Circus of Horrors (3)
Being stared at like that made Chen Li freeze for a moment—he even forgot to chew. Snapping out of it, he hurriedly lowered his head and stabbed another piece of steak with his fork, mechanically putting the tasteless meat into his mouth.
That person’s gaze was terrifying.
Just then, the chef reappeared, surprisingly nimble for his large frame, as he brought out a tray of desserts and fruit.
A delicate slice of strawberry cake was placed in front of Chen Li.
It immediately soothed his panicked nerves.
He was really easy to read—his eyes even sparkled a little at the sight of dessert.
Some of the other players at the table began sneaking glances at him again.
Maintaining his reserved act, Chen Li gently forked a bit of cream, and the sweet flavor quickly washed away the greasy aftertaste of the meat.
The food in this instance was way better than the last one.
Not only was there meat, but it was a full-on noble-style banquet.
Honey-glazed turkeys and roast suckling pigs were served whole, and even the salads looked freshly picked.
To welcome the guests, the young noble host had arranged meals of this standard for the next few days.
Chen Li, staying in character as a spoiled aristocrat, only ate half the small slice of cake before setting his fork down.
On the outside, he looked like a picky cat, but on the inside, he was a bit regretful.
System 001 urged him: [Stop focusing on the food—say your line!]
Chen Li spoke a bit stiffly: [Joker, you haven’t introduced the members of your circus yet. What kind of performance are you planning this time?]
As soon as he finished speaking, he instinctively frowned.
The question itself was odd. Circus performances require constant practice—ten years of work for three minutes on stage, as the saying goes. So normally, the lineup and routines wouldn’t change much.
If the young noble watched the show every month, why would he ask such an ‘ignorant’ question?
His odd behavior went unnoticed, but the players’ hearts were all in a tight knot.
They were like new recruits in a circus, completely unaware of what performance they were about to put on.
This performance was highly likely to trigger the key condition for death.
Joker swirled the wine glass in his hand. “Of course, the performance details are a secret, but I can let my good employees introduce themselves briefly—tell us what they do.”
His narrow eyes suddenly shifted, locking onto a player sitting directly across from him.
The player trembled in fear, on the verge of tears, and began to speak: “My name is Chen Jia, I’m a…”
He froze, unable to say his position, while Joker across from him narrowed his eyes in displeasure, and the killing intent gradually spread.
As a core NPC, Joker was on a completely different level from the previous instance’s Sana. He held the players’ fates entirely in his hands.
The player grew more and more anxious, his mind going blank.
How… How would I know? We just entered the instance today, we haven’t even started collecting clues.
Will I die? Will I die?
Why me…
Cold sweat poured down his forehead, the more nervous he became, the harder it was to think clearly. Other players tried to give him hints with their lips, but in his panic, his brain had already stopped functioning.
Joker, at some point, had picked up a fork and was gesturing it toward his heart, as if he would pierce it through him if he couldn’t answer.
Chen Li couldn’t watch this one-sided interrogation any longer and interrupted: “Wait.”
Everyone turned to look at him, including the player who was in a daze and Joker.
System 001 was a bit anxious: [Are you crazy?]
It wasn’t because he suddenly felt sorry for the player and was willing to sacrifice himself.
Chen Li pinched his thigh under the table; the pain made him momentarily forget his fear. His tone became curious and casual. “How about I take a guess?”
He tilted his head, looking like a naive young master who had just become playful.
It was completely in line with his character.
No flaws to be found.
Even System 001 was surprised by his actions, and upon thinking it over, it seemed unexpectedly reasonable.
Chen Li’s heartbeat quickened until Joker chuckled lightly.
“Of course, Young Master Rum.”
Chen Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to think for a moment before saying, “I think you’re a dart thrower.”
Joker clapped his hands, giving him credit: “Correct.”
The only sound in the hall was his soft clapping, his smile unchanged.
Or perhaps, it was that exaggerated upward curve of his mouth, deliberately painted with red face paint, making it hard to tell if he was smiling or not.
The players around him had varying thoughts, but only the dart thrower visibly relaxed, almost falling off his seat from exhaustion.
System 001 was shocked: [How did you know his identity?]
Chen Li: [Everyone’s outfits are different, these can indicate their identity. The dart thrower, when he arrived this afternoon, I noticed the tip of a dart sticking out of his pocket.]
Even if he hadn’t stepped in to save the situation, the other players would have already begun to give hints.
It was such an obvious clue. The only problem with the dart thrower was that he wasn’t detailed enough and was too panicked.
Looking at the host, who was clearly scared but still playing his part with great professionalism, System 001 suddenly realized that the host was much more suited to Horror Game than it had originally thought.
Even it had been deceived by the host’s cute appearance and timid personality at first.
Even if he was a lamb, he was certainly not a stupid one.
Joker: “What about the others?”
His gaze suddenly turned sharp, focused on him as if it were a tangible force, scanning him up and down.
Despite being an NPC himself, Chen Li still sensed a hint of danger. Although he hadn’t expected Joker to push him further, he kept his expression steady.
He slightly raised his chin and pointed to each player, answering, “The one next to the dart thrower is his assistant, that couple over there are dancers, the one with the puppet is a puppeteer, the girl with the black lace gloves is a magician, and those two guys over there are acrobats.”
His proud demeanor made him look more like a fluffy cat.
No one could tell the nervousness inside him.
His fingertips slowly moved toward the last two, and Chen Li took a moment to think. “They are…”
The two were the man in the dark green mask sitting at the far end and the greedy new player.
They were both dressed in equestrian clothes, but the effect was completely different. The dark green masked man, even sitting still, couldn’t hide the smooth muscle lines beneath his clothes. His broad shoulders and narrow waist perfectly supported the curve of his outfit, while the new player looked like a middle-aged man who had gained weight. His outfit, even paired with the mysterious mask, paled in comparison to the handsome man next to him.
There should be riders in the circus, right?
Just as Chen Li was about to say those three words, the dark green masked man spoke first: “We are beast tamers.”
As his deep, rich voice echoed, it immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room.
Chen Li froze, feeling a pang of fear.
He had almost… said the wrong thing.
The consequences of saying it wrong were obvious—Joker certainly wouldn’t let him off easily.
His character was a completely unhinged circus leader, showing no respect for nobles as any normal NPC would. Everything was just for show.
The other players looked at the masked man with a changed expression, disbelief mixed with sympathy.
Was this guy looking for death?
Seeing Joker’s pleased mood, how dare he interrupt like that?
Joker did, indeed, cast a menacing glance at him, pondering for a few seconds before surprisingly saying nothing.
The conversation ended in this strange atmosphere.
The veteran players still held on to their thoughts.
Even if they weren’t killed now, offending a core NPC would only make things harder from here on out.
The butler stepped forward: “Young Master Rum, it’s time for you to sleep.”
Even the delicate noble young masters had their strict sleep schedules.
The butler couldn’t help but feel a secret anticipation at the thought of being able to get so close to the fragrant young master.
He had never realized how… delicious the young master looked before.
As soon as the words left his mouth, two cold, icy stares fell on him, just as expected.
The butler glanced back, his gaze devoid of emotion but tinged with disdain.
Two filthy hyenas, it turns out—Joker and that beast tamer with the mask.
In the butler’s mind, his only responsibility was to protect the young master’s interests, and he treated them with complete indifference.
How dare these hyenas have such thoughts?
This was truly a despicable, minor NPC.
The two ‘hyenas’ exchanged glances and silently agreed.
To provoke them, the butler intentionally raised his voice: “Young Master Rum, please allow me to assist you with your bath and dressing.”
Immediately, he was met with even more ruthless killing intent.
Chen Li didn’t pay attention to the hidden currents around him, as he was mortified by the butler’s words, his ears turning red with shame.
It was obvious that the butler was speaking to the character in the game, but he still felt embarrassed, as if he were an adult needing help with bathing and dressing.
And yet, this ‘young master’ persona was one that couldn’t refuse!
The setting of this story was similar to medieval Europe, where nobles were accustomed to being served, especially pampered young masters who had never done any hard work and found even dressing difficult.
He almost stammered: “Okay.”
[System, is there any way to skip this part?]
System 001: [Sorry, I can’t help with that.]
Chen Li stood up from his seat, nearly stumbling. Thankfully, no one noticed.
He didn’t dare to look back at the players, terrified of being mocked.
He buried his head and rushed straight to the fifth floor, slamming the door shut behind him.
He ran so fast he forgot to be scared of the paintings in the corridor.
System 001 comforted him: [It’s just a minor NPC, and this is a repeatable instance. When the instance resets, his memory will be wiped and start over.]
Chen Li lifted his head from the pillow, finally distracted: [What’s a repeatable instance?]
System 001, seeing a chance to explain, started talking more: [Instances can be either one-time or repeatable. A one-time instance closes permanently once it’s completed and a new instance is created. A repeatable instance can be played over and over again.]
Chen Li asked with curiosity: [[Is there any difference?]
[Of course there is!] System 001 swayed its round body around, [Repeatable instances are usually survival-type escape games, while mystery and puzzle types are one-time. Once a one-time instance is completed, players can share its information, but repeatable instances don’t allow any leaks. If someone is caught sharing, it’s treated as a serious violation and can result in death.]
[The selected players must participate at least once every month, either by being forced in or choosing an instance themselves. This prevents people from exploiting repeatable instances. Some players even enter multiple times in a month to level up.]
Commonly known as—”The King of Grinding.”
Chen Li thought for a moment: [I see, this Horror Game really is quite strict.]
They were chatting when suddenly System 001 screamed: [Wait!]
Chen Li jumped: [What’s wrong?]
[Why hasn’t the butler NPC come up yet???]
By now, he should have been following Chen Li to help with the bath, but still, no sign of him.
Chen Li’s face, which had finally cooled down, began to burn again: [Can you not bring that up?]
He had thought he could brush it off.
System 001 disagreed: [If the NPC breaks character, there will be consequences. Based on the character’s role, you should go downstairs to find him.]
Now, not only did he have to be bathed, but he also had to go find someone to do it???
Chen Li’s gaze gradually lost its light.
Author’s note:
Hehe, bath time, hehe.
Don’t worry, a certain someone won’t let other NPCs touch Li Bao.
Aye it’s not his business whether the butler comes or not. This gives him the perfect chance to kick up a fuss for the butler being late and refuse to be helped.