Chapter 105, Dungeon 2: Rose Manor...
Yu Meiling didn't expect to see her daughter when she pushed open the door. She quickly walked over, her eyes reddening, and looked her daughter up and down after not seeing her for several days. "Why have you lost so much weight?"
She didn't ask where her daughter had gone or what she had gone through; she just wanted her daughter to come back safely.
Xu Yi looked at her mother and learned from her that she had only been in the strange world for three days, but a month had passed here.
[The time flow in some instances of the eerie world differs from your world's, while in others it's the same, depending on the instance manager's settings. The time flow in the eerie world you're participating in this time is one to ten, which is thirty days.]
After asking the system, Xiang Bei told Xu Yi about the situation.
That is, one day there is equivalent to ten days here. Three days in the instance is equivalent to a month in the real world.
Hearing her mother's concerned words, Xu Yi also felt sad.
It's her fault; she made her mother worry about her.
"Mom, I'm hungry."
"Mom will have Aunt Zhang make you something delicious right away: sweet and sour pork ribs, braised prawns, what else would you like to eat?"
"I want to eat my mom's stewed beef brisket."
"Okay, Mom will make it for you."
Watching her mother leave, Xu Yi sat on the bed in a daze, "If I go back, will I still be able to run into Miao Xin?"
[It's different; dungeons are all random. If you're lucky, you'll definitely run into them.]
Xu Yi nodded until her father came to call her for dinner.
Mr. Xu had only rushed home after his wife told him that their daughter had returned, canceling a meeting. Seeing his daughter standing safely in front of him, he felt much more at ease.
As children grow up, they develop their own ideas, and as parents, we should definitely support them.
It was a place they didn't know, and they were still worried about the child's safety.
Compared to Zhao Chang, his precious daughter clearly handled things much better; before leaving, she knew to inform them and ask for their consent.
I heard that the Zhao couple are searching everywhere for their missing son.
Xu's father didn't tell Xu Yi about these upsetting things. Zhao Chang was irresponsible and just left, so they couldn't be left to clean up the mess.
It was during dinner that Xu Yi learned that her father had actually told others that she was going to Germany to improve her academic qualifications.
Xu Yi almost spat out the sweet and sour pork ribs in her mouth.
My dad really knows how to talk. Going to Germany to study is really a great place.
Considering how long she had been in the instance, Xu Yi didn't say anything. She didn't know when she would be able to return next.
Whether you go to study in Germany or not, everyone knows that the return date is uncertain.
Mr. Xu said, "I hired some reporters to publish an announcement dissolving your relationship with Zhao Chang. Xiaoyi, from now on you and that boy are no longer engaged. If you find other boys you like, go ahead and date them. Don't worry about anything."
The boy you like?
Xu Yi really let her thoughts wander a bit. You can't just date any boy in the supernatural world, because you never know when you might turn into a monster.
Thinking of that scene, Xu Yi silently suppressed her thoughts.
No, she's not interested in boys right now.
In addition to publishing notices in newspapers, the company also used its official website account to distance itself from the Zhao family.
Even if Zhao Chang suddenly appeared right now, it wouldn't make a difference.
Both families were prominent figures. Zhao Chang had abandoned his daughter and ran away in that situation, completely disregarding the gossip that would follow. Xu's father felt he didn't need to give the Zhao family any face.
By the time of the wedding, the two families had already fallen out.
Xu Yi listened as her parents recounted some of the things that had happened during the month she was away.
Zhao Chang went to the Infinite Flow World, so naturally his parents couldn't find their precious son.
Zhao's mother, Yang Mei, visited several times, hoping to find Xu Yi. However, after hearing that Xu Yi had gone to Germany to pursue further education, she left dejectedly.
Xu Yi herself didn't have any particular thoughts on this. She could even guess what Zhao Chang's mother would say, which would be nothing more than telling her to wait for Zhao Chang, as he probably had his reasons.
The other person probably thought that by having her wait with them, she could feel some comfort as a mother.
"Hmph, that's not true at all." Yu Meiling snorted. "Zhao Chang's father had an affair outside, and she gave birth to a son and a daughter for him. The daughter is only two years younger than Zhao Chang. Ever since Zhao Chang disappeared, the two children have been taken back."
Yu Meiling held her daughter's hand and said, "Yang Mei wants to take advantage of our family's momentum to suppress her own man."
Xu Yi understood her mother's words. If she, the only daughter of the Xu family, made her stance clear and waited wholeheartedly for Zhao Chang, then Zhao's father, out of respect for the Xu family, would not dare to openly reveal his other women and children.
Thinking about this, Xu Yi couldn't help but feel nauseous.
No wonder Zhao Chang's mother kept urging her to wait on the wedding day; she probably weighed the pros and cons back then.
This mother and son are really quite calculating.
As for Yang Mei discovering that her husband had been cheating on her for a long time and had even openly brought other women and children home, and how she caused such a commotion, Yu Meiling gave a brief account.
They don't care about other people's troubles.
"Eat more, and nourish yourself properly." Yu Meiling served her daughter a bowl of soup.
Xu Yi stayed at home for two days and didn't go out to see her friends. After all, she was now seen as studying abroad, so it wasn't appropriate for her to go out casually, otherwise it would be difficult to explain her father's words.
I don't know why, but I started having nightmares again when I went to sleep at night.
I had nightmares in that instance before. I only vaguely remember them from the first night, and I dreamed about them again afterward, but I forgot them when I woke up.
Unexpectedly, she had another nightmare on her first night back home.
This time, she was grabbed by the monster and her limbs were twisted. The monster had many hands on its body, and it seemed to be trying to tear her arms off.
Xu Yi was in a lot of pain from the pulling, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
[Xu Yi, Xu Yi, can you see me?]
In her hazy state, she seemed to see a line of words, but the pain made her vision blurry, and she couldn't make out what the words were.
Xiang Bei flexed her wrist and looked at the strange creature that had grabbed Xu Yi.
Then he slapped it, sending the monster flying.
Xu Yi lay on the ground, panting heavily.
Are you alright?
Xu Yi nodded, propping herself up on her arms as she tried to get up, only to find that her arms were covered in deep scratches.
Am I still dreaming?
Yes, someone used props to transfer the pain they experienced onto you.
Xiang Bei said.
The system learns information from other systems and synchronizes it to Xiang Bei's side.
"Zhao Chang! You bastard! I'll make sure you die in this weird world."
When Xu Yi touched the injured area, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Even if she has cheat codes, it can't stop her from being ravaged like this in her dreams every night.
As for the person who transferred the pain onto her, Xu Yi really couldn't think of anyone else besides Zhao Chang who would do such a thing.
The monster looked at Xu Yi as he approached, its expression somewhat bewildered. It had clearly been trying to grab a man.
Xu Yi stood up, strode over, grabbed the ghost by the neck, and twisted its head around. "Did you see clearly? Am I the person you're trying to catch?"
The ghost had seen many humans enter dungeons, but this was the first time it had ever seen such a ferocious human.
Moreover, this woman possessed a terrifying aura.
No, it's not.
Before it even understood what was going on, it was picked up and told, "Go back, grab that damn man, and kill him."
Xu Yi felt something was wrong again. "Don't kill him. Leave him alive. I want to kill him myself."
"To die or not to live?" the eerie voice asked.
"Half-dead, understand?"
"I understand," Gui nodded, which was also one of its strengths.
Xu Yi released her grip, the ghost disappeared, and she woke up from her dream.
Are you alright?
Xu Yi scratched her head; she wasn't feeling well.
The thought of that bastard Zhao Chang plotting against her behind her back made her want to tear him to pieces.
"Why didn't I have such a strong reaction when I dreamed about it before?" Xu Yi asked, puzzled.
[Previously in the eerie world, the cheat system on you automatically protected you, so it wasn't very noticeable. After returning to the normal world, the cheat system's power will weaken accordingly. You'll feel uncomfortable in your dreams, but your life won't be threatened.]
Xu Yi nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
Don't worry, I've reset the cheat settings. You won't experience these things anymore, no matter where you are.
"Could we keep a little bit of it?" Xu Yi thought. She could use the ghost to find out Zhao Chang's whereabouts and determine whether he was dead or not.
Okay, I'll reset it for you.
In the following days, Xu Yi would still dream of ghosts, but she would no longer be hurt like before; instead, it would be like watching a movie.
That bastard Zhao Chang is really lucky; he managed to escape time and time again.
Xiang Bei didn't know how to explain it, but the main reason she was able to escape was because of her protagonist aura.
Without Xu Yi, the female lead, to shield the male lead from most of the damage in his dreams, the male lead's aura drops to 89%.
The system team must have pulled some strings, because it took several days for things to finally move.
When he returned, he handed a stack of cards to Xiang Bei, saying, "Host, I've taken care of everything. There definitely won't be any problems this time."
"What is this?" Xiang Bei asked, looking at the transparent, shiny card in her hand.
"This is a pass to the Ghost Realm. Once you clear one instance, you won't be refused entry by the instance manager when you move on to the next. Don't worry, we've already made arrangements. Seeing this card is like seeing the administrator."
Xiang Bei was somewhat skeptical, "Will it really work?"
"Host, how can you not trust the system? This is a pass I went through a lot of trouble to find. Do you know how many connections I used?"
"Okay, okay, I know, Tong, you're the best." Xiang Bei didn't want to waste any more words with it.
"Hmph, that's more like it." The system didn't notice Xiang Bei's perfunctory attitude and was quite proud of itself.
Xiang Bei gave the card to Xu Yi.
[This is a Ghost Realm Pass. After clearing one dungeon, you'll need to consume one pass to enter the next. The dungeon leader will then recognize you as a quest participant.]
"I understand, thank you."
Those passes were directly absorbed into Xu Yi's palm, and would only appear when she needed them.
Xu Yi said goodbye to her parents and then went through the door to the Ghost Realm that the system had opened for her.
A flash of white light appeared before Xu Yi's eyes, and he found himself standing in front of a manor.
The manor is filled with fiery red roses.
While she was still in a daze, others arrived one after another, and they all looked at the manor in front of them with somewhat troubled expressions.
Although the roses were in full bloom, there was an inexplicable eeriness about the manor. The surrounding environment was somewhat dark, which made the roses in the manor appear even more vibrant red.
Xu Yi stood at the back of the crowd.
Now, everything in her eyes, except the mission takers, is gray, including the roses.
The atmosphere here was already somewhat oppressive, and there was even a faint smell of blood in the air.
The smell of blood?
Xu Yi felt that the bloody smell seemed to be emanating from the roses.
More people came to this instance than last time.
Some of the participants knew each other, but most did not.
The group stood at the entrance of the Rose Manor but did not go inside.
There was a young man watching her, but when Xu Yi looked back, he looked away again.
However, Xu Yi was certain that she had never met the other party.
She knew she was good-looking, but the other person's gaze wasn't one of amazement, but rather one of inquiry.
It's as if I know her.
Before Xu Yi could think it through properly...
Then I heard an electronic speaker.
[The initial mission consisted of eleven people; the current number of survivors is eleven.]
Welcome to the "Rose Manor" dungeon, an S-rank dungeon. The manor's owner is a very hospitable nobleman who loves to entertain guests from afar. He will prepare various items made from roses for each guest.
If a player survives for seven days in this instance, the instance is considered cleared.
Soon, several rules appeared in front of them.
The survival rules for Rose Manor are as follows:
Rule 1: Please do not damage any roses in the Rose Garden, except for withered roses.
Rule Two: The owner of Rose Manor is very hospitable, but now there are only butlers and maids in the manor.
Rule Three: Please do not touch the locked rooms without permission. Those are the master's bedrooms, and he does not like other people's presence on his territory. If you are discovered doing so, the owner of the manor will be very angry.
Rule 4: If you see the butler holding a red rose, you can ask him for a suitable weapon.
Rule Five: If you are injured, do not expose your wound to red roses.
Finally, I wish all players good luck in completing the mission.
After the electronic sound disappeared, a countdown appeared above their heads.
The gates of the ancient castle suddenly opened.
The butler led the maids from the manor over and said politely yet distantly, "Welcome to Rose Manor. The master has instructed that I will be in charge of entertaining you for the next few days. We have prepared a meal for you, please enjoy it."
The butler was about to lead everyone into the castle.
Roses were everywhere in the manor, even the walls of the castle were entwined with them.
The roses were beautiful, with water droplets on them, looking crystal clear, as if they were enticing someone to pick them.
One of the mission participants couldn't resist reaching out and touching the rose. It wouldn't have been a problem at first, but someone behind her bumped into her, and her finger was scratched by a thorn on the rose.
The drops of blood fell to the ground and quickly disappeared.
The person on the mission, who had been covering his injured finger, suddenly stopped moving and remained still.
Everyone looked over and saw that, without anyone noticing, the rose branches had extended and wrapped around the tasker's legs, instantly dragging her into the rose bushes.
The person on the mission quickly disappeared.
Where she disappeared, the red roses seemed to appear more vibrant.
Currently, ten mission participants are still alive.
Everyone's expression changed drastically.
Rule 5: If you are injured, do not expose the wound to the roses.
No one asked how the mission taker was doing; they already knew the outcome.
The butler's smile remained unchanged.
The group followed the butler into the castle.
Xu Yi walked at the back. She had been bumped by someone earlier, the same man who had looked at her earlier.
She was certain that the person did it on purpose.
She scratched her hand on a rose thorn, and a bead of blood appeared.
The rose vines smelled the blood and reached out to wrap around her legs, just like the mission taker had done, to drag her into the rose bushes.
Xu Yi stretched out her foot and stepped on the vines, crushing them little by little until they silently retreated.
Another vine boldly reached out, trying to wrap around her wrist, but Xu Yi reached out and pulled it away, snapping it off and crushing it.
He casually tossed it into the rose bushes.
The butler suddenly turned around, looked past the crowd, and his gaze fell on Xu Yi.
Then I looked at the roses swaying gently in the wind.
No, it wasn't swaying, it was trembling.
The butler suddenly said something that was hard to understand.
Xu Yi understood because he had a cheat code.
The butler said that a very important guest had arrived at the manor.
She followed behind the crowd nonchalantly, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the man who had bumped into her earlier.
She didn't know the other person at all, but that person wanted to harm her.
The group followed the butler into the castle. The outside was decorated with red roses, obscuring its appearance. The inside was also adorned with red roses, and the layout reflected the style of an ancient noble family.
Even the fireplace is carved with roses.
However, the owner of the manor is not here now.
The food was prepared in advance, and the long table was set with food covered with lids.
The candles illuminated the castle brightly.
They were seated.
The maid opened the lid in front of them, revealing the food inside, with bright red rose petals scattered around.
The bread is made from roses, and even the spread on the bread is rose jam.
The maid opened a bottle of rosé wine and poured it into a wine glass next to her.
Even the wine glasses are printed with rose patterns.
Everything seemed so harmonious.
However, apart from Xu Yi, the other nine people didn't dare to eat those things at all, even though the rules didn't say they couldn't eat anything.
Xu Yi knew there was no problem, or rather, the rules didn't mention anything about food, so anything she ate was normal.
But she has no way of making sure that other people are eating normal food.
Seeing that Xu Yi had eaten, everyone looked over. After waiting for a while and seeing that she had eaten without any problems, they picked up their knives and forks and started eating.
After the meal, the butler arranged rooms for everyone.
Even the room was decorated with carved roses and fresh roses.
There are also oil paintings of red roses hanging in the corridor, it seems that the owner of the manor really loves red roses.
The butler chuckled, "Rose is the master's life."
Xu Yi looked out the window of her room and saw nothing but red roses in the manor.
This is the second floor, and even outside the window, there are red roses arranged on frames.
The first missing mission participant had made it very clear to them that the roses in the manor were not ordinary roses, and if they broke the rules, they would become the nourishment for the roses.
All the participants rested in their rooms for the night.
Some people were so nervous that they couldn't sleep all night.
Some people sleep very well.
Xu Yi slept very well, but she was a little annoyed because the small injury on her hand always caused some trouble.
Xiang Bei gave her a knife, and Xu Yi used those knives to cut and chop up the trouble that was coming, then threw them out the window.
Those troubles never came back.
It was good; I had a dreamless night.
When she went to have breakfast, there were only two or three people at the table. Because she didn't know them, she didn't greet them.
They're still sitting in the same seats they were in yesterday.
They are unwilling to try things that are not bound by rules.
Xu Yi sat down at the dining table, where a loaf of bread, freshly baked that morning and still adorned with roses, was laid out.
A whole rose is steeping in an exquisite cup.
Xu Yi ate slowly; it was a good thing that there were no penalties after the countdown ended.
After a while, the others also came down from the second floor.
One of the mission take a bite of bread, frowned, scooped a spoonful of rose jam onto the bread, took another bite, and then spat it out.
"What is this? It's so sweet and disgusting. Only women would like to eat this kind of thing. Give me something else."
The rules didn't say anything about not being able to change food, and the man seized on this point and spoke recklessly.
The butler smiled and replaced the man's food with a different one, but what was served was exactly the same food as before.
"Damn it, are you kidding me?" the man said, grabbing the butler's collar.
The butler was about 1.9 meters tall, and the man was not even as tall as the butler. He originally wanted to grab the butler's collar to show off his power, but he couldn't get it up, which made him feel very embarrassed.
Finally, he turned his attention to the maid who was only half a head taller than him, picked up a plate and threw it at her.
"What kind of bullshit mission is this? I don't believe you would actually dare to kill me if I didn't break the rules!" the man yelled at the butler.
He picked up a plate and smashed it over the maid's head. The maid fell to the ground covered in blood. The butler still had a smile on his lips, but his gaze was icy as he looked at her.
The man realized something was wrong, but before he could speak, the butler's figure rapidly expanded, becoming larger and larger. Then he grabbed the man by the neck, lifted him up, and threw him into the rose garden outside.
Rule Two: The owner of Rose Manor is very hospitable, but now there are only butlers and maids in the manor.
This can be interpreted as the owner not being home, and the person in charge of the household being the housekeeper.
If you offend the butler and maid, you'll be thrown to the roses as fertilizer.
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