Chapter 19: Messages
At the staircase connecting the second and third floors of the ancient castle.
Alice and the gold-rimmed glasses man walked ahead, while Su Xiao and Bubu Wang followed slightly behind.
When Su Xiao stepped onto the stairs from the second to the third floor, he once again felt like he was passing through a thin membrane. He subconsciously looked back at the second floor, which still appeared as it was—rows of dining tables neatly arranged.
Yet from Su Xiao's current perspective, looking at the second floor gave him the strange sensation of gazing into another world. Though it was right before his eyes, it felt as if it were a thousand miles away.
"What's wrong, brave one?"
Alice stopped, her tone gentle.
"Nothing. Just left something behind on the second floor."
"What a pity."
Alice continued up the stairs.
"A pity?"
Su Xiao had indeed 'left something behind' on the second floor—a coordinate transmitter. This gave him a crucial piece of information: each floor of the castle might exist independently, making it nearly impossible to return to the second or first floor.
From a sensory standpoint, the castle's structure seemed normal, top to bottom. In reality, that wasn't the case. Every floor was tightly sealed off. Without Alice or the wolf butler's guidance, it was impossible to enter any floor within the castle. In other words, there was no retreat in this game.
Realizing this, Su Xiao stepped up the stairs.
After pushing open a metal door, Su Xiao arrived on the third floor. Its layout surprised him slightly.
The third floor resembled a residence, about several hundred square meters in size. The entrance led into a large living room with vintage decor. Two rows of crescent-shaped leather sofas faced each other, vaguely forming a circle.
At the center of the sofas was a low, square stone table. On it stood a small sculpture—a statue of Alice.
Beside the sculpture were several fruit plates containing oddly shaped fruits, at least ones Su Xiao had never seen before.
Dozens of oil paintings hung on the living room walls, abstract like a child's scribbles.
On the north side of the living room was a wooden staircase leading upward. This wasn't the stairway to the fourth floor but to a landing. Beyond the landing were eight rooms, their doors tightly shut. Each door bore a number, 1 through 8.
The entire layout of the third floor reminded Su Xiao of a vintage-style upscale apartment, accommodating eight people with a shared living room.
Upon entering the third floor, Su Xiao saw that Fatty, the Three Brothers of National Football, the detective little girl, and the cat-eared woman—six people in total—were already seated on the sofas, waiting.
"Everyone's here. Compared to the first two games, this one is quite relaxed. Perhaps the game will be over after you all get some sleep. Before you rest, let's draw room numbers."
Alice produced eight cards, each with a number on one side, 1 through 8, corresponding to the eight rooms.
Alice sat on a crescent-shaped sofa and spread the cards on the stone table before her. The table's surface was smooth and pitch black, likely carved from obsidian.
"Forgot to mention, the lower the room number, the better the facilities."
Alice signaled that the drawing could begin. The gold-rimmed glasses man drew first, followed by Fatty and the others.
Su Xiao always disliked this kind of lottery, but after the first game ended, his Luck attribute had permanently increased by +1.
His original Luck attribute was 1 point. After Destiny Redemption upgraded to Purple quality, its new equipment effect, Strong Luck (Passive), added 1 point to his Luck. Combined with this game's boost, his Luck attribute now stood at 3 points.
What effect did 3 Luck points have? Su Xiao didn't know yet. However, his previous 2 points hadn't seemed to do much.
Taking a "might as well try" attitude, Su Xiao drew a card. Looking closely, the number on the front was 2.
This number meant Su Xiao had drawn the second-best room in terms of facilities. For him, this was an incredible stroke of luck.
"Not bad luck, Brother Bai Ye."
The eldest of the Three Brothers of National Football spoke. The trio had talked with Su Xiao on the first floor, so addressing him directly by his code name wouldn't raise suspicion that they knew each other beforehand.
"Decent."
Su Xiao felt his luck might be turning. He didn't need extraordinary luck—just slightly above average would make him a lucky king, thanks to Destiny Redemption.
"Looks like my luck isn't bad either."
The detective little girl revealed her card. It read 1.
No one tried to hide their draw results. The numbers would be exposed when they entered their rooms anyway; hiding was pointless.
Soon, the drawing ended with the following results:
Detective little girl: Room 1.
Su Xiao: Room 2.
Fatty: Room 3.
Gold-rimmed glasses man: Room 4.
Eldest of the Three Brothers: Room 5.
Cat-eared woman: Room 6.
Second of the Three Brothers: Room 7.
Third of the Three Brothers: Room 8.
...
"How about... we swap? Don't you find this awkward?"
The eldest of the Three Brothers held his card, trying to exchange with the cat-eared woman.
"This is fine."
Card number 6 flipped in the cat-eared woman's hand. Her room was sandwiched between the Three Brothers.
"Don't regret it."
The eldest grinned, showing his thumb, and a glint seemed to flash from his front teeth. It wasn't a threat.
"I won't."
The cat-eared woman smiled, unconcerned by his words. But just five minutes later, she regretted it.
"Everyone, go rest in your rooms."
Alice had no room; she simply sat in the living room. Soon, the eight entered their respective rooms.
Su Xiao pushed open the door to Room 2. It was a heavy iron door, giving an inexplicable sense of security.
The room's furnishings were simple: a soft large bed, a private shower and toilet, and a tall wardrobe in the corner.
Though the furnishings were basic, the heavy iron door had seven locks. Some were simple, others more complex.
Su Xiao locked all seven locks, then sat cross-legged on the bed. So far, he still didn't know what the third floor's game entailed.
As Su Xiao happened to glance up to inspect the room, he noticed lines of small text on the ceiling. The words were in various colors—some written with a marker, some carved into the surface, some scrawled in blood.
'Alice is left-handed.'
'Alice hates the smell of musk.'
'Alice is a gentle woman. To be precise, she isn't evil—she simply has no concept of good or evil.'
'Lock the door. Though it's meaningless, it at least offers some comfort.'
'These rooms aren't soundproof. Try pressing your ear to the wall to hear what's happening in other rooms.'
'Familiar-type creatures are also untrustworthy. Servants or higher-ranked followers can be trusted.'
'Before exchanging room cards, do not enter someone else's room. Never.'
...
Strange and varied messages covered the ceiling. The one that caught Su Xiao's attention most was a line written in blood, short in length.
'To the players after me: In the third floor's game, trust no one. Even if they are your sworn brother or your lover bound by life and death, do not trust them for now. And tell them not to trust you either. This is the message I leave you with my life. On the third floor, strength is the only truth. Alice's clones are not invincible.'