With these two incidents weighing on everyone’s minds, no one dared leave their rooms. Like the others, An Ling used up her three shopping chances all at once, then returned to her own room.
At the very least, it was certain that the manor was still safe during the day.
The only thing An Ling regretted was that, despite the sheer size of the manor, there wasn’t even a cloakroom—more precisely, there weren’t any clothes inside at all.
“This is really troublesome.”
She sat on her bed, staring absentmindedly at the gloomy sky outside the window.
There were at least a hundred survivors on this Island. If things continued at this pace, only ten people would die in ten days—it seemed like the survival rate was still fairly high.
Yet for some reason, whether it was the treasure chests by the ancient tree or the rooms within the manor, there were only fifty of each.
Did that imply something about the survival rate?
No, if someone didn’t enter the manor, there was no food on the Island at all. Not many survivors could last ten days, especially with supernatural incidents ready to strike at any moment.
Besides, it wasn’t guaranteed that all fifty survivors would make it to the manor. That was another variable. Plus, with those lunatics around, the fewer people there were, the higher the casualty rate would become.
This wasn’t a 10% casualty rate at all—it was more like 20%, or even higher!
And that was just the rate after entering the manor. If they all stayed on the Island, it might reach over 80%.
No, the probability was too high. It was forcing all survivors to take on this hidden task.
But An Ling wasn’t too worried. Even if she did run into trouble, she was confident she could handle it.
There were plenty of supplies in this manor. She began thinking about how to organize and make use of all these available resources.
Was there really nothing here besides food?
With that in mind, An Ling decided not to waste the safe daylight hours. She shouldered her backpack, opened the door, and stepped out to see if she could find anything useful.
Of course, other survivors might have thought of the same thing. She hadn’t arrived early, so maybe someone else had beaten her to it.
An Ling was just hoping to try her luck.
She had already explored the first and second floors. The third floor was full of rooms, plus a Supermarket, but nothing else special.
She headed to the fourth floor. The layout was almost identical to the third, with no real differences.
On the fifth floor, the area was smaller than the third and fourth. Not only was there one fewer living room, but the arrangement was slightly different as well.
An Ling counted the rooms—still eighteen, just like the other floors. So what was the purpose of that extra room?
There weren’t many survivors living on the fifth floor. Stepping onto the carpet, An Ling walked further inside, curious to see what was in this unusual room.
There was no sign on the door—just a blank plaque, giving no indication of what lay inside. An Ling tried the handle, but it was locked.
“If this room isn’t extra, then it must need a key.”
She turned to leave. At the fifth floor’s stairwell, another flight led upward, out to the rooftop terrace, but that was locked as well.
Having found nothing after searching around, An Ling returned to the first floor, hoping to find some clues in the kitchen or study.
The kitchen stove looked brand new, without a trace of oil or grime, as if no one had ever cooked there. The shelves were lined with all kinds of seasonings, each one fully stocked.
There was a wide array of knives hanging neatly on the wall, and a huge double-door refrigerator in the corner.
She opened the fridge, and a blast of cold air greeted her. When An Ling saw the ingredients inside, she instantly lit up with joy.
Inside were several unknown bird carcasses, feathers and all.
She didn’t care what kind of birds they were—what she wanted was the feathers. Without hesitation, she processed them all.
[Sea Eagle Meat *8, Feathers *30]
In an instant, the few sea eagles in the fridge became a pile of meat, their feathers fluttering down. An Ling hurried to collect them; there were enough feathers for plenty of arrows.
It was only then that she noticed something wedged in a gap at the bottom of the fridge—a tiny corner sticking out.
It was a silvery card. Since the floor tiles were also white, she hadn’t spotted it before.
On the front was a picture of a key.
[Item Card: Universal Key. Single-use. Can open any lock.]
An Ling was momentarily stunned. There were so many locked places in the manor!
She quickly stowed the card away, then continued picking up the feathers, finishing her task in no time.
There were no warnings on the fridge. It was full of frozen meat ingredients—she wasn’t sure if she could take them with her.
There wasn’t much storage left in her backpack, but she decided to take the sea eagle meat she had just processed as an experiment.
After this unexpected find, An Ling became even more attentive as she searched each room, unwilling to overlook any corner.
Unfortunately, the kitchen seemed to hold nothing else, so An Ling made her way to another study on the first floor.
“You again?” An Ling stood at the study’s doorway, frowning slightly at the girl rummaging through the materials inside.
“Oh? What a coincidence. You’re here for information too?” The girl responded with her usual smile.
Her behavior was nothing like someone who had just seen a companion die right beside her. Normally, after witnessing a lunatic commit murder in public, one would be far more afraid.
“I’m just looking around.” An Ling nodded but didn’t enter. Instead, she turned and left—she felt something was off about this girl, suspecting she might be a disguised survivor.
“What a strange person,” the girl muttered, watching An Ling leave before resuming her search.
Back in her room, An Ling set down her backpack. She needed to think carefully about which lock to open—she couldn’t rush it.
She planned to get a good rest while it was still daytime, to prepare for the dangers that could arrive at any moment during the night.
No one wanted to die in their sleep for no reason.
“There’s an air conditioner and a hair dryer in the room. Maybe I should try washing some clothes?” An Ling mused, putting thought into action.
She immediately took off her hoodie, revealing a stretch of snowy-white skin and her snug black undergarment. She would wash her clothes one piece at a time—it would be foolish to wash everything at once, since if something unexpected happened, having no dry clothes would be a real hassle.
With everything done, An Ling could finally take off her clothes and get some real sleep during the day.
Time quickly passed, and evening arrived. Just as she suspected, nothing happened all day—not even a power outage in the manor.
An Ling woke in a daze, her eyes bleary. She looked down at her pendant; it was a little past seven in the evening.
It was time for her to get up.