The noon sun blazed outside, but the castle was refreshingly cool inside, the air dark and comfortably chilled.

The interior décor was vibrant and colorful, with cartoon-styled doll ornaments everywhere, full of whimsy.

At the center of the ballroom stood a sculpture of Beauty and the Beast dancing together, faithfully recreating the fairy-tale scene — crafted to allow visiting guests to feel fully immersed in a fantastical, enchanted storybook world.

Without the lights, however, the dim surroundings drained the originally romantic and splendid sculpture of its warmth, leaving behind something eerie and unsettling.

Beauty’s smile was so rigid, the Beast’s face so fierce.

Bai Youwei had read this fairy tale as a child and found it quite romantic back then — the Beast transforming back into a prince through the power of true love, the kind of thing that really tugged at a little girl’s heart.

But now, the moment she laid eyes on it, she couldn’t help but think of the Duke, a conditioned reflex producing a surge of revulsion.

And then thinking of the female protagonist developing feelings for a beast — quite the unusual taste, that.

“There are quite a few places to hide inside the castle as well.” Shen Mo looked around, methodically scanning the space.

Bai Youwei agreed: “Right… inside the cabinets, under the beds, behind the sculptures, inside the barrels, and these chests filled with treasures — any of them could hide a person.”

She had Shen Mo put her down and reached into one of the chests, pulling out a gold coin — cartoon-styled, with a plastic feel.

Perfectly normal.

The props in an amusement park, of course, wouldn’t use real gold coins.

Otherwise she’d have opened up the doll house and ransacked the place again.

Bai Youwei emptied out one of the chests “full of gold and silver treasures.”

Shen Mo raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to hide in the chest?”

“Not exactly…” She produced the golden key and found a spot to open the doll house.

Inside, Pan Xiaoxin was eating yogurt. The door suddenly opened and she couldn’t help startling.

Bai Youwei also startled for a moment, then her brows shot up: “Xiao Xin! What are you eating behind my back?!”

“…Yogurt,” Pan Xiaoxin said blankly, then quickly explained: “Teacher Cheng made it from milk that was about to expire — he was worried about it going to waste.”

She specifically emphasized “about to expire,” to avoid generating misunderstandings harmful to solidarity!

Bai Youwei said: “I want some too — go get me a bowl!”

Pan Xiaoxin picked up her bowl and hurried off to find Teacher Cheng.

Cheng Weicai filled a bowl to the brim with yogurt for Bai Youwei, packed it in a meal container, and handed it to her. He peered out at the scene beyond, asking with concern: “Has your game started? Why is it all dark out there? Is it dangerous…”

Bai Youwei tasted the yogurt and her whole face puckered up. “It’s so sour!”

Teacher Cheng was taken aback and said hurriedly: “Did I forget to add sugar? Here, here — pass the bowl back…”

His fingers had barely cleared the doorway when Shen Mo frowned: “Don’t reach any further!”

Teacher Cheng was startled, froze, and didn’t dare move.

Bai Youwei pressed the bowl into Teacher Cheng’s hands. “Add sugar — add raisins, dried cranberries, and if you have granola and cheese bits, throw those in too. I’m nearly dying of sourness…”

Shen Mo reminded Teacher Cheng: “We’re inside a game instance right now. If you come out, you won’t be able to get back in — and it will change the player count, possibly having some indirect effect on the game. It’s best to be careful.”

Teacher Cheng held the bowl and nodded repeatedly: “Xiao Shen is right to remind me — I wasn’t paying attention just now…”

Bai Youwei said to Pan Xiaoxin: “Bring some weapons from the storage room.”

Pan Xiaoxin dashed off immediately.

Teacher Cheng added sugar and dried fruit to the yogurt, then went to help Pan Xiaoxin with the weapons. Broadswords, falchions, two-handed greatswords, battle axes, flail-and-chain, throwing hatchets… one by one they piled them all up and loaded everything into the chest Bai Youwei had emptied.

Bai Youwei grabbed a handful of plastic gold coins and pearls and tossed them in on top, decorating the chest so that it looked as though cold weapons had always been what it contained.

Shen Mo looked down at her. “You want everyone to use these things against the cat?”

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