Day of Imprisonment

"What... what exactly did you do?"

A sound of barely suppressed, extreme shock filled the air.

Immediately following, 'Gray Coat' revealed himself, taking in the scene: the humanoid piles of dirt on the floor, the lingering stench of decay and blood in the air, and the bewildered Lionheart, cradling an equally bewildered orange cat.

More importantly, 'that guy' was clearly severely burned, yet remained calm and collected.

"Stab with a knife, find the right angle, neck and chest, stab in and then twist. Remember to stab continuously, otherwise this woman will strangle you..." Luo Xi explained earnestly.

"Are you freaking crazy? No, you're seriously injured, you were attacked by a curse, but you're not dead?" Gray Coat seemed to only now notice the horrifying burn scars on Luo Xi's body.

Then, he suddenly walked over and began rummaging through the humanoid dirt piles on the ground.

But obviously, he couldn't find anything.

Because Luo Xi had already taken anything of value.

"What did you get from her?" Gray Coat asked.

Luo Xi smiled but remained silent.

Clatter!

Gray Coat then tossed a few gold coins, which rolled onto the ground.

He thought Luo Xi wanted money.

"Don't forget, these gold coins were originally from me. Do you think I'm lacking in this kind of thing?" Luo Xi spoke with the air of a nouveau riche, a hint of mockery in his tone.

"Then what about information?" Gray Coat sighed: "If you want to clear Fairy Tale Town, then the information I possess will definitely be useful to you."

"Tell me about it first. Who knows if your information is worth anything?" Luo Xi was actually a little tempted.

"Information about fairies, or rather, witches, and why she chose Cinderella!" Gray Coat looked at the sleeping girl.

"Okay, I'm quite interested. Sit down and let's talk... Go to the door and keep watch. If the stepmother and her three daughters come back, tell us immediately." The last sentence was directed at Lionheart.

The latter nodded, cradling the cat, and walked out.

Luo Xi then took out a ship ticket, the number 7 ticket he had just obtained.

Gray Coat immediately understood.

"So, she was hiding a number 7 ship ticket, which corresponds to node number 7." Gray Coat seemed to fall into thought.

After a while, he said: "Can you give me the ticket?"

Luo Xi shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. As long as I know the channel, I'll find a way to get one myself next time." Gray Coat didn't insist. Immediately after, he revealed the secrets he knew about the witch and Cinderella.

"Fairies and witches are actually the same thing, and they exist in different nodes of Fairy Tale Town, or rather, all nodes have their shadows, and they subtly and overtly influence the plots of different nodes," Gray Coat said, this being the information he was using to trade.

Luo Xi was stunned.

What the other party described didn't sound like characters in a plot, but rather like a vast organization similar to the Memory Retrievers.

"I know what you're thinking, and I can give you a definite answer. There are Memory Retrievers in the Witch Alliance, and they are very strong. This is information I obtained after a long period of investigation," Gray Coat said in a low voice.

This was indeed shocking news.

But thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

Because 'Fairy Tale Town' itself had existed for a very long time within the Imprisonment Day, and almost no one knew when 'Fairy Tale Town' had appeared.

It seemed that when the Imprisonment Day existed, the terrifying legends accompanying 'Fairy Tale Town' also appeared.

Then, within Fairy Tale Town, there must be deeply rooted Memory Retrievers, possibly not in large numbers, but they must exist.

Even the mastermind behind turning the original normal fairy tales into such terrifying and dark stories was related to these Memory Retrievers and the 'Witch Alliance'.

This wasn't just Luo Xi's guess, even 'Gray Coat' thought so.

"I suspect that the entire Fairy Tale Town has been controlled by the Witch Alliance. They have imprisoned this place, so no Memory Retriever who enters Fairy Tale Town can escape," Gray Coat said, revealing everything he had investigated and the corresponding speculations.

"That doesn't make sense. What's their purpose in doing this? Since they control the exit, it means they can leave. If they can leave, why don't they?"

"Why leave?" Gray Coat asked in return.

At that moment, Luo Xi felt that the other party was very similar to the enthusiastic female receptionist in the bar.

They were talking about the same theory.

But the ideas of these two people were completely different.

"Because the world outside is closer to the real world, that's the reason," Luo Xi replied to this similar question with the same theory.

Gray Coat seemed very satisfied with this answer.

"Wait a moment!" Luo Xi's stomach then made a rumbling sound. He got up, walked to the nearby kitchen, and took out a lot of food from the house.

Bread, cheese, milk, fruit, and sausage.

These things were the most common foods in the node 2 world. They weren't delicious, but for Luo Xi, replenishing energy was the most important thing.

Taste was important, but sometimes, it wasn't that important.

"Sorry, I'm a little hungry. I'll eat something first!" Luo Xi said and started eating.

In a short period of time, he ate a basket of bread, at least five pounds of cheese, a large bucket of milk, a large basket of fruit, and a dozen sausages.

Basically, he ate all the supplies here.

Finally, when he couldn't eat anymore, he started chewing on carrots raw.

"Keep talking, what are you looking at me for?" Luo Xi said while gnawing.

At that moment, Luo Xi redefined the concept of 'eating a little something', leaving Gray Coat dumbfounded.

"Regarding Cinderella, the Witch Alliance is actually looking for someone suitable to become a witch, or rather, I think it's some kind of vessel... I don't know if someone has tampered with the plot of the fairy tale, or if the core of the fairy tale is inherently a horror story. In short, she will eventually become some kind of terrifying existence, and her original soul will be replaced."

While saying this, Gray Coat inadvertently revealed some strange emotions.

Luo Xi was a master of observation, so naturally he couldn't escape his eyes.

"Then you can rest assured, at least this time, she won't be led astray by that witch," Luo Xi had already eaten seven carrots, and then, his gaze turned to the cabbage.

He was thinking about whether to take a bite.

"So I think this time is an opportunity, an opportunity to break this imprisonment and fate," Gray Coat's tone was filled with a kind of impulse.

It could be seen that he had been trying to suppress some kind of emotion.

"What are you planning to do?" Luo Xi asked, while mentally giving up on the cabbage.

"To be honest, I don't care about the number 7 ship ticket. What I care about is the other things you got from that witch, for example, the key props that witches can use. What I mean is to cultivate Cinderella into a strong and independent woman, a strong person who won't be bullied by her stepmother, who won't be inferior or self-pitying, who doesn't need to rely on marrying into the royal family to obtain a happy life, a person who truly fits the ending of a beautiful story. She should control her own destiny, not be manipulated by others."

It could be seen that Gray Coat had this idea for more than just a day or two.

Unexpectedly, this guy had quite a romantic temperament!

Luo Xi didn't speak. He knew that 'Gray Coat' still had some things he hadn't told him.

"I mean, change the plot of the fairy tale, but not in a bad direction, because someone has tried the bad direction. Conversely, following the original plot won't work either. Perhaps, the real way to clear node 2 is to let Cinderella control her own destiny, just like us, Memory Retrievers. We also need to control our own destiny. I think doing so will definitely trigger some plot points that no one has ever triggered before."

It had to be said that Gray Coat's sentence was a very reasonable analysis.

Because Luo Xi did find something from the witch Fairy Godmother's body after killing her: [Unknown Magic Core].

This thing was more like an exclusive quest item, perhaps it was used on the plot character Cinderella.

Obviously, 'Gray Coat', who knew more about node 2, had already discovered this possibility, but he had never had the opportunity to achieve it.

Possibly because he couldn't beat the Fairy Godmother.

Or possibly because he was restricted by the 'Dark Furnace Tavern' he belonged to.

Gray Coat quickly revealed this matter.

"The Dark Furnace Tavern boss is very strong. It is said that he was one of the earliest Memory Retrievers trapped in Fairy Tale Town. Even now, he is still looking for a way to clear Fairy Tale Town, but I don't trust him."

"Isn't he your boss?"

"Working is just out of necessity."

"Do you trust me?"

"No, but you are not as good as the tavern boss. I can control the situation in special circumstances."

"I can see that. You are a candid person," Luo Xi praised.

The other party was not saying these things aimlessly, but to gain his trust, but this Gray Coat was not in the same league as Luo Xi when it came to playing games and dealing with people.

In Luo Xi's view, the other party was at most a lower-middle level.

Without a doubt, Gray Coat wanted to use Luo Xi to do some things, and conversely, Luo Xi had the same demands.

So they hit it off, and the two initially reached a cooperation.

The first project was Cinderella's 'Strong Girl Development Plan'.