I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 164 1.11 9 The Hall of Amnesia
The rain pattered against the plants in the garden, making a crisp sound.

The air was damp and carried a strange smell mixed with earth. The sky was dark and gloomy, and only a few garden lights illuminated the surroundings, like the only beacons in the darkness pointing the way.

Golden birdcages hung from the white stone pillars, and rainwater poured into the corridor, making the ground very damp.

The nightingale huddled in its golden cage, shivering, perhaps because the rain had soaked it, or perhaps because it was afraid of the silence.

'clatter'

'clatter'

'clatter'

The sound of footsteps broke the silence that was filled only with the sound of rain.

"[You're here again!]" the voice said happily, but the next second it was unable to speak anymore.

In the darkness, the tall figure exuded an undeniable presence. A gold gemstone ring adorned the slender, fair index finger of her left hand, shimmering faintly.

"What are you doing?" His dark orange eyes narrowed slightly, and Jealousy lowered his voice, speaking dangerously.

[Wait, wait for her to come, and then punish her...] The voice trembled, clearly extremely afraid of the jealous being.

"Just hang it here like that?" he said slowly, glancing at the nightingale in the gilded cage with a somber expression.

"[Then...then I'll take it down right away!]" it said hastily.

"No need, this is fine." Jealousy sneered.

He turned slightly and saw Mu Yegui standing calmly behind him. He didn't know when she had appeared or how much she had heard.

Jealousy raised an eyebrow slightly, leaned against the white stone pillar, and coldly looked at Mu Yegui, giving her no kind look whatsoever.

"Are you going to punish me?" she asked softly in her sweet, childlike voice.

Clearly, she had been there from the beginning and had heard everything in the conversation.

His dark orange eyes stared intently at Mu Yegui, and he said cryptically, "Doing wrong certainly requires punishment, but it will be soon..."

With a 'snap,' a gust of wind blew the golden birdcage to the ground, thus opening the cage door.

Mu Yegui turned to look at the nightingale, which was trembling as it crawled out of the golden birdcage, its expression still calm.

"Don't you want to save it?" Jealousy appeared behind Mu Yegui at some point and asked softly in a low, alluring voice.

"Why save him?" Mu Yegui blinked, her tone slightly confused.

"Just like I told you this afternoon, it's dying, and only you can save it. Don't you want to? Can you really bear to give up on such a fragile life?" His dark orange eyes gazed intently at the nightingale, deep and cold, his tone seductive, like a demon luring someone into darkness. Mu Yegui took a step forward, then turned and looked up at Jealousy, his calm tone carrying a hint of realization, "So you can feel pity for food."

Jealousy slightly startled him.

"If you feel sad because food dies, you can't live. Why would I save a food? Just because I feel sorry for it? But what kind of feeling is pity? Is it cherishing? Or compassion? What's the use of it?" Mu Yegui tilted his head and looked at Jealousy, his expression calm, even more cold-blooded than that demon.

"Would you feel sorry for a pig and not eat it just because it's going to become your food? Obviously, no one can give up their instincts, so why would I save a food source? And why would I lose something for that food? That's just too unbelievable. Why would I sacrifice myself for someone else, especially for something that was supposed to be my food? It's hard to understand."

"Leaving aside the possibility of being an altruist, it's clear I'm not, and I can't accept it unless you give me a sufficient and logical reason." Even with amnesia, she clearly wouldn't have the desire to help others unless they asked for help or a deal was struck.

Jealousy reached up and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, her dark orange eyes glancing at her sideways as she said, "This is one of the punishments you're getting for making a mistake. Is that reason enough?"

"I see. So what mistake did I make before?" Mu Yegui said in realization.

[Destroyed the instance, causing a high-level instance to collapse directly!] It suddenly popped up and answered.

"So I'm also in a dungeon now, and it's the kind of punishment dungeon you're talking about. But if that's all, this dungeon doesn't seem to have any reason to exist. There are many ways to be punished, and it doesn't necessarily have to be this most complicated one. So I have to endure the dungeon's punishment while also successfully passing through the dungeon. If that's the explanation, then everything makes sense."

He subtly extracted information and even clearly analyzed the true nature of his jealousy.

"However, there's something I don't understand. The owner of this castle should be Arrogance, so why is it Mr. Jealousy who's carrying out the copy? I can't believe you don't have ulterior motives. Even a fool would have sensed your ill intentions the first time they met." Mu Yegui paused, then continued, "So, what does Jealousy want from me now, or... what do you want me to do for you?"

Her cool, silver eyes were fixed on jealousy, as deep and calm as an ancient pool in abyss, unmoved by anything.

Jealousy stared at Mu Yegui with a cold expression, then suddenly burst into loud laughter, unrestrained and arrogant.

"Are you trying to negotiate with me?" Jealousy said to Mu Yegui with a smile of amusement and sarcasm, clearly thinking that Mu Yegui was overestimating himself.

The man's voice was low and husky yet alluring. His condescending tone, which should have been rude and vulgar, sounded surprisingly natural on him, as if it were his true nature.

"I am truly surprised by the arrogance in Mr. Jealousy's character." Despite saying this, his expression and tone were extremely calm, and there was no trace of surprise in his voice.

"Hmm?" The dark orange eyes glanced at Mu Yegui, the slightly raised tone of the voice alluring and seductive.

"Should I take this as you agreeing to my request?" Mu Yegui placed her hands behind her back, her slender, fair fingers gently caressing the silver ring on her left index finger.

“Perhaps I can consider it. If you can successfully obtain the golden key tomorrow, I will agree. However…” He leaned slightly closer to Mu Yegui’s ear and said in a low, alluring voice, “The punishment that is due will still come.”

He reached out and caught Mu Yegui as she fell, his dark red eyes glancing at Nightingale, who had suddenly perked up.

The latter flapped its jet-black wings and sang a melodious song in the lonely corridor filled with the sound of rain.

On the second night, the melodious voice will be stolen by the nightingale.

(End of this chapter)