Chapter 96 Royal City Banquet [Shen Su, truly miserable.]
After playing the game for several days, Qin Ke and Mo Rugui, as veteran players, had explored the dungeons to some extent and found a pattern regarding "raising the princess's favorability." However, Shi Yu's words at this moment told them that the dungeon pattern they thought they had summarized was actually man-made.
For a moment, the two of them had very mixed feelings.
When Shi Yu hinted that he would continue to cooperate with them and help them pass the test, their feelings became even more complicated.
From the beginning, they agreed to team up with Shi Yu and Shen Su to enter the dungeon not because they wanted to team up with them, nor because of personal favors or other reasons, but because it was a high-level dungeon.
Mo Rugui has been searching for a way to leave the game for years.
Therefore, he will not let any high-level dungeon slip by.
Qin Ke.
They also have their own purposes.
In short, I'm definitely not here to make friends.
This is not a game you can use to make friends.
I don't know whether to say that this overly beautiful newcomer is too naive, or to be thankful that there are still such kind people in this game full of killing and evil.
I just don't know how long this newbie can survive? Will they be able to survive this dungeon?
They naturally understood why Shi Yu was so "confident" that she could help them clear the dungeon. Shi Yu's character in this dungeon seemed to have a lot of cheat codes, but that was just an illusion. As veteran players knew, in role-playing dungeons, the more unique the character, the greater the difficulty of clearing the dungeon.
.
As night fell, it was time for dinner.
The banquet hall was quieter than usual tonight. The king was not there, nor were there any other guests. The only people in the banquet hall were the princess, twenty princes, and maids waiting on the side.
The maid said, "Tonight, the princess will play a game with everyone."
The banquet hall was also decorated to be suitable for playing games. A long table was placed in the center of the hall, with ten chairs on each side. The princess's seat was at the end of the long table, and a small room was set up on the right side of the end of the long table, which was blocked by a screen.
The banquet was not grand, so the princess wore only a long dress and no jewelry. The princess sat down in the main seat, and the twenty princes also took their seats, with maids following behind carrying game props.
Players also received a system message at this time—
[Side quest unlocked.]
Side Quest: Play games with the princess.
[Completion Deadline: During the dinner.]
"The princes' wonderful performances these past few days have been a feast for the eyes of the princess, and have also given her a preliminary understanding of them. However, this understanding is far from enough, so the princess designed this game. In the game, she can not only get along better with the princes, but also get to know each other better."
"The rules of the game are very simple." The maid brought out a large, colorful wheel covered with names. "The names of twenty princes are written on the wheel. In a moment, the princess will spin the wheel, and the prince whose name is reached can go to the small room behind the screen to spend twenty minutes alone with the princess. Whether they chat with the princess or do something else during these twenty minutes is up to the prince and princess."
As soon as the maid finished speaking, the players received another message—
[Note: Please keep your distance from the princess during the roulette game and refrain from any physical contact.]
Viewers watching the live stream also saw the system notification that appeared halfway through the broadcast, and they all expressed their doubts—the maid didn't mean anything else by what she said, isn't the system being a bit too sensitive?
As the maid explained the rules, Qin Ke and Mo Rugui exchanged a glance, and they both saw the same thing in each other's eyes.
The game is too easy.
The rules are too simple.
Although the side quests they received a few days ago were simple, this is already the fifth night. Logically, the difficulty of high-level dungeons should increase after half the game time.
So……
Finally, their gazes all fell on the small room behind the screen. Whoever spun the wheel could go in and spend twenty minutes with the princess. They didn't think of it as simply going in and having a twenty-minute face-to-face chat.
The rules of the game are simple.
Then this room must be something special.
"Now let's begin our first round of the game. Princess, please spin the wheel."
Congratulations, Prince Moses!
"Please, Prince Moses and Princess, proceed to the small room."
It seemed to be to let him verify his guess.
The first spin of the wheel landed on Mo Rugui.
Mo Rugui walked over with a tense heart. The princess walked in front, lifting her skirt. The maid lifted the curtain and the two went in one after the other. Inside, there was a carved carpet, a low wooden table in the center, and a chair on each side. There seemed to be no problem, but Mo Rugui still dared not relax her vigilance the whole time.
Twenty minutes later, Mo Rugui emerged from behind the screen.
Qin Ke frantically gave him eye signals, to the point that the system issued him an OOC (Out of Character) warning, but Mo Rugui still didn't react at all, as if he were in a daze.
Congratulations, Prince Ron!
"Please proceed to the small room, Prince Ron and Princess."
Upon hearing his name, Qin Ke glanced at Mo Rugui again. Mo Rugui remained the same as before, her steps stiff and her gaze wandering forward, as if she hadn't noticed him at all.
Qin Ke stared at the small room, his expression gradually becoming serious.
The second-ranked expert on the technical leaderboard went in and came out looking like this. You can imagine how unpredictable the dangers inside were. Moreover, the first round was Mo Rugui and the second round was him. Is it a coincidence or intentional?
Qin Ke went over on high alert.
Twenty minutes later, Qin Ke came out.
His stiff gait and absent-minded expression were exactly the same as Mo Rugui's.
Qin Ke and Mo Rugui's live stream chat was practically bursting with laughter—
[Qin Ke/Mo Rugui: I even picked up my broadsword, and this is all I get? This is all???]
[This is like going in expecting to fight a boss and getting fully buffed, only to find out it's a beginner village where mobs can wipe you out in one hit. Hilarious!]
[Hahaha, don't even mention them, I never would have guessed either! It really was just casual chatting, literally!]
...
Yes, Shi Yu spent those twenty minutes chatting with Qin Ke and Mo Rugui.
The chat was initiated by Shi Yu, who asked all sorts of questions about everyday trivia, without touching on any private matters. Although Qin Ke and Mo Rugui were completely baffled, they answered all their questions without reservation.
It wasn't until the twenty minutes were up, and they saw hundreds of "Princess Curiosity +1" notifications appearing in their feed, along with their rapidly rising ranking on the "Princess Favorability Statistics Card," that they understood Shi Yu's true purpose in playing this spinning wheel game.
It was only at this point that they believed it.
Shi Yu's promise to help them pass through customs was not just empty words.
The spinning wheel game continued, and Qin Ke and Mo Rugui were each spun once more, while Shen Su was spun only once. Perhaps for the sake of superficial fairness, the other NPC princes were also spun once each, and spent twenty minutes alone with the princess.
Only Lucius was never transferred.
Everything in the dungeon world is set up by the system, and this roulette game was proposed by the "princess," as were the game's items.
Shi Yu tampered with the turntable.
No matter how you turn it, it won't stop at the square with Lucius's name.
Shi Yu has now confirmed that Lu Xisi's identity is not simple.
He wanted to see if Lucius would make another move.
But throughout the entire roulette game, Lucius simply drank quietly without making any move.
As usual, Shi Yu walked along the corridor behind the banquet hall until the banquet ended. She walked for a long time but couldn't get out. The corridor seemed to be infinitely extended, just like the one that trapped Shen Su on the first night in the dungeon.
Shi Yu stopped in her tracks.
He remembered what Shen Su had said about the corridor being unsolvable, where items couldn't be used. He opened the game panel and found that the item inventory was lit up.
The fact that the props are usable indicates that this corridor is different in nature from the one that trapped Shen Su last time.
Shi Yu stopped going forward and turned back.
After walking for a short while, two familiar carved wooden doors came into view. Shi Yu always went out through these doors to attend banquets every day, and the banquet hall was behind the carved wooden doors.
Upon closer inspection, Shi Yu noticed that the carved wood grain seemed somewhat... worn out?
No, not just seemingly, these two doors are indeed very old.
The color of the mahogany has become dull and lackluster, a layer of gray has covered the carved patterns, and there are scratches of varying sizes on the door panel, the most obvious one looking like it was chopped with a large knife.
Shi Yu pushed open the two doors, and the banquet hall that appeared before her eyes was completely different.
The tables and chairs were in disarray, the chandelier was broken, the walls were pockmarked with jewels that had been dug out, and there were messy cut marks on them. There were shards of glass all over the floor, and large patches of dried bloodstains on the carpet. Without any lights, the once magnificent banquet hall was now a desolate gray under the cold moonlight.
A new quest then popped up on the game screen—
Congratulations! You have triggered and unlocked the hidden side quest: [The Fallen Kingdom]
Side Quest 1: Explore [The Fallen Royal City]
Side Quest 2: Leave the [declining royal city]
[Completion Deadline: Before dawn.]
At the same time, the other three also received the same task and were transported to the task scene.
Royal City Banquet Official Livestream Room——
[It's here! It's finally here! This dungeon has been so bland since the beginning; if it doesn't get a little more exciting, I'll start to think it's a low-level dungeon!]
[I knew this dungeon wouldn't just have the "Princess Choosing a Husband" theme; sure enough, there's a hidden side quest. I like this theme; every prosperous dynasty inevitably experiences decline.]
[Wait, weren't they a team? And the mission is the same, so why aren't they in the same scene? ? ? ]
[Oh well, it's just routine system operation.]
On the bright side, different timelines allow for the collection of different information, which is then integrated to improve gameplay.
[Mo Rugui and Qin Ke were thrown before the decline of the royal city, while Shi Yu was thrown after its decline. Only Chen Su was thrown into the city on the very day it fell, hahaha! He was still the first one to charge in, hahaha, I really don't want to laugh, hahahahahaha!!!]
[Sinking into the night, truly tragic.]
[Sinking into the night, truly tragic.]
[Sinking into the night, truly tragic.]
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