Building a skyscraper to survive, all the female colleagues in the company begged me to carry them.

As you get closer, the cloying sweetness becomes pungent.

The teeth and fingernails embedded in the chocolate on the wall... made it even more terrifying.

Liu Lingqing suppressed her nausea and followed Huang Tang into the house.

Human bones and tattered clothes were scattered in the corner.

In the center of the room, a silver treasure chest lay quietly.

"A silver treasure chest!" Huang Tang's eyes lit up. "It's worth sleeping with Snow White!"

Liu Lingqing rolled her eyes: "Even without this treasure chest, I think you'd still be quite willing to sleep with her."

Huang Tang smiled and put the treasure chest into his system space: "I see through it, but I won't say anything."

He glanced around the room but didn't find anything else of value.

Just as I was about to leave, a system notification suddenly sounded:

[Congratulations to player "Huang Tang" for defeating the cannibal Hansel and the cannibal Gretel!]

[Rewards: 10 Power Candies, 10 Invisibility Candies, 10 Lie Candies, 10 Ogre Blood]

[Power Candy: After consumption, your strength doubles for 10 minutes.]

[Invisibility Candy: After consumption, the body becomes transparent for 5 minutes. Attacking or touching another person will cancel the effect.]

[Lie Candy: After consumption, any lie you tell will be completely believed by the other person for 10 minutes.]

[Ogre's Blood: Unknown...may be useful in the future.]

Three bags of candy appeared out of nowhere in Huang Tang's hands.

He looked at it, then handed the "lie candy" to Liu Lingqing: "This one is suitable for you."

Liu Lingqing took it and smiled smugly: "Of course. With this, I can fool Teacher Zhao completely even if he comes."

"Hidden candy is perfect for you; you can peek at us showering when we get back."

Huang Tang scoffed and said disdainfully, "Peeping at you guys taking a shower? Why would I need to? Besides, I've seen every single one of your bodies before."

Liu Lingqing pouted: "Then why are you keeping it?"

"I'll use this to escape invisibly if I encounter danger in the future."

Huang Tang was very serious.

Liu Lingqing was too lazy to argue with him on this topic and asked, "Are we going to Thorn Castle next?"

Huang Tang glanced at the system time; there were four hours left.

"That's enough. The map shows that Thorn Castle is just outside this forest."

The two left the candy house and walked towards the edge of the forest.

Liu Lingqing complained, "If you hadn't slept with Snow White for those two hours, we would have had more time."

Huang Tang thought for a moment: "I think it will take at most an hour to clear the Thorn Castle. I should have gone for a second run with Snow White."

Liu Lingqing blushed and shoved him hard, saying, "Shameless! Get out of here!"

The two laughed and ran into the depths of the forest.

Behind me, the candy house glowed eerily in the setting sun.

The Thorn Castle was already faintly visible in the distance.

………………

An hour later, Huang Tang and Liu Lingqing emerged from the forest, and the view suddenly opened up before them.

A colossal castle stood before us, its dark gray stone walls soaring into the clouds, vines entwined around it, and crimson roses in full bloom.

The heart of each flower is a slowly turning eye, watching everyone who approaches.

thorns!

The castle was completely surrounded by dense thickets of thorns, the spikes as sharp as blades, and the ground was covered with corpses.

The clothes were tattered, the bloodstains dried, some already rotten, others still fresh.

At least several dozen.

Even so, there were still no fewer than fifty players standing in the open space in front of the castle!

Huang Tang was somewhat surprised.

I didn't expect so many people to arrive faster than him.

But then I thought, not everyone will do the fairy tale quests along the way.

Moreover, those tasks are simply impossible to complete without knowing the rules.

Unless that player is exceptionally intelligent, or has access to "Developer Mode" like him.

"So many people..." Liu Lingqing whispered, "What do we do?"

Huang Tang took her hand. "Find out the situation first, don't expose yourself."

The two disguised themselves as ordinary players and blended into the crowd.

Huang Tang glanced around.

Most players are poorly equipped, some even wearing only tattered clothes picked up from the zombie city.

These people had fear, despair, and a desperate madness in their eyes.

He patted the shoulder of a middle-aged man in front of him: "Brother, why are there so many players? What happened?"

The middle-aged man glanced back at him, his gaze lingering on him for a second before turning away, ignoring him completely.

Huang Tang: "..."

Liu Lingqing couldn't stand it anymore, so she stepped forward, putting on a pitiful expression: "Big brother, my boyfriend and I got into this game without even knowing what it is. Please, have mercy and tell us what we're doing here?"

The middle-aged man turned around immediately upon hearing the woman's voice.

Upon seeing Liu Lingqing's face, his attitude completely changed, and he smiled enthusiastically: "Oh, girls, are you newbies? This place is dangerous, you have to be careful."

Liu Lingqing blinked: "Big brother, what are you all doing here?"

"Wait to enter the castle." The middle-aged man pointed to the castle, which was completely surrounded by thorns. "There's a magic mirror inside. If you get it, you can learn the hidden rules of this world. Otherwise, in this lousy map, you're doomed, let alone find any materials."

Huang Tang was taken aback.

He only found out the Magic Mirror was in Thorn Castle after he slept with Snow White. How did these people know?

"Brother," he interjected, "how did you know the magic mirror was inside?"

The middle-aged man didn't bother to look at him.

Liu Lingqing pleaded, "Big brother, please tell us!"

The middle-aged man then said, "One player found out through his talent. His entire team died; they couldn't get in. Before he died, he sent the message to the world chat. Didn't you guys notice?"

Huang Tang indeed didn't notice.

After entering the Anywhere Door, he never watched the World Channel again.

However, the magic mirror wasn't the key to him.

What he cared about was that Lord Mengchang said there was a supply point below the castle!

"Big brother," Liu Lingqing asked again, "has any player gone in so far?"

The middle-aged man glanced at the corpses hanging on the wall and sighed, "There were a few, but they logged off shortly after they went in."

"Some people guess that the thorns outside are just the first hurdle, and there are even tougher ones inside."

"Then why are you still gathered here?" Liu Lingqing asked in surprise. "Are you out of your minds?"

The middle-aged man gave a wry smile: "Girl, do you think we want to risk our lives? We haven't even finished building our three-story house yet. If we don't go in to find materials, going back is the same as certain death."

"Most people here are in the same situation as me."

After listening, Liu Lingqing fell silent.

She glanced back at Huang Tang, her expression complex.

The players outside are facing such a difficult situation.

They were so well protected by Huang Tang that they even thought most people were doing well!

The middle-aged man sighed again: "If only I were Boss Huang Tang, always the first to upgrade my house, one step ahead of everyone else. I wouldn't have to work so hard here."

Liu Lingqing glanced at the person involved beside her but did not say anything.

The two said goodbye to the middle-aged man and went to the side.

"Should we still go in? It's too dangerous!" Liu Lingqing asked softly.

Huang Tang laughed: "What's dangerous for others might not be for us. Hasn't the journey been quite smooth?"

Liu Lingqing's eyes widened: "Smoothly? I was terrified the whole way!"

"You'll get used to it after a few tries."

Huang Tang patted her on the shoulder, opened the [Developer Mode], and looked at Thorn Castle.

A prompt appears:

【Thorn Castle Rules】

[1. Ogre blood can make thorns part in its path.]

[Second, once inside the castle, one will be cursed into a deep sleep from which they can never awaken.]

[Thirdly, only the old man in the gray hat's "Awakening Potion" can ward off the curse.]

Huang Tang gasped.

If you don't understand the rules, going in is definitely a dead end!

The chances of surviving are probably less than one percent!

"So this is the use of the ogre's blood!"

"We still need the sobering potion..."