Chapter 273
Chapter 273
“There’s one thing I don’t quite understand,” Zhou Jingying said.
“What is it?” Mu Xin asked.
Zhou Jingying looked puzzled. “Why do you all think there’s something wrong with the Prince in the story of Snow White?”
Qin Nan immediately looked at Jian Fan.
Jian Fan said nothing, while Zhou Jingying continued, “As far as I can tell, he’s no different from any other NPC. He appears to move the story forward and possibly trigger a task for us Players. Just like any other task-related NPC, once his role is complete, he bows out. By that same logic, the Prince should do the same. Once he’s done what he needs to do, he bows out.”
“It’s not the same,” Qin Weiyi said.
Jian Fan’s expression relaxed when Qin Weiyi spoke up.
Now he wouldn’t have to waste his breath explaining it himself.
Qin Weiyi continued, “Take the little boy who triggered Lu Jing’s task, for example. After triggering the task, he remained at the ball until the unexpected incident occurred. Then, just like the other NPCs who weren’t involved in any tasks, he left the ball.”
“Then there’s a situation like mine. The NPC responsible for triggering my task had a role he needed to fulfill, so when something went wrong at the ball, he didn’t leave immediately. He couldn’t. But once he had fulfilled his responsibility, he saw that something was clearly wrong with the ball and naturally chose to leave.”
“In both of those cases, even if the NPCs forgot the portion of their experiences related to their tasks, the chain of events would still make sense. But it doesn’t work for the Prince.”
“What doesn’t make sense?” Lu Jing asked.
Qin Weiyi smiled. “Why did the Prince leave the ball?”
“Because he couldn’t beat us,” Lu Jing replied casually.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Jing realized the problem as well.
The other NPCs had fled because something unexpected happened at the ball. But the Prince was different. He had left because he couldn’t defeat Lu Jing and Yang Zhen, which meant he had no way to capture Qin Nan.
From the Prince’s perspective, even if he had already fulfilled his role of triggering a task for a Player, he should still have been inside the ballroom.
If that part of his memory was erased, wouldn’t it mean that one moment he was inside the ballroom, and the next, he had suddenly appeared outside it?
“Simply put, the NPCs at the scene can be divided into four categories. The first consists of NPCs without tasks who left after hearing the gunshot. Their memories should be intact. Something unexpected happened, so they chose to leave.”
“The second consists of NPCs without tasks who didn’t leave after the gunshot, but later fled because of the commotion Lu Jing and Yang Zhen caused. Their memories of the gunshot were erased so the ball could continue as normal. Otherwise, if they remembered hearing a gunshot, how could they possibly carry on enjoying the ball without a care in the world? That wouldn’t make them easygoing. It would make them idiots.”
“The third consists of NPCs with tasks. Since they have roles they must fulfill, they won’t leave no matter what happens. To make their decision to stay seem reasonable, their memories of any unexpected incidents have to be erased. Then, once their tasks are complete, they’ll behave just like the NPCs in the previous categories.”
“The group that stayed until the very end probably remembers neither the earlier gunshot nor the chaos that followed. From their perspective, they were attending the ball when, for some unknown reason, something suddenly went wrong. Everyone fled, the ballroom descended into chaos, and they had no choice but to get away from the scene as quickly as possible.”
“The remaining fourth type is the Prince, who is a unique case unto himself.”
At this point, Qin Nan picked up where Qin Weiyi had left off. “The Prince is the one who fired the gunshot, and he also has a mission. If he were any other mission-giving NPC, he would forget the part of his memory related to issuing that mission. He’d forget that he was the one who fired the shot, which means he couldn’t possibly know about the gunshot. Then, when he suddenly went from inside the ballroom to outside it, there would be a gap in his memory.”
“And if he does remember, that would be strange in itself, wouldn’t it?” Qin Weiyi said.
After that lengthy explanation…
Everyone fell silent.
Lu Jing nodded. “Got it. In short, there’s something wrong with the Prince.”
Qin Weiyi: “…”
“Well… you’re not wrong,” Qin Weiyi replied helplessly.
Zhou Jingying hadn’t expected one question from her to lead to all this.
She gave a helpless smile.
“If there’s something wrong with the Prince, then what connection could there be between the two Princes?” Zhou Jingying asked.
That was the real point.
Qin Nan ventured a guess. “Could they be the same person? Or perhaps allies?”
“If they’re the same person, does that mean the Prince in the story didn’t die?” Lin Junruo was shocked, but then she murmured, “The story never actually said the Prince died. Does that mean he really could still be alive?”
“Doesn’t anyone else think this place is a little like a birdcage?” Jian Fan suddenly asked.
Everyone: “???”
“A birdcage? How does this place look anything like one?” Yellow Hair looked around. Wasn’t this just an ordinary castle? How was it a birdcage?
Qin Nan followed Jian Fan’s train of thought.
Then…
“Judging by the layout inside the ballroom, it does seem… a little like the inside of a birdcage.” The moment the words left his mouth, Qin Nan felt numb.
Could they really all be inside a birdcage?
Wait–
What the hell?
Seriously?
Qin Nan turned to Jian Fan, hoping to get an answer from him.
But Jian Fan had already sunk deep into thought.
Everything they had encountered in this world raced through his mind. Piece by piece, certain details began linking together, as if the answer were just about to break through the surface.
He raised his head again and slowly swept his gaze across the castle.
“A birdcage…” Qin Weiyi’s expression also turned strange. He repeated, “A birdcage, huh…”
Jian Fan suddenly turned to Lu Jing. “Can you find any surveillance cameras?”
Everyone: “???”
What?
What did this have to do with a surveillance camera?
Lu Jing was also taken aback. Then he pointed toward the entrance. “There’s a surveillance camera by the door. I don’t think there are any others.”
Lu Jing was highly vigilant, so he had noticed the surveillance camera at the entrance long ago. However, since it could only capture a small area around the doorway, he hadn’t considered it important enough to mention. He certainly hadn’t expected Jian Fan to ask about it out of nowhere.
Upon hearing his answer, the corners of Jian Fan’s mouth curled into a smile.
“Just as I thought.” The rough outline of an answer had already taken shape in his mind.
“Show-offs get struck by lightning. If you have something to say, spit it out. Don’t keep us in suspense,” Qin Nan said with a deadpan expression.
Jian Fan: “…”
Jian Fan sighed. “If you want to know why, all we have to do is ask him.”
Him?
Who?
The Prince?
Everyone was baffled.