Chapter 221 (1/2)

In the darkness, a young man with a sullen look came slowly up the stairs. It was the Southeast Asian player Abdullah.

The old man looked at the other two and said honestly, ‘”I was the first to come here. After half a minute, Tang arrived. This is the attic and I think you should be here for the same reason as me.” He explained his intentions as soon as he opened his mouth. “I came to see if the body is still present.”

Tang Mo nodded. “Me too.”

Abdullah glanced at the two people. “Same.”

The old man asked, “Go in together?”

“Yes.”

The old man’s hand pressed on the door handle and gentle opened it. Dim light passed through the window and entered the attic. Tang Mo’s eyes became more concentrated as the door opened. He sighed with relief when he saw the body still left in the attic.

Abdullah opened his mouth, “He is still there.”

The old man continued, “I’m not interested in this body.”

Tang Mo suggested, “Go out and search around?”

The group agreed to his proposal. “Okay.”

There were two hours of night but that didn’t mean players had to stay outside the room for two hours. Not going outside the room was allowed by the black tower while going outside and back in was also allowed. During the day, there were more than 10 players. At night, there were only three people so it was easier to observe the other side.

However, the three of them didn’t intend to act together. From the attic, they went down the stairs to the second floor before separating.

This was a rare opportunity to investigate the castle alone.

During the day, everyone’s conversations were held at the long table. They had to act together when searching for clues. One reason was to ensure fairness while the other was to prevent the monster from mixing in with the players and hiding clues.

Tang Mo chose to go to the lobby on the first floor. The old man and Abdullah chose to go to the second floor.

As the three people separated, Tang Mo quietly looked at the backs of the two men. The old man chose to go left while Abdullah went right. The two people didn’t join together. They just looked for clues on their own, as if they didn’t want to waste any time.

Tang Mo went down the stairs and came to the long table.

There were 13 small puppets in the centre of the wooden table. On the back of the wooden chairs, the names Lena, David, Anatoli and Bai Ruoyao were all removed. Whenever night fell, the players placed the voting ticket on the table and no one took care of what happened to the whereabouts of the tickets. Tang Mo looked carefully at the table and found there were no white tickets or red tickets.

He examined each chair where the players had sat.

Then he went to the fireplace and turned over the thick ashes. He went to the kitchen and peered carefully through the cupboard.

Half an hour later, the patter of footsteps was heard on the stairs. Tang Mo held a candlestick and the dim light reflected on his face, making him look gloomy. He walked up the stairs with no expression, moving through the second floor before going up to the third floor. At the door of the attic, he stopped and looked down the stairs.

A sunken face was illuminated by candlelight.

Tang Mo was silent for a moment. “Your footsteps are very light.”

Abdullah replied, “I walk lightly.” After a moment, he asked, “Do you think I’m a monster because if this?”

His sarcastic laughter caused Tang Mo to frown. He didn’t answer and just turned to open the door of the attic.

He stared at the scene inside the door. The next moment, Tang Mo turned his head and spoke in a calm voice. “Can you tell me, who stole the body?”

The narrow and dim attic was empty.

Bai Ruoyao’s body was gone!

Abdullah raised his head. “What do you want to say? I didn’t steal it.”

Tang Mo held the candlestick. “It wasn’t me either.”

Abdullah said, “it is probably that old man.”

Tang Mo started sniffing the air. There was only the smell of old dust, nothing else. He held the candlestick and leaned down slightly, letting the light shine onto a corner of the attic door. He saw a brown trace on the corner of the wooden door. Tang Mo reached out and gently touched it.

Nothing was erased but it was wet.

Tang Mo asked, “Where is George, the old man?”

Abdullah’s dark eyes shone in the dim candlelight. “I didn’t see him.”

Tang Mo held the candle and his lips curved. “Is this your blood or his…” His words hadn’t finished yet when there was a sharp sound behind Tang Mo and Tang Mo directly threw the candle away. Abdullah punched the candle and stood below the stairs, looking up at Tang Mo with a cold, snake-like expression.

This was the first time Tang Mo had seen him smile. It was sinister and especially bizarre in the darkness.

“You are going to die anyway. There is no point asking too much.”

Once he finished speaking, his fist arrived as expected. As this fist was about to reach Tang Mo, Abdullah’s five fingers became claw shaped and wanted to gouge out Tang Mo’s heart. Tang Mo moved sideways to dodge, holding the stair railing in one hand. Abdullah’s claws became eagle-like and attacked Tang Mo like shadows.

His nails had some turned black and when he grabbed onto the handrails, the imprint of five fingers was left. In the place where his nails touched, the wood made a sizzling sound and quickly rotted away.