Chapter Eleven: Rose Manor (X) Induced Suggestion

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Large patches of water seeped down the stone walls inside the ancient castle like oozing ulcers, while a mysterious and deadly mist spread through the gloom.

The withered vines seemed to have grown a little more, adding further, deeper cracks to the weathered, crumbling walls.

Qis followed the winding spiral staircase all the way down to the ground floor.

There was no sign of Miss Anna in the dark, damp passageway, nor did the butler appear.

Most of the time, these two NPCs seemed to vanish into thin air somewhere within the castle. They rarely showed themselves unless necessary. Perhaps they were kindly leaving the players ample freedom to explore—or perhaps they understood that “fear comes from the unknown” and preferred to hide in the darkness, bluffing from the shadows.

Qis pushed open the castle’s great door and stepped outside. Before him stretched the rose garden he had already seen countless times.

The roses bloomed in blazing profusion. Beneath the overlapping branches and leaves lay broad patches of shadow, creating the illusion that some secret or horror was buried and concealed within.

Under the sunless, grayish-purple sky, a leaden darkness coated the vivid red petals. At a glance, every flower seemed to be staring at passing visitors with a pair of pitch-black eyes.

Moist vapor hung in the air, as though it had just rained. Mingled with the fragrance of the flowers, it fermented into a dizzying, intoxicating atmosphere.

Qis gathered his shirt around himself and looked up to see Zou Yan standing among the flowers some distance away, watching him.

The woman who claimed to be a psychologist was tall and slender, standing perfectly straight. If she had not been wearing a white trench coat, Qis might have mistaken her at first glance for Miss Anna.

When their eyes met, Zou Yan nodded in greeting, then lowered her head, bent over, and began to part the roses before her.

The system interface bore a warning in four words: BEWARE THE ROSES. Anyone with ordinary nerves would never dare touch the roses in the garden at a time like this.

Qis walked straight over and parted a cluster of roses as well, clearing a small patch where he could stand.

He came to a stop in the damp chill and turned to face the castle.

The towering building stood in desolate ruin, shrouded in a murky, sinister hue by natural light whose source could not be found. Ancient vines crisscrossed the outer walls, climbing upward, and had long since become part of the castle beneath the accumulated dust of time.

Qis was standing exactly where Miss Anna had stood the previous night. His gaze fell upon the windows of the second-floor guest rooms. Through the weathered glass, he could see only a gloomy vault as deep and somber as a tomb.

What, exactly, had Miss Anna been looking at last night?

Zou Yan suddenly asked, “Qis, what do you think of Miss Anna?”

Qis turned his head and looked directly into the woman’s eyes. “In what respect?”

“Anything you like. Any aspect will do.”

Two images flashed through his mind: a woman chewing flesh at the dining table, and a sorrowful, resentful shadow standing amid the roses at night.

Qis maintained his persona of someone “not good at solving mysteries” and answered solemnly, “She has a huge appetite. She might also suffer from insomnia.”

“…”

Seeing the odd expression on Zou Yan’s face, he added a more conventional answer. “Of course, she is very beautiful. If she were not a ghost, she would certainly be the sort of woman many people would fall for at first sight.”

He had offered her an opening, and Zou Yan seized it with a smile. “What about you? If she were alive, would you fall for her?”

If she were a corpse, I might be interested in putting her in my collection room.

Qis answered silently in his heart, while the smile on his face grew even more sincere. “To me, once any living thing dies, it is nothing more than a skeleton stripped of flesh and skin.”

“And what if her hands were stained with blood?” Zou Yan gazed at Qis without a sound. Her brown eyes seemed to dissolve like pigments in water, as though they meant to draw his soul into a whirlpool. “If she possessed the same kind of evil, she could understand your interests, your habits, and your past. Even a beast accustomed to walking alone would feel lonely during an endless night…”

This time, Qis did not answer. Instead, he asked, “What do you think of Miss Anna? You seem rather concerned about her.”

Zou Yan seemed completely unprepared for the question. She froze for two seconds before answering thoughtfully, “She is probably a pitiful person as well. I do not know anything beyond that. After all, I have never spoken a single word to her.”

“That is true. I have only spoken three sentences to her myself.” With a smile, Qis turned and walked deeper into the sea of roses.

This had been a probing exchange. Without revealing the information she already possessed, Zou Yan had hoped to draw out more clues—and had even employed a few psychological techniques.

She had failed.

Qis did not know whether Zou Yan had realized that he was a newcomer or simply thought he had some kind of psychological defect that made him easy to manipulate. Regardless, she had chosen the wrong target.

From childhood to adulthood, he had undergone more than two hundred sessions of psychological counseling. He could recite the psychologists’ tricks and lines backward. In the end, he had even acquired considerable expertise himself, successfully curing the mental illnesses of six doctors in succession.

By now, he was far past the age when suggestion, inducement, or hypnosis could sway him. Even in his dreams, he remained lucid…

“Zou Yan? She seems like an interesting person. Some of the things she said earlier were disgusting, but if she was only pretending, that would be understandable…”

“But why not wait a little longer and make her move against Lin Chen? She does not seem stupid enough to choose her targets poorly. Could it be that she knows something?”

Qis rubbed his chin, his desire to investigate nearly spilling from his eyes.

For an instant, he somewhat understood the mentality of “eating what is in one’s bowl while eyeing what is in the pot.” Just now, he had genuinely imagined what might happen if, instead of choosing Lin Chen as a human tool, he approached Zou Yan directly and interacted with her…

Of course, it was only an idle thought.

…

In the shadows at the corner of the garden, Zou Yan tucked the strands of hair hanging beside her cheek behind her ear and came to a decision.

“I have obtained everything worth taking. Since I lack the clues needed for a perfect clear, I will take another route.”

From beginning to end, she had never mentioned cooperation—or, rather, she had never considered the possibility at all.

Clever people never treated others as fools. She could see the bloodlust and alienation in Qis, and naturally understood that Qis could see through her hypocrisy and scheming as well.

Cooperation was merely a form of mutual exploitation. Rationalists were often self-interested; rather than provide others with benefits, they preferred to extract their value.

Zou Yan watched the black-haired young man’s retreating back, her gaze as deep as a still pool.

It was her first time encountering someone immune to her hypnosis, and she could not help but take an interest. Deep down, she wanted to keep him here and study him properly.

But in the face of a more important objective, personal likes and dislikes had to be cast aside completely. No matter how interesting someone was, he was not worth the risk of further contact.

Zou Yan recalled the doctrine in which she believed: “Eliminate disparities. Establish absolute equality.”

When that day truly arrived, everyone’s value would become equal. Perhaps then, they could unite without restraint.

Until the ultimate goal was achieved, every sacrifice was necessary and worthwhile.

At that moment, Zou Yan raised her hand and traced two triangles before her chest. Smiling, she murmured,

“May God bless you.”

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…

The garden of Rose Manor was vast and empty. Fortunately, it contained only one kind of plant: roses. Even the tallest rose bushes reached no higher than a person’s waist and offered little concealment. One could look around and take in the movements of everyone in the garden.

Chang Xu held a shovel and dug beneath the dead vines at the foot of the castle wall. Judging by his expression, he seemed to have found some extraordinary clue.

Yezi, meanwhile, bent over and searched through the rose bushes. She appeared aimless and absent-minded, as though she had merely come wandering into the garden because she did not want to remain inside the castle.

Qis strolled along a path unusually free of petals, moving away from the castle. In the distance, he saw a rust-covered iron gate lying heavily across the end of the road.

A clumsy iron lock hung from it, rusted solid. Given the players’ strength, it was clearly impossible to open.

Naturally, the bizarre game would never allow the players to leave of their own accord. The only question was what purpose this gate served. Was it simply a cruel joke, dangling something just out of the players’ reach?

Qis noticed a small patch of barren ground beside the gate. No grass or flowers grew there. Instead, a rectangular stone platform had been set into the earth, and several lines of English were carved into its surface.

He remembered that the butler had said he lived underground, while the castle had no basement…

The clue was obvious. Qis crouched before the stone platform and rapped twice against the ground with the knuckle of his index finger.

Wind stirred behind him, accompanied by a suspicious rustling sound.

Qis rose and turned around. The butler in his black uniform was standing behind him. No one knew when he had arrived.

An exaggerated smile hung upon his plastic-like face. “Sir, you cannot leave the manor yet. Otherwise, Miss Anna will be angry.”

Qis was not surprised. Smiling, he said, “I have no intention of leaving. I came here to find you because I wanted to ask where Miss Anna is.”

“The young lady is naturally wherever she wishes to be.”

“Is that so? What a pity.” Qis lowered his eyes and spoke unhurriedly. “Miss Anna always seems to avoid us. Apart from mealtimes, we never know where to find her. Could it be that… she dislikes guests like us?”

He lowered his voice until it was almost a whisper, speaking slowly, as though saddened by Miss Anna’s attitude. Yet a trace of threat lurked indistinctly within the question.

Panic flashed through the butler’s eyes. He shook his head repeatedly. “No, she does not dislike you. Miss Anna likes guests.”

The third rule: Miss Anna likes guests and bears them no ill will.

As expected, the rules constrained not only the players but the NPCs within the dungeon as well. In a certain sense, it truly was fair…

Part of his speculation had been confirmed. Qis curved his lips into a smile and asked, “Then may I meet her in the garden now?”

Seeing the trouble on the butler’s face, he added softly, “I will not keep her long.”

With the conversation having reached this point, the butler had no choice but to bow and say, “I shall go invite Miss Anna at once.”

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