Back in the preparation space, Acheron was still dazed.
"Pfft!"
Only when she heard someone stifling laughter nearby did she finally snap out of it.
"Valerius, your pills don't work."
"You have to make her swallow it first."
"But… the pill is bitter."
"Well, that's not my problem."
Valerius couldn't help but want to laugh. Raiden Ei killing Acheron… what was this, internal conflict within the Raiden family?
Turning around, Acheron returned to the eliminated group, looking somewhat withdrawn.
After everything she had gone through, she had thought she could clear it. But in the end, she died because of carelessness—she forgot that Raiden Ei would also be infected. If she had acted faster and made Ei swallow the pill immediately, would things have turned out differently?
"Next."
Valerius looked at the remaining participants and saw Jaina approaching him, hands raised in her usual posture.
"I'll buy the pills."
Her slender tail swayed behind her, clearly showing she was in a good mood.
"Alright."
After handing over the pills, Valerius finally noticed something about her hands. He had always wondered why she kept them raised in front of her chest—wasn't that tiring?
Now that she was standing in front of him, he finally saw clearly.
There were two loops on her outfit. What looked like her holding her hands up was actually her thumbs hooked into them.
Combined with her hot pants and torn black stockings, it was… very eye-catching.
"So? Want something to happen? Give me a free item and I might consider it."
Jaina leaned forward, her body curving as she moved closer to him.
"Heh."
Rolling his eyes, Valerius opened the portal.
As if I don't know you. Flirty as hell, and extremely good at leading people along. If anyone followed your rhythm, they'd probably die several times over.
"Heh, don't make it too hard."
Seeing that Valerius wasn't taking the bait, Jaina straightened up and walked into the game space. As she left, her tail brushed lightly across his chin, making him flinch.
This scene happened to be witnessed by Ellen.
She glanced back at her own shark tail, silently thinking—if she did the same thing, would Valerius give her an easier scenario too?
Outside the space.
Bronya stared intently at Jaina's torn black stockings. Then she looked down at her own.
Almost unconsciously, she reached out and tore them slightly.
A patch of pale skin was instantly revealed.
"What are you doing?"
Seele couldn't understand. Why would you suddenly rip your own stockings?
"I… accidentally."
In truth, she wanted to ask if it looked attractive, but the words never left her mouth. She had a feeling Seele would definitely laugh at her if she knew what she was thinking.
"You've been acting weird lately."
"Nothing like that."
Her face flushed red as she turned away, refusing to meet Seele's gaze.
Inside the game.
This was Penacony—the front desk of the Reverie Hotel.
Jaina now wore a receptionist uniform, standing behind the counter.
"So… I'm supposed to check in guests?"
A quick glance around confirmed her role immediately.
Her eyes scanned the counter, quickly spotting a note among a stack of documents.
[This is the Reverie Hotel. You are responsible for handling check-in procedures for all guests for one week.]
[Rules are as follows:]
[1: Guests have different personalities and belong to different factions. You may take advantage of this.]
[2: Violence is strictly prohibited in the lobby. Violators will be forcibly removed, no matter who they are.]
[3: If you encounter guests wearing skirts, do not refuse their requests.]
[4: The more flamboyant a person appears, the simpler their mind is.]
[5: If a stowaway in the dream is expelled, you may assist her. Depending on your relationship, she may ignite the ocean—or even the stars.]
[6: Beware of the gray-haired one. She will make unreasonable demands.]
[7: Tricksters are chaotic neutral. As long as there's fun to be had, they are willing to help you.]
[8: There are many wondrous things within the dream, but you cannot enter.]
After reading all the rules, Jaina's eyes gleamed slightly.
No violence in the lobby?
A stowaway?
Tricksters?
Even though she didn't know which rule was false, she had already begun forming a plan.
First, she needed to win over as many guests as possible. Only by doing so could she gain access to the wonders within the dream.
The most likely candidate was the stowaway. As for the tricksters, she wouldn't trust them without firsthand contact.
Since guests belonged to different factions, that could also be exploited.
As a criminal psychology expert, Jaina was confident she could analyze their identities through subtle cues in conversation.
Inside the livestream.
[Welt: This is… Penacony?]
[Himeko: It seems so. I didn't expect we'd get a preview.]
[Silver Wolf: I have a bad feeling about this.]
[Sunday: So it really is Penacony. I'll take the hit myself, just don't let my sister get infected.]
[Robin: Brother… he's right.]
[Lynx: That's your sister for you.]
[Seele: I thought you were going to say something about not letting your brother sacrifice himself.]
[Stelle: What's with this "gray-haired one"? Why do I feel offended?]
[Firefly: S-stowaway!]
[Kafka: Heh… this is interesting.]
[Sparkle: I think I'll show up this time. Hehe.]
[Valerius: You will, Director Sparkle… this round is yours.]
[Sparkle: Hehe, just watch.]
As the game began, various guests carrying luggage approached the front desk to check in. But to Jaina's surprise, even though her counter was open, no one came to her.
"…What's going on?"
She pondered silently. They were all front desks—why was no one coming to her?
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps approached.
Jaina looked up and saw Sunday, dressed in white, walking toward her.
Nodding politely, he spoke.
"Banana… banana… banana, banana."
"…Huh?"
Jaina was completely caught off guard. She had no idea what "banana" meant. Was this how people in Penacony spoke?
"Banana… banana."
Seeing that Jaina didn't process his check-in, Sunday grew annoyed. He pulled out a banana and pointed it at her.
"Banana… banana."
The moment he spoke again, he covered his mouth.
What the hell was he saying?
[Zhu Yuan: What… does "banana" mean?]
[Herta: Interesting. Could this be something the Primitive Doctor came up with?]
[Ruan Mei: It seems this infection is a regression experiment by the Primitive Doctor.]
[Arataki Itto: Some kind of weird monkey ninja technique?]
[Seth: What are you even talking about?]
[Arataki Itto: In this declining age, evil ninjas flourish. But no matter how strong they are, all things are subject to creation and destruction…]
[Boothill: Cut the nonsense. At this rate, we're about to set a new speed record.]
Not long after entering, Jaina had already encountered a major problem. Boothill felt she was done for—those who appeared calm at the start usually died the fastest.
Jaina was the calmest of them all.
Which meant—
She was probably going to be the first eliminated.
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