It was so quiet, so very quiet.
Xiao Cheng blinked hard, somewhat confused, but still couldn't see anything. It was as if she was completely isolated in another space, and all she could hear was her own breathing.
Then, relying on the fleeting memory she had just glimpsed, she tentatively reached out and touched the side, successfully finding a dried-up rat carcass.
Xiao Cheng: "..." This is absolutely terrible.
Fortunately, there was a wall not far from the rat carcass. The space here was not large, probably similar to a prison, but I can only say that I have never seen such a dark and sunless prison.
"Is anyone home?" She groped her way to the door and pounded on the iron gate, making a loud clanging sound. "Is anyone home?! Fang He, where are you? Can you hear me?!"
There was no response.
Xiao Cheng's ears ached from the shock, so she reluctantly abandoned this clumsy method and quietly stood against the wall, quickly organizing the current clues.
First, Fang He wasn't nearby. After all, anyone who wasn't deaf could hear the commotion, and if he could hear it, he would have responded.
Secondly, there's the matter of their own identities. Combining what the officer said when he arrested them, and the whispers they overheard on the way, it seemed that both Fang He and they were chosen guests to attend the princess's party, which was likely related to the so-called devil.
That's very strange.
Locking guests in a dungeon—what kind of ingenious way of hospitality is that?
She was also somewhat concerned about the "different aura" that the officer had mentioned earlier.
Is it the presence of players?
She felt as if she had vaguely grasped a clue, but before she could fully understand it, she heard a beeping alarm in her ear.
Suddenly, a blurry projection appeared on the opposite wall. First, there was a distant view of an ancient castle, and then the camera zoomed in to reveal a princess standing on a high windowsill, spreading her arms as if she were flying.
She wore an exceptionally gorgeous court dress, and her long, shiny blonde hair cascaded down from the windowsill to almost the ground.
The prince's body lay on the ground, riddled with wounds.
Blood was everywhere.
Her long hair fluttered gently in the wind, then it began to move more and more violently, as if it had come alive.
She really came back to life.
The screen suddenly jolted, and all the strands of hair instantly transformed into worms with fine, sharp teeth. They eagerly surged toward the prince's corpse, almost completely enveloping him in a cocoon.
They devoured flesh and blood, leaving only bare bones in the blink of an eye, their internal organs completely emptied.
The screen suddenly jolted again.
The entire projection was covered with a blood-red filter.
The princess on the tower screamed in panic. Staring at the prince's skeleton, she was stunned for a long time before finally accepting the fact. She cried out in anguish and went up to the tower.
The story ends abruptly here.
The image vanished instantly, paused for a few seconds, and then slowly appeared on the wall as a blood-soaked handwritten letter.
"You are a guest personally chosen by the princess. You have been invited to find the real culprit who murdered her fiancé."
"You must conceal your identity and begin your investigation at the princess's party."
"On the first day of the party, you will dress up in your finest clothes and arrive at 8 o'clock sharp."
In the upper right corner of the projection, a simple clock pattern appeared, with the second hand ticking away. The time was 6:37.
Xiao Cheng certainly didn't think it was morning.
In other words, she has one hour and twenty-three minutes left to run out of here and arrive at the venue, which she doesn't even know where it is, right on time.
And importantly, they also dressed up in their finest clothes.
This task is indeed quite difficult, but without a doubt, if she fails to complete it, she will suffer a fate similar to that of the prince.
Without time to waste, Xiao Cheng used the projected light to search for other ways out of the cramped cell besides the main door.
As if suddenly remembering something, her gaze shifted sharply to the rat carcass. Then she squatted down, moved the rat carcass aside, tapped the floor tiles with her fingers, and carefully listened to the tapping sound.
Sure enough, something was wrong.
She looked enlightened and began to feel along the edge of the floor tiles inch by inch, finally finding a very inconspicuous small crack.
There was a cracking sound.
The entire floor tile suddenly caved in, then bounced outwards, creating a tunnel entrance that was just big enough for one person to pass through.
Below was pitch black, with the rope ladder hanging down only vaguely visible. The pungent smell of dust and mildew mingled together, irritating Xiao Cheng's nasal passages and causing her to sneeze forcefully twice.
Thankfully, there were no spider webs.
She reassured herself, then held her breath, tentatively climbed the rope ladder, and shakily began to descend into the tunnel.
Fortunately, the height wasn't too outrageous. Below was a deep and narrow passageway, still dark, with something sticky underfoot. When Xiao Cheng landed, he slipped and instinctively braced himself against the stone walls on either side, resulting in his palms getting covered in damp moss.
She endured her nausea and continued walking.
Since there were rat carcasses on it, it meant that there were some rather unpleasant little pets in there, but perhaps she was lucky and didn't encounter anything.
The passageway soon came to an end, where a rope ladder still hung down. A faint light shone from above. Fearing someone might be outside, Xiao Cheng moved slowly as she continued upwards. She stopped just before reaching the top, not rushing to climb up, but cautiously looking up to see what was happening.
It looks like a warehouse.
As far as the eye can see, there are large baskets of ingredients, from meat to vegetables to fruits, all neatly arranged and packed full.
A delicate wall lamp hung on the wall, its candlelight flickering and casting a long shadow.
Fortunately, no one was there.
Xiao Cheng didn't hear anything else, so she breathed a slight sigh of relief and then climbed out. She was a little hungry after all that commotion, so she grabbed a pear and started eating it, but couldn't help spitting it out after just one bite.
She swore she had never eaten such a bad pear in her life; biting into it felt like swallowing a mouthful of cigarette ash—bland, tasteless, and pungent.
This is simply not fit for human consumption.
Then she discovered that this really wasn't food for humans.
Through the slightly ajar door of the warehouse, she saw two humanoid monsters dressed as maids lying silently on the ground, one on each side, perfectly still.
Then the shrill alarm clock suddenly went off.
They were suddenly awakened, and together they lifted a large fruit platter and hurriedly ran outside.
The moment they stepped out the door, they suddenly transformed back into normal maids.
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