Chapter 140 Cruel Hope
Ah Zhenlan's appearance was extremely similar to Atalan's, but her temperament was completely different. When she sat in the dim palace and raised her eyes to look at him, there was a kind of eerie and sad beauty in her, like a frozen white rose stained with blood.
Not to mention the shock of the tourists on site, even the audience separated by a screen couldn't help but hold their breath.
——Wow, what a wonderful place Fantasy Park is! There are so many beauties here!
——A fake fantasy paradise: fighting monsters, games, and delicious food, a real fantasy paradise: my harem.
——Ball Paradise, please keep this copy after the event ends. If you missed Atelan, you must not miss Azhenlan!
Inside the dungeon, An Shilian and the others were momentarily stunned by the strange beauty. But the next moment, a timely voice reminder brought them back to their senses.
Dear warriors, a hidden mission has begun. Find Ah Zhenlan's secret and bring it out of the room. The first team to complete the mission will have their activity points doubled.
This warning broadcast echoed throughout all the open illusions. Whether those still wandering the former Thorns Empire capital or those who had already quietly infiltrated the palace, everyone heard it. However, An Shilian's team was far ahead of the rest, as they had already seen the core of this illusion, the evil spirit Ah Zhenlan.
Xia Qingqing: "How do we find Ah Zhenlan's secret?"
Zhang Hua: "Let's rescue Ma Xiaoxiao while we search! There's strength in numbers."
He Jing: "Liao Aiguo, don't you know Atalan? Why don't you talk to A Zhenlan about Atalan and see if you can get her secrets out."
Ah Zhenlan: ...
She couldn't hear the broadcast, but the extraordinary people in front of her began to discuss their plan to attack her in front of her. Her face darkened when she heard this, and she flicked her sleeves. Except for Liao Aiguo, everyone present was blasted out by an invisible force.
Liao Aiguo was the only one left in the huge palace. He didn't know why. It was clearly a game and the person in front of him was an NPC, but when Liao Aiguo faced her alone, he unconsciously became nervous and felt a little stressed.
Ah Zhenlan: "Your name is Liao Aiguo? Do you know Ah Tailan?"
Liao Aiguo nodded hesitantly, "Yes, yes."
Ah Zhenlan: "Tell me about Ah Tailan!"
Liao Aiguo: "...where?"
Ah Zhenlan uttered two words, "All."
Elsewhere, An Shilian and his companions' vision darkened and then brightened as they found themselves near Atelan's prison. The guards, still searching, rushed over with weapons drawn upon seeing them. They had intended to unleash their full might in a fierce battle, but they discovered that each guard was accompanied by a Purple-Eyed Thorns, mastering his abilities with ease. With the exception of An Shilian, the others were completely defeated. They were captured and thrown into the prison.
The good news was that they were imprisoned with Ma Xiaoxiao, which was considered a team reunion. The bad news was that the prison in the Thorns Empire was very strong, and they could not find a way to escape in a short time.
——I feel that this dungeon is very difficult. Almost all the teams that have entered it so far have been wiped out. They have either been captured or are on the way to being captured.
——If you don’t sneak into the palace, you won’t have the chance to meet the core NPC Ah Zhenlan. If you sneak into the palace, you will be caught by the guards. There is no solution!
——Meeting Ah Zhenlan may not necessarily break the deadlock. Of the six people in the team who have met Ah Zhenlan so far, four were thrown into jail, one was left behind by Ah Zhenlan as a storyteller, and the last one became a lone wolf.
——Hold on, big boss! Hope is on you now.
An Shilian, the top leader on the list, tried hard for half an hour, but found that she could not break through the prison guards and rescue her teammates by herself, so she decided to act alone.
Unlike others, she knew part of the truth about the world, and also knew that the NPCs in the so-called copies were not NPCs at all, so she was more cautious than anyone else. Other tourists were caught not because they were stupid, but because they treated this as a game and were careless and did whatever they wanted, but she couldn't do that.
Relying on her own strength, An Shilian carefully climbed over the walls and successfully sneaked into the core area of the palace. Every time she climbed over a wall, she would judge the location and collect information. At the same time, she did not forget to explain her purpose to the audience in the live broadcast room, hoping that someone would see this and combine the information she got to find out Ah Zhenlan's secret more quickly.
"Azhenlan and Atelan have similar names and look very similar, so they must be related. Atelan is the seventh prince of the Thorns Empire, so Azhenlan's residence should be the same as Atelan's, in the core area of the palace."
So she ignored the residences of the palace servants and guards and went straight to the residences of the princes, princesses and the emperor.
"The palace that Ah Zhenlan brought us into before was empty, there was nothing in it, and Ah Zhenlan drove us all out. Obviously, that would not be the place to complete the mission." As she spoke, she avoided the palace servants and patrolling guards and successfully sneaked into a palace that looked very luxurious.
The interior was furnished with animal skins, pottery, wood, silk, gems, and a strange musical instrument.
While the audience thought it was a creation of the fantasy park and marveled at the park's meticulous attention to detail, An Shilian knew it was a treasure trove of civilization left behind from the real world. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything related to "secrets" in the palace.
This continued for several palaces, and the audience grew annoyed, feeling that the park's design wasn't rational this time around, and that they should have had a light-up reminder, like they had in the previous exploration of Malki's room.
An Shilian wasn't the least bit anxious, and continued to tell the audience in the live broadcast room, "If any later contestants see this, just take note. They won't have to look for these places anymore."
After she finished speaking, she was about to go to the next palace room when she heard footsteps suddenly. An Shilian threw herself forward, rolled behind the screen beside the big bed, and then faced the toilet that was emitting a strange smell.
An Shilian: ...
Audience: ...There’s no need to be so realistic.
What was surprising was that the person who came in was Ah Zhenlan!
Unlike the cold and gloomy Ah Zhenlan seen before, the Ah Zhenlan in front of him was obviously younger and more energetic. She was wearing combat leather armor and had obviously just returned from the battlefield. Her body was covered with dust and blood.
But these people were not her enemies, but her own, because the monsters they fought did not leave any blood, whether injured or dead. She was also accompanied by two doctors and a maid. After treating her and changing her clothes, they left.
Before the last maid left, she glanced at her hesitantly and said, "The Fifth and Eighth Princes are gone. Now you are the only one left in the empire. Sixth Prince, please don't be too sad."
She is indeed Atelan’s sister!
An Shilian hid behind the screen, his eyes fixed on Ah Zhenlan.
Ah Zhenlan looked to be in her twenties. She sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought. After a moment, she picked up a ceramic doll on the bedside table and whispered, "Today on the battlefield, my fifth sister and eighth brother also died. They were just one step away from leaving the battlefield, just one step..."
Her voice was low, seemingly emotionless, but tears rolled down her cheeks. "I had eight brothers and sisters, and now I'm the only one left. It's so strange. I thought I wouldn't cry anymore..."
She didn't have many emotions or words, but the extreme sadness and pain were conveyed to everyone who saw this scene. An Shilian just watched silently without taking any action.
Ah Zhenlan seemed to regard the ceramic doll in her hand as the only person to confide in.
"I want to go see Atalan. He has been locked up there for eight years. I wonder what he has become..." At this moment, an extremely subtle knock on the window was heard.
Someone had quietly knocked on the window instead of going through the main entrance. An Shilian initially thought his teammates had escaped from prison and were looking for him. Ah Zhenlan, upon hearing the sound, raised her hand and wiped her face. In an instant, the sadness on her face vanished along with her tears. She looked calm and composed, the same cold-faced warrior she had been before the medical officers.
Opening the window and seeing the young man, Ah Zhenlan was shocked and said, "Duo Lanzhu, how dare you come here! Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"
Duolanzhu was a young man who looked to be around twenty years old. He was very handsome, with clear and pure eyes, and he had the appearance of a white flower. Especially now that he was covered in dust and his hair was very messy, he actually exuded a kind of charming beauty.
As soon as he appeared, the audience burst into exclamations, saying that they finally understood what it felt like to be pitiful.
Facing Ah Zhenlan's questioning, Duo Lanzhu smiled happily, "Ah Zhenlan, I found a way to treat people infected by monsters!"
Ah Zhenlan stared at him blankly. Duo Lanzhu held her with one hand and said happily, "I found medicine to cure the monster pollution, Ah Tailan... and so many people infected by monsters, they can all be saved!"
Through a window, he hurriedly pulled open the sleeve of his left hand. Instead of five fingers, his left hand had transformed into something resembling a snake's tail. However, he was delighted and pointed at his elbow, saying, "It was here before, but now it's retreated to my palm! Ah Zhenlan, we're saved!"
Ah Zhenlan was stunned for a moment, touched Duolanzhu's elbow in disbelief, and then carefully touched his palm. The ray of hope lit up in her dry eyes again.
Ah Zhenlan repeatedly confirmed the authenticity of the information. Duo Lanzhu said, "I've already tried this on several people, and it's proven to be effective!" He became increasingly excited as he spoke. "Let's go tell His Majesty right now, tell everyone. Everyone is saved! I don't have to hide anymore!"
Looking at their excited departure, An Shilian, hiding behind the screen, looked at them with pity. Because everyone knew that Atelan had been imprisoned for ten years, and until the demise of Thorns, there was no news of his rescue.
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