Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

The dark projection emitted a mournful howl under the golden light of the True Lord statue. The enormous phantom twisted violently and finally dissipated into black smoke, retreating into the depths of the forest.

The terrifying pressure that had enveloped the heavens and earth subsided, but the lingering chill in the air reminded Lin Yu that the crisis was far from over.

"Tsk, loud voice, but not much skill."

Lin Yu pursed his lips, withdrew the international friendly gesture, and turned to walk into the apartment.

The king of beasts and Snow White were still shaken.

"It...it seems very angry."

Snow White's face turned pale, and she instinctively moved closer to Lin Yu.

"It's right that it's angry; it means we've hit a nerve."

Lin Yu didn't care at all and plopped down on the sofa in the living room.

He looked at Snow White: "'The key'? Does it refer to you, Princess?"

Snow White shook her head blankly.

The king of beasts, panting, said, "What do we do now? That thing seems to be keeping a close eye on us."

The aura emanating from that ghostly thing had terrified her. If she were in her prime, it would be fine, but unfortunately, her strength has greatly diminished.

"The plan remains unchanged." Lin Yu snapped his fingers.

"Steelheart is at the palace gathering intelligence, but we can't just sit idly by. Beast, dig into 'Foolish Egg's' memories again and see if there's anything about the forbidden forest, ancient ruins, or special locations. Any detail will do."

The King of Beasts closed his eyes and tried hard to recall, but after a long while, he said helplessly, "Really, there isn't any. 'Fool's' memories are nothing but mining, eating, secretly watching the princess, and bragging and joking with other dwarves. There's nothing of value in them."

Lin Yu wasn't surprised. He turned his gaze to Snow White: "Princess, what about you? Besides the nightmare, did you have any other special feelings? Like being particularly attached to a certain place in the forest, or... attracted to it?"

Snow White tilted her head and thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up: "There is a place! Sometimes I inexplicably walk into an open space with small purple flowers. It's very quiet there, and there aren't even any birds chirping."

Every time I try to get closer to the center of the clearing, the idiot or some other little dwarf suddenly appears, pulls me away, and says it's dangerous there.

"Purple flowers? Eerie silence?" Lin Yu's Sharingan flickered slightly. "Do you remember where that place is?"

"Probably... in the direction where the sun sets?"

I'm not sure about Snow White.

"That's enough." Lin Yu stood up. "Bai Shou, grab your gear, let's go."

"Princess, you should stay in the apartment; it's the safest place here."

"I want to go too!" Snow White grabbed the hem of Lin Yu's leather armor, her big eyes full of pleading.

"I have a feeling... they might need me there."

Looking into her pure eyes, Lin Yu thought for a moment and finally nodded: "Stay close to me and don't wander off."

"Yes!" Snow White nodded vigorously.

The three left the apartment's protective area, and Lin Yu and the King of Beasts drank the pure spring water beforehand.

The forest remained dark, but the force that was trying to distort perception was temporarily blocked by the spring water.

Following Snow White's vague directions, they headed west.

The deeper you go, the more twisted the trees become, and the air is filled with a faint purple pollen that makes you feel a little dizzy.

"There's something wrong with this pollen." Lin Yu activated his Heavenly Eye, his vision penetrating the surface to see the faint mental interference energy contained within the pollen: "However, its intensity is very low, and it has no effect on us."

The king of beasts twitched his nose: "There's a... rotten sweet smell."

Finally, they arrived at a clearing in the woods. The clearing was covered with small flowers that emitted a faint purple glow; this was the place Snow White had described.

In the center of the open space, there was not nothing, but a black stone monument, about half a person's height, covered in moss. The ground around the monument was an ominous charred black.

"This is it!" Snow White pointed to the stone tablet.

Lin Yu gestured for them to stay at the edge, and then carefully stepped forward.

The Sharingan carefully scanned the stone tablet, which was engraved with indistinct ancient characters that did not appear to be human language.

"Princess, do you recognize the language written on this?"

Lin Yu waved to Snow White and asked.

Snow White slowly walked to Lin Yu's side and glanced at the stone tablet.

"This... seems to be an ancient script, one that my father taught me."

After examining it carefully, Bai Xue spoke with some uncertainty.

"Then take a closer look and see if you can recognize it."

Lin Yu nodded and spoke.

Bai Xue stood in front of the stone tablet and began to examine it carefully.

About five minutes later, she spoke, "The contents here seem to say that it's bound by blood ties... the balance of light and darkness is disrupted, a curse is born... only a pure heart can..."

Bai Xue stopped reading here.

"But what?"

Lin Yu asked.

Snow White shook her head and said, "The writing at the end is smeared, and I can't read it either."

"I see, blood ties as a bond... a pure heart..." Lin Yu said thoughtfully, looking at Snow White.

Does the contract signed by the old king require royal blood to maintain balance?

Just then, something unexpected happened!

From the shadows at the edge of the open space, a twisted figure suddenly lunged out, its target Snow White.

"Be careful!"

The king of beasts roared, then transformed into a black panther and charged toward the figure.

On the other side, Lin Yu quickly pulled Snow White behind him.

His pupils darted around, transforming into Sharingan eyes as he looked at the approaching shadow.

The figure was none other than the know-it-all who had previously "committed suicide" and disappeared.

But his appearance at this moment was even more horrifying—half of his body remained in the form of a dwarf, while the other half had turned into writhing black tentacles, and his face bore an expression of madness and pain.

"Princess! Come back to us!"

The know-it-all roared.

boom!

The king of beasts was fast and managed to block in time, crashing directly into the know-it-all.

Know-It-All was violently knocked away by the black panther, the king of beasts in disguise, and his body slammed into a crooked sapling like a broken sack, the tree trunk groaning under the weight.

Almost the instant he landed, he struggled to get up. The writhing black tentacles on his body danced wildly as if they had their own lives. The flesh buds at his shattered chest and torn wounds writhed and healed at a visible speed. Thick black blood dripped onto the decaying leaves, making a sizzling sound of corrosion.

"Useless... feeble resistance... Master, grant me... new life! I! Immortal and indestructible!" The know-it-all's voice was distorted and deformed, mixed with inhuman hissing.

It stared intently at Snow White: "Princess... return to the embrace of darkness."

Lin Yu didn't even flinch, showing absolutely no interest in this villainous declaration.

The response to the all-knowing man was a deafening barrage of gunfire.

"Bang!"

The bullet, imbued with demonic power, slammed into the center of the All-Knowing's just-healed chest, instantly blasting open a hole even larger than before, through which the twisted trees behind it could be vaguely seen.

Black blood and bits of flesh splattered everywhere, and Know-It-All let out a shrill, inhuman scream as his body violently arched backward.

However, what was chilling was that the black tentacles at the edge of the hole surged wildly again, intertwining and filling it.

"It looks like this guy is completely under control." The three tomoe in Lin Yu's Sharingan spun rapidly.

"I wonder if the purified spring water is still useful in this situation."

As his thoughts raced, Lin Yu moved.

Sharingan—Genjutsu activated!

The all-knowing man's momentum faltered, his body suddenly stiffening in place, the red light bursting from his eyes flashing intensely and erratically like a faulty light bulb.

His face showed an expression of extreme pain and struggle, and strange "hoarse" sounds came from his throat, clearly indicating that he was resisting Lin Yu's illusion.

"Beasts! Hold him down!" Lin Yu shouted, continuing to apply mental pressure.

He has no sense of Bushido; he'd rather gang up on someone than fight one-on-one.

"roar!"

Without needing to say more, the black panther, the king of beasts, roared and pounced again, its body expanding and changing as it ran—its fur turning dark brown and its muscles bulging.

In an instant, it transformed into a massive brown bear, its enormous paw slamming down!

"Bang!"

Know-It-All was already in a mental struggle and was unable to dodge effectively. He was knocked to the ground by the heavy blow, with most of his body sinking into the soft, humus-filled layer.

The brown bear's massive body followed closely behind, using its weight and strength to pin him down, refusing to loosen its grip no matter how frantically its black whiskers lashed and pierced the bear's hide.

Lin Yu seized the opportunity and instantly rushed to the head of Wan Shitong.

The all-knowing fellow struggled frantically, twisting his head violently, his black tentacles trying to coil around Lin Yu's arm like venomous snakes.

Lin Yu reached out with one hand, grabbed the know-it-all's jaw, forcibly pried open his mouth, and poured a whole bottle of pure spring water that he had prepared beforehand down his throat.

"Gulp... Ugh—!!!"

The all-knowing man's eyes bulged out instantly, and his body convulsed and spasmed violently as if being pierced by a high-voltage electric current.

A reaction more violent than ever before erupted—"Hiss—!"

Like a red-hot iron touching ice water, thick black smoke billowed from his entire body of black tentacles, emitting a piercing, teeth-grinding hiss.

The tentacles writhed and withered wildly, and some even turned into black ash and fell down.

The red light in his eyes flickered and dimmed rapidly, like a candle flickering in the wind.

His eyes held a hint of confusion, or perhaps clarity?

"Ughhhhhh—! I...my head...I am...who am I..." Know-it-all, no, at this moment he clutched his head, letting out a groan that was no longer a monster's roar, but a groan of human pain, his body curled up in a ball, trembling violently.

"I'm a know-it-all? I... am my master's servant! No! Player... 'Shadow'... I am..."

A few minutes later, after the pure spring water continued to take effect and the King of Beasts dragged them away from the clearing filled with purple pollen and a dense aura of darkness.

The know-it-all—or rather, the player "Shadow"—finally managed to break free from mind control.

He leaned weakly against a moss-covered rock, his face as pale as paper, his whole body soaked in cold sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

"Thanks." Shadow took out a few bottles of potion from his storage item, drank them, and after his body recovered a little, he looked at Lin Yu and thanked him.

"I'll offer you 500 game coins, but since you resisted quite strongly just now, the price will double."

Lin Yu crossed his arms, raised an eyebrow, and spoke.

In this game, he doesn't want to have good relationships with others; he'd rather not have these kinds of casual favors.

"..."

Shadow was speechless, but didn't say anything more. He casually took out a bunch of game coins and handed them to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu glanced at it; there were quite a few, more than a thousand. Lin Yu didn't care; he wouldn't return more even if you gave him more.

"Alright, we're even now. Tell me about your situation. Tell me everything you know about that guy."

Lin Yu put away the game coins and spoke.

Shadow naturally wouldn't refuse. He said, "My character is 'Know-It-All,' and my mission after entering the game is: 'To bewitch Snow White and lead her into darkness.'"

These were all pretty much what Lin Yu had in mind.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yu asked, "Why were you affected so quickly? You were completely controlled on your very first day in the game."

Hearing Lin Yu's question, Shadow continued, "I guess it's because of the character and attributes. My character, Know-It-All, is a dark creature controlled by that 'unknown entity' in the background."

Furthermore, my mental attributes are relatively low, so when I first entered the game, I was subjected to a strong mental erosion and almost instantly identified with my character.

That being… it whispered directly in my mind, promising me power.

"Is that so?"

Lin Yu stroked his chin. It seemed that this was why that guy chose to control the Shadow instead of the King of Beasts, because the Shadow's mental attributes were not high, making it easier to be influenced.

From this perspective, that guy's impact on reality seems rather ordinary.

"So, what exactly is that unknown entity? Do you know?" Lin Yu continued to ask.

"According to my memory, it seems to be something called a Story Intruder. It came to this world a long time ago, but due to some special reasons, it was not very powerful at the time, so it was sealed by the first Darkwood Castle King."

However, it also took advantage of the king's greed and signed a contract with him.

I don't know the specifics of the contract, but it's highly likely related to the continuation of the kingdom, as the contract binds the kingdom's bloodline, and each king needs to sign a contract with this entity.

"Shadow said, panting."

"In this generation, the old king, who is Snow White's father, for some unknown reason, did not want to continue signing the contract with the story invaders, thus violating the rules, which ultimately led to his death."

The Shadow's words contained a lot of meaning, so it seems that choosing to save him was indeed a good choice.

Snow White, on the other side, was also stunned after hearing Shadow's words. She had no idea that there were so many secrets behind her father's death.

"Story invaders...a contract binding the bloodline of the kingdom..." Lin Yu pondered these keywords, his Sharingan swirling slightly.

"The old king wanted to unilaterally break the contract, but was taken down by his 'partner'? What about the queen? What role did she play in this game? Do you know?"

Shadow thought for a moment and continued, "The Queen... her situation is more complicated."

As far as I can remember, the queen in this world is not the same queen as the one we know.

The one in our story is Snow White's stepmother, but the one we're talking about now seems to be the princess's biological mother...

"ah?"

Lin Yu was taken aback when he heard Shadow's words.

"Is the Queen your biological mother?"

He instinctively looked towards Snow White.

"Yes, is there a problem, Mr. Hunter?"

Seeing Lin Yu's gaze, Snow White was a little confused. She asked him in confusion to confirm the answer.

"this……"

Lin Yu scratched his head. Goodness, no wonder the system warned him that the story would change drastically before he entered the world; it turns out even the characters have changed.

But he couldn't say anything. He couldn't very well tell Snow White that in another story, her biological mother was dead, and it was actually her stepmother who wanted to kill her.

This is too strange. Lin Yu thought for a moment, then instead of answering Snow White, he continued to look at the shadows: "You continue."

Shadow nodded: "The queen was depressed after the king's death, but by chance, she obtained the magic mirror and wanted to use its power to resurrect the old king."

But she didn't know that the magic mirror was actually set up by the story invader, which directly led to her being burned and her mind being severely eroded.

Her morbid possessiveness towards the princess was related to this; the intruder exploited her obsession, distorting her love for the princess.

The clues gradually came together.

The old king went too far and lost his life, while the queen tried to walk a tightrope but ended up getting herself caught in the trap.

That's all I know.

Shadow rubbed his temples and spoke.

"Don't you know the intruder's purpose in that story, or where it was sealed away?"

Lin Yu asked.

"I really don't know. That guy was very cautious, and I was under control at the time, so I didn't actively gather any intelligence. Therefore, I don't actually know much."

Shadow said with a wry smile.

If he weren't completely controlled and had even a little bit of player consciousness, he would definitely try to obtain information, but the problem is that he is controlled too thoroughly.

"Alright, now that we've sorted things out, it's clear that everything that's happened in this world is the work of that story invader. Based on its name, it's not hard to guess that it's a creature specifically designed to target the story's plot."

It is this that turned the fairy tale world into a dark fairy tale.

Therefore, it seems that our side quest 4 is basically about eliminating it and removing its influence on the world.

Looking at it this way, tasks ①②③ are actually all about removing its influence, since Snow White, the Queen, and the dwarfs were all affected by it.

Lin Yu quickly sorted out his thoughts.

"I have another guess."

At this moment, the king of beasts suddenly spoke.

"you say."

Lin Yu said.

The King of Beasts squinted and said, "I don't know if you noticed, but Shadow just said that when the intruder first came to this world, it wasn't very strong, and was even sealed away."

But based on its previous performance, its current strength should be quite formidable; it certainly won't be easily sealed away.

"really."

Lin Yu nodded. Based on his current knowledge of the abilities of the NPCs in this world, they were most likely unable to seal the story invaders.

That guy's projection performance is at least gold-level, and the physical form should at least be platinum-level.

Even with his current abilities, it would be difficult for him to deal with it without the idol.

"So now the question is, how did its strength increase?"

"The king of beasts said."

"This problem... according to Shadow, should be because of that contract with the king."

Lin Yu thought for a moment and then said.

"Possibly." The Queen of Beasts nodded, then thought for a moment, looked at Lin Yu, and said, "Witcher, I don't know if you've played puzzle games before, but I have."

I can tell you very clearly that puzzle games in apartment games don't actually require very high combat power. The system won't arrange characters whose strength is vastly different from the player's.

Even if it does exist, that monster must have a significant weakness, making it possible to kill it even if the player is "above its level," and I believe this game will be no exception.

After speaking, the King of Beasts looked at Lin Yu with a somewhat complicated expression.

"..."

Upon hearing the words of the King of Beasts, Lin Yu remained silent for a short while.

He hesitated before saying, "You mean... the invaders' strength in this story could actually decrease? Or that we actually have an easier way to defeat them?"

"Yes, I understand that even with your strength suppressed, the current story invaders are still not strong enough to threaten your life, but I think your thinking needs to be closer to the logic of puzzle games, instead of just thinking about killing and recklessly rushing in."

The king of beasts has an exceptionally complex inner world.

She was a "veteran player" who had played more than a dozen games, but to be honest, she had never seen a player like Lin Yu before.

Despite being outmatched, he was still able to easily defeat the final boss of a game, and it was a puzzle game at that.

Such players are extremely rare.

But she still had to remind Lin Yu not to think about these kinds of games in the usual way.

This is actually Lin Yu's biggest problem right now. In fact, many of the games he's played have tasks that he could complete relatively easily, but...

In many cases, the game difficulty will inexplicably increase because of his lack of ability.

However, because of his talent, he can successfully overcome even when the game becomes more difficult.

This has led to his current mindset becoming ingrained; when faced with a dilemma, he tends to act impulsively.

For example, right now, following Lin Yu's line of thought, he is actually already thinking about how to quickly find the final boss and kill it directly.

"Hmm... what you said makes a lot of sense, so what are your thoughts?"

Lin Yu touched his nose somewhat uncertainly, and then spoke.

He wasn't stubborn; since there was a simpler way to complete the task, he wouldn't insist on going head-to-head with the BOSS.

After all, there are risks involved in doing that.

He is not strong enough to threaten his opponent now, and he relies more on the True Lord statue. That guy already knows the power of the statue and will not let Lin Yu succeed so easily.

"First, confirm the contents of that contract. I think you should be able to find it in Blackwood Fortress. You can contact Steelheart and ask him about the situation in Blackwood Fortress."

Secondly, complete side quests ② or ③. Since that guy was in such a hurry when you were purifying the princess, it must mean that your actions created a crisis for him.

The more the enemy forbids us from doing something, the more we want to do it. Therefore, we can try to purify the dwarves and the queen as soon as possible...