When the plot-skips players into the game world

"...Sealed off?"

Upon hearing Director Cornelius's words, Prohibition widened her eyes in surprise.

The middle-aged redhead Son of the Moon stood with his hands clasped behind his back, maintaining a minimum level of courtesy even toward the Blood Slave.

Looking down at Prohibition, he responded in an even and calm tone, "We suspect that individuals opposed to the Children of the Moon have infiltrated Crescent Moon Manor. We're currently intensifying our search, and the private rooms and main gates have been sealed. Leaving now might result in being attacked due to being alone, so please wait in the hall for a while."@@novelbin@@

"How long do we have to wait?"

The female Son of the Moon, who was following beside Prohibition, was also quite dissatisfied. "I've already paid. You aren't going to go back on your word, are you?"

"Please remain calm; the situation is being handled."

Director Cornelius, with not a hint of panic, responded politely and calmly, "The petty thief who attacked our guests will soon be caught by our security staff. We apologize for the inconvenience to our esteemed guests this evening, and we will offer a voucher to each guest when free passage is restored.

"The guests may continue to enjoy themselves in the hall; we have called down the Blood Slaves again. From now until the time you are allowed to leave, all expenses are on the house—of course, if anything is broken, you will still need to pay for it, so please be gentle."

"I have her, and that's enough for me."

Muttering, the woman pulled Prohibition closer to her side again.

But after hesitating for a moment, she then said, "Bring another bottle of wine then."

Director Cornelius nodded slightly and bowed. "Please rest for a moment, it will be brought to you shortly."

She took Prohibition and found a place to sit down. Watching the Sons of the Moon who had just left the scene gradually returning to the hall as the lights were relit, her brows furrowed.

Clutching Prohibition, she whispered, "I suspect that some bad guys have mixed in among the guests, and that's why they want us all to stay in the hall."

"What, really? That's terrifying."

Prohibition feigned a shocked expression, covering her mouth with one hand.

Her acting was so exaggerated and perfunctory, yet the woman did not feel dissatisfied. She was completely smitten with the little one, preferring to deceive herself for her sake.

Meanwhile, Prohibition was seriously contemplating how such an unforeseen situation could have occurred.

Could my line of thought not be allowed? That's not right either.

She could clearly sense that the two "suggested strategies" provided by the mission were actually traps. They seemed feasible, but unless everyone acted with absolute rationality, they were simply impossible to achieve... and that was the nature of the promotion ceremony.

All promotion ceremonies, under the assumption that participants do not sabotage each other and give their all, are definitely passable. There is no such thing as an insurmountable ceremony... That's the fundamental principle of the Nine Pillar Gods when assigning Dreamland tasks.

Accordingly, tasks that require the cooperation of several individuals become more difficult simply because while the potential rewards increase, so too do the variables.

Prohibition was an experienced Transcendent. After entering the scenario, she immediately disregarded any tasks that required the cooperation of more than two people.

Similarly, tasks like the Informer, which required direct conflict with other contestants, were also dismissed outright by her.

According to Prohibition's experience, scenarios in promotion ceremonies where a large number of participants survive and rankings are determined by points are increasingly rare at higher levels.

In the beginning, when everyone is still naive, they may be willing to work together. But soon, they come to realize that grouping together does not actually help to pass the ceremony.

If a task is completed, then everyone earns points and the gap does not widen; if a task is not completed, then everyone wastes time. And when betrayal is witnessed for the first time, they become completely wary of "teammates".

At the higher levels of promotion ceremonies, because death incurs a penalty, survival becomes a goal more important than passing. People tend to prioritize concealing themselves, deciding whether to act based on the situation to complete one or two tasks.

It is for this reason that higher-level promotion ceremonies become increasingly difficult to pass.

Although she, along with the Philosopher and the Stranger, could be considered temporary allies—their relationship wasn't exactly strong. Their cooperation was based on not daring to offend each other, for fear of retribution once back in reality, paying the price. In other words, their basis for working together was simply "not betraying each other."

However, this doesn't mean they are obliged to take risks to help each other.

And although she does not know how many Informers there are, it's unlikely that all are Informers. The chances that both her temporary allies are Informers are very low... In such a case, if she were to reveal her identity and win, regardless of whether she informed or not, her allies would treat her as an Informer.

Because that would be inexplicable.

— Therefore, Prohibition chose to conceal herself. Not exposing the identity of the Informer or masquerading as a survivor, avoiding contact with anyone, she attempted to escape using her own methods, aiming for the points that came with the escape task.

Yet now, this path too had been blocked.

What's going on? Did another Informer interfere?

That didn't seem right either.

Doing so would only block those leaving through the main gate... and in this situation, where everyone is gathered together, it would actually become easier to escape through a secret passage.

So was it the work of a survivor?

Create a sense of crisis by attacking and killing a Son of the Moon, drawing everyone together. This way, there would be a chance to escape the manor.

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But doing so would put themselves at risk of being chased here...

The Prohibition was utterly bewildered.

No matter how he deduced, he couldn't figure out how this situation had arisen—it hardly seemed like the planned arrangement, more like an unforeseen emergency.

But just then, she suddenly heard cries of alarm.

In the sight of all present, an elderly and esteemed Son of the Moon suddenly collapsed without warning and lost his life.

The Blood Slave he had held in his embrace let out a terrified scream, fell to the ground, and was so panicked she couldn't get up.

In the moment of the incident, the entire hall was instantaneously put under martial law. The Sons of the Moon immediately went into combat mode, their crimson pupils lighting up, warily scanning the surroundings.

The Blood Slave who had been serving that person was directly seized from the ground by those masked men in black. And the Sons of the Moon nearby were surrounded and politely subjected to an emergency investigation.

"It is an Undead—"

Within a few seconds, the Son of the Moon responsible for examining the body provided the answer, "Go get a Priest and the Necromancers! Set up an exorcism ritual first—ugh ugh ugh ugh..."

He had only spoken halfway when he suddenly turned pale, clutching his throat.

This made the surrounding Sons of the Moon immediately hold their breath, nervously looking over.

But fortunately, it was just for a short while before he regained composure.

—But just at that moment, he suddenly launched into a rage, attacking those in front of him! His right hand transformed into a sharp, crimson blade and he beheaded another Son of the Moon who was closest to him!

Only then did people begin to understand how the Undead was killing.

It was an illusion!

"It's an Earthbound Spirit!"

One experienced Son of the Moon even identified the specific type of spirit: "Spread out quickly, Earthbound Spirits can trap many people in illusions all at once!"

But even knowing that, they couldn't resolve the problem—

Starting from the Fourth Energy Level, Earthbound Spirits are most likely at the Fifth Power Level!

The strength of the Sons of the Moon lies in their bodies; their souls are as weak as newborns. Because they are shunned by the Path, they lack the divine vision and the spectral vision of the Path of Dusk. They indeed have methods to harm the Earthbound Spirits…but the Sons of the Moon simply cannot see them.

If this had happened in the early part of the night when the other Transcendents from different Paths were still around, there might have been a chance for rescue.

Among the human guests invited by the Sons of the Moon, there would definitely be powerful Priests and Necromancers, and most certainly they would be at the Fifth Power Level. The Mages and Demonology Scholars present at that time could also have dealt with the Undead—provided the spirit wasn't too strong, at least it would be possible to counteract with spells and rituals.

But now it was around four or five in the morning, the time when the Sons of the Moon would disperse.

Those human guests had already left Crescent Moon Manor long ago. And these remaining Sons of the Moon were momentarily incapable of solving the problem; they could only disperse and wait for the professionals to arrive.

And Director Cornelius's voice rang out immediately, issuing a calm command: "Please remain calm, everyone; Earthbound Spirits cannot harm you directly! So no matter what you see, do not attack, it's all an illusion! We have already notified the church and the Necromancy Academy, the experts will arrive shortly!"

"Liar! When did you notify them!"

The woman cursed under her breath, immediately picked up the Prohibition and ran toward an empty corner.

Her strength was very weak—not all Sons of the Moon were strong, and she was only at the Third Power Level. It was for this reason that she had caught the attention of the Prohibition.

This meant that if strong Sons of the Moon were to fall into the illusion and start a rampage, she could easily be caught up in it. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

She had just gained eternal youth and did not want to die so senselessly and unexpectedly!

And just as she rounded a corner, she suddenly collided full-on with a robust young man.

She immediately sensed the smell of the man as a Blood Slave—the tempting scent of blood that ordinary humans did not have.

In normal times, she might have stopped to chat or invited him over for fun. But now, out of fear and irritation, she felt nothing but annoyance.

Subconsciously baring her fangs, she intended to teach this person a lesson.

But at that moment.

A spiral-shaped shadow spear suddenly emerged from her back and pierced her heart.

"Die, monster."

A low, hate-filled roar emanated from behind her.

—The hell, who's the monster here!

The woman's vision went dark.

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