Ma Jun waited expectantly, looking at Jiang Han.
Jiang Han's face was already starting to flush. Her healthy cherry-pink lips parted and closed, and her snow-white little fists were clenched tightly.
She gathered her courage.
"Ma Jun… are you sure you're not from a military district, or the heir of some hidden family?"
"If not, would you consider coming to the Southwest Military District?"
"You're this strong—if you don't fight for the country, it would be such a waste."
"If you're willing to come… I can even give you my status as an elite seed from the military district!"
The smile Ma Jun had been waiting for froze stiff on his face.
…Heh.
So this was what he'd been looking forward to?!
He felt a little deflated. He'd thought his charm had finally been acknowledged by someone his own age, but it turned out to be another false alarm.
The military district?
To hell with that.
Jiang Han lowered her head, her entire body tense, looking extremely nervous.
Ma Jun's voice cooled noticeably.
"As for my background, I have nothing to tell you."
"And joining the military district? Sorry. I like freedom."
"Goodbye."
He dismissed her flatly.
"…Oh."
Jiang Han's shoulders instantly drooped, her tone becoming unusually dejected.
She turned around, took a few steps, then quietly looked back at Ma Jun.
Seeing that he still had no reaction and was calmly grilling fish, she finally quickened her pace and left.
Jiang Han felt both sour and bitter inside.
It was like something was堵塞 her chest.
She almost wanted to cry—an unfamiliar emotion to her.
From childhood to adulthood, she had always been the toughest one.
No matter how much hardship she endured, she had never shed a single tear.
She bit her lip hard, forcing herself not to cry.
She couldn't help feeling confused.
With her sharp instincts, she could tell that Ma Jun had originally been fairly friendly toward her.
But after she said those words, he seemed to have gotten angry.
She didn't understand why.
Was it because the conditions she offered weren't good enough?
But that was already the most precious thing she had.
An elite seed of the military district—
It was what she had dreamed of since childhood.
She had worked for ten years, paid with blood and sweat, just to earn that qualification.
She only wanted to give the most precious thing she had to Ma Jun.
Had she done something wrong?
Jiang Han returned silently to the players' quarters—a crude room with nothing but a hard wooden bed.
Even this was only arranged because the steward gave them face for Ma Jun's sake.
The players were already more than satisfied.
"Jiang Han, you're back."
Mu Chen hurried over to ask.
"Are you planning to finish the mission now, or stay a few more days?"
"Huh?"
Jiang Han was still immersed in her thoughts, her mind distracted.
"What's wrong with you?" Mu Chen asked, puzzled. He had never seen Jiang Han like this before.
"Today's the deadline for the mission," he reminded her.
"You didn't forget, did you?"
"Oh."
Jiang Han snapped back to attention.
Their main quest—today was the final day!
"Everyone's getting ready to leave today," Mu Chen said.
"Are you heading back with us, or staying a bit longer?"
The main quest only required surviving seven days to return.
However, if they stayed beyond fourteen days, there would be additional rewards.
In other dungeons, Mu Chen would definitely push to stay the full fourteen days.
But now, he just wanted to go back as soon as possible.
Losing an arm was simply too painful.
He had already endured it for seven days and didn't want to suffer any longer.
More importantly, he knew very well that surviving these seven days was entirely thanks to Ma Jun.
If anything unexpected happened again, there was no way he could last another seven days.
He had always been a cautious person, not a gambler.
This was the shared mindset of almost all the players—
Except Jiang Han.
Faced with Mu Chen's question, Jiang Han fell silent.
She, too, was cautious.
In the past, she would have chosen to leave without hesitation.
But now…
If she left, would she never see Ma Jun again?
"I want to stay a few more days."
Jiang Han suddenly made her decision.
Even if she might never see him again afterward, she still wanted to explain things to him in person.
At the very least, she wanted to understand where she had angered him.
"All right," Mu Chen nodded, not surprised. Jiang Han had always been strong-willed—wanting extra rewards was normal.
"In that case, before we leave, let's take a look around the castle."
"See if we can find any useful items. This is a Nightmare-level dungeon, after all—anything we find could be valuable."
"Want to come along?"
Jiang Han hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"Sure."
In a horror game, seizing every opportunity to strengthen oneself was the greatest guarantee of survival.
[Congratulations! Main quest completed. You may return at any time!]
[Return now? Yes / No]
The notification sounded, and the players erupted in joy.
Many of them were so relieved they cried.
Seven days that felt like a nightmare were finally over.
They rushed out of their rooms, searching frantically through the castle.
At this time, the three sisters were all outside gathering ingredients. The castle was empty.
Just as the players were gleefully turning everything upside down—
The floor suddenly began to tremble slightly.
They looked up.
In an instant, everyone froze stiff.
A gigantic figure nearly three meters tall
was standing right behind them.
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