“That all sounds pretty plausible,” SunnyBoy said, reaching for the fruit on the table.

“SunnyBoy, you probably shouldn’t eat anything just yet,” Kairo warned.

“Why?” SunnyBoy asked, picking up an apple.

“The mission specifically told us to be cautious. Maybe the food is poisoned or drugged. It would be bad if we ended up with a Poisoned status or passed out completely,” Kairo said.

SunnyBoy found that reasonable and put the apple back. Echo silently put her candy back as well.

Players could taste food in Anomalous Zone, but under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t actually feel hungry.

“Hm? Where’s Zerion?” Bai Luoyin noticed that her friend was no longer sitting on the sofa. She looked around and found Su Lingyan standing in front of a mirror hanging on the wall.

SunnyBoy leaned closer. “Admiring your own beauty?”

“Thanks for the compliment.” Su Lingyan nodded. “I’m looking to see if there are any clues here.”

“Clues... Right. We should be looking for clues.”

Normally, it would be rude to rummage through someone else’s home without the owner’s permission, but... this wasn’t reality. From a gaming perspective, they should probably search for hidden clues.

And so, all five players began searching around the drawing room.

They were careful not to make too much of a mess. Who knew whether something bad would be triggered if the butler returned and found the room in disarray?

Bai Luoyin picked up a book from the bookshelf. The cover read Calculus.

She paused for a second, then quickly flipped through it to check whether there were any notes hidden between the pages. After finding nothing, she immediately put it back.

Although the major she had studied in university didn’t require calculus, her experience with it in high school had left a deep impression on her.

Not a good one, of course.

SunnyBoy and Echo examined the various pieces of artwork displayed on cabinets on opposite sides of the drawing room.

They failed to figure out anything meaningful.

Kairo searched around the sofa. He picked up the plate of fruit, then the box filled with candy and various snacks, and rummaged through it. He found nothing.

Next, Kairo got down on the floor and checked underneath the sofa.

The floor of the drawing room was spotless. There wasn’t even a speck of dust beneath the sofa.

Kairo found nothing.

Just as he sighed and was about to get up, he suddenly spotted something.

He dropped back down onto the floor.

This time, however, he looked underneath the table.

A note had been taped to its underside.

Kairo reached out and peeled it off.

“I found something,” Kairo called, signaling for everyone to come over.

Bai Luoyin, SunnyBoy, and Echo all came over, but Su Lingyan was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Zerion?” Kairo asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

“She probably went outside the drawing room. Don’t worry about her,” Bai Luoyin said.

“Uh, should we really not worry about her? If she dies, we’ll be down a player,” SunnyBoy said.

“She’s not that easy to kill.” Bai Luoyin waved dismissively. “Otherwise, do you want to go look for her?”

Everyone fell silent.

Then, they lowered their heads and looked at the note.

There were only four rows of numbers on it:

123698741
1456369
14789654
321456987

“What is this? Phone numbers?” SunnyBoy guessed based on the length of the numbers.

“Probably not.” Kairo shook his head.

The four of them stared at the rows of numbers for a while, deep in thought.

Then Echo spoke.

“I hear footsteps. Someone’s coming.”

Kairo slipped the note into his pocket and looked toward the door.

The butler, Cyril, walked in.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ll take you to dinner now,” Cyril said.

Then he noticed that there were only four people in front of him.

His gaze immediately sharpened.

“May I ask where the distinguished guest named Zerion is?”

Kairo, Echo, and SunnyBoy immediately grew nervous.

Where exactly was Zerion?

Logically speaking, guests shouldn’t wander around the manor without the owner’s permission. Would her absence trigger something unfavorable for the players?

“I’m here.”

Su Lingyan’s voice came from behind Cyril.

She was leaning against the wall beside the doorway.

“Oh, so you’re here. My apologies. I didn’t see you just now.” Cyril’s expression returned to normal.

It’s perfectly normal that you didn’t see her, Bai Luoyin thought.

After all, Su Lingyan had quietly followed behind Cyril and entered the room right after him.

“That’s fine. Please lead the way,” Su Lingyan said.

Cyril walked ahead while the five players followed behind him.

SunnyBoy quietly asked Su Lingyan, “Where did you go just now?”

“Obviously, I went to take a look around the inside of the manor. I’ll tell you the details later,” Su Lingyan said.

Cyril led them to the dining room.

A long dining table stood in the center, with twelve seats in total. A delicious-looking steak and a wine glass had been placed at the seat of honor and the five seats to its left.

“Please take your seats first. Mr. Rainer will be here shortly.”

SunnyBoy looked at the steak in front of him.

“It looks delicious, but... what if it’s drugged?”

“We can’t rule that out,” Kairo said.

SunnyBoy had nearly fallen before they entered the manor, and the incident had made the players jumpy about everything.

Su Lingyan, however, didn’t think there was anything wrong with the steak.

Though, she wasn’t one hundred percent certain.

“Come to think of it, the main quest still hasn’t done anything,” Su Lingyan said.

After entering the mansion and arriving at the drawing room, the quest had been checked off. After that, no new objective had appeared.

“I’ve encountered situations like this before,” Kairo said. “We just have to wait for the story to progress naturally.”

Not long afterward, a handsome young man in a suit appeared with Cyril. Cyril pulled out a chair for him.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting. I’m Kylar Reiner,” the young man said.

His voice was pleasant, and every gesture he made carried an aristocratic air of elegance.