Looking at him, Lu Mingran thought to herself that as a friend, Gu He was more than just passable, he was practically outstanding.
He has an older brother. When Lu Mingran was a sophomore in college, his brother persuaded their mother to stop paying his living expenses and tuition, so that he would go out to work and earn money, ostensibly to toughen himself up and adapt to society. Later, Lu Mingran got angry and went to his brother. His brother replied that it was unfair that he didn't go to college while Lu Mingran did and that Lu Mingran spent more money on college.
So, I forced you to get into a gang fight in middle school and end up dropping out?
That was his own brother; he wouldn't even give his own brother a single bite of food.
If Lu Mingran could really have a brother like Gu He in real life after going back, she felt she would be so happy she would be overjoyed.
However, the truth was that it would only last three weeks at most. He lowered his head somewhat dejectedly, and as soon as he did so, his heart skipped a beat.
Lu Mingran suddenly noticed bloodstains on the step closest to her.
No, it wasn't just here. Going up the stairs, there were steps, handrails, and... Lu Mingran got up, somewhat scared but forcing herself to walk into the corridor.
There were also scattered bloodstains on the walls and floor of the corridor, stretching forward to Gu He's room.
A large bloodstain dripped from the doorway of Gu He's room. Then, Lu Mingran pushed open the door and stared wide-eyed at the sight that Gu He's bedsheets were practically soaked in blood.
"Don't worry, only you can see it, and it will only last for a short while." Suddenly, the system's voice rang out.
This time, the system's voice inexplicably returned to its original state, very mechanical and cold.
Lu Mingran asked it, "What's going on?"
"The masterpiece left by the first two players."
After saying that, the system laughed. This was the first time Lu Mingran had heard it laugh: "Do you know why the first two people failed?"
One reason is that you can't find any ghost stories to exchange for clues at the beginning, but there is another key reason.
They are afraid of death.
He was afraid of death and relied on Gu He.
Midway through the mission, a sense of helplessness and the fear of death overwhelmed them. At that moment, the powerful Gu He was so close; if they had just asked, Gu He would have helped them.
For them, Gu He's existence was like a bowl of water placed in front of someone who was extremely thirsty.
But Gu He was unaware of his fate, while they were. After Gu He helped them, at midnight, four men in red coats appeared together, stormed into the house, and beheaded Gu He. Blood splattered across the bed and floor.
The two players sat trembling on the bed in the next room, not making a sound or even glancing over.
The only noise they made was when, after the Triple Kill Curse was lifted due to mission failure, they happily ran downstairs, stepping on the blood on the ground.
To complete the mission, one is cursed and then silently awaits death?
On what grounds?
Since Gu He cares so much about his brothers, then Gu He, you should have no objection to him asking you to die for your brothers.
After listening to the system's words, Lu Mingran remained silent for a long time.
The bloodstains on the bed, the floor, and outside began to slowly fade. Lu Mingran bit her lip tightly, turned around, and walked out of Gu He's room.
The area downstairs was still bustling with activity. It's said that when the red coat appeared before, it was also a happy and lively night like this.
That annoying middle-aged man is gone. Gu He let out a long sigh of relief. He turned his head and saw Lu Mingran looking at him from the stairs.
"Xiao Tao, come down for dinner."
"Um."
The two brothers ate a simple meal, and the cauliflower dish that looked the worst was cooked by Gu He himself.
"It's better than the roasted cabbage you serve to others."
“Yes,” Lu Mingran shoveled a mouthful of food onto her plate, “nothing outside tastes as good as what you get here.”
"Hahahaha..."
Gu He couldn't stop laughing. Back in college, Xiao Tao would shout in his sleep that he'd rather starve than eat the food Gu He cooked, which almost made Gu He want to cook a dish for him in the middle of the night.
Now I don't mind anymore.
His smile improved Lu Mingran's mood a bit, and she finally showed her first smile after seeing the bloodstains.
The system's voice whispered in Lu Mingran's ear, asking him:
Do you want him to live?
————————————
Every time Lu Mingran closed her eyes at night, the image of blood in Gu He's room would flash before her eyes, making it impossible for her to sleep soundly.
Left with no other option, he stayed up all night playing on his phone. Lu Mingran vaguely remembered Xiao Jiu's live streaming platform and room name, and found it with a quick search.
This guy is even doing a live stream tonight, and in a notoriously haunted alley in the city no less. Interestingly, the viewers are all asking him:
"Where's the assistant?"
"He ate too much cabbage tonight, so he can't come."
"Burp." After letting out a loud burp, Xiao Jiu continued her live stream without changing her expression.
Lu Mingran sent a comment: "Xiao Jiu, there's someone behind you!"
Other audience members echoed:
"There really is someone there!"
Once the familiar shouts of "start, develop, turn, and finish!" came from the live stream, Lu Mingran turned off her phone with satisfaction.
Before going to sleep, he threw off the covers, got out of bed, walked to the window, and looked at the street outside, his eyes constantly searching for something.
Fortunately, there were no people wearing red clothes, only empty streets.
Lu Mingran drew the curtains and called out to the system:
"I want him to live."
"I also want to live."
————————————
The next day, Lu Mingran took sick leave from her workplace and didn't need to go to work for the time being.
Gu He usually sleeps until noon. In the morning, Lu Mingran passed by his room, closed the door tightly for him, and then went downstairs to see if there was anything she could do.
The young girl, who had just returned from grocery shopping, was worried that no one would help her pick chives, so Lu Mingran moved a stool to help her.
No one was polite to Lu Mingran, and no one said that she didn't need to do anything. In everyone's eyes, it was only natural that Gu He would help Xiao Tao and Xiao Tao would help Gu He.
The little girl's name is Guoguo. She loves to laugh and talk: "These past few days, Boss Gu hasn't been taking any orders. All sorts of monsters and demons have come out."
"I'm not saying there are ghosts, I'm saying that some charlatans dare to do things."
Yesterday, there was an uncle who, despite Mr. Gu's kindness in finding him a respectable monk, refused to believe him and insisted on finding a charlatan selling sugar figurines.
Finally, the young woman sighed and said, "How dare you come and cause trouble for our Boss Gu last night?"
Lu Mingran was amused by her. Gu He was a good person, but judging from the way he rolled up his sleeves last night, he could probably beat anyone when he got angry. Coincidentally, the chives were finished just then, and Lu Mingran raised her muddy hands and said, "I'm going to wash them."
After turning around, Lu Mingran almost bumped into someone.
It was Gu He. He had gotten up very early today, rubbing his hair as he came downstairs. Now that they were so close, Gu He suddenly frowned.
Something's not right.
He noticed it the moment he saw Xiao Tao last night: Xiao Tao had the faint aura of a woman, not a living one, but a dead one.
Because it was nighttime, he assumed it was some confused passerby, and since Xiao Tao no longer had that aura after returning, he didn't think much of it.
However, now that they were so close, Gu He noticed his friend's unusual behavior once again.
Xiao Tao's luck seems to be suppressed by something.
Seeing him like this, Lu Mingran almost stopped breathing. On one hand, she thought about how clean she must have been last night, and on the other hand, she pretended to be nonchalant and quietly took two steps back, silently thinking:
Don't get caught, don't get caught...
Fortunately, in the end, Gu He simply stared at him and asked with a serious expression:
"Xiao Tao, are you hiding something from me?"
"Hey, what could be wrong with me?"
Lu Mingran noticed her muddy hands and quickly said, "I'm going to wash my hands."
Lu Mingran ran incredibly fast, and could wash in the kitchen for a good ten minutes or so with just the tap on. Outside, he only dared to come out after Gu He and Guoguo had said goodbye.
“Xiao Tao,” Guo Guo looked at him suspiciously, “you’ve been washing your hands for so long, your hands are almost raw, aren’t they?”
"By the way, some frozen meat was delivered from outside, but it's too heavy. Could you put it in the freezer?"
"Okay, sure."
Once Lu Mingran was alone, the system started talking incessantly in her ear.
To outsiders, Lu Mingran was simply carrying a bag of meat, but in reality, he was enduring the system's nagging:
"That was close, we almost got caught."
Lu Mingran walked into the store.
"Honestly, you're also looking forward to being discovered, just like the two of them."
"As long as Gu He takes action, you won't have to worry so much."
Lu Mingran pushed open the freezer door and put things inside one by one. The system was still saying:
"Let me tell you the truth, if this mission fails, the only consequence will be that you'll have to do two more missions in the future..."
*Thud.* Lu Mingran slammed a bag of frozen meat into the hole.
The system fell silent immediately; it knew this was definitely not a slip of the hand, but rather intentional.
Ever since it came into contact with this host, it has always been there for him, going through thick and thin together. The atmosphere between them has never been so tense.
Lu Mingran picked up the bag of meat:
"You keep urging me to do this and that on the surface, but actually you're afraid, afraid that I'll do those things, right?"
“I already told you yesterday that I want to save both him and me.”
The system stammered, "But it's too difficult. Without Gu He, what should we do..."
As a result, Lu Mingran interrupted it and said something that made the system shudder.