Chapter 28: Cat and Mouse Game

Dong Xiaoyu carried a pair of high heels in her hand, sneaking along behind Ding Mo's backside, looking just like a little tadpole.

Her snow-white toes stepped cautiously onto the ground, trying her best not to make a single sound.

Although this action would cause her Threshold to drop for not conforming to "Queen etiquette," she couldn't care about such things now in order to escape. She could just put them back on later.

"Very good, their attention was indeed drawn away..." Ding Mo glanced behind him at those few 'Dwarfs' who were either furious or wailing, and led Dong Xiaoyu far away.

Not until they had fled to some unknown floor of the Hotel did Ding Mo heave a sigh of relief and stop his pace.

Now, the danger was finally temporarily resolved.

The corridor lights were on, declaring that the performance had not yet ended. However, the two of them still relaxed a little.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!" Dong Xiaoyu panted, drenched in fragrant sweat.

"Ding Mo... ah, I mean, my loyal 'Attendant,' where are we going next?"

After all, the performance had not yet ended, so she still had to be careful with her speech.

With a hint of reliance in the voice beside his ear, Ding Mo turned his head and looked at her.

He saw that the look in this girl's eyes as she gazed at him held an indescribable expectation and trust.

After all, Ding Mo had saved Dong Xiaoyu's life in the lobby just moments ago. Otherwise, Dong Xiaoyu would likely be a corpse by now.

The most crucial thing was that in Dong Xiaoyu's eyes, Ding Mo clearly did not fall into the category of a pervert,

but was a normal person.

Ding Mo met her gaze, but gave a bitter smile.

Today had started with the attack of the suitcase and Chu Chenfeng's betrayal;

then, before he had fully recovered from the escape, he heard the Script being announced; and at night, he had to match wits and courage with Leng Rourou, Lu Zhenhao, and the others.

He hadn't thought that far ahead at all, or rather, he had no time to think about what they should do now that he had muddied the waters.

It would be a blessing if the plan succeeded; as for what came after, he could only play it by ear.

However, Ding Mo thought for a moment and said, "Let's go find York."

According to the Magic Mirror's settings, York naturally belonged to their camp, so they could consider tracking down his whereabouts.

If he wasn't dead, he would be at least some help.

Ding Mo reckoned that the information on the note left behind by the suitcase was an important clue. It was just that he felt something was missing, and he couldn't unravel its meaning.

Chu Chenfeng had clearly lied about this point; whether or not one completed the suitcase game did not affect the acquisition of information, it only determined the life or death of the participant.

Taking advantage of the current time, Ding Mo needed to organize his thoughts and clues. Of course, he couldn't just sit idle; he had to find something to do—two-pronged approach!

Now all the lights in the corridor were on, so they could go wherever they wanted.

Find York? Upon hearing this, Dong Xiaoyu nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Wherever Ding Mo went, she would go.

………………………………

"You damn bastard!" On Lu Zhenhao's side, he was still slapping faces.

Slap!

And the "pig head" under his hand was making grunting sounds from beneath his Mask:

"Boss... stop... stop slapping, I'm already awake..."

The Horse-faced man's head was swollen high, mumbling as he begged for mercy.

At this, Lu Zhenhao's hand was starting to ache from hitting, and hearing this, he stopped.

"If I don't slap you a few more times, how will you remember the lesson next time you face that woman!

"Don't you dare get horny the moment you see her and turn into an idiot who only knows how to call out 'Mommy'!"

As Lu Zhenhao spoke, he also swept a fierce glance at the other two.

The three of them hurriedly expressed their understanding.

Actually, it was fine; if the boss were truly angry, he would kill to vent his rage.

"Boss." At this moment, the Muscular man, who had already searched the lobby once, dared to speak—his head was also somewhat swollen.

"The Queen and the others have already run off."

Hearing this, Lu Zhenhao was not surprised at all.

He pondered slightly for a moment, then raised his head and looked in the direction where Leng Rourou had fled.

Then he strode off in pursuit, and the others followed suit upon seeing this.

That woman had already revealed her trump card just now, so there was nothing to fear. But Ding Mo's side had two people, possessed weapons, and were not easy to deal with.

Naturally, one must pick the soft persimmon to squeeze!

……………………………………

Time was passing; it was now 3:07 AM.

Ding Mo and the girl were walking on the 23rd floor of the Hotel.

This place seemed to have originally been a bar, or a Canting, for people to be entertained, eat, and chat.

Naturally, it was empty here.

But what was eerie was... beside a table, Ding Mo looked at the coffee still steaming on the table and the plates still stained with grease, unable to help but show a grave expression.

He looked around; the surrounding chairs were clean but crooked, clearly showing signs of long-term use, yet it was completely empty.

It was as if the users were transparent existences that could not be seen!

Dong Xiaoyu followed by his side, also somewhat timid, when suddenly she gasped in a low voice:

"Ding Mo! Look, what is that?"

Ding Mo followed her gaze and saw, under a table, a pitch-black square passage abruptly chiseled into the base of one of the Canting walls.

The strangest thing was that this pitch-black passage was only as high as a normal person's knees; theoretically, one would have to crawl to get inside.

Furthermore, it was incredibly deep and dark inside, with no telling where it led.

What kind of "person" would even enter or exit the Canting from a place like this?

"..." Ding Mo exhaled and said:

"Let's leave quickly; this place isn't right!"

Originally, they had wanted to see if there was anything to eat here; after all, under the current circumstances, returning to their rooms was too dangerous—all Actors knew the locations of each other's rooms.

Dong Xiaoyu was already feeling unnerved, so upon hearing this, she hurriedly nodded and followed Ding Mo as he walked quickly toward the exit.

In the empty Canting, only the sound of their two sets of footsteps echoed...

Fortunately, nothing unusual happened until the two of them left.

Ding Mo and his companion breathed a sigh of relief and continued forward.

After walking for a while longer, the two of them finally arrived at the room of York the Demon Realm.

Ding Mo had intended to knock on the door, but he discovered that the door was actually left ajar!

Ding Mo was stunned, then his gaze sharpened! He stepped back two paces, drew his sword, and signaled for Dong Xiaoyu to stay further away.

Only then did he exert force from his wrist to push open the door.

What met his eyes was a cramped utility room, containing only a bed and a desk with some tools and notebooks on it.

Aside from some sundries, there was nothing in the room; there were no corpses, nor were there any strange things.

Ding Mo carefully inspected the area outside the door for a while before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

The two entered the room, closed the door, and planned to rest there for a moment.

"Ugh..." As soon as the door was closed, Dong Xiaoyu sat on the bed to the side, her face showing exhaustion.

She kicked off her high heels and rubbed her bruised feet.

Ding Mo walked over to the desk at the side.

According to the Actor Manual, even during a performance, it is permissible to appropriately remove one's costume or engage in some actions that do not conform to etiquette while inside one's room.

The fact that Dong Xiaoyu showed no signs of her Threshold dropping was proof of this.

At the desk, Ding Mo rummaged through things to see if there was anything of value.

Finally, he unearthed a notebook.

Judging by the content written within, it should be the work of York.

The content of the first part is as follows: