Chapter 24: Why Should You Have It So Easy!

"Go and bring some more pastries for Mr. Chen," the old butler told the attendant.

When treating a friend, tea alone is not enough; naturally, one must serve the finest pastries.

And so, inside the Mist Museum, a scene unfolded: Chen Mu sat leisurely on the sofa, a steaming cup of tea to his left and a plate of exquisite pastries to his right. Looking at him, no one would doubt that he had come here for a vacation.

As for those eerie security guards, they were sensible enough not to disturb Chen Mu again. They all made their living under the Duke; to dare disturb the Duke’s honored guest? Did they have a death wish?

While Chen Mu was enjoying his leisure, the others were not having such an easy time. On the other side of the Mist Museum, the Blond Youth and Xiao San had formed an alliance, hiding and trembling as they dodged the guards. Wang Dafu, dragging his corpulent frame, was also hiding with the utmost caution. Clearly, none of them had discovered the path to survival.

As time passed, the guards' searches became less rigorous. If the intensity had remained as it was at the start of the game, none of these people, apart from Chen Mu, would have survived. The difficulty of the Mist Museum mission was not quite that sadistic.

After hiding for half an hour without seeing a single guard, both the Blond Youth and Xiao San breathed a slight sigh of relief. In their eyes, the most difficult part of the mission had passed. Now, they could finally relax and wait for the mission to end.

Once he relaxed, the Blond Youth’s mind began to wander. He had long coveted Xiao San, and with the two of them alone and having just experienced the pressure of life and death, he felt an urgent need to release that tension. Xiao San knew exactly what the Blond Youth wanted, and in order to ensure his help in the missions to come, she was more than willing to cooperate. She had done such things many times before, after all. However, what she didn't tell the Blond Youth was that she had lived a wild life and contracted several diseases. As for whether the Blond Youth would catch anything, that was left to fate.

Because the guards were appearing less frequently, the Mist Museum was exceptionally quiet; the sound of a needle dropping could be heard from a great distance. Thus, even from far away, Chen Mu heard the commotion between the Blond Youth and Xiao San. Even the experienced and well-traveled Chen Mu was shocked. How brain-dead could these two be to pull such a stunt during a horror mission? Were they in such a hurry to die?

One had to know that horror missions were fraught with crises. Even seasoned veterans had to remain vigilant at all times. In these missions, survival was the first priority! Did these two not fear that their distraction would prevent them from sensing danger in time? It was hard to say whether they were truly bold or simply ignorant.

According to Chen Mu's experience, this game of hide-and-seek was a classic "front-loaded pressure" mission. This meant that at the start, there would be extreme pressure with a high number of eerie guards, making the mission difficulty immense. This phase would last about ten minutes. For the following hour or so, the difficulty would drop sharply, and the guards would barely appear. During this time, even if a player lay on the floor and slept, they wouldn't die upon waking.

However, one should not mistake this for the game having a conscience. On the contrary, it was an incredibly insidious tactic, with the real trap waiting at the end.

When there were only ten minutes left, the mission difficulty would suddenly skyrocket, even exceeding the intensity of the start! A large number of guards would suddenly appear, and because the players were relaxed, they would be unable to detect the danger in time, often leading to deaths. That was the truly vicious part of the mission!

Time ticked away, second by second... Ten minutes left until the end of the mission!

As expected, just as Chen Mu had predicted, the difficulty surged! Wang Dafu was hiding in a corner; the hour of peace had only made him more vigilant. After all, Wang Dafu was a businessman who had spent decades navigating the business world, making him much more cautious than the Blond Youth and Xiao San. This caution saved his life. Suddenly, he noticed from the corner of his eye that a black figure had appeared in the mist behind him.

An eerie guard!

Without a second thought, his heart leaped into his throat, and he scrambled away to another location.

The Blond Youth and Xiao San were not so lucky. Xiao San was lying in the Blond Youth’s arms, whispering sweet nothings and asking him to look after her. The Blond Youth agreed readily—promises cost nothing, and he had made plenty of those. Suddenly, Xiao San shrieked, her eyes filled with terror as she looked behind the Blond Youth.

"What is it? Why the panic?" The Blond Youth asked, impatient. He glanced behind him. That one look made the hair on his arms stand on end!

An eerie guard! One had appeared right behind him.

"Run!" the Blond Youth yelled, moving to scramble up. But to his horror, he realized that because he had been too relaxed, he hadn't even put his pants back on. Those few seconds of delay were fatal! Seeing the guard getting closer, the Blond Youth looked at Xiao San beside him, gritted his teeth, and shoved her toward the guard.

"Ah! What are you doing?" Xiao San was stunned by the sudden turn of events. She stumbled and fell at the feet of the eerie guard.

"If one of us has to die, it certainly won't be me." The Blond Youth had already pulled up his pants and was running away without looking back.

Xiao San never imagined that in just two hours, she would be betrayed by two different men. She looked up and saw the eerie guard towering over her, looking down with a mocking expression. The next second, blood splattered everywhere.

Ten minutes is neither long nor short. For Chen Mu, it was only the time it took to drink half a cup of tea. For Wang Dafu and the Blond Youth, it was a long and agonizing century.

Finally, as the heavy chime of a clock rang out, the two hours were up. The hide-and-seek game had ended! The white mist gradually dissipated, the temperature in the museum warmed slightly, and the damp water stains on the floor began to fade.

Wang Dafu and the Blond Youth returned to the hall, utterly exhausted. In the hall, Chen Mu finished the last sip of his tea and the last bite of his pastry, looking calm and elegant. It had to be said that the Duke’s taste was quite refined; the tea and pastries were excellent—a qualified afternoon tea.

Seeing Chen Mu having finished his afternoon tea, Wang Dafu and the Blond Youth looked at him with envy. We were on the verge of death, and you were elegantly enjoying afternoon tea! Is there no justice? We are all participating in the same horror mission; why are you so comfortable?

Chen Mu looked at the Blond Youth and Wang Dafu, silently calculating: excluding himself, four people had participated in this game. Clearly, only two had survived. A 50% survival rate! This horror mission was already considered quite perilous.

Chen Mu ignored their envy. Their miserable state was not his doing; if they wanted to blame someone, they should blame the horror apocalypse, not him. Besides, the two survivors were not good people; both had betrayed their teammates. Only the ruthless could survive in this horror apocalypse. This was the depravity brought about by the end of the world.

The Blond Youth finally understood why Chen Mu had been so cold and unwilling to team up before the mission started. It seemed Chen Mu had known all along that in a horror mission, there were no such things as teammates, only life-and-death struggles and deceit. What was Chen Mu’s background, and why was his understanding of the horror apocalypse so profound?

In that moment, although Chen Mu had done nothing, his identity became exceptionally mysterious in their eyes. The looks they cast toward him carried a hint of wariness. Not only that, but the Blond Youth and Wang Dafu also looked at each other with distrust and vigilance. No one mentioned teaming up again; each was on guard, fearing they would be the next to be betrayed.

At that moment, the old butler arrived. Looking at the disheveled Wang Dafu and the Blond Youth, and the calm, composed Chen Mu, he spoke slowly:

"Honored guests, the game has ended. I wonder if you enjoyed the game of hide-and-seek? The Duke has prepared a sumptuous dinner for everyone on the second floor. Once you have finished the dinner, you may depart from here. Follow me; the banquet is about to begin."