What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C30.2

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Chp30. part2

The wooden floor of the bedroom gleamed so brightly it reflected light. Lying down, one could see the baseboards on all four walls. The drawers were empty, and the wardrobe contained only a neat stack of pure white sheets and duvet covers on one side.

Apart from a framed painting on the wall, there were no other items in the room.

This room was so meticulously tidy, it looked like a model of decluttering, making it nearly impossible to hide anything.

The two began searching from opposite corners of the room, leaving no crevice unchecked, systematically combing every inch.

After searching for a while, Ning Ge simply sat down on the bed and set aside the blanket she had been rummaging through.

“Tired? I can handle this,” Pei Han offered.

“No,” Ning Ge replied, “I don’t want to search like this anymore.”

“Why not?” Pei Han asked.

“Given the style of this dungeon’s tasks so far,” Ning Ge explained, “I don’t think it would hide the Silver Medal under a mattress, in a floor crack, or in a drawer corner. The place where the silver must be special, even bizarre.”

Pei Han gave up the search and sat down beside her. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“It won’t be somewhere completely hidden,” Ning Ge mused, “like embedded in a wall or anything. That would be pointless—everyone would miss it.”

She scanned the room, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a pleasant fragrance reached her nose. Slightly sweet, like roses.

It was definitely coming from Pei Han beside her.

It hadn’t been noticeable outdoors, but now that they were close, it was unmistakable.

The man had suddenly become fragrant.

Did he put on perfume? Ning Ge wondered. Did he ask Iris for it? I did tell Iris last night to give Pei Han whatever he wanted.

But why would he suddenly wear perfume?

Ning Ge’s thoughts lingered on his rose scent for a moment before drifting away.

She continued, “If I designed this dungeon, I’d hide the Silver Medal in a special place that’s obvious to everyone, but they wouldn’t think to look there.”

Her gaze swept across the bedroom as she stood up. “Where could it be?”

After looking around and finding no obvious hiding places in the bedroom, Ning Ge decided to leave.

Owen and Teacher Su were rummaging through the living room. Seeing them emerge, Owen asked, “Finished searching your room? That was fast?”

Ning Ge watched as Owen finished squeezing the cushions on the sofa, then climbed onto the windowsill to remove the hollow curtain rod. He unscrewed one end, shook it, and, seeing nothing fall out, reinstalled it.

Thank goodness Owen didn’t design this dungeon, Ning Ge thought. If he used this kind of hiding method, we’d never find anything, even if we died trying.

The living room also offered no suitable hiding places for the medal.

Just as Ning Ge was about to head toward the other bedroom—where the Delivery Man and the cross-dressing Guy were responsible—footsteps suddenly sounded at the door.

The heavy steps were definitely not Engineer Zheng and the others.

Everyone heard them and froze for a moment.

Then, like mice hearing a cat, they scattered in panic.

Ning Ge instinctively ran back to the bedroom with Pei Han. Pei Han yanked open the wardrobe door, and the two of them squeezed inside.

The closet was pitch-black, with only a sliver of light seeping through the crack in the door.

Pei Han was so tall that the two of them were crammed into one compartment, filling it to the brim.

Pei Han turned sideways, trying his best to make space for Ning Ge, but the limited space still left him half-holding her.

Squeezed together like this, the sweet, fresh rose scent from his body became more noticeable. The amount of cologne was just right—not too strong, not too light—and quite pleasant.

He was definitely the best-smelling boy Ning Ge had ever encountered.

But Ning Ge couldn’t focus on that now.

The door creaked open, and then, from the doorway, came a rhythmic click-clack, click-clack sound.

The sound was loud and crisp, like shoes tapping on a wooden floor, unhurried and deliberate.

The sound slowly moved from the doorway to the kitchen.

Ning Ge’s heart leaped. Iris was in the kitchen.

But nothing happened, only the faint clinking of pots and pans.

Iris was clever; he had probably hidden like everyone else and gone unnoticed.

After a rustling sound, the footsteps resumed, moving toward the bedroom.

Click-clack, click-clack…

The footsteps grew closer.

It seemed to be heading towards the wardrobe.

They said this house was haunted, and they didn’t know if what was outside was human or ghost.

In the darkness, Ning Ge felt the rose fragrance grow stronger. Pei Han suddenly reached out and gently put his arm around her shoulders.

He seemed to be afraid she was scared.

Yet Ning Ge wasn’t afraid.

She’d already seen ghosts in the dungeon worlds; they were nothing special, just sputtering and sparking when you zapped them with electricity.

Logically, her fragility was a disadvantage. But based on her experience in these dungeon, physical confrontation wasn’t always necessary.

Besides, she had a Great Weapon right beside her.

Pei Han had been through so many dungeon, seen countless humans and ghosts—there was nothing he couldn’t handle.

Even with the rose-adorned wristband on his wrist and rose-scented perfume, he was still just a Great Weapon radiating rose fragrance.

The Great Weapon had also said this was a battle of wits, not strength.

Click, click.

The footsteps reached the wardrobe door and stopped. The adjacent cabinet door creaked open, and someone began rummaging inside, likely for sheets or duvet covers.

A moment later, the door closed, and the footsteps turned in a new direction.

Judging by the sound, they seemed to be heading toward the head of the bed this time.

Ning Ge wasn’t truly scared. Sensing that the thing had turned its back on them, she immediately pushed the cabinet door open a crack.

Pei Han leaned in, peering through the narrow gap with her.

The person outside stood with their back to them, appearing to be a woman of considerable size—sturdy and robust.

Contrasting with her burly frame was a green floral headscarf printed with yellow sunflowers, and a matching skirt that trailed to her ankles.

On her feet, she wore a pair of dark iron shoes.

The clattering sound earlier had been the hard soles of these shoes striking the floor.

She walked to the bedside, set down a large stack of clean sheets and duvet covers she was holding, and began pulling off the pillowcase while muttering to herself:

“The pillowcase is dirty. The master hates dirty pillowcases.”

This being was extremely meticulous. Ning Ge couldn’t see any dirt on the pristine white pillowcase at all.

With swift, practiced movements, she yanked off the pillowcase and set it on the chair beside her.

As the person turned, Ning Ge saw her face.

It was also a puppet.

And like the half-puppet at the door, it wasn’t made of wood. The visible parts of her face were dark and metallic, as if cast from iron.

Thw craftsmanship was far inferior to Iris’s, but still far more refined than that of ordinary wooden puppet guards.

Her face was meticulously shaped to resemble an old woman, complete with eye bags and wrinkles.

As she turned, Ning Ge noticed a green apron printed with sunflowers hanging from her bodice. In the center of the apron was a round, yellow patchwork pocket, surrounded by embroidered rays of light, presumably representing the sun.

The entire outfit was theme-consistent, even the iron clogs on her feet were adorned with two sunflowers.

This was a puppet, Ning Ge immediately tried to connect with Thought Silk.

Still no luck.

Like the half-puppet at the door, Thought Silk simply refused to connect, no matter what she tried.

The Iron Puppet Granny was busy with household chores. She nimbly changed the pillowcase and suddenly bent down, pinching a small object from the floor with her fingertips.

It looked like a tiny pebble.

It must have been tracked in everyone’s shoes.

Iron Puppet Granny held the small pebble up to the light streaming through the window, scrutinizing it for a long time.

“Filth,” she said with disgust. “Master doesn’t like dirt on the floor.” She frowned. “I cleaned the whole floor thoroughly. Where did this filth come from?”

She turned her eyes in confusion, unable to figure it out.

She casually tucked the pebble into the large pocket of her apron and reached for the duvet cover on the bed, but her hand suddenly froze.

She tilted her head, staring at the bed with a troubled expression.

“Why is the wool blanket askew?” she suddenly exclaimed.

Iron Puppet Granny was staring at the wool blanket Ning Ge had casually tossed onto the bed earlier.

“The wool blanket has been disturbed! Mice got in!”

She spun around in place, her iron clogs clattering loudly.

“Kill the mice! Kill the mice!”

Iron Puppet Granny stomped out of the bedroom on her iron clogs and returned moments later, clutching a massive iron hammer.

The hammer head was as thick as the rim of a large bowl and looked incredibly heavy, but Iron Puppet Granny, surprisingly strong, wielded it with ease.

Carrying her hammer, she circled the bed and suddenly asked, “Could the mouse be hiding under there?”

She swung the hammer down with a deafening crash.

The impact was earth-shattering. Not only did the bed collapse, but the bed frame splintered into a thousand pieces, wood fragments flying in all directions.

Ning Ge: “……”

Is she trying to catch a mouse or just tear down the house? she wondered. I doubt her master will be happy about this method.

In the blink of an eye, the Iron Puppet Granny’s gaze fell on a nearby low cabinet. Without hesitation, she brought her hammer down again, reducing it to rubble.

She kicked at the splintered wood. “No mouse here. Where could it be hiding?”

She spun around, her eyes scanning every piece of furniture in the room until they finally settled on the wardrobe where Ning Ge and Pei Han were hiding.

Ning Ge released Thought Silk again.

Still no connection.

Having locked onto her target, the Iron Puppet Granny lumbered toward the wardrobe, her massive hammer held high.

Staring at the approaching hammer, Ning Ge desperately wanted to ask Pei Han, You said this was a brain-power, not brawn, dungeon? Really?

Author’s Note:
Pei Han: It’s true.