“Since you were trapped here by the blizzard, I can give you a special discount on the rent. You only need to give me one skin per day, and I’ll allow all of you to stay in the cabin.”
“Of course, those who can’t provide skin will also need to earn a chance at lodging through labor.”
The players exchanged glances. The hunter’s words were clear enough, but they concealed a lot of key information.
First: the team only needed to provide one skin per day to secure check-in for everyone.
Second: any animal skin could count as rent.
Third: not everyone had to take on the Hunting for Skins task.
Looking at the cabin, which was packed wall-to-wall with animal heads and pelts, everyone began to harbor their own suspicions.
『Not everyone has to take on Hunting for Skins? What does that mean?』
『It probably means the task can be chosen freely. You can choose to use other labor to pay rent, and you don’t have to go out hunting.』
『Wouldn’t it be more likely to succeed if more people went out Hunting for Skins?』
『Are you stupid? The Hunting for Skins task is obviously much harder. Who would want to do it?』
『From where I’m sitting, this isn’t Hunting for Skins at all. They’re clearly just picking who goes to be sacrificed.』
The barrage comments were buzzing with discussion.
Unfortunately, the hunter had no intention of giving them a choice today and announced directly:
“Because this is your first day lodging, today’s tasks will be assigned by me. Even if you fail to meet the requirements, there will be no team punishment. Only the individual who fails the task will be punished.”
So… as long as they did their own part well, they wouldn’t die today?
Everyone clenched their fists and held their breath as they listened to the hunter continue.
With a stiff gaze, the hunter swept over everyone once and raised his rough fingers to begin assigning tasks.
“You three,” he pointed at Fang Yuan, Liu Yang, and the little girl. “Help me tidy up the house and sweep the floor.”
The high-ponytail girl clasped her companion’s hand and quietly let out a breath of relief.
This task was simple, and it didn’t sound dangerous at all.
“You two.” The hunter turned to the old man in the wheelchair and Jiang Gu.
“You’re in charge of wiping down the animal specimens on the first floor. Don’t let them get covered in dust.”
Jiang Gu frowned slightly.
Wiping down all the animal specimens without leaving a speck of dust behind… that task was somewhat difficult.
The old man beside him nodded at him, indicating that it was still within an acceptable range.
“As for the rest of you…” The hunter turned his gaze to the remaining three and spoke with deep meaning.
“Originally, the only task left for today was Hunting for Skins, but I also need someone to prepare dinner. Who’s willing to do that?”
The moment they heard there was a chance to avoid Hunting for Skins, the burly man was stunned for a second before raising his hand in ecstatic delight.
“Dinner! I choose dinner prep!”
Perhaps because his expression was truly too ugly, everyone present looked at him askance, and even Jiang Gu showed a faint look of disgust.
The hunter looked him over and seemed equally satisfied. He nodded mechanically, then turned to Qin Guan and Lu Chuan with a strange smile.
“Then today’s Hunting for Skins will be left to you.”
The clock in the living room chimed, its hour hand pointing exactly to five o’clock.
“All right, everyone. I now declare the tasks officially started. You must complete the work in your hands by eight o’clock tonight.”
“If I discover that anyone has not finished their task, they will receive severe punishment.”
A sinister, chilling laugh echoed through the small wooden cabin filled with animal specimens. The hunter limped upstairs, draped in his heavy bearskin.
On the other side, Wang Ze seemed to have just come back to himself from the relief of surviving disaster. He staggered and sat down on the ground, panting heavily.
“Huff, huff, scared me to death…”
Qin Guan looked at his pathetic state and suddenly said, “Didn’t you just say you wanted me to tag along with you? Why aren’t you joining in Hunting for Skins?”
At that, the burly man glared, instantly putting on the airs of an old hand as he angrily lectured Qin Guan.
“What do you know, you newcomer kid? I’m giving you a chance to train! Besides, didn’t you just hear it? This is the first day of tasks. Failure won’t punish the whole team. In the Filth Room, you have to put the team’s interests first…”
Before Qin Guan could say anything, the barrage comments had already had enough.
『What is he even saying? If he listened to himself, would he even believe it?』
『Exactly. He tells newcomers to go die, then wraps himself up so righteously.』
『The savior complex is off the charts… … 』
『By the way, how did this pretty boy end up with the Hunting for Skins task on day one? That’s way too unlucky.』
『I actually think that’s not bad. If he really dies here, then won’t I be able to get my bet back? Hehe.』
『Speaking of which, who is that person next to him? I didn’t see him earlier. Where did he come from?』
『Didn’t notice him either. I was only watching the hunter… why does he seem a little strange…?』
『Same here from upstairs! He gives me such a creepy feeling.』
……
Back inside the instance, after the hunter left, everyone scattered.
No one knew what to say.
Jiang Gu and the old man’s task was quite cumbersome, and the old man had trouble moving around, so most of the work would probably fall on Jiang Gu.
The young man exchanged a few simple pleasantries with the others and then left.
The burly man, whether out of guilt or for some other reason, slipped away even faster and was already gone from sight.
On the other side, the high-ponytail girl took advantage of the others not paying attention and quietly slipped a small note to Qin Guan, whispering to him.
“I found this in the room just now. I’m not sure whether it’ll help you.”
“My name is Fang Yuan, and that’s my partner Liu Yang. It’s both of our first time entering an instance, so I hope you’ll give us lots of guidance in the future.”
When he opened it, he saw a somewhat yellowed sheet of rough paper. The upper half was still relatively intact, while the bottom showed obvious signs of tearing.
On it, a line of delicate handwriting read:
“House of the White Mountain, there is a woman of wondrous purity, divine and elegant in appearance. Do not approach or touch her.”
Qin Guan turned the note over a few times, surprised.
In the Filth Room, most people chose to operate independently, or else only got close to those they trusted. Someone like Fang Yuan, who was willing to proactively share clues with a stranger, was truly rare.
Perhaps noticing Qin Guan’s surprised gaze, Fang Yuan gave a slight smile.
“Being assigned to Hunting for Skins on the very first day means your group is under a lot of risk. I hope this can help you survive.”
Fang Yuan’s smile was sincere and clean, without a trace of ulterior motive. That was an extremely rare look in the Filth Room.
Qin Guan carefully put away the note and solemnly thanked the girl.
“Thank you.”
The girl gave a faint smile and was just about to say something to Qin Guan when, on the other side, her boyfriend seemed to notice what was happening and quickly walked over.
As soon as Liu Yang reached the two of them, he noticed the note that should never have been in Qin Guan’s hands. His expression changed again and again; he looked as though he wanted to fly into a rage, but with outsiders present, he forced himself to hold it in. In the end, he managed to squeeze out a smile that was slightly twisted.
“Hello, I’m Liu Yang… Is this… something Little Yuan gave you?”
Qin Guan glanced at Fang Yuan and sharply caught a flicker of panic hidden beneath her apparently calm expression.
“Nope. I snatched it.”
Behind him, Lu Chuan shamelessly leaned his head over and rested it on Qin Guan’s shoulder, while at the same time reaching out to snatch the note from between his fingers.
He probably hadn’t expected anyone to talk about robbery so bluntly. The man’s expression immediately became wonderfully colorful. “You… you snatched it?”
Lu Chuan nodded matter-of-factly. “Yeah. I saw her holding a clue, I asked her for it, and she wouldn’t give it to me, so I snatched it. What? You want it too?”
Lu Chuan grinned, revealing a malicious smile. “Then you can try snatching it back.”
As he spoke, he casually adjusted his stance a little, bringing out the contours of the muscles that had been hidden beneath his clothes, while also settling his head into a more comfortable position.
The skinny man with glasses looked at Lu Chuan’s powerful build, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he visibly retreated. “You… how can you do that!”
“It was me who gave it to them.”
Behind him, Fang Yuan suddenly said.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Fang Yuan gratefully nodded at the two of them, thanking them for helping her out, and then shifted her gaze back to her boyfriend, speaking firmly.
“The note is something I found. I have the right to decide who it belongs to, and besides, you already saw what it says just now, didn’t you?”
After Fang Yuan spoke, the faint cowardice that had been lingering on the glasses-wearing man’s face disappeared at once. In front of his girlfriend, he once again found the power and strength he had lost.
His gaze turned dangerous. “What did you say?”
Fang Yuan was completely firm. “I said I gave it to them.”
“This is such a big deal. Why didn’t you discuss it with me?”
“I don’t need to discuss everything with you.”
“Say that again if you dare! You little bitch, I’m going to teach you a lesson today!”
Liu Yang suddenly raised his hand and was about to slap Fang Yuan hard across the face.
Smack!
Fang Yuan instinctively closed her eyes, but the pain she expected never came.
Just as the slap was about to land on her face, Qin Guan grabbed Liu Yang’s hand tightly.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m hitting my own wife. What business is it of yours!”
The man struggled forcefully a few times. Perhaps because Qin Guan did not seem as intimidating as Lu Chuan, he actually tried to swing back and punch Qin Guan.
However, the next second, he was kicked flying by someone, then crashed heavily to the ground again, clutching his stomach and howling in pain.
Over on the other side, Lu Chuan calmly withdrew his long legs.
“You hit my wife, and you ask whether it’s any of my business.”