chapter 38
The post had been made a few hours ago. Tu Nan calculated that it was probably around the time she had just exited the Instance.
If nothing unexpected happened, the poster was Cinderella.
But… as she looked at the poster’s ID, she felt as if she had seen it somewhere before.
It had only been a few hours, yet there were already over a hundred replies under the post.
[Swaying Sunflower: Caught Early Sleep big shot alive ٩(๑•̀ω•́๑)۶]
[Raptor Warrior: I must still be half asleep, actually seeing a big shot fishing for people.]
[Instance Love Me Again: Why isn’t it me being fished for?]
…
[What to Plant Today: Didn’t you two just run off all fresh and left me alone???]
[Rural Spring Water a Bit Sweet: Suspected same Instance Player upstairs]
…
[This User Has Been Deleted: Am I the only one who noticed the ‘dear sister’…?]
[Black Sesame Tangyuan: I’m dying of laughter, you finally have a day like this hahahahahahaha]
…
[Must Sleep Early Today replies to Black Sesame Tangyuan: …]
[Must Sleep Early Today replies to What to Plant Today: :-D]
…
Tu Nan quickly scrolled through all the comments and finally remembered where she had seen that ID before.
After clearing her first Instance, “The Little Mermaid,” she had come across a Player experience post from someone with max luck, and that ID had appeared in it.
Apparently, that ID was quite well-known on the Forum.
So what was their purpose in seeking her out?
She pondered for a moment, exited the post, and searched for Must Sleep Early Tonight on the Forum.
There were quite a few posts, most of them sharing experience or thank-you notes from other Players.
Didn’t seem like a bad person.
Tu Nan recalled what Cinderella had said to her near the end of the Instance-
Players are not opponents.
She clicked into Must Sleep Early Tonight’s profile and sent a private message.
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: You were looking for me?]
There was no immediate reply, but Tu Nan didn’t mind. After all, several hours had passed; no one would stare at their phone all the time.
She put her phone down and started eating the instant noodles that had already cooled beside her.
After finishing the noodles and cleaning up the trash, she took a shower. When Tu Nan came out of the bathroom, drying her hair and picking up her phone again, she finally received a reply from Must Sleep Early Tonight.
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: Are you Layla?]
The message had been sent two minutes ago. Tu Nan put down her Towel and replied.
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: It’s me.]
This time, the reply came quickly.
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: How did Cinderella die?]
Tu Nan raised her eyebrows.
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: Wasn’t it Bella who died?]
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: I believe you.]
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: Did you need something from me?]
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: This may be a bit abrupt, but I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in teaming up with me for the next Instance?]
Tu Nan was stunned.
Team up?
She had seen posts on the Forum looking for teammates, but had never considered teaming up herself.
As she was still thinking, another message came from the other side.
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: I’ll send you the Instance info. You can think about it. This Instance is different from a Faction Instance; it requires Player cooperation.]
Tu Nan opened the Instance information he sent.
[Instance Name: Princess and the Pea
Instance Details: The Manor Owner’s Young Daughter, Lilith, suffers from a leg ailment. To care for her daughter, she has spent a fortune to hire you all to her Manor.
Only those who perform outstandingly can win her favor.]
It didn’t seem to have much to do with the “Princess and the Pea” she remembered, but the Instance only had basic information, so nothing could be inferred.
Tu Nan frowned, a little puzzled.
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: Why did you invite me? You seem pretty famous. If you wanted to find a teammate, it should be easy, right?]
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: You’re smart, calm enough, and most importantly, you’re kind.]
It was the first time Tu Nan had ever been praised like this.
But Tu Nan was still confused.
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: How did you see that I’m kind?]
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: I need to apologize. The day after Bella died, when you went to return clothes to Araya, I secretly followed you.]
Even though she’s just an NPC in the Instance, you still gave her a lot of extra silver coins and helped her mother find a doctor.
So I’m sure you’re not a bad person. On the contrary, you have a soft heart.
Tu Nan: …
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: I don’t believe you don’t have other teammates you could team up with.]
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: I do, but both he and I have cleared too many Instances, so the difficulty of the Instance will increase.]
Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to keep you safe.
Now she understood.
He wanted a reliable teammate, but not someone who had cleared too many Instances.
Tu Nan smiled slightly.
She wasn’t a charity worker. Although Must Sleep Early Tonight seemed reliable, she would still be taking a risk.
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: What’s in it for me?]
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: What do you want?]
[Drooling Fairy Tale Book: Give me the Glass Slipper you got from your last Instance.]
After all, it was Cinderella’s Glass Slipper. Feeding it to the Fairy Tale Compendium should yield a useful Skill Card.
The other side agreed readily.
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: Deal.]
[Must Sleep Early Tonight wants to gift you an item. Do you accept?]
A trade window popped up on her phone screen.
This App actually had such a function.
She clicked accept.
Two items appeared on the table in front of her.
She was familiar with Cinderella’s Glass Slipper. As for the other item, it looked like a card.
Tu Nan picked up the card. It turned out to be a Team Card.
[Must Sleep Early Tonight: Write my ID on the Team Card, and we’ll be automatically teamed up for the next Instance. If you have any questions these days, feel free to contact me.]
Tu Nan replied with an “ok.”
She put down the card and picked up the Glass Slipper.
Delicate and exquisite, it sparkled under the light.
Holding the Glass Slipper-something almost no Woman could refuse-Tu Nan summoned the Fairy Tale Compendium without hesitation and tossed the Glass Slipper into its big mouth.
The transparent, hard crystal was chewed up by the Fairy Tale Compendium in a few bites.
Crunch, crunch.
A moment later, the Fairy Tale Compendium spat out a Skill Card.
[Cinderella’s Glass Slipper: When Cinderella fled the Ball, she accidentally left behind her Glass Slipper. The Prince picked up the Glass Slipper and ultimately found Cinderella, creating a beautiful story.]
[Use this Skill Card to summon a Glass Slipper. Whoever picks up the Glass Slipper will be guided to find the user.]
Judging by the description, if used properly, it should have a pretty good effect.
Must Sleep Early Tonight had given her the Glass Slipper so readily, which meant that such items weren’t rare for him.
She was a bit curious now-what was so special about the Princess and the Pea Instance?
Tu Nan lowered her head and wrote “Must Sleep Early Tonight” on the Team Card.
*
Seven days in the Instance felt especially grueling, but in reality, they passed in the blink of an eye.
Tu Nan entered the Instance once again, but this time, her Dimensional Space-which had always been occupied by herself alone-had one more person.
She hesitated, looking at the person in front of her, and tentatively asked, “Are you… Must Sleep Early Tonight?”