People are scared in America, my uncle is Dante

"Are you ready?"

The speaker was a middle-aged man standing in front of the round table. Judging from his appearance, he was probably the current patriarch of the Ledomas family and Alex's father.

He held a small, black box in both hands and slowly placed it on the table.

"A long time ago, my great-grandfather Victor met a gentleman named Lebel."

"It was thanks to that gentleman's generous support that our family was able to build this vast gaming empire we have today..."

As the patriarch recounted the family's history, he pushed the black box toward Grace.

"And one of the many treasures that Mr. Lebel left us is this box in front of you."

He stared intently at Grace, his expression excited: "Whenever a new member joins the family, we insert a blank card into this box to replace a game."

"New members must personally press the mechanism to draw a card. Lebel's will will determine what card you draw, and thus what game we will play tonight."

The clan chief gestured for her to proceed, looking at Grace with anticipation: "My dear, it's your turn now."

Grace clearly hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem; she just found the elaborate ritual somewhat ridiculous.

She picked up the heavy box in front of her and pressed the mechanism on the side as instructed.

Just then, Suren, who was hiding in the corner, sensed an ancient demonic power emerging from the wooden box and manipulating the cards.

"Click".

The mechanism popped open, and Grace took out a card from it.

Alex, sitting next to her, turned deathly pale after seeing the writing on the card.

"What's up there?"

My aunt, whom I had seen in the hallway before, was now resting her hands on the table, urging me on with an impatient expression.

Grace flipped the cards over, generously showing them to the others.

On the card in her hand was written the English words: hide and seek.

"Are we... really going to play this game tonight?"

Grace looked at everyone and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She thought it was incredibly childish for a group of adults to get together just to play hide-and-seek.

Alex looked at his patriarch father with a sense of helplessness.

Daniel, the older brother sitting opposite, gripped his wine glass tightly with one hand, his pupils shrinking sharply.

The other family members around the round table had fluctuating expressions.

Some were taken aback, some were afraid, but most of them were filled with an irrepressible excitement.

Seeing everyone's strange reactions, Grace fiddled with the cards in her hand and looked at her husband with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"

Alex clearly hadn't expected his wife to be so unlucky.

He was stunned for a moment, and now he only hoped that Suren lived up to his name and could protect Grace until dawn.

"No...it's alright, it's a family rule."

The middle-aged clan chief left his seat, slowly walked behind Grace, placed his hands on her shoulders, and said softly, "This game is your initiation ceremony."

"So, you're the one who hides tonight."

After the clan chief finished speaking, he went over and knocked on the door, signaling to the steward outside that he could open it.

"Grace, listen, when you go find that bodyguard named Suren, no matter what happens, stick close to him, he'll protect you!"

Taking advantage of the brief moment, Alex gripped Grace's hand tightly and whispered.

"No! Alex, I want to play this game seriously."

Grace withdrew her hand, feeling that her husband's reaction was too neurotic.

"Although it feels strange, it is your tradition after all, and I don't want to break it."

The patriarch returned and pushed Grace out.

He said to Grace, "The rules are simple. You can hide anywhere in this mansion. We'll count to one hundred and then we'll start looking for you."

After saying that, he slammed the door shut without any hesitation.

Grace looked at the closed door and sighed helplessly.

She turned around, looked at Su Lun who had been standing silently in the corridor, and shrugged:

"Listen, whatever my husband just told you, tonight I want to enjoy this initiation game that belongs to me."

Suren looked at the innocent-looking woman and smiled. "Of course, ma'am, I promise you'll really enjoy the game."

His mind stirred slightly.

The next second, Grace felt everything go black before her eyes, and she vanished into thin air in the corridor.

Normally, to deal with a victim like that in a horror movie, even if he knocks her unconscious and hides her in a safe place, the best course of action would be...

This woman will most likely wake up suddenly at the most crucial moment.

Then he ran out shouting and yelling, which caused him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Rather than waiting for the problem to arise, it's better to send her directly to Silent Hill.

As his control over Silent Hill increased, he could now send people in himself without needing Alessa's help.

Since she wants to play games so much, let Alessa keep her company in the Otherworld.

After conveying the message "Don't play around like this" to Alessa, Suren sat down on the sofa.

Now, all he needs to do is sit here quietly and wait for the game to end after dawn.

……

Helene Ledomas pushed open the door to the family armory with a cold expression.

Thirty years ago, on a similar midnight, she was forced to kill her husband who had drawn the hide-and-seek card.

Since then, hunting down newcomers with cruel methods has become her only pleasure in filling the emptiness in her heart.

Helene carefully selected weapons from the rack, and a double-edged battle axe caught her eye.

She took the axe down, its heavy weight bringing a sickly smile to her face.

I'm sure everyone will be able to drag that little bitch named Grace out of some rat hole soon.

When the time comes, I must use this axe to split open her chest and hear her scream and beg for mercy in despair.

however.

Things did not go as smoothly as she had expected.

The Ledomas family consisted of seven or eight people, plus several maids and a housekeeper who were temporarily requisitioned.

Armed with various weapons, they leaped and bounded through the mansion, searching for a long time, but couldn't even find a trace of Grace.

Grace seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Damn it! Has she already run away?"

Having found nothing, the group gathered in front of the security room's surveillance camera.

In order to follow the hunting tradition of that year, all the monitoring screens on the wall were turned off.

The sleek, short-haired woman slammed her bow on the table impatiently and cursed.

She married into the Ledoux family purely for their wealth.

I don't want to risk my life for some complete stranger.

"Turn on the surveillance footage and take a look," the short-haired woman said.

"Can't."

The clan chief's expression turned grave, and he rejected the suggestion without hesitation. "What if cheating in the game angers Mr. Lebel?"

"To hell with Mr. Lebel!"

Helene shouted, "If we don't find that woman before dawn and the ritual isn't completed, we'll all die!"

"Since we're all going to die anyway, why not use surveillance footage to search? Do you want us all to just wait to die together?!"

These words instantly struck a nerve with everyone.

The security room was completely silent.

Several family members looked at the patriarch.

The clan chief's expression was uncertain. He glanced at the countdown clock on the wall, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.

Finally, he nodded to the butler: "Open it!"

The monitoring screen lit up instantly.

Everyone immediately gathered at the front of the stage, searching for the video footage of Grace's last known location.

The scene time was cut to the moment when they finished drawing their cards.

On the screen, Grace, dressed in a wedding gown, stands in front of a guest named Suren, and they are talking.

But the next second, something chilling happened.

Without any warning, and without any stuttering or frame skipping, Grace on the screen simply vanished into thin air.

A series of "fk" sounds suddenly rang out in the security room.

The clan chief stared intently at the screen, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

In the scene, after Grace disappears.

The friend Alex brought back sat leisurely on the sofa, as if waiting for something.

"What are you waiting for?"

Helene gripped the battle axe in her hand, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

"He's the one who hid the man. Go and arrest him! I don't believe his words can outwit my axe!"