Chapter 35: Grade-A Red, Terror at the Ancient Castle (2)

Xu Yiliu interrupted, “There are too many people on this mission. Trying to remember everyone’s names one by one might be impossible, don’t you think?”

Not just in real life, even when reading novels, it’s common to lose track of characters when there are too many.

Chen Yue, having already introduced himself, felt a bit uneasy inside. “So what do you suggest we do?”

“Use numbers instead,” Xu Yiliu said straightforwardly. “From one to twelve, everyone just needs to say their surname.”

The woman in the white dress and black hat was the first to agree. “My memory isn’t great; this sounds good to me.”

Others shared the sentiment. Even if they wanted to befriend colleagues, the occasion mattered. Who in a top-tier Red Zone mission had the luxury to waste energy on memorizing everyone’s names?

Xu Yiliu looked at Chen Yue and smiled. “You were the first to speak up, so everyone remembers you well. How about you’re number one, Chen One?”

Chen Yue felt comfortable with this. “Alright.”

Huo Zhiya glared at Xu Yiliu. “What about the rest of us? How do we decide the order?”

The woman in white and black replied, “By height. You can’t really tell age from looks sometimes, but height is obvious at a glance.”

She actually wanted to say facial age, but seeing two people with prematurely gray hair, she wasn’t sure of their ages, so she changed her words.

Xu Yiliu was momentarily stunned, then immediately looked at Ji Xianxing.

Barely 1.5 meters tall, Ji Xianxing stared expressionlessly at her.

She laughed silently inside, a slight smile curling at the corners of her mouth. “Sounds good to me. Anyone else have other ideas?”

No one objected to such a trivial matter.

So they lined everyone up by height.

Aside from Chen Yue as Number One, the tallest was Sheng Mo, Number Two. Next was the dark-skinned, burly Liu San, then the very tall Northeast woman Ding Si, the particularly fair and delicate boy Luo Wu. Xu Yiliu was just a bit shorter than Luo Wu but a bit taller than the curly-haired woman in the white dress and black hat, so they became Xu Six and Shangguan Seven.

Following them were Huo Zhiya as Huo Eight, the twin sisters Lin Nine and Lin Ten, and the twin-tailed high school girl Xiao Eleven.

At a steady 1.5 meters, Ji Xianxing comfortably held Number Twelve.

Xu Yiliu stifled a laugh. Huo Zhiya occasionally glanced at Ji Xianxing, but the latter seemed indifferent.

After quickly learning everyone’s numbers, Luo Wu hesitated. “About choosing rooms, how should we decide?”

Seeing his good looks, Xu Yiliu said, “Without any clues, it’s all down to sixth sense. Everyone’s judgment is unreliable. If something goes wrong, no one can take responsibility. Just pick whatever you like.”

“Better not to cluster together. Let’s split up and explore individually,” Chen Yue said, distancing himself and the others. “Those who want to team up can, those who don’t, no pressure.”

His words also hinted at who was willing to stick with him.

Liu San hesitated, then followed him.

The twins clearly wanted to stay together, holding hands and leaving without speaking to anyone else.

Xu Yiliu looked at Ji Xianxing. “What about you?”

“The first night’s low risk. I’ll go alone,” Ji Xianxing replied.

---

Xu Yiliu wasn’t surprised by her reply. She could tell that if Ji Xianxing weren’t so physically weak, she’d probably prefer to become mute rather than talk to anyone.

As for the others...

Sheng Mo shyly approached Xu Yiliu. “We’re working together again.”

Xu Yiliu glanced sideways. “I haven’t said I want to team up with you.”

“You!” Sheng Mo and Huo Zhiya shared a trait — both liked glaring at people. “Forget it, I won’t argue. Shall we start checking from the first floor?”

Xu Yiliu nodded. “Fine.”

Naturally, Ding Si, Shangguan Seven, and Xiao Eleven stuck together due to gender affinity. Luo Wu, who initially wanted to talk to Xu Yiliu, looked at Sheng Mo and for some reason joined Ding Si’s group of three, chatting cheerfully, as if in his element.

“Hey!”

Huo Zhiya, seeing that those two hadn’t even apologized to her, was particularly angry. Ji Xianxing had already left, too fast for her to catch, so she turned to Xu Yiliu.

She wanted to shout but, still wary from their previous Red Zone mission, she grabbed her and whispered hoarsely, “You lied to me! Xu Yiliu! You lied to me!”

Xu Yiliu staggered backward from the strong grip, turning around to see the young lady’s tearful eyes, as if Xu Yiliu had done some heartless betrayal.

Sheng Mo, unsure of their relationship, glanced oddly between them.

Could it be that Xu Yiliu…

Xu Yiliu, fearing the girl would make a scene, soothed her. “I’ll explain later. Let’s focus on the mission first, okay?”

“All right,” Huo Zhiya said, sticking close to her, as though determined to hold her accountable.

Sheng Mo’s gaze grew even stranger.

But his speculation was shattered the next moment.

Xu Yiliu seriously grabbed Huo Zhiya’s hand. “Huo, let’s be straightforward. Putting my faults aside, do you want me to guide you through the mission? I’ll give you a friend’s discount. Thirty thousand for a top-tier Red Zone mission. How about it?”

Huo Zhiya’s eyes widened. “You’re charging? You actually want to charge?”

Sheng Mo felt inexplicably pleased.

She wasn’t charging him.

Unexpectedly, Xu Yiliu seemed to have eyes in the back of her head and immediately turned to him. “He’s not getting the friend’s discount. He has to pay fifty thousand.”

Sheng Mo: “...”

His happiness was premature.

He said incredulously, “You’re just greedy for money?”

Xu Yiliu nodded matter-of-factly. “Yeah.”

Sheng Mo was about to retort when Huo Zhiya said, “Fine. Once I pay, you can’t bail on me.”

Xu Yiliu smiled sweetly at her patron. “Of course.”

---

Sheng Mo frowned at Huo Zhiya. “Isn’t this ridiculous? Why do you agree?”

“Why not?” Huo Zhiya looked at him puzzled, chin raised. “My life’s precious. Thirty thousand isn’t much.”

Sheng Mo asked, “Aren’t you friends?”

He prided himself on loyalty and couldn’t accept charging friends.

Before Xu Yiliu could defend herself, Huo Zhiya looked at him, even more baffled. “She’s helping me through the mission, which means she’s taking on more risk because she cares about me. Shouldn’t friends contribute equally? I can’t repay her in the same way, but I can give her some extra money. What’s the big deal?”

Sheng Mo was stunned.

Huo Zhiya smirked. “If you don’t have money, don’t pretend to. Who owes you anything?”

Xu Yiliu snapped out of her surprise and liked the young lady even more. Cheerfully, she said to Sheng Mo, “Listen up, Number Two, take notes.”

Huo Zhiya glared at her. “Don’t mix things up. I haven’t forgiven you yet.”

Xu Yiliu pulled her away. “Let’s pick rooms first. I’ll tell you some precautions later. Remember them.”

“Okay.”

Sheng Mo hurried after them, reluctantly saying, “I’ll pay, then. You just love money.”

Fifty thousand was a small sum to him, but he couldn’t stand Xu Yiliu’s attitude about money.

Xu Yiliu said boldly, “So what if I love money? If you had no money, you’d be unhappy.”

---

The ancient castle had three floors and three buildings, connected by long corridors. The hallways weren’t narrow but were quite enclosed, with only two small windows facing each other per section. The walls were adorned with many paintings, all half-length portraits.

Each room had a distinct style, but the furnishings were similar: heavy curtains, a king-sized bed, a desk with a chair, a bedside table, a wardrobe, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the center.

After carefully inspecting fifty rooms, Xu Yiliu found nothing unusual.

But she still felt something was very strange.

“Where does the owner of the castle live?” Huo Zhiya, with an intelligence score of 55, asked the person beside her.

Sheng Mo, with an intelligence score of 64, replied, “It’s all the same. Better to stay far from that corridor.”

Huo Zhiya agreed, “It looks creepy.”

At that moment, Xu Yiliu suddenly realized what felt off.

“Where does the owner of the castle live?”