After the system prompt sounded, Xia Qi couldn't help but be surprised.
The Red Team - that is, the team Cha Gong is in, they have actually completed 10% of the plot progress!
Ding Dong! The blue team's story progress is 0%, there are 6 survivors left, and 1 is dead.
After the blue team's costume change mission was over, the plot progress did not increase at all, only 0%!
Wait, what is plot progression
"Is this really a pvp game? Our opponent is the red team?" After listening to the broadcast, the yellow-haired man looked unhappy.
Since the death of a fat man, the only young and middle-aged men left are Xia Qi, the yellow-haired man and a lame young man.
Xia Qi raised his head, looked at the back of the butler walking in front, and couldn't help falling into deep thought.
Although the fat man looked like he had fallen to his death, it was definitely related to the butler who had a fake smile on his face.
Xia Qi suspected that this game also had copy monsters or other special existences that could cause the death of players.
"No, this game is not just a pvp game." Xia Qi said in a low voice.
There are also NPCs with ill intentions.
At this time, they had arrived at the third floor. When passing through the corridor connecting the corner towers, Xia Qi discovered that there was a row of regular shooting holes on the wall of the corridor, indicating that this Rose Castle was not only used for daily life, it could also be used as a strict battle fortress.
Xia Qi slowed down his pace, deliberately falling behind the crowd, and came to the old man walking at the end, whispering: "Old man, are you really not going to cooperate with your teammates?"
The old man was the first one on the blue team to change into women's clothes. I don't know if it was because of the old man's bad taste, but he specially picked a pink cake doll dress and wore a bow of the same color on his head.
If you ignore the old man's face that looks so old that it looks like it could be rubbed off, this set of doll clothes still makes him look very youthful.
"I'm just an ordinary old man. I don't understand what you are saying?" The old man chuckled twice, his expression still very obscene.
Seeing that the old man refused to admit that he was an old player, Xia Qi had to give up.
Everyone followed the butler and filed into the restaurant.
The long table in the restaurant was covered with a white tablecloth, and there was a set of silver cutlery in front of each seat. There was also a rose in the vase next to the plate.
After they sat down, the maids continued to serve the guests delicious food. The first course was a small salad, followed by bread and butter, and finally a bowl of red borscht.
Because the fat man had just died so tragically, no one had any appetite, especially since the borscht was stewed with tomatoes, which reminded people of the plasma flowing out of the fat man's head.
However, the old man next to Xia Qi was eating happily.
The old man saw Xia Qi looking at him, put down his fork, and said to him: "Young man, eat more while you can, otherwise you won't be able to eat when you want to."
Just before changing clothes, the old man reminded all his teammates, but unfortunately the fat man didn't listen.
Thinking of the fat man's fate, Xia Qi decided to eat well.
At the end of the dinner, the butler casually glanced at the remaining food on the table, with a very satisfied expression, and said: "The ladies present are indeed all ladies from noble families."
A lady from a noble family
Does it mean that they eat too little, which is more in line with the image of a lady from a noble family
Xia Qi didn't think that these cross-dressing guys were "ladies from noble families". They ate less because they were too disgusted to eat.
"Ladies, please follow me to the banquet hall," the butler said again.
When the butler left the restaurant first, the old man quickly grabbed a silver knife on the table and hid it in his puff sleeves.
After hiding the dinner knife, the old man also took away the silver fork. If the dinner plate wasn't so big, Xia Qi would have strongly suspected that he would have stolen the dinner plate as well.
Looking at the old man's skillful "techniques", Xia Qi suddenly had an idea in his mind and remembered the concept of "plot progress".
He reached out and picked up a rose from the vase.
Ding Dong! The blue team's plot progress is 1%!
Can it actually increase the plot progress
Xia Qi looked at the ordinary rose in his hand and thought, what kind of clue can this be
"Take a look at the prop introduction and you'll know." As if seeing Xia Qi's confusion, the old man reminded.
Xia Qi brought up the system panel to check the properties of the rose.
Item name: Rose.
Other notes: The beautiful roses, decorated on your collar, will make you more charming and attractive.
Xia Qi couldn't help but frown. It was already eye-catching enough for him to wear women's clothes. Wouldn't it be even more eye-catching if he wore a rose...
“This is a good clue.”
The old man also took a rose, and after reading the introduction, he put the rose on his collar without hesitation.
Xia Qi lowered his head, bent the rose branch and pinned it to his collar.
Anyway, let's give it a try.
After the blue team members entered the banquet hall, a burst of laughter suddenly broke out in the hall.
"Hahahaha, the old, weak, sick and disabled people on the blue side have all turned into cross-dressing guys!"
"Ah! My eyes!"
The red team was filled with laughter. They had originally thought that the old, weak and sick members of the blue team were not a big deal, but they did not expect that the blue team was so unlucky that they were forced to wear women's clothes before losing the game!
The crowd's laughter reached its peak when the old man in doll costume entered.
"Fuck, this old man is so disgusting!"
"Hahahaha ugh... I feel like throwing up."
Xia Qi took a deep breath and walked into the banquet hall.
The moment he walked in, the laughter in the hall suddenly stopped as if a switch was pressed.
A man muttered, "Who is this? Why didn't I see such a beautiful girl on the blue side just now?"
Hearing everyone's discussion, Cha Gong frowned and looked towards the door of the banquet hall. When he saw the person coming, he couldn't help but gasp.
At the door, a tall woman in a rose-red, chest-length Rococo dress was cautiously walking in with her back against the wall. She lowered her head slightly, the blush on her cheeks spread to her ears, making the transparent white skin under her collarbone look as dazzling as pearls.
Cha Gong felt all the blood in his body rush to his head.
"How can he wear such a low-cut dress?!" Cha Gong was so angry that his lips were trembling.
The man next to Cha Gong sighed: "Yes, it would be such a pity if such a sexy beauty died in the game..."
Listening to the red team members commenting on Xia Qi's appearance, Zha Gong finally couldn't stand it anymore and shouted angrily to everyone: "Are you blind? That's a man!"
"Fuck, a man? Brother Cha, could this man be the one with the surname Xia?"
Cha Gong's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes."
As soon as Xia Qi entered the room, he felt the fiery gazes of the Red Army, two of which were particularly different.
The first gaze came from Cha Gong. Cha Gong looked at him with anger, as if he wanted to eat him alive. The other gaze came from the young master. The young master looked at him with shining eyes, which contained both jealousy and envy.
Xia Qi turned his neck uncomfortably and thought, what is there to envy about wearing women's clothes
After everyone arrived, the butler walked slowly into the hall and said loudly to everyone: "Dear ladies and gentlemen, the dance is about to begin. Please find your favorite dance partner and dance to your heart's content!"
Congratulations to the blue team for accepting the mission: find the most handsome guy on the dance floor!
Task description: After searching for him for a long time, please find a dance partner of the opposite sex and dance with him/her!
Mission countdown: 00:29:59.
After the mission was issued, the crystal chandelier on the top of the banquet hall suddenly dimmed, leaving only a row of small candles flashing red on the wall.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The piano and orchestra gradually sounded. It was a minuet in three beats. The rhythm was not too brisk. Under the dim candlelight, it seemed particularly gentle and elegant.
"What kind of mission is this? Are we forced to choose a dance partner of the opposite sex from the blue team?" Amid the music, the red team members were discussing heatedly.
In games, sometimes the "opposite sex" recognized is not necessarily the person's own gender, but the gender recognized by the game.
Obviously, the "blue team" dressed up is identified as "female" by the game.
"The blue team is one person short, and we have one more than them... Oops, I'll go first!" Only 6 people from the blue team just came in, but the red team has a total of 7 people. The number of people on the red and blue teams is not equal, so there must be one person from the red team left alone!
In an instant, the cross-dressing guy on the blue team became a hot commodity.
"I'd rather dance with the red team than that disgusting old man."
"It's not up to you now!"
No one wants to be left behind. Given the nature of the sin game, those who fail to complete their mission will die without knowing how they died.
Just as Xia Qi was hesitating, a familiar figure pushed through the crowd and walked towards him quickly.
It's Cha Gong!
Xia Qi tensed his body and kept backing away. He didn't want to be a dance partner with a scumbag like Cha Gong. It was too disgusting.
Because he stepped back too quickly, he accidentally stepped on the hem of his skirt.
"Why-"
Xia Qi fell backwards, and just as he was falling, a hand suddenly wrapped around his waist and gently lifted him up.
"Thank you!" Xia Qi politely grasped the other person's arm and slowly stood firm.
At this time, the man said in his ear: "Madam, please be careful."
His voice was as elegant as a cello, and his tone was particularly deep and charming. Xia Qi's ears were numb for a moment by the voice. He immediately took a step back and looked at the other person.
The lights on the dance floor dimmed again.
Because the light on the dance floor was too dim, Xia Qi squinted and could only vaguely see the man's outline.
Judging from the shadow the other party created for him, the man was very tall, probably about 1.9 meters tall.
Xia Qi remembered that the red team did have a very tall man, so he felt a little relieved.
"Madam, may I ask you to dance with me?" The man bowed slightly to Xia Qi and invited him.
Xia Qi looked in the direction where Cha Gong came from and found that Cha Gong was gone.
He finally got away from this scumbag.
"Madam?" Seeing Xia Qi distracted, the man gently reminded, "Can I ask you to dance with me?"
Unexpectedly, the people on the red side were so polite, which gave Xia Qi the illusion that "there are good people on the red side too."
He replied, "Okay, okay."
"Thank you, I haven't danced for a long time." The man smiled shyly and carefully lifted Xia Qi's hand. Without waiting for Xia Qi to react, the man suddenly pulled him into his arms.
The two bodies collided instantly, and Xia Qi was hugged by the man.
The man smelled very nice, with elegant rose top notes and sandalwood amber base notes, which made people feel favorable. In addition, the two were very close, so Xia Qi looked up and finally saw his appearance clearly.
The man wore a golden classical larva Venetian mask on the upper half of his face, and under the mask was an overly delicate chin. As if he noticed that he was looking at him, the man curled his lips and smiled slightly: "Madam, are you ready?"
When they first entered the banquet hall, all the men on the red side were wearing suits and golden masks. The man's appearance made Xia Qi sure that he was the tall man on the red side.
"I actually... can't dance." Xia Qi said rather embarrassedly.
He glanced around secretly and found that everyone had already started dancing according to the requirements of the task.
Although, their dancing postures are very awkward.
"Ma'am, it's okay, you can dance with me." The man chuckled, put his fingers through Xia Qi's fingers, and clasped his fingers tightly, while his other hand fell down and rested on Xia Qi's waist.
Being hugged by someone, especially a lady, made Xia Qi feel uncomfortable, but for some reason, his body did not reject the other person. Led by the man, he followed the other person's dance steps and danced a few steps awkwardly.
Xia Qi never knew that he had a talent for dancing. During the short period of practice, he became more and more proficient in dancing.
The music switched to the next song, which changed from a slow and melodious tune to a cheerful one.
When the music entered the first chapter, the man pushed him out. Xia Qi took his hand, spun him around twice, and looked at him from a distance.
At this moment, the crystal chandelier in the hall suddenly flashed a golden light, illuminating the dance floor for a moment, and Xia Qi saw the man's eyes revealed under the golden mask.
Those were a pair of lake blue eyes, affectionate and gentle.
Xia Qi looked into his eyes and his heart almost missed a beat. At this moment, the dance music suddenly became lively. The man smiled brightly at him and pulled him back.
Xia Qi's skirt fluttered, and she was spinning on the dance floor like a blooming rose.
This song is very well chosen, as if it was tailor-made for men. It can make his dance look energetic and reflect his noble and elegant temperament.
Xia Qi kept spinning. At this time, the lights in the dance floor changed. The originally dark ground looked like a water surface filled with stars, with countless romantic stars floating on it. All the people around seemed to disappear in an instant. In the whole world, only Xia Qi and the man were left dancing together.
He didn't stop spinning until the lively music ended, his back gently hitting the man's chest.
At this time, Xia Qi was held in the man's arms in a very dependent posture.
The man rested his chin on his head and asked him, "Do you like this "Ghost-Fire Minuet"?"
Because the two were very close, his low and hoarse voice sounded unusually clear, like a feather, constantly tickling Xia Qi's eardrums.
"Not... not bad." Unable to bear such a bass attack, Xia Qi got goose bumps all over his body and quickly left his arms.
Unexpectedly, Xia Qi would dodge. The man let out another pleasant laugh, and the soft music sounded again. The man did not ask Xia Qi whether he was willing or not, but directly hugged him and continued dancing.
"Ma'am, you seem a little absent-minded." The man suddenly said as they took small steps.
Xia Qi was slightly surprised. Was his expression that obvious
In fact, Xia Qi, who seemed to be dancing with the man, had been secretly paying attention to the number of people passing by him.
10… 11… 12…
Now, he finally counted the number of people.
Including him and the man in front of him, there were 14 people in the dance floor, and no one was alone.
However, since the fat man's mysterious death, the total number of survivors on the red and blue teams is 13.
Xia Qi swallowed nervously.
So, who will be the extra person
Just as Xia Qi was thinking nervously, there was a "ding dong" sound, and the system prompt sound came as expected.
The mission of "find the hottest guy on the dance floor" is completed!
Ding Dong! Red team's plot progress +0%
After the dance, the Red Team's plot progress didn't increase any further. I guess the Blue Team, who was dancing with the Red Team, should be about the same...
Ding Dong! Blue team's plot progress 30%
Unexpectedly, the blue team's plot progress soared from 1% to 31%!
At this time, even Xia Qi, who was trying hard to keep his dance steps steady, accidentally missed two beats.
Judging from the sudden surge in plot progress, someone on the blue team must have performed well in the mission of "finding the hottest guy on the dance floor" and may have even found a key clue.
Looking at this noble, elegant, and mysterious man in front of him, Xia Qi's heart beat faster. Could his luck be so good...
Before everyone could catch their breath, the system immediately issued a new task.
Congratulations to Blue for accepting the mission: True Love's Kiss.
Task description: Affected by laws and regulations, the task content cannot be described, please use your own imagination!
Mission countdown: 00:02:59.
Xia Qi: “…”
Hearing the repeated shouts of "Fuck" and "Nima" coming from nearby, Xia Qi's dance steps were instantly disrupted and he stepped on the tip of a man's shoe.
The will-o'-the-wisp flickered.
The devil is dancing a minuet with Margarita!"
Xia Qi held the paper, his fingers trembling slightly unconsciously.
Margaret's experience was so similar to his.
They both met the mysterious man and danced the minuet...
etc!
Xia Qi suddenly remembered the man’s whispers in his dream. Could it be that the man also broke into his room last night
Thinking in confusion, Xia Qi took a deep breath and tried his best to stay calm.
His fingers trembled as he turned to the next page.
"Oh, Margaret is in love,
The devil's handsome face made her obsessed!
At that moment,
Margaret became the happiest woman in the world…”
Xia Qi wanted to continue flipping the pages, but found that this was the last page.
All the clues were lost again.
What happens after Margaret falls in love with the devil
Xia Qi felt a chill on his back. Margaret's strange experience made him worry about himself.
Xia Qi tore off part of the "Ghost-Fire Minuet" and hid it in his small bag, and then shared Margaret's story with his two teammates.
The old man asked in confusion: "Why didn't you increase the plot progress this time?"
Xia Qi shook his head: "It may be an irrelevant clue."
After saying this, Xia Qi felt that the logic was wrong. Logically speaking, Margaret was an important person, and was very likely the "Madam" mentioned by the Red Party. Why didn't the plot progress after he found clues about Margaret
Xia Qi suddenly slapped his forehead, and said with sudden realization: "Could it be that clues discovered by others will no longer be counted into the game progress?"
"Boy, you are so smart." The old man chuckled. He had played many games, but he had never seen a "newcomer" with higher qualifications than Xia Qi. Players like Xia Qi seemed to be born for sin games.
Of course, the leader of the red team, Cha Gong, is also capable. The old man suspects that Cha Gong used to be a mental worker.
However, Cha Gong’s character is too bad. Although he can pass the game in this way, once a person has no bottom line, can he still be called a "human being"
"Margaret is what the Red Party calls 'Madam'. She is a human being and also the owner of this room." Xia Qi said.
Thanks to the clues revealed by the Red Team, they learned the information about Margaret.
But Margaret's whereabouts and fate are unknown, and all clues are lost again.
After checking Margaret's room, her sister asked anxiously, "Will you go to the corner tower again?"
"Of course we will go." The old man winked at the two of them, "After all, I am also a caring person, right, young man Xia."
Looking at the old man's shining eyes, Xia Qi shook his head secretly.
"Old sir, what is your real purpose?" Xia Qi asked suspiciously.
This old player would not do anything without a profit, and he often did not speak the truth. Xia Qi did not believe that the old man would suddenly show mercy and do good deeds.
The old man’s real purpose was probably to witness his sister’s death.
Xia Qi continued to think carefully.
Margaret lived in a luxurious large bedroom and was addressed as "Madam" by the housekeeper. She must have had an important connection with the owner of the castle.
And her sister "stole" Margaret's diamond necklace this morning, so the owner of the castle is very likely to show up tonight.
Therefore, the old man was willing to accompany them to the corner tower in order to see the true owner of the castle.
The three of them did not go to the restaurant for dinner first, but went directly to the corner tower.
Just as the housekeeper said, the east corner tower was narrow and dark. The evening sunlight shone in through the small window beside the stairs, without adding any warmth to the corner tower.
Xia Qi came to the top floor of the corner tower.
My sister was locked in a cell with chains on her hands.
"Ha, there is only a tattered wooden bed in the cell. Is this the fully furnished room that the housekeeper mentioned?" The old man laughed immediately. This NPC is no less capable than the player in playing word games.
The younger sister burst into tears: "Sister! How are you?"
The elder sister put her hands through the iron bars of the prison door and tightly grasped her younger sister's hand outside the door: "Sister, are you here to save me?"
The old man quickly took a step back and waved his hands with a smile: "No, we came to see how you died."
The elder sister was stunned for a moment. Xia Qi coughed lightly and said, "We will help you find a solution. Before that, you have to tell us all the information you know."
"My sister knows everything about me." The elder sister looked at Xia Qi with a puzzled look, "Didn't my sister tell you?"
Xia Qi said calmly: "I want to know what the woman from the red side said to you when you were taken away by the male servant."
He came over and wanted to ask her this question.
My sister bit her lip guiltily, then stammered, "She just scolded me a few times, and it was pretty nasty, so I won't say anything more, okay?"
Xia Qi was silent for a moment. In fact, he was willing to come to the corner tower largely because he wanted to hear his sister tell the truth.
However, my sister said nothing.
The old man said, "Let her out."
Xia Qi looked at the big lock on the iron prison door and said, "Okay, I'll go down and get the axe."
He remembered that the armored man downstairs had an axe in his hand.
The old man explained coldly: "Letting her out will give us one more person to protect our teammates. The lives of our teammates in the primary field are used to fill in clues, so that we can find clues faster..."
The life and death of teammates is also a resource and cannot be wasted by suffocating them in prison.
Hearing this, Xia Qi frowned. Cha Gong must know this rule.
Because of this, the Red Team chose to sleep in separate rooms last night and did not make any noise.
Looking at Xia Qi's back as he walked down the stairs, the old man scratched his chin and said, "After we let him out, maybe our progress will improve again. There are so many newbies who are good at playing evil in this sin game, including the cripple and the big pheasant. When they are all dead, hehehe..."
The Red Team deliberately drives the newbies who know nothing to the Blue Team, and then gradually divides the Blue Team internally. However, what the Red Team does not understand is that there are experts on the Blue Team as well.
As long as the red side takes action, there will definitely be loopholes.
When the most greedy newbies are slaughtered and the red team relaxes, it will be the chance for the blue team to rise.
Using this method, the old man has completed many games.
Therefore, he never tired of watching game after game, and regarded watching this group of people perform in front of him as an alternative form of relaxation.
"Wuwuwu, sister, I don't want to die." After Xia Qi went downstairs, the elder sister grabbed her sister's hand and broke down crying, "I know I was wrong, I'm still young, I don't want to die..."
The younger sister sighed silently. This time when they came to the game, an old man gave the ticket to her elder sister. The old man told her that she could make a lot of money as long as she participated in the game.
Who could have imagined that not only did they not make any money, but they also ran into such big trouble.
The younger sister was filled with remorse, but she comforted her elder sister: "I will rescue you."
"good… "
As the two sisters were talking, Xia Qi had already come to the roof with an axe in his hand. He first asked his sister to stay away, then raised the axe and chopped down at the iron lock on the prison door.
There was a loud "clang" and a spark came out from the lock.
I don’t know if it was Xia Qi’s illusion, but after he finished chopping, he felt that the light in the entire corner tower became dim.
Xia Qi gripped the axe in his hand and thought, never mind, I’ve already chopped it.
There were a few more "clang, clang, clang" sounds, until Xia Qi's hands were sore from chopping, the padlock finally made a "crack" sound and broke in front of him.
"It's open!" My sister opened the cell door in surprise.
My sister smiled and jumped out of the door happily.
"Da." At this moment, a heavy sound of footsteps suddenly came from downstairs, shaking the entire corner tower slightly.
The strange thing is that the footsteps were too sudden, and everyone noticed it immediately.
Since no one was talking at this time, the entire corner tower could hear a pin drop, making the footsteps coming from downstairs even clearer.
"Da, da, da."
He walked very slowly, as if he was deliberately keeping pace, walking leisurely, but Xia Qi could feel that the people below were getting closer and closer to them.
Slow pace, but big steps -
This means that the person coming is very tall.
Xia Qi's mind buzzed. Could it be... him
The old man trembled all over, then looked at Xia Qi in horror, then ran behind a box and hid.
"Hmm."
A nervous sob escaped her sister's throat, and her sister quickly raised her hand to cover her sister's mouth before pulling her behind the cabinet.