Chapter 45

The woman’s voice was very soft.

Nuo Nuo had to press her ear hard to the floor, lying close beside her, just to hear.

After hearing those words, Nuo Nuo said, “Thank you, beautiful guest.”

It was as if she had finally let go of all her strength. Her eyes grew calm as she gazed out beyond the Castle, and a gentle, relieved smile touched her lips.

Nuo Nuo left.

The boss that had loomed over the Players and filled the entire ceiling was gone.

–

Lu Li’s hand rested on the white dress. He said nothing.

But the Clown had gotten her answer.

The rain came down harder and harder.

Lu Li watched as the Clown’s face was soaked through, the bright colors of her headpiece melting like paint and dripping down, turning the playful smile into something both twisted and pitiful.

Red, yellow, and green swirled out from the Clown, spreading across the floor.

The vivid colors lit up the otherwise gloomy second floor.

The Clown bent down and picked up the Axe from the ground.

With resolve, she turned and stepped onto the only path paved in scarlet, heading straight for the wall ahead.

The moment she reached the wall, an entrance to a staircase appeared on its surface.

Gripping the Axe tightly, she walked without hesitation into the shadow of the entrance, swallowed by darkness.

The entrance remained open.

The steps inside were clearly visible.

Luo Jia Bai stood beside Lu Li, staring at the entrance in disbelief and muttered, “I-is that the staircase to the first floor?”

“We did it!” Qi Mingda broke free from the nightmare. He hadn’t expected to wake and see the moment of victory.

It was so easy.

Effortless.

The ringing in his ears grew louder and louder; it was as if the voices from the nightmare-out for revenge-were chasing after him.

Qi Mingda roared, pounding his own head. “Get lost! Get out!”

“I’m leaving! I’m number one!” he repeated manically, rushing toward the exit.

Finally, he touched the entrance door. Qi Mingda screamed as the heat from the doorframe burned him, yet he refused to let go.

He suddenly turned around and sneered at Lu Li:

“Lu Li, you’re the loser!”

“I was just a bit less lucky than you and got overtaken. Next time, or the time after, I won’t let you get ahead!”

“Bullshit!” Luo Jia Bai couldn’t believe Qi Mingda could be so shameless, and couldn’t help wanting to rush over and beat him up.

“What an idiot!”

“Don’t go,” Lu Li reached out to stop Luo Jia Bai, stepping down from the swing.

His gray eyes caught the outline of the door.

“That’s not the way to the first floor.”

“It’s the path Mother chose-the road to her death.”

Qi Mingda, still wild with joy, rushed through the door – only to crash headfirst into an invisible wall.

He reached out in panic, groping around.

The stairs were right in front of him, but he couldn’t step forward. What was happening?

Suddenly, the stairs leading down twisted and became stairs leading up.

Luo Jia Bai froze. He saw another invisible wall appear behind Qi Mingda, blocking his retreat.

Lu Li lowered his eyes, his lashes casting a faint shadow like a crow’s feather across his cheek, and spoke softly:

“Mother only wanted to come back and see Nuo Nuo before she left, but after learning Nuo Nuo had been violated, she chose the only path full of danger. She knew she might end up in prison again, but with resolve, she went back to that disgusting home.”

“And she never left that house again.”

Qi Mingda was trapped between two walls.

He stared in panic at the three standing not far away.

He couldn’t go back.

Qi Mingda opened his mouth to call for help, but the ‘wall’ blocked out his voice completely. Terrified, he raised his fist and pounded on the ‘wall’ with all his strength.
The wall made a sound.

“Dong, dong, dong-!”

“That sound!” Luo Jia Bai broke out in a cold sweat. “Isn’t that the sound of the woman pounding on the wall that you hear every night during Game Night? If Qi Mingda is following the same path as the mother, then this sound… is the mother calling for help!”

Suddenly, a large amount of cement poured down in the cramped space.

Qi Mingda’s tall and sturdy body was easily submerged.

The wall turned into solid cement.

The entrance disappeared.

Zhu Yue’s clenched fists relaxed the moment she saw Qi Mingda die. She let out a breath and walked over to Lu Li. “Lu Li, are you satisfied with everything you’ve seen?”

Although her nightmare ability was useless against the Boss, there was always a chance to make a Player bring about their own doom.

Lu Li folded the White Dress neatly and put it into his Wristband. “I can’t give you the rest of the antidote.”

Zhu Yue’s face turned pale. She hurried forward, confused. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“You did well.” Lu Li took out a small package from his pocket and stroked it reluctantly. “But I also want to eat the remaining chocolate beans.”

They smelled sweet and fragrant.

It was the smallest edible unit available in the Shop.

He wanted to taste food, starting with chocolate beans.

He had just exchanged for this Item yesterday, but before he could try it himself, he gave Zhu Yue two beans.

“These are chocolate beans!? So you didn’t poison me. You really…” Zhu Yue’s Heart had gone through a rollercoaster, and she almost couldn’t catch her breath.

Then she gave a bitter laugh. “But the ending is about the same. We can’t clear this Instance.”

Luo Jia Bai: “What do you mean?”

Zhu Yue was also desperate. “My Audience told me this Instance is a Bug Instance-there’s no way out.”

“Look, even the Boss has left.”

“How could this happen? I’ve never seen an Instance like this before.” Luo Jia Bai was also panicking a little. “Maybe your Audience is lying to you.”

“Crackle, crackle!”

The burning sound that had been going on grew louder and louder. On the second floor where they were, flames began to appear at the edges of the walls.

Fire was burning in from outside.

“Where did the fire come from?” Zhu Yue stared in disbelief.

Through the gaps burned by the fire,

they saw a much larger space outside.

No, it was more like a room.

But it was being roasted by raging flames and black smoke, making everything blurry and shapeless.

But at last, they could see Nuo Nuo’s full appearance.

A little girl in a white princess dress with braided hair was sitting in the corner.

The tongues of fire licked her body, igniting her clothes and flesh.

Yet she seemed to feel no pain at all.

She was clutching a drawing tightly in her arms.

Nuo Nuo was making the final changes to this drawing.

Luo Jia Bai crouched down to watch Nuo Nuo’s movements. “What is she doing?”

Lu Li had excellent eyesight and could see the contents of the drawing clearly. His expression shifted slightly.

“She’s drawing a Family Portrait.”

Lu Li took out the first Item he had obtained upon entering this Instance from his Wristband.

“This strange Family Portrait was drawn by Nuo Nuo.”

Nuo Nuo kept her head down, her strokes slow and hesitant.

She drew a few lines, felt something was wrong, and erased them again.

What she kept revising was her mother’s face.

Lu Li looked at the Family Portrait in his hand and asked, “Nuo Nuo, are you satisfied just hearing your mother’s voice?”

“Do you still remember her face?”