In the dark prison.

For the first time, Gu Qinyao knew what it meant to be utterly helpless and desperate.

She thought she had planned it perfectly, successfully approached the Crown Prince, made him fall in love with her, and won the title of "Golden Host".

Everything was perfect.

But she didn't expect that the people she was trying to win over in this world were completely different from the people she had encountered in her previous worlds.

Murong Lie is truly a smart man; he is not only intelligent but also adept at discerning people's intentions.

Gu Qinyao didn't even show her face near him. She only got close to Jiang Tian before Murong Lie noticed something was wrong, grabbed her, and took her to a dark dungeon where she was severely tortured.

It was real torture.

Murong Lie showed absolutely no sympathy to those he didn't trust.

If it weren't for the body-supporting pills fed to her by the system, Gu Qinyao didn't know if she could have survived.

Thinking of her tragic death in her past life, and then of this life, Gu Qinyao finally regretted it.

She might as well not have done this mission at all. Why should she have to die twice at the hands of one person?

"I've noticed something very wrong with you. Why is the eldest daughter of the Gu family getting close to me? Why would you even take a job as a palace maid, and even have to rely on others to get a job sweeping the courtyard? Do you really think the whole world is stupid? What exactly are you trying to achieve by doing all these things?"

Murong Lie had already discovered Gu Qinyao's unusual behavior.

The Eastern Palace is no longer the same as it used to be. In the past, anyone could enter the Eastern Palace, but things are different now.

He knew exactly how each person got in, where they lived, and what their place of origin was.

He originally had no expectations of someone like Gu Qinyao.

He planned to figure out her problem and then get rid of her.

Unexpectedly, Gu Qinyao was quite clever, actually targeting Jiang Tian and even using the excuse of recommending a burial site to Jiang Tian to get her a position by the Crown Prince's side.

Murong Lie knew from the start that Jiang Tian would definitely agree.

In that woman's eyes, he was nothing.

But he couldn't allow an abnormal person to operate in the Eastern Palace for long, or even involve Jiang Tian.

That's why he acted on the spur of the moment and captured Gu Qinyao.

Gu Qinyao wanted to cry but had no tears.

She thought she had hidden it well, but she didn't expect Murong Lie to discover the anomaly so quickly.

[System, what's going on? Didn't you already fix everything? What's the situation now?]

Gu Qinyao broke down, completely and utterly broke down.

She never imagined that one day she would be captured by a strategist.

She has always been superior to the conquerors.

She believes herself to be from another dimension, completely disregarding the thoughts of these people, and able to bind them with a few cheat codes.

Murong Lie was the only exception.

Murong Lie defied this rule; the cheat system was useless on him.

Gu Qinyao plans to rely primarily on her own abilities, with her special abilities as a supplement, to successfully win over Murong Lie.

I didn't expect the walkthrough to be over before it even started.

Is she going to have to start all over again?

That's impossible.

There are rules for employees: they can only start over once, and it's impossible to be in a state of starting over forever.

So if Gu Qinyao can't escape this time, her mission will be a complete failure.

But Gu Qinyao no longer knew how to escape.

Murong Lie's gaze was sharp as a knife; how could she possibly avoid his stare?

Murong Lie grew up amidst swords and frost, he is a true powerhouse.

Gu Qinyao, on the other hand, is a host who uses her cheat ability to "do evil."

Without the system's assistance, she would just be an ordinary person, and how could she possibly defeat Murong Lie?

And how dare the system utter a sound?

It's impossible for it to show up at this time, nor can it help Gu Qinyao in any way.

No matter how exaggerated this world is, the system can only use its cheat codes when the host is trying to win over the players. Otherwise, the system must follow logic and operating rules.

The system had already gone to great lengths to get Gu Qinyao into the Eastern Palace, and now it was at its wit's end.

Gu Qinyao called out to the system in her mind for a long time, but when she found that the system did not appear at all, she knew that she really had to rely on herself to get through this time.

But she really couldn't make it through.

Gu Qinyao was covered in wounds and her breath was weak, but Murong Lie didn't even blink.

Murong Lie treated her as an undercover agent, so how could he possibly show her any mercy?

Moreover, in Murong Lie's eyes, her stunningly beautiful face seemed to be nothing more than a random passerby.

Gu Qinyao had no idea how many times she had fainted or woken up.

The dark and gloomy dungeon inflicted immense physical and mental trauma on her.

She is an only child living in a peaceful era and comes from a very good family. Otherwise, she would not have entered the company and become a host in pursuit of excitement.

In her view, these players were just like NPCs; she didn't need to care about their loves and hates, nor what they were thinking.

With her cheat-like abilities, she is the only true ruler.

Unexpectedly, Murong Lie broke this rule, making her realize the cruelty of the feudal dynasty.

Murong Lie is the true ruler; even if he tortures her to death, no one will seek justice for her.

Even at the very last moment in her past life, Gu Qinyao still couldn't see things clearly.

She thought that with the world restarting, her mission would be successfully completed.

This time, she truly understood.

She looked at Murong Lie, and seeing that he was about to bring over the instruments of torture that terrified her again, causing her to suffer greatly, Gu Qinyao's psychological defenses finally collapsed.

She regretted it.

Why would I play this kind of strategy game?

Why did she join the company and become a host?

Fortunately, she has a chance to start over. She can return to her original world and live as an ordinary person.

Gu Qinyao weakly uttered a few words: "I'll talk, I'll talk—"

Seeing that Gu Qinyao had finally relented, Murong Lie remained expressionless: "Then tell me."

Gu Qinyao couldn't possibly reveal the system, but she knew that Murong Lie's gaze was like a lie detector. If her words hadn't been verified by him, then she would have to endure endless torture.

That's terrifying.

Gu Qinyao had shed countless tears, but she had to fight for a way to survive.

The system can't appear now, nor can it take her away. At least for the rest of her life, she doesn't want to die at Murong Lie's hands.

"I am a demigod—"

Just as Gu Qinyao was about to begin her story, a single glance from Murong Lie silenced her.

She originally wanted to add some fantasy elements to her background, but she realized that Murong Lie wasn't buying it at all.

She said timidly, "There are some things I can't explain..."