I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

However, the three young members of the Pandora family did not pay attention to Duke and Amber's strange behavior. They were all immersed in the tension of facing the fairy princess. After leading the three of them to the building where Eve lived, the Pandora girl stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Who is it?

Not long after, Eve's languid voice rang out as she strolled out of the small bungalow in her bachelor apartment, opened the door, and looked at the crowd standing at the entrance.

"Oh my, what brings you here? And who are these two?"

Although she was the head of the Pandora family, Eve didn't seem to have much of an air about her and treated the younger members of the family with great kindness. The Pandora girl leaned close to her family head's ear and briefly explained the situation before bidding farewell to Eve and Amber with her two friends. They fled this unsuitable environment together, not even having time to take their friend Nona with them.

Nona originally wanted to take the opportunity to leave with her friends, but after Duke gave her a casual glare, she missed her chance to leave and had no choice but to stay there.

They couldn't let Nona leave yet. Duke and his companion didn't know enough about the four major families; they didn't even know the names of the other two besides the Cavendish and Pandora families. Even if Nona might expose them to Eve when they faced her directly, they couldn't let her leave.

“These kids.” Eve shook her head helplessly, then looked at the remaining three people, her gaze lingering on Duke’s face for a moment before she softly greeted Amber, “Are you Prince Silverleaf?”

"Just call me Amber, Miss Eve."

Amber answered gracefully, while Duke, grinning, stepped forward and said, "My name is Duke, Miss Eve, it's an honor to meet you."

"I'm ashamed to say, I only have a reputation in the floating city, no need for such flattery." Eve smiled slightly, shook hands with Duke who had come up to her, and then asked with some emotion, "Mr. Duke, you don't have the blood of some mythical creature, do you?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

“I’ve never seen a man as ‘handsome’ as you in my life,” Eve explained. “The only one who can compare to you is a top legend with some mythical creature blood, except that she is a woman.”

A top-tier legend? Is it Lady Scarlet? Or are there other top-tier legends in this floating city?

A thought flashed through Duke's mind, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply smiled and denied, "As far as I know, it shouldn't be."

After shaking hands with Eve, he obediently hid behind Amber and began to scrutinize Eve.

She resembled the Eve they knew, with similar appearance and age, and a similar demeanor. However, she was quite different from the potion-wielding witch. For example, this Eve did not have the ever-present herbal fragrance, nor the mystique and magical aura of a powerful spellcaster. Instead, she possessed a ruthless and decisive sharpness, and a strong physique hidden beneath her casual clothes.

Clearly, Eve is a physical damage dealer and an incredibly powerful warrior.

So far, among the "acquaintances" Duke has met, besides Ms. Scarlet, the one most similar to his parallel universe's isomorphic counterpart is Zi Yuan. Little Cecil is not only younger, has larger breasts, and is weaker, but she's also become more intelligent; Zi Yuan's appearance and personality haven't changed, and even her general fighting style hasn't changed, but she's become significantly stronger; Ida's appearance is noticeably different in age, and she no longer possesses the subtle sense of holiness that she had when she was in the floating city, surrounded by many believers.

Eve's personality and appearance haven't changed much, and she's even seamlessly transitioned into an older single woman. The only change is in her profession.

Eve didn't focus her attention on Duke for long; she paid more attention to Amber.

Unlike those ignorant and naive juniors, she had heard of the reputation of the Silverleaf Dynasty of the Elf Kingdom (fortunately, in this parallel world, the Elf Kingdom did not change its allegiance like the Floating City), and she could also see that Amber was a member of the very pure Elf royal family. Although she did not know whether the Silverleaf Dynasty really had a fourth princess named Amber, she still showed her respect for her.

Even if Amber isn't a princess, she must be a high-ranking elf. Even if she was eliminated in a palace intrigue, she must still control certain resources. Such a person absolutely cannot be given to any other power, not even the remaining three major families, the council, or the sheriff.

Eve glanced at Nona. She recognized the Cavendish girl. The Cavendish family seemed to have the upper hand, but since Princess Amber had come to the Pandora family's territory first, it proved that she herself was more inclined towards Pandora! Her glare at Nona carried a hint of murderous intent, a murderous intent she had cultivated in her early years when she represented the floating city in battles and quelled internal strife.

Most juniors would lose their composure if she glared at them, and Nona was no exception. After being casually glanced at by Eve, her legs went weak and she almost collapsed.

Eve understood perfectly well what she meant: she wanted Eve to leave immediately. And Eve wanted that too! Didn't she want to leave?

Nona was on the verge of tears. Just as she was about to climb down Eve's ladder, she saw Duke glance at her as well. She immediately became obedient, gritted her teeth, and stubbornly stayed where she was. Her unyielding appearance, however, made Eve look at her differently. She nodded, tacitly agreeing to let Nona stay where she was.

It's a pity Eve can't hear Nona's thoughts, otherwise she would have realized that Nona was the person who most wanted her to continue driving people away, and the person who was least willing to let her compromise—"Boss Eve, can you keep going? If you push a little harder, I can take the opportunity to seduce you!"

Obviously, the warrior version of Eve cannot read minds.

She clicked her tongue: "I wonder, Your Highness Amber, what brings you to the Floating City?"

Amber glanced at Duke, who immediately understood—Amber had clearly run out of fabrications and was left to continue rambling.

Duke thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's simple, we're here for 'Pandora's Box'."

Upon hearing this, Eve's expression immediately changed.

Chapter 375 Pandora's Box × Mimic (4K5)

Pandora Family, Gifts, Witch Games.

Even a fool could instantly connect Duke to the famous myth of his past life, "Pandora's Box."

Legend has it that Zeus, the king of the gods, was furious that humans had learned how to use fire, so he ordered his men to create a woman from clay, named Pandora, meaning "one endowed with all virtues." Each god bestowed upon her something to make her perfect. Then, Zeus gave Pandora a sealed box filled with calamities, disasters, and plagues, instructing her to give it to the man who marries her.

Humanity, who had never encountered a woman like Pandora before, was deceived. Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother, married Pandora and ultimately watched helplessly as she approached him with gifts and opened the magic box Zeus had given her. Disease, madness, disaster, sin, jealousy, theft, greed, and all sorts of evils leaped from the box and swiftly scattered across the world.

The "hope" that Athena secretly placed at the bottom of the box to save humanity's fate hadn't even had a chance to jump out of the box before Pandora closed it.

Pandora's Box is such a myth.

Duke's connection to the "world rules" (or witch games) held by the Pandora family with the myth of Pandora's Box is merely unfounded speculation. This is partly due to the fact that most of the witch games Duke is currently experiencing are related to stories, knowledge, and games he knew in his previous life, and partly due to the information provided by Ida.

Pandora Family, Gifts, Witch Games.

With these three factors combined, the answer to Pandora's Box becomes obvious.

Duke wasn't entirely sure, but Eve's changing expression clearly told him that he was right.

"Who told you?" Eve narrowed her eyes. Since Duke had already given the answer directly, she naturally had no intention of dodging or avoiding it. She asked in a cold voice, "I wonder what it is about Pandora's Box that Your Highnesses have taken a liking to?"

"Simply put, we want to broaden our horizons," Duke said with a smile. "Before coming to the Floating City, we had never seen anything like world rules. We've heard that the world rules controlled by the Pandora family are incredibly mysterious, so naturally we want to see for ourselves. Right, honey?"

"Hmm?" Faced with Duke's new form of address, Amber was slightly taken aback at first, then her amber eyes suddenly lit up, turning into happy crescent moons, and she immediately continued Duke's words, "That's right, exactly."

This floating city is unlike the floating cities in their world. There is no city lord as the leader. The four major families, the sheriff, and the council are nominally a three-way division of power, but in reality, they are a tripartite balance of power. Even within these three major powers, there are divisions. For example, the most obvious one is that the four major families are clearly not of one mind with each other.

Therefore, even if they were truly envoys and foreign ministers from the Elven Kingdom, they wouldn't find anyone with absolute authority. If Amber and Duke wanted to see the unique world rules of the floating city, they would indeed have no choice but to seek advice from the owner of those world rules.

"It can't be that simple, can it? Why don't Your Highnesses go to the Council to look at the 'Star Map'? Why don't you go to the Sheriff to look at the 'Witch Trial'? Instead, you specifically came to our Pandora family... I, Eve, am a crude warrior. If you two have any needs, please be more direct."

Star map?

Duke extracted a key point from Pandora's words.

He obtained an item called "Star Map" from Ms. Scarlet's Yesterday, and the world rules controlled by the Council are also called "Star Map"? Is this just a simple coincidence? It doesn't seem like it.

Duke clicked his tongue and made a heartbroken expression. Amber, who was also a skilled actress, saw Duke's expression and immediately lowered her head. She used spatial magic to send a few drops of water onto her face and then wiped away the "tears" that silently flowed out with the back of her hand.

Seeing the two people in front of her, one silent and the other in tears, the straightforward and martial Eve felt that she had finally figured it out and knew why they were acting this way.

"To be honest," Duke began slowly, his voice barely a whisper of sorrow, as if the Soul Requiem had a song request function. "We escaped from the infighting within the Elf Kingdom. Amber's damned brother, Bain Silverleaf (a certain brother-complex prince: ?), almost killed her! We endured countless hardships to reach the Floating City, hoping to gain the help to turn the tide!"

As he spoke, Duke took a step forward, excitedly reaching out to grasp Eve's hand:

"Miss Eve, can the Pandora family be of assistance to us?"

The Eve in the parallel world is quite different from the Eve they know. Although their faces are almost identical and their personalities are similar, their professional abilities differ, their strengths vary, and they are far less experienced and composed. If it were the Potions Witch, the strategist of the Floating City Lord's Mansion, Duke's simple trap would certainly not have fooled Eve, but the Eve before them fell for Duke's trick immediately.

She calculated the cost-benefit ratio. In her view, all she needed to do was demonstrate the power of Pandora's Box to Amber and Duke, and then she would obtain a spot in the elven royal election. Amber's failure wouldn't matter, but if she succeeded, it would be an incredibly profitable opportunity! Eve, believing she had grasped the stakes, excitedly declared:

"Actually, it's not impossible!"

She never considered the possibility that Amber and Duke were actually cosplayers!

As a result, with both sides feeling they had made a huge profit, the situation naturally progressed faster.

They were already in Eve's studio apartment when she took Duke and Amber out of her room, leaving Nona from the Cavendish family inside—clearly, Eve wouldn't let any member of the other family know about the power of Pandora's Box.

Then, Eve opened a hidden door and led Duke and Amber into the underground passageway within the bachelor apartment, venturing deeper into the dimly lit, bottomless underground. As they went further in, the surrounding scenery gradually became more "primitive," revealing scenes that Duke and Amber found very familiar.

Their floating city's underground world is filled with this kind of scene—magical mechanical structures in the style of an ancient magical empire.

On the surface, this floating city appears to be more technologically advanced than theirs. The nobles of the underworld each possess a magical mobile phone, and their high-precision magical technology both benefits and oppresses people's lives. Superficially, their city, which belongs to spellcasters, is simply incomparable to it.

But at least from this perspective, the two floating cities are basically the same, and their technology trees are also of similar quality.

The only difference... based on previous intelligence sources, the creator of this floating city was not the "Miracle Witch" Scarlet, whom they were familiar with, but the little prince who replaced the mute god in this city.

It is precisely because their foundations were different from the very beginning that these two cities have become the two similar yet very different floating cities they are today.

After going deeper and deeper, Duke was starting to worry that they might end up on the lowest deck of the floating city when Eve finally stopped. She led Duke and the other man away from the stairwell that allowed them to go any further and brought them to this floor, pointing ahead to her.

There was nothing there, just an empty little dark room.

What are you referring to?

As the client with the need, Duke questioned her very firmly, while Eve remained calm and explained, "Our family's Pandora's Box is sealed here. You two should be careful, as I am about to begin unsealing it."

Duke and Amber nodded, but in that instant, Duke suddenly realized something and quickly asked, "You mean your Pandora's Box has been sealed here all this time? You haven't used it in the past month?"

Eve turned her head and looked at him strangely: "We haven't used Pandora's Box for eleven years. Why do you think we'll use it so frequently?"

Cecil wasn't sealed away by Pandora's Box?

Did Ida deceive them?

Why did she do that?!

Is this a trap to deal with them? Or a trap to deal with the Pandora family?

Duke maintained his composure, his expression seemingly unchanged, and casually asked, "Besides the Pandora Box, does the Pandora family have any other 'world rules'?"

Eve didn't suspect Duke's words, only thinking that he was trying to understand the strength of the "collaborators," so she said without any suspicion, "No, do you think the 'world rules' are as easy as cabbages? Over the years, our four major families have only managed to control a few scattered ones, how could there be so many?"

"Oh, I see."

Duke nodded, silently watching Eve's movements. She took two steps forward and then stretched out her hand towards the center of the empty dark room. With her other hand, she tore open the sleeve of the outstretched hand, revealing a strong and beautiful arm. With a light flick of her other hand, a thin line of blood appeared on her fair skin, followed by drops of blood the size of beans.

The blood of the Pandora family patriarch dripped onto the ground.

However, this was not a spell. Eve explained to Amber and Duke while dripping blood, "The blood of our Pandora family is the only catalyst that can awaken this thing. It's not just my blood that can do it."

Duke nodded. "I see."

The ritual to break Eve's seal seemed designed to prevent the blood droplets from falling too quickly, allowing them time to chat. Eve was interested in learning about the Elven Dynasty, though she knew a little more than the younger members of the Pandora family, not by much. Amber, a genuine Elven princess, casually made up a few stories, completely fooling Eve. Duke occasionally chimed in, subtly steer the conversation in other directions, such as…

"The Eve family, I heard there's a strange person causing quite a stir in the Floating City lately? What's her background?"

"I don't know either. We haven't been able to catch that girl yet. She's just too cunning."

Eve's response to Duke's probing didn't sound like she was lying; she genuinely didn't know the "weirdo's" background, meaning the Pandora family really hadn't laid a hand on Cecil.

Duke, who had already confirmed that Ida was deceiving them, felt a sense of confusion instead.

Why? What's the point of her lying to them?

hateful!

Duke's lips twitched slightly. He couldn't see through either Ida or Ida from a parallel world, and he couldn't understand what the person in this template was thinking.

What was her purpose in luring them here?

Just as Duke was feeling lost, Eve's unsealing operation was nearing its end. The previously empty little dark room suddenly had a square black box in it, tightly closed. Duke and Amber couldn't even figure out how to open it.

Once the black box was fully formed, Eve slowly exhaled, retracted her outstretched arm, gently wiped the wound on her wrist to let it heal naturally, and explained to Duke, "This is Pandora's Box."

What are its effects?