Nightmare Onslaught - Chapter 16 - The Trap

It wasn’t until this moment that Fan Li, who had boarded the coach first, noticed that Jiang Cheng and Fatty hadn’t followed. He turned around, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at them.

But Fatty had no mind to pay attention to him now, because he noticed that Guide Zheng was staring at Jiang Cheng, her face growing increasingly grim, her eyes turning venomous.

A few seconds later, without any visible action from the driver, the coach door slammed shut with a loud “bang.”

The speed at which it happened startled Fatty.

Then the coach sped away, leaving only two deep tire marks on the ground.

“Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong!” Fatty was terrified by Guide Zheng’s gaze, his body trembling uncontrollably. After comparing the situation with what had happened to Nuan-Jie, he belatedly shouted, “This is a trap! Guide Zheng isn’t human, she’s a ghost!”

Jiang Cheng ignored Fatty, merely watching as the coach disappeared into the distance. Finally, he softly said, “Goodbye.”

Returning to the villa, Jiang Cheng went straight to the iron door leading to the third floor. Fatty tried several times to ask Jiang Cheng some questions, but never got the chance to speak.

Jiang Cheng reached out, and surprisingly, the iron door opened.

It wasn’t pushed open by Jiang Cheng, but rather someone inside twisted the lock and pulled the door open.

“It’s you!”

As the door opened, Fatty exclaimed in surprise.

Chen Xiaomeng, appearing behind the door, still had that harmless look about her. She pulled the door open, and Jiang Cheng walked in first. Fatty hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Just as Nuan-Jie had said, the third floor was indeed a dark room, with no windows. The only sources of light were two white candles as thick as a baby’s arm.

But in the faint candlelight, it was clear that the room was spacious, even larger than the master bedroom. A few meters away, embedded in the wall, was a pure black iron door.

It was only when Fatty saw this black iron door that his heart finally settled.

The black iron door gave him an indescribably eerie feeling, one that couldn’t be faked.

“I’m curious how you figured out it was a trap?” Chen Xiaomeng sat on a chair, one hand propping up her chin, the other pointing vaguely in the direction of the back of the villa.

She didn’t seem nervous at all, her eyes even carrying a hint of excitement.

Of course, it wasn’t directed at Fatty, but at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng sat on the chair opposite her, looking at her as he said, “Although you set it up very realistically-leaving a rope on the stairs, cutting the hemp rope in the storage room and hiding it behind the firewood, creating the illusion that you had left through the storage room’s back door.”

“But what I find strange is that if you had already left, why would the ghost disguised as Nuan-Jie still appear in your bedroom? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Also, the master bedroom where you slept had been meticulously tidied up. I can’t think of a reason why a ghost would need to do that.”

Chen Xiaomeng smiled, “But after all that, you still fell for our trick and left the villa. You just didn’t get on that coach at the last moment.”

Jiang Cheng shook his head, “You’re wrong.”

“Oh?” Chen Xiaomeng’s smile widened, her eyes curving into crescents. “What’s wrong?”

She thought Jiang Cheng was just being stubborn, like a dead duck refusing to admit defeat. It had been a long time since she’d encountered someone so interesting in the Dream Realm.

“There are three things wrong. First, I wasn’t tricked into leaving the villa. I left voluntarily.”

Jiang Cheng then explained, “The muddy ground behind the villa had tire tracks, but there were no footprints from you walking. So you never actually left the villa. It was all a ruse.”

“Second, the only one deceiving us was you, because Nuan-Jie is already dead.”

As he spoke, he pulled something the size of a coin from his pocket and tossed it in front of Chen Xiaomeng, whose smile had already faded by half.

It was a button.

Square, made of tortoiseshell, and quite rare.

“I found it in the master bedroom. When I found it, it still had broken threads attached,” Jiang Cheng said. “If I’m not mistaken, it came from Nuan-Jie’s coat.”

“I think when I reached your room, the ghost had just killed Nuan-Jie. During her struggle, this button flew off. And after waiting for the ghost to leave, you tidied up the room to prevent us from discovering that Nuan-Jie had been killed by a ghost, creating the illusion that you had already escaped the mission.”

After saying this, Jiang Cheng fell silent.

The smile on Chen Xiaomeng’s face had completely disappeared. After a long pause, she asked in a low voice, “And the third point?”

“The third point is the most important,” Jiang Cheng sat up straight, his gaze level. Both Chen Xiaomeng and Fatty, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but feel tense.

“I want to know who gave you, an unremarkable, short, self-important, clueless, flat-chested fool, the courage to try to outsmart me?” He looked at Chen Xiaomeng with deep emphasis.

Fatty was momentarily stunned. He knew Jiang Cheng was someone who didn’t play by the rules, but he hadn’t expected him to be so sharp-tongued.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment. Chen Xiaomeng’s mouth hung open, unable to utter a single word.

“Alright,” Jiang Cheng leaned back comfortably in his chair, tilting his chin up. “Now, I’ll ask, and you’ll answer.”

“Answer your sister!”

Chen Xiaomeng grabbed a porcelain vase beside her and hurled it at Jiang Cheng, but he simply tilted his neck to dodge it. Her face flushed red, and it looked like she was ready to fight him to the death.

After dodging, Jiang Cheng spoke calmly, “I suggest you think carefully. This is a locked room, and it’s just the two of us here. If you don’t cooperate, some very unpleasant things might happen.”

Chen Xiaomeng sneered, “Are you threatening me?”

Fatty licked his lips and interrupted, “Uh, buddy, it’s not just the two of you. I’m here too.”

Jiang Cheng glanced at Fatty and then continued speaking to Chen Xiaomeng, “Right, there’s also Fatty here. Think it through.”

Chen Xiaomeng’s face gradually paled, and she quickly glanced back at the iron door. At that moment, Jiang Cheng’s voice came again, “Don’t think about running. That door is 5 meters away from you, and I’m only 3 meters away. Catching you would be as easy as pie.”

Chen Xiaomeng, furious, laughed bitterly, “The door will open in less than 10 minutes. I don’t believe you’d do anything!”

Jiang Cheng stroked his chin, looking as if he’d just had an epiphany. “Oh, so there’s still 10 minutes,” he said as he stood up, a meaningful smile spreading across his face. “But honestly, it won’t take that long. 30 seconds is more than enough.”

Fatty’s eyes suddenly widened in shock.

Chen Xiaomeng clenched her fists, her body trembling, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell. After a long pause, she gritted her teeth and said, “Fine, ask your questions.”

Jiang Cheng clicked his tongue and sat back down, looking somewhat disappointed.

“How did you open this door?” he asked.

Chen Xiaomeng glared at him and answered sharply, “After you left yesterday, the ghost that killed Nuan-Jie dragged her body in here. I followed it in.”