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

Chapter 399, 1.25, 22: The Rabbit Duke's Crazy Tea Party
As the gentleman rabbit finished speaking, the surrounding space rippled slightly.

Mu Yegui instinctively grabbed it and stuffed it into his hat, in a mere instant.

The scene, which was originally in a maze, changed in an instant.

The clear sky was cloudless, and the warm sunlight shone on the green grass, gilding it with a layer of golden gauze, light and soft, with a touch of dreamlike beauty.

Three long tables were set up on the lawn, covered with tablecloths of various colors and decorated with fresh flowers.

Each chair is set with an elegant teacup, delicious snacks, and a card with your name on it.

The moment the four appeared, the participants, who were already seated, turned to look at them in unison.

Their remarkably uniform postures were less like those of humans and more like those of puppets that had been controlled for a long time.

Her cool, silver eyes looked toward the man at the head of the table on her left.

He wore a tattered, terrifying hat painted with spiders, and his face was covered in exaggerated white powder. Even so, one could still clearly see that his face was patched up like a manhole cover, with no intact skin. Everything about him was pieced together.

It evokes the image of a patchwork human whose limbs are all stitched together, a sight that is terrifying and sends chills down one's spine.

The surrounding scenery was incredibly dreamy, but when you looked at him, the atmosphere instantly shifted from a fairytale to a horror movie.

His slender fingers rested on the table, still bearing the marks of stitches. A small white spider crawled on his middle finger, resting obediently, but a glistening spider silk was clearly visible, reflecting a dazzling light under the sunlight.

"Their movements are a bit strange..." Shui Qi said softly, frowning slightly as she looked at the players' empty expressions and stiff movements.

"It's less about acting in unison and more about being controlled; they were just turning their heads without any self-awareness," Olivia said slowly, glancing at the crowd.

Upon hearing this, Shui Qi immediately recalled a dungeon area he had passed through during the September dungeon run, which seemed to be called the Puppet Master's area. That area involved controlling players' movements with spider silk. However, he had deliberately avoided that area and had no idea what kind of being the legendary Puppet Master was.

According to the intelligence he obtained, the puppeteer opened a puppet shop called "Silk House" in the puppet town, specializing in selling the puppets he made. But strangely, the shop was never open and did not receive any visitors; all those who went to investigate left empty-handed.

Apart from the little information available, nothing else is known about him, not even what he looks like.

Could it be that the Puppet Master is in this dungeon?!

“Puppet Master—Qiong.” Mu Yegui looked at Qiong quietly and said softly.

"That's it?" Olivia frowned, puzzled. "How did you know?"

"I encountered him in the first Crown Prince instance I participated in. He kept a group of spiders as pets and was skilled at controlling various objects with spider silk. He liked to make puppets, whether using cloth or turning players into puppets. His strength was terrifying, and most of the spiders he kept were poisonous. Unless you are resistant to poison, it is best not to touch them."

“Who would want to touch such disgusting stuff?” Olycia turned her head to the side, disgusted.

Mu Yegui took a step forward, but Olycia grabbed his wrist and frowned, asking, "Where are you going?"

Her cool, silver eyes blinked slightly, and she said in a soft, childlike voice as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "It's time to sit down. It must be hard for them to keep their heads turned like that." Olycia first gave them a disgusted look, then let go of their hands, took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped her fingers as if they were covered in bacteria.

Mu Yegui walked to the long table in the middle and sat down in the seat with her name on it, casually placing the gold and silver in their own special place next to her.

After the four people and one rat took their seats, it was finally 1 p.m.

Rabbit-shaped waitresses slowly pushed the food cart up and poured black tea for each guest.

"First of all, congratulations to all the players present for obtaining the non-permanent item 'Duke Rabbit's Afternoon Tea Time'. Now, let's officially begin our event," Gentleman Rabbit said as he slowly walked up to the group.

"I have a box in my hand, which contains a Crown Prince item called 'Duke Rabbit's Toy Treasure Chest.' Everyone knows that obtaining a Crown Prince item is enough to become the Crown Prince, so you should all understand its importance. I will hide it anywhere in the manor, and whoever finds it can keep it."

The gentleman rabbit made a move, and the gift box simply vanished into thin air.

"The game will begin once you drink the red tea. If you don't want to participate, you can leave now without anyone stopping you."

In other words, not drinking tea means you're not participating and you can leave directly, but almost no one will do that.

For ordinary people, having finally entered a dungeon and with the Crown Prince item within reach, they could become the Crown Prince with just a little effort, so why wouldn't they give it their all?
Once you become the crown prince, you immediately distance yourself from everyone else.

There is a fundamental difference between the crown prince and ordinary players.

"Isn't Shui Qi participating?" Mu Yegui asked when he saw that Shui Qi hadn't even touched the cup of red tea before standing up to leave.

"I won't touch the food in the dungeon, especially the food provided by the dungeon owner. My original intention in coming here was not to participate in the Crown Prince dungeon. I've already obtained the items I wanted, so I won't get involved anymore," Shui Qi said slowly with a low laugh.

Shui Qi doesn't need the crown prince item. He can simply use the Transformation Stone to transform into that form, which is equivalent to having it, even if he can only use it once every seven days. But for Shui Qi, who doesn't rely on items much, that's enough.

He couldn't possibly risk everything for a royal artifact whose background was unknown, especially since the instance unexpectedly had an owner who wasn't listed in the official information; the risk was far too high.

Based on his reasoning, the benefits of participating are far less than those of not participating, so why should he participate?
Before leaving, Shui Qi said to Mu Yegui, "It's almost over. Counting all the Crown Prince items obtained on the Crown Prince Ranking, excluding the unobtainable one, there are two left. One is here, and the other no one knows how to trigger. But I received some unreliable information that the item seems to be able to create miracles."

"A miracle?" Mu Yegui asked, puzzled.

“The information we bought from the prophet Ming Jin is 90% reliable,” Shui Qi nodded and said.

"Why are you telling me this?" Mu Yegui asked.

"It's called a miracle because it's impossible. I'm only telling you this to do you a favor." After saying that, Shui Qi left on her own.

All I can say is that Shui Qi isn't that kind-hearted. People like them think things through carefully before they say, do, or even make any expression.

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(End of this chapter)