It was not difficult to find Fei Taizong in the banquet hall.
Bai Lixin immediately spotted him in the crowd.
It was too obvious because except for Fei Taizong and other members of the Fei family like Li Manyu, all the guests wore masks.
The masks were uniformly white, with simple colored lines outlining hair, eyes, nose, and mouth.
Crafty smiles, angry faces, calculating faces, all were present.
Fei Taizong, who was chatting with some masked guests while holding a wine glass, looked out of place among the masked figures.
Bai Lixin held the wine glass but didn’t drink. Fei Taizong chatted with the masked guests in front of him until they left, then looked around, as if searching for something.
Just as Fei Taizong turned back, he noticed Bai Lixin and Li Manyu standing on the steps, and ended his search.
The elegant middle-aged man wore a high-collared suit today, his hair was meticulously combed back, his face was rosy, and he looked majestic. He turned around and walked briskly to Bai Lixin and Li Manyu, excitement flickering in his black eyes. “Xiao Xin, you came down just in time.”
Li Manyu followed with a cryptic reply, “Yes, at the most exciting moment.”
Bai Lixin’s gaze swept over the two, then continued searching the hall.
Only Fei Taizong and Li Manyu were present; he didn’t spot Fei Yino and Big Zhuang among the crowd.
His gaze casually swept over the hall until it settled in a narrow, dim corner.
There stood a man in a suit, wearing pristine gloves. Half of his body was engulfed in darkness, and the other half was exposed to the light.
The tall and straight man wore a neutral expression mask, like a statue standing there, silently observing.
Bai Lixin’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly and he discreetly averted his gaze.
Fei Taizong was in high spirits. His shiny leather shoes stepped on the steps, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing on a higher step than Bai Lixin and Li Manyu.
“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests of the Fei family.” It was unclear where Fei Taizong found a microphone, his voice suddenly echoed throughout the hall, causing the masked guests to stop in their tracks, all masks turning to focus on Fei Taizong, or rather, the three figures on the stairs.
Seeing the hall quiet down, Fei Taizong cleared his throat and continued, “Your presence has brought glory to the Fei family. In order to ensure everyone’s enjoyment, aside from preparing sumptuous food, we have arranged additional entertainment activities.”
As soon as “entertainment activities” were mentioned, the previously silent masked guests seemed to be switched on by some kind of switch, suddenly bursting into excited applause. Bai Lixin’s gaze returned to the dark corner he had observed earlier, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
“So, are the entertainment activities finally starting?”
“So excited, I can’t wait any longer.”
“I came just for this entertainment activity. Let’s get started!”
Whispered conversations filled the hall, and Bai Lixin noticed that all masks had suddenly transformed into sinister grins.
On the white masks, two eyes curved downward like crescent moons, and a blood-red mouth grinned almost to the corners of the eyes.
Bai Lixin frowned.
Even though he stood on a higher step now, those malicious gazes made him uncomfortable.
For a moment, he felt like he was standing naked on an auction table, at the mercy of others.
Fei Taizong continued, “It seems everyone is eagerly anticipating tonight’s game. But this time, we’ve added a new twist.”
Fei Taizong’s hand suddenly landed on Bai Lixin’s shoulder without warning. “Let me introduce, this is my youngest son, Bai Lixin. Those who have attended Fei family banquets before are not unfamiliar with my son, but there are new faces tonight. Xiao Xin is the son I am very proud of, excellent in both character and studies, and the teacher is always full of praise for him”
After saying this, Fei Taizong patted Bai Lixin’s shoulder from behind. “Just like before, tonight Xiao Xin will join everyone in playing this game.”
The applause in the hall was deafening. The faces on the masks changed once again, from cunning to fierce demons, with enraged eyes and blood-red fangs bared.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Faint rustling sounds reached Bai Lixin’s ears.
“He’s quite young.”
“Turns out, he’s still a student.”
“We can have a good time tonight.”
“Finally, I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Besides Xiao Xin, a few of his friends also came to the Fei family this time,” Fei Taizong continued, “In addition to Xiao Xin, there are three of them joining the game—two males and a female. They are currently in some corner of the Fei family.”
The thunderous applause ceased, and the masked people transitioned from ferocious demons back to their sinister smiles, amd the chatter died down, as if they were anticipating something.
Under the masked people’s anticipation, Fei Taizong patted Bai Lixin’s shoulder again.
“It is now eight o’clock in the evening.”
“Capture Xiao Xin, and he belongs to you tonight.”
“As you heard earlier, Xiao Xin is my most precious son, so we can’t let him be in any life-threatening situation.”
“As for his three friends, it’s an additional benefit for tonight. Once you find them, you can kill them.”
“Guests who bring their heads will receive special service from Xiao Xin.”
The hall erupted in noise and cheers again, with the crowd’s masked faces showing excited expressions.
Bai Lixin’s eye twitched, and he turned to look at Fei Taizong.
Fei Taizong wore a smile, still maintaining his elegant demeanor. He looked at Bai Lixin soothingly and spoke in the same gentle tone as usual, “Xiao Xin, don’t disappoint everyone.”
“Run, but don’t let yourself be caught too quickly; otherwise, tonight won’t be pleasant for you.”
After saying this, he comfortingly patted Bai Lixin’s shoulder, then gave a strong push, propelling Bai Lixin toward the eager masked people.
The masked people immediately extended greedy hands toward Bai Lixin. Watching this strange crowd, Bai Lixin’s veins twitched. He swiftly turned around, sprinting towards the stairs.
As he brushed past Li Manyu and Fei Taizong, he saw the two with twisted smiles on their lips.
Cursing internally, Bai Lixin maintained his speed, rushing upstairs.
The noise of the crowd rushed into Bai Lixin’s ears.
“Upstairs! He went upstairs!”
“Hehehe, this foolish beauty is actually running upstairs. Isn’t this like catching a turtle in a jar?”
“I want to be the first one to pluck the delicious fruit.”
The chaotic footsteps followed closely behind. Without looking back, Bai Lixin sprinted upwards like a nimble leopard.
The usually dimly lit corridor today was brightly lit. The masked people couldn’t catch up with Bai Lixin’s speed. With four floors in the Fei family building, he dashed to the fourth floor, casually opened a room, and darted inside.
In his panic, the fleeing young man in white even forgot to close the room door.
A few seconds later, the slightly ajar door, swayed slightly, probably due to inertia.
After ten seconds, like hungry wolves, some masked individuals reached the fourth floor and discovered the slightly open door.
The faces on the masks instantly changed from beasts to smiling ones.
“Found it.”
“The door’s open; he must be inside.”
“I didn’t expect it to be so easy. We’re truly lucky.”
“Hurry, open the door. I can’t wait to taste the delicacy.”
Amidst the noisy chatter, a masked person pushed the room door open, turned on the lights, and entered.
The room contained only a few simple pieces of furniture that one could see at a glance. Other than that, there was nothing else. The windows on the walls were open, and white curtains swayed and danced in the wind, resembling ghosts.
The masked people swarmed into the room in an instant.
They forcefully opened the tightly closed wardrobe, and violently pushed down the bookshelves, attempting to find the figure of the young man.
However, in the end, they found nothing.
“He escaped. He must have fled through the window!” One masked person ran to the window, stretched their neck to look out, and said, “We need to search for him in the courtyard.”
“But this is the fourth floor!” Another masked person objected, “He’s so fragile. Can he do that?”
“He ran really fast. How can he be fragile? He’s not fragile; he’s strong.”
“Being strong is good, he won’t break after playing for a while, hahaha.”
“He might not have gone to the courtyard. Maybe he crawled into other rooms!”
“The game is getting more exciting. Let’s each use our skills and see who finds him first. I don’t believe that with so many of us, we can’t find one cute little duck, quack quack.”
The group of masked people gradually dispersed, but the playful conversations continued.
“After finding him, I’ll make him know how amazing I am! I’ll make him kneel down and cry and call me dad.”
“You shameless bastard, the dad is still watching.”
“Isn’t it his dad who brought him in front of us?”
As the conversations faded away, most of the masked people had already descended to the lower floors, while a small group continued searching room by room on the fourth floor.
With no results, the masked people left in disappointment.
The door of the messy room swayed slightly again, and in the corner of the dark, messy room, a figure gradually materialized.
Moonlight shone in from the window, falling directly on the person’s face.
The faint white light enveloped the young man, accentuating his already flawless face, making it appear even more dreamlike.
At this moment, the young man was staring at the golden card in his hand with a slight frown on his face, with a bit of inquiry in his eyes.
S419: [Lord Host, the invisibility card lost its effect?]
Bai Lixin: [It hasn’t completely lost its effect, just weakened.]
He had accumulated several invisibility cards. Although each card lasted only five minutes, with a cooldown of an hour, he could seamlessly string them together through rotation, ensuring continuous invisibility.
But now, a small issue arose.
There should be some kind of power in this sandwiched game world that weakens the enhancements of the horror game lobby. Both buffs and skills were affected.
His strength had been weakened.
Skill cards were also affected.
This invisibility card that originally lasts five minutes, now only had a three-minute duration.
And the cooldown had extended to two hours.
He had just used four invisibility cards in a short time; the remaining ones needed to be used sparingly.
S419M: [What should we do next, Lord Host?]
Bai Lixin: [Exit through the back door Aunt Zhang mentioned and then go to Fei Yino’s monitoring room. Did you finish the task I assigned you earlier?]
S419M: [Of course, Lord Host. I’ve been tracking Fei Yino and found the places he frequents. As you guessed, he indeed didn’t go to work; instead, after leaving the Fei family, he turned to the side and disappeared somewhere behind the back wall.]
As it spoke, a blue translucent map appeared in Bai Lixin’s mind.
In the three-dimensional map was a bright red route. It started from the entrance of the Fei family, went along the exterior wall for a while, and finally stopped.
It was not difficult to find Fei Taizong in the banquet hall.
Bai Lixin immediately spotted him in the crowd.
It was too obvious because except for Fei Taizong and other members of the Fei family like Li Manyu, all the guests wore masks.
The masks were uniformly white, with simple colored lines outlining hair, eyes, nose, and mouth.
Crafty smiles, angry faces, calculating faces, all were present.
Fei Taizong, who was chatting with some masked guests while holding a wine glass, looked out of place among the masked figures.
Bai Lixin held the wine glass but didn’t drink. Fei Taizong chatted with the masked guests in front of him until they left, then looked around, as if searching for something.
Just as Fei Taizong turned back, he noticed Bai Lixin and Li Manyu standing on the steps, and ended his search.
The elegant middle-aged man wore a high-collared suit today, his hair was meticulously combed back, his face was rosy, and he looked majestic. He turned around and walked briskly to Bai Lixin and Li Manyu, excitement flickering in his black eyes. “Xiao Xin, you came down just in time.”
Li Manyu followed with a cryptic reply, “Yes, at the most exciting moment.”
Bai Lixin’s gaze swept over the two, then continued searching the hall.
Only Fei Taizong and Li Manyu were present; he didn’t spot Fei Yino and Big Zhuang among the crowd.
His gaze casually swept over the hall until it settled in a narrow, dim corner.
There stood a man in a suit, wearing pristine gloves. Half of his body was engulfed in darkness, and the other half was exposed to the light.
The tall and straight man wore a neutral expression mask, like a statue standing there, silently observing.
Bai Lixin’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly and he discreetly averted his gaze.
Fei Taizong was in high spirits. His shiny leather shoes stepped on the steps, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing on a higher step than Bai Lixin and Li Manyu.
“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests of the Fei family.” It was unclear where Fei Taizong found a microphone, his voice suddenly echoed throughout the hall, causing the masked guests to stop in their tracks, all masks turning to focus on Fei Taizong, or rather, the three figures on the stairs.
Seeing the hall quiet down, Fei Taizong cleared his throat and continued, “Your presence has brought glory to the Fei family. In order to ensure everyone’s enjoyment, aside from preparing sumptuous food, we have arranged additional entertainment activities.”
As soon as “entertainment activities” were mentioned, the previously silent masked guests seemed to be switched on by some kind of switch, suddenly bursting into excited applause. Bai Lixin’s gaze returned to the dark corner he had observed earlier, but the man was nowhere to be seen.
“So, are the entertainment activities finally starting?”
“So excited, I can’t wait any longer.”
“I came just for this entertainment activity. Let’s get started!”
Whispered conversations filled the hall, and Bai Lixin noticed that all masks had suddenly transformed into sinister grins.
On the white masks, two eyes curved downward like crescent moons, and a blood-red mouth grinned almost to the corners of the eyes.
Bai Lixin frowned.
Even though he stood on a higher step now, those malicious gazes made him uncomfortable.
For a moment, he felt like he was standing naked on an auction table, at the mercy of others.
Fei Taizong continued, “It seems everyone is eagerly anticipating tonight’s game. But this time, we’ve added a new twist.”
Fei Taizong’s hand suddenly landed on Bai Lixin’s shoulder without warning. “Let me introduce, this is my youngest son, Bai Lixin. Those who have attended Fei family banquets before are not unfamiliar with my son, but there are new faces tonight. Xiao Xin is the son I am very proud of, excellent in both character and studies, and the teacher is always full of praise for him”
After saying this, Fei Taizong patted Bai Lixin’s shoulder from behind. “Just like before, tonight Xiao Xin will join everyone in playing this game.”
The applause in the hall was deafening. The faces on the masks changed once again, from cunning to fierce demons, with enraged eyes and blood-red fangs bared.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Faint rustling sounds reached Bai Lixin’s ears.
“He’s quite young.”
“Turns out, he’s still a student.”
“We can have a good time tonight.”
“Finally, I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Besides Xiao Xin, a few of his friends also came to the Fei family this time,” Fei Taizong continued, “In addition to Xiao Xin, there are three of them joining the game—two males and a female. They are currently in some corner of the Fei family.”
The thunderous applause ceased, and the masked people transitioned from ferocious demons back to their sinister smiles, amd the chatter died down, as if they were anticipating something.
Under the masked people’s anticipation, Fei Taizong patted Bai Lixin’s shoulder again.
“It is now eight o’clock in the evening.”
“Capture Xiao Xin, and he belongs to you tonight.”
“As you heard earlier, Xiao Xin is my most precious son, so we can’t let him be in any life-threatening situation.”
“As for his three friends, it’s an additional benefit for tonight. Once you find them, you can kill them.”
“Guests who bring their heads will receive special service from Xiao Xin.”
The hall erupted in noise and cheers again, with the crowd’s masked faces showing excited expressions.
Bai Lixin’s eye twitched, and he turned to look at Fei Taizong.
Fei Taizong wore a smile, still maintaining his elegant demeanor. He looked at Bai Lixin soothingly and spoke in the same gentle tone as usual, “Xiao Xin, don’t disappoint everyone.”
“Run, but don’t let yourself be caught too quickly; otherwise, tonight won’t be pleasant for you.”
After saying this, he comfortingly patted Bai Lixin’s shoulder, then gave a strong push, propelling Bai Lixin toward the eager masked people.
The masked people immediately extended greedy hands toward Bai Lixin. Watching this strange crowd, Bai Lixin’s veins twitched. He swiftly turned around, sprinting towards the stairs.
As he brushed past Li Manyu and Fei Taizong, he saw the two with twisted smiles on their lips.
Cursing internally, Bai Lixin maintained his speed, rushing upstairs.
The noise of the crowd rushed into Bai Lixin’s ears.
“Upstairs! He went upstairs!”
“Hehehe, this foolish beauty is actually running upstairs. Isn’t this like catching a turtle in a jar?”
“I want to be the first one to pluck the delicious fruit.”
The chaotic footsteps followed closely behind. Without looking back, Bai Lixin sprinted upwards like a nimble leopard.
The usually dimly lit corridor today was brightly lit. The masked people couldn’t catch up with Bai Lixin’s speed. With four floors in the Fei family building, he dashed to the fourth floor, casually opened a room, and darted inside.
In his panic, the fleeing young man in white even forgot to close the room door.
A few seconds later, the slightly ajar door, swayed slightly, probably due to inertia.
After ten seconds, like hungry wolves, some masked individuals reached the fourth floor and discovered the slightly open door.
The faces on the masks instantly changed from beasts to smiling ones.
“Found it.”
“The door’s open; he must be inside.”
“I didn’t expect it to be so easy. We’re truly lucky.”
“Hurry, open the door. I can’t wait to taste the delicacy.”
Amidst the noisy chatter, a masked person pushed the room door open, turned on the lights, and entered.
The room contained only a few simple pieces of furniture that one could see at a glance. Other than that, there was nothing else. The windows on the walls were open, and white curtains swayed and danced in the wind, resembling ghosts.
The masked people swarmed into the room in an instant.
They forcefully opened the tightly closed wardrobe, and violently pushed down the bookshelves, attempting to find the figure of the young man.
However, in the end, they found nothing.
“He escaped. He must have fled through the window!” One masked person ran to the window, stretched their neck to look out, and said, “We need to search for him in the courtyard.”
“But this is the fourth floor!” Another masked person objected, “He’s so fragile. Can he do that?”
“He ran really fast. How can he be fragile? He’s not fragile; he’s strong.”
“Being strong is good, he won’t break after playing for a while, hahaha.”
“He might not have gone to the courtyard. Maybe he crawled into other rooms!”
“The game is getting more exciting. Let’s each use our skills and see who finds him first. I don’t believe that with so many of us, we can’t find one cute little duck, quack quack.”
The group of masked people gradually dispersed, but the playful conversations continued.
“After finding him, I’ll make him know how amazing I am! I’ll make him kneel down and cry and call me dad.”
“You shameless bastard, the dad is still watching.”
“Isn’t it his dad who brought him in front of us?”
As the conversations faded away, most of the masked people had already descended to the lower floors, while a small group continued searching room by room on the fourth floor.
With no results, the masked people left in disappointment.
The door of the messy room swayed slightly again, and in the corner of the dark, messy room, a figure gradually materialized.
Moonlight shone in from the window, falling directly on the person’s face.
The faint white light enveloped the young man, accentuating his already flawless face, making it appear even more dreamlike.
At this moment, the young man was staring at the golden card in his hand with a slight frown on his face, with a bit of inquiry in his eyes.
S419: [Lord Host, the invisibility card lost its effect?]
Bai Lixin: [It hasn’t completely lost its effect, just weakened.]
He had accumulated several invisibility cards. Although each card lasted only five minutes, with a cooldown of an hour, he could seamlessly string them together through rotation, ensuring continuous invisibility.
But now, a small issue arose.
There should be some kind of power in this sandwiched game world that weakens the enhancements of the horror game lobby. Both buffs and skills were affected.
His strength had been weakened.
Skill cards were also affected.
This invisibility card that originally lasts five minutes, now only had a three-minute duration.
And the cooldown had extended to two hours.
He had just used four invisibility cards in a short time; the remaining ones needed to be used sparingly.
S419M: [What should we do next, Lord Host?]
Bai Lixin: [Exit through the back door Aunt Zhang mentioned and then go to Fei Yino’s monitoring room. Did you finish the task I assigned you earlier?]
S419M: [Of course, Lord Host. I’ve been tracking Fei Yino and found the places he frequents. As you guessed, he indeed didn’t go to work; instead, after leaving the Fei family, he turned to the side and disappeared somewhere behind the back wall.]
As it spoke, a blue translucent map appeared in Bai Lixin’s mind.
In the three-dimensional map was a bright red route. It started from the entrance of the Fei family, went along the exterior wall for a while, and finally stopped.
