Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
There was more or less a sense of security that numbers could bring.
Bi Wanhui tried her best to recount what she had encountered in a steady tone.
Tang Luo didn’t say anything. He looked towards Zhou Zhenguo.
Zhou Zhenguo said, “I was intending to continue keeping watch over this fellow. That’s why I didn’t follow them.”
The fellow he spoke of looked as if he didn’t have anything worth living for anymore.
“As for Little Bi’s scream, I didn’t hear it either. I only saw her being dragged into the room. Everyone else was in a panic. That’s when I realized that something wasn’t right.”
Before Tang Luo and Little Chu’s return, Zhou Zhenguo had tried several times to help Bi Wanhui recall what had happened back then. He had considered every possible detail.
“Where’s the corpse?” asked Tang Luo.
“It has disappeared.” Zhou Zhenguo’s brows were furrowed into a deep frown.
He hadn’t paid much attention to the end of the corridor when he came over from next door.
The hotel had electric lights, but it was a far cry from the bright lights of the contemporary age. The lights here could only give off a dim yellowish glow.
The hotel couldn’t possibly switch on all the lights along the corridor in the middle of the night, either.
From outside the room, if one looked towards the toilet at the end of the corridor, all they would see was total darkness.
By the time Zhou Zhenguo went over to take a look, he didn’t even see a hint of bloodstains, much less a corpse.
Speaking of which, this was the same situation as the time when he had discovered Li Liang being murdered and then had gotten people over to take a look.
The only difference was that Li Liang had been asleep inside the toilet.
On the other hand, there was no sign of Cheng Cheng, whether at the scene of the crime in front of the toilet door or inside the toilet. It was as if she had disappeared from the face of the earth.
In such a situation, they couldn’t possibly make the suicidal decision to split up and search for her.
The situation right now was that Cheng Cheng was missing, her status unknown, and that Bi Wanhui had seen her corpse before she had gone missing. Just like how Zhou Zhenguo had seen Li Liang’s corpse the other time.
“Were her guts ripped open?” asked Little Chu.
“I don’t know. I didn’t get a clear look,” replied Bi Wanhui. “I only know that she was sprawled on the ground and that she was bleeding very heavily. At that time, there was a lot of blood on me too.”
“Did you see it?” Little Chu turned to Little Zhou, the high school student.
Little Zhou scratched his head. “It was too dark. I don’t know whether or not I’m mistaken, but there seemed to be bloodstains.”
Bi Wanhui had fainted. Even Li Liang, whose body was hollowed out, had finally come over to help out too.
Together with Little Zhou, they had carried her over to the bed.
During that process, they hadn’t seen, or rather, hadn’t noticed bloodstains on her.
In other words, there were already no longer any bloodstains on Bi Wanhui at that point. Otherwise, they would more or less have an impression of it.
Bi Wanhui yelled in a low voice, “I’m not lying!” All of a sudden, she sort of understood how Zhou Zhenguo must have felt at that time.
“Amitabha. Please don’t be angry, benefactor. Everyone believes you.”
As a monk, Tang Luo naturally needed to step forward to calm her down at such a critical moment. It was just that his trench coat and gentlemanly dressing right now made him look even less of a monk than when he was in his gym suit in the beginning.
The room quietened at once.
Everyone kept quiet, not saying anything.
After a while, Little Chu was still the one who broke the silence. “Let me tell you guys about our discoveries.”
Compared to the bad news in the hotel, his and Tang Luo’s discovery was enough to be considered good news.
“So Big Sister Bi, the conversation that you heard in the beginning, that cleaner might be a member of the Ripper organization too! He’s the murderer!” said Little Chu solemnly and great sincerity after telling them what they had experienced earlier during the night, as well as his deduction.
“How did the corpse and the bloodstains disappear?” asked Zhou Zhenguo.
“This is the worst-case scenario of my deduction.” Little Chu pushed his spectacles and let out a wry chuckle. “Jack the Ripper isn’t just an organization with several people. One of them, no, we should be able to confirm that several of them have special abilities.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go! Isn’t this place a bandit’s den!”
Li Liang, whose body had been hollowed out, finally became worked up. It was just a pity that it was for the sake of escaping.
Based on Little Chu’s deduction, that cleaner was a member of the Jack the Ripper organization and probably even possessed special abilities.
Didn’t that mean that they, Employees of Gods and Demons, who were participating in a mission for the very first time and didn’t actually have any combat ability at all, had entered a bandit’s den and delivered themselves straight into the enemies’ hands?
That was a villainous hotel!
“With Master here, there shouldn’t be any problems,” said Little Chu as he gestured to Li Liang to calm down.
He had witnessed Master Xuanzang’s powerful combat ability, where he had turned someone that had been kicking and alive into a headless corpse in just the blink of an eye.
He was even more ferocious than Captain America in the movies. Coupled with the fact that Little Chu had also awakened his powers, or so he thought, he didn’t lack courage and self-confidence at all.
“Even if this place is really a bandit’s den, this monk can still bring up the rear if we run into danger.” Tang Luo nodded slightly, his hand held upright in front of his chest.
Little Chu commented with a laugh, “Master, it feels so strange seeing you doing this action when you’re dressed like this.”
Tang Luo was noncommittal in response.
Obviously, he had already made up his mind to maintain his image of an eminent monk to the very end in this Game of Gods And Demons.
After all, he was a man who had originally been appointed as a Buddha.
As for the reason?
It was, of course, for the purpose of gaining people’s trust, helping others and punishing evil and advocating good more easily, so that he could gain more power of virtuous merits to treat his injuries.
People shouldn’t be fooled by how most people scoffed at or even showed contempt at the mention of monks. That was actually the same as how some people broke into rants at the mention of the police or military—their words might be very fierce, but their hearts were very honest.
Should they really meet with danger, everyone would still trust the military and the police. With them by their sides, they would feel a lot more at ease.
Monks, more or less, also held a bit of the same effect. Of course, a fat and greasy middle-aged monk was definitely a no-go.
However, a benevolent-looking old monk or someone like Tang Luo, who, after a change of clothes and some slight dressing up, could act as Wuhua1.
They would undoubtedly find it easier than most people to gain a favorable impression, trust, and sense of security from others.
In conclusion, everything depended on one’s looks. Yes, looks.
“Let’s wait for dawn.” Zhou Zhenguo said, “We’ll search when the sun rises, whether for Cheng Cheng or that cleaner.”
Little Chu suddenly asked, “By the way, do any of you know what that cleaner looks like?”
Speaking of which, it had only been but a day and a night since they had checked into the hotel. How would they know what the cleaner looked like?
“Let’s ask the proprietor tomorrow.” Zhou Zhenguo went on. “They had to be sneaky in their actions even in the night. With so many people around in the day, there shouldn’t be any danger.”
Even if there were, he, Zhou Zhenguo, wasn’t someone whom others could bully easily. They’d better treat a player who only knew two skills, like a proper Employee of Gods and Demons!
The rest of the night passed by peacefully. Everyone went to rest in the room.
In the morning, the next day.
Apart from Tang Luo, everyone’s complexions looked rather terrible. Fatigue was practically spilling out of them. Neither of the two nights that had passed since they entered The Game of Gods And Demons had been peaceful.
The newbies had finally gotten into the swing of things, instead of the detached and unreal feeling they had in the beginning.
Their reactions varied from person to person.
Li Liang had given up on himself and only wished to get by safely.
Bi Wanhui was also fearful and uneasy, hoping that the next victim wouldn’t be herself. She had no plans to complete the mission at all.
Little Chu, on the other hand, was extremely positive.
The high school student, Little Zhou, went back and forth. At some times, he felt like he should work hard and complete the mission so that he could reach the pinnacle of success in life from that point onwards.
At other times, he felt like danger was lurking in every corner and wished that he could return to a normal life the very next second. He was terribly troubled.
After washing up, the group left the room.
They went down the stairs to the hotel’s ground floor, where the main lobby, front desk, and the partial restaurant was.
Behind the counter, the proprietor came up to them at once. With a smile, he asked, “Breakfast for you, gentlemen?”
Because of the impact of the Ripper, there was a huge decrease in the number of tourists in the small city. The hotel didn’t have much business at all.
For reserving rooms for a week during such a special time, Tang Luo, the foreign detective, could already be considered a huge customer.
“Sure.”
Tang Luo nodded and walked towards the restaurant.
The proprietor hurried to the kitchen to inform the chefs. He didn’t notice at all that there was one less guest.
Little Zhou, Li Liang, and Bi Wanhui were seated at a small square table. They stared at the breakfast without even a hint of appetite.
At another table next to them, Tang Luo ate without reservations, while Zhou Zhenguo and Little Chu were very hesitant.
Though they were certainly hungry, they were afraid that the villainous hotel would be up to no good. Thus, they didn’t quite dare to eat.
Actually, if they were to think about this logically, there wasn’t even anything wrong with the dinner that had been sent to their rooms.
All the more, they couldn’t possibly tamper with breakfast that was also served to non-hotel guests in a restaurant that was open to the public.
One could say that one could never be too careful. At the same time, one could also say that they couldn’t cross their own mental hurdle.
As for Tang Luo? Sorry, but he could totally down Dichlorvos like it was water. Not imitating him was the correct way of doing things.
“There’s no sign of that cleaner. Should we search for him?” The hungry Little Chu decided to use conversation to distract himself.
“Let’s ask the proprietor. Proprietor, where’s the cleaner of the hotel?” Tang Luo called out as he picked up the bell on the table and shook it. The other two couldn’t stop him in time.
Even if it was Zhou Zhenguo, who had suggested asking the proprietor, he didn’t intend to be this direct.
What he had in mind was to ask in a roundabout manner during idle chat.
The proprietor showed up in no time. “Sir, can I help you?”
“Where’s the cleaner of the hotel? I have some business with him.” Tang Luo was more direct and reckless than what everyone else thought.
“Old John?” The proprietor was taken aback for a moment.
“He isn’t here yet. He’s probably at home now. Is there something you need him for, sir?” He didn’t understand why these foreigners were suddenly asking about Old John.
“I’m a detective.” Tang Luo took out the authorized credentials from the Cotland Yard. “I’ve been invited by the Cotland Yard to investigate the case of Jack the Ripper.”
The proprietor lowered his voice and asked anxiously, “What could Old John possibly have to do with Jack the Ripper?”
Should news of the hotel being involved with Jack the Ripper leak out, his hotel that was already doing badly and currently relying on food sales for sustenance would really have to shut down for good.
“Nothing much. We might need Old John to provide some clues, that’s all. It isn’t anything serious.” Tang Luo’s tone was calm and peaceful.
Both Zhou Zhenguo and Little Chu secretly gave him a thumbs up.
“Old John has been working here for ten years. He’s the kindest and most honest person I’ve ever seen. He definitely won’t have anything to do with Jack the Ripper,” said the proprietor solemnly with great sincerity as he explained Old John’s circumstances.
Old John—slightly over 60 years old, all alone in the world and childless. His leg was crippled, and he had difficulty getting about. He was an honest man who didn’t talk much but was serious when it came to his work. As for his pay, it was also relatively low.
Thus, he was very well-liked by the hotel proprietor, who frequently praised him and told everyone to learn from his example.
As for raising his pay, that was impossible. He was just an old lonesome man. What did he need that much money for?