Alice

It wasn't just the smell of flowers; the stench of blood also thickened, as if a thick cloth were covering my nose, making it almost impossible to breathe, and an unbearable feeling of suffocation enveloped me.

Yu Xing felt nauseous, and the tip of her nose was itchy.

His eyes were clear, and he covered his mouth and nose with his hand, which at least blocked the smell a little, and his nasal cavity felt more comfortable.

Hmph, he doesn't sneeze.

"Ah!"

The thought had barely crossed my mind when I couldn't hold back a sneeze.

The nun abruptly lifted her head from among the flowers, a hint of excitement flickering across her stiff face. She placed the watering can down, her black nun's skirt swaying slightly as she whispered, "So there really are tourists here."

Her voice carried the mechanical quality typical of an employee, and she glanced menacingly towards... the staircase.

That's right, it wasn't Yu Xing sneezed, but someone else.

Yu Xing also looked towards the stairs. Because the corridor had a bend, he could only determine that someone was in that direction, but he couldn't see the specific situation.

He raised an eyebrow, judging from the voice... was it Huang Bai?

"Huai and Huang Bai arrived at the annex before me, but those two didn't seem to have a specific goal. They probably finished reserving rooms first and then just wandered around the building," Yu Xing thought to herself. "They might have already been in Alice's room, but because they didn't know about the passage under Alice's bed, they didn't search it thoroughly."

I happened to be on the fifth floor while the nun was watering the flowers, and the smell gave away my location. Either I was incredibly unlucky, or...

It was intentional.

The nun guide moved quickly toward the source of the sound, her footsteps so light they were almost imperceptible, like a ghost. No wonder she was able to approach Yu Xing's position so silently; she almost saw Yu Xing.

Yu Xing's perception was actually quite good, especially the power of the curse within him, which could react to offerings and ghosts to some extent. However, amidst this vast expanse of red roses, he found that his perception seemed to be affected. In addition, since entering the castle, the cold aura within him had been restless and constantly churning. He had become somewhat accustomed to this, so he ignored the occasional increase in pain.

There's another possibility... With Yi Qing, the Sheqing Ghost's currently showing him kindness, around, Yi Qing's powerful perception made him somewhat complacent.

"..."

Realizing this, Yu Xing narrowed her eyes slightly, pressed the corners of her mouth down, and told herself that she couldn't do this again next time.

Meanwhile, as the nun's figure receded into the distance, Yu Xing boldly emerged from behind the roses, walked to where the nun was watering the flowers, and picked up the watering can.

It felt cold to the touch, but compared to his own chilling aura, it was still quite warm.

This indicates that it was not a sacrificial offering.

Yu Xing sniffed the watering can, then shook the remaining liquid, a glint of light flashing in her eyes.

This doesn't taste like human blood, and the volume seems to be more than half full.

Yi Qing, in the form of wisps of green smoke, swirled around his shoulders. "Want to take it away?"

Yu Xing laughed, "You found out."

He picked it up without intending to put it back to the nun.

The wind leaves its mark, and geese pluck feathers as they fly by; this isn't the first time he's stolen something from the strange NPC in the deduction.

It highlights how familiar and skilled they are!

Just as he grasped the watering can, a nun's deep, annoyed voice came from the other end of the stairs. She raised her voice. "Respected visitor, where are you hiding? Please come out, and I, your guide, will show you around."

It seems she didn't manage to find the person who made the sound.

Yu Xing's expression remained unchanged, but he noticed the wisps of smoke gathering and disappearing completely beneath his clothes, minimizing their presence.

He was prepared, and five or six seconds later, he was gently patted on the shoulder.

A gentle pat on the shoulder might not seem like much in normal circumstances, but in a simulation Yugi, especially when playing hide-and-seek with an enemy, the impact can be as powerful as a ghost scare someone.

Yu Xing calmly turned around and looked behind him. His composure caused the girl behind him to let out a regretful sigh, "... How come you weren't scared?"

Huang Bai held an eraser in his hand, his ponytail was a little messy, and his heroic eyes were wide open, looking as if he hadn't expected this.

Huai stood to the side, wearing silver glasses, looking somewhat helpless.

Yu Xing glanced at them. "I was startled, I was so scared."

Huai: "..."

Huang Bai pouted, somewhat annoyed. "Did you guess we were here?"

"Hmm, you deliberately made noise to lure the nun over, using a feint to get her to come this way, right?" Yu Xing smiled gently at her, as if looking at a naughty child.

"Wow, you're really smart! But I want to see the handsome guy's startled expression..."

Huang Bai covered his face, his eyes shining, seemingly eager to try. Huai's expression darkened, and he stopped him, saying, "Do you want to scare Xing and make a sound to attract the nun back? Stop playing around."

He glanced at the nun's direction, then at the watering can in Yu Xing's hand. "Don't talk here yet, the nun will be here soon."

Yu Xing nodded, stopped teasing, and gestured with her chin to the luxurious double doors beside her. "Let's talk in Alice's room."

The group pushed open the door before the nun arrived, and the exquisite and luxurious furnishings inside made them pause.

The only word to describe this room is magnificent.

Gemstones of various colors are inlaid on walls, ceilings, murals, and even on desks, lamps, and wardrobes...

Everything is sparkling.

A blood-red bed sits firmly in the center of the room, with rose petals evenly scattered on it. The bed curtains are gold, embroidered with red roses.

In addition, the bedroom is filled with many mirrors of various sizes and orientations, creating the illusion of a spacious room despite its average size.

Huai quietly closed the door and locked it. Since they had lost sight of each other and the nun was almost silent, the three of them leaned against the door in silence.

Two or three minutes later, an angry voice rang out from outside the door. "Which naughty tourist stole my water bottle?"

"Please come out quickly, or Alice will be angry if you steal park props!"

The nun's voice came from near and far; one could imagine she was pacing back and forth in the hallway outside the door.

Hearing such accusations, Yu Xing touched the cold handle of the watering can in her hand, and a smile appeared on her lips, quite pleased.

"She won't come in, will she?" Huang Bai whispered to the two young men once the nun had walked a little further away.

Huai shook his head first. "No, Alice is her superior. There's no way she could barge into Alice's room without Alice permission."

"Wow, as expected of a master, amazing!" Huang Bai exclaimed.

Huai turned his head away from her, pretending to listen carefully to the sounds outside, but his curly hair seemed to be happy about the praise.

Yu Xing: "..." Why does the atmosphere feel a bit...

"You despicable tourist! Alice hates thieves the most. I'll definitely report this to her when she's sober!"

Before Yu Xing could even gasp in surprise, the two seemed to be gaining momentum in a short period of time, when suddenly a furious roar came from outside the door, so loud it was deafening.

Yu Xing rubbed her ears; how angry must she be...?

However, the angrier the nun got, the happier he, the culprit who took away the watering can, became.

After shouting that, the nun grabbed something, dragged it on the ground with a loud thud, and stormed off to search for the thief.

"Finally gone!" Huang Bai cheered joyfully, looking much more relaxed. Yu Xing noticed that the eraser she was tightly clutching in her hand had vanished into thin air.

Huai scanned the room with his silver-rimmed glasses, his brow furrowing slightly. "I sense there's something noteworthy in this room, but I can't see it..."

These glasses are very useful offerings; they allow Huai to easily find special items that are not well hidden.

As for those that are hidden deep inside, he will sense that there is something in this space waiting for him to discover.

For Huai, who frequently plays tabletop role-playing games, wearing these glasses is like having his character's Spiritual Sense too high. He's constantly being pulled out by the Keeper of the Game to roll the dice, forced to give clues, or dragged down by his sanity.

Yu Xing thought to herself, "It would be a miracle if you could see the clues directly under the bed."

Huai withdrew his attention and stared at Yu Xing.

It was quite unexpected to encounter Yu Xing in the annex. Since there was still a long time to plan, Yu Xing shouldn't be in such a rush to find the entrance to the annex, which would clash with his and Huang Bai's actions. Since the two sides had already decided to form an alliance, there was no need to waste this time. It would be better to split up and explore as many places as possible.

But now Yu Xing has not only arrived, but has also separated from the gambler.

That means something happened that led them to decide to do that.

"What happened? Where's the gambler? How did you know this was Alice's room?"

After three questions in a row, Yu Xing didn't answer but instead asked, "It seems you haven't been in this room before? I thought such an obviously special room would at least have been explored."

Huang Bai chuckled and walked to the mirror to look at himself. "It's not that easy. The nuns are moving around all over the place. It's already difficult enough for us to just hide ourselves from being discovered. Of course, we'll just go into whichever room is most convenient for us!"

"My sheets are unusable... How annoying."

Upon hearing her mention the bedsheets, Huai's expression became somewhat unnatural.

He didn't quite understand how this girl could so casually walk around men, seemingly oblivious to the negative effects of bed sheets.

Thankfully, it was him today; he had already decided not to post any videos.

What if it was someone else...? No, I don't even know if this has happened before.

In short, he decided to use this simulation to thoroughly educate Huang Bai on what girls should avoid doing!

Huang Bai clearly didn't realize there was anything wrong with this. She lamented for a moment about losing a usable sacrifice so early, then happily said, "Luckily, I still have an eraser, and it works quite well."

[Offering: Ordinary Eraser]

[Appearance: An ordinary exam eraser]

Its ability is to erase traces of the holder's presence over a period of time. If there is any intention to attack, all facts altered by the eraser will become ineffective within five minutes. Interacting with the surrounding environment also has a certain chance of disabling the eraser.

In other words, Huang Bai and Huai walked right past Yu Xing in broad daylight, but because Huang Bai had been using an eraser the whole way, Yu Xing didn't remember them even though he saw them, which led to the illusion that the two of them appeared behind him in an instant.

Among the offerings, this is considered an incredibly powerful ability.

However, Yu Xing did not know the specific effects of the eraser at this time. It was taboo to ask others about the abilities of the offerings rashly. He assumed that Huang Bai had the ability to hide his identity and did not ask any further questions.

Compared to the eraser, he always felt that Huang Bai's thought process and emotional expression were somewhat strange, like a potential psychopath.

Is the other party truly on the Righteous Path? Yu Xing has reservations about this.

Huai rubbed his fluffy curly hair and asked again, "What are you doing here? Are there no rooms left to occupy in the main building? Why isn't that gambler with you?"

Yu Xing walked towards Alice's rose-covered bed. "I'm looking for him."

Huai followed and asked, "Did you get separated?"

This is a complicated matter... Yu Xing glanced at the two people, thought for a moment, and figured that with their intelligence, they should be able to accept ending the simulation a day and a half early, and understand his plan in a short time. Therefore...

He flipped the bed over in front of the two of them.

To save time, instead of pulling the sheets or lifting the bed frame, he grabbed one corner of the bed with both hands and used some force to lift the entire bed up.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!"

Although Huang Bai didn't know Yu Xing was so cruel to Alice's bed, it didn't stop her from getting excited.

She slapped Huai's arm. "Look, look! You can see the muscle definition in his arms even through his clothes! So manly!!"

Huai looked in the direction she mentioned, and sure enough, under Xing's sweatshirt sleeves, one could see the lines bulging from exertion.

He looked at himself again. "..."

Tsk.

However, the next moment, something seemed to appear on his glasses. Huai was startled, and forgetting his dissatisfaction with being too thin, he ran to Yu Xing's side.

Yu Xing had already moved the entire bed. Underneath the bed, the black opening resembled a man-eating behemoth, and rows of downward-facing steps were like the ferocious teeth in the behemoth's mouth.

"This is!" Huang Bai exclaimed in surprise as he peered inside. "A secret room? Wow, how did you know about this secret room, Xing?"

"It's not a secret room, it's a passageway." Yu Xing gasped for breath, shaking his arms. "Didn't you ask me where Zeng Lai was? He's down here."

Huang Bai: "... Him, what? What's below? Alive or dead?"

Yu Xing: "Zeng Lai, who was alive, fell down. If I don't go down soon, she might become dead."

Huai: "..."

He touched the mithril jade snake pendant on his collar. "You seem to have discovered quite a bit. As an ally, would you mind sharing?"

Yu Xing Huang Bai subtly stepped back slightly to prevent the somewhat impulsive girl from falling in as well. "I don't mind. It's really nothing serious. We just stumbled upon a way to destroy Alice and this castle."

"It's not a big deal? Are you even speaking like a human being?"

Huai adjusted his glasses and coughed twice. "Tell me?"

Yu Xing said, "Before coming to the annex, I had already turned the steward against me and learned the origin of the castle's existence."