In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

Huo Yuhao got off the bed and was about to open the door when an untimely voice sounded behind him.

"If you go out now, you'll only see things you shouldn't see."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao immediately turned around, searching for the source of the voice.

Then... Dai Mubai's mouth moved, as if he had noticed Huo Yuhao's scrutinizing gaze. He quickly turned to the side, his back to Huo Yuhao, and began to snore evenly.

"Senior Dai, may I ask at what time, under absolutely safe circumstances, a freshman like me, can leave the dormitory?"

As he spoke, Huo Yuhao clasped his hands together and leaned forward slightly, adopting a humble and eager-to-learn posture.

After waiting for about five minutes, Dai Mubai was still snoring evenly, showing no intention of answering Huo Yuhao's question.

For a moment, Huo Yuhao was in a dilemma, pacing back and forth at the door, unsure whether he should heed Dai Mubai's advice.

Before the trial officially began, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm had told him not to trust anyone or anything in the illusion.

Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao placed his right hand on the doorknob. Just as the door was about to open, his body suddenly trembled violently, and he collapsed to the ground.

He was afraid—afraid that the scene behind the door would make him break the first rule, and he didn't know what impact losing his life in the illusion would have on reality, or how much of an impact.

But... it's not right for him to stay in the dormitory and not go out. Who knows how much the time flow rate is in the illusion and outside? If by the time he leaves the illusion, the war of faith will have ended decades ago, then what's the point?

By then, no matter which side wins the final victory, they may not be able to tolerate Huo Yuhao.

After some deliberation, Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, grabbed the doorknob with his right hand once again, and slowly opened the door.

When a person dies, the bird's nest rises to the sky; if they don't die, they live on for ten thousand years!

In his past life, he dared to plant high-explosive bombs in the Mingde Hall warehouse without considering the consequences. In this life... does he not even have the courage to face difficulties?

Must we keep retreating until we reach a point where there's nowhere left to retreat?

The moment the door opened, Huo Yuhao stepped out without hesitation.

He ignored Dai Mubai's advice and insisted on leaving the dormitory, not knowing that the other party might attack him, Huo Yuhao.

In this illusion, it remains to be seen who is the ferocious jackal and who is the docile sheep!

Upon arriving outside, the imagined "door-opening murder" scenario did not occur. Everywhere one looked was peaceful, and there was nothing that should have been seen, not even a single person in sight.

Should we just knock on the doors of other dormitories to ask for information?

Huo Yuhao shook his head. This reckless approach was not advisable. Who knew if there were things (sounds) in the other dormitories that he shouldn't have seen or heard?

With no other option, Huo Yuhao decided to return to basics and started running around Shrek Academy, hoping to encounter someone who could provide him with information or uncover the hidden rules.

For a seasoned chosen one of the strange rules, Huo Yuhao's approach was full of loopholes. He had only been in the dungeon for less than a day and didn't even know where the mines were. The correct approach would have been to wait until mealtime, when everyone was gathered in the cafeteria, before gathering information.

The most taboo thing in the world of ghost stories is running around mindlessly. Of course, this is a script designed by Tianmeng Baobao for his little Yuhao. The overall difficulty is not high and there are not too many hidden pitfalls. As long as Huo Yuhao's intelligence is not reckless, he should be able to pass the level.

After running about three laps, when Huo Yuhao arrived at the village entrance again, he was surprised to find that a petite figure had appeared on the big rock at the village entrance.

She was a girl with short, silver-gray hair and wearing a silver-white princess dress. Although she was quite different from the dignified and elegant Miss Ning in his memory, Huo Yuhao still recognized her. This was the Nine-Colored Goddess Ning Rongrong in her youth.

Huo Yuhao was about to go up and say hello, but Ning Rongrong unexpectedly jumped off the rock and walked towards him.

"Can you take me back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?"

As a melodious voice rang out, Huo Yuhao instinctively wanted to answer, but when he thought of the fifth rule, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has been destroyed. Do not mention anything about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School in front of Ning Rongrong.

"Not being able to mention it... does that mean I can't answer Ning Rongrong's question? Ugh... this is really difficult!"

Huo Yuhao muttered to himself, suddenly finding himself in a dilemma.

Talking to Ning Rongrong would only violate the fifth rule, making it a path to certain death.

But if he turns around and leaves, who knows if Ning Rongrong will cling to him, crying and begging him to send her back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?

Good heavens! Huo Yuhao, who had been a fool for tens of thousands of years, has finally come to his senses. He finally considers the consequences before doing things and stops acting impulsively.

With his brain working at high speed, Huo Yuhao came up with a solution that would satisfy both parties. According to the rules, he could not mention anything about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School to Ning Rongrong, so why not just avoid talking about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School altogether?

Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, looked at Ning Rongrong in front of him, and slowly said, "Hello, senior, my name is Huo Yuhao. I have just joined Shrek Academy. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

"As long as you are willing to take me home, as payment, I can let you marry into my Ning family and become my husband, Ning Rongrong's husband."

Ning Rongrong tilted her head and revealed an innocent smile.

Huo Yuhao felt a surge of inexplicable anger rising in his heart. Looking at Ning Rongrong's beautiful face, he almost lost his composure and blurted out his agreement.

In this world, how many normal men can resist the pursuit of the pure and lovely Miss Ning?

Huo Yuhao pinched his thigh hard, forcibly suppressing his inner desires, and said through gritted teeth, "My name is Huo Yuhao, I come from the Star Luo Empire. I have long heard of the name Shrek Academy, and I wanted to witness the splendor of this monster academy that is known for its 'better to have none than to have something of poor quality'."

……

And so, Huo Yuhao and Ning Rongrong chatted back and forth, seemingly having a lively conversation, but in reality... they were having a cross-server chat, each talking about their own thing, with no interaction whatsoever.

As time went by, Huo Yuhao felt the pressure in his heart growing, and his speech became increasingly disordered. Several times he almost uttered the words "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School".

Fortunately, he learned his lesson and stopped listening to Ning Rongrong, focusing instead on reciting his own lines. (End of Chapter)