The Second Run Begins

[End of Chapter 1]

[Starting from Chapter Two]

The noise subsided considerably, and when Tao Yuan opened her eyes again, the fishy, foul smell had disappeared.

Before him lay exquisite pastries and the Eldest Miss's stunning beauty.

She instinctively gripped the Storage Weird Object, looked up at the clock in the hall; it was early morning.

Looking down at her clothes and the perfectly arranged food on the table—had she returned to this morning?

Tao Yuan was breathing rapidly. The stinging pain in her mind had not completely subsided, and the memory of her companion's death was still swirling in her mind. Swirling with emotions, she thought of the voice she had just heard.

So that's what the first chapter title meant?

This wasn't the first time she'd experienced Instance where she died and was resurrected. She'd had a similar experience in Lin Yi's Day Instance, but that one had a fixed life bar, and she nearly died eight times. How many chances would she have this time?

Moreover, she clearly didn't die just now; it should have been Luo Jiayu who died...

Perhaps sensing her fluctuating emotions, the Eldest Miss swallowed her food, wiped her lips, and asked, "What's wrong? You seem distracted. Is the food not to your liking?"

"No, it's delicious." Tao Yuan quickly forced a smile. "Eldest Miss going to her Equestrian Lesson today?"

The Eldest Miss said, "Yes, I'll go in a bit."

Tao Yuan said, "It's easy to get your clothes dirty at the Racetrack, Eldest Miss, please be careful."

"Thank you for reminding me, I'll be careful."

Before they could exchange more than a few words, Qin Rang arrived. Tao Yuan stood up, exchanged a glance with Qin Rang, and went upstairs to leave.

Wang then walked in from outside the door, and then began their familiar conversation.

After Qin Rang joined the others, they all went to an empty room and left a warning Weird Object at the top of the stairs.

The Eldest Miss went to the Racetrack as promised. The Doll Master Bai Yang went to Wang's room as usual. Outside in the Corridor, the Black Cat strolled leisurely, its tail swaying back and forth.

Everything seemed no different from the first episode.

"What just happened? How did I suddenly come back?" Sheng Qingqiao. "An Ying and I just met up and went back to bed. I also heard something about 'episode one'."

An Ying also asked, "Did something happen between you two?"

Tao Yuan recounted what had just happened. "We just triggered a lethal Rules. The Eldest Miss returned early, and we couldn't avoid her in time, which triggered the Dream Attempts and this round."

"The first playthrough usually refers to the first time you clear the game. There will be a second playthrough, a third playthrough, and so on. But we didn't clear it just now because Luo Jiayu died," Tao Yuan said to everyone. "So death might be the reason that the first playthrough ended."

"I'm sorry, I wasted a chance." Luo Jiayu's face was a little pale, but she was still in control of her mental state. "I was hiding perfectly well, but that Eldest Miss suddenly said she smelled a strange fragrance and found me."

"The moment I was discovered, my energy completely failed under the Rules, so I couldn't escape."

"That means death will bring you back to life," Qin Rang confirmed, then said to Luo Jiayu, whose face looked pale, "You rest for a while, then wander around the area. We'll find out the rest of the information."

Luo Jiayu shook her head. "It's alright, I've recovered. I can walk around here. I've seen enough of the Eldest Miss's room, there's no need for so many people to go see it."

After confirming that she was truly alright, Wang Ding asked, "How did you trigger this Dream Attempts?"

Tao Yuan recounted their experiences, and Qin Rang briefly explained his findings, also mentioning the existence of Bai Yang.

"You ran into people from the organization too? We did!" Sheng Qingqiao said mysteriously. "You had people on the first, third, and fourth floors, so I just went to the fifth floor to take a look around."

"The fifth floor was much larger than the lower floors, and it was difficult to get up there; the stairs were guarded. After I sneaked up, I saw a very luxurious room in the Corridor on my right."

Qin Rang asked, "Is this the Count and Countess's room?"

"It must be. I took a peek from afar, and everything inside looked luxurious, but there were Knights guarding the entrance, so I couldn't get in."

"There were empty rooms all around this place, but I heard the sound of Writer's Wheelchair behind the wall at the far end. You know, that clattering sound?"

Ever since she was startled by the Writer in the organization's territory, Sheng Qingqiao had a vivid memory of that voice.

Qin Rang and Tao Yuan both nodded in understanding. "Understood."

That voice was unforgettable after hearing it just once.

"Have you seen that Writer?" The Bai Ao, the only one here who hadn't seen the organization in person, was very interested.

He felt that the people in this organization were incredibly sophisticated and charismatic. His brother, Dad, and others had all told him to learn from them.

"No, when I got there I found a staircase next to it. There's no way Wheelchair could have made that kind of sound from there," Sheng Qingqiao said. "Do you think such a big Castle might have some kind of Secret Chamber or something?"

Without a second thought, Tao Yuan replied, "Of course! There is!"

"Even a normal person wouldn't let someone in a Wheelchair live on the fifth floor, would they?"

Wang Ding recorded all this information, then asked An Ying, "Did you find anything on your end?"

"I went to the second floor. There wasn't much guard there; the security was lax." An Ying gestured on the map Wang Ding had drawn. "There are dozens of rooms on the second floor. Our guest rooms are on the right. Go across the middle staircase to the left; some of the rooms are empty, and some are two locked rooms."

"I opened the door to the outside and roughly learned his identity."

An Ying paused, then looked at everyone. "He is Count of Ravenhall's Illegitimate Son, or you could say, his son Illegitimate Son."

Mi Chuchu curled her lip. "Heh, a guy who can't control his lower body."

An Ying added, "In one of his letters, this Illegitimate Son complained about the person living next to him. He was also Illegitimate Son, but the Countess's Illegitimate Son."

Mi Chuchu sneered, "Those two can't control their lower bodies."

"These two, one for each of them, are truly a match made in heaven," Sheng Qingqiao chuckled.

Qin Rang frowned, deep in thought, "It seems the Count and his wife don't have a good relationship. It's probably just a marriage of convenience, without any real affection."

"Yes." An Ying brushed aside the stray white hairs from her forehead, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Actually, this Illegitimate Son has another identity..."

"What?"

"The Eldest Miss's lover."

"What?!"

Wait, is there really no problem with this relationship?

So the person the Eldest Miss was talking about in her letter was this Illegitimate Son?