Chapter Twenty-Five: The First Round of the Game

Page 1 of 3

"Respected Ms. White Crow:

In accordance with your wishes, I entered the 'Rose Manor' dungeon to explore, and I have achieved significant results.

I have found the traces and relics of that existence. His honorable name is:
'The Lord of All Gods, exiled beyond the rules of the world;
The Master of Souls, holding the authority over contracts and transactions;
A Great Existence, older than the dawn of history.'

The dungeon NPC, Miss Anna, once traded with Him, and I am inclined to believe in the authenticity of this title. I hope that this time, our ritual will succeed.

There were some twists during the process; someone beat me to deciphering the rules and killed me within the dungeon. That person was very cautious, and I could not see his face.

Barring any accidents, three players will survive, identifying themselves as Chang Xu, Qi Si, and Lin Chen. The former two both have suspicious traits, and I suggest the Church pays close attention to them.

I can no longer return to Xiangcheng to see you. I only hope that my death may serve as a step on the stairway to the Apocalypse.

The uncanny shall eventually run rampant in the world, and the mysterious shall eventually descend upon the earth.

Having seen His statue, I die without regrets.

Yan"

In a villa district far from the bustling city, in an elegantly decorated study, Zou Yan sat at her desk, typing line after line into an email.

After checking it once to ensure there were no errors or omissions, she clicked "Send."

An automatic reply reading "Received" appeared in her inbox. Zou Yan gripped the edge of the desk, used her arms to support her weight, and stood up, stumbling toward the bedroom.

Whether it was from the fear of death or the icy chill of her life force draining away, she began to tremble.

Her body felt impossibly heavy, and her teeth chattered incessantly, making a "clacking" sound.

Fortunately, the distance from the study to the bedroom was short, and she managed to collapse onto the bed before she lost all ability to move.

She no longer had the strength to pull up the quilt. She lay on her back, staring at a single point on the ceiling, as if trying to etch something deep into her vision.

Blood overflowed from her nose and mouth. She licked a drop and found it salty.

The Uncanny Game forces players to die in reality through plausible means. Zou Yan wandered through aimless speculations about which terminal illness was currently taking hold of her.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth, attempting a peaceful smile, but tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.

Perhaps there are people in this world who can face death with composure, but she was certainly not one of them.

She knew that sacrifice was necessary and possessed the resolve of a martyr, but as the end truly arrived, a thousand regrets surged into her heart.

She still wanted to witness the prophesied Last Judgment and the coming Apocalypse; she still wanted to walk in the light, laughing, chatting, listening to stories, and observing people; she still wanted to go to the church that had adopted her and see those children once more...

She did not want to die, but what other choice was there?

Her consciousness gradually sank into darkness. In the hazy, half-light of her fading mind, a fragment of memory that should have been erased from the depths of her consciousness became vivid.

It was the first round of the game in "Rose Manor."

Page 1 of 3

Page 2 of 3

...

Initially, there were nine players who entered the "Rose Manor" dungeon.

At the start of the dungeon, the nine people of the first round, much like the six remaining in the second round, sat around the long table and introduced themselves.

Among them, two claimed to be entering the dungeon for the third time; there was also a young girl who, despite being on her second run, possessed an item that could indicate clues.

By comparison, Chang Xu, Ye Zi, and the others seemed less remarkable.

Zou Yan had always followed a path of biding her time. With so many players capable of causing variables, she had no intention of showing her hand too early.

Using her professional skills, she observed everyone, constructing psychological profiles.

At first glance, she noticed Qi Si, who, like her, hid himself within the crowd.

The young man kept his eyes lowered, silent and still, yet the gaze behind his eyelashes followed every person who spoke, his deep, bottomless pupils reflecting the light of calculation.

He, too, was thinking and observing.

Later, when splitting into rooms with three people each, Zou Yan decisively invited Qi Si.

"Nine" was too large a number; in such a complex situation, she needed a rational and calm ally.

Qi Si agreed, and the two of them pulled in a newcomer, choosing Room 3 to reside in.

On the first night, Miss Anna went downstairs and knocked on each room's door.

The newcomer sharing their room was terrified and screamed, triggering the death condition as expected.

Vines tore through the door gap, attacking with overwhelming force. In the darkness, Zou Yan saw Qi Si’s eyes open slightly—terrifying like the pupils of a beast, bright like fire on an ice field.

The cold-faced young man did not even rise. In a single second, he pulled an awl from the special bracelet on his right hand and knocked the troublemaking newcomer unconscious.

The vines at the door continued to grow and spread, showing no intention of subsiding.

The young man sat up slowly. Without hesitation, he grabbed the collar of the unconscious newcomer and threw him toward the door.

The vines coiled around the newcomer and dragged him out of the room. The young man watched the scene with no extra expression.

At that moment, Zou Yan realized that this player named "Qi Si" was a person like her, a kindred spirit she had not seen for a long time.

She said, "Let's cooperate."

Qi Si tilted his head to look at her, and after a long moment, he smiled brilliantly, saying, "Sure."

It was a complete reversal from his previous cold mask. Clearly, he felt no joy, yet he smiled so happily; this sense of contradiction made Zou Yan feel intrigued.

She thought that the next three days would not be boring—Qi Si would be a fine subject for observation.

Complex situations often breed variables, and forcing a resolution to the world's lore would only add trouble. The two of them agreed without dissent to the plan of killing other players to trigger the "minimum death count" mechanism.

Things progressed smoothly. After killing one more person, they formed an alliance with Shen Ming and Ye Zi, creating a numerical advantage.

Chang Xu, Lin Chen, and the young girl named "Xu Xinyi" were no match for them and were quickly subdued.

Lin Chen and Xu Xinyi only knew how to cry, but Chang Xu had a foul, stubborn temper like a stone. He found an opportunity to snatch Qi Si's special bracelet and left a deep gash on his chest.

Page 2 of 3

Page 3 of 3

The others subdued Chang Xu in time, intending to throw him outside the ancient castle at night to let the dungeon mechanism kill him.

Qi Si, however, clutched the wound on his chest and laughed, stopping them: "Keep him. This guy is quite interesting."

The life or death of one person was of little consequence. Chang Xu’s limbs were broken, but he survived.

On the third day, the four of them chose to kill Xu Xinyi and obtained the item that could indicate clues.

A large number of clues regarding the dungeon’s lore surfaced. Zou Yan faintly realized something was wrong, and after some investigation, she confirmed the existence of a "time loop."

As it turned out, killing three people did not mean clearing the level; the cycle would not stop. The survivors would lose their corresponding memories and return to the beginning to repeat the same scenario until everyone was buried in Rose Manor.

She shared this discovery with Qi Si. Looking at the sea of roses outside the window, he smiled indifferently: "A six-person game is much clearer than one with nine. At the very least, collecting clues in the second round won't be as troublesome as it is now. Besides, counting it up, we still have two more rounds of opportunities, don't we?"

For a moment, Zou Yan suspected that the young man had known all of this, and that using the first round to thin out the numbers was part of his plan. Even keeping Chang Xu alive was a preparation for the second round.

But she dismissed the thought—how could anyone have laid such a trap before she did?

The night bell chimed nine times. Watching the young man’s flickering silhouette behind the candlelight, she asked on an impulse: "If there is a conflict of interest later, will you kill me?"

The young man smiled, his eyes curving: "Don't you know? We are the same kind of person."

The answer was clear. Their choices had long been settled in their respective hearts, requiring no further words.

Zou Yan’s reason told her that she should eliminate the unstable factors that could lead to variables as early as possible.

But she hesitated.

Three people had already died, and the remaining six formed exactly two three-day cycles. She was unsure if killing another person now would cause the game to end prematurely, leaving her with insufficient time to decipher the lore.

Moreover, Qi Si in the first round seemed to have no threats other than his cold and calm qualities; he had no stockpile of items and could only rely on her—what kind of storm could he possibly stir up?

Ultimately, Zou Yan did not dare to gamble the game's mechanism on her baseless suspicions.

She thought that killing Qi Si once the next round started wouldn't be too difficult.

Besides, she hadn't seen such an interesting person in a long time; what harm was there in keeping him for another round of the game?

Thus, she watched Qi Si leave the room, walk out of the ancient castle, and stand in the center of the sea of flowers, maintaining a guarded and distant space from her.

She did not stop him.

When the clock of the ancient castle struck twelve, a new round of the cycle would begin. The players would forget the grievances between them, shed the bloody sins they had committed, and gather at the long table like innocent passersby, getting to know each other all over again.

Zou Yan knew she only had three hours to ruminate on the memories of these three days.

She stood before the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the young man standing in the sea of flowers.

The heavy rain had stopped for a long time. The moon poked out from behind the clouds, its pale, sickly light illuminating the blood-stained white shirt, making it look chilling.

The young man stood there, unmoving, silent, and quiet.

He was all alone, his back turned to the castle, cold as a statue, lonely as a beast.

Page 3 of 3