The Widow in the Mansion 2

"What a strange question."

Yu Deng raised his nose in confusion, furrowed his delicate brows, and replied to his stepson's question, "I'm not wearing any perfume."

"I can’t believe there isn’t any.."

The young man looked somewhat surprised, but at least he released his hold on Yu Deng.

He flicked the fingertips that touched Yu Deng, his gaze lingering on Yu Deng's nightgown for a moment.

People always give special attention to beautiful things, even their own kind, be it admiration or desire. Just like the group of people in the living room, who were all staring at Yu Deng intently earlier.

The young man calmly suggested, "But, Little mom, I think it would be better if you change into a different outfit."

Yu Deng: "Huh?"

The young man, with a touch of inexplicable displeasure, touched his canine teeth with his tongue, "After all, there are guests at home now, and Grandfather has left. What do you think?"

Following the young man's gaze, Yu Deng glanced down and realized that he was still wearing the loose nightgown - he had hurriedly left without changing clothes.

The stepson's suggestion seemed reasonable. Whether based on the current instance background or his upbringing, it indeed made sense to change into a different outfit.

"Oh, I see." Yu Deng nodded in realization.

Yu Deng was not yet aware of the subtle possessiveness in his stepson's words, and his response was very obedient.

The young man looked polite, "Would you like me to help you change your clothes, Little mom?"

Yu Deng tilted his head and looked at him for a few seconds.

The stepson remained open to his scrutiny.

Yu Deng, with his sometimes sharp intuition, finally sensed something amiss.

He shook his head and said slowly, "It's okay, I'm not used to having my stepson help me change clothes."

Turning twenty soon, he would be too embarrassed to let someone change his clothes for him!

The stepson sensed the refusal in his voice. Even though Yu Deng's voice was soft and lacked authority, like a cat patting away an annoying person with its paw.

"Alright." The young man's dark eyes revealed no emotions, innocently apologizing, "Sorry, Little mom, I've just returned from overseas, maybe I have more open habits."

Yu Deng shook his head again, indicating it was okay.

Bang—

Not far behind them, there was suddenly a series of clanks and clatters. Yu Deng slightly turned his body and looked cautiously behind his stepson.

A short-haired girl, holding her forehead that was bruised by the door panel, looked at the two figures almost overlapping, her eyes filled with fear of uncovering the secrets of the wealthy.

She met eyes with Yu Deng, frantically gesturing, full of a desire for survival, "Sorry to disturb! I didn't see anything! Continue, continue, ignore me!"

After saying that, she hurriedly fled the scene as if a ferocious beast was chasing her.

With this interruption, the young stepson finally stopped teasing the beautiful stepmother.

"Oh, I haven't formally introduced myself to Little mom yet. I'm Cheng Xiao," the young man said politely, "I look forward to working with you in the future."

Yu Deng acknowledged with a sound and watched the stepson leave.

His ears finally cleared.

And during the conversation with Cheng Xiao just now, Yu Deng's live stream had quietly begun.

New players' live streams usually didn't have much traffic, and Yu Deng's was no different, but a few scattered bullet comments seemed very excited.

[Wow, another round of this instance? Looks like a newbie, let me see the skill level, hmm... seems a bit clueless.]

[Wow... such a delicate and beautiful baby!! Haha, I will definitely follow the new wife closely!]

[What was that position just now, is the stepson up to something with the stepmom? Ahh, why did the stepson leave, continue, I need this bit of traffic!]

[No, can you make a living by your face in the infinite instances? I bet ten thousand live stream coins that this idiot won't survive this instance.]

[Indeed, this is a terrifying infinite flow, the pretty boy won't make it past the first day.]

[I remember your ID from earlier, remember to tip the streamer later. I won't say more, I'm going to call friends and family to watch the live stream.]

As for Yu Deng himself, he hadn't noticed that his live stream was already running. He stood still for a moment before nervously returning to the bedroom on the second floor.

The dim light seeped in through the cracks of the dark brown curtains, making the bedroom even darker than before. Yu Deng groped his way to the wardrobe.

The amber texture of the rosewood wardrobe looked a bit heavy, with its doors tightly closed and intricately carved patterns on the surface.

Yu Deng stared at the wardrobe for a while, various scenes from movies he had seen flashed through his mind, and he hesitated to take any action.

He just wanted to change his clothes; there shouldn't be anything strange jumping out of the wardrobe, right?

【Host, you don't need to scare yourself.】 The system spoke up.

Yu Deng murmured softly in defense, "People who fear ghosts are always like this, unable to control themselves."

Yu Deng did some mental preparation, then slowly opened the wardrobe. Fortunately, there was nothing unknown jumping out from inside, just a row of neatly arranged clothes, carrying a light fragrance.

Yu Deng focused and saw that row of clothes, almost all of them were skirts!

"…?!" Yu Deng asked in a daze, "Mr. System, am I supposed to wear these clothes next? Wait, does the system have a gender? Did I call it incorrectly?"

【According to the classification of carbon-based life forms, I am considered male.】 The system spoke calmly, 【Host, the style of clothing is related to the character setting.】

【Great, It just so happens that the system has been debugged. I will send the instance information to you.】

Yu Deng nodded, and the next moment, he had a long paragraph of text in his mind.

The first segment of content was the task details that the electronic voice had announced at the beginning, along with basic information about survival time.

Yu Deng thought, the system was indeed thoughtful, making it easier for those with poor memory to remember the details.

Following this content was a brief introduction to the background of the instance.

【The Cheng family is a prestigious family in this city, with wealth and power. However, unknown to many, the Cheng Mansion holds many secrets...】

Yu Deng perked up and read carefully.

-- The head of the Cheng family was the recently deceased Mr. Cheng, who was nearing seventy. He had a son and a daughter with his lawful wife of equal social status, as well as several younger concubines who also had children, making the Cheng family quite prosperous.

The eldest daughter from the lawful wife had a son-in-law and had twins. The older twin was supposed to get married in a few days. The son from the lawful wife was the heir of the Cheng family, but unfortunately passed away in an accident a year ago.

After reading the information on three generations of the Cheng family, Yu Deng counted on his fingers and realized that he was the male spouse of the deceased heir.

Oh, so he was a little widower with a big adult son.

"Mr. System, my deceased husband shouldn't be very old, right?" Yu Deng frowned, noticing a new issue, "After all, our son is already so grown up... Wait, who gave birth to his children? Did I marry an older man who had been married before?!"

Yu Deng was starting to feel dissatisfied with the unfamiliar deceased husband.

The system remained silent for a moment: 【By estimation, he should not be over thirty-five. Now, you will need to explore the dungeon by yourself to find out the rest of the information.】

"Oh..."

Yu Deng tried to scroll down in his mind to see more detailed character relationships and conflicts, but found that the information provided had come to an end.

Regarding the role he was currently playing as "Madam," there was only a brief description - the wife of the heir of the Cheng family, with a mild temperament, not fond of socializing, and with some special quirks.

"Is that all?" Yu Deng asked eagerly, "Is there only this information?"

He really needed more detailed information to fill his empty head.

【That's all.】 the system said, 【Host, as you are a special task player, only partial information is provided at discretion. Generally, players need to explore the information themselves.】

Yu Deng looked puzzled and disappointed, "Okay."

It seemed that he was already being taken care of as a fool.

System: 【Host, fewer descriptions mean fewer restrictions, so you have more room to maneuver.】

That actually made sense.

Yu Deng felt better and refocused his attention on the clothes in the wardrobe.

【Since you are a new player, the system has an obligation to remind you.】The system spoke up again,【Although you have a special identity, players and in-game characters will assume you are an NPC, but if you deviate too much from the character, you may still be discovered. Therefore, it is recommended to conceal your player identity well.】

"Okay, I understand." Of course, when it comes to life or death situations, Yu Deng still listened to advice.

Listening to advice was one thing, but immediately putting on a skirt was another. Yu Deng almost dove into the closet to rummage through it, finally pulling out a white knit sweater and black trousers from a corner.

He discarded the nightgown, throwing it on the bed as the dazzling expanse of white skin flashed by, quickly covered up by the clothes.

Yu Deng haphazardly put on the clothes.

At this moment, the barrage of bullet comments continued to increase.

［Who understands, the way my wife mutters to herself is so cute..］

［Deng Deng's legs are so fair, slurp, I want to pinch his leg meat.］

［Why does the screen go black when changing clothes?!］

［So many skirts, can you wear one to see, really want to see the beauty in a skirt hehe.］

［I'll start by admitting I'm a pervert. I want to see Deng Deng in a cheongsam.］

Yu Deng fastened the collar of the knit sweater, about to speak, when he caught sight of something unknown with his peripheral vision - a small area on his right side with light blue translucent small text rapidly scrolling.

What is this?

Glancing around to ensure his safety, Yu Deng leaned closer to the area, witnessing various vulgar words.

[Hehe, the streamer finally noticed us? Come on, give a smile to everyone in the live stream.]

Yu Deng, feeling both shy and confused, blinked and said, "Are you talking to me?"

[Yes, yes, I’m directly calling you 'wifey,' I really want kisses. Baby, give me kisses.]

"System, can you manage these people?" Yu Deng, being slow-witted, couldn't even handle his stepson alone. Faced with so many bullet comments, his mind became even more blank. He looked at the full screen of blocked words and had to call on the system.

【...】Watching the full screen of vulgar words, System 01 asked,【Do you want me to block them for you?】

Relieved, Yu Deng said, "Yes, please."

Bullet comments:［??? Deng Deng, you are so heartless!］

【Done. The bullet comments can be reactivated at any time.】The system helped Yu Deng block the bullet comments and gave a brief introduction,【The live stream room will be open throughout the instance, and the screen will be blacked out for privacy during private moments.】

【Players can interact with the bullet comments, but comments related to instance clues will be blocked. Viewers in the live stream room can tip players, and after the instance settlement, points can be converted on a 1:1 basis.】

Yu Deng pondered over this and realized that this system was quite similar to the live streaming systems in reality, so he quickly accepted it.

Hmm, after changing his clothes, should he go take a look at the deceased Mr. Cheng?

Seeing a stranger's body in such a gloomy place... Yu Deng shuddered heavily. He decided against it and thought it might be better to see how other players were acting.

Yu Deng retraced his steps and returned to the first-floor living room.

As he approached the living room door, he belatedly realized that something was off in the atmosphere of the room.

"I've had enough! What clues, what seven-day instance, I want to go back!" Someone was impatiently shouting.

Yu Deng didn't dare to approach immediately. He clung to the living room door frame and cautiously leaned out to observe.

The players had not noticed Yu Deng; only Cheng Xiao looked towards the doorway and gestured to Yu Deng, mouthing, "Little mom."

Yu Deng ignored his stepson and looked at the person who had spoken.

The one who had just angrily yelled was a middle-aged man in a suit, with a receding hairline, and a wrinkled suit.

His eyes were bloodshot, nervously staring at everyone. "What are we doing dawdling here for so long? Saying someone will die, it's all just a scam, right?! The electronic voice is definitely fabricated by you guys, isn't it?"

Everyone watched him in silence. A newcomer who wanted to console him was met with a glare and fell silent. Two veteran players stood at the edges, also not intervening with the man.

In Yu Deng's live stream room, although he had blocked the barrage of comments, there were still quite a few people chatting in the bullet comment area.

［Tsk, this newcomer's mentality is breaking down, lacking in quality.］

［Hopping around these players' live streams, to be honest, it's quite surprising that this group of newcomers lasted this long before breaking down. The previous group had two players go insane within five minutes of entering.］

The man, seeing everyone remaining silent, emboldened by fear, turned to the butler who had just returned to the living room, grabbed a vase from the table, and smashed it towards the butler.

"Quickly open the door and let me leave this cursed place! Do you know who I am? Daring to play tricks on me, you all better be prepared!"

With a crisp shattering sound, the floor was covered with shattered porcelain, and a shard even bounced near Yu Deng's feet.

The butler glanced down at the broken vase and suddenly said, "Alright, please go ahead."

As this sentence fell, the door on the other side of the living room leading to the front yard actually slowly swung open.

Dim daylight streamed in, with distant sights hidden in a light mist.

The onlookers watched in disbelief as the door opened, not making any moves. Only the man smirked and walked out.

"Sure enough, it's just a trick. Wait until I go out and properly deal with you all—" The voice suddenly cut off, and a few seconds later, the man let out a harrowing scream, "Ahhh—!"

He collapsed to the ground, convulsing for a few moments before losing consciousness.

The leg and arm that the man had used to step out of the mansion were now a mangled mess of flesh and blood, as if something had gruesomely torn them apart.

Soon, a large area was smeared with blood, and even fragments of flesh scattered around.

Some players emitted suppressed gagging sounds. Yu Deng's stomach churned immediately.

The butler finally raised his head, looked at the others, and said, "If you also wish to leave, please do so."

The players remained silent.

"Madam," the butler noticed Yu Deng at the door and suddenly turned to call out to him, locking eyes with Yu Deng.

It was then that Yu Deng could clearly see the butler's current appearance.

His eye sockets were almost devoid of whites, his jet-black eyes wide open and motionless, lacking any shine, appearing exceptionally eerie.

Oh no! How did the butler change like this!

Yu Deng was so frightened by the butler's eerie appearance that his brain went blank, temporarily losing his ability to speak.

From the corner of his eye, he could still see the blood-splattered floor and the man lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

Yu Deng realized clearly for the first time that this was a horror instance in the infinite world, where the NPCs might be brutal non-humans.

The overwhelming fear and nausea made Yu Deng struggle to hold back tears, and he could only lower his head slightly.

To outsiders, Yu Deng looked like he couldn’t bear to look at it, but also like he was used to it.

In the midst of the dead silence, the young stepson squinted his eyes and lazily spoke, “Uncle Dong, my stepmother and I are right here. Why are you handling these people yourself and bypassing us?”

No one expected Cheng Xiao to speak in such a manner, and they all looked at him with astonishment.

Cheng Xiao simply shrugged.

He wasn't particularly concerned about the man's fate; he was just curious as to whether, as one of the mansion owners, he had more authority than the butler.

Likewise, his Step-mom might have the same level of authority, or even more, based on seniority.

"It was my oversight." Surprisingly, after a moment of silence, the butler accepted Cheng Xiao's statement and didn't intimidate the players further. Instead, he turned to Yu Deng and asked, "Madam, how would you like to handle this impudent and disrespectful guest?"

Yu Deng, still shaken from the scare, stayed silent for a few seconds upon hearing this.

Was this something he could decide?

Seeing that Yu Deng wasn’t speaking, the butler’s lips curled into a gentle smile.

Combined with his expressionless, pitch-black eye sockets, it looked even more eerie and unsettling.

Yu Deng, his legs weak, leaned against the doorframe, almost fainting.

'Uncle Butler, please stop smiling. It’s even more terrifying when you smile, ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

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