6: VIP treatment in Chapter 6 S-rank dungeon

The butler's eyes, which were originally as calm as an ancient well and viewed all living beings as dust, contracted violently the moment they caught sight of the black jade pendant.

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His right hand, which had been hanging in mid-air, executed a sharp U-turn by sheer force.

The hand that had been ready to slaughter pressed against his left chest; his originally ramrod-straight spine instantly bent, and his head dropped almost to his knees.

"I did not know an honored guest had arrived."

The butler's voice was trembling, his previous lofty elegance completely vanished, replaced by extreme flattery and terror: "This lowly one deserves to die! I truly was blind to fail to recognize an honored guest, letting you stand in the cold wind at the door for so long!"

*Click—*

That carved iron picket gate, as if sensing some sort of summons, slid open automatically with extreme smoothness.

Xu Mo pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, his movement freezing mid-air.

It... opened just like that?

The brass key he had risked his life to find was still stuck in the keyhole, looking like a joke.

Is this a freaking s-rank instance? Even the most delusional third-rate novel wouldn't dare write it like this!

Pei Duo held the jade pendant up stiffly, her arm aching and trembling. Looking at the terrifying butler bowing before her, only one absurd thought remained in her mind:

Bro, what on earth did you do down there? Did you actually usurp the throne and become the King of Hell?!

"Honored guest, please!"

The butler didn't dare look up at Pei Duo at all; he stepped aside and bowed, his white-gloved hand making a perfectly standard welcoming gesture.

At this moment, the bullet chat in the livestream experienced a brief gap before exploding with a screen full of '???' and 'hahaha'.

[(IP: Japan) Nani?! What kind of move is this? A bug! This is definitely a system bug!]

[(IP: USA) Cheating! I want to report this! How could the Thriller Game allow such a cheat to exist? This is unfair! We want to see blood and death, not playing house!]

[(IP: Kimchi Country) Shibal... Is this butler's brain malfunctioning? Just what rank of item is that jade pendant?]

[(IP: Dragon Country) Hahahaha! Where are those trolls from just now? Don't play dead, come out and take a stroll! See that? Now that's what you call status!]

[(IP: Dragon Country) I don't understand it, but I'm greatly shocked. Pei Duo: I originally wanted to get along with you all as an ordinary person, but all I got was alienation. I'm not pretending anymore; I'm someone protected by the First Emperor of Qin.]

Pei Duo took a deep breath, trying to stop her legs from feeling weak as she tentatively stepped over the threshold.

Nothing really happened.

Even as she passed by the butler, he lowered his head even further, even holding his breath for fear that his impure air might offend the noble guest.

Xu Mo and Lin Sa exchanged a glance; with perfect unspoken understanding, they suppressed all their expressions and followed closely behind Pei Duo like two loyal personal bodyguards.

In times like this, clinging to a powerful leg was the only way; how much was pride worth? As long as they could survive, what did it matter if they were just accessories?

Seeing this, the few newcomers behind them also wanted to fish in troubled waters and squeeze in.

The moment The Scoundrel Zhao's dirty sneaker stepped onto the red carpet on the second floor, the butler snapped his head up.

Although he was as humble as dust when facing Pei Duo, the moment he turned to this group, he instantly switched back to that suffocating demon mode.

The butler took out a clean white handkerchief from his breast, covered his nose and mouth in disgust, his gaze looking at them as if they were a pile of walking kitchen waste:

"Since you are the... attendants brought by the honored guest, then scurry inside. Remember, wipe your soles clean; if you leave even a speck of dust, I will skin you alive and use your hides as rags."

"At... attendants?" The Scoundrel Zhao's face turned the color of pig liver. He was about to curse, but as the butler's cold gaze swept over him, he instantly felt as if an icy hand was gripping his throat. He swallowed his words back down and slunk through the door with his head tucked in.

Xu Mo pushed his glasses up expressionlessly, but felt a sense of relief in his heart.

Attendants it is. In an s-rank instance, being able to be a living dog is already a great fortune.

The group walked along the dim corridor of the second floor.

The butler led the way, his tone tinged with apology: "Today is truly unsettled; a few 'rats' with sticky fingers have snuck into the garden and the back door. I have already sent people there to clean them up. I apologize for letting the honored guest see such a joke."

"Cleaning up rats."

These four words caused a layer of cold sweat to instantly break out on Xu Mo's back.

There are other teams!

And from the sound of it, those poor bastards were currently experiencing the same despair they had felt before—being hunted by ghosts until flesh and blood flew everywhere, amidst endless screams.

While they... were taking a stroll on the red carpet with an anomaly.

This massive contrast caused a sense of absurd superiority and relief to rise in everyone's hearts.

"We have arrived. This is the lounge where the Count hosts honored guests."

The butler pushed open a heavy oak door and stepped aside to bow.

It was an extremely luxurious room, with deep red velvet curtains, a fireplace burning with eerie green flames, and exquisite silver candelabras on a long table.

The butler walked quickly to the head seat, pulled out a high-backed chair covered in tiger skin, and carefully wiped away non-existent dust with his sleeve. Only then did he look respectfully at Pei Duo: "Honored guest, please rest for a moment. Dinner preparation will take a little more time. You may relax here for a while."

After saying this, he withdrew and thoughtfully closed the door.

As the door lock clicked shut, the people in the room collapsed like a bunch of invertebrates that had their spines removed.

"We... we survived..."

"Wuwuwu, I was scared to death just now. I thought I was a goner..."

Several newcomers slumped onto the carpet without any regard for their image, gasping for breath. The exhaustion of surviving a disaster left them unwilling to even move a finger.

Xu Mo and Lin Sa also took the opportunity to find a sofa, wasting no time in recovering their strength.

Pei Duo was even more exhausted.

After all, she was only a sophomore in college. The ups and downs she had experienced in just ten minutes were more intense than her past twenty years combined. Once her tense nerves relaxed, fatigue washed over her like a tide.

She curled up in the large head chair, her eyelids as heavy as lead. The life-saving black jade pendant in her hand slipped out as her arm dropped, hanging unguarded by the edge of the armrest.

Soon, everyone in the lounge had fallen asleep in various positions.

The room was very quiet, save for the crackling of the green flames in the fireplace.

No one noticed that a shadow on the carpet moved.

The Scoundrel Zhao climbed up from the floor.

This man, who was originally a street thug, was now staring intently at the partially exposed black jade pendant in Pei Duo's hand.

Greed, like wildly growing weeds, instantly consumed his sanity, which had already been twisted by fear.

Why?

Why should this bratty girl be the honored guest? Isn't it just because of this broken stone?

What does she know? She's just a lucky piece of eye candy!

If this stone were in my hands... that terrifying butler would kowtow to me too! I could walk through this ghost place however I wanted!

That top-tier equipment, that s-rank completion rating, and the tips from the audience outside—they'd all be mine!

"She's relying on the stone... as long as the stone is in my hands, I'll be a god..."

The Scoundrel Zhao swallowed hard, his eyes bloodshot. He glanced at Xu Mo and the others who were resting with their eyes closed, then at the defenseless Pei Duo, and like a sewer rat, he edged his body forward bit by bit.

On the sofa, Xu Mo, who was feigning sleep, opened his eyes a crack.

The gaze behind his lenses was cold.

He saw The Scoundrel Zhao's movements, but he didn't speak up to stop him.

Xu Mo's brain was working rapidly.

What exactly was the ownership mechanism of this 'divine artifact' that could make an S-rank Anomaly kneel? Was it bound by blood, or could anyone use it?

If it were the latter...

Killing with a borrowed knife and then stealing from the thief would be much more respectable than snatching it himself.

The Scoundrel Zhao had no idea he was being used as a guinea pig.

Holding his breath, his trembling fingers slowly reached for the black jade pendant, his fingertips touching the cold jade surface.

"Heh, got it!" The Scoundrel Zhao was ecstatic; this was even easier than stealing a phone in an internet cafe!

However, in the next second.

A sudden change occurred.

That broken jade pendant, which had only been faintly flickering with a dark light, suddenly erupted with a terrifying suction the moment he touched it, biting down hard on his finger!