Matryoshka Off-Limits

Chapter 4: Castle Night

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I'm the only one left.

Wen Shi felt that he must do his best, otherwise wouldn’t the women and monsters who were chasing him have died in vain

They paved the way for me with their lives, and I will live for them no matter what.

A sense of belief supported [1]'s health. The game promised that his injuries would be restored at the end of the game, so he probably wouldn't be deceived.

In a half-dead state, Wen Shi could not feel the passage of time. He did not know how much time had passed, one minute, or maybe ten minutes. When the game sound rang out again, Wen Shi felt for the first time that it was like the sound of nature.

[Recovering from trauma, 1%, 2%…]

[Congratulations to player 460872 for completing the advanced skill task.

Matching skills that match the player...]

The light reappeared in his dilated pupils, and Wen Shi's lips moved with difficulty. He almost died once, so he had to be given the ability to move mountains and rivers.

[It is detected that the player never trusts anyone in his heart. This game is committed to advocating truth, goodness and beauty. The best solution has been found for you.]

"Is this a mockery of my lack of virtue?"

[Congratulations to the player for awakening the 'I Am Me' skill.

According to legend, there may be another "self" in the multiverse. Everyone has a completely different destiny, but they are all real independent people.

I am me: Spend 100 points to summon the 'me' in the parallel world once.]

Wen Shi was almost dying and sat up in shock.

Two lives in exchange for this skill, is it worthy of the dead woman and the monster

Of course he had heard of the parallel world, but unless he was a ghost in the parallel world, what was the point of summoning an ordinary person? Even if the other party was a financial tycoon or a top star, they would all be wiped out if they came.

The game did not respond to Wen Shi's cry.

The attribute panel is updated very quickly, and a new skill column is added:

[Player ID: 460872

Skill: I am me

Points: 100 (initial points for advanced venues)]

After a few more minutes, Wen Shi regained his strength after his injuries were completely healed, and slowly got up from the ground.

He stretched his weak limbs, and muttered, "Actually, this skill is not completely useless."

Under the moonlight, the slightly thin young man turned around and looked for an empty house to stay in temporarily.

The injury has recovered, but my hands and feet are still a little numb.

The monsters in the wall left him with a psychological trauma, so Wen Shi subconsciously chose the central area of the corridor when walking.

There were many empty rooms on the second floor, and many of the doors were ajar. Wen Shi pushed open the nearest room, and the red walls of the dining room caught his eye. There were various paintings of different styles hanging on the walls. Compared with the messy lines in the dining room, the ones here were more in line with the public aesthetic.

There was a dressing table less than one meter away from the end of the bed. On the table there was a candlestick with three candles and a comb.

Wen Shi stepped out and pushed open the doors of the two adjacent rooms, and found that they were all furnished in exactly the same way. These half-closed rooms were more or less messy, and only when you got closer could you see that there were many red spots splashed on the wall, which seemed to be blood.

The game had indicated that this was an endgame, and that 80% of the players had already been eliminated.

Greenhouse carefully inspected the room and found a strange phenomenon: there was a dressing table but no mirror.

After checking the gaps in the room, Wen Shi encountered his first side quest.

[Side Mission 1: Find out the identity of the woman who is chasing you tonight

Who is she, where does she come from, what kind of experience does she have

Wen Shi felt that this question was more applicable to himself.

Who am I, where do I come from, and what experiences will I have.

With doubts, Wen Shi lay down on the big bed. Because of the pain in his ankle, he had to sit up. A large black bruise was particularly eye-catching. The damage sustained when upgrading skills had been smoothed out. This was the mark left by being pulled by an unknown object under the street light.

Anyway, it didn't affect his health, so Wen Shi didn't care about it anymore. The fatigue eroded his rationality. He locked the door, fell headfirst on the bed and fell asleep.

The next day.

It was already daybreak when I woke up.

Last night's experience allowed Wen Shi to summarize some rules of the game. Monsters killing people also need to trigger certain conditions, and it is not just an indiscriminate killing.

Coo!

The sudden sharp cry pierced my eardrums. It was the cuckoo clock in the dining room. It was so loud for some reason even though it was so far away.

According to the time, it is now eight o'clock in the morning. Wen Shi simply washes up and goes downstairs.

E Zheng was dining with two other players, and the owner of the castle was still sitting at the main seat. He changed his clothes today, a black jacquard tuxedo, ignoring his dark eyes, the punk-style tuxedo perfectly outlined the lines of his lean waist.

The moment Wen Shi appeared in the dining room, the three players were startled at the same time, especially E Xiu, who almost couldn't hold the fork in his hand.

Except for his rookie period, he hasn't lost his composure like this in a long time.

The owner of the castle also looked at Wen Shi meaningfully, but he did not die.

Wen Shi deliberately limped in and unzipped his trouser legs to reveal the bruises on his ankles: "I accidentally sprained my ankle while sleepwalking last night. I may have to stay here for a while."

Since he didn't know who he was or what he was doing, Wen Shi had to find a reason to stay.

Of course, the most important thing is to complete the side quests.

The owner of the castle did not object.

Wen Shi ate his breakfast calmly.

Everyone thought he was done, so naturally everyone chose to eat what they could eat for breakfast today, instead of cooperating to induce people to drink red wine like yesterday. He copied the answers of other players and determined that the edible food was bread and grapefruit juice, and ham was not allowed.

The meal was eerily quiet.

In the castle, everything is prioritized after the castle owner. Wen Shi discovered this yesterday, so after dinner he waited until the other party left the dining room before he stood up, without even looking at the other people.

At the dinner table, E Xiu put down his knife and fork: "He ran towards the house of the castle owner last night. There is no way he survived."

The female player didn't respond.

Another player stood up, he had other tasks to do.

After a few seconds, the female player slowly spoke: "I can help you, but not for free."

After she stated the conditions, E Xiu frowned. This was simply too much.

Knowing the importance of a funeral to E Xiu, the female player had already foreseen the outcome.

E Xiu made the decision quickly, and the two signed a transaction contract using props.

The female player tells her plan.

It was a very ingenious arrangement, but after listening to it, E Xiu was not completely reassured and reminded: "Be careful with this newcomer."

Others don’t know what his skills are, only E Xiu himself knows clearly that a newcomer who cannot be "tamed" must have a different mental state from ordinary people.

The female player found it funny and thought he was too nervous.

"You don't understand." E Xiu said seriously, "There is no love in the heart of that newcomer."

"… "

·

corridor.

Wen Shi didn't find the white coat he threw away yesterday, and from the way he was dressed, he seemed to be a doctor.

Treat the castle owner

The other party could pierce him easily, and it looked like he didn't need any treatment at all.

"Could it be a mental illness?"

The more Wen Shi thought about it, the more he thought it was possible. No normal person would be so obsessed with finding the perfect bride. When he thought that he might be playing the role of a psychiatrist, he couldn't help but laugh nervously, as if it was some big joke.

When you are tired of laughing, you can recall the clues while walking:

"Pond of blood, old coffin, trembling soul."

"Blessings, prayers, and safe houses."

"Dance, Beauty and the Beast!"

He was so busy escaping last night that he had no time to look for the picture frame. He decided to give it a try now, which might help him complete the side quest.

"Lucky boy, come on." Wen Shi encouraged himself and wanted to laugh again.

In this world where people die at any time, there is no such thing as luck.

The sunlight shines obliquely into the hall.

Wen Shi stopped and put his hands in his pockets. He was only wearing a wrinkled T-shirt with some blood on it.

Wen Shi had never felt that sunlight and air were such a luxury. The warm light shone through the glass, blowing away the coldness of the hall, and he couldn't help but look up and sigh.

The patterns on the dome gather vitality in the daylight and become extremely vivid.

Wen Shi blinked.

After a moment, he blinked again to make sure he was not mistaken.

From above, you can vaguely see the beast dancing with a beautiful woman in his arms, but it's not very clear because it's too high.

Isn't this the beauty and the beast we are looking for

"... I am really a lucky boy?!" He looked incredible.

The copy will not give a complete dead end, and the clues last night should not be too difficult. For example, [Dancing, Beauty and the Beast] should refer to the well-known fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast". However, in such a hunt, it is almost impossible to collect them one by one.

The hint was simple indeed, but he couldn't fly up to find the picture frame now.

When Wen Shi was considering whether to go find a ladder, he shook his head and said to himself, "No."

In the dark environment last night, it was already very difficult to notice the dome, and then to go up and get it, which was almost hell-level difficulty.

Wen Shi squinted his eyes and took great effort to look at the details of the painting again. In addition to the protagonists dancing, there was also a moving teapot next to them and a candlestick that was twisting its body. It was very similar to the one in the room, with three candles on it. The dancing alarm clock and soup spoon were also creating an atmosphere.

The candlelight, the hands of the alarm clock, and the soup spoon are all pointing in the same direction.

Wen Shi looked over and found that it was aimed at a bookcase.

If I remember correctly, Belle in the Beauty and the Beast story also seemed to like reading.

study

The second floor is the living area, and the first floor is the dining room and the lobby. When Wen Shi was considering whether to go to the third floor for a stroll, a voice came from behind him.

"Pei Wenwei."

Wen Shi immediately turned around and asked, "What's the matter?"

The reaction was very natural. The female player who came over thought to herself, could this be his real name

The female player first introduced herself: "My name is Luo Xiao, do you want to cooperate?"

She is a very shrewd character, and her words hit the nail on the head: "There is no harm in exchanging information."

Of course there is no harm, provided that you tell the truth.

There was a staircase in front of them. Seeing that Wen Shi was going upstairs, Luo Xiao took the initiative to suggest going with him: "The higher you go, the higher the risk. It will be difficult for you to escape unscathed if you are alone."

Wen Shi didn't object and said two words: "Study."

The man's back was thin and straight, and he walked in front with confidence, as if entrusting someone with trust.

E Xiu's words 'he has no love' suddenly came to mind, and Luo Xiao couldn't help asking: "Aren't you afraid that I will stab you in the back?"

Luo Xiao smiled cooperatively.

Excessive inquiry would easily arouse vigilance, so she suppressed her curiosity and did not ask Wen Shi how he survived last night.

Luo Xiao first apologized for the red wine incident: "I'm sorry, E Xiu promised to give us a prop last night. Although it's not a high-end prop, it's better than nothing. I'm sorry about the drinking."

She said sorry without any trace of guilt in her eyes. But Luo Xiao then shared a key clue very straightforwardly: "According to my observation, there are many elements of the real world in this copy."

Wen Shi nodded. For example, the story of Beauty and the Beast was completely copied from a fairy tale.

Luo Xiao: "There is actually a very famous horror story. In order to become the most perfect girl, a girl killed every girl that her crush had praised, and took off the parts of them that were praised and put them on herself."

Wen Shi: "Won't there be any rejection reaction?"

Luo Xiao's eyelids jumped: "I told you it's a horror story."

Wen Shi understood immediately and frowned: "You mean the owner of the castle also wants to follow this method?"

Luo Xiao: "So the mortality rate of this copy is quite high. If you want to piece together the most perfect bride in the mind of the castle owner, you have to find a way to take away some of the monsters in the castle. There are so many monsters here, I believe you have already dealt with them yesterday."

The study is on the third floor. The number of rooms on the third floor is far less than that on the second floor, and many places have large areas of empty walls, which do not have the heavy feeling of normal walls.

Study is an euphemism, as the size of this place is comparable to that of a library.

Wen Shi: "I want to find the book Beauty and the Beast. It may be a standalone book, or it may be included in a collection of fairy tales."

Luo Xiao helped him look for it.

It was much more convenient to have the help of an old player. Luo Xiao took out a mechanical body that looked like a little white mouse and placed it on the ground. The little white mouse darted out and flexibly shuttled between the bookshelves. In a moment, a dusty book fell from the bookshelf, and the little white mouse returned to Luo Xiao's pocket.

Wen Shi squinted his eyes and looked at the book. Luo Xiao stretched out his hand to stop him and frowned, saying, "There's something strange about this thing."

She took the initiative to walk forward, put on a pair of special gloves and turned the pages of the book.

Seeing that these gloves were not ordinary items, Wen Shi wondered when he would have such complete equipment.

"Picture frame." Wen Shi gave a key word.

"So that's how it is," Luo Xiao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood, "Our progress was slow before because we were stuck on how to remove parts from the monster. If we can turn them into a painting, it will be very easy."

Her slender fingers were not disturbed by the heavy gloves. Luo Xiao flipped through the book quickly, reading ten lines at a glance. Suddenly, her fingers paused: "Found it."

In the accompanying picture, the color of the wall is exactly the same as that of the ancient castle, and there is only an empty picture frame hanging on the red wall.

A wooden thorn suddenly pierced the belly of the thumb, but was blocked by the glove. The picture frame began to visibly become three-dimensional, like a venomous snake that had ended its hibernation and began to poke its head out. The stench was brought out from the inner space. Luo Xiao hesitated for a moment and did not throw away the source of danger directly.

Wen reported another clue: "Pond of blood, old coffin, trembling soul."

Under Luo Xiao's surprised gaze, he said, "I have other clues about the picture frame."

Luo Xiao turned around and ran down without even looking back, saying, "The blood pool is on the third floor underground."

Wen Shi followed behind her, and the two of them ran for their lives.

"I have a very powerful prop. It's a pity to deal with this book alone. I will throw the book into the blood pool and attack them both at the same time. It would be even better if they fight each other. We can reap the benefits while they are at it."

Luo Xiao's solution is very comprehensive, provided that they successfully enter the blood pool before the picture frame is completely separated from the book.

There are many wooden thorns on the edge of the picture frame. After sticking out half of it, the wooden thorns grow into thorns. The tip is rose-red like fresh fruit pulp. It seems to be breathing, and there is a small hole at the top, which seems to be able to eat through it.

Luo Xiao's gloves had limited protective effect, and the thorns seemed to have eyes, extending all the way to her wrists.

While running through the hall, Wen Shi suddenly looked up at the picture of beauty and the beast on the dome, and when he looked at Luo Xiao's back, his eyes darkened.

Luo Xiao's running speed was in no way inferior to that of an athlete, and was even faster. When she was about to reach the underground, she jumped over a long flight of stairs in just three or two steps. Even Wen Shi could not match her agility.

There was a candlestick every few meters underground, and the candles on it had already burned one-third. The smell of blood was so strong that even without Luo Xiao's guidance, one could find the blood pool by following the smell.

There was a huge wooden beam blocking the road. After climbing over it, Wen Shi was stunned by the scene in front of him.

The blood pool was built in a square rectangle, like a pot of boiling soup, bubbling with blood. An old coffin was hanging above it, with four rusty chains extending from the four directions of east, south, west and north, and the coffin was hanging precariously.

Luo Xiao came to the edge of the blood pool and swung the book hard. The book formed a perfect parabola and was thrown into the pool.

Instantly, a sea of blood surged. Luo Xiao narrowed her eyes and said, "The power of this book is far inferior to that of the blood pool."

Wen Shi also noticed it.

The thorn behaved like a drowning person, struggling upwards, but there was a stronger force pulling it down.

Wen Shi stood aside, and he actually heard chewing sounds coming from the pool of blood.

The blood pool seemed to be only interested in the brambles. After eating, the crumpled book flew out along with the blood. Wen Shi quickly dodged. The blood splashed on the ground, rolling like marbles.

Then the picture frame flew out.

The thorns disappeared, and its edges are now very smooth. The picture frame stood up, like a wife-waiting rock making a silent call in a certain direction.

At the same moment, a hoarse roar came from somewhere. Wen Shi looked around and finally confirmed that it was the wall.

From top to bottom, the things in the wall were dragged by an invisible force, and finally pulled out of the wall.

It was the monster that attacked Guo Wen last night, but it was unknown which one it was.

Wen Shi saw the monster's full appearance for the first time. Its limbs were too thin and long, and there was no water in its body. It looked like a withered mummy.

The throat that could no longer move kept trembling, trying to say something, but no matter how hard it struggled, it could not escape the fate of being bound by the frame. In a few blinks, the size of the mummy shrank further, and Wen Shi smelled the familiar smell of paint. The monster that made him scream last night could not escape the fate of becoming a painting.

This painting gives the same feeling as the portrait hanging in the dining room: exaggerated and fragmented.

The only special part is that 90 percent of it is a mess of patches of color, with only one particularly realistic eye on the upper left side.

Almond eyes have very soft lines running from the center of the eyes to the end of the eyes.

It is said that eyes are the windows to the soul. Wen Shi has seen many beautiful eyes, but this pair of eyes is definitely the most perfect one he has ever seen.

Luo Xiao handed over a dagger: "I won't fight with you for this."

Wen Shi took it, pointed the sharp tip of the knife at a few centimeters below the eyes of the portrait, pressed his wrist down, and squinted at Luo Xiao before exerting force, saying with a half-smile: "All the credit for today is yours, so you should do it."

Luo Xiao: "As a man, can you stop being so hypocritical? You have the clue of the picture frame. Let's work together to clear the level as soon as possible."

Wen Shi was not in a hurry.

"When I mentioned the rejection reaction earlier, you stressed that it was a horror story, but we are playing a game now, and we need to be logical. Take off the most beautiful parts of a person, and then reassemble them into a new person. Do you think it is beautiful?"

Some people have ordinary facial features, but they are beautiful when put together. Some people are perfect when each part is separated, but they are ordinary when viewed as a whole.

Although the pattern on the dome of the hall is not particularly clear, it can be determined that the beauty in the beast's arms is not stunning. Wen Shi believes that this is a hint of the rule of death.

Once you use the patchwork method, you will be eliminated immediately.

Wen Shi twirled the dagger, unable to tell for a moment whether it was the game that misled players and gave hints that was more vicious, or the players in the dungeon themselves.

Faced with his unhurried revelation, Luo Xiao put away her previous magnanimous performance, did not refute a word, and laughed immediately.

"Pei Wenwei, you are really the smartest person I have ever met, but I personally believe in the principle of profit."

Wen Shi raised his eyebrows: "What benefit did E Xiu give you to let you mislead me like this?"

Before Luo Xiao answered, a thin figure appeared from the dim entrance, and the latter clapped his hands gently to express his praise. Originally, in order to kill a new player, he had to trade a large amount of points as a price. E Xiu was a little uncomfortable, but now he found it was too cost-effective.

Luo Xiao shrugged and glanced at E Xiu: "I have done everything I promised. I will wait for you in the dining room."

After saying that, he waved his hand at Wen Shi in a cool manner: "Handsome brother, see you in the next life."

Next to the pool filled with the smell of blood, Wen Shi and E Xiu stood face to face.

E Xiu grinned, and a bottle appeared out of thin air in his hand.

"If two people encounter a bear, which one will die?" he asked.

Wen Shi: “The one that runs slower.”

Just as he answered, E Xiu threw the bottle into the pool of blood, and the surging liquid began to flow back, rushing towards the coffin like a waterfall in violation of the principle of gravity.

The blood automatically disappears when it meets the coffin, and at the same time, the blood in the blood pool decreases rapidly until the last drop flows back.

Wen Shi ignored this and asked curiously, "Does it cost you points to use this thing?"

Facing a dying man, E Xiu was surprisingly patient: "Of course."

He was not in a hurry to escape. The props in his hands and the agility he had gained from years of game training allowed him to leave here before Wen Shi.

The blood in the blood pool disappeared like a whirlwind, and in the blink of an eye only one third of it remained.

Knock knock.

Something seemed to have come to life and was banging on the coffin lid desperately. The iron chain was shaking violently in the air, making a creaking sound. Wen Shi had a premonition that the chain would not last long.

"What did you wake up?"

He took a step forward and tightened his grip on the dagger.

E Xiu didn't dodge or evade, and hooked his finger provocatively: "Want to kill me? Try."

He was sure that the other party would disappear before the dagger approached him.

Seeing that Wen Shi was like a paper tiger, with weapons but unable to attack, E Xiu smiled even more: "You know what? I have never liked the game rule that players cannot kill each other so much."

Wen Shi lowered his eyes, the light in his eyes was as calm as a lake, as if he didn't realize the tense situation he was in. After a while, he slowly said, "I like it too."

After saying that, he repeated it word by word, especially the subject part.

Unfortunately, the tone was too light and soft, and E Xiu didn't hear it clearly. He only saw Wen Shi seemed to have given up and threw the dagger away.

The fear and anger that had been suppressed in this copy for many days found a good outlet. E Xiu grinned and mocked his cowardly behavior.

"You want to kill me, do you dare? Are you worthy?"

He stared at the coffin that was about to revive, and with wild laughter, he pushed Wen Shi step by step to the edge of the blood pool.

"Ha ha ha ha-"

The laughter stopped abruptly halfway through.

Wen Shi stared at the other person steadily.

Through the reflection of his clear pupils, E Xiu lowered his head in disbelief. A long sword had pierced his chest at some point.

E Xiu touched the bloody tip of the sword with trembling fingers. The pain and coldness reminded him that this was not a dream.

Phew.

The moment the sword tip was pulled out, blood spurted out like a fountain.

Behind him, a beautiful woman who appeared out of nowhere drew out her sword and asked calmly, "What are you barking about?"

(End of this chapter)