Futile Devices Scans

After the long journey, they finally arrived at their destination: Yinguo Town. Zhou Xin He, who had done her homework beforehand, had arranged the logistics well. The place they were staying was a hotel with a distinctly Spanish atmosphere. The first floor was a restaurant for dining, while the second and third floors were guest rooms. The eight of them rented four rooms. Chu Hao Yu was the first to voice an opinion. “Since we’re traveling together, we shouldn’t separate by gender or couples. Let’s draw lots to decide who shares a room with whom.” This bastard was obviously suggesting it because he wanted to room with one of the girls. He had even prepared the props in advance. Holding several paper slips, Chu Hao Yu announced, “Matching numbers share a room.”

Zhou Xin He was thoroughly alarmed by the suggestion. She definitely did not want to share a room with a boy. At some point, Su You Yan had produced a pair of scissors. Expressionless, she stared at Chu Hao Yu while the blades opened and closed with a terrifying snipping sound.

Ke Bu looked at the slip in his hand and his face darkened. He had been paired with Chu Hao Yu. Tossing the paper away, he said, “Why do I still have to be haunted by your stupid face even when we’re on vacation?” Zhi Li and Ying Xiu Jie had been paired together. Zhi Li lightly rested his slender fingers on Chu Hao Yu’s shoulder. “The idea of drawing lots is pretty good.” After saying that, he casually walked into one of the rooms. The moment Zhi Li disappeared, Chu Hao Yu frantically unbuttoned his collar and exposed his shoulder. “Gong Zhu, hurry and check my shoulder. Did he poison me? Is it rotting? Hurry up!”

Su You Yan and Zhang Luo ended up sharing a room. Zhang Luo’s face was clearly lit up with excitement over something. Ke Bu sighed beside him and offered some consolation. “Take my advice and give up before you fall too deep. You don’t stand a chance. Your dad might have some hope, though.” Clearly, Ke Bu had not forgotten that Su You Yan had a thing for older men.

Ying Xiu Jie didn’t particularly care who he shared a room with. He happily carried his luggage into the room. There were two beds. Zhi Li sat on the one to the right while Ying Xiu Jie unpacked his belongings. “I sleep pretty badly at night. I might be noisy. You won’t get annoyed and do something to me, right?” At least Ying Xiu Jie was polite enough to warn him beforehand.

“Who knows?” Zhi Li said lightly while playing with his fingers.

The hand holding Ying Xiu Jie’s clothes visibly stiffened. Although he was slow to react to many things, his instincts for danger were exceptionally sharp. He cautiously asked, “W-What would you do to me?”

A hint of ambiguity and amusement appeared on Zhi Li’s face. He casually glanced at Ying Xiu Jie’s butt. “Maybe I’ll do the same things I do to Ke Bu.”

Ying Xiu Jie wasn’t stupid. He knew perfectly well what that implied. It definitely involved butts! He calmly stood up and walked out of the room. The instant the door closed behind him, he turned deathly pale and sprinted toward Chu Hao Yu and Ke Bu’s room. “Ke Bu, switch rooms with me. Right now!”

Ke Bu blinked. He had never seen Ying Xiu Jie this terrified before. What exactly had Zhi Li done to him? Internally, Ke Bu was very pleased with the proposal, but he put on a reluctant expression. “That doesn’t seem right. Since we decided it by drawing lots, we should be fair.”

“I’m begging you! This is the request of a lifetime!” Ying Xiu Jie clasped his hands together and bowed.

Still rubbing his shoulder, Chu Hao Yu chimed in, “I’m begging you too. Just get out and go over there. If I spend one night in the same room as you, there’ll definitely be a corpse floating in the sea tomorrow.”

Ke Bu folded his arms and looked troubled. “You’re really putting me in a difficult position. There’s nothing in it for me. Everyone knows what I have to sacrifice whenever I’m alone with Zhi Li. Treating me like a sacrificial offering to a demon is a little…”

“What do you want?”

Ke Bu let out a cold laugh. He had been messed with by the two of them often enough. Finally he had a chance to strike back. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t want much. Tomorrow, when we’re swimming, I want the two of you to dive underwater and pull off Su You Yan’s swimsuit.”

The reason Ke Bu made that demand wasn’t because he wanted to prank Su You Yan. He simply wanted those two idiots to march to their deaths.

“What?! You might as well just tell us to go die!”

“Then go die.”

“You ruthless bastard. We’ll remember this, Ke Bu.”

“It’s called returning the favor.”

Carrying his luggage, Ke Bu headed toward Zhi Li’s room, feeling exceptionally refreshed. “Just so we’re clear, it’s not that I insisted on sharing a room with you. Xiu Jie and Yu Tai begged me to come.”

“That must be terribly unfair to you.”

“Besides, I’m only doing this because I don’t want you getting jealous. Honestly, I don’t care who I share a room with.” Ke Bu teased.

“I won’t get jealous.” The words and expression on Zhi Li’s face looked so naturally innocent that Ke Bu was momentarily stunned. Keeping that same expression, Zhi Li continued, “If you don’t believe me, you can… try it.” Somehow, the pause between his words made it sound terrifying.

“And if I really did try it, what would the consequences be?”

Zhi Li slowly looked Ke Bu up and down. Ke Bu took a step back. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing.” Zhi Li shrugged. “Just calculating how long it would take for someone of your size and weight to float back up from the bottom of the sea.”

“That sounds incredibly ominous! Are you planning to dump my corpse?”

“I never said that.” Zhi Li patted the pillow beside him. “Or maybe you’d prefer having a pillow pressed over your face?”

“I absolutely would not!”

“How about hanging upside down from the ceiling light with your legs in the air so you can enjoy the view? Or maybe reserving three compartments for you in a freezer? Or perhaps pressing your head into a toilet to find out whether the water tastes sweet?”

“I’m sorry, I was wrong. The truth is that I really do want to stay with you, and nobody forced me to. And I absolutely would never cheat on you.”

“Why are you suddenly saying all that?” Zhi Li looked genuinely confused.

“Please forgive my rambling. I deserve a slap.” Ke Bu gave himself a few fake slaps on the mouth.

Zhang Luo was ultimately driven out by Su You Yan, and Zhou Xin He moved in instead. After everyone finished settling in, the eight of them went downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. The owner was a dark-skinned middle-aged man who spoke awkward Mandarin and greeted them warmly. After they placed their orders, Ying Xiu Jie asked, “Boss, are there any fun or interesting places around here?”

The owner pulled over a chair and sat down. “If you walk straight ahead for a few hundred meters, you’ll reach the sea. Around there you’ve got bars, snack stalls, and places to shop. That’s about all there is for entertainment. But…” His voice suddenly dropped, becoming mysterious. “This is your first time here, isn’t it?”

The sudden change in tone immediately caught everyone’s attention. Gong Zhu replied, “Yeah, first time. Is there something special about this place?”

“Did you see that mountain?” The owner pointed toward the tallest mountain visible through the window. “You absolutely must not go there! There’s an old villa on that mountain. Legend says a witch who eats people lives there. Lots of thrill-seeking young people have gone to investigate, but every single one came back scared out of their minds. Even strong, healthy men returned with torn clothes and disheveled hair. No one has ever seen the witch’s true appearance. She’s said to be a fox spirit with a fluffy tail, long fangs, and a black hat. A black veil hangs from the brim, covering her face. If anyone ever sees what she really looks like, she’ll eat their face.”

“Come on, Boss. Is it really that exaggerated?”

“You don’t have to believe me. Even the bravest people only dare look at the villa from a distance. There was once a married couple who entered the villa and never came back out. The next day, two skeletons appeared at the entrance. I’m not trying to scare you. I’m just giving you a warning. The Witch of Yinguo Town is the strongest and most terrifying of all.”

The moment Ke Bu heard the chilling story, he had a bad feeling. Boss, you really shouldn’t have told them that. This group was exactly the sort of fearless idiots who would run off in the middle of the night looking for adventure. And this certainly wouldn’t be the first or second time.

“I see. Don’t worry, Boss. We won’t go.” As Ying Xiu Jie spoke, he exchanged a look with Chu Hao Yu. One of them simply wanted to test his courage and maybe fight a monster or two, while the other just wanted to see a woman. Ke Bu stared at the mountain. A witch? There is definitely no such thing. Legends are just ordinary events exaggerated more and more through retellings. The slightest unusual occurrence became the work of ghosts. Tonight is going to be another exhausting ordeal. He looked again at Zhi Li and Su You Yan. Those two were the ones he really needed to watch out for.

Night fell, and just as Ke Bu had predicted, the group had fully armed themselves for the expedition. He had assumed Zhi Li and Su You Yan would be too lazy to go, but to his surprise, even they were participating. That was what worried him most. After comforting Zhou Xin He and forcibly prying her away from the doorframe she was clinging to, they finally set off. Thus, the group embarked upon this journey that seemed destined to get them all killed.

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