Npc 93

 The maid's sudden appearance interrupted everyone's thoughts of going to check the source of the noise.

Cao Yufeng, unwilling to give up, looked up at the two-meter-tall maid standing before him and put on an innocent smile.

"Sister! What was that sound just now?" Cao Yufeng asked with a cheerful tone.

The maid tilted her head slightly and looked down at the boy who seemed tiny compared to her. With a gentle smile, she replied, "There was no sound at all."

Thud—

Another sound of something falling from a height echoed through the hallway, causing all the players to pause momentarily.

"There was no sound at all," the maid repeated with the same smile.

Thud—

Again, the noise came, but the maid seemed completely oblivious, continuing to repeat her previous response:

"There was no sound at all."

Her expression and tone remained unchanged, as if she were a robot programmed to give a fixed response.

Thud—

"There was no sound at all."

Thud—

"There was no sound at all."

The sounds and the maid's repeated replies seemed to fall into an endless, eerie loop. In the dark, empty castle hallway, it sent chills down their spines.

"She..."

The boy with the colorful braid trembled violently, wanting to say something but not daring to. Finally, after being harshly pulled back by his father, he shut his mouth.

Cao Yufeng frowned slightly and took a step back, muttering under his breath, "Damn it! I only asked one question!"

The maid continued her endless repetition, showing no sign of stopping.

Tao Shi stepped forward, interrupting her with a smile. "Sister, if you didn’t hear anything, let’s just leave it at that. We’ll head back to sleep now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the maid’s smile instantly vanished. She glared at him with a cold, vicious look.

Standing over two meters tall, the maid exuded an oppressive aura. Her expression now seemed as though she might bite off the boy’s head in the next second.

Seeing this, the rookie players couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat for Tao Shi.

However, Tao Shi remained smiling, staring at the maid without a trace of fear.

Luckily, the maid only glared at him for a moment without making any further dangerous moves. Soon, her face reverted to its eerie, standard smile.

"Allow me to escort you back to your rooms," the maid said.

Everyone quickly breathed a sigh of relief, and with the maid's escort, they returned to their rooms.

As they left, the thud sound continued, echoing through the dark, empty castle.

As for what that sound actually was, no one could investigate further.

It was hardly a wise choice to roam around such an eerie and ominous castle in the middle of the night, so they decided it was best to wait until dawn to find out.

After closing his room door, Jian Hou glanced towards the direction of Jiang Yan’s room at the end of the corridor.

From the experience accumulated in the previous dungeon and the unceasing educational tidbits from system 254, Jian Hou had gained a deeper understanding of the game, and further recognition of Jiang Yan's "specialness."

Earlier that day, in the elf estate, there was that strange lawn, the elves suddenly going berserk, and the elves chanting a cursed song around Jiang Yan... Undoubtedly, Jiang Yan was the key NPC for this dungeon.

Thinking about it, Jian Hou muttered as he closed the door to his room, "The main quest is still to be triggered... I wonder how Jiang Yan is doing right now..."

Just as he laid down on the soft, classical four-poster bed, system 254 immediately responded: "Don't worry! Even though Jiang Yan seems average, and his rank is low on the overall leaderboard, he still has an S-grade item in his possession!"

Upon hearing this, Jian Hou, who had just closed his eyes, immediately opened them wide!

"What did you say?" Jian Hou asked coldly.

System 254, not understanding, replied: "I said Jiang Yan has an S-grade item, so don't worry. And based on the last dungeon, his brain seems to be pretty sharp!"

Jian Hou quickly sat up on the bed.

"Wait a minute!" Jian Hou crossed his legs on the bed, raising an eyebrow. "In the past, whenever I mentioned worrying about Jiang Yan, you always went on and on about how great he is!"

"I... I was praising him!" system 254 replied.

"No!" Jian Hou directly refuted. "Normally, you'd praise him like this—"

Saying this, Jian Hou started to imitate his personal system in a high-pitched voice:

"Worry about Jiang Yan? You should worry about yourself! If I were you, I'd just stick to Jiang Yan and latch onto him! Do you know there's a rumor that Jiang Yan is the illegitimate child of the main system? Yada yada..."

System 254: "...?"

"This is your usual style!" Jian Hou said. "Why are you suddenly talking about Jiang Yan’s abilities today?"

System 254: "I... I just wanted to acknowledge Jiang Yan’s skills, okay? Besides, Jiang Yan is not bad!"

"Then why the panic?" Jian Hou pressed.

"I... I... I'm panicking!!" The talkative system, 254, was stammering under the pressure from its host.

With such a big reaction from 254, Jian Hou knew something was definitely off. If he didn’t realize it, he would be a fool.

"Is something happening with Jiang Yan? Or... did you find out something?" Jian Hou asked.

"No! I don't know anything," 254 quickly denied.

"I remember you said that when the last dungeon ended, the main system urgently called all the personal systems for a meeting. Was the meeting about Jiang Yan?" Jian Hou pressed.

"It wasn’t!" 254 answered firmly.

"Really? Then why did the main system call you for a meeting? I overheard Tao and that person named Yu talking, saying there’s been some kind of issue inside the game, and it’s related to Jiang Yan?" Jian Hou continued.

"I told you! It’s not! It has nothing to do with it!" 254 quickly changed the topic. "Why are you, a low-level player, prying into the main system’s affairs? Go to sleep, go to sleep! There’s definitely a ton of things waiting for you tomorrow!"

"Oh? So high-level players can inquire about the main system’s internal matters?" Jian Hou asked, still pressing.

"… Go to sleep!" 254 snapped.

Jian Hou: "…"

Seeing that 254 was determined to avoid the subject, Jian Hou reluctantly lay back down.

However, one thing was now certain: Jiang Yan and the main system were indeed connected.

But what kind of connection could it be?

Jian Hou turned over on the soft bed and fell into deep thought in the darkness.

He and Jiang Yan had known each other since birth. In the twenty-five years before they entered this game, they hadn’t encountered a single UFO, alien, or supernatural event. So how could Jiang Yan suddenly have some connection to the main system of this supernatural game?

At that moment, a pair of green eyes flashed in Jian Hou’s mind.

Could it be...?!

Could it be... related to Yu Xiu?!

Images of Yu Xiu—completely black, covered in tentacles, and that terrifying appearance when he suddenly went berserk and attacked the boy with the colorful braids earlier that day—flashed through Jian Hou’s mind.

Jian Hou’s breathing quickened, and he pulled the blanket over his head.

What happened to Yu Xiu in this game? Or is it... that this game itself is connected to him in some way?

"Host... go to sleep," 254’s voice rang out softly in his mind.

Sigh...

Jian Hou, feeling restless, closed his eyes, and by the time dawn was approaching, the sound of steady breathing filled the room.

—

The next day, the players and guests at the castle were invited to the dining hall for breakfast. The castle's butler, standing in for the lord, expressed his gratitude to everyone and mentioned that after breakfast, the castle would arrange carriages to take all the guests away.

Meanwhile, Cao Youfeng, while cutting the sausages on his plate, said with a mouthful of bread, "The main quest should be released before we finish breakfast."

No sooner had he spoken than a terrified scream pierced the castle's atmosphere.

"Ahhh—!!"

Instantly, the entire dining hall was thrown into panic.

"What's going on?! What happened?"

"That scream... it sounded like the little prince of the Elf Kingdom!"

"The scream came from the direction of the bridal suite! It must be the little prince!"

"My god, what's happening?!"

"..."

"Yan Yan!!" Jian Hou stood up.

Cao Youfeng took a bite of his bread and said, "As expected, something happened with Jiang Yan!"

"Let's go check it out!" Tao Shi casually grabbed a piece of ham and left his seat.

Seeing this, the new players quickly followed, and both players and guests hurried behind the panicked castle servants as they rushed to the bridal suite of the Giant Kingdom's king and the Elf Kingdom's little prince.

"Ahhh—!!"

The nearly ten-meter-tall door of the room was tightly locked, and Jiang Yan's terrified screams continued to echo from inside.

The two-meter-high maids pounded on the door, shouting urgently, "Your Highness! What's wrong, Your Highness?!"

Inside the room, Jiang Yan didn't respond but continued to scream, his voice tinged with crying, giving the impression that he had completely lost control of his emotions.

Finally, the castle's butler hurried over with the key to the room. The crowd quickly opened the door.

The moment the door opened, the tall maid let out a horrified scream.

"Ahhh—!!!"

The castle's butler rushed in, shouting, "Get down!!!"

At the butler's shout, Jiang Yan's scream turned into painful sobbing.

"What? What's happened?" Jian Hou asked.

"What the hell?! What’s going on?" Tao Shi, still chewing on his ham, squeezed forward.

As the players squeezed their way to the front of the crowd, a strong, metallic smell of blood hit them. The scene before them left everyone in shock—on the pure white, goose-feather carpet, blood was flowing in a thick stream. Following the trail of blood, they saw that the once dreamy and sweet bed had been completely soaked with it.

The pure white velvet carpet was soaked with dark red blood. Following the path of blood, it led to the end of the room, where the once dreamy and sweet bed was now entirely drenched in blood.

The Elf prince, with golden, translucent wings, sat on the bed, crying. His white nightgown and pale skin were also stained with blood, making the sight horrifying.

What should have been his tall, strong husband lying beside him was now reduced to a severed, blood-covered arm, the torn flesh and broken bones starkly visible.

"Oh my god—!! What happened?!" The giant butler collapsed, frantically questioning the weeping Jiang Yan, who was kneeling by the bed, "Your Highness! What happened here? Where did he go?"

Jiang Yan lowered his hand from his face, large tears streaming from his watery blue eyes, mixing with the blood on his cheeks as they fell onto the blood-soaked sheets. His appearance was a picture of heartbreak and grief, enough to move anyone witnessing the scene.

"Your Highness... What happened?" the elderly butler asked in a softer tone.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan gently picked up the massive dismembered arm next to him, pressing his face against the blood-soaked hand, his wings trembling along with his shuddering body. Tiny golden flecks fell as he sobbed uncontrollably, "Someone... dismembered my husband."

"Ding!"

Just as Jiang Yan finished speaking, the main system's voice immediately rang out:

[Welcome, players, to the dungeon—The Bloody Bride of the Giant Clan] 

[Dungeon Difficulty: S, Dungeon Progress: 0%] 

[Players: 10, Real NPCs: 3] 

[System NPCs: Several] 

[Main Task: Within seven days, help the Elf Prince piece together his husband and find the murderer of the Giant King.] 

[Side Task: Every night at midnight, vote for a "killer" and eliminate them.]

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