Vol. 6 Ch. 27

As the game officially began, a synchronized seventy-two-hour countdown appeared on everyone’s Memory Stone.

Standing at the castle entrance, Helena asked,

“Noa, how should we go about finding the source of the plague?”

This team-building activity had been the little dragon girls’ idea. As the leader of the Dragon Special Forces, the responsibility of directing naturally fell to Noa.

Leon and Rosvisser, along with Constantine, had no objections—after all, this was an outing to let the children have fun, so it was only right to let them take the lead.

Noa thought for a moment before replying,

“We don’t have a lot of time, so it’s best to split up.”

“Nine players, three groups of three. This will significantly improve the efficiency of solving clues and also help narrow down the suspects when the vengeful spirit players start attacking.”

“Most importantly, since there are only two vengeful spirit players, dividing into three groups guarantees that at least one group will be completely from the good faction, free from interference. This will speed up clue-solving considerably.”

“If one person in a group is eliminated by a vengeful spirit, the other two in the group become prime suspects. But the key point, as Noa mentioned, is that with three groups and two vengeful spirits, there’s always one group guaranteed to be pure good faction regardless of any uncertainty about the vengeful players.”

The little dragon girls agreed with Noa’s plan, and the adults had no objections either.

“Now, let’s decide on the specific groups.”

Noa turned to her parents and her fiery uncle, saying,

“With three adults and six kids, we’ll evenly distribute the—”

It’s worth noting that four of the six children were from the Melkvey family.

After a bit of shuffling, the groups were finalized:

Team Hell Jokes: Constantine, Hefei, and Aurora.

“Mom, You Better Keep an Eye on Big Sis” Team: Rosvisser, Noa, and Helena.

Funeral Vibes Team: Leon, Moon, and Muse.

“Groups are set. Let’s split up and get to work. Meet back here in ten hours to share clues,” Noa announced.

“Got it~”

The three groups quickly set off.

Constantine took his daughter and the pink-haired girl upstairs.

Rosvisser’s team, with Noa as the de facto leader, confidently headed toward a creepy basement area.

As for the Funeral Vibes Team, they stayed on the first floor to search the main hall.

“Dad, where do we start?” Moon asked eagerly.

Leon stood in the center of the hall, scanning the area before deciding on their first target—a storage room at the end of a corridor.

“We’ll start from the furthest point and work our way back.”

“Okay! Let’s go! Muse, let’s see who solves the first puzzle faster!”

“Wait for me, sis!”

The two little dragons wagged their tails excitedly as they darted off.

Leon chuckled, hands in his pockets, following at a leisurely pace.

When he passed the staircase leading to the basement, he paused and looked down.

A faint yellow hue stood out starkly against the darkness.

“Hey, if you’re scared, just say the word, and I’ll come down to keep you company,” Leon teased, leaning forward with one knee resting on the stair railing.

Rosvisser stopped in her tracks and glanced up, resting her head on her shoulder.

“Who would’ve thought—you, of all people, offering to keep me company. Don’t tell me you’re reluctant?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Solving puzzles isn’t nearly as important as keeping my wife company,” Leon replied with a smirk.

Rosvisser raised an elegant brow, crossing her arms.

“Oh? From the way you’re talking, it doesn’t sound like you care much about solving puzzles. Could it be… you’re one of the vengeful spirit players?”

“Yep, I am. And as soon as I find an item card, you’ll be the first to go.”

“Bring it on then! Let’s see who takes down whom first.”

The couple bantered back and forth across the staircase.

Nearby, Helena leaned closer to Noa and whispered,

“The game’s barely started, and your uncle and aunt are already at each other’s throats?”

Noa, watching her parents’ exchange, responded calmly,

“This is slow, actually. Back in the day, they would’ve been at it during the group selection phase.”

Helena, bewildered but deeply intrigued, thought to herself, My mom never married, but I’d bet if she did, my family would be just as lively.

Rosvisser waved her hand dismissively.

“Whatever, I’m heading off to help Noa and Helena find clues.”

Leon shrugged, calling out after her,

“Be careful! Don’t get eliminated before our first check-in.”

Rosvisser huffed and shot him a glare.

“Worry about yourself. And stop being a pain in the neck.”

As she turned away, her tail subtly swished upward in what seemed like an offhand motion, but it brushed past Leon deliberately.

Leon grinned, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout,

“Love you, honey~”

“Oh, honey~”

The sound of Leon's teasing voice echoed through the basement.

Rosvisser’s face flushed instantly. She hastily withdrew her tail and quickened her pace, nudging the two little dragon girls into the task area.

“Team Two, showing their true colors already,” Leon muttered with a chuckle.

“Dad! The door to the storage room isn’t locked, and it looks like there might be something we can do inside!” Moon called from down the hallway.

“Coming!” Leon responded, jogging to catch up.

The three entered the storage room.

Although called a storage room, it was much larger than its real-world counterpart, clearly designed to accommodate players and make the game more immersive.

“Wow, look at that big mirror!”

The first thing that caught their attention was a full-length mirror against one wall.

Moon eagerly ran up to it, making silly faces at her reflection.

“Hey? Didn’t they say there’d be lots of puzzles in the castle? Why doesn’t this mirror do anything?” she asked, turning to Leon.

“Let me take a look,” Leon said, approaching the mirror. After a quick inspection, he shrugged.

“It might not have any mechanisms. Let’s keep looking around and see what else we find.”

“Okay!”

The sisters resumed exploring the storage room, eventually focusing on a large, cloth-covered object in one corner.

Together, they pulled off the covering to reveal—

“Wow, it’s a piano!” Muse’s wide red eyes sparkled with excitement.

She eagerly pressed one of the keys, eliciting a clean, resonant note.

Blowing the dust off the bench, she sat down and started playing a familiar tune.

The piano’s sound quality was impressive, far better than one would expect for a game prop.

While Muse played, Moon continued searching for clues, eventually finding a sheet of music in a cabinet.

“Look, Muse! Maybe we have to play the song on this sheet to solve the puzzle!” Moon said, running over to her sister.

“Probably. Let me try.”

Muse took the sheet and placed it on the piano stand, but as she glanced at the first note, she froze.

“What’s wrong, Muse?” Moon asked, concerned.

“…Moon, these notes on the sheet music…” Muse turned the sheet toward her sister. “They’re all flipped.”

Moon squinted at the paper. Even without much musical knowledge, she could tell the notes were different from those on a regular score.

“What’s going on…?”

“It’s okay. I’ll try playing it as is.”

Muse tentatively played the flipped notes, but the melody that emerged was chaotic and jarring.

The dissonant sounds made no sense, as if the notes had been scrambled.

Muse frowned but managed to finish the piece.

Nothing happened.

“Did I play it wrong? Or was I too slow to trigger anything?” she wondered aloud.

As the sisters puzzled over the situation, Leon strolled over, glanced at the odd sheet music, and gently patted their heads.

“This is a puzzle game, so you have to use your brains. Think about it—what in this room might help you understand this sheet music better?”

The two little dragon girls exchanged wide-eyed looks before their faces lit up simultaneously.

“The mirror!”

They grabbed the sheet music and ran to the mirror, holding it up to the reflective surface.

Sure enough, the reversed notes appeared normal in the mirror’s reflection.

Muse carefully memorized the corrected notes and hurried back to the piano.

This time, as she played according to the mirrored version, the melody flowed beautifully, filling the room with a soothing tune.

As the final note resonated, the mirror on the wall began to glow faintly.

The family approached as words slowly appeared on the mirror’s surface:

“On sleepless nights, my wife would play this tune to soothe my restless heart. —Castle Master, Liú”

“Is this a clue?” Moon asked.

Leon nodded. “Looks like it.”

“But it’s so vague. It doesn’t seem very useful,” Muse said, still puzzled.

Leon chuckled. “Some clues only make sense when you’re in the right spot to use them. Even if it seems unimportant, make sure to remember it.”

The girls nodded earnestly. “Got it!”

“Alright, let’s keep searching for the next clue.”

With that, the family moved on to their next target, the room filled with the sound of giggles and footsteps as they continued their exploration.