Chapter 1291: Ji Shanqing's Night
The less-than-hour-long beach barbecue had drained all the energy out of Lin Sanjiu. When she finally confirmed that there was no one hiding around the villa, she pushed open the door and walked in. Each step felt as heavy as if she had soaked herself in water, and she dragged her feet across the floor.
The vacation resort was considerate enough that the phone rang just as the two collapsed onto the sofa. An NPC on the other end asked in a gentle voice if they wanted some services—beverages, alcoholic drinks, massage therapists, late-night snacks, and various barbecued foods that had just been prepared for the evening activity to help them recover their physical and mental strength.
Lin Sanjiu hung up the phone immediately.
Besides the safety assurance, the villa and all the accompanying services were extra benefits for the villa owners. But after tonight, they didn't know who would stay or become the new villa owners... Exhausted, she collapsed onto the sofa but still felt the salty sea breeze and the sizzling sound of barbecue lingering around her.
"If you weren't here, I would have definitely lost tonight," she said softly. She wasn't stupid. She had managed to get through several pocket dimensions that required using her brains and wits. However, she was very aware of the gap between herself and the grand prize. "I wonder where Mr. Ito has gone to..."
In the dimly lit living room, only scattered starlight shone through the French windows and cast gentle ripples on the ceiling, creating a soothing water-like effect. In the haze, she felt the grand prize squeezing through to the other end of the sofa as if he were a thin figure, forcing himself into the small gap between her and the sofa—his scent, belonging to Ji Shanqing, suddenly overwhelmed her.
"Sis," he said hoarsely, "you need to rest now."
Today had indeed been incredibly long. Lin Sanjiu closed her eyes and let the grand prize's hand gently stroke and tidy her hair, again and again, as soft as a pool of spring water wrapped in a warm breeze. Although she still had many things on her mind, touching him like this gradually relaxed her, and all her thoughts and worries evaporated through her pores. After a while, her breathing slowed down and became steady.
"Sis?" Ji Shanqing called softly.
Lin Sanjiu didn't respond at all, still sleeping deeply.
Ji Shanqing fell silent. He carefully got up from the sofa, came down, and found a blanket to cover her. He paced around the living room, his clothes and footsteps rustling. However, Lin Sanjiu just drowsily said, "Be quiet," and went back to sleep. If she were alone, she would never sleep so soundly.
Ji Shanqing stood alone in the dimly lit living room, silently watching her for a while. Several times, he reached out to her, only to pull his hand back.
Perhaps it was because she was sleeping so peacefully.
He looked out the window at the night sky, finally stood up, quietly opened the door, and left the villa. Before he left, he made sure to seal all the gaps in the doors and windows.
Since this body was not fundamentally one person, he couldn't be considered a refugee. Sometimes, the guards floated up from the dark night beside him, passed by silently, and didn't even give him a second glance.
Along the way, several pale bodies were wrapped in the night and slid past him. Sometimes, he would take a careful look, but by the time he reached his destination, he hadn't seen any familiar faces in the guards' bodies. Perhaps the villa owners who participated in the beach barbecue had better methods than ordinary refugees and managed to keep their lives.
Villa F11 was at the other end of this coastline, slightly higher in terrain compared to the other villas. At night, it looked like a crystal that had rolled down from half the mountain and stopped. He had just arrived at the villa's entrance when he heard a rustle from the nearby bushes, followed by a low voice saying, "Why are you here? So you can still leave her and act alone?"
Ji Shanqing was startled, his feet stopping. He asked in a low voice, "Crane?"
A face appeared from the bushes. Perhaps because he had lost the villa and had to find a way to survive among the guards patrolling at night, his carefree attitude had dissipated quite a bit. He tightened his windbreaker, and his right arm was already faintly visible.
"Who else is there besides me? How was the barbecue event? Does your arrival indicate that the event has ended?" he asked, sizing up the grand prize as if he couldn't believe he wasn't human. "Did you guess the outcome again?"
"It's not guessing; it's a simple calculation," Ji Shanqing said, raising his chin. "As I told you, even if you gathered the beef ribs, you couldn't pass the challenge."
"Yes," Crane nodded, seeming to recall something. He raised his eyebrows and said, "That woman, Greene, lost, right?"
"When we left, they were still arguing, but without a doubt, she is destined to lose," Ji Shanqing explained calmly.
"It's good that she lost," Crane gritted his teeth and smiled.
"You came here early, but why haven't you taken this villa yet?" Ji Shanqing asked, looking at the dimly lit villa. "Did other refugees get in first?"
Villa F11 originally belonged to the man with the ashen complexion. After he failed to snatch Ji Shanqing, he simply ran away. By giving up, Villa F11 became ownerless.
Compared to other refugees, the villa owners on the beach were the first to know this news and had many advantages. But it seemed that those who were certain of their defeat didn't expect that when the gray-faced man was unable to re-enter his villa at night, instead of continuing to fight for the barbecue, they should have taken this opportunity to give up on the barbecue contest and immediately seize Villa F11 to become the new villa owners.
"I spent quite a bit of time avoiding guards on the way here," Crane sighed. "It seems that nearby refugees haven't realized yet that the villa is empty... I wanted to get in quickly, but I found that the ashen man had placed a curse on the door."
"Huh?" Ji Shanqing was taken aback.
"Except for himself, the first person who enters the villa will be cursed to die within five minutes," Crane said, his face tightening. "Die! I'm amazed. That guy seems unremarkable, yet he has something so absolutely vicious. If I could remove it and take it back to the Twelve Worlds, I could sell it for a high price and buy a flying vessel."
Among the effects of Special Items, something that directly puts someone in a life-threatening situation is indeed extremely rare. Even if it's a flying vessel, it could probably sell for several times its price. The fact that the ashen man had such an item at hand surprised Ji Shanqing.
"You've been hiding here, hoping that another refugee would enter before you?" He quickly understood why Crane was still lingering here. The first person to enter would die, making the second person safe.
"I thought that even if the curse was just meant to scare people, I couldn't take the risk myself." Crane looked around and lowered his voice. "You have a quick mind. Do you have any way to let other refugees know that this villa is empty?"
Before Ji Shanqing could answer, he continued, "I can tamper with the curse and block it."
"First, take me to see that curse."
Since Ji Shanqing wasn't a human, he wouldn't trigger the curse even if he went inside. Naturally, he wasn't afraid of Crane using him to test the waters. The two of them arrived at the entrance of the villa. Crane squatted down and moved aside a bunch of flowers by the corner of the wall, muttering in a low voice, "That ashen man is really cruel. He hid the curse in such an invisible place. I almost fell for it."