The faint melody of the music box seemed particularly creepy in the silent castle. Xiao Tangqiu couldn't help but shiver, and his hair stood on end.
Tang Mianmian also shuddered violently: "Fuck... Is it that music box? Isn't that music box broken?" After he said that, he realized that he had said nonsense. Under normal circumstances, a broken music box would naturally not be able to sound again, but the problem was - this was not a normal world at all!
Before Lu Si'er had gone far, she stopped, her face full of horror.
The short and thin man was so scared that he kept shaking and making whimpering sounds.
"Do you want to... go back and take a look?" Tang Mianmian swallowed and asked Xiao Tangqiu with difficulty.
Xiao Tangqiu hesitated for a moment and said, "Forget it. It's too late today. Let's come back tomorrow."
Tang Mianmian breathed a sigh of relief: "I think so too... Let's come again today!"
Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian sent the short and thin man to the second floor, and after watching Lu Si'er enter the room, they looked at each other and turned around and walked upstairs together.
"I wonder if Shen Yuan and the others have gone to the attic," Xiao Tangqiu said to Tang Mianmian in a low voice, "If they have already been there, we are one step too late..."
Tang Mianmian was also a little nervous: "It shouldn't be that serious, right? They should have searched other places as well. They shouldn't have searched the attic first, right?"
Xiao Tangqiu smiled bitterly, "I hope so. If we hadn't gone up to the attic with Shen Yuan, we should have gone back to the music box room. There might be clues in there."
Tang Mianmian muttered, "It could also be a trap... What do you think is in the attic?"
Xiao Tangqiu blinked: "The crazy woman in the attic?"
Tang Mianmian immediately understood what Xiao Tangqiu meant: "Do you think Lepnobet locked Maria up in the attic?"
Xiao Tangqiu said calmly, "It could also be Lepnobet's third wife, who has never appeared before."
"That makes sense!" Tang Mianmian nodded. Inspired by Xiao Tangqiu's suggestion, his imagination blossomed. "Maybe it could be Lili Marlene!"
A moment later, the two finally arrived at the attic of the castle. As expected, the attic door was locked with a sturdy brass lock.
Xiao Tangqiu studied the brass lock. "No one should have been here before... But it's strange. The lock is rusted and the keyhole is blocked. No one must have opened it in a long time. Could it be that I'm wrong and there's no one locked up inside?"
"But I think you're right."
"If Lepnobet really locked people in the attic, there should at least be a place to deliver food or something. Can the people in there go without food and drink?" Xiao Tangqiu retorted subconsciously. Halfway through his rebuttal, he suddenly realized that something seemed wrong... The voice just now didn't seem to be Tang Mianmian's voice.
Xiao Tangqiu turned his head and found that the man in the windbreaker had stood behind him at some point, playing with the scalpel in his hand with a smile.
He was startled, and Tang Mianmian next to him was also frightened and sat down on the floor.
"You two rookies are really brave. You actually dared to come up to the attic." The man in the windbreaker looked at Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian with a smile. "Don't you know that the braver you are, the faster you die?"
Xiao Tangqiu was originally a little afraid of the man in the windbreaker, but after seeing Shen Yuan not far away, he was suddenly not afraid anymore, and even felt inexplicably relieved.
"You...you...what do you want..." Tang Mianmian immediately became intimidated. "Don't be fooled by my appearance. I'm actually very strong! If I punch you...I don't know what will happen!"
The man in the windbreaker smiled and said, "Oh?" He casually bent the scalpel with two fingers, and then straightened it back out with a casual look on his face.
Tang Mianmian: "...Brother! I kneel down to you!"
Xiao Tangqiu took a step forward, standing in front of Tang Mianmian, and said calmly, "What do you want?"
The man in the windbreaker shrugged. "We don't want to do anything. We just wanted to go in and take a look, but you're blocking the way."
"We'll get out of the way right away. We won't be in the way." Xiao Tangqiu frowned slightly, "But we want to follow you and take a look inside the attic..."
"Oh? Are you trying to negotiate terms with us?" The man in the windbreaker curled his lips. "You're trying to negotiate terms with us?"
Xiao Tangqiu pursed her lips and said, "Of course not. I just want to tell you. Otherwise, it would seem a bit rude."
"So you're not negotiating terms with us, but informing us?" The man in the windbreaker blinked, looking incredulous. "Do you know who I am?"
Xiao Tangqiu blinked: "...I don't know yet."
"You don't even know who I am?" The man in the windbreaker widened his eyes, pointing the scalpel in his hand directly at Xiao Tangqiu's nose. "Is it because I'm not famous enough, or are you just too ignorant?"
"...This is only our second dungeon mission," Xiao Tangqiu said cautiously, "We are really newbies."
"It seems you're just ignorant," the man in the windbreaker suddenly narrowed his eyes. "That's not right. You guys just entered the game not long ago? And your second mission is an S-rank mission? How is that possible?"
Xiao Tangqiu was stunned for a moment: "Why not? Is there any reason for this?"
"Of course! This crappy game is just like the games we play in the real world. It starts off difficult and then gets easier, with the difficulty increasing gradually. Everyone starts with D-level missions, and only after countless trials and tribulations are they eligible to take on S-level missions...except for a few perverts." The man in the windbreaker subconsciously glanced at Shen Yuan, then glared at Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian. "Everyone's mission level is basically in line with their own level, so it's unlikely they'll take on missions above their level. How could you two rookies get an S-level mission on your second mission?"
A girl interrupted the man in the windbreaker. She frowned and said, "Not necessarily. The system assigns tasks based on the player's qualities, talents, and potential. If a player has particularly good potential, it's possible that they can skip levels and receive an S-level task early."
"But do you think these two rookies look particularly promising?" The man in the windbreaker curled his lips.
Another girl said nonchalantly, "Maybe they have items or skill cards that force you to accept S-rank quests."
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