Pitiful Widower (End)

Why are they all surrounding his wife?

Bill initially deceived Xue Ci, but in the process, he ended up deceiving himself as well.

Clutching the engagement ring, he stormed in like a loyal dog, yelling, "Who are you?!"

Of this large group of men, he only didn't recognize two of them.

Who are these two people? And when did they become captivated by Xue Ci?

Bill grew increasingly agitated. He shoved the group aside with his bare hands, then grabbed Xue Ci's shoulder and said, "Unauthorized trespassing is illegal. If you don't leave, I'll call the police! Get out of here!"

Surprise, disdain, disgust... these were the kinds of expressions on the faces of the group of men opposite them.

They searched for so long, only to find out that Xue Ci had been tricked into going home by this blond-haired guy.

I wonder how much he ate. A gluttonous scoundrel like Huang Mao wouldn't be able to resist eating someone once he's been lured home.

I bet they've kissed and licked each other countless times.

Just now, I was overwhelmed by the joy of the reunion. Now, looking at Xue Ci, I noticed that she was wearing an ill-fitting shirt that was slightly see-through, revealing her slightly swollen nipples underneath.

There was also a clear teeth mark on his calf.

Her lips were also plump and bright red.

I've become familiar with him inside and out.

I don't even know how many times I've eaten it.

His belly was probably already shaped like a blond man's.

A group of tall, unfamiliar men stood there with grim, dark expressions. It would be abnormal for Xue Ci not to be afraid. He shrank behind Bill, hiding, and said, "Honey, should we call the police...?"

The group of men had initially intended to have a proper discussion, but upon hearing Xue Ci call him "husband," they all lost control and rushed in to confront Bill.

Xue Ci: "..."

Was her husband beaten to death by a mob?

The room was in complete chaos. Taking advantage of the situation, someone surrounded Xue Ci: "He's lying to you. He's not your husband at all. I'm your boyfriend. I even have photos to prove it."

The photo wasn't photoshopped. When they first started their secret relationship, Lu Min was very clingy, even following Xue Ci when she went grocery shopping. On their way back, they took a photo together at a photo studio.

Luckily there was a photo, otherwise Xue Ci have really thought he was a pervert.

Lu Min nervously handed over the photos, explaining, "We really are dating, we've done a lot of intimate things, Xiao Ci, you... you believe me."

He gets so nervous that he can't speak properly, which makes the other two players look at him with disdain.

Of course, the root cause of their disdain was their jealousy. After all, Lu Min was still their secret boyfriend; they had taken photos together and kissed, while they had never had a formal relationship.

Especially Fu Chengsi, who pretended to be something he'd never got, and now he wants to pay Xue Ci a house and money just to get a title as her husband, but he has to wait in line.

So many dogs suddenly appeared.

As the group of men searched for Xue Ci, they inevitably bumped into each other, and each encounter led to comparisons and competition. Fu Chengsi comforted himself, thinking that he wasn't exactly of low status—at least Xue Ci had sat on his face before.

He now deeply regrets not having used his nose to push her away; that way, Xue Ci attached to him. If he had left earlier, Xue Ci have been living at his house, and they might even be having a child together.

Xue Ci had no idea what Fu Chengsi was thinking. He only felt that there was a mature man across from him who looked harsh and difficult to talk to, and that he was staring intently at him.

The photo Lu Min handed over was indeed of him.

Xue Ci didn't really know Lu Min, and since she felt that Fu Chengsi wasn't a good person, she was also wary of Lu Min.

He returned the photo. "No, I already have a husband. It's probably just that they look too alike."

Lu Min's pupils contracted.

He stormed up to Bill, furious, and punched him squarely in the face. "What drug did you give Xiao Ci?!"

"..."

That punch acted as a fuse; initially, everyone was targeting Bill, but somehow a brawl broke out.

They probably disliked each other a long time ago.

The noise in the living room was deafening. Xue Ci was worried about disturbing the neighbors, and of course, she was also a little worried about Bill.

He was about to step forward to break up the fight when a familiar voice popped into his head—

[Host, don't go!!! You'll get hurt!]

Let them fight first!

Xue Ci exclaimed with delight, "[You're finally back! I was so worried about you.]"

Hearing its host say it was worried about it, 11 felt a surge of joy. It thought the group of men were too noisy and would interfere with its conversation with its host, so it blocked out the sounds of fighting.

[Host! I'm late, boohoo! This is your third cycle in this world.]

[The memory from the first two playthroughs is too large to transfer to you all at once. However, given the current situation, I'll send you the data and tasks for this playthrough first.]

[That blond guy is lying to you! Your identity this time is that of a widow from the moment you entered; your husband has been half-dead for a long time and is now possessing the ring in that person's pocket!]

The amount of information was too much for Xue Ci to bear; she had to quickly find the documents before she could even be shocked by Bill's deception.

Seeing that the host had almost finished reading, 11 added, "[My being blocked this time was also done by the Quick Transmigration Bureau; they also sealed off the passages left by the Fragment!]"

[The only way for you to return to the real world is to follow the game rules, go back to the castle, and have the three players use the connecting passage to leave!]

[Joel and his gang are already traitors; you'd better watch out when you go back.]

[And these Fragment —the main god's goal this time is to capture them.]

[However, I suspect they'll kill each other first.]

Xue Ci: "..."

He glanced at the group of men, whose faces were bruised and battered, and his tense mood instantly eased.

Of course, the men also keenly noticed Xue Ci's gaze.

They all turned around--

The handsome boy sitting at the top of the stairs, his hand propping up his chin, looking utterly helpless, was just too... adorable.

This caused them to forget about fighting altogether.

Xue Ci slowly spoke, "I've remembered some things. Shall we set off for the castle now?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it effectively quieted everyone down.

Everyone except Bill visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

At least now everyone is on equal footing.

Bill's face was stiff; the engagement ring was still in his pocket. Clearly— Xue Ci was being lenient by not ignoring him; there was no way she was going to marry him.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Xue Ci had to go upstairs to change her clothes before setting off.

But for some reason, these men insisted on squeezing into the bedroom.

"Xiao Ci, you change yours, we won't peek."

"Even if we see it, we won't do anything; we'll just help you pack your things."

Do you have anything valuable?

Xue Ci very understanding. "I only have a few pieces of clothing."

The rest of the money belonged to Bill.

Bill was leaning against the doorway, his expression stiff, with a hint of guilt at having his lie exposed.

Just then, their eyes met, Bill hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.

Soon, Lucius blocked their view. The man was the only one who had been with Xue Ci... and he had long considered himself Xue Ci's next husband.

"Xiao Ci, has he cheated you out of a lot of things?"

"Just say the word, and I'll kill him right now."

A layer of black mist rose around the man, his aura menacing. Xue Ci had been bullied badly these past few days and really didn't want to deal with Bill, but the other party had been taking good care of him, so it shouldn't have to be this serious.

"No need..." Xue Ci suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, do you have the ring?"

Lucius, stunned for a moment, before finally taking out the ring and handing it to Xue Ci.

As soon as she regained her memory, she thought of her husband.

In an instant, the acidity in the room increased.

The ring looks small, but it feels quite heavy.

Lucius began to fawn over him at all costs. "You can talk to him, he can hear everything."

Xue Ci suddenly became unwell.

What is he trying to say?

Did she tell her husband that Bill had already cheated her out of "that"?

The emerald on the ring looks even greener now.

Xue Ci put away the ring and, without wasting any more time, returned the clothes and, as 11 had instructed, urged everyone to return to the castle.

What Lu Min could have accomplished by simply modifying the code is now no longer working.

They couldn't return to the castle instantly, nor could they return directly to the real world.

Players no longer have cheat codes.

It seems the Quick Transmigration Bureau really intends to destroy these last few Fragment.

They were still arguing and jealous of each other.

Xue Ci's eyelids twitched with annoyance, and she urged everyone to leave. Everyone was unhappy when they heard that Bill was to be taken along.

But Xue Ci's words were like imperial edicts.

There were too many people, so several carriages were needed. As for who was in the same carriage as Xue Ci... everyone consciously made their own arrangements.

The one who Xue Ci had the highest status, second only to Bill.

Those who had been Xue Ci were of secondary status.

You have nothing, go and ride in the carriage alone.

They hurried along, finally arriving at the castle at dusk.

The towering Gothic building was shrouded in dark clouds, as if it could be destroyed at any moment.

Joel greeted them at the door with feigned politeness. He didn't scold Xue Ci for working in the mines these past few days; instead, he told him to come inside and rest.

The place connecting the two worlds is in a grove of trees.

After several people tried it, it indeed failed.

Joel didn't stop them in any way, as if he was certain they couldn't leave the castle.

All the players' systems malfunctioned, and both vampires and werewolves had their abilities restricted, temporarily turning them into ordinary people.

Joel, with his many wrinkles, invited them to dinner with a strange smile.

The sky grew darker and darker, and soon it was completely dark.

Xue Ci could feel a sense of urgency, as if some unknown fear was engulfing him.

We need to leave here as soon as possible!

But acting blindly now would only be like a headless fly. Xue Ci took a deep breath, first using his points to exchange for protective charms, and then distributing them to the men surrounding him.

If only these men would stop sniffing the scent on it like dogs in front of him.

After distributing the protective amulets, Xue Ci at least felt some psychological comfort and took a breather. He overheard Fu Chengsi discussing with Lu Min and Qin Zhou about using the remaining points to exchange for an opportunity.

The entire system store has crashed. The only chance is to open the portal for a limited time of one minute and return to the real world without Joel's knowledge.

A minute is a very short time, and there are still so many of them.

Xue Ci frowned deeply.

Of course, one minute is more than enough if only one person leaves.

Everyone understood without saying a word.

They decided to move the start time to late at night, when Joel's guard would be lower, and then leave.

However, before nightfall, they were awakened by noises downstairs.

Flames shot into the sky.

Unexpectedly, Joel decided to set the place on fire!

[Host, this isn't ordinary fire! This can collect energy from the Fragment!]

The only way to get to the grove is through the living room balcony.

Fortunately, the fire wasn't too big.

Xue Ci's head was suddenly covered with a wet sheet, and then she was hugged tightly.

"Walk!"

The sound of the flames igniting made it impossible for him to identify what they were.

But he knew everyone was there.

Everyone ran downstairs, but the balcony had already been blocked off. In addition to the fire, there were more than a dozen bodyguards gathered in the living room.

Like a group of zombies, with empty eyes, completely unafraid of fire, they only knew how to rush towards them.

"Let's go! To Mrs. West's room! Get out the window!"

Someone shouted.

The living room was almost completely engulfed in flames. Xue Ci choked on her breath, finding it difficult to even see who was around her.

Breathing became rapid...

Even his consciousness began to fade.

Xue Ci gritted her teeth, trying to get a clear look at the people downstairs, but was instead pushed upstairs.

"Go ahead! We'll come find you right away!"

Xue Ci didn't want to abandon them, but his presence might only delay things further.

The living room was filled with thick smoke, and Xue Ci's legs were so weak that he couldn't lift them. Before he knew it, there was no one left beside him.

By the time I passed the third floor, the smoke had dissipated.

Xue Ci hurriedly stepped onto the stairs, and after glancing at the portrait and violin on the wall, fragmented memories flooded her mind.

"I don't blame fate for being unfair, nor do I blame anyone else."

"But I still have one regret."

"Hope, before I leave--"

Fu Chengsi had rarely been this embarrassed.

He thought that perhaps he would never be able to leave this place.

Before that, he had to watch Xue Ci leave with his own eyes, and ideally, he could kiss and hug her.

Then he could die without regrets.

The man strode quickly and reached the third floor.

He froze upon seeing Xue Ci's figure.

This... idiot.

At a time like this, is there any time to worry about the violin?

Is it some kind of Virgin Mary?

Fu Chengsi frowned and took a few steps to catch up. Xue Ci saw him at the same time and reached out to him in surprise, "Hurry up!"

Fu Chengsi's heart softened instantly.

Xue Ci's face was dirty, and her shoulders were tightened by the violin bag.

Poor, gentle little Virgin Mary.

fool.

But she is kind.

A kind-hearted fool.

Perhaps, that wasn't stupidity.

so.

That's why I like him so much.

"Not leaving--huh?" The weight on Xue Ci's shoulders was gone. After she came to her senses, her hand was grabbed and the violin was already on Fu Chengsi's body.

"Walk!"

The two quickly arrived at Mrs. West's room. Xue Ci opened the door and placed the violin beside the bed.

In an instant, a dazzling white light shone through the window—

Xue Ci's eyes stung as she heard Fu Chengsi whisper in her ear, "The passage is open!"

The man quickly realized what was happening, deftly opened the wardrobe, pulled out a bed sheet, tore it into strips, and tied it in a knot.

"You can go down now!"

Xue Ci nodded. "And what about you?"

Fu Chengsi didn't look up, continuing to tie the rope for him, "If you could kiss me right now, I would die without regrets."

Xue Ci lowered her eyes, her lips drooping.

He wanted to say, "I want to go with you all," but he was afraid that he would dawdle and let everyone down.

Fu Chengsi had just finished securing the bedsheets when he grabbed Xue Ci and headed towards the window. But the next second, the sheets vanished completely.

"Hold!"

He couldn't help but swear, and was about to pull out another one when Xue Ci grabbed his clothes.

"Look!" Xue Ci in surprise.

Fu Chengsi looked out the window and saw that a thick vine had somehow climbed up the window.

"It's here to save us!"

Fu Chengsi was wary of everything, but he didn't know how long the passage would remain open. "Can you climb down this way? Or should I carry you down?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone rushed into the room.

Knowing that the passage had opened, everyone was eager for Xue Ci leave, but they didn't know what dangers might lurk in the garden.

The group quickly decided that the person in the middle would be the safest. Fu Chengsi and Lu Min went down first, and only after confirming that there was no danger did Xue Ci go down.

The vines floated into the air, seemingly unwilling to help others.

Xue Ci said softly, "No, you can't."

The vines obediently climbed to the window again.

Everyone was speechless.

They seemed to be looking in a mirror—that's how Xue Ci usually disciplined them.

The fire burned ever brighter, bursting into the room with unstoppable force.

The firelight caused the entire castle to lose power, yet it also illuminated everything with its scarlet flames.

Fu Chengsi and Lu Min quickly followed the vines downstairs. After confirming that the garden was safe, Xue Ci hugged the vines and carefully climbed down.

He didn't need to worry about falling; the vines were already firmly wrapped around his waist.

"Careful--"

The fire caused the vines to gradually wither.

The ring on her ring finger suddenly emitted a light.

Soon, a light green ribbon-like mist floated out of the ring and tightly wrapped around Xue Ci's body.

The strength in his waist was gradually fading; it seemed he could only hold on until he reached the ground.

But.

Xue Ci steadied herself and looked up, only to see that the fire had already spread to the vicinity of the window.

He saw that the men were all in a sorry state, looking terrible; Bill's clothes were even on fire.

We'll walk together.

Xue Ci's body was falling, and he reached out his arm, not knowing whose hand he was grabbing.

Amidst the raging, towering flames, a cluster of tiny Fragment surrounded the boy as they plummeted downwards.

The servers for "Lost in the Castle" were down for three days.

All players were forced to return to the real world, and their accounts received an additional compensation point.

The server shutdown was a complete shutdown; even the forums were gone.

Lu Min hacked into the official account and tried to open the forum, but his computer was immediately infected with a virus.

He endured those three days without contacting anyone.

As soon as the server started up, Lu Min entered the game.

He saw an old acquaintance in the castle, and the group went to someone's room on the second floor without saying a word, but the room was empty.

Joel was now just an ordinary NPC.

The group pressed for details about the young servant's whereabouts.

Joel, however, asked with slight surprise, "Song Xueci?"

Is this a Chinese person?

"I've never heard of this name before."

They refused to believe it and went to the slums, the cabins, and even searched Xue Ci's and her ex-husband's villa.

Only that diary remained.

These are all records of disordered sounds.

Driven mad with jealousy, the group wanted to destroy the diary, yet feared it might be the last clue to finding Xue Ci.

the next day.

They didn't find it.

Day three.

Not only Xue Ci, but everyone connected to Xue Ci disappeared.

They refused to believe it and searched frantically in the game, almost destroying it altogether.

The official team also received an email from them, questioning why the NPCs in the game had disappeared.

They were treated as mentally ill patients and forced to leave the game.

In the forum, all posts related to Song Xueci have disappeared completely.

No one remembers Song Xueci; they all think this NPC never existed.

The three of them felt as if the whole world had abandoned them.

*

One month later.

Lu Min, who had been feeling down for a long time, opened WeChat.

There's a group message.

This group was created when they were forced to quit the game. They agreed that whoever found Xue Ci would contact the others in the group.

This is the first time there has been chat history in the three-person group.

[Qin Zhou: Damn! Did you guys receive the email?]

Lu Min was not interested and didn't bother to reply.

Just as I was about to toss my phone aside, another message popped up.

[Fu Chengsi: The Lost in the Castle?]

[Qin Zhou: Yes! I think he sent it to me! I can't be the only one who has it, right? He really misses me the most!]

Lu Min immediately got out of bed and logged into his account, which he hadn't used in a long time.

The email kept flashing as soon as I logged in.

Among the dozen or so emails, he immediately spotted the one that stood out from the others.

The cover features only a Little Snowman.

My heart was pounding, and my spine was trembling.

Lu Min took a deep breath and slowly opened the email.

Don't be sad.

You've been pursuing me for a long time.

so.

You'll definitely find me this time too, right?

Author's Note:

And with that, the little world came to an end.

There are two or three chapters left in the real world.

Thank you all for your support over the past six months.

I've been reading all your comments, and I'm somewhat familiar with your IDs now.

I'll do a giveaway in a couple of days after the main story is finished; it'll be some small freebies.

Thank you so much for Xue Ci support, dear readers! [pity][pity][pity]