Day of Imprisonment

“That feeling was like having a real nightmare!” The rage and bloodlust in An Zhiyan's eyes had vanished, replaced by a deep, still, abyss-like coldness and calm.

If you only looked at her eyes, she and Luo Xi were very similar at this moment.

Under [Absolute Rationality], An Zhiyan felt as if she had undergone an unbelievable transformation.

The phrases 'breaking out of a cocoon and becoming a butterfly' and 'rebirth' took on new meaning and understanding at this moment.

She had never thought, not even in her wildest dreams, that one day she could completely control her thoughts and ideas.

This sounds simple, but in reality, no one can do it.

For example, when a person sees a cruel and terrifying scene, it will inevitably evoke inner fear; seeing delicious food will inevitably lead to the desire to eat; when thinking about a problem, it is impossible to concentrate on the problem if someone is singing nearby.

But now, these are not problems.

She can completely control herself, including her thinking ability and concentration, as well as the suppression of negative emotions.

In the past, her brain was like a messy farmers market, with everyone shouting at once.

But now, it is like a well-trained army that obeys orders.

Turning that uncontrollable desire, perception, and emotion into power.

And also memory.

This feeling is so wonderful that she can easily recall things from a long time ago; memory is like a neat and orderly library, and even long-sealed memories can be easily recalled.

She narrated what had happened before in an extremely calm and methodical manner.

The language was concise and efficient.

“At that time, we were attacked by a Little Red Riding Hood and had to flee in all directions. Mad Lion died, and Little Red Riding Hood chased Lin Qiqi. I thought Lin Qiqi's chances of survival were slim. Later, I avoided a Little Red Riding Hood and hid in Grandma's house. There was Grandma's corpse inside, but it had mutated into a werewolf. I was bitten and also mutated... However, after using [Adrenaline] and [Tranquilizer], I barely maintained some sanity, as if trying to maintain a balance between madness and normalcy.”

“[Mental Illness - Werewolf's Curse] is a special mechanism used to transform ordinary people. Currently, it seems that this transformation requires certain conditions. If the bitten person dies, they cannot become a werewolf. Moreover, given that werewolves are equivalent to Little Red Riding Hoods, it cannot be ruled out that this transformation is only for women, because Grandma was also a woman.”

Luo Xi added.

“That's right, it is also possible that those wandering Little Red Riding Hoods were originally female Reminiscents, including 'Grandma' as well.” An Zhiyan nodded expressionlessly. She thought for a moment and then said, “Luo Xi, you really came to Fairy Tale Town through other means, just like Lin Qiqi said. She knows you very well.”

Luo Xi glanced at her: “When you use this kind of language to test me, your heart rate accelerates. Given the meaning contained in this question itself, it seems that your feelings for me are different from the past?”

“Yes!” An Zhiyan admitted generously: “I think you are much stronger than Lin Yixuan. Before this, I even rejected this feeling very much, and I am not a man-worshipping woman myself, but after using your way of thinking to consider the problem, I found that that emotion was completely childish and low-level. I should face the problem instead of running away, so if Lin Qiqi dies here and loses her memory, I can take her place.”

“There is no point in discussing this issue now.” Luo Xi shook his head.

“No, it's very meaningful, because if we assume that Lin Qiqi has no possibility of being rescued, then continuing to search for her will only waste our time. We should focus our attention on clearing 'Fairy Tale Town'. You and I are now in the strongest state, plus the Mad Lion pawn, the possibility of clearing the game is very high.” An Zhiyan said seriously: “Of course, I am only considering this issue from my own perspective. The specific actions still need to be decided by you, and I will unconditionally execute whatever measures you take, because I know this is the optimal solution. Another point is that I already have a good impression of you. When a woman has a good impression of a man, she will obey and cooperate, even with some stupid decisions, she will unconditionally assist, and besides, Luo Xi, you are not stupid!”

“…” Luo Xi felt that his previous transfer of [Absolute Rationality] to An Zhiyan might not have been the right thing to do.

This woman seems even more abnormal.

That's right, [Mental Transference] itself is a kind of mental illness transmission.

So, An Zhiyan is not cured, but is even more ill.

Luo Xi glanced at An Zhiyan.

She has now returned to human form.

The clothes on her body are almost tattered. After turning into a werewolf, the original clothes were destroyed, so she is now almost naked. The reason why Luo Xi could recognize this werewolf at a glance, in addition to some remaining pieces of clothing, was mainly the card ring.

An Zhiyan's card ring is very recognizable.

[Werewolf's Curse] is still on An Zhiyan, so she can transform into a werewolf at any time and gain powerful combat power.

This is a good thing.

A female werewolf, plus Mad Lion, the combat power is multiplied. Luo Xi felt that his plan could be formulated more boldly.

Over there is a werewolf's corpse.

According to the previously obtained information, a 'Little Red Riding Hood' can be used to exchange for a 'Ticket No. 2' from the Forest Merchant.

Luo Xi felt that even a dead Little Red Riding Hood was still Little Red Riding Hood.

"The Forest Merchant's location is behind the 'Tree of Death'. It's the only place with torches in the Dark Forest besides the camp, making it easily identifiable," Luo Xi planned to go take a look first.

Beside several tree stumps that had been cut down long ago, there was a bonfire.

In this forest, anyone who dared to light a fire so openly was definitely not a good person.

The Forest Merchant was one such existence.

This merchant, who had his body completely wrapped in a black cloak, was hunched over, with two horses behind him, dragging goods. Baskets were also placed on the ground around him, covered with black cloth, and it was unknown what was inside.

In addition to this, there were also some iron cages.

Some cages contained animals such as venomous snakes, spiders, rabbits, and wild boars, while some cages were empty.

Obviously, exchanging for something from this merchant was not limited to using 'Little Red Riding Hood'.

And over there, there were also iron chains, tethering a living Little Red Riding Hood werewolf.

A metal muzzle was fitted to its mouth to prevent it from biting.

Its neck and limbs were bound by iron chains, and several iron chains were fixed to hooks embedded in the ground around it, so even a monster with the great strength of a werewolf could not break free.

"Welcome!" The Forest Merchant noticed Luo Xi and the others. The next moment, his gaze swept towards the werewolf corpse being dragged over.

"I heard you need this," Luo Xi said.

The Forest Merchant nodded, but then shook his head: "Actually, I want a live one."

"So, the information I got was wrong. It wasn't 'dead or alive'," Luo Xi smiled calmly.

The Forest Merchant looked at Luo Xi with some surprise.

Clearly, this was a customer with strength.

And high-value customers needed to be maintained.

"Since this is your first time here, I can make an exception and accept it, still at the original price. So, do you need food or a boat ticket?"

Two choices.

Could anyone exchange Little Red Riding Hood's corpse for food?

If so, it meant that survival resources here were very scarce.

Luo Xi almost immediately understood a consumption mechanism here.

The Hunter Camp could only provide relatively safe activity areas and resting places, but if you wanted to survive, just a safe place was far from enough.

You also needed food, water, and firewood for heating.

The two hunters who had a conflict with Mad Lion were bitten to death by venomous snakes while searching for food outside.

The penalty of losing memories after death, coupled with the harsh living environment, unknowingly turned the original 'clearance game' into a 'survival game'.

"I want a boat ticket!" Luo Xi came for this.

"Okay." The Forest Merchant took out a white ticket and handed it over.

There were no words or patterns on it, only a scarlet number 2.

The transaction went very smoothly.

Only when the Forest Merchant dragged the huge werewolf corpse over alone, his nose twitched, and then he suddenly looked at An Zhiyan.

"Her, do you want to sell her? I can give you a very good price."

There was a hint of greed in the merchant's tone.

An Zhiyan was expressionless.

Under [Absolute Rationality], she could easily eliminate all kinds of messy thoughts and emotions.

Then, use reason to analyze the results.

Luo Xi would not sell her.

Firstly, Luo Xi had already obtained a boat ticket, and secondly, the benefits of selling herself were not big enough.

Although An Zhiyan also found it strange that she would think about problems from such a strange perspective, it had to be said that this was the most efficient and direct way of thinking.

Anyway, she was already addicted to it and couldn't extricate herself.

"You can tell me what the price is," Luo Xi asked.

"Two number 2s," the merchant held up two fingers.

"Besides number 2, is there anything else?"

"No, I only have number 2 here."

"Understood!" Luo Xi shook his head: "Then I won't sell."

"What a pity, such a good seedling," the merchant said with regret in his tone.

"Then, besides Little Red Riding Hood, do you want anything else? For example, Grandma, or something else..." Luo Xi asked casually.

The merchant shook his head: "Those poisonous insects and animals can only be exchanged for some supplies. If you want a boat ticket, you can only exchange it for Little Red Riding Hood."

"What a pity!" Luo Xi also felt regret.

He didn't say much, and left with An Zhiyan and Mad Lion.

After walking away, Luo Xi said: "An Zhiyan, your current identity is already 'Little Red Riding Hood'. I have a plan that may allow us to obtain another kind of boat ticket, but it requires your cooperation."

"You know I will cooperate, so stop talking nonsense." An Zhiyan thought for a while, and then said: "Also, let me guess, after you confirmed that I have obtained the identity of 'Little Red Riding Hood' through the conversation with the merchant, you immediately came up with an idea, or rather, a question, because in the forest, there is also 'Grandma's House'. In the house, there is 'Grandma'. So, if there is a Grandma who hasn't been harmed yet, and Little Red Riding Hood acts out the original fairy tale plot again, what will happen? You want to figure this out, right?"