Chapter 1809: Chapter 1806: The Old Butler and the Map
The stage play “Startling Night” features an old fellow named Korey playing the role of [the Old Butler].
He himself is an animal smuggler,
and in this world where hybrids of humans and beasts dominate, animal smuggling is a top-tier crime… However, he is exceptionally skilled at ‘escape’, having eluded capture for over a hundred years.
He possesses a distinctive hook nose and a lean, agile physique.
His ability to repeatedly escape the pursuit of the Cosmic Federation Bureau is due to his “High Mobility”.
He was born with four legs, and the extra limbs, thin as bamboo poles, usually remain hidden between his main legs, completely unnoticeable once he puts on pants.
When the stage play begins, he is transported to the butler’s room.
Quickly changing into the old butler’s attire, he also swiftly gets into character while tidying up in front of the mirror.
As a fugitive, his acting skills are naturally quite good.
The prop for [the Old Butler] is also practical – the “Automatic Map”.
In essence, it is a blank parchment scroll that accurately records every area he passes through.
The more areas he explores, the more detailed the mansion’s map becomes.
This item also bears a small note: ‘When the exploration rate exceeds 50%, the map will also record the movement of targets within the mansion.’
“What a good thing! The more I progress, the more information I can grasp… Once exploration reaches 50%, I can even monitor the movements of each participant to preemptively avoid danger.”
Since this prop requires proactive exploration to be effective,
Korey adopts the demeanor of a butler, carrying a candlestick and beginning his exploration of the mansion.
considering the potential dangers he might encounter, Korey preemptively trims his pant legs, ready to separate his extra limbs for a quick escape at any moment. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ NovᴇlFɪre.nᴇt
“The exploration efficiency is quite high… Just by opening the door of any room, the detailed structure of the room imprints directly onto the parchment, what a good thing!
However, if a room contains hidden doors, I’ll still need to search manually.
Hidden doors or passages, I don’t need to explore them initially… I’ll first explore the visible areas, reach a 50% exploration rate, and then consider deeper layers.
Speaking of which, the mansion constructed by the circus really resembles a labyrinth!
With each passage looking identical, it’s easy to become mentally numbed during prolonged exploration.
The luck is quite good~ Luckily, I have the map here.”
As the old butler Korey pushes open the door to a room on the second floor of the mansion once more.
Coincidentally, a lightning bolt flashes across the sky outside the window…
he glimpses a terrifying black shadow with a gaping maw and a flickering bony tail, perched on the ceiling… its blood-red eyes fixed intently on him.
Even though there is no feeling of murderous intent, his instincts are already urging him to flee.
“What kind of monster is this!?”
Korey’s survival instincts are triggered, and the two bamboo-like extra limbs support him on the ground, immediately enabling a rapid escape… He inherently lacks any strong combat desire, mostly fleeing in his daily life.
After running several hundred meters, as he intends to look back to see if the terrifying creature has pursued him,
He suddenly collides head-on with someone at a corner, both falling to the ground simultaneously.
The terrified Korey quickly moves the candlestick to see clearly.
Illuminated by the light is not the terrifying creature from the previous room… but a coldly elegant brunette woman.
Korey immediately recalls the ‘family portrait’ he saw in the butler’s room, hastily saying:
“Miss Lys, I sincerely apologize!
A highly dangerous creature has intruded into the mansion, please return to your room quickly!”
Korey portrays the role of the old butler quite well, even in such a tense situation, he continues to act in character.
Miss Lys, being the family’s [Eldest Daughter], appears extremely tense after hearing the butler’s remarks.
“It seems I’ve twisted my ankle.”
The collision seems to have injured her ankle, so she can only hobble along with the butler’s support.
Miss Lys keeps glancing back to see if the monster is following.
“Butler, it seems the monster you mentioned hasn’t followed… My foot hurts, should we rest for a bit?”
The old butler Korey glances at the sheepskin map; they had fled several hundred, nearly a thousand meters, and though they hadn’t opened the rooms passed by, the overall exploration rate had reached [18%].
The two temporarily hide in a rather small enclosure, which seems like a storage room of some sort.
“Miss, let me take a look at your injury… My apologies~ That creature was truly terrifying.”
Korey is quite adept with the area of [feet], and if it’s a minor joint injury, he is confident in healing it immediately.
Miss Lys extends her fair, jade-like foot.
Under normal circumstances, Korey might have directly kissed it… But during the performance, he must suppress his inner desire and carefully examine the ankle injury.
As his fingers repeatedly massage, the old butler Korey shows a puzzled expression because he can’t find any injury.
Before finishing the sentence, Korey suddenly freezes, his pupils dilate rapidly.
The extra limbs, in concert with his legs, propel him up like a grasshopper.
He needs to escape this room.
Just as he’s about to reach the enclosure’s wooden door… threads suddenly shoot out and tightly bind his body, even burrowing beneath the skin to restrain muscles and joints.
His body is immobilized.
Korey turns his only unfettered head, looking back in horror.
‘Miss Lys’ displays a sickly yet curious expression, but the voice from her mouth is an unfamiliar man’s:
“Oh? How did you find me out… You shouldn’t have been able to determine my identity based solely on no injury, right? Answer my question well, and maybe I’ll make it less painful for you.”
“Your skin is odd… as if temporarily affixed, and your bone structure and size resemble a male more, with lines writhing between the veins.
I have been wondering who the [Actor] among us really is. It seems you can disguise yourself as anyone among us, thus not appearing in the initial phase.
If I hadn’t encountered that dog-like creature, I might have detected your abnormality earlier.”
“You are very clever, older individuals indeed possess more experience.
As per our agreement, I won’t make this particularly painful for you.”
With a movement of a finger.
A thin line shoots through the back of his head, severing his consciousness.
The unconscious old butler is dragged behind the [Actor], seemingly to be dealt with in a special area.
The room they’ve been led into also holds a secret.
Gently pushing a wall brick.
A concealed “elevator” within the wall appears, seemingly leading directly to an unknown underground area.
Just as the actor Matthew prepares to drag the old butler into the elevator, a bolt of lightning cuts across outside.
Amidst the flash of lightning, a shadow bursts through the window of the compartment.
The sudden incident leaves Matthew momentarily stunned, but in the next second, he shoots out stitching threads… Whizz!
the thread doesn’t completely hit the monster, only piercing into the opposite wall… Though the thread’s end is stained red, suggesting some superficial damage to the monster was caused.
The shadow has already left through the window.
Matthew himself is unharmed, only the old butler’s right-side clothing has been severely torn by the monster.
“This creature! Has it been quietly following throughout?”
Actor Matthew does not pursue but suppresses his anger and first takes the old butler to the Basement… He still has more important matters to attend to.
Outside, where wild winds howl and snow and rain intermix.
A canine human lies along the roof’s edge, holding in its mouth a piece of torn clothing from the old butler, which includes the “Automatic Map”.