Do You Think It's Possible... That Lu Xiu Likes Us?

"Call----"

Two hours later.

Forest exports.

The smell of blood and decaying leaves mixed together was particularly unpleasant.

Shen Nian gripped the heavy hunting rifle, breathing slightly heavily, while wisps of gunpowder smoke still billowed from the barrel.

At her feet lay a corpse with its head blown off.

That was the Hunter's corpse.

Shen Nian did not allow the Hunter, whose plan backfired, to kill her daughter.

But there was no joy of victory on her face, because this was far from a reversal; not far from the Hunter's body lay another corpse.

That was the corpse of the purple-haired girl—the real Viola.

She died too.

With experience, there shouldn't be any major problems.

This is a huge problem!

This time, even though Shen Nian knew the hidden setting, even though he tried his best, and even risked his life to grab the gun, the purple-haired girl still fell into a pool of blood.

There was absolutely no reversal!

In front of the purple-haired girl's corpse.

The fake Viola, who wore the innocent skin of a blonde girl but was essentially Witch, still stood there unharmed, the Black Cat at her feet licking its fur.

Completely unharmed!

Not even a drop of blood stained the hem of her skirt.

"How exactly should we fight this?!"

Shen Nian looked at the scene before her, feeling somewhat powerless.

She had tried firing a gun before.

But it was completely useless.

"Sister, you saved me again, thank you for helping me—but why did you kill my father?"

The fake Viola slowly smiled at Shen Nian, "You really are a Demon."

Shen Nian ignored her.

She was indeed full of confidence before entering the instance.

She believed that as long as she acted perfectly enough and learned Viola's true identity, she could forcibly change the tragic ending.

But Lu Xiu doesn't play by the rules at all!

In just two hours, Shen Nian had tried every method she could think of.

For example, try communicating with the purple-haired girl.

Now that we know the purple-haired girl is the real Viola, why not just contact the real Viola?

But this was more troublesome than expected, because the purple-haired girl couldn't speak at all. Even if she explained her purpose, the purple-haired girl wouldn't trust her immediately, and the means of communication were pitifully few. It seemed that the entire the Witch's House was preventing such a thing from happening.

Then Shen Nian thought, since contacting her wasn't working, she would have the purple-haired girl catch up with the fake Viola.

The final chase scene.

Shen Nian did just that; instead of protecting the fake Viola, she deliberately slowed her down, allowing the purple-haired girl to catch up with her.

At that moment, Shen Nian thought she was about to succeed.

Because the purple-haired girl's hand had already grabbed the fake Viola.

But the moment Shen Nian stopped acting, the fake Viola also stopped acting!

Black Cat appeared.

The Black Cat, which had initially seemed merely to add to the atmosphere, suddenly sprang out from the shadows in a manner reminiscent of a deus ex machina, sending the purple-haired girl flying.

at last.

Shen Nian had no choice. Since the fake Viola was Witch, she might as well just get rid of her!

She planned to kill Viola herself!

But when she's not acting, Viola seems to have lost all her limitations.

The Black Cat will shield her from all harm—no matter what, Shen Nian cannot hurt her!

Moreover, Shen Nian vaguely sensed that if she wanted to harm the fake Viola, she had to keep acting, otherwise she would never be able to cause any damage.

But even if you kill the fake Viola, it won't change the fact that their bodies have been switched back!

So how exactly do we achieve this reversal?

"Elder sister----"

Just then, the fake Viola spoke again, her seemingly innocent eyes revealing undisguised malice, "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you feeling guilty for killing my father?"

Upon hearing this...

Shen Nian once again gained a clear understanding of the torment she had endured in the Lu Xiu dungeon.

Easy? Bullshit!

How did they even come up with such a plot twist?!

It forces players to watch helplessly as tragedy unfolds.

It was a complete failure.

"Lu Xiu ----Lu------Maintaining the role throughout----Communication with the real person is ineffective----Beware of the Black Cat's séance."

Shen Nian took a deep breath. In order to Versus Instance the Memory Blur mechanism that erases details after death in the dungeon, she began to mutter keywords while reversing the gun and pointing it at her fair chin.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Shen Nian's vision was instantly engulfed by a Bai Guang.

[Player has died.]

[Instance failed.]

A flash of Bai Guang.

Shen Nian staggered to the ground, slightly out of breath, her full chest heaving.

The smell that lingered around her nose was no longer the stench of blood and decaying leaves, but the faint, comforting fragrance of Lu Xiu's living room.

I'm back.

The moment her consciousness returned, the [Memory Blur mechanism] inherent in the instance forcibly intervened.

Many details in the copy began to fade and become blurry.

To maintain fairness, the system determined that the memory range that needed to be virtualized in this instance was exceptionally large.

Soon, the details of the fierce battle deep in the forest in Shen Nian's mind, the fake Viola's mocking words, and even the gruesome state of the Hunter's corpse began to become blurry.

Even so, Shen Nian still managed to remember some things.

"Maintaining a role throughout—communication with the real entity is ineffective—Beware of Black Cat possession."

She moved her lips slightly and quietly repeated the three key words she had written down.

The mechanism to prevent Memory Blur has been successful.

Basically, every member of the Strategy Group was trained on how to tackle these high-difficulty Roleplay Instance with Memory Blur mechanics.

The system obliterates the player's memories related to the dungeon, so when Shen Nian pulled the trigger and kept repeating the keywords, he wasn't thinking about the dungeon's plot, but rather a scene completely unrelated to the dungeon.

That is, Lu Xiu.

She was thinking of the image of Lu Xiu sitting on the sofa not long ago, straightening her back and retying her hair.

Then, using this vivid memory from reality as an anchor, I managed to retain a few keywords.

This is the daily routine for the Strategy Group members when facing the Lu Xiu dungeon.

Often, it requires countless deaths, forgetting, and mental pressure, almost self-torturing, to try and fail again and again, forcing out the glimmer of hope for passing the level.

This is only the first step, because the quality of each member of the Strategy Group varies.

Cross-validation is also required.

A Strategy Group members, with enough detail and a thorough understanding of the dungeon, capable of helping even complete beginners clear it.

This process was actually quite difficult for all members of the Strategy Group.

However, everyone's used to Lu Xiu's side stories.

Shen Nian rubbed her temples and looked around the quiet living room.

Lu Xiu wasn't there; the tea on the coffee table had gone completely cold, and the bedroom was quiet; it seemed she had gone to rest.

Shen Nian didn't plan to go find her for the time being, but instead started organizing the intelligence.

"Contacting the Witch directly seems impossible, and certain actions might even trigger a deus ex machina by the Black Cat— "

Shen Nian frowned, her fair fingers unconsciously twirling a strand of short hair by her ear. "Besides, I have to play the role of Viola's childhood friend the whole time, so she can't suspect anything."

This means that all her previous problem-solving approaches have been completely overturned.

A twist ending.

It's completely different from what she imagined.

Achieving a reverse ending in this instance is far more troublesome than she imagined.

"Since we can't contact the real Viola, Black Cat force won't work either—so how can I, as an ordinary friend caught in this mystery, logically expose this lie?"

Shen Nian pondered for a moment.

If the instance does not allow intervention from a god's-eye view, then you can only act within the instance's rules.

Suddenly—a memory flashed through her mind of those scattered throughout the Witch's House, things that seemed to be merely supplementary to her understanding of the world.

The Witch's Diary, Explanation of Magical Principles, and Various Textual Materials----

"Could it be... collecting?"

Shen Nian raised her head, a hint of excitement appearing in her beautiful peach blossom eyes.

If the previous approach didn't work, what if she, as a curious childhood friend exploring the Mansion in search of a way out, collected enough irrefutable evidence to piece together the truth through seemingly reasonable actions?

When quantitative change leads to qualitative change, when the chain of evidence is so complete that even the childhood friend's identity can be reasonably deduced that the Viola before us is an imposter, won't a new branching ending be triggered in the final outcome?! Won't the situation be reversed?!

"Very likely----"

Shen Nian found it increasingly plausible and immediately summoned the System Panel again, entering the [Witch] instance.

A flash of Bai Guang.

Shen Nian, dressed in a black and white maid outfit, disappeared again.

Shen Nian's idea was beautiful, and her logic was self-consistent.

But when she actually started practicing the collection route in the dungeon, she truly realized just how malicious Lu Xiu was.

Two whole hours.

Inside the eerie the Witch's House, Shen Nian knocked on almost every single floor tile.

She thought she had all the clues!

However, when the plot moves back to the forest exit...

Bang!

--

After the deafening gunshot, the purple-haired girl still lay dead in a pool of blood.

Tragedy struck again.

Shen Nian gripped the stolen gun, looked at the Hunter's corpse at his feet, and sighed deeply.

Why?!

I've already collected so much information!

Why hasn't the plot changed at all?

"Was my approach wrong? No, it should be—I didn't collect all the data?"

Shen Nian gritted her teeth, feeling utterly frustrated, raised her shotgun, pressed it against her chin again, and ended the instance with a single bullet.

The moment she returned to reality, Shen Nian, after much agonizing reflection, made a firm decision.

Since it's a collection route!

This time, she absolutely wouldn't overlook any corner that could be explored! Even a speck of dust in the corner of the wall, she would rub it to see if there was a note inside!

This is my third time entering the instance.

This time, Shen Nian completely transformed into a ruthless exploration machine.

She not only collected things that were obvious, but even began to decipher the patterns in seemingly meaningless wall scratches and statue arrangements.

Finally, after turning the Mansion almost upside down...

She learned of the existence of the Soul-Severing Blade ".

"I see!"

Shen Nian was so excited when she discovered that the instance had finally changed that she almost jumped up and down on the spot.

Any change is good!

soon.

She then moved on to the final chase, and while being pursued by the purple-haired girl, she deliberately separated from Viola and ran to a room in the Mansion.

Shen Mind Energy Open Gate, panting.

Sure enough, a short blade, entirely black with purple accents on its edge, lay quietly in the center of the magic circle in the room.

"It's over."

Shen Nian stepped forward, filled with the excitement of about to turn the tide, grabbed the hilt of the knife, and picked up the short sword.

However.

The moment the [Soul-Severing Blade] left the magic circle.

Rumble!

The entire the Witch's House suddenly began to shake violently!

Next.

A piercing, shrill scream rang out in unison.

The vengeful spirits in the Mansion, the vengeful spirits still restricted in the puzzles, seemed to be stimulated at this moment, and began to surge wildly out of the walls, floors and ceilings, rushing towards Shen Nian.

The happy look on Shen Nian's face froze instantly.

She looked at the terrifying vengeful spirits surging in from all directions like a tide, then at the Soul-Severing Blade in her hand, and suddenly smiled with relief.

"You----"

Collecting information was only the first step.

There's even Outlast scene like this! Facing the vengeful spirits of the entire Mansion!

It's amazing that Lu Xiu could come up with this!

And this hasn't even involved confronting the fake Viola yet!

Shen Nian looked at the surging vengeful spirits—and actually laughed in anger.

at the same time.

Nine Provinces Forum.

Although Shen Nian, as a top-tier player, progressed through dungeons at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, her experience was still quite representative.

To some extent, this also reflects the true situation of countless Nine Provinces players at this moment.

Other players, after discussing and concluding that the core theme of the [Witch] dungeon is lies, and learning about the hidden setting that their bodies had been swapped, couldn't sit still any longer.

Whether it's because there's a possibility of getting a better reward, because you don't want to be mocked by the system, or simply because you feel frustrated at being manipulated by the Witch.

In conclusion

--

Many players have re-entered the dungeon, hoping to achieve a completely different ending.

Then—the more they fought, the more their defenses crumbled.

Destroy me! Everything I do is wrong! In the end, even the system says I'm a joke!

[I feel like there was no way to reverse the ending! I can't hurt that fake Viola at all! Even knowing her identity, I can't do anything about it.]

[Yes! It would have been better not to know! Knowing the hidden setting only leads to that hopeless ending, and that sense of powerlessness is even stronger. It's like being mentally bullied by Lu Xiu —a kind of beauty.]

[I understand! I understand! Collect it! But damn it, I've turned the entire Mansion upside down! What does it mean that nothing has changed!]

[To the person upstairs, I've tried collecting them too—you wouldn't want to know what you'll see when you get the knife after collecting them all [crying].]

[Huh? What does that mean?]

[Anyway, I'm not going to do this dungeon for now. I'll wait for other pros to clear it. Besides, I think it's pretty good even Don't Look the "Resentment" skill; it's very strong. Being a clown isn't so bad, so let them laugh.]

[Yes, what's wrong with the other two skills? I'm not playing anymore.]

Really? [Screenshot]

,,"6

,,,""

The players were engrossed in their discussion when someone suddenly posted a screenshot of the reward.

The screenshot shows the same "Counterkill" skill as Jian Li.

However, the conditions for its use are a bit more stringent.

And then this screenshot appeared.

The player who was just saying that it was good Don't Look the "Resentment" skill fell silent.

At that moment, countless people sighed.

Everyone wanted to give up.

Are new rewards immediately appearing to entice everyone?

Or perhaps a more powerful skill.

That unexpected ending----

I----

After a while.

Finally, a reply appeared.

Brothers, do you guys think it's possible that the reason Lu Xiu designed the dungeons so difficult is actually to give us the best rewards? She's not trying to torture us, she just wants us to become stronger? Like a tsundere, she tortures us while awkwardly giving us good rewards; she loves the players, but is just too shy to say it?

I think so! So let's keep playing!

[----Oh no, another one's gone mad.]

"Such a reward—!"

Coordination Bureau.

Dungeon Resource Management Division.

Looking at the rewards posted on the forum, Sun Yi muttered, "It's clearly one dungeon—but I've already gotten three different skills. How did they manage to build this?"

Li Shengkai stood aside. "I'm asking you, not the other way around—and can you imitate this to create a lower-level alternative copy?"

Sun Yi paused for a moment, then pointed to his own nose. "----Me?"

"Understood."

Seeing the disbelief on Sun Yi's face, Li Shengkai shook his head. "Then let's proceed with the original plan and work on the lower-level alternative dungeon for Titanfall —the new version is coming in just over twenty days, so let's get more players familiar with Lu Xiu's dungeon as soon as possible."