Obey the warnings?
At the moment, that does seem like the most reasonable explanation.
After all, only the sealed food here contains meat products, which would be impossible to obtain on the island, so the other party wasn’t deceiving them.
The survivors who managed to arrive here within the first two days weren’t just lucky—they clearly weren’t fools either. It’s just that, for a while, they couldn’t accept these supernatural events.
In that moment, all the survivors understood: they must obey any warning that might appear anywhere in this manor.
Otherwise, the fate of the bald man could easily become theirs.
After what happened, no one dared return to their own rooms. Everyone gathered in the main hall, waiting for dawn to arrive.
Being surrounded by many people naturally gave them a greater sense of security.
Those survivors who didn’t yet know about the warnings grew anxious, urgently asking those around them, afraid they’d missed out on some crucial information.
Standing at the outer edge of the crowd, An Ling was lost in thought. It seemed that food taken according to the rules was safe to eat. That was good—at least she’d be able to bring back more food during her days in the manor.
“What do you think about the hidden quest?” Qin Xiao asked, knowing that she seemed to have information he didn’t.
Apparently, coming here too early also had its downsides.
“I suspect the hidden quest is probably to kill that monster. As for the standard quest—survive for ten days—with that monster’s threat around, that’s no small challenge,” An Ling analyzed. If the monster could be dealt with ahead of time, there was a good chance they could leave the island right away.
No one wanted to have their life hanging by a thread at all times.
“Remember the zombie deer I mentioned before? I saw it come back to life. The wounds on that sika deer were exactly the same as the wounds on the victims.”
An Ling didn’t know much about biology, and she hadn’t thought about it at the time, so she hadn’t checked which organs the sika deer had lost.
“We’ve all managed to come here, so why shouldn’t we believe in supernatural occurrences…” Even the atheist Chen Rui had come to believe.
“Well said. Even if this monster isn’t part of the hidden quest, it has to be dealt with.” Qin Xiao’s gaze was cold as he swept his eyes over everyone present.
If there really was a monster hiding in this manor, it had to be among the survivors—there was nowhere else for it to hide.
Of course, the suspects included An Ling and Chen Rui right in front of him.
Whether the danger level had risen on the third day or it was because of their arrival—nobody really knew.
Creak—
As the manor’s main doors swung open, there was a sudden thud, and the whole main hall flooded with light.
The power was back!
Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden brightness, unable to open their eyes. The three survivors at the entrance were especially baffled—why did the lights turn on the moment they opened the door?
Was this supposed to be a welcome for them?
Once everyone had adjusted to the light, they saw three new survivors at the entrance—two men and one woman. Since An Ling, another girl had joined the group.
“Um… hello, everyone?” The girl stammered, intimidated by the way all the survivors inside were staring at them warily.
“Why did you come to the manor in the middle of the night?” someone couldn’t help but ask first.
“Huh?” The three looked confused. “We just… walked through the ancient trees and ended up here!”
An Ling and the others quietly observed without saying a word. They knew these three had nothing to do with the incident, but that they would soon become victims as well.
No one had said it was forbidden to move around at night—it was just an unspoken understanding. Everyone simply assumed it was safer during the day.
Now that the power was back on in the manor, no one felt like sleeping. Everyone continued gathering together, no longer worried about being attacked by the monster.
Qin Xiao ignored the crowd and headed upstairs. An Ling immediately followed, “Where are you going?”
“Looking for a weapon. There’s no way we can beat that monster bare-handed.”
“I’ll come with you.” An Ling also wanted to explore the manor.
Qin Xiao didn’t reply, neither agreeing nor refusing. To An Ling, that was tacit approval.
What she didn’t say was that she had a gun. The two of them moving together meant a better survival rate if they ran into the monster.
“You’ve got nerves of steel. What did you do before coming here?” Qin Xiao asked, curious since she insisted on tagging along.
“Student,” An Ling answered honestly.
“That’s not the kind of composure I’d expect from a student.” Clearly, Qin Xiao didn’t quite believe her.
“You suspect me?” An Ling asked in surprise. She couldn’t exactly say she’d turned from a boy into a girl.
“I suspect everyone. Any of you could be the monster,” Qin Xiao replied coldly, with bluntness that showed no consideration for the fact An Ling was a girl.
“You’re right, we’re all strangers after all.” With that, An Ling deliberately put some distance between them to ease his guard.
The two wandered the second floor one after another. Though there were no living quarters up here, plenty of rooms were scattered around in disarray.
An Ling quietly followed behind Qin Xiao, a bit curious—wouldn’t it make more sense to look for weapons in the kitchen?
But when she followed him into a room, she was stunned. Weapons of every kind hung from the walls.
Tang swords, ninja swords, throwing darts—an entire wall was filled with them, along with calligraphy, paintings, and antiques.
This must be the former owner’s collection room.
Well, she had to admit, rich people certainly know how to play. All she’d thought of was grabbing a butcher knife from the kitchen.
Qin Xiao began picking among the weapons. This guy was a martial artist—he naturally chose one that felt comfortable in his hand.
In the end, he picked a Tang sword. There was no way a practitioner of ancient martial arts would ever choose a sakura blade.
He looked at An Ling; their eyes met.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I wouldn’t even know how to use this stuff.”
An Ling couldn’t help complaining inwardly—how could anything beat her gun?
On the surface, though, she kept calm and took a short dagger for self-defense. Their purpose was to find weapons—leaving empty-handed would only make her look suspicious.
“These things require real skill. If you’re not careful, you’ll hurt yourself. Why are you taking all those?” Qin Xiao watched in confusion as An Ling began stuffing the wall’s throwing darts and other weapons into her backpack.
“I’ve got enhancement cards,” An Ling explained, which made Qin Xiao instantly look as though he understood.
Now it was clear to him where her confidence had come from during her confrontation with the bald man the day before.