DLMSWSHH Chapter 38

Hua: Changing schedule to Saturday and Sunday starting from next week ~

Chapter 38: Players

This batch of players was numerous. At a glance, Zhong Ming could see more than twenty people. The crowd packed the hall to the brim. They were all men.

Zhong Ming took one look and looked away. Unlike the curiosity he felt last time, after everything that had happened, he felt a slight disgust toward players.

He seemed to understand why Madam Mary and the other high-level servants shared that “out of sight, out of mind” attitude toward players. Especially when dozens of men, all different in appearance but sharing the same greedy eyes and aggressive auras, gathered together, the very air in the mansion felt tainted.

Zhong Ming acted as if he hadn’t seen them, focusing entirely on his own work.

Ye Qing was curious and stole a few peeks. She came back and whispered to Zhong Ming, “Those players look terrifying.”

Terror flashed across her face as her voice dropped. “There are several of them who look just like that blonde guy from last time…”

Zhong Ming’s eyes flickered. He gave Ye Qing’s shoulder a reassuring pat and whispered, “Stay away from them.”

After saying it, Zhong Ming paused. Without realizing it, he seemed to have fully integrated into the haunted house.

He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Because there were dozens of players, the haunted house was packed from the first floor to the third. Some players smoked in their rooms, some shouted all day long, and some did who-knows-what, making strange noises in the middle of the night. There was essentially no peace or quiet to be found.

Zhong Ming’s head throbbed from the constant noise. He used every trick he knew to take routes that avoided the players.

However, because there were so many of them and he still had his duties to perform, it was inevitable that he would eventually run into them.

Like today.

Zhong Ming had just finished taking inventory of the supplies in the kitchen and was walking down the corridor toward the main hall. As he rounded the corner, he saw several players standing in a nook of the hall.

They were a group of particularly tall young men.

Zhong Ming narrowed his eyes. Although he hadn’t had much contact with this batch of players, he recognized this specific group immediately simply because they were so conspicuous.

They appeared to be students from a sports university; they had entered the game still wearing their athletic team uniforms.

Zhong Ming stopped at the corner and watched them quietly. He felt something was off.

Those four or five sports students were all massive, easily over 185 cm tall. They were huddled in a corner of the hall, acting suspiciously, though it was unclear what they were doing.

Zhong Ming frowned. After staring at them for a moment, he suddenly noticed something.

In the gap between the players’ legs, a flash of a black dress flickered by.

Zhong Ming’s eyes widened. He strode forward, shouting: “What are you doing!”

Startled by his sudden voice, the players jumped and hurriedly backed away a few steps, revealing Ye Qing trapped in the middle.

Zhong Ming’s gaze fell on her face, and his breath hitched slightly.

Ye Qing’s round face was covered in tear stains. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her hands were clutched protectively over her chest. The moment she saw Zhong Ming, her expression flared with relief and joy, but an instant later, as if remembering something, she hung her head in shame.

As Zhong Ming’s gaze moved down, he saw that a button on her collar had been ripped off. His eyebrow twitched violently.

The sports students were a bit panicked to see a new NPC appear on the other side of the hall, especially one who, from a distance, looked like a man.

“…What do we do?”

“…Looks like a male NPC we haven’t seen before.”

“Let’s just go.”

After a few whispered exchanges, they seemed to reach an agreement. To the sound of hurried, disorganized footsteps, Zhong Ming watched them crowd together and leave the hall. One of them even turned back to glance at Ye Qing, letting out a few ambiguous chuckles. He then turned to say something to his companions, and the group walked off, hooting and laughing.

Zhong Ming frowned. Although he didn’t hear what they were saying, he knew from Ye Qing’s lowered head and hunched shoulders that it wasn’t anything nice.

He walked quickly to her side. “Are you okay?”

Zhong Ming carefully scanned Ye Qing’s exposed skin from head to toe. After confirming there were no visible wounds, he let out a small sigh of relief and looked up at her.

“What did they do?”

Ye Qing’s body was still trembling slightly. Hearing his question, she hurriedly reached out to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes and said with her head down: “No… it’s nothing…”

Her voice still carried a sob as she cast a cautious glance at Zhong Ming. “They just suddenly blocked my way and said some unpleasant things.”

Zhong Ming frowned. He could see through Ye Qing’s evasive attitude.

He took a breath, softening his voice: “What did they say?”

Zhong Ming lowered his eyes to the missing button on her collar. “Did they… touch you anywhere?”

At those words, Ye Qing flinched again. She lowered her head deeply, her hands gripping her dress tightly. Her face and ears turned a deep crimson from the rush of blood.

Even though she was the victim, Ye Qing was the one displaying shame.

Seeing this, Zhong Ming’s frown deepened. He bent down, resting his hands on his knees to bring his eyes level with hers, and said softly: “Ye Qing, this isn’t your fault,” Zhong Ming said. “You don’t need to feel ashamed.”

As his gentle voice fell, Ye Qing gave a small sob and looked up, her eyes as red as a rabbit’s.

“Th-they… said they couldn’t find the bathroom and wanted me to lead the way.” Ye Qing rubbed her eyes hard, the skin around them turning raw and red. “After I refused, they surrounded me and tried to touch… touch my chest.”

Zhong Ming’s brow twitched.

To be honest, this kind of thing happening in the game didn’t surprise him. The players who joined this game all had their flaws to some extent. Men were already a species that would go for any hole they could find; now, in a repressed game dungeon, the sudden appearance of a weak and exploitable female NPC had clearly triggered the criminal nerves in some players’ brains.

Zhong Ming looked coldly in the direction the sports students had left. Would simply killing them… even solve the problem? There were dozens of players this time; who knew how many more of that kind were among them?

Just then, Ye Qing’s slightly trembling voice spoke up: “Zhong Ming, your expression is so scary.”

Seeing him look back, Ye Qing raised her hand in a downward chopping motion. “It’s like the look a boss in a gangster movie gives before ordering someone to be taken out.”

Zhong Ming: “…” What kind of analogy was that?

Seeing Zhong Ming’s speechless expression, Ye Qing broke into a smile through her tears. “It’s okay. Don’t worry, I’ll just stay far away from them next time.”

Ye Qing wiped away the last of her tears and pulled herself together. “Anyway, these players will all die soon, won’t they?”

They would die, yes. Zhong Ming thought to himself, but he didn’t know exactly how long it would take. There were too many players this time, like a swarm of locusts; who knew how long it would take for them all to die out?

Zhong Ming looked down and thought for a moment, then looked up. “No. It’s too dangerous.”

Ye Qing had no ability to protect herself. He couldn’t be by her side every second to protect her, and eventually, a player would find an opening.

Ye Qing said helplessly, “Then… what should we do?”

Zhong Ming thought for a moment and made up his mind. He placed his hands on Ye Qing’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “From now on, when there are players around, I will take over your duties outside.”

He paused, then added, “You stay in the archives with Tao or Madam Mary.”

Ye Qing’s mouth fell open. “…Th-that’s not really appropriate, is it? Those are chores for maidservants—” She suddenly realized something and gasped. “Are you going to wear a dress?”

Zhong Ming nodded. “I measured the dimensions of the clothes yesterday. I should be able to fit in.”

Hearing this, Ye Qing blinked and looked the youth up and down. She hadn’t really noticed before, but Mommy, oh no, Zhong Ming’s waist was so thin. Looking at it now, it wasn’t much wider than hers. He could definitely fit into the dress.

Zhong Ming and Ye Qing looked at each other, both feeling highly encouraged.

It seemed like a great plan!

–

…Th-this feels a bit bad.

Ye Qing stood outside the room, her eyes twitching violently as she watched Zhong Ming, now dressed in the dress, walk out of the bathroom.

Zhong Ming tugged at the hem of the dress, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, though his face remained as calm as ever. He turned back to look at the stunned Ye Qing.

“What’s wrong?” Zhong Ming stood up straight, fastening the button he had sewn back onto the collar. He looked down at the hem. “It’s a bit small, but it should be fine for just a few hours.”

Ye Qing stared at him blankly, her face looking like her soul had left her body.

Her eyes darted down, landing on the hem of the dress an inch above Zhong Ming’s knees.

Zhong Ming had shortened the length of this dress himself. On Ye Qing, it sat right at the knee, showing her slender calves, a dignified and elegant length.

The problem was that Zhong Ming was significantly taller than her.

The hem had migrated from below the knee to above the knee, exposing a section of the youth’s pale thighs.

Ye Qing’s gaze moved further down, landing on the garter straps tightly gripping Zhong Ming’s calves.

She suddenly screamed: “…NO!!!”

Zhong Ming was startled and looked up in surprise. “What’s wrong?”

Ye Qing couldn’t find the words, her cheeks flushing panicked red. She stared at Zhong Ming’s slender, long calves and the black stockings covering them. A black silk ribbon extended from the top of the stockings, tracing the youth’s pale, delicate skin upward before disappearing beneath the hem of the dress.

It was almost as if it were an invitation for someone to lift the dress and investigate further.

…Ab-absolutely not!!!

Ye Qing let out a sharp, high-pitched shriek: “No! No way! Mom—Zhong Ming, you can’t go out looking like that!”

“…Why not?” Zhong Ming furrowed his brows and followed Ye Qing’s gaze to the stockings on his legs. “Oh, you mean these. These are a pain to put back on… do I have to take them off?”

Ye Qing looked at him. She was about to say he should take them off, but then an image of Zhong Ming with his long legs completely bare popped into her mind.

The youth’s legs were pale and straight.

…Wh-why does that seem even worse!!

Ye Qing was speechless, her brain practically steaming. To be fair, the dress wasn’t actually that short on Zhong Ming, and he was covered tightly from the collar to the arms; it couldn’t really be called revealing. But because the youth’s frame was larger than hers, the dress that was slightly loose on Ye Qing hugged Zhong Ming’s waistline tightly, perfectly showcasing his tall, straight silhouette.

Even though it only exposed a small section of thigh and a bit of wrist, still—

Ye Qing looked at Zhong Ming’s cold profile. Her scalp felt numb.

“Don’t worry,” Zhong Ming told her. “Regardless, I am a man. They can’t really do anything to me.”

He pulled open the door, glanced back at Ye Qing, and instructed: “Stay quietly in the archives. If you see players, avoid them.”

Then he turned and left.

Ye Qing was breaking out in a cold sweat. Looking at Zhong Ming’s back as he walked away, she felt that no matter how she looked at it, Zhong Ming was in far more danger than she was!

–

Zhong Ming took over Ye Qing’s duties. Since he was more familiar with the mansion’s layout, he intentionally timed his tasks to avoid the players, so for the first few days, he didn’t have any direct confrontations.

But with dozens of people around, it was impossible to avoid them entirely.

Following instructions, Zhong Ming was placing a vase on a display cabinet at the corner of a corridor. He looked down and saw several shadows projected onto the floor, slowly surrounding him from the front, back, left, and right.

Footsteps stopped behind him.

“Miss, do you need some help?”

They didn’t seem to realize that Zhong Ming wasn’t Ye Qing. They continued, “Why did you run away the other day? We just wanted to be friends.”

A few sneers followed. Someone whispered, “Fuck, man, have some goddamn shame.”

Zhong Ming didn’t respond. He focused on using a rag to wipe away a small splash of water from the vase on the display stand. He folded the rag unhurriedly, tucked it away, and leaned over the bucket.

During the movement, his profile was slightly revealed.

Behind him, the four sports students froze on the spot. For a full few dozen seconds, silence reigned. It wasn’t until Zhong Ming swapped to a dry rag to polish the vase that one of them opened his mouth: “Hey… she’s not the same one.”

At those words, the others seemed to wake from a dream. They realized the person in front of them wasn’t the crying, round-faced maid from the other day.

They looked at Zhong Ming’s straight back and the dark ponytail swaying gently behind him with each movement. Their eyes began to wander.

One of them chuckled, touched his nose, and curled the corner of his mouth into a smile.

“Fuck, she’s a bit too pretty. I’m almost afraid to talk to her.”

Hearing this, the person next to him laughed out loud and nudged him with a shoulder.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Is there anything you wouldn’t dare to do?”

“No, for real.”

The man laughed, rubbed his buzz cut hair, and put his hands in his pockets. He took a few steps forward and leaned over from the side to look at Zhong Ming’s profile.

“Hey, pretty lady. You’re really gorgeous.”

Zhong Ming turned a deaf ear to his words. He tilted his head back, reaching up to wipe the rim of the vase.

Seeing no reaction from the other, the youth with the buzz cut raised an eyebrow and retracted his gaze. He tilted his head toward the few people behind him and chuckled.

“She doesn’t seem to understand human speech. What should we do?”

The group broke into another round of jeering laughter. One of them raised his voice: “What else? Just get hands-on!”

Their manner of provocation was practiced; clearly, this wasn’t their first time doing this.

The smile on the buzz cut’s face grew wider. He turned around, his gaze scanning Zhong Ming’s back from top to bottom, lingering on the sharply tapering curve of his waist. His eyes flickered. He slowly withdrew his hand from his trouser pocket, tilted his chin up, and stepped forward with a downcast, smiling gaze, attempting to wrap his arm around the maid’s slender waist from behind.

However, at that exact moment, Zhong Ming suddenly turned his head.

He lifted his eyes and looked at the youth, who was only an inch away, his expression freezing cold.

The buzz cut’s eyes widened. Seeing the impactful features of the person before him, he actually felt a jolt of trepidation in his heart. He pulled his hand back in a panic, as if he had been electrocuted.

“Move.”

Frost formed on Zhong Ming’s face as he coldly spat out the word.

Every line of his face was sharp and severe, his aura so overbearing that, for a moment, no one dared to stop him.

Several sports students instinctively cleared a path, watching blankly as Zhong Ming looked down, picked up his bucket, and bypassed them expressionlessly.

It wasn’t until Zhong Ming’s figure disappeared around the corner that the buzz cut snapped out of it. He looked down at his right hand and almost laughed in exasperation.

“Fuck.”

He clenched his fist and released it, repeating the motion several times while staring in the direction Zhong Ming had left. He turned to the others and said: “Did you guys see that? This game actually has an NPC that looks like that.”

Someone looked at him with an exaggerated expression: “Holy shit, the modeling is insane. Who developed this game again?”

The person beside him said: “Who cares who made it? Let’s play first.”

The group burst into laughter again, the atmosphere loosening up as if they weren’t the ones who had just been scared into backing up several steps by a single look from Zhong Ming.

Just then, someone seemed to think of something and looked up at the buzz cut: “Wait a minute,” he said. “For someone who looks like that, shouldn’t we tell Shen Weinian first?”

The moment that name was mentioned, the atmosphere suddenly stalled.

As if a taboo had been invoked, everyone’s faces stiffened. They silently exchanged a few looks.

The smile on the buzz cut’s lips faded. After a brief pause, he looked down, pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket, lit one, and held it between his lips. He took a slow drag and blew it out before speaking: “…Let me test the waters first.”

The buzz cut exhaled a puff of smoke, glanced at the others, and, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, curled his teeth into a smirk, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.

“Isn’t it better to let our ‘Prince’ know once the person is prepared?”