Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 85 The Mysterious Butler
As usual, they appeared on the school bus and entered the castle as usual.

The little boy's crying and the pig-headed monster's loss of control, the brave ponytail standing up and the shattered head, all played out in the same way.

The children chosen by the monsters, the process, and even the subtle movements involved remained unchanged.

The old butler, as always, maintained his elegant and gentlemanly demeanor, a stiff, fake smile on his face. His hands, like a conductor conducting an orchestra, lightly brushed across the children's heads. He easily pointed to five children, but after pointing to them, his movements suddenly stopped, his hands hovering in mid-air, seemingly in a dilemma…

"Is it because Meilan is missing?"

Han Su also snapped out of his dazed state and realized the key point.

Meilan, or rather, the "Wei Lan" that Assistant Xu mentioned, has already been rescued by him, and she has been freed from the fate of being kidnapped forever.

Inside the castle, some changes have also occurred.

Originally, after the seven monsters each chose a child, the old butler personally selected six children and sent them upstairs. Meilan was one of the six children chosen by the old butler.

But now that she's gone, they have to find a replacement.

But now, the old butler seemed somewhat troubled.

Those pale blue eyes, devoid of any sign of life, swept over the children before them, bit by bit.

No one dared to meet his gaze, and they quickly lowered their eyes.

At this moment, Han Su suddenly became extremely nervous: the old butler was the most terrifying monster.

I once tried to escape before the school bus even entered the castle, either by climbing through the window or by trying to get control of the steering wheel from the petrified school bus driver.

But no matter what idea you have, once you try it, you'll be targeted by that old butler who looks like porcelain.

When he wasn't paying attention to him, he could blend in with the children, pretend to be hypnotized by him, and seize the opportunity to escape.

But once he became aware of himself, he could not escape the hypnosis.

He could clap his hands lightly and hold himself in one position for six or seven hours, as if all the muscles in his body were cramping at once, making his body so stiff that it was almost completely broken.

Previously, the old butler wouldn't have chosen me, but this time...

Han Su was so nervous that his back stiffened slightly, and he did indeed feel the old butler's gaze linger on him for a while.

But soon, the old butler sighed and placed his hand on another boy, saying, "You'll do!"

Han Su breathed a sigh of relief and focused his attention, scanning the monsters in the hall for traces of the "key".

Now, without the key, there's no chance of escaping the castle.

However, because the monsters were all different in shape and their robes were complicated and strange, he dared not move his position casually. So he could only rely on various details to observe and search diligently.

It's confirmed: the key isn't on the Pale Monster, nor on Lady Fleshhorn.

The key is...

When he finally caught a glimpse of the key, he was initially overjoyed, but then, realizing that the monster was carrying the key, his joy faded, and he suddenly felt a heaviness in his heart...

The key is on the worm monk.

It hung beneath his black priest's robe, hidden by the drooping hem, revealing only the gleaming tip of a key.

'Damn it, how could it be him?'

Han Su sighed inwardly, an invisible pressure rising in his heart.

This worm monk was the strangest and most unassuming of all the monsters around the dining table. He would simply appear here, select a child, and then go upstairs.

At other times, regardless of the day, this monster moves slowly and calmly, even with a touch of elegance.

I've never seen him speak, nor have I ever seen him lose his temper; he always seems lifeless.

But Han Su knew how difficult he was to deal with.

For other monsters, you can choose to distract them, or even, like dealing with the Pale Giant, directly bully its dolls to make it anxious, and then take advantage of its unpreparedness to forcibly steal the key.

But none of this worked on the worm monk.

Because his entire body was covered in worms, those wriggling, pink-skinned, disgusting worms, which existed on every part of his body.

Most importantly, these insects are extremely perceptive.

Every insect is like his eyes. No matter how he approaches, the insects will notice him immediately. Even if you observe him for a little longer or concentrate too much, the insects will immediately detect it.

How could such a monster possibly steal the key from him?
There's no need to panic...

Han Su comforted himself, thinking that no matter what, there would be another chance during the night of pleasure later.

The other thing is...

With a hint of longing, he subtly shifted his gaze from the worm monk and began searching the other monsters.

There was still a glimmer of hope. He had rescued Xu Ji before, so there was now a key and a door that could appear on any floor of the castle. What about this time?

Meilan was rescued by herself. Will a second key appear this time?
He desperately hoped he could find traces of the key on other monsters, preferably the pale giant, since it had been his most cooperative old friend during his escapes.

But he kept observing and observing until all the selections were over and the remaining children were sent into the cellar by the steward, and he still found nothing.

So, who has the key?

'It couldn't possibly be on one of those monsters that never even came downstairs, could it? Searching for that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.'

Silently pondering this, Han Su quickly realized another problem: 'But, theoretically, rescuing a second person would result in a second reward, is this reward really the key?'

The door only appeared after Xu Ji was rescued. But is it possible that the reward for rescuing a second person is not a door, but something else?

He was suddenly a little confused. The castle was so big, how was he supposed to find it?

But even as he forced himself to remain calm, a few thoughts suddenly flashed through Han Su's mind:

There is no such thing as 100% safety when faced with mysterious infiltration and bizarre phenomena.

Tension and anger will only fuel the spread of madness. Stay calm and fight your own heartbeat; this is the prerequisite for combating the bizarre.

When faced with incomprehensible phenomena and the unknown, if you are unable to make effective plans or inferences, follow your human instincts and act accordingly. Execution is the first element in combating the bizarre.

【…】

These regulations are from the safety guidelines that I was required to read and memorize when I was at the Disaster Management Agency.

Han Su wasn't the kind of smart person who could memorize the entire set of rules word for word, and no one from the Disaster Management Bureau came to explain them one by one. So at the time, Han Su only tried to memorize them for the exam, but only as test content.

But now, huddled in a corner of this gloomy castle, these rules that I hadn't paid much attention to before have inexplicably surfaced in my mind one by one.

'Yes, what's 100% safe and has a clear plan?'

'I've come back many times already, so I have a basic understanding of these monsters. I know that as long as I get the key, I can escape this castle…'

'The advantage is mine! '

'...'

He remained calm and then silently calculated in his mind:
'The best preparation I made upon returning this time was learning the invisibility spell at the Disaster Management Bureau…'

'And the best time to test the quality of this spell is...'

His eyes narrowed slightly: '...Now!'

That is indeed the case now.

His gaze swept over the children in the cellar, who were overwhelmed by fear and tension, and he confirmed his suspicions. By this time, the monsters had already gone upstairs, and the old butler was no longer there.

'I'm sorry then...'

Having made up his mind, Han Su looked at the son of Secretary No. 2, who was now talking about how much he coveted the beautiful maid's nanny.

He stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder: "Your father is Secretary Number 2? That high-ranking official who could kill people and no one would dare to interfere?"

Then a slap landed on his face: "I'll let you taste the iron slap of the working class..."

"..."

The sudden beating caused chaos among the children in the cellar, especially the little boy with parted hair who, unaware of what was happening, burst into tears.

Han Su really didn't hold back, and he was genuinely in pain.

The crying from inside the cellar immediately caused a commotion outside. Soon after, the small door was opened, and the hunchbacked man made a creaking noise, intimidating them while simultaneously letting in light to check the situation inside.

Han Su had been keeping an eye on the movements above and was about to follow suit when he suddenly noticed the things he had chosen to bring in.

My heart pounded with shock and anger.

Every time there was a commotion in the cellar, the hunchback would come to check, holding a lantern to observe what the children were doing. But this time, Han Su discovered that what he brought in was no longer a lantern.

Or is it a crystal that emits an eerie glow?
'Is this because I burned the carpet on the first floor with a kerosene lamp last time?'

Has the mysterious will within the castle made its move once again?

Because it had burned the carpet with the lantern last time, it quietly changed the lantern's structure, replacing the flame with this crystal finger bone.

"damn thing……"

"Are you really not leaving them any chance at all?"

'...'

Cursing inwardly, Han Su stared intently.

But then his heart skipped a beat. The crystal in the lantern looked just like the skeleton from the crystal plague incident he had dealt with in reality not long ago.
(End of this chapter)