Chapter 280: Bait at the Door
He turned back to Xu Huo and said, "We found quite a few secret passages in the castle. They not only connect to the adjacent rooms but also lead to the kitchen and the main hall downstairs."
"The game hasn't started yet, but Jin Chao thinks it might be related to the castle's layout, so he wanted to map out all the passages in advance," Peng Ru added. "It's too dangerous to split up, but relying on just the two of us would take too long. How about we split into two pairs? I'll go find Miss Yan, and you can go with Jin Chao?"
"Fine." Xu Huo didn't refuse but warned, "Be careful, though. The one chasing Yan Jiayu and the player I just killed were twins. I don't know if both of them can use that strange trait."
Peng Ru looked surprised. "I've never heard of duplicate traits. If they have the same effect, it's most likely a prop."
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow slightly. "I didn't fight them in depth, so I don't know much."
Peng Ru nodded and entered the secret passage.
Xu Huo then followed Jin Chao into another passage, but they went in different directions.
After exploring the passages for a while, Xu Huo realized that most of them weren't connected to each other. Simply put, they were more like additional corridors between rooms. One could enter a passage through a decorative painting or a bathroom vanity in one room, and the passage would lead to a movable wall panel or bathroom in another room, stringing together an entire row of rooms.
"This feels a bit like a haunted house," Jin Chao mused.
But just then, the castle trembled slightly. The two exchanged a glance and quickly exited the passage. However, the outside environment had changed drastically. The sky, which had been bright moments ago, was now pitch black, with only moonlight filtering through the windows. The previously empty rooms had become crowded. Vanished curtains, beds, sofas, and wardrobes had materialized out of thin air, making the place completely different from what they had seen before. When they pushed open the door and stepped into the corridor, the broken lights flickered, dark stains appeared on the walls and floor, and old, tattered dolls lay scattered on the ground or were nailed to the walls—a scene straight out of a horror movie.
"The hide-and-seek game has begun," a doll's shrill voice echoed through the castle. "From now until dawn, only the children who aren't caught by the dolls will get a prize."
"Everyone, hide quickly! I'm going to start counting. 10, 9, 8..."
The countdown started from ten, but as soon as the counting began, the dolls in the corridor started moving. With missing limbs or heads, they staggered to their feet and headed straight for the nearest living people.
Xu Huo drew his sword, but Jin Chao warned him, "Killing dolls during the game won't reset it, but they'll drop a lot of little hats. You have to be careful!"
Xu Huo had no intention of recklessly slashing dolls anyway. He retreated into the room, closed the door, and pushed a wardrobe to block it. But unexpectedly, a recess appeared in the wall behind the wardrobe, and inside it crouched a doll rabbit. It lunged at him with a ferocious expression!
He kicked the rabbit away and turned to Jin Chao, who was also being attacked by dolls emerging from every unexpected corner of the room. "We need to find a place to hide."
Jin Chao pulled a doll clinging to his back, threw it away, and ran toward the secret passage, crashing through the wall to get inside.
Xu Huo hesitated for a moment before following him into the passage.
The passage had also changed from what they had seen before. Jin Chao was nowhere to be seen, and two doll bears charged at Xu Huo. He dodged their bear hugs, leaped into the air, and used the strings to move to another spot.
Jin Chao and his companion weren't the only ones who had discovered the castle's secret passages, nor were they the only ones trying to hide in them. But the passages were also full of dolls, and it was impossible to predict where they would appear. Once the passage entered game mode, dolls even emerged from the walls above. Being caught by two or more dolls at the same time meant elimination.
After an initial hour of chaotic fighting, the number of eliminated players rose sharply, and the castle gradually fell silent. The dolls seemed to lose their support and collapsed to the ground, replaced by some large, moving creatures that rummaged through the rooms.
Xu Huo left the passage, picked up a doll rabbit, and threw it at a cabinet. Then he climbed through a window into the next room, listening carefully to the sounds next door.
As a living bear in the corridor broke down a door, the other dolls regained their vitality and all rushed into the room.
Xu Huo peered through the slightly open door. After a flurry of smashing and crashing, the dolls remained in the room, and only the living bear came out, continuing to pace the corridor.
When he had thrown the doll earlier, the other dolls hadn't moved. They only entered the room after the living bear acted. It was like a signal—until it was given, the dolls remained in standby mode.
His eyes flickered. Xu Huo took out the corpse he had stored earlier and placed it at the door, then hid in the secret passage.
On the second-floor staircase, the shorter of the twins and a seductive woman were walking up. The shorter one had a head injury. Even after using a self-healing agent, he still had it wrapped in bandages. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm going to kill her!"
"Give it a rest. If she could cripple you and still get away, she's no pushover. Brother Tu said it before—you and your brother need to use your traits together to avoid being exploited. But no, you had to split up and get beaten by a little girl. What a disgrace." The woman laughed at the twin without restraint, but her voice didn't attract the attention of the living bear pacing at the other end of the corridor.
The two reached the second floor and immediately saw the headless corpse lying in the middle. The shorter twin's face changed instantly.
"Watch out, it's a trap!" the woman warned, but the shorter twin ignored her. He erected a square plane in front of him and ran straight over.
The woman had no choice but to follow. When they reached the corpse, the shorter twin knelt down, pulled open the dead man's clothes, confirmed his identity, and said in anguish, "It's my brother!"
The woman frowned and glanced at the body. "I don't see the head. Someone must have taken it. Take the body back first, and we'll discuss it with Brother Tu."
But the shorter twin glared at her with anger. "I'm going to avenge my brother! He died not long ago. The killer must be nearby!"
"It's probably the other man from that pair. The timing matches," the woman said. "The old man said he's cunning. He's using the head as bait. Don't fall for it."
The shorter twin didn't care. He put the body away and said, "If you're scared, you can go cry in Brother Tu's bed."
The woman's expression turned cold, but she retorted, "Do you think I can only rely on men? Brother Tu said whoever kills those two players gets the windmill. Don't you try to steal it from me."
"Don't worry. I just want them dead!" The shorter twin tore off his bandages and pushed open the slightly ajar door.