Manman

Han Su rushed to the fourth floor without looking back. He then, as if familiar with the path, moved along the deathly silent corridor to the third room. He opened the door, walked in, and finally let out a deep breath.

If that half body woman had changed her mind and decided to capture him, the staircase would have been the most dangerous part of his journey.

Conversely, as long as he passed the stairs and entered a new floor, it meant temporary safety.

These monsters each had their own territories. The stairs seemed to be a public area that monsters could enter, but the floors they occupied were private domains. Other monsters, under normal circumstances, would not arbitrarily cross boundaries, except for that old butler.

"This weapon the kid made is pretty good..."

Glancing at the thing he was carrying, Han Su calmed his racing heart. He didn't know where he found it, but it looked like some kind of strange metal with sharp edges.

Surveying his surroundings, he saw that he was surrounded by old toys of various styles from different eras.

There were dolls, dusty plastic soldiers, plush puppies, black electronic spinning tops, and inside glass cabinets against the wall, there were wooden puppet dolls as tall as half an adult, wearing dresses.

"Finally made it up..."

Han Su couldn't relax his guard, but his nerves were already instinctively becoming more active.

The key was on the fourth floor, so the door would also appear on the fourth floor.

Moreover, although the fourth floor had those annoying puppet dolls, this monster was obese and slow-witted. As long as he was careful enough, he could definitely snatch the key from it.

Once he got the key, the door would appear. As long as he got out of that door, regardless of which floor he exited from, he would have escaped the ancient castle.

He didn't know the specific principle behind it. This door wasn't originally part of the ancient castle. It had inexplicably appeared along with the key after he had casually rescued Xu Ji.

It was like some kind of reward from fate?

Unfortunately, Han Su was currently powerless to investigate the reasons behind these phenomena. All he knew was that this was his hope of escape.

"The Pale Giant has poor eyesight and moves slowly, but its hearing is very sensitive..."

"The dolls in the glass cabinets are alive, but they seem to like to disguise themselves. They won't make a sound unless absolutely necessary..."

"The dolls are hostile towards living beings in this castle, but they are not allied with the Pale Giant..."

"There's new information!"

"Last time, after the pale monster was injured, its flesh and blood suddenly melted and spread like water. So this time, if it's not necessary, I'd better not injure it. An uninjured it is actually easier to deal with..."

"Also..."

"This time, if I manage to avoid the damage to my eyes, will it also cause my life path to change drastically after I return to the future?"

"..."

Various pieces of information flashed through his mind. Han Su couldn't judge many things. He thought about not wanting his life path to change too much, but there were too many factors beyond his control.

He even thought about the spell Song Chushi had given him, which activated the power in his right eye. Now that everything about him had reverted to the appearance of a ten-year-old, would that spell still work?

However, everything had to make way for the goal of "escaping."

While thinking, Han Su slowed his steps, slowly approaching the depths of the room.

In the large glass cabinet beside him, the puppet dolls with eerie smiles on their faces were sleeping with their big eyes wide open.

The room was large, yet it felt crowded.

Besides the mountains of toys, one could see a large pink bed at the end of the room, a piano, and heavy black curtains, as if they were originally pink.

"Manman..."

Han Su slowly stopped, looking beside the large bed. There, a small, slender girl was sitting in a corner, hugging her knees. She heard his voice and looked up blankly, tear tracks still on her face.

She was the daughter of the chairman of the Magic Box Group, Li Manman.

She was also the doll that Han Su had almost managed to bring out of the bunker last time – a weak but obedient little girl who tried hard to help.

Han Su noticed that in the nearest cabinet, among the row of puppet dolls, a blonde doll's head tilted slightly.

It had "woken up" and was looking at him through the glass window, a smile on its lips.

"Shhh..."

Han Su calmed his mind, looked at Li Manman, and put a finger to his lips.

The little girl was clearly very scared, but just like every time Han Su had seen her, she reacted quickly. Seeing someone suddenly appear, she didn't make a sound.

Han Su slowly approached and touched her head. The image of her head being suddenly torn apart just as they were about to reach the door flashed through his mind.

But he quickly dismissed these useless emotions, stared intently at the little girl, and said, "Manman, I'm here to save you. I know it's your birthday today, and I know you have a card from your parents that says they love you."

"I also know you have the latest toy from the Magic Box Group, which can fold into many interesting small items, like a magnifying glass, a triangle ruler, small pliers, and a mirror."

"Am I right?"

Li Manman's eyes slowly widened. She wasn't familiar with Han Su.

But this boy accurately knew her name, her identity, and what she had on her, which dispelled her doubts. She nodded vigorously, anticipation sparkling in her eyes.

"Now, I plan to take you out."

Seeing her nod, Han Su continued, "But there are monsters guarding outside. Before I save you, I need you to help me with something, can you?"

Li Manman nodded hard.

"Very good."

Han Su leaned close to her ear, carefully explaining some crucial questions in as concise a manner as possible, for fear she wouldn't understand.

After finishing, he ignored the increasing number of mannequin dolls in the glass cabinets beside him, which were waking up and watching him with strange, excited eyes, and quietly moved to the front of the cabinet.

He glanced back at the small figure huddled in the corner, and a sense of anticipation suddenly bloomed in his heart.

If he only planned to take one person out, perhaps this was an excellent opportunity?

Although he hadn't initially intended to save anyone when he returned, the opportunity was now readily available. If he could successfully obtain the key and bring her out of the room with him, was there also hope of taking her out of the ancient castle as well?

Thinking this, he also cautioned himself.

Han Su slowly closed his palms, then walked to the door. He took two deep breaths, and suddenly, he forcefully pulled a cabinet in front of the door down, sending countless dust particles flying and blocking the entrance.

Inside the glass cabinets, the plastic dolls were startled, their expressions twisting into grotesque contortions, as if cursing madly.

This huge commotion immediately shattered the deathly silence of the fourth floor.

Soon, the sound of heavy flesh dragging across the old floorboards echoed. The monster was slowly making its way towards the door.

Han Su's heart pounded faster and faster, but he merely closed his eyes for a moment. His expression turned blank once more. In such tense situations, he was accustomed to facing every crisis with a poker face.

A putrid stench began to invade his nostrils. The sound of flesh dragging reached the door. Han Su heard heavy panting and felt a shadow cast from outside the room, peering in.

At this moment, he turned back and gestured to Li Manman.

The small figure stood up, mustered her courage, and approached the glass cabinet, tapping it gently.

The dolls in the cabinet grew even more agitated as she drew near. The air filled with sharp, strange sounds, like their curses.

The monster outside seemed to hear these sounds, which made it agitated. It let out a low growl and then shoved the door forcefully, sending dust flying and wanting to enter the room quickly to investigate.

The door was blocked by the cabinet Han Su had pulled down, and it couldn't be pushed open without significant effort.

At this moment, Manman, following Han Su's instructions, took out her small toy and used it to open a palm-sized mirror from inside the glass cabinet.

She stood on tiptoe and used the mirror to aim at one of the dolls in the cabinet, letting it see its own reflection clearly.

The dolls in the glass cabinet, who had been cursing, usually pretended to be inanimate when people were around. Facing Li Manman, a little girl, they showed no fear, their curses vicious.

However, when the mirror was held up to one doll's face, it froze.

Its two plastic eyeballs seemed about to pop out.

It suddenly let out a terrifying scream, a sound no longer like that of a plastic doll, but more like that of a desperate, broken girl.

Plastic dolls feared mirrors; they could cause them to collapse in despair.

"Bang!"

This scream immediately made the Pale Giant outside anxious.

It abandoned any pretense of grace and suddenly shoved the door with immense force, flinging the cabinet blocking it aside. Wood splinters scattered everywhere, and even some of the glass cabinets inside the room were smashed by the flying debris.