The dapper gentleman, Ur Wunnian, had no idea Li Ang was mentally critiquing his appearance as he continued, "The number of monsters in the dense forest is simply overwhelming. If they were to swarm us all at once, they could easily drown us alive. The factor keeping the monsters out of the woodland could very well be the key to our survival in this mission."
"Hmm." Stonemason nodded, turning to Forest Cat and Dong Fengpo, who had been mostly silent. "Do you two have anything to add?"
Forest Cat's brow furrowed slightly as she spoke cautiously, "The mission is called Mechanism Mansion, which suggests that this Williams Manor could very well contain some kind of mechanism, either mundane or supernatural. Once we enter the mansion, we must be extra careful not to separate. All actions are best carried out within sight of our teammates."
The others nodded in agreement. They understood well that sticking together in such a spooky and unknown instance would be beneficial for both the team and their own survival.
Dong Fengpo then added, "There isn't much time left until the final deadline. I think we should enter the mansion first. It would be terrible if we ran out of time for the second phase of the mission."
Because this cooperative mission had dispersed all players to different areas of this region, nobody knew how many were meant to participate in this script. However, with time being precious, they had to assume there were no more teammates.
After a brief discussion, the five decided on their marching order: Li Ang and Ur Wunnian, both Lv 11, would lead at the front; Forest Cat and Dong Fengpo, a level lower, would be in the middle; and Stonemason would cover the rear.
Li Ang ascended the steps to the grand entrance. He pressed the blade of his Triangular Bone Tipped Spear against the wooden door's brass handle and pushed the door open forcefully.
CREAK—
The door emitted a grating noise as it opened, shaking countless dust particles from above the doorframe, which scattered onto the ground.
The door opened into a tall and spacious hall adorned with Victorian-style decor. Thick layers of dust did little to conceal its past splendor. A crystal chandelier hung from the domed ceiling of the second floor, and a dark red handwoven carpet covered the first floor, though years of neglect had allowed cobwebs to form in abundance.
The light visible from outside the mansion did not come from the chandelier but rather from wall-mounted, flower-shaped lamps that uniformly emitted a gentle, goose-yellow glow.
On the far wall of the hall hung an oil painting featuring a stern-looking old woman seated on a chair. She wore a courtly gown, her hands resting on her knees. Behind her chair stood an old man of similar age with a pale goatee, also in noble attire, one hand resting on the chair's back.
To the left of the oil painting, a spacious wooden semi-circular staircase led to a dimly lit corridor on the second floor. Various other oil paintings, depicting men and women in different attire, hung on the wall along the staircase.
Corridors flanked the left and right sides of the main hall; due to the dim lighting, it was difficult to see inside them.
Li Ang cautiously poked his head in and sniffed the air. Other than a musty scent, he detected nothing unusual. Turning back to nod at his teammates, he said, "The air inside is safe. It has a sweet fragrance, kind of like a first love."
Ur Wunnian shook his head. "...Quit the nonsense. Let's go in."
The group of players filed in. As Stonemason, the last one, stepped over the threshold, an invisible force suddenly slammed the wooden door shut.
Stonemason had anticipated this. He turned and braced the door with his hands, trying to keep it from shutting. However, the force pushing the door was quite peculiar. With a BANG, the door slammed shut, and the sheer force pushed even Stonemason back two or three steps.
At the same time, a System prompt sounded in the ears of the five players.
[All players have assembled. The next stage of the mission prompt will now be announced.]
[Second-stage mission objective: Clear the Williams Mansion of the eight abnormal organs: heart, lungs, bowels, kidneys, limbs, trunk, head, and embryo.]
[Mission Reward 1: S Rank Completion Evaluation will earn one Excellent Quality Random Item, A Rank Completion Evaluation will earn one Rare Quality Random Item, and B Rank Completion Evaluation will earn one Common Quality Random Item.]
[Mission Reward 2: 300 Experience Points]
[Mission Reward 3: 600 Game Coins]
[Mission Time Limit: 3 hours]
[Mission Failure Penalty: None]
"Damn it." Ur Wunnian couldn't help but swear, his expression somber as he scanned the hall. His back slightly arched and hands dangling naturally at his sides, he was obviously ready for battle.
The expressions of the others were equally grim. The task at hand—clearing the mansion of various abnormal organs like hearts, intestines, and lungs—evoked a terrifying and bizarre premonition of mutations.
"The penalty for mission failure is 'None' again," muttered Dong Fengpo. "That means if we can't complete the mission within three hours, something very bad will happen. For example, these abnormal organs might mutate, or the thousands of monsters outside in the forest might break free, swarming us and devouring us completely..."
With the three-hour time limit looming, the players dared not delay and immediately began to investigate the main hall.
The first issue was the main door that had mysteriously closed. Stonemason first took out something resembling a Universal Key and tried to pry open the lock. After failing, he pulled out two small paper-cutting knives from his inventory, clutching them in his hands. The two knives looked very ordinary, with red plastic casings, the common type available at any street-side stationery store.
Holding the paper-cutting knives, he tried to insert them into the gap between the two halves of the main door. For some reason, although a space was visibly present between the wooden doors, the knives simply wouldn't pass through—as if the gap had been firmly welded shut.
The players' attempts to destroy the main door or the walls all failed. Not only was the wooden door impregnable, but so were the glass windows in the main hall.
Li Ang, using his Triangular Bone Tipped Spear charged with Ripple Energy, struck the glass fiercely but only managed to leave a nearly imperceptible web of cracks, which then healed rapidly before their eyes.
"We're locked inside the mansion." Ur Wunnian glanced around the serene main hall, licked his lips, and grimly took a sizable chunk of pale yellow, putty-like material from his inventory, sticking it firmly onto the main door.
"Is this... chewing gum?" Stonemason glanced at the putty-like explosive, his expression changing slightly. He hurriedly tried to stop Ur Wunnian, "Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy," Ur Wunnian said, shaking his head indifferently. "I've carefully controlled its yield; this amount won't hurt us.
"Besides, I'm not trying to blast the door open. I want to test the hardness of these invisible walls.
"This way, we can determine the actual strength of the abnormal force enveloping this manor."
"I know that." Stonemason shook his head; his inventory also contained various explosives, and he would have conducted tests himself even if Ur Wunnian hadn't.
"But don't forget, the mission's name is Mechanism Mansion. Setting off explosions hastily could directly trigger some mechanism or trap.
"To test the hardness of the invisible walls, we need to wait until we've searched this main hall and have a general understanding of those mutated organs. Only then can we consider a small-scale detonation on the ground."