Herlan Castle features a very iconic structure—the clock tower.
The clock tower is tall, standing on the edge of a steep cliff. Every day at 3:00 PM, the sound of the bell rings out, its distant toll echoing through the mountains and reverberating in the castle.
The players had been at Herlan Castle for three days, yet they hardly noticed the bell tolling. This was mainly because most players were engaged in filming tasks when the bell rang, leaving little attention for the sound.
“We actually learned about it by exchanging information with others,” Ruan Yuan said with a smile, her round face and round eyes making her look especially lovely when she laughed.
If one encountered a girl like her in real life, it would likely be easy to like her.
She had a knack for bringing up topics at the right time, and every topic was something those around her wanted to know, which made people feel the urge to share. Her observations were keen and nuanced, and she understood how to navigate social interactions. Because of this, the couple had managed to make it this far in the game.
Gu Jiu was not surprised by this; since Ruan Yuan could approach them, she had surely done the same with other players to exchange information.
However, judging by their demeanor, it seemed that they only exchanged information with those players without reaching any cooperative agreements, likely due to a lack of trust. Of course, it wasn’t that she fully trusted Gu Jiu and Lu Ji, but their displayed abilities and character had led them to take this risk.
In the gaming world, players were all gamblers, always ready to take risks.
The four of them headed towards the clock tower.
Since it was lightly raining outside, Gu Jiu didn’t want to get wet, so they took the indoor passage to the clock tower.
They had visited the clock tower once yesterday, so they were familiar with the route.
It was Ruan Yuan and Lu Haidi’s first time walking through this passage. They noticed the paintings hanging on both sides of the walls, their expressions becoming serious as they recalled Gu Jiu saying that the paintings on the fifth floor of the castle were blank. The black shadow that attacked her was clearly one of the figures from the paintings. While they appeared normal in the paintings, once they stepped out, they became dark silhouettes.
Could it be that the audience in the ballroom yesterday were actually the figures from those paintings?
If that were the case, thinking about the numerous character portraits in the castle sent chills down their spines.
There were simply too many character portraits in the castle, and if players had to face the figures within those portraits, it would be a sea of people, leaving them with no chance of victory.
Upon reaching the clock tower, they began to climb the stairs.
The clock tower had ten levels, with the large bell located at the top.
Once they reached the top, the first thing they saw was a large bell, ancient and heavy, standing quietly there.
Gu Jiu and Ruan Yuan walked around it, marveling at its size. Striking the bell would not be easy, and both felt a premonition that the task of the bell-ringer lay in the word “strike,” fearing that the process wouldn’t be very pleasant.
Lu Haidi glanced at the time and said, “It’s almost 3:00 PM. You two go over there first.”
When a player was engaged in a filming task, it was best for other players to keep their distance; otherwise, they would be considered participants in the same task, and the threat of death loomed closely. However, once a player was filming, others could not approach, as an invisible barrier would separate unrelated players. At that time, even if those unrelated players wanted to help, they would be unable to do so.
Gu Jiu, Lu Ji, and Ruan Yuan retreated to the staircase.
At 3:00 PM, Lu Haidi, standing on the top floor, began to move.
His body, seemingly out of his control, walked towards the large bell. As he reached it, two thick ropes hanging in front of the bell seemed to come alive, binding his body and forcefully driving his head toward the bell.
The task of the “bell-ringer” involved striking the bell with his own body.
Given the thickness of the bell, to ring it, a person’s head would practically shatter.
Just as Lu Haidi’s head was about to collide with the bell, a bronze helmet appeared, covering his head. The helmet struck the bell, producing a deep and powerful sound that echoed throughout the castle and lingered in the mountains.
After three strikes, the force binding Lu Haidi finally subsided.
Ruan Yuan seized the moment. As soon as the transparent barrier isolating them disappeared, she rushed onto the top floor, carefully supporting Lu Haidi, who was still bound by the ropes, to bring him down from mid-air.
Lu Haidi’s body felt weak; although his head was protected by the helmet, he was still dizzy and dazed.
Sitting on the floor, it took him a while to recover. Shaking his head, he said with lingering fear, “I almost thought my head was going to split open. I’m still a bit dizzy.”
Ruan Yuan patted his head, reassuring him, “Don’t worry, Brother Lu, your head’s still in one piece—no splitting.”
Though she said this, she also felt a lingering fear inside.
She looked at the bronze helmet and explained to Gu Jiu and the others, “This bronze helmet is a rare defensive item we obtained in a different game world. I didn’t expect we’d need to use it here.”
In the Multiverse game universe, defensive items were famously scarce. Even in Boundless City, few defensive items were available for sale, and whenever one appeared, it commanded an astronomical price. Players were willing to spend vast amounts of points to purchase defensive items.
Now, cracks like a spider web had appeared on the bronze helmet, indicating that it was no longer usable.
In this game world, almost every filming task destroyed a piece of equipment. No matter how wealthy a player was, such constant losses would quickly deplete their resources.
Players who had been in the game world for a long time managed better, but players like them, who had only been part of the Multiverse game for a year, had limited equipment reserves. They were reluctant to use items unless absolutely necessary, especially consumables—once used, they were gone forever.
Gu Jiu examined the bronze helmet, gaining a new understanding of how essential these items were to players.
While this game was filled with deadly traps, having a wide range of equipment seemed to provide some advantage.
However, seeing Lu Haidi nearly suffer a concussion tempered this line of thought; even with items, certain injuries were inevitable.
Once Lu Haidi had mostly recovered, they left the clock tower.
Next was Ruan Yuan’s photographer task.
Ruan Yuan handed her task note to Gu Jiu for review.
[You are a photographer who deeply admires the beauty of Herlan Castle. You have been invited by Madam Herlan to capture a death scene within the castle that will satisfy her, scheduled for tomorrow at 4:00 PM.]
“A landscape painting is one thing, but adding the word ‘death’ to it… it’s like they won’t rest until the theme of death is fully embraced,” Ruan Yuan muttered, puzzled. “I’m certain that when I start taking photos later, there will definitely be death traps waiting.”
Gu Jiu replied, “No specific location this time?”
“Correct,” Ruan Yuan said, her expression serious. “The range a photographer can shoot is vast. Without a specific location, it’s actually more dangerous; death could come at any moment.”
But then again, even with a specified location, there would likely be obvious death traps.
Lu Haidi was visibly worried about his girlfriend. “It feels like we’re characters in the movie Final Destination, and our task is also filming a death-themed movie.”
Gu Jiu responded, “Actually, it’s not too bad. At least we have assigned tasks and know how we might die. That’s better than an unpredictable death lurking around.”
Hearing this, Ruan Yuan and Lu Haidi couldn’t help but glance at her, surprised at how calm she was for someone who had just moved up to the C-level arena. Thinking back to when they first leveled up to C, they had been a nervous wreck, nowhere near as composed. It took multiple harrowing experiences for them to gain the skills they had now.
Then, looking at the two of them, there was Gu Jiu—her performance in the ballroom yesterday had impressed them. She had mentioned using a tool but didn’t specify what it was, and there was even a chance she hadn’t used any tool at all.
Lu Ji, though she spoke and acted little, seemed to follow Gu Jiu’s lead closely, yet her calm demeanor was also not to be underestimated.
Since there was no designated filming location, Ruan Yuan decided to go to the garden for her photography. There weren’t any dangerous sharp objects there, and the open space meant that if there were any threats, they could likely avoid them with quick reflexes.
The sky was still drizzling as everyone opened their umbrellas and made their way to the greenhouse in the garden.
Ruan Yuan took out the camera and casually snapped a picture.
The group looked at the photo she had taken. Since it wasn’t yet time for the actual shoot, the picture looked perfectly normal—a view of the misty castle under a rainy sky, with roses in the foreground bathed in the rain. The roses bloomed vibrantly, looking almost like a spread of fresh blood against the dreary rain.
“Where did you get this camera?” Gu Jiu asked.
Ruan Yuan replied, “It was in the room we’re staying in. We found it on the first day.”
Since her task today was to play the role of a “photographer,” she decided to bring it along to match her character.
In truth, she didn’t want to bring the camera, but she didn’t dare to gamble with her life. After all, the game world rarely hands out tools without reason—there’s always a purpose behind it. That’s one of the rules in the game world.
Gu Jiu squinted slightly, then turned to Lu Ji. “Ah Ji, was there anything unusual in our room? Like electronic devices?”
Lu Ji shook her head. The castle’s décor and setup fully embraced a medieval Gothic vibe. There was hardly any electronic equipment in sight—even the lights looked like large luminous pearls. If she hadn’t inspected one closely, she would have thought the castle was so wealthy that they used these pearls for lighting.
Thinking back to Madam Herlan’s collection room, she supposed it could also be considered a display of wealth, though this extravagance wasn’t reflected throughout the rest of the castle.
Seeing Gu Jiu’s reaction, Ruan Yuan and Lu Haidi felt even more convinced that bringing the camera was necessary.
At 4:00 PM, Ruan Yuan began to take photos.
Gu Jiu and the others stood inside the greenhouse, watching Ruan Yuan outside. After she finished taking a photo, nothing seemed to happen.
Ruan Yuan glanced at the photo she had just taken, her pupils contracting slightly.