The hall was empty, the floor was polished to a shine, reflecting Xiao Cheng's own shadow.

She looked up and glanced at the wooden door on her right.

The door looked quite old, and it seemed completely out of place in the luxurious hall. A brass lock hung on the handle, and an eerie, multicolored light shone through the cracks in the door.

Faint chanting could be heard coming from inside, interspersed with the strange laughter of the dwarf.

Xiao Cheng crept closer, trying to decipher the fragments of words.

"Collection... Successful..."

"There's one more..."

"Sacrifice..."

Then all the sounds stopped abruptly.

There was silence inside for a long time, then suddenly the princess’s shrill, mournful voice came out, crying and laughing at the same time, as if she had gone mad.

"Failed again! You failed again! You piece of trash! I worshipped you and gathered so many followers for you! You devil! You false god! You utterly useless garbage!"

Then came an extremely hoarse, deep male voice, which sounded like it was suppressing a very strong emotion of anger.

"It's clearly you, you idiot! I told you what kind of sacrifices I need! These substandard things are useless no matter how many there are!"

Xiao Cheng leaned against the wall, thoroughly engrossed in eating melon seeds.

So the devil himself jumped out?

So, is this a case of the princess and the devil having an internal conflict?

The argument inside the room continued, with the princess rambling on and on, her emotions running high: "You ruined my banquet! Time's almost up! Those fools who were invited are almost here! They can't produce any decent collectibles, how am I supposed to clean up this mess?!"

Another long silence followed.

Just when Xiao Cheng thought the devil would no longer answer, the brass lock on the doorknob suddenly clicked off.

The wooden door creaked open automatically, and Xiao Cheng met the gaze of the three people inside. Her gaze swept over the dwarf with a conflicted expression, as if he had swallowed a fly, lingered for a moment on the princess's flushed face, and finally landed on the so-called devil.

He is a novelist, but it seems he is not entirely one.

His lower body looked ethereal, twisted and contorted like the back half of a screw, with the end attached to an open ink bottle.

His upper body looked quite normal. If you ignored the pen that was deeply embedded in his throat and had pierced through his neck, he actually looked quite human.

The atmosphere was a little awkward when the acquaintances met again, but Xiao Cheng still waved to him in a very friendly manner: "What a coincidence, Mr. Novelist."

At the same time, the clock on Xiao Cheng's wrist emitted a burning heat, the second hand stopped completely, and the hour and minute hands were frozen at the eight o'clock position.

An ancient and melodious bell rang out in the hall, like the opening of a play. Faint whispers came from all around, and countless voices of men, women, and children mingled together, growing clearer and louder, creating a bustling atmosphere.

One after another, illusory figures dressed in gorgeous clothes appeared. They were completely unaware of their own abnormality, as if they were attending an extremely ordinary banquet, gathering in twos and threes, exchanging pleasantries with each other.

Someone raised their empty wine glass and smiled, nodding towards Xiao Cheng.

They seemed completely oblivious to the princess and her two companions.

The crowd completely separated Xiao Cheng from the other side.

"Excuse my intrusion, but are you also here by invitation to view the princess's collection?"

A tall, thin, middle-aged nobleman walked through the crowd to Xiao Cheng and asked in a gentle tone.

"Aren't all the people here here with the same purpose?" Xiao Cheng asked with a calm smile.

She remembered this person; it was he who invited Player Number Five to join his collection during her first playthrough.

In other circumstances, she would be willing to delve deeper into his motives, but not now.

Xiao Cheng glanced at the novelist and his group out of the corner of her eye.

The princess, holding the ink bottle, with a dwarf sitting cross-legged on her shoulder, and a half-smile on her face, calmly walked through the crowd towards them.

It's obvious they're keeping an eye on me.

Xiao Cheng could guess that she was still up to no good and wanted to transform herself into a mermaid. But since he hadn't participated in the dwarf's so-called trial this time, he figured it wouldn't be so easy for her to achieve her goal.

Moreover, we haven't seen any other players yet.

Xiao Cheng had a general idea of ​​what was going on and made up her mind. A confident smile appeared on her face.

“Of course, it’s not just about visiting the collection.” She glanced at the tall, thin middle-aged man in front of her and continued, seemingly casually.

"After all, they are such wonderful and exquisite things. If one were fortunate enough to own them completely... what a wonderful thing that would be."

"It seems you and I have come with the same purpose." The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "So you are already prepared? I knew that if you wanted to receive the princess's reward, it would be impossible without truly proving your sincerity."

“Of course, but I think my sincerity is definitely greater than yours.” Xiao Cheng casually shrugged. “After all…”

She slowly turned her head and looked meaningfully at the princess who was almost within reach.

"After all, in such a noisy crowd, only I can find Her Highness at a glance."

Her words were resounding, and all the nobles present looked over in astonishment, staring incredulously at the princess who seemed to have fallen from the sky.

Silence fell instantly.

The ink bottle in the princess's hand suddenly transformed into a small flowerpot. She forced a hollow smile, but her sinister gaze remained fixed on Xiao Cheng.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!