Haino.
This is the surname of the Dorena’s family, a hereditary noble family with a history of over three hundred years.
The man’s diary records many things. Originally a distinguished figure serving the Haino family for generations, twenty years ago, he should have been executed for angering those in power. However, Dorena’s father saved him, giving him a chance at life and bringing him to this small island to prepare for the Haino family’s ritual held once every decade.
The diary mentions that every ten years, a man with blond hair, blue eyes, and a tall figure, wearing a silver half-face mask, comes to find him. On the mask is the emblem of the Haino family—a silver snake coiled around a red rose. This person is the next heir of the Haino family, and in this generation, only Dorena Haino is eligible to wear this mask.
It’s the person who brought them to the island through some unknown mysterious means.
Shen Lin possesses features very similar to Dorena—blond hair, blue eyes, and a similar physique. This allows him to gather information by disguising himself as Dorena and extracting information from the man.
Shen Lin’s hand lifts slightly, and the man obediently raises his head, but his eyes lower. It seems that Shen Lin’s face is a sacred entity that cannot be directly looked at.
The man lowers his brows and eyes, cautiously saying, “My lord, where is your mask? Please forgive me for being presumptuous, but the mask is a symbol of identity. I’m not doubting your identity, but you know, on this island, your mask cannot be casually removed.”
“He’s suspicious of you,” kp reminds. “What do you plan to do?”
“Use some rhetoric,” Shen Lin says naturally.
kp suggests, “Your rhetoric isn’t high. Do you want to try your charm, which you’re good at?”
Shen Lin’s eyelashes tremble slightly. “No, thank you.”
“Alright.” kp looks regretful, glancing at Shen Lin’s naturally handsome face. He raises his hand to conduct a rhetoric check.
25/15.
kp: “…” How did that pass?!
Shen Lin’s gaze moves away from the successfully thrown numbers. After a moment of contemplation, he says to the man, “I think you wouldn’t want to know what happened these past two days. Even for me, it’s a very unpleasant memory.”
His eyes are too deep, his expression too serious. The man, well aware of the island’s unusual nature, is instantly stunned. He stammers, bowing apologetically, “I apologize, my lord, please forgive me. I asked an inappropriate question.”
“I forgive you, but I don’t think there will be a next time.”
“Yes, yes.”
The man appears more flustered than before. Shen Lin recalls the contents of his diary, and after a moment of silence, he speaks softly, “I am honored to have your service, Kane Jones. After this ceremony, the name you abandoned will be returned to you. You can return to civilization, stand in the sunlight, and reunite with your…” He pauses, smiles slightly, “daughter.”
The man, with a fierce expression, reveals a look of both sadness and joy. He wipes away tears welling up in the corner of his reddened eyes, clenches his left fist, and forcefully taps twice on his right chest. “I swear eternal allegiance to the Haino family, but…,” he says sadly, lowering his eyes, “I have become a monster. I would frighten little Alice. No, she wouldn’t recognize me.”
Shen Lin’s azure eyes are clear and faintly radiant. “But she will always love you.”
The man is momentarily stunned, kneeling in front of Shen Lin, bowing low and sincerely expressing gratitude, “Thank you.”
kp deadpans, “Please stop emitting your charm; the NPC’s favorability rating has maxed out.”
“Now,” Shen Lin, satisfied with the results of this attempt, says casually, trying to exude a sense of calm dominance, “report the situation here.”
From Kane’s diary, it can be seen that this man, originally a gentleman, was sent to this mysterious island twenty years ago. He has been stranded here, enduring many hardships. Over these two decades, he has undergone physical changes, completely losing the grace and demeanor of a gentleman, turning into a terrifying monster.
He has been guarding something for the Haino family, preparing for some ritual, but what exactly the ritual is, he doesn’t know. However, he knows it is an existence beyond human understanding, something that can only be explored by delving into the outer reaches of the universe, the deep sea, or the depths of the earth.
Whenever he tries to record detailed information about the ritual in the diary, he hears warnings in his mind, deep and abyssal, preventing him from recording any information. He can only keep these things in his heart, leaving key words like “ritual,” “fear,” “mission,” and “return home” on the thin diary pages for Shen Lin to capture a trace of the unusual atmosphere.
But from the content of these diaries, it can be deduced that Dorena found a way to gather the six of them on a cruise ship, then, through unknown means, assemble them on this deserted island to conduct some unknown ritual.
This kind of evil, resembling black magic, is not the first time Shen Lin has heard of it. In his memories (as per kp’s setting), ten years ago, a major event known as the Great Kiteflower Incident occurred in the royal court, causing great panic.
Rumors spread that Princess Louise suddenly killed all her maids, cut off their breasts, and arranged them as sacrifices for a ritual involving a spider statue with eight tentacles. Midway through the ceremony, Princess Louise began to laugh and dance, leaping from the top of the clock tower to her death in a flower bed surrounded by giant kiteflowers. The twisted vines seemed to wrap tightly around her body, piercing her skin and reaching deep into her bones, engaging in a gruesome and inhumane feast.
She died with elegance, wearing a gorgeous lotus-pink floor-length cake dress. The hem of the dress rippled in circles among purple iris flowers, and her lovely face carried a sweet smile, as if she were just taking an afternoon nap, sinking into a sweet and dark dream.
Inside the clock tower where the ritual took place, she painted a hexagram using the fresh blood of young girls, with a line of text underneath — “The myriad stars have reached a specific position, and it will reappear in the mortal realm.”
Before that, the princess adhered to the highest aristocratic etiquette, and in that era, there was no woman more elegant, intelligent, and beautiful than the princess.
Strange things happened unexpectedly, infiltrating every corner without warning. No one could clearly say where those forces lurking in the darkness had wandered to and whose souls they were eroding.
Therefore, esteemed families like the Haino’s might have become vassals of some mysterious force, devoutly worshipping their deities.
Those who peek into the unknown and the profound will eventually be entwined by shadows.
So far, the clues are not complete enough, and Shen Lin can only draw this rough conclusion. He needs more clues from Kane.
Kane respectfully says, “The day of the ten-year ritual is approaching. I have already prepared most of the materials needed for the ceremony, but there is still one material missing, which can only be obtained on the night of the red moon. The nearest red moon night is a week away, and the ritual can be successfully held by then.”
“I want to inspect,” Shen Lin says in a low voice.
Kane hesitates and says, “My lord, you need to wait until night.”
Shen Lin doesn’t respond, frowning slightly, not very satisfied.
Kane immediately says anxiously, “Forgive my offense. Only at night, the Moon-sinking Town will appear. I can present the prepared materials to you then—uh.”
At this moment, Kane suddenly clutches his throat. He emits a painful and low howl, and his skin, like an inflated balloon, changes from grayish-blue to purplish-blue. Blood vessels rapidly protrude on his skin.
Shen Lin stares wide-eyed, shocked at the scene before him.
—His skin seems about to explode!
Yan Xiu immediately grabs a blanket from the bed, drapes it over his back, shielding Shen Lin from the sight. He turns his back to Kane, holding Shen Lin firmly in his arms.
A sputtering sound is heard. Someone covers their ears with both hands, and the sound isn’t clear. The corner of Shen Lin’s eye catches the blood splattering on the walls on either side. Shen Lin mechanically turns his head, but before his gaze settles, a dry palm covers his eyes.
“Don’t look,” Yan Xiu says in a low and calm voice. He looks at the man whose blood vessels have all burst, his brows furrowing.
“Everyone makes a sanity check,” kp’s voice rings out at this moment.
Everyone rolls the dice simultaneously. Yan Xiu and Nana both pass.
kp says, “Please roll a d3 to determine the sanity points you lose.”
Sanity points are a variable, just like health points, representing the player’s current sanity. When sanity points decrease to a certain level or lose more than 5 points at once, the player will go insane due to loss of sanity.
Both roll the dice; Yan Xiu loses 3 points, and Nana loses 1 point.
After the check is over, the world returns to normal, and Shen Lin leaves Yan Xiu’s arms, looking at the shattered limbs on the ground with a complex expression.
kp says, “As a horror enthusiast, Olok, Bai’er, and Freud quickly digest the horrifying scene before them. Xiu wen, who is familiar with various internal organs from studying medicine all year round, is shocked for a moment but recovers quickly. Though Felton is tall and robust, he is very fragile inside and is scared into hiding in Olok’s arms.”
Shen Lin in Yan Xiu’s arms: “?”
Shen Lin, held in Yan Xiu’s arms: “…”
kp laughs playfully and says, “This is a normal reaction of a secret admirer, the subtlety of love.”
Yan Xiu said lightly, “Now everyone knows I have a crush on him.”
KP: “Oh no.”
Bai Er widened his eyes, “No wonder I felt the atmosphere between you two was a bit different.”
“Set requirements,” Shen Lin explained.
“Yes, set requirements,” KP continued with a smile, “and our only lady here, Nana, couldn’t handle the sight of blood splattering four feet away. She screamed sharply in fear.”
As soon as the words fell, Nana screamed, falling back on the bed with indescribable dirty things splattering around her from the burst body.
Freud: “What’s going on? Weren’t you just talking nicely, and how did he suddenly explode on the spot?”
“Don’t know,” Shen Lin recalled the conversation between the two and said, “He mentioned a word—Moon Sinking Town.”
