Chapter 117: Change in Notification

After leaving the collection room, the game prompt changed as expected:

"Investigate the secrets of Terror Castle and find its owner, Yasuo Shirakawa."

As Su Cheng read this prompt, the fog in his mind's palace dissipated, and a clear plotline emerged.

"Based on the information revealed by this prompt, Yasuo Shirakawa, the master of Terror Castle, is not dead. In that case, the so-called inheritance is merely a ruse to lure the heirs to this ancient castle. But what exactly is Yasuo Shirakawa's objective?"

After speaking with the soul of the caretaker lady, a bold idea formed in Su Cheng's mind. The master of Terror Castle was likely not an ordinary human; or rather, he wasn't human at all, but some form of supernatural entity like a yokai or an evil spirit.

Regardless of what this Yasuo Shirakawa was, finding him would bring everything to light.

Just then, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.

"If Yasuo Shirakawa isn't dead, the butler in the castle couldn't possibly be unaware of it. That means the butler is also an accomplice in this incident."

Su Cheng pondered for a moment and checked the time on his phone.

It was 1:40 AM, with three or four hours remaining until dawn. He deduced that the time limit for this horror story was likely until daybreak. This meant he had to find Yasuo Shirakawa and uncover the secrets of Terror Castle within this timeframe.

Whether to create a terrifying atmosphere or to save electricity, the lighting in the castle was mostly broken, and the hallway lights would not turn on. He had to keep his flashlight on at all times to see the path ahead.

After walking down a staircase for about half a minute, Su Cheng reached the first-floor dining room.

This must have been where guests were entertained. The decor was exceptionally luxurious, with a massive crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and exquisite antique porcelain from China displayed in prominent positions.

In the center of the dining room sat a long rosewood table. Despite its age, the rare wood showed no signs of decay, instead emitting a faint, lingering fragrance. The carvings were delicate and intricate, a true work of art. While the room was filled with fine porcelain, this rosewood table was undoubtedly the most valuable item.

The flashlight beam landed on the table, which was covered by a clean, beige tablecloth and set with a stack of fine dinnerware.

"Who's there?"

Suddenly, he noticed someone sitting in a chair at the far end of the table.

After a few seconds, seeing no reaction, Su Cheng shone his flashlight toward the figure. As the light hit the man's face, Su Cheng recognized him as the middle-aged man with the potbelly he had seen in the living room earlier.

"Sir, are you eating?"

Su Cheng noticed the man was holding a knife and fork, and on the silver-plated platter in front of him lay something resembling entrails and intestines.

The man didn't respond, sitting stiffly and motionless. A bizarre atmosphere filled the room. As Su Cheng approached, he realized the man's jaw was hanging open as if dislocated, his eyes wide, and saliva dripping from his lips. His expression was twisted in agony, as if he had seen something horrific.

Su Cheng's heart tightened. He reached out to check the man's carotid artery and found he had already passed away.

Drip, drip.

A trail of blood trickled down his body onto the floor, and a crimson pool began to spread beneath his feet.

Looking down, Su Cheng saw that the man had been disemboweled, his organs and intestines extracted and placed on the dinner plate.

"Who killed him and made such a gruesome mess? Could it be an evil spirit in the castle?"

Just as Su Cheng was examining the body, a massive shadow loomed over him.

It happened in an instant.

As the shadow engulfed him, a cold blade tore through the air, and a pitch-black slash struck with lightning speed.

*Swish!*

The blade sliced through flesh. Su Cheng frowned, feeling immense resistance against his own weapon.

Focusing his gaze, he saw a mountain of flesh looming behind him. It was a massive, sturdy figure wearing blood-stained chef's attire, holding a spatula in one hand and a butcher's knife in the other.

A terrifying murderous intent descended. Su Cheng looked up and saw that the figure had no head above its shoulders.

"What the hell?"

Before he could react, a furious roar erupted from the headless entity's chest.

"Where is my head? Give me back my head!"

A terrifying sonic wave blasted outward, leaving Su Cheng's head ringing, as if it were about to explode.

In the next second, Su Cheng pulled his blade, *Shadow of the Gale*, out of the headless spirit's dense muscle and retreated rapidly.

The headless spirit charged forward relentlessly, swinging its door-sized butcher knife at Su Cheng’s neck with brutal force.

At the last split second, Su Cheng blocked the blow, barely parrying the strike. Pain shot through his arms; the headless spirit possessed incredible strength that nearly snapped his bones.

"Your head isn't with me. Go cool off somewhere else."

The headless spirit in the dining room was thick-skinned and tougher than a tank zombie. Su Cheng didn't want to waste time; he planned to bypass the room and find the castle's owner.

Time was running out.

However, the spirit had no intention of letting him go, lunging again with its spatula and knife.

Narrowly dodging the slashes, Su Cheng darted toward the dining room window like a gust of wind.

*Bang!*

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the gloomy, silent castle, and a ghost-like figure vanished into the night.

...

"Damn it, why won't this lock open?"

In a luxury bedroom on the second floor, a young man with bleached yellow hair was trying to pry open a vanity drawer with a tool.

After about a minute, with a soft *click*, the drawer popped open.

Taro Shamoto excitedly dumped the valuable gold jewelry and gemstones onto the floor.

"Success! Once I sell these, I'll be a rich man." Taro's eyes were filled with greed. Knowing he had little chance of winning the inheritance, he had come for the castle's valuables from the start.

"What are you doing?"

As Taro stuffed the stolen goods into his pockets, the bedroom door pushed open. A figure walked in behind him, looking curious.

Taro jumped in fright, spinning around to see the blonde girl from among the heirs standing there. Seeing her, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't be so loud. Do you want to attract everyone else?" Taro, feeling guilty, glared at her and lowered his voice.

"Are you stealing? If the people in the castle find out, you'll go to jail."

"Hmph, don't pretend. Don't think I don't know you often lure wealthy old men to hotels and steal their money when they're not looking. You came here for the same reason, didn't you?"

Before arriving, Taro had investigated the girl and learned she had been arrested for theft before.

At these words, the blonde girl’s face darkened, as if hit in a sore spot. She was indeed here to steal valuables, just like Taro, though her luck had been poor, yielding only minor trinkets.

"Struck a nerve, didn't I? You're just a gold digger." Taro sneered, pulling a handful of gems from his pocket and staring greedily at her body. "You want these? Spend the night with me, and they're yours."

A shadow crossed the girl's eyes. Just as she turned to leave, a ghostly presence latched onto her.

In the next second, a seductive smile spread across her face, and she swayed toward the yellow-haired youth.

Taro didn't notice the strange, blood-red light flickering in her eyes.

*Bang.* The bedroom door was slammed shut by an invisible force.

Soon after, agonizing screams rang out from the bedroom, swallowed by the deep night.

A stream of crimson blood began to seep out from beneath the door frame.