Danger Draws Near

After confirming that the area below the cave entrance was relatively safe and that the sound of the impact wasn't too high, Lin Yu took out the [Fear Torch] from his pocket and lit it.

"Let's go, Max."

With that, Lin Yu raised the Torch high and jumped down.

The blazing white flames dispelled the darkness, and the fall lasted only a moment before stopping.

Lin Yu took in the scene around him clearly—two dolls had landed on the flat, smooth stone bricks, only a little over two meters from the opening above—not much taller than his head.

Max poked his head out from above and, by the light of Lin Yu's fire, could see the scene below.

"Wow, there really is a secret room!"

As she spoke, she hugged the remaining ten dolls in her arms, rubbed her bottom against the edge of the hole, and slowly slid down.

"Thump!"

Max rolled on the ground to absorb the impact before slowly getting up.

Once down below, Max had a clearer view of his surroundings.

This was a downward spiral staircase, and Lin Yu and she were at the entrance of the staircase.

The entire staircase looked much cleaner and tidier than the previous "Unsafe Passage." The walls and floors were made of terrazzo marble tiles, and the smooth surface reflected the light of the Torch in Lin Yu's hand, making it almost dazzling.

"Is it really going to continue?"

Max muttered something, and Lin Yu nodded.

"Yes, we should continue."

"Then let me scout ahead," Max said after thinking for a moment, then picked up the two dolls from the ground. "Let me check if there are any dangers deeper in."

As he spoke, Max stood at the top of the stairs and began throwing the dolls down one by one.

When these dolls are thrown together, there seems to be a hidden effect and a combo effect triggered—the first doll lands close by, but when the second doll lands near it, it strangely falls forward a considerable distance along an anti-gravity trajectory.

The third one is the same—and so on.

After Max threw all twelve, the remaining dolls had long since reached the bottom of the stairs, out of sight.

But still, no unusual sounds occurred.

"Safety!"

Max gave an "OK" sign and then walked down the path optimistically.

She collected dolls as she walked.

The two of them only reached the ninth doll before descending to the bottom of the stairs—the spiral staircase hadn't actually gone very far down.

The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth dolls were piled up in front of a door.

This door was unlike any other I had ever seen before. It was a large wooden door with copper nails and iron edging, and a symbol that looked like ocean waves was engraved in the center of the door. It also looked much older and more ancient.

The door had a double-key lock, which looked like it would require two keys to open—but thankfully, the lock had been solved by Robin.

Two keys, drawn like pencil sketches, are inserted into the Entities.

Therefore, Lin Yu simply pushed the door open a crack.

"Throw something in."

As Lin Yu spoke, Max immediately threw two toys in—and they were still safe.

"Nothing's wrong."

Max said happily as he pushed open the door.

The instant the door opened...

A rich aroma of wine wafted over.

Then a hissing sound came, and the candlesticks behind the door automatically lit up with blue flames, dimly illuminating the scene inside.

This was a space much larger than Lin Yu had imagined—rows of large wooden barrels were placed on shelves, dividing the spacious room into three narrow passageways.

Is this a wine cellar?

Max said in surprise, and Lin Yu nodded slightly.

"Yes, the wine cellar."

Upon seeing the scene behind the door, he finally remembered where he had seen the wave-like pattern on the door before.

Lin Yu took out a bottle of wine from his Item Space— [Mist Island Manor - Wailing Special Brew], which Li Nian had brought out during the previous Instance and given to him during the loot division.

At [Heavenly Feast Above], similar wines were served as Aperitif.

Both the bottle in Lin Yu's hand and the one that Ka took out at the time had embossed decorations on their wrapping paper, similar to a background pattern.

Lin Yu initially thought it was just ordinary decoration, but now, comparing it to the signs on the door...

This might be some kind of logo for "Mist Island".

"So, this is one of the wine cellars of Mist Island Winery?"

Lin Yu pondered thoughtfully.

Considering that the wine produced by "Mist Island Manor" has a special effect on "Memory", Lin Yu couldn't help but wonder about the true purpose of building this Asylum.

A special liquor capable of evoking deep-seated memories and this "Asylum" that can affect people's Memory appear simultaneously...

There must be some Karma relationship between the two!

So...

Who is the cause?

Who is the fruit?

"Freud" made a deal with the "Lord of Mist Island," and the "Psychology Society" got what they wanted. What benefits did the "Lord of Mist Island" receive?

Could it be this liquid?

One possibility after another came to mind.

But then, a strange shadow interrupted Lin Yu's thoughts.

Not far in front of him, beneath a wine barrel, lay a shadow that defied the logic of light and shadow—it was clearly between the wine barrel and the candlestick, yet it formed a pool of shadow.

Lin Yu frowned and strode over, trying to poke the shadow with the end of his Torch.

Then... he felt himself touch something soft.

There is some kind of Entities shrouded in shadow here.

Lin Yu already had a guess in his mind, and then reached out and grabbed the abnormal shadow.

"It really was fake."

He grabbed a canvas covered in pencil marks, revealing Robin unconscious, curled-up robin beneath.

"Oh, it's Teacher Robin!"

Max was startled by Lin Yu's actions, but after realizing Robin, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But Lin Yu was not happy at all when he saw that it was Robin.

Because...

The Tier 3 Robin is hiding here in a "hiding" manner, and has now inexplicably lost consciousness.

This means...

"There's something wrong with this wine cellar."

Max's dolls are not entirely believable.

Something that drove the Robin such a sorry state is hiding here.

Thinking of this, Lin Yu didn't even have time to explain what he was thinking to Max. He bent down, picked up the Robin from the ground, and rekindled the Fear Torch.

"Walk!"

He whispered to Max, then turned and ran toward the entrance to the wine cellar.

Max paused for a moment, then quickly realized something was amiss, his optimism vanishing.

"Holy crap..."

She quickly picked up the doll and ran back.

But as soon as the two of them turned around and ran two steps, they felt a chill run down their spines.

"Oh..."

A chilling laugh echoed through the wine cellar.

It was more like it was right next to their ears.