A Western-Style Haunted Mansion's Butlering Days

#Main story complete# #Taking a short break, bonus chapters coming soon!# #Highlights: Both leads end up together, 1v1. The top is a duke! A duke! His Grace the Duke!# #Everyone’s favorite# Web: @LongNoseDog jj Zhong Ming transmigrated into an infinite-flow horror game. He lived in a haunted, terrifying Western-style mansion, where he worked as a manservant and butler, and occasionally had to fill in as a maid. Working as an NPC in the game was exhausting. Every day, Zhong Ming had to manage the daily needs of the household’s family of three, act as a guide for new players whenever needed, and clean up afterward. A day in Zhong Ming’s life: In the morning, he prepared breakfast for the young master, made sure the child ate, then tidied the nursery. Just as he was gathering up the sheets to wash them, the second-floor Big Boss, the Spider Duchess with sixteen legs, suddenly rushed downstairs. She pointed her enormous mouthparts at the human limb stuck between her teeth. “Xiao Zhong, something’s stuck in my teeth and I can’t chew! Hurry up and get it out!” Zhong Ming: “...Of course, Madam.” Once the Spider Duchess was back in action and had wiped out every last player from the previous batch, Zhong Ming set about preparing for the next group. The haunted house had never been cleared, so the odds were sky-high. With such a tight budget, Zhong Ming had no choice but to fill in as a maid from time to time. Wearing a fluffy maid dress, he stood in the open doorway and bowed to the new players. “Welcome to the haunted house.” Players always assumed he had no free will and whispered right in front of him. “Wow... This maid is really something.” “She’s wearing white stockings. Amazing.” “No wonder this is a Boss-level haunted house. Even the NPCs are top quality.” “I’d be satisfied for the rest of my life if I died at her hands.” Most of the time, Zhong Ming pretended not to hear their teasing. After leading the new players inside, he still had to oversee lunch preparations, assign bedrooms, set up death triggers, and so on. By the time he finally finished, it was already night. Carrying a tray, Zhong Ming headed up to the third floor to bring a late-night snack to the mansion’s owner, His Grace the Duke. But in the corridor, a new player blocked his way. The player, who looked like a university student, raised an eyebrow at him. “Good evening, beautiful maid.” Then he bent down and hooked a finger through the lace bow on Zhong Ming’s stocking. “Give me a clue, and I promise I’ll use an item to get you out of here and put an end to your miserable loop...” Zhong Ming raised his eyes without expression and glanced at the study door nearby. Sure enough, the next second, the Duke’s low voice came from inside. “Xiao Zhong, open the door.” Zhong Ming obediently lowered his head and stepped forward to open the heavy, enormous study door. The next moment, two octopus-like tentacles swept up the still-dazed male college student and dragged him inside. A moment later, the sound of chewing, enough to set one’s teeth on edge, came from behind the door. Zhong Ming stood with his head bowed at the entrance. He waited for the Duke to finish eating before carrying the tray into the study. Amid the blood and human remains, he gently set the tray of black tea and biscuits on the desk. From behind the enormous solid-wood chair, a tentacle still wet with blood reached out and pressed against his chin. A deep, hoarse male voice came from behind the chair. “Xiao Zhong, I told you not to let other people touch you so casually, didn’t I?” 1. Horror-game setting, with a touch of cosmic horror. 3. Beloved-by-all story: a charming little manservant adored by monsters. 4. Lots of descriptions of players dying. -----------------Next story coming soon----------------- "Do They Assign You a Husband When You Go to the Capital for the Imperial Exams?" Zhao Baozhu was a fine young man from a remote mountain village. The first person from Zhao Village to pass the provincial examination in hundreds of years, he was sent to the capital for the imperial exams with the entire village pooling its resources. His impoverished neighbors hoped that one day this precious jewel would become a high-ranking minister or noble and return home in glory. But Zhao Village was tucked away in the mountains of remote Shu, and it took Zhao Baozhu three months just to get out of the mountains. By the time he finally reached his destination, the bustling capital was already packed with candidates from every corner of the country. With no one to turn to, Zhao Baozhu wandered all over the western part of the city with his bags on his back, yet couldn’t find a single inn with a vacant room. Starving and barely able to stand, he stumbled into a secluded alley and found a red gate. Mustering the last of his strength, he knocked. The door opened, revealing a handsome young nobleman in fine clothes, with thick brows and a face like jade. Dizzy with hunger, Zhao Baozhu shouted, “Innkeeper, please give me something to eat!” Then he fainted. Ye Jinghua, son of the current prime minister: “...?” · When Ye Jinghua first met Zhao Baozhu, his overwhelming thought was how hard life was for the common people. The Ye family had been a prestigious clan in Gusu since the previous dynasty, with every member enjoying a life of honor. Countless people came knocking, hoping to serve as the household’s retainers. Ye Jinghua’s father was the prime minister, and their branch was the most prominent among the great clans. Every day, a long line of people hoping to advance their prospects formed outside the Ye family’s main residence, just beyond Shenwu Gate. Ye Jinghua preferred peace and quiet, so he had chosen the most remote residence he could find, hoping to study for the palace examination without interruption. He never expected someone to come looking for him there, too. He looked down at the young man who had grabbed his clothes and fainted. The boy was dressed worse than a beggar on the street, like a refugee who had fled to the capital from the south. Ye Jinghua’s heart softened. The little beggar seemed well-behaved enough. If he were left out on the streets, who knew how badly people might mistreat him? Better to take him in as a servant. The Ye family was wealthy, after all. One extra mouth to feed was no trouble. And so the misunderstanding began. When Zhao Baozhu woke up the next day, he thought he had met a truly kind man. The innkeeper was not only handsome but incredibly good-hearted. He gave Zhao Baozhu food and clothes without charging him a cent. All he asked in return was that Zhao Baozhu do some odd jobs and help with his writing supplies. At the end of the month, he even paid him. Zhao Baozhu stared at the silver in his hand, appalled, and repeatedly tried to refuse it. “How... how can you do this? A gentleman earns money honestly.” “Where did you read that?” Ye Jinghua raised an eyebrow, then pressed a few more pieces of silver into his hand. “Take it and buy yourself some candy.” He thought the child was not only well-behaved but clever, too. Perhaps he could keep him by his side and teach him to read someday. On the eve of the spring examinations, Ye Jinghua finished making his preparations and set off for the metropolitan examination with the paper, brushes, and other supplies his servants had prepared. When he reached the examination hall, he saw Zhao Baozhu still following him and asked in surprise: “Baozhu, why are you still following me?” Zhao Baozhu looked up innocently. “Huh? I’m taking the exam, too.” Ye Jinghua: “...?!?” · The palace examination brought joy to some and sorrow to others. As expected, Ye Jinghua was named top scholar. After the Qionglin Banquet, he went looking for Zhao Baozhu so he could set things straight, only to learn that Zhao Baozhu had already received an appointment from the Ministry of Personnel and taken up a post as magistrate in a poor little county. A week later, an urgent letter from the Ye residence in the capital arrived at the county magistrate’s office in Qingzhou. At the time, Magistrate Zhao, dressed in a well-worn official robe, was writing furiously at his desk. “Hm? What’s this?” He picked up the letter and recognized the familiar handwriting, every stroke pressed deep into the paper. The very first line asked if he was eating well and sleeping well. Tears instantly streamed down his face, and he said mournfully, “Young Master Ye is so kind. He still remembers me!” After one second of melancholy, Magistrate Zhao set the barely-read letter aside, sprang to his feet, and sent a teapot flying into the head of the local gentryman below the dais. “Chen, listen here! If you don’t cough up the money you embezzled, I’ll take your miserable life today!” Zhao Baozhu planted his hands on his hips, striking the same swaggering pose he used to flaunt back in his village. He glared with his big eyes. “You can forget about buying your old mother a coffin. I’ll send your whole family down there to reunite with her right now!” The gentryman was left bleeding from a head wound. He kowtowed frantically, looking up at Zhao Baozhu, who stood on the dais with his hands on his hips and the expression of a demon. In his heart, he wept blood. How was this a scholar versed in the Four Books and Five Classics? He was a bandit and a thug through and through! Other officials: “Who’s going to Qingzhou? It’s a poor, lawless place full of unruly locals.” Magistrate Zhao: “Is it poorer than my village? Are they more unruly than Ergou next door?” A few things to know: 1. The top is a brilliant, calculating young nobleman, while the bottom is a handsome, unlucky scholar from a poor family. 2. The top spoils the bottom. The bottom is stubborn as a mule and often leaves the top speechless. 3. Includes some political and officialdom-related content. 4. The bottom may be rustic, but he’s beautiful. ----------------Next-next story coming soon----------------- "Hanging On in Greenland Until the End of the World" After contracting a rare disease, Min Shu decided to enjoy what little time he had left. He went abroad to study, traveling to Canada, at the northernmost edge of the continent. Knowing he didn’t have long to live, Min Shu was especially daring. In his second semester, he signed up for a tour to Greenland, the largest island in the world. During the trip, he became so absorbed in watching a baby seal that he lost track of the tour group and was left alone on the island. Min Shu panicked and immediately went looking for a ship back to Canada, only to be told that it was the final day before the freeze-up closed the sea routes. No ships would return to the mainland until spring of the following year. Min Shu: “...” #Anyone else get me? I came here to study, not to be exiled# But there was nothing he could do now. Min Shu decided to make the best of it and focus on staying alive. Maybe the air in Greenland was exceptionally pure, or maybe the cold kept germs from reproducing. Whatever the reason, his rare disease never acted up again. He stayed on Greenland for a long time, but when spring arrived the following year, the ship that was supposed to travel between the island and the mainland never came. Min Shu had no choice but to keep living with the small number of local Inuit. He stayed long enough to learn their language, but the ship still never came. Worried that his visa would expire, Min Shu made a special journey over mountains to find the island’s only post office and sent a letter to the embassy. He waited a long time but never got a reply. He couldn’t keep mooching off his neighbors forever, so Min Shu took up the traditional trade of the early settlers and opened a Chinese restaurant. His restaurant was a big hit among the Inuit, whose cuisine included devilish dishes like ice petrel. Business flourished until many years later, when the last local elder passed away and Min Shu lost his final customer. Min Shu: “Well, shoot.” With no customers left, Min Shu found himself making lavish feasts for himself every day and roaming all over Greenland in search of other tribes to bring in business for his restaurant. Every day, he went to the abandoned, uninhabited harbor and stared into the eyes of the chubby seals by the shore, wondering if he should stop waiting for a ship and just swim back himself. After a long while, just as Min Shu was about to give up on ever finding anyone, a customer suddenly appeared at his restaurant. That day, a blizzard swept across Greenland. Min Shu’s Chinese restaurant was the only place on the entire island with its lights still on. Holding a bag of sunflower seeds, he sat happily in his little shop, rewatching a Spring Festival Gala from who knew how many years ago. He was laughing so hard at an old sketch that he nearly fell over when he suddenly spotted a black dot in the blizzard. The dot grew larger and came closer, moving through the snowstorm until it took the shape of a man. He wore a military cap, and his black fur cloak billowed in the gale. His military boots crunched through the thick snow as he strode toward the Chinese restaurant with an imposing air. Then he raised his head. His dark eyes appeared from beneath the brim of his cap. When he saw the crooked characters for “Chinese Restaurant” on what he had taken for a lighthouse, he froze in surprise. Min Shu had never imagined he would see another living person in his lifetime. He forgot to crack the sunflower seeds in his hand and stared at the tall man before him. After a long pause, he finally managed to say: “Hey, want something to eat?” #Chinese people are everywhere# #Is the world map randomly spawning Chinese NPCs or what?# · Only after welcoming Wei Changchuan into the restaurant did Min Shu learn that the outside world had been destroyed. Min Shu: “Huh? What about my visa?” Wei Changchuan: “...The embassy shut down decades ago.” Min Shu was horrified. “That won’t do! I can’t become an illegal immigrant! I even wrote to the embassy.” Wei Changchuan had just finished a steaming bowl of freshly stir-fried sujiao dandan noodles with minced meat. He looked utterly satisfied after a hearty meal. Raising his head, he gestured toward Min Shu with a finger covered by a black glove. “Go get your passport.” Min Shu scampered off and fetched his passport. Wei Changchuan looked at the now-extinct liver-red booklet, took a stamp from his bag, and pressed it onto the passport. “There. Done.” He handed the passport back to Min Shu. “The Supreme Global Commander has approved your visa.” ----------A few things to know----------------------------- 1. Post-apocalyptic setting. 2. A progression story: the protagonist gradually grows stronger. 3. A cooking prodigy who’s somehow evolving while muddling through life, as the bottom, and an overpowered future military commander, as the top. 4. A story about two people saving the world from Greenland, humanity’s beacon of hope. 4. Please add it to your reading list. Love you! Theme: Overcome fear and bravely face challenges.