But now that all the Survivors know she has a gun, only a fool would take the initiative to provoke her.
Helpless, An Ling could only return to her own room for the time being. This matter would need careful consideration.
“Wait, it never said the pancreas had to be from a person. It clearly killed a sika deer before.” She murmured and sighed again. “But where would there be animals in the manor?”
An Ling sat at the edge of the bed, completely at a loss. There must be other hidden Survivors among the crowd; she had to find a way to ferret them out.
Moreover, if she wanted to gather all the Survivors together, neither she nor Qin Xiao probably had the authority for that. Only when the manor lost power at night and everyone was forced to gather in the hall would there be a chance.
“Yawn~ Better sleep for now. Everything can wait till tonight.”
An Ling took off her shoes and socks, did a simple wash-up, and slipped under the covers. She had to ensure she was well-rested to face the dangers that would come.
Soon, her breathing grew heavy, and she gradually drifted into dreamland.
Outside her room, the door beside An Ling’s opened silently. Qin Xiao quietly stepped out, closed the door, and headed for the stairs.
His goal was clear—the fifth floor. When he arrived at the room and saw the door half-closed, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
He pushed the door open cautiously. Inside, the place was dilapidated and empty, but the thick dust on the floor revealed clear footprints—proof that someone had arrived before him.
“A woman’s shoe size. It’s An Ling.” Qin Xiao lifted his head and checked a few other places. After finding that most were just useless files, he decisively left the room.
Before leaving, he made sure to erase all the footprints.
After closing the door, Qin Xiao left the fifth floor. But instead of heading downstairs, he went straight to the top level—the locked Rooftop entrance.
He listened carefully for any sound beyond the door. After making sure it was quiet, he took out a silver-white card from his pants pocket.
It was the Master Key Item Card.
Click—The black lock popped open. Qin Xiao, weapon in hand, cautiously pushed open the Rooftop door.
This Rooftop was extremely small, its existence invisible when looking up from below the manor.
As expected, the Rooftop was also in ruins, the environment resembling an abandoned building left unfinished for thirty years, forming a stark contrast with the manor’s interior.
What greeted Qin Xiao was a massive Water Tank. Nearby, there were piles of Gas Cylinders and Steel Pipes, making it look like a place for storing miscellaneous items.
Dry leaves covered the floor, and above the doorway sat a bulb that had long since broken.
Rot, dust, mold, and even a pungent stench—all kinds of smells mixed together, causing Qin Xiao to frown.
Before opening the Rooftop door, he hadn’t smelled a hint of any foul odor.
After making sure of his surroundings, he stepped inside.
First, he checked the blind spots to the left and right behind the door—places he couldn’t see from the doorway.
To his surprise, both sides were empty. Everything he’d seen before was all that the Rooftop contained.
At first glance, the giant Water Tank looked like it supplied water to the manor. But upon closer inspection, it wasn’t connected to anything.
The closer he got, the stronger the stench became. Suddenly, Qin Xiao realized, “This is… the stench of a corpse!”
He climbed the rusty ladder beside the Water Tank and found a circular lid covering the top.
Because it had rusted for years, the lid wouldn’t budge no matter how he tried. Qin Xiao immediately pulled out a pair of Tiger Pliers from his backpack.
That’s right, this was the weapon he had randomly received in his Survival Backpack.
With a tool, the Water Tank’s ring handle turned easily, and he rotated it counterclockwise.
As the lid opened, a wave of nauseating stench poured out. Qin Xiao’s pupils contracted at the sight within.
Inside the turbid Water Tank lay a corpse, the skin swollen and pale, the whole body bloated.
But the level of decay wasn’t as bad as Qin Xiao expected; the basic features were still identifiable. This was a Caucasian corpse!
He wore a black tuxedo, and on his chest was a name badge, which seemed to bear his name.
From appearance alone, Qin Xiao’s first thought was: this must be the Slavemaster of the manor.
Although he knew nothing of forensics, judging from the bloated condition, the body was almost completely intact, with no large areas of rot. A frightening idea surfaced in Qin Xiao’s mind.
This Slavemaster might have died only a few days ago. To be precise, he might have died on the very first day the Survivors arrived!
Was he truly the master of this manor?
Could it be that he revived every night to attack the Survivors?
But the Water Tank was completely sealed; it would be impossible to open it from the inside.
Looking at the corpse inside the Water Tank, Qin Xiao felt no fear, only deep furrowed brows as if pondering something.
The next second, as if making up his mind, he took off his clothes, revealing solid muscles, and without hesitation jumped into the Water Tank—he was going to fish the body out.
The tank was nearly full, but still half an arm from the rim, and aside from the lid it was completely sealed. With no tools, he had no choice but to enter the water himself.
Soon, he managed to fish the swollen corpse out and immediately searched its clothes for anything hidden.
There was a name badge, bearing his name.
A yellowed square slip of paper.
Nothing else. Qin Xiao also checked the corpse itself; there were no wounds anywhere. Undoubtedly, the cause of death was drowning.
Qin Xiao squatted to the side and examined the slip of paper.
[Hidden Quest triggered: Find and kill the murderer who killed the Slavemaster. You will be able to leave the island and receive a special reward.]
[Hint: The Slavemaster and his slaves were trapped on the island, but betrayed by one of his servants. It went mad and became a lunatic, but still hated the Slavemaster to the bone. It now hides among the Survivors. Shout the Slavemaster’s name in front of it, and it will reveal itself!]
Upon seeing the hint, a smile finally appeared on Qin Xiao’s face. The quest was incredibly simple—he could trigger it at any time. The only variable was that he didn’t know the monster’s true strength.
“The hint didn’t mention the Master. So does the Hidden Quest have nothing to do with the Master?”
Qin Xiao was puzzled. He had always thought the Hidden Quest was to kill the Master, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
Of course, in everyone’s mind, no one would imagine that there were actually two Hidden Quests.
He glanced again at the name on the badge: John Matthews.
And when the manor’s power went out that night and all the Survivors gathered, as long as he called out this name and killed the monster, he could leave the island.
Qin Xiao stood, got dressed, tossed the Slavemaster’s corpse back into the Water Tank, closed the lid, and reinforced it with the Tiger Pliers.
After erasing all traces of his presence, he finally left the Rooftop, hurrying back to his own room.