16: Chapter 16 Bait

"You mean..." Lin Sa's voice was a little dry as she looked at Pei Duo, "Use her as bait?"

Xu Mo pushed up his half-lensed gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze as calm as if discussing dinner plans: "Not bait, but our only chance of winning."

"That thing is like a rat from the gutter; it's far more familiar with this mansion than we are. He is in the dark, and we are in the light. If we continue to passively defend and wait for the 'midnight' the butler mentioned to arrive when the Count returns, we will not only have to face an S-Class BOSS, but we'll also have to constantly guard against this rat stabbing us in the back."

"What we need to do is eliminate this rat before the Count comes back."

Lin Sa looked at Pei Duo with worry. This was not an exercise; it was an impromptu performance for their lives.

If Pei Duo showed the slightest crack of fear, or if her muscles tensed up from nervousness, that perfection-seeking 'artist' would instantly notice, switching from appreciation to slaughter.

"Pei Duo, you..." Lin Sa was about to persuade her, but was interrupted by a crisp voice.

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned their heads in astonishment.

Pei Duo stood by the writing desk. Although her face was still pale, her eyes, which usually held a hint of tears, now had a layer of hard resolve.

She looked down at the cracked black jade pendant in her hand, her fingers gently caressing the rough surface.

Some things simply couldn't be avoided.

"Instead of waiting for him to decide to skin me when he's in a good mood, I might as well invite the wolf into the den." Pei Duo took a deep breath, looked up at Xu Mo, "Where do we perform? How do we perform? You teach me."

A flash of admiration crossed Xu Mo's eyes, and the corner of his mouth curved into a slight arc: "Next door."

...

The end of the second-floor hallway, the dressing room.

Huge floor-to-ceiling mirrors were inlaid on all four walls, countless reflections layered upon each other, blurring the line between illusion and reality. In the center of the room sat a luxurious Rococo-style vanity table, surrounded by hanging ornate medieval gowns, resembling a circle of headless phantom guards.

The air was filled with the scent of expensive rose essential oil, yet it couldn't quite mask a faint, stale odor.

The Lean Tall Man, along with two newcomers, reluctantly squeezed behind a huge hoop skirt in the farthest corner.

That spot was a blind spot; as long as they didn't make a sound, even if a ghost walked right up to their faces, it might not be discovered.

Lin Sa moved like a nimble gecko, silently scaling up into the shadow of the ceiling beam, gripping her dagger tightly, poised like a fully drawn bow.

Xu Mo hid behind a screen, peering intently through a gap at the reflection in the mirror.

In the center of the entire room, only Pei Duo remained.

She sat in front of the massive vanity table. The girl in the mirror looked pale, but her eyes were stubborn.

"Don't overthink it," Pei Duo mentally coached herself. "Just treat this like getting ready for a date in the school dorm. Yes, this is just a regular skincare routine."

Pei Duo picked up an ivory comb and began to brush her long, black hair.

Once, twice.

At first, her movements were stiff; every lift of her hand felt like a struggle against the fear hanging in the air.

But as time passed, she forced herself into that 'Versailles' state of mind.

Pei Duo frowned slightly at her reflection, muttering complaints only she could hear.

She casually picked up a jar of face cream from the table, dabbed a bit onto the back of her hand, and brought it close to smell it.

She immediately pursed her lips in disdain and tossed the priceless item back onto the table: "Tsk, too much perfume. My Dabao is better."

In the live broadcast room, the originally suffocating tension was completely broken by this scene.

[ (IP: Dragon Country) Holy crap! Is this the Movie Queen? Complaining about someone's skincare products in the lair of an S-Class vengeful spirit? Absolutely amazing! ]

[ (IP: USA) My God! Her mental fortitude is incredible! Is she acting or does she genuinely dislike it? ]

[ (IP: Japan) Baka! This is unscientific! How can she be so relaxed facing death?! ]

[ (IP: Dragon Country) Stop being jealous upstairs. This is the innate talent of us Dragon Country people—relaxation in the face of absolute despair! Broaden your horizons! ]

Pei Duo gradually found her rhythm. She realized that as long as she didn't think about the monster and immersed herself in the identity of a 'distinguished guest' pampered by the butler, that absurd sense of superiority could actually suppress the fear.

She gave her reflection a slight smile, lightly patting her cheeks, her eyes hazy, as if truly immersed in a luxurious afternoon repose.

Time passed minute by minute.

Suddenly.

A strange aura silently seeped into the dressing room.

The scent was like a cold, venomous snake, crawling through the floor cracks and entering everyone's nostrils.

Xu Mo behind the screen's pupils contracted sharply, his entire body instantly tensing up.

He's here!

The Lean Tall Man hiding behind the hoop skirt clamped a hand tightly over his mouth, terrified that the sound of his chattering teeth would carry.

Lin Sa on the beam gripped her dagger, her palms slick with cold sweat.

Only Pei Duo remained seated at the vanity, her fingers weaving through her hair, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.

"Hoo..."

An extremely light exhale sounded abruptly right in front of Pei Duo.

Pei Duo's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself not to look up, keeping her gaze fixed on the comb in her hand.

In the large floor-to-ceiling mirror directly opposite her, something moved in the shadow of the clothes rack lined with gowns.

It was an extremely hunched figure, like a crumpled piece of dirty rag.

He did not attack immediately.

On the contrary, he moved cautiously, almost with a perverse piety, like a scavenger who had finally found a rare treasure in a garbage heap.

He poked half his body out from the shadow. That large, mud-caked nose twitched forcefully in the air, drawing in a deep, greedy breath of the girl's fragrance.

"Perfect..."

A hoarse whisper, like two pieces of rusty iron scraping together, echoed in the dressing room.

Illuminated by the dim, flickering candlelight on the vanity, the image in the mirror finally became clear.

Everyone hidden in the shadows felt a chilling horror crawl up their scalps the moment they saw that face.

It was not a normal face at all.

The person's face was covered with a fresh human skin mask that was still oozing blood.

The edges of the mask were crudely stitched behind the ears, and two irregular large holes had been gouged out where the eyes should be, revealing a pair of eyes shining with fanatical religious light.

There was no murderous intent in those eyes, only aobsessed (obsessive fascination) as if looking upon a divine miracle.

He was a believer of Cipotek, an artist of flaying.

At this moment, he saw the 'masterpiece' of his dreams.

The girl sitting before the mirror, combing her hair, had smooth skin and a languid expression, showing not the slightest tension in her muscles caused by facing death. Every inch of her skin was sending him the most fatal temptation.

"So beautiful..."

The Skin Flayer murmured to himself, his dirt-covered, gloved hands slowly rising. He pulled out a scalpel as thin as a cicada's wing from his breast pocket.

He was trembling. Not from fear, but from extreme excitement.

One step.

Two steps.

He stepped completely out of the shadow. His worn leather boots, stained with mud, gently landed on the soft carpet of the dressing room.

He ignored the potential dangers lurking around him, even forgetting the caution he used while escaping earlier.

In his eyes, at this very moment, the entire world consisted only of the 'human skin' shining before the vanity.

He was like a sailor mesmerized by a siren's song, stepping unhesitatingly into the death trap meticulously woven by Xu Mo.

"A little closer..."

Pei Duo watched the ghoul getting closer in the mirror, and the hand holding the comb finally stopped moving.

She met those fanatical eyes in the reflection.

The corner of her mouth curved into a smile that was slightly stiff, yet full of mockery.

"You smell terrible."

The moment the words fell.

The Skin Flayer's steps had just entered the central point of the attack range for the screen and the ceiling beam.