Chapter 112: Completing the World (Fourteen)
"Creak, creak."
The nobles who had been chatting and laughing froze, their expressions becoming rigid, as if their limbs were no longer coordinating. Throughout the hall, there came the sound of many bones shifting.
Accompanying this was an instantaneous change in the nobles' attire—some had even switched into the commoner's clothing they had previously shown such disdain for.
"Are they... what's wrong with them?" Throughout the entire hall, only a handful of people remained unaffected by this phenomenon.
The change in clothing was merely the beginning. The nobles' makeup also transformed completely. Handsome young men suddenly had blush and eyeshadow applied to their faces, while the beautiful, elegant maidens' makeup vanished entirely, revealing rather ordinary true faces beneath.
"Does their transformation seem... familiar to any of you?" The speaker's voice had already begun to tremble.
"What?"
"They look exactly like... the dolls on their shoulders..." It was the same person who had spoken before, his trembling arm pointing toward a certain direction.
"...Exactly the same..." Another person followed his gaze and saw the dolls on the pointed person's shoulder that had come to life.
The nobles had donned clothes identical to their dolls, been painted with matching makeup, and then, all at once, stood rigidly and eerily alongside the dolls on their shoulders, wearing the same... brilliant smiles as those dolls.
It was as if... they were adult versions of the dolls.
"Dolls? Is it Jenny?" Zhi Le squinted at the chaos unfolding.
"Jenny..." Lu Wuyi's eyes flickered. Watching the youth's figure gradually vanish from his sight, his brow furrowed deeply. "As expected, these people are troublesome."
"To find Jenny, we'd have to deal with these dolls first." Zhi Le seemed to be casually discussing something trivial. "Jenny's dolls are scattered throughout the entire world. I wonder which of these dolls... might be herself?"
Lu Wuyi looked at the crowd that appeared increasingly abnormal. His voice became gentle, like a whisper meant for a lover. "Then let's kill them all. Once she's dead, the illusion she created... will vanish as well."
"Prince Tommy, the princess suddenly disappeared." Julie pushed past the guards attempting to stop her, her expression anxious as she spoke to Tommy. "You can definitely find the princess back, right?"
"I will." The prince, whose expression had always been placid, now appeared serious. He looked at the panicking maiden, his eyes showing a hint of strangeness, but he quickly suppressed this confusion. Instead, he turned to look at the countless people in the hall, speaking with unwavering determination. "I will bring him back safely."
"Then I truly must... trouble His Highness the Prince." Julie respectfully curtsied to Tommy. Since everyone's attention was elsewhere at this moment, no one noticed the... cold smile that flickered across the maiden's face.
[An'an, where is this?]
The figure of that young man still lingered before her eyes. Qi An merely blinked, and everything around her had changed.
"Your Highness the Prince, do we need to search for that young lady?" A young man in knight's attire knelt beside Qi An, asking respectfully.
Your Highness the Prince?
Qi An looked down at the clothes she was wearing and confirmed she was indeed dressed like a prince. She turned her head—everyone surrounding her appeared to be normal humans.
"Your Highness?" The guard's voice rang out again, his tone very soft and quiet, yet crystal clear in this silent hall.
Qi An looked at the glass shoe in her current hand. She surveyed the area. Everyone here was watching her, as if deeply concerned about what decision she would make.
"Can you find that young lady?" Qi An's gaze settled on the guard looking at her respectfully.
"This was left behind by that young lady, and the size is quite small. We can have all eligible girls in the kingdom try it on. If Your Highness trusts me, I will definitely help you find her." The guard's response was extremely steady.
[An'an, what should we do? Should we follow the plot the way they want us to?]
[...Let me think.] Hearing the system's voice, Qi An's brow furrowed slightly.
"Your Highness?" The guard's voice rang out once more. Qi An looked at the nobles wearing elegant smiles. In the end, she set the glass shoe back on the ground. "Then let's forget it. Whatever the reason, since she chose to leave suddenly, we..."
"Your Highness, are you certain you don't want to reconsider?" The always-obedient guard suddenly interrupted her. Qi An stared directly into the guard's pitch-black eyes, fell silent for a long while, then shook her head once more.
...
The clock struck the hour on schedule, as if emanating from an ancient, distant place.
Within the magnificent palace, girls dressed in splendid attire chatted spiritedly. In the prime of their youth, each of them radiated the vitality befitting their age. Each of them possessed unique characteristics distinct from others, yet there was one commonality—their gazes all turned in unison toward a single direction.
The person they were watching was a youth. He wore obviously fine-quality clothing, and upon his head rested a crown symbolizing his status.
"An'an, at this banquet, I've invited all eligible girls from across the kingdom. If you see someone you like, just tell Father." The benevolent king smiled warmly at the youth bowing before him. Though holding a scepter, the old king behaved like any father of an ordinary family would, appearing full of concern for the youth beside him.
[An'an, it's starting over again.] The system's voice changed slightly. [Why don't we go find that Jenny this time? Otherwise, repeating this endlessly... we'll never find any other clues.]
Ever since arriving at this scene, the system and its host had been trapped in this repeating scenario. Apart from agreeing to the guard's request to search for Jenny, its host had tried many different approaches. But no matter what was done, this banquet would always proceed successfully, that Jenny would always appear, and in the end, the question would always be asked:
Whether to go search for that young lady who had run off suddenly.
And its host had never agreed to this request. The system had lost count of how many times they had repeated this. Whenever its host formally refused to search for Jenny, the scene would reset to this point.
The youth being observed by the king wore an expression of complete calm. He didn't answer the system, merely gazing at the blossoming maidens with unchanged eyes. "Mm."
"Whichever one you like, regardless of what status that girl holds, it's fine." The king seemed to recall something and repeated himself. "Whichever one you like, anyone at all."
The maidens from across the kingdom gazed intently at the youth standing in a secluded corner. But no matter how beautiful or elegant, none could draw even a second glance from the youth. Just as everyone began to feel disappointed, a maiden slowly walked in through the main doors.
She wore a garment of noble white, her feet adorned with a pair of obviously exquisite glass shoes. Those present gasped at her beauty, but the youth who had captured everyone's attention merely glanced coolly at this unexpected girl before looking away.
Within the hall, things gradually returned to how they had been at the start. Until... the banquet's end.
"An'an, at this banquet, I've invited all eligible girls from across the kingdom. If you see someone you like, just tell Father." The old king's gentle, caring voice rang out once more.
[An'an, are we going to keep repeating like this?] The system's voice轻轻地响了起来。
The youth being questioned, as always, looked toward the nobles in their splendid attire. [...Mm.]
The maidens present watched with disappointment as the previously cold-faced youth's gaze suddenly fell upon the entering maiden. Uncontrollable jealousy flickered across the girls' expressions. But when they clearly saw this maiden's face, a sense of understanding welled up in their hearts.
The reason was simple—this suddenly appearing maiden was simply too beautiful. She possessed a unique charm that none of them could rival.
Everyone watched as the prince actively invited this maiden to dance. With a bashful nod from the girl, the two began dancing before the assembled crowd.
But suddenly, just as the clock chimed, this enviable girl suddenly ran toward the exit.
The stumbling maiden left behind the glass shoes she had been wearing.
"Your Highness, should we search for that young lady?" The guard's voice sounded at the appropriate moment after the maiden's figure vanished.
"No need." Qi An calmly set down the glass shoe she had picked up. She glanced at the clock hanging high above.
...
The banquet venue had tables laden with rare wines and expensive delicacies. Beautifully dressed maidens giggled and conversed. The youth standing in the corner continued speaking with the venerable old king.
After finishing his conversation with the king, the youth's gaze still fell upon the maidens sneaking glances at him.
[The number of these girls seems to be decreasing... with each loop, there are fewer people here. An'an, did you notice this from the beginning? So you never agreed to that request because you wanted the world to keep looping?]
After experiencing this scene countless times, the system finally noticed something.
[That makes sense. An'an, you disappeared suddenly—how could Zhang Zhaoqi possibly remain unmoved? That guy's strength is still considerable. He's definitely searching for a solution. The disappearance of these people must be related to him.]
[Perhaps.] Watching the maiden in glass shoes slowly walk in through the main doors, Qi An's brow furrowed slightly. [There's something I've been thinking about but haven't been able to figure out.]
The place she was in was an illusion.
After Qi An entered, she had sensed that this space was being impacted from the outside, making the illusion extremely unstable.
And with each reoccurrence, this space became slightly more unstable.
If she wanted the illusion to become more stable, everything here would need to develop logically and proceed smoothly. But this illusion kept repeating, defying all reason.