chapter 5

Tu Nan was taken aback.

These things were clearly abnormal at first glance, not to mention that the Rule explicitly stated to be cautious when consuming food in the Instance.

Eric’s voice carried a faint chill.

She timidly looked up, uttered a couple of “ah ah” sounds, then waved her hands vigorously. Realizing that the other party could not understand her intentions, she lowered her head, looking dejected.

Grace, ever so considerate, instructed an Attendant to bring paper and pen, and asked gently, “Can you write?”

Tu Nan nodded, took the paper and pen handed to her, and wrote a sentence.

-I am a vegetarian.

Eric was momentarily stunned, but unexpectedly did not get angry. Instead, he showed a strange smile, as if quite satisfied.

“A vegetarian? I must say, that’s a good habit.” He seemed pleased, slicing the fish on his plate with his knife and fork in a lively manner.

He smiled at Tu Nan, then opened his mouth and ate the fish from his fork.

“Fresh fish is indeed delicious,” he said, closing his eyes in delight.

Watching him, Tu Nan felt increasingly uneasy.

A Maid beside her replaced her plate with one containing only vegetables, also drizzled with that brown sauce.

Tu Nan sensed someone watching her. Instinctively, she glanced at the Maid-a sweet-looking girl with long, curly brown hair, adorned with a Pearl Hairpin.

It was she who had brought Tu Nan the flat shoes earlier.

Tu Nan smiled and nodded at her, expressing her gratitude.

The Maid quickly lowered her head, avoiding Tu Nan’s gaze.

“Eat up, Ariel,” Grace urged from the side. “You must be starving.”

Tu Nan had no reason to refuse. She picked up her knife and fork, carefully selected a piece of potato from the edge of the plate, and only after mentally preparing herself did she put it in her mouth.

The moment the potato touched her tongue, a rich aroma spread in her mouth. The texture melted instantly, so much so that she swallowed it before she could even chew.

Her grip on the knife and fork tightened as she suppressed the urge to lick her plate clean.

[Current Pollution Value: 5%. Please note, if your Pollution Value exceeds 60%, you will fall into madness.]

The sudden voice of the System in her mind jolted her, and the surge of appetite subsided a little.

It was just a bite of potato with sauce, yet it caused such a high Pollution Value. If she had eaten the fish, who knew how much more it would have increased.

Tu Nan picked up the water cup beside her and drank it all in one go. Fortunately, this time the System did not warn her of an increase in Pollution Value.

She did not forget the second Rule of this world: Mermaids need to replenish water in time.

She asked the Maid for another glass of water.

“Are you very thirsty?” Grace asked with concern. “Poor girl, you must be exhausted.”

Tu Nan responded with a shy smile.

She dared not touch the food on her plate again, so she could only fill herself with water while her mouth watered.

The rich aroma was almost inescapable. Sitting at the table, Tu Nan could clearly hear the Maid standing beside her swallowing her own saliva.

These things were just too strange.

She frowned, beginning to worry about how she would stave off hunger in the coming days.

She couldn’t possibly go without eating forever.

After dinner, Grace personally arranged her accommodations-a spacious and bright bedroom, with a window facing the Sea.

“Wish you a pleasant night,” Grace said, giving her a gentle hug before leaving the room.

As soon as the door closed, Tu Nan immediately began to check the room for anything suspicious. She carefully inspected every corner but found nothing out of the ordinary. It appeared to be just a perfectly normal bedroom.
Her gaze fell upon the lace princess bed in the center of the room, the sheer curtain around it gently billowed by the wind blowing in from the window.

Her feet ached to the point of numbness, and the nerves that had been taut ever since she entered this world made her feel unusually exhausted. That princess bed radiated an enormous temptation in her eyes.

Should she just rest for the night?

Tu Nan hesitated for a moment, then walked to the window, intending to close it, but her attention was caught by the view outside.

The Sea at night was even more mysterious, its waves surging and tumbling. Though she could not hear the sound, she could still feel the Sea’s grandeur. She was born inland and had never seen the Sea before; for a moment, she was lost in thought.

[Current Pollution Value: 6%]

The sudden voice made her freeze. She clearly hadn’t done anything-why had the Pollution Value increased?

She recalled the dish on the Dining Room table; Grace had specifically mentioned it was freshly caught from the deep Sea. Now, she had only stood by the window and looked at the Sea for a while, and the Pollution Value had risen.

Could the Pollution Value be related to the Sea?

Tu Nan decisively closed the window. Although she didn’t know if this would block the pollution, she had no other means at the moment.

She knew very little about this world and needed more clues.

The first Rule had already warned Players about the dangers of the night, but it did not forbid them from going out at midnight. So she guessed that going out at midnight would surely yield many useful clues.

She scratched her itchy thigh absentmindedly.

The Cooks and Attendants in the Castle had not yet retired for the night; it was not a good time to explore. She decided to rest for a while and wait until deep night to go out.

To prevent dehydration, Tu Nan soaked in a hot bath for a full hour, then lay on the bed and rested for another three hours. Only when the night was deep and silent did she finally push open the door to her bedroom.

The Castle was very quiet at night, and the corridor was empty.

Tu Nan remembered clearly that her bedroom was on the Third Floor, the second room after coming up the stairs. She felt her way along the wall, groping forward in the darkness, and finally reached the stairwell.

She decided to check the Kitchen first.

Those strange dishes from the evening lingered in her mind; perhaps the Kitchen would hold the information she wanted.

The Kitchen was to the right of the Dining Room on the first floor. She had seen many Cooks busy in the Kitchen when passing through the Dining Room.

Descending to the first floor, moonlight spilled through the windows, covering the ground in a layer of silvery frost. All around was silent as she walked toward the Kitchen by memory.

“Whimper… whimper…”

The sudden sound made Tu Nan stop abruptly, her heart pounding violently, each beat reverberating in her ears.

A faint sound came from the direction of the Kitchen, like a Woman crying, the voice low and barely audible as it drifted into her ears.

The thin, scattered sobs seeped into her body like rain, a chill rising from the soles of her feet. Tu Nan struggled internally, but decided to take a look.

She approached the Kitchen cautiously. When she reached the doorway, she found the door was not fully closed, just ajar, with not a sliver of light inside-pitch black.

The eerie sobbing was now a bit clearer.

“Whimper… whimper…”

The crying sounded like some kind of mental pollution, drilling into her mind. She clutched her head and shook it hard.

“Whimper… whimper…”

Tu Nan, unable to control herself, leaned in bit by bit, pressing her face to the half-open gap, trying to see what was inside.

It was too dark in the Kitchen to see anything. She squinted, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and then her heart suddenly contracted.

Tu Nan’s eyes widened, her pupils constricted, and her mind went blank in an instant.