Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 343: One of Us

Chapter 343: Chapter 343: One of Us

He spoke as he picked up the Contract and briefly explained the situation, "At home one relies on parents, abroad one relies on friends. Isn’t it better for everyone to cooperate and complete the task with the least loss?"

Xu Huo glanced at the nine names on the Contract. Except for the Ma Family Couple, everyone else had signed.

Seeing his silence, Flay added, "Mr. Xu, the mansion is so big, how many clues can you find on your own? Among us ten people, as long as one person completes the task, the others can pass smoothly."

A hint of surprise crossed Xu Huo’s face, "The Contract isn’t a common prop, do you think its binding force on the holder and participants is the same?"

Flay’s face darkened immediately, and at that moment, the baby-faced man said, "We’ve already tried it, the Contract isn’t a problem, and there is no real punishment even if one breaches it."

"Is that so?" Xu Huo was certain he wouldn’t sign. He paused before saying, "The Contract might be fine, but can you be sure that all twelve people here are task players?"

Everyone’s expression changed, and You Qiwen immediately said, "Mr. Xu, do you know something?"

Xu Huo, however, didn’t plan to elaborate and was about to leave when the baby-faced man said, "Big brother, if you don’t want to join us that’s fine, but there’s no need to sow discord here."

The others were somewhat on guard, but some took his words to heart.

Xu Huo swept them a glance, said nothing more, and left the main building. He found the young servant who had brought him tea earlier to guide him through this not-so-small mansion.

In fact, he had already searched the preceding garden in the rain the night before, but clearly, the rumors that there were human bones in the garden were false—the soil in the garden seemed untouched for a long time, not like someone had been buried there.

After circling the garden, Xu Huo said to the servant, "It’s a shame for such a beautiful garden to be unwatched. I have a friend who likes flowers; I wonder if Mr. Dong could send an invitation to my friend? But Mr. Dong seems too stern, probably not easy to talk to."

But the young servant replied with a smile, "Mr. Dong is actually a very kind person, and he takes good care of us. However, the Butler cannot overstep the master to invite guests; if Mr. Xu wants to invite a friend to appreciate the flowers, it would be best to speak directly to him."

"However, Mr. He hasn’t come downstairs all day and seems not to plan to meet guests today," Xu Huo said with considerable frustration.

"The master will definitely come down at dinner time," the young servant said with certainty. "It’s always been like this; the master respects every invited guest very much."

Xu Huo nodded, then changed the topic to the spiders He Pu kept.

There was a place specifically for raising spiders in the mansion, located in the woods behind the Garden Maze, an annex. The servant told him that since He Pu had fallen ill, it was Mr. Dong who had been caring for them because the annex housed many precious species, and other servants usually didn’t go there.

After a cursory tour of half the mansion, the servant was called away, and Xu Huo didn’t continue the tour alone. Instead, he returned to the main building, spent some time in the library, and then prepared to return to his room.

However, as he opened the door to leave, he saw Mrs. Ma, clad in silk pajamas, leaning against the doorway, raising her glass, "I’ve been waiting for you for a long time; why did you take so long to come back?"

"The servant brought lunch and wine just now. Shall we have a drink together?"

Xu Huo glanced at her room; the door was shut tight, and Mr. Ma hadn’t come out.

Leaning against him with a swish of her sleeve, Mrs. Ma said, "The poor man; he’s so soundly asleep not even thunder would wake him. What are you afraid of?"

Using his umbrella to hold her shoulder at bay, Xu Huo bypassed her and entered his room, "Speak plainly. Are you trying to pull this stunt even in the game?"

Following him, Mrs. Ma said, "What are you saying, young man? My feelings for you are sincere. The first moment I saw you, I took a liking to you—good looks, great physique..."

Xu Huo did not play along, and didn’t even want to give her another glance.

Mrs. Ma cast a flirty glance at the blind man, curled her lips, and said, "No fun at all, such a waste of good looks."

"I came over to say hello, we’re all on the same side here, so let’s not wash away the temple in the flood."

"Those young kids approached you for a partnership just now, a bunch of greenhorns, daring to sign contracts in the game willy-nilly."

"Only a fool couldn’t survive in the game." Xu Huo sat down, implicitly agreeing with her, "Don’t worry. If you don’t bother me, I won’t meddle with you. There are plenty of players to go around, aren’t there?"

"We, the married couple, always prefer peace. Here we are, coming to you proactively." Mrs. Ma blinked, "But we’re all guests here, we can’t do whatever we want in someone else’s house. I see those new players seem rich; how about the three of us work together? Add two to one and get five, nobody loses out."

Xu Huo looked steadily at her for a few seconds, "You think they really invited you here for dinner? There’s a lot more to this castle."

Mrs. Ma was momentarily taken aback, "What do you mean?"

"He Pu."

"Wasn’t it him who invited us? What’s the problem?" Mrs. Ma frowned.

"Who said it was definitely him who invited us?" Xu Huo replied, "Don’t forget, the invitation doesn’t have a name on it, it could be him, the butler, or someone else."

"Then why does he want to see us alone?" Mrs. Ma asked, "Doesn’t he know who he did and didn’t invite?"

The Ma Family Couple also bought their invitation. They hadn’t gotten tickets from the game they played and were stuck at Garden Castle Station; they learned that Rose Castle would host parties every so often, no ticket needed, just an invitation to gain entry. This clearly told them that the boss of the castle was looking for loopholes, so naturally, they assumed the lord of the castle was the Cannibal Player.

Didn’t He Pu’s initiative in meeting them rather than other players further prove this point?

"How long have you been here?" Xu Huo asked.

Mrs. Ma hesitated slightly before saying, "Two months."

"Two months is not a long time," Xu Huo raised an eyebrow and continued, "I’ve checked; Rose Castle has been hosting guests for several years. If it were such a great opportunity, wouldn’t the players at this station fight over it? How could it easily fall into the hands of outsiders?"

"That’s not necessarily true; we paid a lot of money for these two invitations," Mrs. Ma disagreed.

"Do you think He Pu is seriously ill?" Xu Huo asked again.

Mrs. Ma curled her lip, "He looks like he hasn’t eaten in seventeen or eighteen days."

"The servants say that except for receiving guests, He Pu barely comes downstairs, and everything in the castle is managed by Mr. Dong, the butler." Xu Huo paused, then added, "Actually, He Pu had the servants call for me just now, but I hadn’t seen him before Mr. Dong stopped me."

Xu Huo had been on the third floor, which Mrs. Ma knew about, though the visit was somewhat short.

"In any case, don’t be too optimistic about the situation," Xu Huo said with an implied meaning, "There’s no such thing as a free lunch."

Mrs. Ma’s expression changed, and then she giggled, "Then we should cooperate all the more. Now that we’re here, we can’t leave with empty stomachs, can we?"

Xu Huo waved his hand, "Suit yourselves, I’m leaving once I get my tickets."