Chapter 289: Outsider

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe opened the door and arrived in the corridor on the second floor of the clock tower. He had flown up directly, making him faster than the investigation team who had taken the stairs from the grand gallery, allowing him to wait for them at the only path they could take to go upstairs.

On his way to the grand gallery, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe quickly summarized the information known so far.

Regarding the chessboard of Pulu Meiliya:

1. After Pulu Meiliya performed a "take-back" move, time was reversed to before she made her first move.

From the perspectives of Sheriff Ebunik, Housekeeper Miss Mei Lin, and the members of the investigation team, Officer John did not hijack the sheriff, the chandelier was not shot down by his 11 consecutive shots, and the changeling ghost was seen through by "Her Highness" the moment it entered the door, being instantly headshot by Miss Mei Lin's swift American-style iaijutsu.

As far as everyone in the first-floor lobby was concerned, they had only heard the single gunshot from Housekeeper Miss Mei Lin killing the changeling ghost from start to finish; there had never been any gunfight.

However, the female officer Suxi, who was not in the lobby at the time, had heard it. She and officers like Gavin Newsom were in the laundry room at the time and heard the continuous gunfire coming from the direction of the clock tower—that short, "taken-back" gunfight that had never happened.

2. Pulu Meiliya had set up chess games in three places: the underground warehouse, the first-floor lobby, and the central open space of the castle.

Except for the game in the basement, which Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe could not observe due to the dim light, the two games set up later in the lobby and the castle courtyard had their pieces placed in very deliberate orientations.

When setting up the game in the lobby, the four sides of the chessboard corresponded to the four walls of the lobby—front, back, left, and right.

When setting up the game in the center of the castle, the four sides of the chessboard corresponded to the four city walls of Vanessa Fortress—southeast, northwest, and so on.

"So, the rule of that chess game must be—'Setting the Board'."

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe quickly reached a conclusion: "The pieces can only move within the game, and 'taking back a move' can only affect the state within the game. Outsiders are not affected by the game."

"When the board was set in the basement, the scope of the game was a single warehouse."

"When the board was set in the clock tower, the scope of the game was the first-floor lobby."

"When the board was set in the center of the castle, the scope of the game was the entire Vanessa Fortress."

Therefore, although the gunfight in the lobby was "taken back" and never happened for the people involved, Suxi, Newsom, and the other officers who were outside the game still remembered the gunshots they had heard. As outsiders, they were not affected by the game.

This was also the reason why the time on Suxi's phone was more than ten minutes ahead of the time on Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's watch.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe walked quickly through the long corridor and arrived at an open-air circular balcony. On both sides of the balcony were two milky-white curved stone staircases that connected to the ground floor in a graceful, snake-like arc. This was the "Grand Gallery," the main structure of the clock tower.

Standing on the side of the balcony, he carefully poked his head out and quietly observed the girl in the black dress standing silently in the open space in the distance. He recalled the words the man in the leather jacket had said before leaving: "The safety of Her Highness and ourselves is all in your hands, Miss Miss Mei Lin."

"No wonder the man in the leather jacket dared to lead the team directly into the clock tower. He wasn't being impulsive; he was fearless because he had support."

The game had been set. Now, the entire Vanessa Fortress was under the control of Her Highness Pulu Meiliya. Everyone within the game was nothing more than a piece in her hand that could be "taken back" at any time.

The Frim-Mislet family clearly knew a lot about the ghosts in the castle; otherwise, they wouldn't have sent such a targeted Ascender to directly control the entire Vanessa Fortress. But the question remained... "Is this 'Her Highness' an Ascender, or a Bestowed?" Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe looked at Pulu Meiliya's slender, elegant back, lost in thought.

Dense footsteps came from downstairs. Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's body instantly turned into a wisp of invisible Qi. A long-tailed tit darted into the lush potted plant beside the railing, its eyes black and bright.

The footsteps went from muffled to clear. The man in the leather jacket, holding a gun in both hands, came into view first. The group of six walked along the Grand Gallery to the second floor and arrived at the edge of the balcony. Further in was the second-floor banquet hall that Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe had burned down in his dream; it was still perfectly intact now.

"We've reached the second floor. Everything is normal so far." The man in the leather jacket wore an earpiece and nodded to the microphone clipped to his collar: "We are now preparing to head to the third floor... Alright, I will be careful."

Sheriff Ebunik walked to the balcony railing and waved at the people downstairs. Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe, hiding in the potted plant, turned his head to look down. Housekeeper Miss Mei Lin, standing in the center of the open space, also waved back. She and Pulu Meiliya seemed to be wearing earpieces as well, keeping the two groups in real-time contact.

"Suxi, what did your brother say in the last phone call he made to you?" the man in the leather jacket asked as they walked.

The female officer Suxi shook her head: "He didn't say anything, sir. After the call connected, I didn't hear his voice. There was only some indistinguishable noise on the other end, like fabric rubbing against the floor, or perhaps the sound of wind blowing the curtains. It hung up very quickly."

"Is that so."

Without lingering on the second floor, the man in the leather jacket took the lead and guided everyone upstairs.

In this field operation, the 24 officers were divided into groups of three. The group Suxi's brother belonged to was responsible for the investigation and evidence collection in areas like the third-floor library of the clock tower. The last place they lost contact was also on the third floor.

(Author's note: Don't miss a single word of the content!)

Vanessa Fortress had a strict hierarchy, which was reflected in its architectural structure:

The first floor centered on the reception hall and included facilities like the stables, kitchen, and laundry room; it was mainly used by servants.

The second floor centered on the banquet hall and had many vacant guest rooms and entertainment venues; it was a place for hosting guests.

The third floor was the private domain of the castle's owner, Grand Duke Vanessa. The library, art gallery, and the master bedroom were all on this floor.

When the investigation team arrived on the third floor, many of the doors here were already open. They must have been opened by the Su Nake group while they were investigating and collecting evidence before they went missing, and they hadn't had time to close them.

"Everyone move together. Be careful not to get separated or left alone," the man in the leather jacket said, pointing his gun at the nearest door with both hands.

The six of them entered together. Inside the door was an exhibition hall displaying many glass display cabinets. In addition to oil paintings, porcelain, and other artworks, there were many souvenirs of special significance to the Frim-Mislet family, such as:

The deed to the family's first fief, the horseshoe of the beloved horse that had followed the first family head into battle for many years, the bow and arrow that had shot the leader of a peasant uprising, written records of family members marrying into royalty... and so on. These were all properly sealed in glass cabinets, quietly displayed in the exhibition hall on the third floor of Vanessa Fortress.

The group searched the exhibition hall for a long time but found nothing suspicious.

"Next room." The man in the leather jacket turned his gun and led the team out of the exhibition hall, walking into the next door.

(End of chapter)