Chapter 234
Chapter 234
Jian Fan’s gaze settled on the top of Qin Nan’s head.
The Magic Mirror seemed to notice Jian Fan looking and even gave a tiny bounce.
Jian Fan: “…”
Was the miniature mirror on Qin Nan’s decorative hair clip actually the Magic Mirror? Then what about the Poisoned Apple? Jian Fan’s thoughts wandered briefly.
At the same moment–
“Ding! Character Quest triggered. Before the ball ends at midnight, feed Snow White the Poisoned Apple and render Snow White unconscious. Success awards one World-Clear Hint. Failure results in erasure.”
Qin Nan froze where he stood as the System announcement sounded in his mind.
Damn!
He seemed to have caused a catastrophe.
Seeing Qin Nan stiffen with a peculiar expression, Jian Fan asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Qin Nan came back to himself and swallowed. Reaching up, he touched the tiny apple ornament atop his head and cautiously asked, “Jian Fan, want an apple? The poisonous kind.”
Jian Fan: “??”
“What’s wrong with you?” Jian Fan retorted without mercy.
Qin Nan’s face crumpled. “I just received a System notification.”
Jian Fan looked surprised, though it also made perfect sense. He glanced at the Magic Mirror again. “Your quest is to feed me the Poisoned Apple?”
Qin Nan nodded. “Success gives me one clue. Failure means erasure. The deadline is before the ball ends at midnight.” He scratched his head in frustration. “Damn it. I never should’ve run my mouth and said that line.”
Clearly, the quest had only triggered after his foolish mouth uttered the iconic line unique to his role.
“No,” Jian Fan disagreed.
Qin Nan looked at him, puzzled.
“If the information is awarded only after completing the quest, then without triggering it, we might never obtain the information needed to leave this world,” Jian Fan said.
Qin Nan’s head began to ache. “You really want to eat this Poisoned Apple?”
“It’s not impossible,” Jian Fan replied.
Qin Nan stared at him.
Jian Fan continued, “This world is tied to fairy tales. Since your quest follows the main plot, then as Snow White, I shouldn’t die from eating the Poisoned Apple.”
“True. The System only told me to make you unconscious,” Qin Nan said.
Jian Fan nodded. “Exactly. Snow White awakens after being kissed by the Prince. Eating the Poisoned Apple won’t kill me.”
The reasoning made perfect sense to Qin Nan, but it raised another question. “Who’s going to kiss you?”
Jian Fan: “…”
That was an excellent question.
“Fang Kang is the only one among us assigned a Prince, and he’s The Frog Prince… If we have to find another NPC…”
Before Qin Nan could finish, Jian Fan cut him off. “We still have time. Let’s see what quests the others receive first.”
The situation was grim, yet when Qin Nan imagined what Jian Fan might have to endure, he laughed rather unkindly.
Jian Fan ignored him.
He was still considering serious matters. “Now that you’ve triggered your quest, mine and Yellow Hair’s will probably trigger in sequence because of it. If our quests come after yours, we need to act quickly enough to leave us sufficient time.”
Qin Nan nodded.
His quest should indeed be completed early. In Snow White’s story, only after Snow White ate the Poisoned Apple could the Prince appear. But neither man knew whether Jian Fan would merely fall unconscious or die outright after eating it. To be safe, they wanted to observe what happened when other Players triggered their quests before deciding.
“How do you think the others will trigger their quests?” Qin Nan asked.
His had triggered when he recited the Queen’s classic line. The others probably also needed to perform an iconic action or utterance that directly shaped their story’s course.
Jian Fan recalled the contents of the various fairy tales.
Qin Weiyi was the Sea Princess. The story told of a young mermaid princess who, upon coming of age, rose to the surface, rescued a Prince, and fell in love at first sight. To pursue that love, the Sea Princess traded her beautiful voice to the Sea Witch for a potion that transformed her fishtail into legs. She then went ashore and reached the Prince’s side.
Qin Weiyi was already mute and already had legs, so his story should be further along. Whatever words or actions triggered his quest must come from a later part of the tale.
What happened next?
The Prince met a princess from a neighboring kingdom and mistakenly believed she was his rescuer. He fell in love with her, and despite the Sea Princess’s presence at his side, ultimately married the neighboring princess.
Because the Sea Princess failed to marry the Prince, she was destined to die. Her sisters obtained a dagger for her; if she killed the Prince, the Sea Princess could survive. But the Sea Princess refused and ultimately dissolved into sea foam.
What was the key moment there?
Qin Nan could not think of it and looked at Jian Fan.
Jian Fan: “…”
Jian Fan could not figure it out either.
Thinking about it, Qin Nan’s quest really had been easier to trigger because it involved a classic line.
No–or perhaps the key was each character’s item.
An idea flashed through Qin Nan’s mind.
“The Little Match Girl–strike a match!” Qin Nan said.
He remembered that Zhou Jingying had carried a basket of matches. The item had to exist for a reason. The same applied to Cinderella’s Glass Slippers. Wasn’t Lin Junruo wearing a pair?
Those were all items belonging to their roles.
What about everyone else?
Jian Fan was Snow White, while Yellow Hair was a Dwarf. Their roles belonged to Qin Nan’s story, so their quests probably depended on him completing the prerequisite. As for The Emperor’s New Clothes…
“For Cinderella, every spell expires at midnight. This ball also ends at midnight, and your quest deadline is midnight. We may have only until then to solve this world. Lin Junruo’s trigger probably isn’t simply waiting for that moment,” Jian Fan analyzed.
Qin Nan froze.
He did not care about Lin Junruo’s quest. He had heard only one thing.
Their available time ended at midnight?
“What happens if we haven’t solved the world by midnight?” Qin Nan swallowed.
Jian Fan’s expression was grave. “Everyone gets erased.”
Qin Nan: “…”
Did it really have to be that vicious? What time was it already?
Qin Nan checked the System time.
They had reached the ball at around eight, and it was now past eight thirty. In other words, they had less than three and a half hours remaining.
They had to solve the world in three and a half hours?
“I don’t think that theory is accurate,” Qin Nan said.
Jian Fan glanced at him and nodded cooperatively. “Mm. Neither do I.”
Qin Nan: “…”