A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 360 Group

The blind female masseuse bit her lip, her face pale: "I was terrified. There was clearly a corpse lying on the yoga mat. How could a corpse talk?"

“I wanted to call my husband, but before I could get my phone, Ms. Katyuya’s voice rang out again.”

She said, "Why haven't you started pressing yet?"

"This time her voice was stern, sounding angry and carrying a dangerous threat. Moreover, the voice was very close, very close, so close that it felt like she was speaking right next to my ear. There was a cold wind, like countless hands gently scratching the back of my neck, and everything went black."

"My body was cold, my scalp was tingling, and I felt... as if something terrible would happen if I didn't do as she said."

"I didn't dare to pick up my phone, so I had to grit my teeth, pour the essential oil into my palm, spread it evenly, and start massaging the corpse on the yoga mat..."

The crowd listened silently to the blind masseuse's calm narration. Although they had not been there in person, the terrifying scene had already taken shape in their minds.

“I pressed from her calves to her thighs, then up to her waist and shoulders. Every inch of her skin was cold, hard, and stiff, and her muscles were completely lifeless. So I lost my last bit of hope. I was absolutely certain that the woman lying on the yoga mat in front of me was a corpse.”

Julius picked up his glass and took a small sip. The sweet and sour taste of pomegranate juice melted on his tongue. He saw the blind masseuse's hands trembling slightly, and she was still feeling the afterglow of fear.

"When I was halfway through the massage, I blurted out, 'Why is your body so stiff?' As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had messed up, so I quickly added, 'Are you too tired?'"

Then the woman's voice rang out again. She said, "Yes, I just came from Marseille. I haven't finished my work yet, and I have new work tomorrow. This is the only time I can relax."

"I was terrified and didn't know how to respond, so I could only awkwardly smile and say, 'You should relax a bit...'"

"I tried to clear my mind, not to think that the woman in front of me was a corpse, and just to do my job well, not to break that fragile tacit understanding, as if only in this way could I avoid the misfortune that had already befallen me."

"By the time this fake performance finally ended, my clothes were soaked with cold sweat."

“I don’t remember how I finally walked out of the room and left that floor of the hotel, but I am certain that my bank card did receive a large transfer. It was the service fee for hiring me to massage the corpse. I left the hotel, got into my husband’s car, and told him not to look back and to take me home quickly.”

After listening to the blind masseuse's account, Plumeria looked up at Julius, who nodded and said, "Katyuya was indeed in Marseille dealing with the aftermath of a strange incident. She was temporarily transferred by her family to Port Vivian to attend a meeting."

“I also showed this lady some of Katya’s old selfies for comparison, and confirmed that the voice she heard in the hotel was indeed Katya’s, or at least exactly the same as Katya’s,” Julius added.

Mary nodded slightly and said, "In other words, this blind lady still heard Katya's voice after she died, and Katya didn't seem to know that she was dead. Her body was still lying on the yoga mat, letting the masseuse massage her as if nothing had happened."

Julius put down his wine glass and said gently, "The time when this lady entered the hotel room to provide Katya with door-to-door service was around six o'clock yesterday afternoon, which coincides closely with the time when 'Gambler' appeared in the St. Gloria Opera House."

In other words, at the moment of Katya's death, the gambling demon broke free from its sealed prison and began to influence the present world.

Katya Gulveg, as the recipient of the gambler 'Aiqu,' controlled the Mirror Worlds 7-11 that sealed the gambler. The gambler's escape was directly related to her death. "Someone betrayed Katya and released the gambler imprisoned in the sealed prison." Meilin looked down at the tense blind woman sitting on the sofa, sensing something amiss.

Based on the information she currently has, the person who plotted against Kaqiuya is most likely 'Fenwu'. But how could a top-tier ascendant like Fenwu leave any trace after killing someone? Not to mention leaving the body directly exposed in the hotel, where it was touched by the blind masseuse.

"Can we see Katya's body?" Plumeria asked.

Julius shook his head: "I would be happy to grant your request, my lovely Melia, but unfortunately, we have not been able to find her body."

“How could this be?” Plumeria frowned. “Isn’t her body in the hotel?”

The blind masseuse touched everything, and not only that, she heard the corpse talking.

Julius picked up the bottle and poured her a glass of pomegranate juice, saying, "Yesterday evening, as soon as the news of the gambler appearing at the opera house reached the family, I immediately tried to contact Katya. After failing to reach her, I immediately sent people to search the hotel where she was staying, but of course, they returned empty-handed."

“My men couldn’t find anything about Katyuya in that suite, not only her body, but also her luggage, clothes, and even any signs of her living there. If I hadn’t asked the hotel and learned that Katyuya hadn’t checked out, I would have thought that the room had just been cleaned by the hotel cleaning staff.”

Mary nodded slightly upon hearing this, leaving no trace and giving no room for investigation—this was Fenwu's style.

"But if no one has ever stayed in that room, then who did the masseuse encounter before?" Plumeria blinked, looking curiously at the woman wearing sunglasses beside her. Her body was trembling slightly with fear, but she was trying her best to remain calm.

“That’s a question for her to answer.” Julius handed a freshly poured glass of pomegranate juice to his lovely fiancée and said, “My men found the lady in an apartment building near the hotel, but… they didn’t find her husband.”

Her husband has also disappeared.

“…This?” Mary hissed softly, somewhat incredulous. “After the massage, didn’t this lady immediately get into a car and go home? Her husband was driving, and they went home together. How could she not be found?”

Julius shook his head, his gaze deep: "How do you know that the person who drove her away from the hotel was her husband? Did you see him? Or did this woman see him?"

Plumeria held the wine glass in both hands, her eyes widening involuntarily: "Brother Julius, you mean...?"

"The person who drove the blind female masseuse away from the hotel yesterday may not have been her husband."

Julius tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said softly:

"The corpse lying on the yoga mat may not necessarily be Katya."

(End of this chapter)