After this conversation, Feng Bujue and the succubus had come to an 'agreement'. At that moment, the succubus turned from a monster into an NPC and no longer had the intention to attack.
However, the system did not give any hint about this. After accepting the key, it was still up to Feng Bujue to decide whether to release the succubus or not.
"Hmm …" Feng Bujue studied the key for a few seconds and then looked at the item description.
— — — Name: Cursed Key
Type: Plot Item
Quality: Normal
Function: The holder will be haunted by misfortune. This item cannot be discarded, destroyed, or traded.
Can be taken out of the scenario: No
Remark: After the corresponding door is opened, the key will be consumed. — — —
Seeing the effect of the key, Feng Bujue was reminded of the second message. "When you think you have gotten what you want, you have actually lost more."
"Sigh … I think I understand why you are trapped in my bed," Feng Bujue grumbled.
"I was just unlucky," the succubus replied. "Your room is only so big. After I entered through the wall, I only flew one meter before I reached the top of your bed. Who would have thought … someone would use King Solomon's magic circle as a pattern on the bedsheet? "
From her response, it appeared like she did not know the nature of this Cursed Key.
Feng Bujue was not surprised because he understood why. The perspective of the characters in the scenario was different from the perspective of a traveler from another world like himself.
In the succubus' eyes, this was just a key. If no one told her that this thing would bring misfortune to the holder, naturally, she would not have known about it.
From the player's perspective, they could see the related description of this item through the game menu.
Of course, the player's perspective would bring a corresponding problem. For example, the succubus could hand over the key, but Feng Bujue would not be able to give it away or give it away.
"Do you mind if I ask where you got this key?" Feng Bujue asked.
"The boss told me to bring this to you," the succubus replied.
"Huh?" Feng Bujue was puzzled. "He asked you to deliver something to me, so why didn't you just tell him the purpose of your visit? After falling into the trap, he kept trying to lure me in and kill me. "
"Who said I was going to kill you?" The succubus patted the edge of the bed and smiled charmingly. "Just now when I asked you to come over, did I have to kill you? Can't I do something else? I can give you the key after that. "
When Feng Bujue heard this, he experienced it again. It seemed that this sentence was the answer to the saying, "When you think you have gotten what you want, you have actually lost more."
However, he knew very well that Thriller Paradise would not have any erotic elements. It was probably because the Succubus had already obtained the key that she said that line, as if the players had a chance to take advantage of it. Actually … if he had really gone over just now, he would definitely have been attacked, and there was even a possibility of triggering an instant death flag.
Feng Bujue had seen this kind of method many times when he played single-player games. Some depressing games loved to use this method. Before the ending, you were given a choice. You chose A, and the ending was a scam. Then you loaded and chose B, thinking that you would be able to see the real ending, but you realized that the real ending was even scarier.
It was like someone placed a biscuit before you, and you were given the choice to eat it or not. If you ate it, you would die from the poison; if you didn't, he would eat the biscuit and say, "It's so delicious, but unfortunately, you won't be able to eat it anymore."
Wu!
Coincidentally, the water in the kitchen boiled, and the kettle buzzed.
Feng Bujue turned to leave.
"Hey! You haven't … "The succubus wanted to stop him.
"I'll be back after you turn off the fire." Feng Bujue knew what she was going to say, so he interrupted her and walked into the kitchen.
Two minutes later, he turned off the stove and returned to the bedroom with a pair of scissors.
To be sure, before Feng Bujue got close to the bed, he took out the Bell of Jin Gang and activated its special effect. In the end, he triggered the first command, which was to observe the details of an NPC.
Name: Succubus
NPC Faction: Detective Club
Level:???
Height: 165 centimeters
Weight: 42 kilograms
Can be triggered into battle: Yes
[Supplementary Plot: Cursed Key]
Since it's not a monster's information, it means that the battle can be avoided. Based on my interaction with her, as long as I don't actively attack her, there shouldn't be a problem … Feng Bujue thought.
"What are you doing?" The succubus urged.
Feng Bujue was afraid that things might get out of hand, so he did not waste any more time. "Hmm … It's nothing." He took two steps forward, grabbed the corner of the bedsheet, and quickly cut it toward the middle.
Creatures trapped by Solomon's circle would not be able to destroy the circle with their own power. No matter how weak the circle was, even if it was made from fallen leaves or building blocks, it would be blown away by the wind. The trapped creature would be helpless. However, if a creature that was not affected by the circle, like a human, walked into the circle, the trapped creature could use the creature's blood to corrupt the circle and escape.
Earlier, when Feng Bujue pushed open the bedroom door, he was not moved by the erotic scene. Instead, he quickly saw through the succubus's state of being trapped inside the circle. Therefore, he gained the initiative and entered a plot line that could be pushed forward without a battle.
Ten seconds later, when the edge of the Heptagram was cut open, Feng Bujue suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. An invisible pressure suddenly appeared. This was no doubt a sign that the succubus had recovered her power.
At the same time, the pair of small bat wings on the succubus' back fluttered slightly, and then she floated up. "Humph … I'm unlucky today," she said with dissatisfaction. She turned around and left the room through the wall.
"Sigh …" Feng Bujue looked down at the key in his hand. "From now on, it's my turn to be unlucky." He put the key in the pocket of his coat and left the bedroom.
When he returned to the kitchen, Feng Bujue placed the scissors back into the drawer and closed the drawer completely. Then, he used an alert gaze to scan his surroundings. "Just how serious is this' misfortune '?" His eyes soon fell on the knife rack. "Is it the kind of' Final Destination 'where you might die at any moment'?" As he spoke, his eyes moved to the ground. "Or is it the kind of 'Final Destination' where you might fall down and break two of your front teeth while you're walking normally?"
In fact, he was overthinking. If the cursed key really had such an immediate and fatal lethality, the succubus would have noticed the abnormality on the way here. She would not have waited until Feng Bujue's bedroom to fall into the trap because of carelessness.
…
Five minutes later, Feng Bujue came to the living room with a cup of instant coffee brewed with boiling water. He put the coffee on the coffee table first, then returned the overturned sofa to its original position and sat down comfortably.
He picked up the coffee and took a sip. Then, he let out a carefree "Ah —" as if he was a drug addict who had just taken a sip of powder.
"If I remember correctly, pages 599 to 602 should be …" Feng Bujue put down the coffee cup, crossed his legs, and flipped open the book that had been placed there previously. "Ah ha! It's indeed 'The Return of John.' "
That's right, S.H.'s hint was referring to the 'The Complete Detective Sherlock Holmes' on Feng Bujue's bookshelf.
Reading addiction was not developed in a day.
As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For Feng Bujue, this book was the starting point of a long journey.
When he was young, he was indeed different from other children. Although he also liked to play games and read comics, his talent and passion for reading were obviously much stronger than his peers, even surpassing that of adults.
This Sherlock Holmes Complete Collection contained all the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Conan Doyle. Feng Bujue had bought it with the pocket money that he had saved for a long time when he was still in primary school. His family was not rich, and his pocket money was pitiful, so he bought a small print. The book had more than 1,400 pages, and the words were printed very small. It looked quite tiring.
However, Feng Bujue still read the book countless times and kept the book very well. He never flipped through the book while eating, nor did he touch the paper with his greasy or stained hands. He couldn't even bear to fold the corner. Every time, he remembered which page he was on.
More than ten years had passed, and the book was still on his bookshelf. Although the paper looked slightly yellow, the words inside were still very clear. There was not a single fold to be found.
"I never thought that I would open this book again," Feng Bujue muttered. His attention was quickly drawn to the words in front of him.
Pages 599 to 602 were part of the story of the 'Empty House', and the 'Empty House' was a story in 'The Return of Conan Doyle.'
From the perspective of a veteran reader like Feng Bujue, 'The Return of Conan Doyle' was the beginning of the decline of the series. Later, 'The Uncanny Valley', 'The Last Regards', and 'The New Detective' were not as rigorous in their logical reasoning as the earlier books. The Sherlock Holmes of this period seemed to be able to accurately determine a person's thoughts and determine the cause and effect of a case from "the change of the face, the change of the eyes, the closing of the lips, the clenching or unclenching of the fist …"
This phenomenon, to a certain extent, reflected that Mr. Conan Doyle had gradually lost his passion for writing such stories. He only wrote them to satisfy the wishes of publishers and readers. This was also why the Sherlock Holmes stories after 1902 were not as successful as the previous books.
Today's Feng Bujue could actually empathize with Conan Doyle's state of mind. Many writers were like this. When they wrote stories with a high degree of creative enthusiasm, no one cared about them. But when they became famous, even if they fell into a creative slump, there were still people willing to pay a high price for them to submit manuscripts.
"A Study in Scarlet" was written in April 1886. At that time, Conan Doyle submitted manuscripts everywhere, but there was no way to get it published. It wasn't until Christmas 1887 that he was able to publish it in a Christmas annual.
And just five years later, when Conan Doyle himself wanted to decline, 'The Strand Magazine' was willing to pay him a thousand pounds in exchange for twelve short stories.
As a writer who didn't want to write for a long time, but was still "forced" to do so for many years, Conan Doyle had it tough.
"Oh … Is it the part where Holmes tells Watson about his escape from Reichenbach Falls?" Feng Bujue finished reading the contents of page 599 and had basically recalled what was written on the last three pages, but he continued to read.
"'I didn't fall at all.' 'When I found Professor Moriarty with a sinister face standing on the narrow path to safety, I didn't doubt that my end had come.' 'In his gray pupils, I saw the ruthless intention.'" Feng Bujue repeated Holmes' description. "The description of the struggle … Haha, it's basically no description. Then Old Moriarty fell, and the scene was … 'I stuck my head out and saw him fall for a long distance, then hit a rock, then bounced back and finally fell into the water.'"
Feng Bujue picked up the coffee and took another sip. "From this paragraph, Moriarty is definitely dead. Unless his physical fitness is close to Captain America's, and after suffering such heavy injuries, he could still swim out from the waterfall. " He paused. "If that's the case … then the boss of the Detective Club, is he a ghost?" Something suddenly flashed across his eyes. "If he's alive … then the one who fell was a substitute? But what kind of substitute would be able to fool Holmes's eyes? "
He put down the coffee cup. "Hmm … or perhaps Old Moriarty of the Detective Club is just a projection of Moriarty from a certain period in the original work, just like the other characters in the fairy tales and novels in the test building."
Perhaps only the professor himself would know the answer to this question, so Feng Bujue put it aside for now and continued to read.
He could read ten lines at a glance, but now he was looking at each word carefully and trying to remember what the original English sentence had been like. (He had Sherlock Holmes books in English, but they were in series, and there were no more than five hundred pages in each.)
"'At the moment the professor fell into the abyss, I suddenly realized that this was a unique opportunity that fate had arranged for me. 'On the cliff that you said was a precipice, there were actually a few small footholds and a place that resembled a ledge. It is obviously impossible to climb all the way up such a high cliff, but it is even more impossible to walk along that narrow wet path without leaving footprints. '" Feng Bujue read this and could not help but grumble. "No wonder he's the role model of our generation. Once he decided to fake his death, he followed through with it. He would rather take the risk of real death to climb the precipice."
Looking further down, the descriptions from 600 to 601 were mainly about Holmes' climbing experience. During this process, one of Moriarty's accomplices, who had been lying in ambush nearby, attacked Holmes twice with large rocks. If this were a fantasy novel, our great detective would probably have fallen, and then the story of how he survived falling off the cliff and obtained magic, magic weapons, beautiful women, or a portable grandfather would unfold.
Unfortunately, in this early twentieth-century novel, the role of the protagonist's halo was just this: "When I grabbed the edge of the ledge with both hands and my body was hanging in the air, another rock fell beside me with a whoosh. My foot missed, and fortunately, God forbid, I fell on the path below the cliff. I fell with a bloody head, got up, and hurried away. I walked ten miles in the dark in the mountains. A week later, I arrived in Florence. By then, no one in the world knew where I was. "
Feng Bujue finished reading this paragraph and said, "Hmm … this week's content could be written as a Survival in the Wild fanfiction."
Finally, there was the content from 601 to 602, which was also the end of this description.
This paragraph was mainly composed of two parts. The first part was about where Sherlock Holmes had gone to train during the years he was missing.
"I travelled in Tibet for two years, often going to Lhasa to chat with the Great Lama. You may have seen the excellent report of a Norwegian named Sigerson, but I am sure you would never have guessed that it was news of your dear friend. Then I passed through Persia, visited the Holy Land of Mecca, and went to Khartoum (the capital of the Sudan) to pay a brief but interesting visit to the Caliph, the head of the Islamic State), the result of which I shared with the Foreign Office. Back in Europe, I spent several months in a laboratory at Montpellier in the south of France, studying the derivatives of coal tar. I completed this research to my satisfaction, and was ready to return when I heard that only one of 'my enemies' remained in London. "
And the second part was about the remainder of Moriarty's party.
This passage is not very clear, for on page 600 Holmes says, "Moriarty is not the only man who has sworn to kill me, but there are at least three others who have done the same. And their desire for vengeance only grew stronger with the death of their leader. "
But on page 601, this number changed to two. These two were described as important figures in Moriarty's criminal syndicate, and they were successfully exonerated in court.
On page 602, there was only one person.
Feng Bujue had considered these questions when he was reading the book. Of course, the simplest explanation was that the author was just joking around. Indeed, this change in the number of people was not that important in the original work, and it had nothing to do with the main story.
Moriarty's criminal empire had already crumbled the moment his king fell.
But now, in Thriller Paradise, in the scenario where they faced Moriarty's virtual character, the system had set 599 to 602 as a very clear hint. Then Brother Jue had to consider this as a realistic situation.
"The 'Swiss boy' in The Last Case has escaped. Watson's analysis is sound. This boy should be one of Moriarty's henchmen, but he is obviously insignificant." Feng Bujue closed the book and raised his head to read. "Assuming the person who attacked Holmes on the ledge is one of the 'three', the other two are characters who have never made an appearance and only exist in the description." His brain was racing. "Is the decrease in the number of people due to death, capture, or hiding?" He turned his gaze to the key in his hand. "And what is the direct connection between the content of these four pages and this key and my escape from this room?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
