"I think I've watched your stream two or three times. You're pretty good at games," Su Lingyan said.

"A game streamer? Sounds impressive," SunnyBoy said.

"He's great at playing games on a computer, but this isn't a video game. You can't clear it just by moving your fingers," Kairo said, implying they couldn't rely on him.

Before long, the stretch limousine came to a stop in front of a manor.

The manor stood silently deep within the woods, its outer walls marked by the wear of time.

Then the front gate opened, and the car slowly drove inside.

The trees in the courtyard had been trimmed neatly, but not so rigidly that the place felt lifeless.

The windows of the main house were lined up in perfect order, their glass reflecting the courtyard while revealing nothing of the interior.

The car stopped before the mansion. The driver got out, walked around to the passenger door, and opened it for them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please step out."

The five players looked at one another. Su Lingyan got out first, followed by the other four.

The driver then returned to the driver's seat and drove away.

Standing before the mansion's entrance, SunnyBoy spoke first.

"I guess we're supposed to go inside?"

He took a few steps forward and reached out to see whether the door was locked.

"Wait," Su Lingyan said, but SunnyBoy had already extended his hand.

Click.

The instant he reached out, Su Lingyan heard what sounded like a mechanism activating. A sense of dread rose in her chest.

The floor beneath SunnyBoy's feet suddenly dropped, opening into a square pit of pitch-black darkness.

"Ah!"

A wave of weightlessness hit him as he plunged downward.

Echo and Kairo froze for a split second before snapping back to their senses and rushing to help. At the same time, Su Lingyan and Bai Luoyin sprinted forward one after the other. Su Lingyan managed to grab SunnyBoy's right hand just in time, preventing him from falling in.

Fortunately, Su Lingyan was stronger than she looked. Otherwise, she never would have been able to hold on.

Su Lingyan charged forward the moment she heard the sound, while Bai Luoyin reacted only after seeing SunnyBoy fall. Even so, her reflexes were astonishingly fast, barely a step behind Su Lingyan.

Together, they pulled SunnyBoy back up.

"Wow, that's way too sneaky!" SunnyBoy exclaimed as soon as he was safe.

Kairo stared at the floor, which had already returned to normal.

"I didn't expect a trap right at the beginning, and without a single warning."

Echo opened the game panel to check the team's HP, then spoke.

"Zerion, can I call you that?"

"Of course," Su Lingyan replied.

"You tried to stop SunnyBoy just now. Why?" Echo asked.

It was almost as if she had already known there was a trap.

"I didn't know there was a trap." Su Lingyan shook her head. "I just thought opening the door shouldn't be our job. We're guests. What kind of host makes the guests open the door themselves?"

"True enough, but setting a trap there is still way too underhanded!" SunnyBoy complained again. Thankfully, his HP hadn't decreased at all.

Just then, the front door slowly swung open.

The moment it was fully open, a figure appeared soundlessly inside the doorway.

He was a man dressed in a dark suit, his clothes impeccably tailored and his white gloves spotless. He gave them a slight bow.

"Welcome. I am Cyril, the butler here."

His voice was calm and gentle as he gestured for them to enter.

The five players stepped forward, deliberately avoiding the spot where SunnyBoy had nearly fallen.

"Please don't worry. That unfortunate incident occurred because the mechanisms inside the mansion had not yet been deactivated," Cyril said.

No, no, no. That makes it even more worrying, SunnyBoy thought as he followed everyone inside.

As Su Lingyan passed Cyril, she stopped.

"You don't seem the least bit apologetic about what just happened. That's hardly the proper way to treat guests," she said.

Cyril lowered his head.

"I sincerely apologize. However, even if that gentleman had truly fallen, his life would not have been in danger."

So it wouldn't have killed him—just cost him some HP. Fair enough. A guaranteed death trap at the very beginning would have been excessively cruel.

"What about the other traps here? Can they kill people?" Su Lingyan asked.

"Please rest assured. The mechanisms have now been deactivated, and we will do everything in our power to ensure our guests' safety," Cyril replied.

The five players had a rough idea of the situation now.

There were traps here capable of killing people. Even though Cyril claimed they had all been turned off, who knew whether that was true? It was very likely to become a problem later.

Main Quest Triggered: Follow the butler into the mansion. (For some reason, you all feel there's something wrong with this manor. Better stay cautious.)

The quest arrived surprisingly late, only appearing after they had already entered the mansion.

The interior was even more spacious than expected.

The soaring entrance hall stretched upward beneath a massive crystal chandelier, whose warm golden light spilled across the room. Several old oil paintings hung on the walls. A faint woody scent lingered in the air, while the carpet beneath their feet was thick and soft.

Straight corridors extended to both the left and right, their wall lamps evenly spaced. Directly ahead stood a broad curved staircase leading to the second floor, its dark wooden banister polished to a shine.

Cyril led them through the corridor on the right.

Several mirrors hung along the walls, each with a different shape. Some resembled flowers, while others had intricately carved frames. Rather than ordinary mirrors, they felt more like works of art that happened to function as mirrors.

After reaching the end of the corridor and turning right, Cyril led the five players into what looked like a reception room.

Two large sofas faced each other, and the table between them held fruit, candy, and other refreshments.

"Please wait here for a moment. Dinner will be ready shortly, and I'll bring you to dine with the master."

With that, Cyril left immediately, leaving them no chance to ask questions.

Once he was gone, everyone sat down on the sofas and began discussing the situation.

"What kind of instance do you think this is?" Kairo asked.

"Hmm... We don't have enough clues yet to be sure," Bai Luoyin replied.

"There are plenty of stories set in remote mansions," Su Lingyan said, drawing upon her years of experience (watching movies, dramas, reading novels and manga, and bingeing anime). "Murder cases, haunted houses, missing-person searches, treasure hunts... it could be any of those."