27. Team Formation
As expected of an earl's castle, the castle covers a huge area. It took the cat and rabbit half a day to explore less than half of it.
Seeing that it was almost time, the two turned around and went back to the restaurant to eat.
When they entered the restaurant, many people were already seated around the long table. The girls had piles of food in front of them, but none of them touched their knives and forks.
Pi Min found a seat and realized that the food, which looked plentiful and tempting from afar, was rather disappointing up close.
The roast meat was an eerie blue, white maggots were wriggling in the cheese, the wine had a nauseatingly sour smell, and even the plates and cutlery were covered with unsettling speckled brown stains...
Who would have thought that breakfast, which looked perfectly normal, would turn out to be such an outrageous lunch?
Do we really have to eat this kind of thing?
What are the consequences of eating it, and what are the consequences of not eating it?
Pimin was secretly observing the reactions of the other players and maids, thinking about what to do next. The man dressed as a woman beside her had already let out a cold laugh.
His laughter was soft, yet it stood out remarkably in the quiet restaurant.
In an instant, everyone's eyes fell on his face.
Pi Min secretly worried for him, but the man beside her remained calm and composed, meeting the butler's gaze with ease.
"Tsk tsk, how pathetic, truly pathetic!" He shook his head dramatically, his face showing disgust. "If the price of becoming a countess is to endure such terrible food every day, then I'd rather not be a countess!"
As he spoke, he slightly raised his chin, his eyes filled with arrogance and disdain.
To the uninitiated, one might mistake the person sitting there for a haughty queen surveying her own territory, rather than a guest of the castle.
Even the butler was intimidated by the imposing presence he displayed and respectfully lowered his head.
"We apologize that we failed to satisfy you, Miss. Please feel free to give us any requests."
The man didn't stand on ceremony. He pushed the plates in front of him and Pi Min toward the butler and said coldly, "Please replace this disgusting pig swill with fruit salad for my wife and me, thank you."
The butler waved his hand, and a maid standing not far from the two immediately and attentively took away the plates.
"Wife?"
The voice came from the girl who was missing an arm. After speaking, she exaggeratedly covered her mouth, her face full of regret for her slip of the tongue.
Even Pi Min was startled by the word "wife" just now, but the man's expression remained unchanged. Instead, he glared at the girl impatiently and sneered, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen best friends calling each other 'husband' and 'wife'?"
He spoke so confidently that no one in the room seemed to find anything wrong with it.
Someone's cross-dressing was so convincing that the butler's gaze lingered on the two girls' faces for a moment before he simply smiled and shook his head. He clearly didn't see the two girls' excessive intimacy as a big deal.
The new plates were quickly served, this time a normal fruit salad, with fresh fruit paired with regular yogurt and honey, looking incredibly appetizing.
Upon seeing this, some of the girls immediately followed suit.
"I want to change too, I want to eat fruit salad too!" said a little leopard.
Unfortunately, this time, the butler smiled and shook his head: "Sorry, the kitchen doesn't have enough ingredients."
Unexpectedly, the little leopard turned out to be a troublemaker, coldly questioning, "Is it because there aren't enough ingredients, or because you're unwilling? We're all players, why are you treating us differently?"
The butler bowed respectfully, his smile as gentle as ever: "I'm sorry, Miss, we really don't have enough ingredients. If you don't mind, we can substitute other dishes, but we're out of fruit salad."
The little leopard frowned for a moment, then quickly changed its mind.
"Then let's have a vegetable salad."
"Can."
Seeing that the little leopard had successfully traded for normal food, the others became excited and followed suit.
"I'm on a diet, and I also want to eat vegetarian food."
"I want to change too! I want to change too!"
...
The housekeeper shook his head again, still using the excuse that there wasn't enough food. In the end, only about half of the girls managed to switch their lunch to normal food.
Fortunately, the butler did not force players to eat lunch; they wouldn't starve if they missed a meal.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, someone finally couldn't help but ask the butler, "When does the ball start?"
"Please be patient, everyone. The Earl is away on business and will be back in two days."
"So, we have to figure out how to survive these next two days, right?"
"Miss is intelligent. Trash who can't even survive two days is not worthy of attending the Earl's ball!"
The butler remained respectful, but the words he uttered sent chills down one's spine.
Perhaps frightened by the butler's words, not a single player left the restaurant, even after the food was cleared from the table and all the servants had left.
Finally, the little leopard, who had just bravely switched his food to a vegetable salad, spoke first: "As you all know, this castle is not safe. To increase our chances of survival, I suggest we team up and face the impending threat together. After all, more people mean more strength."
As soon as she made the suggestion, people responded immediately, saying they wanted to team up with her. She eventually chose a female wolf, a lynx, a shark, and an Arctic fox to form a five-person team.
Someone started the process, and the rest formed their own teams, leaving only a cat, a rabbit, and a fox with a missing arm. The cat and rabbit weren't interested in teaming up with strangers, while the fox with the missing arm was simply unwanted. After all, nobody wants an extra burden in their team.
Pi Min, on the contrary, felt that the girls who refused to team up with Fox had misjudged him.
The fox's severed arm is most likely because its hand was parasitized by pea vines last night, and it had no choice but to sever its arm to survive.
Losing an arm looks simple in movies and TV shows, but you only realize how difficult it is when you actually do it yourself.
A person who can do this is ruthless, decisive, and powerful—all three are indispensable. They are definitely a tough person, and if they become a teammate, they may not necessarily become a burden.
Whether it was sensing her gaze or not, the fox hesitated for a moment before walking straight up to the two of them.
"Can I come with you?"
Before Pi Min could speak, the man beside her immediately refused: "No."
Pi Min then noticed that the man's gaze towards the fox was strange, even carrying a hint of murderous intent.
Noticing her gaze, the man smiled slightly and confessed, "I saw it. She was the one who kicked you last night."
Now it was Pi Min's turn to panic: "How could she have the nerve to ask to be in our group?"
The man sneered, "They probably think everyone else is a fool."
With his true colors exposed, everyone kept their distance from the fox. Knowing there was no chance of forming a team again, the fox slunk back to his room.
Watching the other person's departing figure, Pi Min had already sentenced the other person to death in her heart.
The girls present all looked thin and frail; in reality, none of them possessed the fighting prowess of the lioness who perished last night. So why was the strongest lioness dead, while the cats, dogs, and leopards in front of them were all perfectly fine?
The only possibility is that these people were not subjected to the same level of attacks from the beginning.
The others were also attacked, but it was clearly not fatal.
Of the two men who attacked her last night, one died and the other lost an arm.
It seems the boss of this dungeon really hates people who will stop at nothing to survive.
After the teams were formed, the girls started their operations in small groups, except for Pimin and a guy dressed as a girl, who remained in pairs.
Just as they stepped out of the restaurant, the group was stopped in their tracks by a ragged little girl.
"Sisters, want to buy matches?"
Thanks to the peas from last night, Pi Min's first thought was of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, "The Little Match Girl."
Someone asked, "How much are these matches?"
The girl replied, "1000 points, or you can exchange them for Grandpa Butler's tinderbox."
"We pay with points."
The previous peas had already made everyone realize the connection between this instance and fairy tales, so even if it was expensive, they had to grit their teeth and buy matches.
1000 points might be a bit expensive for one person, but when split among teams, it's manageable. In the end, every group, including the Cat and Rabbit duo, bought the girl's matches.
Pimin was still wondering how the girl dressed like that had entered the castle when a maid rushed towards the little girl in a panic. The maid's first words were, "Young lady, why are you dressed like this again and sneaking out to play?"
"Young Miss?" the little leopard couldn't help but exclaim.
The maid stood tall and proud: "This is Miss Alice, the daughter of the Earl and Lady Oriana."
Pi Min was dumbfounded.
The Little Match Girl is the Earl's daughter? The creator of this copy must have been drinking fake alcohol while looking for inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales.
Mrs. Elena, Mrs. Orianna...
Lady Oriana even has a daughter with the Earl?!
She gasped: "Isn't the count in this instance a monogamous man?"
“Of course it’s monogamy,” the maid categorically denied. “The ladies are all the Earl’s ex-wives, and they’re already divorced. They just continue to live in the castle after the divorce.”
That's all, that's all...
Pimin felt his worldview being reshaped: "Several ladies? So how many former countesses are still in the castle?"
"If we don't count the ladies who haven't been chosen yet, there are seventy-five." The maid smiled broadly, looking completely at ease. "Congratulations, ladies, you all have the chance to become the Earl's seventy-sixth lady."
"Ah? (second tone) This is truly an honor..." Pimin smiled, but in his heart he was cursing the count to the bone. Just what kind of pervert is he?
Even after the maid led the little match girl and her party away, she remained in shock and couldn't recover for a long time.
Seeing her strong reaction, the man gloated, "I told you, the boss of this dungeon is a monster. Now, do you believe me?"
Pi Min was both amused and exasperated: "This is just too outrageous."
"In the end, he's just an old pervert with a stamp collecting hobby, using dungeons as an excuse to fill his harem." The man patted her shoulder, grinning mischievously. "You really know how to pick dungeons, picking such a perverted one right away."
“Yeah, I do have bad taste.” Pi Min nodded, deliberately giving the man in front of her a cryptic look. “I always make a mistake.”
"Are you insulting me?" Noticing the hostility in her gaze, the man immediately looked aggrieved. "How could I be considered lucky? You've clearly won the lottery."
Pi Min nodded perfunctorily: "Yes, yes, I won the grand prize. A one-in-a-billion grand prize, a once-in-a-million grand prize!"
Although she was annoyed by him and resented his troublemaking, she had to admit that without him, she would be exploring the castle with the same trepidation and caution as other girls, far from the relaxed and carefree atmosphere she was in now.
She couldn't condone his actions, nor could she stop her heart from fluttering for him, even though the guy in front of her was dressed in ridiculous women's clothing.
She was secretly observing the man in front of her when the live stream chat erupted in screams.
[Oh my god! This atmosphere is too sweet!]
[Give me a kiss! Give me a kiss! Give me a kiss!]
[Forget about that damned count, yuri is the eternal goddess!]
[Kiss me, just kiss me already!]
...
Pi Min was startled, and all the chaotic thoughts in her mind were instantly swept away.
If it weren't for the occasional useful information provided by viewers, she would have loved to turn off these annoying voice comments.
Just as Pi Min was getting increasingly annoyed by the barrage of comments in her mind, the man in front of her grabbed her hand and they ran off.
"Where are you taking me? What do you want to do?"
The man smiled slyly, his face full of anticipation: "Let's steal the butler's tinderbox."
"What?" Pi Min was so surprised that she almost choked on her own saliva.
This guy really knows how to seek thrills!
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