Chapter 25: The First Round of the Game

“Respected Lady White Crow:

Following your wishes, I entered the Rose Manor instance to explore and have made significant gains.

I found traces and remains of that existence. His exalted name is:

‘The Lord of All Gods exiled from the World Rules,

The Master of Soul who holds authority over Contract transactions,

The great existence older than history itself.’

The instance NPC Miss Anna once traded with Him; I am willing to believe in the authenticity of this exalted name.

He has finally returned, and the blockade has been lifted. I believe our Ritual will succeed this time.

Some twists occurred during the process; someone broke the rules ahead of me and killed me in the instance. That person was very cautious, and I failed to see his face.

If all goes as expected, three players will survive, claiming to be named Chang Xu, Qi Si, and Lin Chen. The former two are both suspicious; I suggest the Church pay close attention to them.

I can no longer return to Xiang City to see you. I only hope my death can build a step on the ladder leading to the Apocalypse.

The uncanny will eventually run rampant in the world, and the mysterious will eventually descend upon the earth.

Having seen His Idol, I can die without regrets.

Yan”

In a villa area far from the bustling city, inside an elegantly decorated study, Zou Yan sat at her desk, typing line after line in an email.

After checking it once to ensure there were no errors or omissions, she clicked “Send.”

An automated reply saying “Acknowledged” appeared in her inbox. Zou Yan gripped the edge of the desk, using her arms to support herself as she stood up and staggered toward the bedroom.

Whether from the fear of death or the coldness of her ebbing life force, she began to shiver. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, making a “clatter-clatter” sound.

Fortunately, the distance from the study to the bedroom wasn’t far, and she finally managed to lie on the bed before becoming completely unable to move.

She no longer had the strength to pull up the covers. She lay on her back, staring at a spot on the ceiling as if trying to etch something deep into her eyeballs.

Blood overflowed from her nose and mouth. She licked it, found it a bit salty, and couldn’t help but wonder aimlessly what kind of terminal illness was manifesting right now.

Unfortunately, as a psychologist, she ultimately lacked pathological knowledge in other fields. Her mind was empty; even the most vast and powerful wind could not rustle the sound of leaves.

A sense of aimless drifting, like clinging to driftwood after a shipwreck, surged in her heart. For the first time, Zou Yan truly realized that she was going to die.

She knew sacrifice was necessary and possessed the resolve of a martyr, but as the end truly arrived, there were always countless regrets.

She still wanted to witness the Doomsday Judgment in the prophecy and the Apocalypse that would follow; she still wanted to walk in the light, laughing, chatting, listening to stories, and observing people; she still wanted to visit the children in the Church that had adopted her… She didn’t want to die, but what choice did she have?

Zou Yan curled her lips, raised her hand to draw two triangles on her chest, and forced herself to give a peaceful smile, even as tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

She curled into a ball, her consciousness gradually sinking into darkness. In the half-bright, half-dark haze, a fragment from the depths of her memory that should have been erased became vivid.

That was the first round of the game in Rose Manor… There were a total of nine players who initially entered the Rose Manor instance.

At the start of the instance, the nine people in the first round, just like the six remaining in the second round, sat around the long table to introduce themselves.

Among them, two claimed it was their third time entering an instance, and there was also a young girl who, although it was only her second time, possessed an item that could point out clues.

In comparison, Chang Xu, Ye Zi, and the others didn’t seem as dazzling.

Zou Yan had always followed a path of hiding her capabilities. With so many players who could potentially cause variables, she had no intention of making a public appearance too early.

She used her professional skills to observe everyone and create psychological profiles.

At first glance, she noticed Qi Si, who, like her, was hiding himself in the crowd.

The young man kept his eyes lowered, silent and still, but his gaze behind his eyelashes always followed whoever was speaking, his deep eyes reflecting a light of contemplation.

He was also thinking and observing.

When rooms were assigned later, with three people to a room, Zou Yan decisively invited Qi Si.

Nine was too many people; in such a complex situation, she needed a rational and calm ally.

Qi Si agreed, and the two of them pulled in another newcomer, choosing to stay in Room 1.

On the first night, Miss Anna came downstairs and knocked on the doors one by one.

The newcomer in their room was so scared that he screamed, triggering a death point just as expected.

Vines surged through the cracks in the door, covering everything. In the darkness, Zou Yan saw Qi Si’s slightly opened eyes, terrifying like the pupils of a beast, bright like a fire on an ice field.

The indifferent young man didn’t even get up. In just a second, he pulled a spike from the specialized bracelet on his right hand and knocked the troublemaking newcomer unconscious.

The vines at the door continued to grow and spread, with no intention of settling down.

The young man slowly sat up and, without hesitation, grabbed the unconscious newcomer by the collar and threw him toward the door.

The vines coiled around the newcomer and dragged him out of the room. The young man watched the scene without any extra expression.

At that moment, Zou Yan realized that this player named “Qi Si” was the same kind of person as her—a kindred spirit she hadn’t seen in a long time.

She said, “Let’s cooperate.”

Qi Si tilted his head to look at her, and after a long moment, he gave a radiant smile and said, “Alright.”

He was like a completely different person from his previous cold face. Even though she couldn’t feel any joy from him, he smiled so brilliantly. This contradiction made Zou Yan find him interesting.

She thought the next three days wouldn’t be boring; Qi Si would be a good subject to observe.

Complex situations were prone to unexpected variables, and forcing a breakdown of the world view would only add trouble. The two of them agreed without objection to a plan of killing other players to trigger the “minimum death count” mechanism.

Things went smoothly. After killing one more person, they formed an alliance with Shen Ming and Ye Zi, creating a numerical advantage.

Chang Xu, Lin Chen, and the young girl named “Xu Xinyi” were completely no match for them and were quickly brought under control.

Lin Chen and Xu Xinyi only knew how to cry, but Chang Xu had a foul and stubborn temper like a rock. He found an opportunity to snatch Qi Si’s specialized bracelet and cut a fairly deep gash near his heart.

The others subdued Chang Xu in time, intending to throw him outside the castle at night to be killed by the instance mechanism.

Qi Si, however, covered the wound on his chest and stopped them with a smile: “Keep him. This guy is quite interesting.”

The life or death of one person was insignificant. Chang Xu’s limbs were broken, but he survived.

On the third day, the four of them chose Xu Xinyi to kill and obtained the item that could point out clues.

A large number of clues regarding the instance’s world view surfaced. Zou Yan vaguely realized something was wrong and, after some investigation, confirmed the existence of a “time loop.”

It turned out that killing three people did not mean clearance. The cycle would not stop; those who survived would lose their corresponding memories and return to the beginning to reenact the same scenario until everyone was buried in Rose Manor.

She told Qi Si about this discovery. The latter looked at the sea of roses outside the window and smiled nonchalantly: “A six-person game is much clearer than a nine-person one. At least in the second round, collecting clues won’t be as troublesome as it is now. Besides, by my count, we still have two more rounds of chances, don’t we?”

For a moment, Zou Yan suspected the young man had known all along and that using the first round to reduce the number of people was also part of his plan. Even leaving Chang Xu alive was a preparation for the second round.

But she dismissed the idea—how could someone have set such a trap before she even could?

The night bell struck nine times. Looking at the young man’s flickering figure behind the candlelight, she asked on an impulse, “If there’s a conflict of interest later, will you kill me?”

The young man smiled: “Don’t you already know? We are the same kind of person.”

The answer was clear. Their choices had already been decided in their respective hearts; there was no need for further words.

Zou Yan’s rationality told her she should eliminate the unstable factors that could lead to variables as early as possible.

But she hesitated.

Three people had already died, and the remaining six just happened to make up two three-day cycles. She wasn’t sure if one more death now would cause the game to end early, leaving her with insufficient time to crack the world view.

Moreover, Qi Si in the first round seemed to have no threat other than his qualities of calmness and indifference. Without many items in reserve, he could only depend on her. What kind of waves could he possibly stir up?

Ultimately, Zou Yan didn’t dare gamble on the game’s mechanism with her groundless suspicions.

She thought it wouldn’t be too difficult to kill Qi Si once the next round of the game began.

Furthermore, she hadn’t seen such an interesting person in a long time. What was the harm in keeping him for one more round of the game?

So, she watched Qi Si leave the room, walk out of the castle, and stand in the middle of the sea of flowers, maintaining a wary and distant distance from her.

She didn’t stop him.

When the castle bell struck twelve, a new round of the cycle would begin. Players would forget their grudges against each other, the bloody sins they had committed would dissipate, and they would gather around the long table as innocent as passersby, meeting once again.

Zou Yan knew she only had three hours left to chew over the memories of these three days.

She stood before the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the young man standing in the sea of flowers.

The heavy rain had stopped long ago. The moon peeked out from the clouds, its pale light illuminating his blood-stained white shirt in a ghastly way.

The young man held a rose in both hands against his heart, motionless, silent, and still.

He was all alone, his back to the castle, as cold as an Idol and as lonely as a beast.