Chapter 1 Task Update

The two raised their legs and stepped through the doorway. As soon as they entered, the system prompt sounded in their ears.

[First stage mission objective completed]

[Second stage mission objective: Within the Hiratsuka family mansion, find the special scissors that can break the Shimenawa barrier of the Enoki Shrine]

The mission has been updated.

Li Ang and Wang Congshan exchanged a glance, sharing information. They had heard the same thing.

"Find the scissors that can break the barrier,"

Li Ang said, "Which means the source of the barrier blocking the entrance to the shrine is indeed that shimenawa rope.

And the Hiratsuka family just happens to have a way to break the seal—maybe they set up the barrier themselves, or maybe their enemies did."

"That's possible."

Wang Congshan slowly nodded. "The mission description says 'special scissors,' which means just grabbing any old pair of scissors in this building probably won't work.

It has to be a very special pair of scissors.

But the good news is that since the system said it's 'special scissors,' it will probably be placed in a relatively conspicuous room or location,

Which can save us some effort in searching carefully."

"Yeah."

Li Ang nodded, placed the Xin Yuan staff behind his neck, with his hands resting on either end. He struck the classic monkey pose, walking along the gravel path with a swaggering gait.

The overall architectural style of the Hiratsuka family mansion is similar to a combination of "Shoka-style" and "Sukiya-style." There are many residences, the buildings are sparsely painted, and the gardens occupy a large area. The artificial and natural landscapes of the buildings and gardens are integrated.

Walking through it is like admiring a beautiful garden.

Unfortunately, the two players didn't have the leisure to appreciate the scenery. After roughly observing the distribution of the buildings, they went straight to the main hall.

The gate of the main hall was open. As soon as Li Ang stepped inside, he felt the surrounding light dim and a cold aura rushed in from all directions, as if a pair of invisible hands were grasping his ankles and reaching for the collar of his neck.

"Tsk, turning the air conditioner down so low, aren't they afraid of catching a cold?"

Li Ang waved the Xin Yuan staff, treating it as a warm-up, his expression unchanged.

"Are you cold?"

Wang Congshan hesitated for a moment. Theoretically, both players were wearing the clothes of their characters in the script, which were thin shirts. However, Wang Congshan was also wearing a bulletproof vest modified by the Hub Mechanism Cube, which had a certain degree of insulation, so she wasn't too cold.

"Do you want me to give you the bulletproof vest?"

"No need, you wear it."

Li Ang waved his hand. "Ten years of drinking ice, my blood is still hot.

This mere low temperature can't make me cold."

He really wasn't that cold.

Long-term training of his mind power had made his mind more firm and rational. The current cold had not yet reached the point where it affected his combat ability and thinking ability.

Moreover, the secondary creation technique of the mind creation system could also create clothing.

Once his spirit power was full, it wouldn't be too late to create a cold-proof windbreaker for himself.

Besides, the surrounding cold aura could also serve as a warning—maybe when danger approached, the surrounding temperature would drop again.

Wearing too much would affect his judgment.

"Well... it doesn't seem like there's anyone in this house."

Li Ang looked around for a while.

At the front of the main hall was a screen with a gray lower half and a yellow upper half, printed with a cherry blossom pattern.

Four red lanterns hung from the beams supporting the main hall.

There wasn't much dust left on the wooden floor. There were no footprints or bloodstains, and there were no traces of fighting.

"There's a staircase on the right side of the main hall leading to the second floor, and there are corridors on the left and right ends of the main hall."

Wang Congshan observed for a while and said, "Three paths. Which one should we take first?"

"Well..."

Li Ang was about to make a decision when he heard a "creak," clearly the sound of a foot stepping on a wooden board, coming from the second floor.

Both players were on the first floor.

The noise from the second floor seemed extremely strange and abrupt.

Li Ang's pupils shrank. He stepped on the ground and leaped up the stairs to the second floor,

Only to see a figure covered in black hair turning into the corridor on the inner side of the second-floor platform, leaving Li Ang with only a back view.

The corridor on the inner side of the second-floor platform was relatively narrow and dark.

Vaguely, he could see many hemp ropes hanging down from the ceiling above the corridor.

They were densely distributed in the corridor. It was unknown why.

"Stop!"

Li Ang shouted and immediately used the most skilled mind enchantment ability, dizzying technique and distraction technique.

At the same time, he threw the Xin Yuan staff in his hand heavily,

Smashing it toward that black-haired figure, trying to stop it from escaping.

Li Ang's major was mind enchantment. Even if his attributes were deliberately suppressed by the system and adjusted back to normal,

The dizzying technique and distraction technique he released could still cause a warrior who had undergone rigorous training to faint briefly, or even fall to the ground unconscious, losing combat ability.

The black-haired figure trembled visibly from the psychic impact. Its legs softened, and it leaned forward, almost falling to the ground.

Unfortunately, its abundant hair misled Li Ang.

The Xin Yuan staff did not completely hit the target, but brushed past the hair on its body, hitting a bit of its arm, and then smashed into the wall of the second-floor corridor.

Thump!

The black-haired figure's right arm was grazed by the Xin Yuan staff, twisting it a bit.

But it immediately recovered from the psychic interference and the broken arm, as if it felt no pain at all.

It regained its balance and darted into the corridor filled with hemp ropes,

Disappearing from Li Ang's sight.

Bang!

Wang Congshan barely arrived, pulled the trigger,

The bullet shot from the pistol also hit the edge of the figure's hair, leaving a bullet mark on the wall at the end of the corridor, failing to hit the target successfully.

"Daoist, please stay!"

"Sir, want to know about swimming and fitness!"

"Big brother, you dropped your money!"

Li Ang shouted at the back view as quickly as possible, but he couldn't stop the figure.

Cover me.

Li Ang gestured to Wang Congshan while rushing forward.

They had been together for many years and had already achieved tacit understanding.

Wang Congshan jumped onto the second floor, kicked off the wall, shifted her body to the left, aimed her pistol at the rope corridor, and provided cover.

Li Ang cast a level one ability of the mind teleportation system, [Speed Burst], and followed the black-haired figure, rushing into the rope corridor.

Step.

The moment his foot stepped on the ground of the corridor,

A warning bell rang in Li Ang's mind, and an ominous premonition enveloped his whole body. His forward momentum stopped instantly.

Countless hemp ropes hanging down from above seemed to sense an uninvited guest intruding.

They writhed wildly like snakes, sweeping towards him,

Entangling Li Ang's neck and wrists with lightning speed,

Hanging him in the air like a hanged ghost.