After a brief exchange, including some straightforward combat encounters,
Han Dong gradually formed a judgement about this "Chief Cook."
First, he is someone who can be trusted.
The other party belongs to the "honest and simple-minded" type... Why use quotation marks, because this guy sees "slaughter" as something as ordinary as breathing.
Interestingly, ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt
his name is Cliff, and in his original world, he was also a chef, even having won numerous international awards.
He looks like a world-class chef with a robust physique.
An incident long ago exposed his other side.
About forty years ago, he was invited by a planet’s ruler to serve as the head chef for a state banquet... Unexpectedly, the long-planned Rebel Army chose the banquet as their moment to launch a full-scale assault.
As they believed they could effortlessly disintegrate the Planet’s Government’s defenses and successfully seize power,
approximately 80% of all troops, along with some armored vehicles and flying devices, were destroyed by this mysterious head chef.
’Mr. Cliff, is this pig head the tool you use as the "Chief Cook"?’
Han Dong was quite concerned about the stitched pig head hanging from the other’s waist,
The dense stitching marks suggested it was composed of at least twenty different pig heads stitched together.
The Chief Cook had not explored the mansion at all since the performance began, staying in the kitchen to slaughter white pigs, seemingly just for the creation of this pig head.
Never mind where all these white pigs came from within the mansion, such behavior is extremely abnormal.
"Pigs" hold special significance for me; this pig head is more useful than my tool.
My tool is the "Head Chef’s Apron" I’m wearing; once it absorbs the living blood, it can mark the scent for up to an hour.’
’I can sense the opponent’s exact location according to the blood scent.’
Han Dong somewhat regretted not finding this Chief Cook sooner.
If he had met him earlier, he could have marked the "actor’s" location during the prior battles, perhaps even tracked the path to the basement.
Chef Cliff continued to inquire,
’Are we looking for the actor’s tracks now, or continuing to recruit?’
’We’ll do both simultaneously; the actor is accelerating the hunt! We’re likely to encounter this guy during recruitment... As I said earlier, be careful of the "line."
If it pierces the body, it can take over your nerves; the ordinary body cannot withstand it.’
’Mm, I’ll be cautious.’
As the demon-hunting team comprised of the lady, Chief Cook, and the dog formally began their search,
there was a participant in the mansion who was in an extremely panicked state, aimlessly wandering in the second floor area...
Among all the audience members participating in "Startling Night," the weakest is surely the actor playing "Playful Mr. Tom"- Gracy.
He didn’t even find the circus based on his discoveries of the flyer and clues.
He was fleeing to this planet after stealing a mysterious person’s package and being chased by various unknown individuals.
Seeing the black fog among the mountains provided good concealment, he blended in alone.
Unexpectedly, while hiding in the mountains, he accidentally arrived at the circus at the foot of the mountains.
Coincidentally, the package he stole contained a "flyer."
Lacking food throughout his escape, the extremely hungry Gracy became part of the audience upon learning the circus offered free food.
While watching the performance, seeing the audience torn apart by the dance teacher, he was nearly scared into wetting his pants.
He wandered aimlessly like a headless fly in the "second floor of the mansion," only wanting to leave quickly.
Though he considered jumping out of the mansion’s window directly,
When he approached the window, a sudden pass of a black shadow scared him into an all-over tremble, immediately giving up jumping out of the window.
"Why does this place feel like a maze? Will that black creature suddenly appear again?
Even though it looks like a mansion with a large area outside, why is it so complex... I must get to the first floor quickly; perhaps I can join up with everyone, and take advantage of their cover to escape this cursed place."
Even though Gracy was frantically running around in panic, his right hand was always clutching something.
Character prop - [Mom’s Pocket Watch]
This prop is the most special of all the character props; according to the story setting, it is the relic left by the deceased Lady to her youngest son.
The effect description is also peculiar - "The holder will be under Lady Macmillan’s protection."
However, until now, Gracy has not seen any specific effect of the pocket watch...
He had been wandering the second floor for nearly an hour and still couldn’t find any direction, not even returning to the initial room.
Just when he was almost desperate,
not far behind him, in the compartment,
a hidden elevator door connecting to the basement started to rotate open; the stitched actor Matthew had just completed the sacrificial ritual,
He had successfully obtained the power of the Baron role; doubled nerve reflex speed, and comprehensive growth in body functions.
As he stepped out, ready to find his next target, he happened to run into the lost "Mr. Tom."
"Lucky me... just dispose of him directly."
Being at the extreme shooting range, a few thin lines shot out from the fingertips, just about to shoot into the cervical spine and the back of the head.
Gracy suddenly stumbled, causing him to fall to his knees, just dodging the incoming thin lines.
Actor Matthew frowned, in the human state, he couldn’t redirect control over the lines once shot. If they missed, they must be retracted.
Retract the lines and once again aimed at the little master kneeling on the ground.
Lines shot out even faster, about to hit.
Due to the previous fall, the pocket watch flew out from the master’s hand... As if losing a lifesaving tool, Gracy frantically crawled forward, gripping the pocket watch lying five meters away tightly.
As a result, the incoming lines missed again and were lodged into the floor.
Gracy heard a strange sound of cracking from the floor, immediately turning his head... Only to see a "Living Dead," covered with stitching marks, standing not far away, his facial features wrinkled almost together, seemingly very angry.
Feeling the danger, Gracy scurried forward in a rolling fashion.
Actor Matthew did not immediately chase but punched the wall heavily.
His mood was already bad, and this operation just pulled his blood pressure up, almost making him rage impotently.
"I’m going to kill this guy!"
Discontinuing the disguise,
directly pursuing the master in his true form.
Then, another coincidence occurred.
Gracy, who had been wandering on the second floor without finding the right direction, in his flustered escape surprisingly arrived at the only staircase entrance.
Simultaneously, the actor also caught up...
This time, he shot over ten thin lines targeting various body parts, and Gracy couldn’t possibly dodge them... only one hit would end this pursuit.
Gracy, rushing too fast, accidentally stepped out of the stairs.
The whole person rolled down like a meatball, just avoiding all the incoming lines...
The newly-established demon-hunting trio happened to pass by the staircase at this time.
The falling Gracy directly landed in the Chief Cook’s arms... with only some scratches on his head and shoulders, he was completely unhurt.