I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 41, December 22: The Secret Mansion and Miss Lily's Toy House

"Ruan Peng and He Huayuan escaped. I just saw them sneaking out of the secret mansion's iron gate from the window," Zhou Hao said with a grim expression.

"Leaving the Secret Mansion doesn't mean leaving this instance," Mu Yegui said earnestly as he approached the two.

Zhou Hao was slightly taken aback, and suddenly a bad thought occurred to him. "What do you mean?"

Mu Yegui pointed to the door outside the window and said, "The map of this instance is not just the Secret Mansion, but the entire Doll Town, which includes the Secret Mansion."

"Our mission is clearly to escape the secret mansion, right? Once we leave, it's over, isn't it?" Does such a simple task really require setting a trap? Wait! No! If it's really that simple, then why is it an A-level mission?!
Mu Yegui clearly noticed the change in Zhou Hao's expression and asked, "Does the rule say anything else?"

"I can't escape the mansion alone," Zhou Hao said angrily, slamming his fist against the wall.

That's right, one cannot escape the mansion alone. "Alone" here doesn't mean one can leave with another person; rather, one must receive help from a specific person, and that person must belong to the secret mansion.

There are two people in the Secret Mansion: one is Ifa, the young butler who must be kept at a distance according to the rules, and the other is Miss Lily, who holds the power of life and death over them. There is no doubt that they cannot seek help from either of them.

“A dead end, is all we can do is wait to die…” Zhou Hao sat down against the wall, his expression filled with despair.

"There should be another person." The study on the second floor is marked with the 'Silk House' logo, so the owner of the 'Silk House' must have some connection with the secret mansion.

Mu Yegui had a guess: perhaps this person was the true owner of the secret mansion, the one she had just rescued from Yifa.

"You all go out too," Mu Yegui said.

"Don't you need us to keep an eye on Miss Lily?" Zhou Hao asked, puzzled. If they left, she would really be all alone.

"I wasn't really going to help anyway. The door will be closed again tomorrow, and if we don't leave now, it'll be too late." What Mu Yegui really wanted to say was that she had already found Yifa's trail and just needed to follow the clues. However, once she said it, all that remained was the truth, which was extremely straightforward.

Zhou Hao was initially hesitant, but Fei nodded to Mu Yegui and left first. So Zhou Hao could only follow him out.

Which is more frightening, a known danger or an unknown danger?
Mu Yegui stood at the second-floor window, watching the two people below climb over the iron gate and leave the secret mansion. His cool, silver eyes remained as calm and deep as an ancient pool.

the next day.

"Ifa, listen to me! My doll has disappeared!" Miss Lily cried to Ifa, feeling wronged.

"Don't worry, Miss, I'll help you find it." Ifa looked up at Mu Yegui as he walked in and comforted him softly.

"Once I find them, I'm going to rip their heads off and show them what happens when they try to escape!" Miss Lily said angrily, her eyes red.

Mu Yegui looked calmly at Miss Lily, whose hair was disheveled and many stray strands were sticking up. He asked, "Didn't you comb your hair?"

Miss Lily was slightly taken aback, then nodded with a wronged expression.

"Give me the hairband," Mu Yegui said, extending his hand.

Miss Lily took two red hair ribbons out of her pocket and placed them in Mu Yegui's palm.

He gently combed Miss Lily's hair with his fingers and tied her long golden hair into twin ponytails. For Miss Lily's age, such a youthful hairstyle was indeed very suitable for her.

"My dolls are gone!" Miss Lily grabbed Mu Yegui's wrist, crying sadly. Mu Yegui didn't speak, waiting for Miss Lily to continue. In truth, even without her saying anything, he could already guess what was going to happen. Miss Lily wanted his help to find the dolls, but that was impossible.

"I'll buy one for you when I go out later." Mu Yegui didn't follow Miss Lily's wishes at all; he just planned to buy a doll that wasn't actually a player to appease Miss Lily.

“That’s not what I meant!” Miss Lily protested fiercely, frowning.

"What is that?" The cold, silver eyes stared at her silently, as if warning Miss Lily to watch her behavior.

“I…” Miss Lily shrank back slightly and said softly, “I want something pretty… is that alright?”

"Hmm." Mu Yegui nodded, quite satisfied that Miss Lily hadn't acted willfully.

After players in the normal storyline escape the Secret Mansion, they will find themselves in the second phase, which involves evading the search from the Secret Mansion and finally escaping the Doll Town with the help of a mysterious person. This is the complete mission flow of the normal storyline.

At this moment, Ruan Peng and He Huayuan were hiding in one of the abandoned houses in the fairy tale town, and the cold winter wind was blowing into the house through the holes in the wall.

"Can we really escape?" Ruan Peng asked softly, hugging herself.

“It’s okay,” He Huayuan comforted him, but in reality, he was on the verge of collapse, having been hearing voices from the Secret Mansion ever since.

We absolutely cannot get caught! Otherwise, we'll definitely die!

He Huayuan turned to look at Ruan Peng beside him and suddenly made a decision.

He jumped to his feet, pushed open the door, and shouted outside, "I'm here!"

Ruan Peng was startled by He Huayuan's sudden action. Then He Huayuan grabbed her hand and ran out with her.

Behind them, dozens of maids from the secret mansion were hot on their heels, showing no sign of giving up. No matter how they ran, they couldn't shake them off.

"Sorry." He Huayuan, who was standing next to her, suddenly stopped and then shoved Ruan Peng hard, pushing her into the sea of ​​maids. All the weapons were thrown at her in that instant.

Ruan Peng glared fiercely at He Huayuan's relieved smile, as if he had gotten rid of some burden.

Why?! If there's no way to die together, fine, but why use her life to increase the chances of escape?!

Fei and Zhou Hao were in the house right next to the two of them, and they could see this scene clearly from the window.

"I knew He Huayuan was a beast, I never imagined he'd give up on the woman he loves so easily! I knew I hadn't misjudged him!" Zhou Hao said with disgust. "Fei! Don't rush out! She's beyond saving!"

Fei nodded silently, his eyes fixed on Ruan Peng outside the window, who was covered in blood from being beaten by the maid. His hands were clenched into fists and he couldn't relax them.

"If I could save her, I would do so because she has information about the captain. Unfortunately, the current situation is that even if I saved her, she wouldn't survive." Zhou Hao took a deep breath and sighed.

This is the reality of this world, cruel enough to make one despair.

(End of this chapter)