countdown? Don't you know that you have to enter the dungeon at this point? I was lying on the bed an hour before the countdown ended..."

The smile on Qisi's face continued: "So what? I'm not here to attend the dance, and this is not a good place for a chance encounter."

There's nothing wrong with it, it makes sense and can't be refuted, but why does it feel so weird?

Ye Zi pursed her lips, not quite convinced by this statement, but said no more.

The middle-aged man named "Shen Ming" consciously took on the responsibility of the team leader and simply repeated everyone's self-introduction to Qisi.

Chiss sat on the empty seat and listened carefully with his head tilted.

The quality of this group of players seems good at first glance, and they all belong to the group worthy of being made into specimens. Except for the mature and capable Shen Ming and the surprised Lin Chen, everyone else entered the dungeon for the second time.

The young man in a black hoodie sitting at the corner of the table is called "Chang Xu" and claims to be a policeman. He sits upright on the chair with an expressionless face and dark eyes, giving off an indifferent feeling.

The tall woman opposite Shen Ming is called "Zou Yan". She wears a white windbreaker. In reality, she is a psychiatrist. Even in the dungeon, she always has a comforting smile on her lips, making it impossible to feel bad.

Ye Zi suddenly smiled narrowly: "Hey, have you heard that rumor? Several major guilds may be led by Fu Jue to cooperate to deal with the final copy..."

It is human nature to gossip and eat melons. Under the guidance of Ye Zi, the players quickly became familiar with each other and chatted about anecdotes related to the weird game.

The tension was diluted a lot for a while. If it weren't for the gloomy and depressing stone walls of the castle without windows, and the faint smell of blood mixed with the fragrance of flowers, few people would have remembered that this was a terrifying game that could kill people.

Can you already have such a good mentality after just entering the game for the second time?

Qisi smiled and listened to the exchanges between the old players and collected a lot of useful information.

For example, players enter the dungeon in different ways. Some are driven by strong desires, while others are selected inexplicably.

For example, no matter how injured you are in the dungeon, as long as you can pass the level alive, it will not be brought to reality.

For another example, after death in the game, the real body will die in a reasonable manner within half an hour.

During the heated conversation, there was suddenly a sound of rolling wheels coming from the corner of the castle.

Everyone closed their mouths in unison.

In the shadow of the corner, a man wearing a black butler uniform pushing a dining cart appeared in front of the players like a ghost.

To be fair, his facial features were handsome, but the texture of his skin was extremely distorted, like an inflatable doll.

Seeing the players staring at him intently, the butler put on an exaggerated smile on his smooth face: "Dear guests, Miss Anna will be here soon, and she will have dinner with you."

"Of course, there are many taboos in our manor. For your safety, I hope you will read them carefully and remember them."

As soon as he finished speaking, a piece of paper filled with words appeared out of thin air in the center of the long table.

The blood-colored words on the white paper were twisted and twisted, as if they would break through the paper and overflow at any time.

Qisi lowered his eyes and looked down. The moment his eyes touched it, lines of writing were refreshed on the system interface in the upper left corner of his sight.

[1. The manor provides breakfast and dinner. Please come to the hall to dine on time at 6:00 in the morning and 6:00 in the evening; rest time is after 9:00 in the evening]

[2. Time is the most important. If you wake up at night, please make sure you know the exact time at all times]

[3. Miss Anna likes guests and has no ill intentions towards them, but please remember that the correct title is "Miss Anna" and not anything else]

[4. Don’t refuse Miss Anna’s request and try to satisfy everything she asks. Miss Anna hates disobedient guests]

[5. Miss Anna likes to wear red skirts. Miss Anna wearing a red skirt can be trusted; if you see Miss Anna wearing black clothes, please try to keep a distance from her]

[6. Do not leave the castle at night, do not pick roses in the manor, be careful with roses]

[7. Only ghosts can kill humans, please believe that you are human]

[8. If you have to break some rules in an emergency, make sure you break as few rules as possible, maybe she will...let you go]