The dark blue tail swayed slowly.
Ya Xiao sat cross-legged on the carpet, contemplating which step he had done wrong.
The virtual tutor's resemblance to the villain was over 45%, so it was not a particularly serious mistake. There was no way that the challenge would be ruled a failure just as soon as the move was made.
So was it that he shouldn't have taken the left foot first?
Ya Xiao was a little unsure.
The marshal simulated by the virtual tutor had been extracted from the information known to him and Fourth Uncle. He should have been able to pass the level perfectly.
Since this was the case, by what criteria did the virtual tutor now rule that he had failed the challenge? The villain's taboo? Could it be that he had missed something?
[Does the host want to try again?]
The system asked tentatively. Each special training of the practice module could be tried over and over again, but except for the first time which was free, any attempt to re-challenge would cost two points.
Ya Xiao looked at the points on the panel, only 24 were left. There was so little known at the moment that only by trying again could he possibly know where he went wrong.
"Let's do it again, Fourth Uncle."
[Okay, entering virtual space now.]
When he opened his eyes, Ya Xiao reappeared in the study with the same cup of coffee in his hand this time.
The figure not far away kept up the same motion of approving the documents as it did a moment ago.
Ya Xiao thought for a moment and chose to step off his right foot first.
The clean leather shoes stepped on the wooden floor, and a faintly undetectable click sounded softly.
In the next second, the familiar scene reappeared. The shadowy figure glanced at him, and an androgynous voice rang in his ears: [Challenge Failed]
Very well.
Ya Xiao knew that things wouldn't be so simple. Although the villain in the plot seemed sick to the protagonist group, he wasn't so inexplicable that he would loathe a butler just because of whether he stepped on his left foot or his right foot first.
So why exactly did the challenge fail?
Ya Xiao, a demon who never gave in to defeat, ran through the situation from start to finish. Finally, his eyes fell on his clothes.
After the only tuxedo had gotten dirty, Ya Xiao had changed into a set of black and white clothing. For a butler, a white shirt and slacks would be considered decent attire.
However, the rating scale was currently unknown.
Perhaps it was because the virtual tutor synthesized from the villain's data thought he wasn't wearing a tuxedo, so he didn't even qualify for grading and just gave it a miss?
That would be a possibility.
Ya Xiao got up, picked up the tuxedo that was placed on the carpet, and handed it over to the nanny robot.
Washing, drying, ironing...
After a series of steps, the originally dirty tuxedo became clean.
As Ya Xiao changed back into his tuxedo, he looked down, finely straightened his cuffs, and said earnestly to the system, "Let's do it again, Fourth Uncle."
[Okay.] The system saw everything from the beginning to the end. Hearing that the host wanted to challenge again, it couldn't help but be a little nervous. [Go, host.]
Even the system didn't understand the specific criteria for practice scoring, perhaps only the villain himself could understand why the virtual tutor would directly rule Ya Xiao a failure.
I will.
Ya Xiao returned a sentence in his heart.
When he looked up, he reappeared in the study.
Ya Xiao's eyelashes fluttered slightly as he looked at the virtual figure that was only a few steps away and directly lifted his foot to walk over.
[Challenge Failed]
System: ......
We're sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we're going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Tj Wljb: ......
[It's not too surprising.]
The system comforted Ya Xiao: [After all, the first few butlers didn't understand what the villain was thinking. That doesn't stop you from becoming the villain's butler, does it?]
Ktbeut atf kbgvr kfgf rjlv rb....
Ktf alq bo Tj Wljb'r ajli yftlcv tlw rabbv eq. Lf mgbemtfv bc atf ugbecv jcv yla tlr olcufgcjlir. Llr yjmx kjr rilutais jgmtfv, jcv tlr mibrf-olaalcu aezfvb beailcfv atf rwbbat ilcfr bo tlr ybvs. Llr fcalgf ybvs rffwfv ilxf j ybk jcv jggbk qblrfv ab olgf, tlr fsfr kfgf wemt yglutafg atjc yfobgf.
This was the attack stance that a demon would reveal only when it encountered an enemy. The frequent failures had thoroughly aroused Ya Xiao's competitive spirit.
"This is different."
Since the virtual tutor was able to judge him for failing, it meant that this matter was either included in the plot or noticed by the previous butlers.
"Not being dismissed is just the first step. I have to do better than the other butlers if I want to gain the villain's trust."
That's how you can stay by the villain's side for a long time to suck up demon value and grow demonic bat wings!
Ya Xiao knew what his goal was better than anyone else.
The system was moved.
He was truly a good boy that it has seen since he was a child! Unyielding and courageous to climb!
"Fourth Uncle, you can pull up the plot for me again." Ya Xiao didn't believe that he couldn't discover the reason for his failure by looking over it word by word now.
The tip of his tail, which was glowing with a ghostly blue dark light, hung tautly in the air.
At the same time the system answered, the plot panel appeared in mid-air. Ya Xiao's finger slid down and looked over it with a glance, finding nothing.
"Not much useful information."
In the known plot, the villain as a person could be described as mysterious. Even his brother didn't know much about him.
Undiscouraged, Ya Xiao turned his head and picked up the butler's diary that he had rummaged through from the utility room earlier, flipping through page after page. As if he saw something, the tip of his tail stood up instantly.
The system had been keeping watch from the side. Seeing this scene, it squinted its eyes curiously and looked over.
[May 13, how long do I need to live through such torturous days? I've really had enough. The eerie villa, the twisted atmosphere, the taboo who could lose control at any moment, I'm going to suffocate! When will I be able to escape from here!]
......
[May 15, my thoughts may have shown on my face. When I was pouring coffee for the marshal who was working on papers in his study today, the cup fell on the floor. He gave me a cold look. Luckily, he didn't lose control. I'll have to be a little more careful.]
[May 19, I really have to hurry.]
What's up with that sentence?
In the system's opinion, it just shows that the first butler could no longer stand the villain, started plotting his escape back in May, and ended up dying miserably in the mouth of a demonic insect.
Ya Xiao pointed to the diary of the 18th, "The coffee cup fell on the floor, and the villain looked coldly at the other side. He looked similarly as I walked towards the virtual figure."
The plot information, as well as the butler's diary, contained just this one sentence about the villain drinking coffee while handling paperwork.
"If the virtual tutor was generated based on this sentence, then the one similarity between me and this coffee cup that fell on the ground was that we both disturbed the villain who was concentrating on handling documents."
The system was silent for a moment.
It felt that what the host was thinking was a bit too far-fetched. After all, the host's footsteps were much lighter than a normal human's. If such light footsteps were detected, how sensitive should the villain be?
Without waiting for the system to organize its words to politely persuade, Ya Xiao has already rubbed his fists, excited to launch the challenge again.
Okay.
401 knew Ya Xiao's character well and planned to wait for the host to fail before comforting him.
Under the watchful eye of the system, the black-haired demon once again appeared in the virtual space. This time, Ya Xiao didn't make any movements while holding his coffee cup.
Time passed by minute by minute.
The virtual figure that was originally reviewing documents finally made a move. Was it going to fail again? The system thumped in its heart, only to realize that the virtual figure just closed the document and then replaced it with a new one.
It was also at this time that the virtual figure raised its head and looked towards Ya Xiao.
It's over, is it going to be over?
The system trembled and held up its old glasses. Its nervous heart jumped out of its throat, one second, two seconds...... hey?
No prompt?
Ya Xiao knew that he had guessed correctly. He walked over with light but proper steps and placed the coffee on the side of the marshal's hand.
At the same moment, the androgynous electronic voice sounded, [Ding, Congratulations on passing the special training with a perfect score. 1500 Points Rewarded, White Gloves x1 Obtained]
System: ???? It's actually true?
"Sure enough. The villain just doesn't like it when other sounds appear to disturb him while he's working." Ya Xiao had an expression like he knew it, "Even if you want to pour coffee, you have to wait until he's done working, so you can't disturb him."
From the former butler's diary, it was clear that if the villain was disturbed while he was working, it wouldn't make the villain lose control. It would just put the other in a bad mood.
"I think that this should not be the villain's taboo, but his unknown habits and rules."
Not even the previous butlers had noticed this little habit of the marshal.
"What a troublesome man."
Ya Xiao sighed heavily and made a conclusion with a serious look on his face, "Not bad for a villain."
The system thought along with the host's words and couldn't help but shiver a little. If even the host's light footsteps could be detected by the villain and pouring a cup of coffee couldn't affect his work, a man with many rules and sensitivity was indeed troublesome.
[The host has worked hard.]
The system said heartbreakingly. It did not suspect that the villain might not behave like the virtual tutor.
It was impossible for the virtual tutor to have problems.
There was only a 45% similarity between the known information and the villain himself, which seemed low, but human nature was complex, and no more omniscient being could possibly grasp a person's thoughts.
The 45% similarity was enough for Ya Xiao to see some of the villain's attitude from the virtual tutor's demonstration.
[Does the host want to continue?] The system inquired.
Ya Xiao was actually quite interested in the villain, especially since he had just been aroused by his competitive spirit, "Of course, I should continue. The special training has just begun."
That said, instead of starting right away, Ya Xiao opened the system panel.
From the beginning to the end, he remembered that one of his objectives was to buy a tuxedo that wouldn't get dirty.
The tuxedo required 1000 points.
The price of this item wasn't exactly cheap in the mall, but every time he passed the practice module, he gained a lot of points, just enough to buy one.
Ya Xiao pressed the buy button but didn't exit immediately and instead stared at the latest models of horror toys on the panel.
The mall would randomly generate what the current host needed, stimulating the host's desire to buy.
A quick glance at Ya Xiao's mall panel showed that apart from a few scattered decent items, the rest were all horror toys with bizarre shapes and not much use.
Ya Xiao's fingers trembled.
It was as if he was facing the greatest challenge and temptation of his life.
[Host, hold back!]
With a jolt, the system immediately uttered a reminder.
At the same time the words fell, Ya Xiao instantly came back to his senses. He quickly raised his hand to add purchases and pay in a series of operations in a fluent manner. It was so fast that almost only the shadows could be seen.
After doing all this, Ya Xiao used the back of his hand to wipe the non-existent sweat on his forehead and said with a face of fear: "So dangerous, almost fell into the mall's trick again."
The system was silent for a moment.
It looked at the waste toys that had suddenly appeared in the warehouse, as well as the 20 points written on the panel, and couldn't help but cry tears of joy.
The host actually knew to leave 20 points behind!
It's just great, isn't it!
Ya Xiao felt great too.
His tail wagged around behind him.
"I also got the conditioning oil to take care of my tail and horns." Ya Xiao bragged, "Didn't mess around with the points."
The beautiful tail and horns needed careful care from the demon.
The system looked pleased and complimented, "The host is awesome."
Ya Xiao accepted all the compliments.
His eyes curved and the tip of his inverted triangular tail gently bumped on the ground to show how pleased he was.
The exchange between the demon and the system ended quickly.
Ya Xiao carefully straightened his cuffs to make sure there were no problems and then lifted his steps to re-enter the special training.
This special training was quite useful.
At least it could help him further understand the villain's information hidden in the plot.
Hopefully, he could further deepen his understanding of the villain before meeting him, Ya Xiao thought. It would be best to quickly gain the villain's favor and trust.
On the other hand, Mist, who was handling the banquet, was dealing with the representative of the Fourth Base when the optical brain in his wrist suddenly rang.
Mist glanced at it and called out to Soren, who had just returned, "You take the out-of-control person back first."
Soren hmmed.
"What are you going to do?"
"Wei Cheng sent the video over."
Mist pointed to the lighted optical brain on his wrist. After Soren nodded, he lifted his steps to the second floor of the venue.
The second floor was much quieter.
The glowing green curtain of light popped in mid-air.
The tough man wiped the green blood from his face and grinned at Mist, showing an honest-to-goodness smile.
"It's been a long time, Wei Cheng."
Mist's expression didn't show any difference as he smiled and said, "Did it go well on your side with the marshal?"
"Not too bad."
Wei Cheng, who was projected in midair, rubbed the tip of his nose with his index finger, laughed nervously, and then said, "The marshal will go back in two days."
"In two days?"
Mist wasn't surprised, "It's about time to come back. The spring meeting is coming up soon, so it's just in time to get acquainted with Ya Xiao."
Talking about the new butler, the smile in Mist's eyes was a bit more genuine, "Ya Xiao is much more pleasing to the eye than those previous butlers."
Wei Cheng did not comment on this.
The short silence made Mist realize something, and the smile at the corner of his mouth retracted, "What happened?"
"The marshal's TH value has spiked again."
The ominous feeling fell into place, and the smile completely disappeared from Mist's face.
"If the new butler is to be trusted, arrange for him to meet with the marshal earlier." Wei Cheng's voice was lowered with a few heavy rasps.
"I understand."
Mist exhaled and nodded slowly.
He knew the seriousness of the matter.
Originally, Mist had wanted Ya Xiao to get to know more about the marshal so that he could relax and not regard the marshal as a beast just because of certain rumors.
Now, it seemed that Ya Xiao might even face the out-of-control marshal head-on.
Let's just hope that when the time comes, Ya Xiao won't be like the previous butlers...