"Bumped into that rock. Need to avoid it next time."

Ren Suo fell silent as he read this line of fresh ink in *The Secret Diary of Xiao Suo*, along with the prompt indicating it would cost 99 Merit Points to unlock the information.

99 Merit Points. It was the first time Ren Suo had seen such an exorbitant Krypton Gold price—during a holiday sales event, he might have been able to buy a Four-Star Game for 99 Merit Points.

Unless Ren Suo triggered the 19% chance of the 'Plucking Feathers from a Flying Goose' effect, granting a purchase free of Merit Points, he would surely have a difficult time sleeping, his heart pounding over the cost.

Ren Suo silently reloaded the save file. He still escaped to the cliff, but Maid Xiao Suo and Young Master Mu's actions remained unchanged. In the end, they still jumped together, and then...

They died together.

This time, it seemed they smashed into a sharp rock, their brains and organs splattering on the ground.

And it was Maid Xiao Suo who died first, with Young Master Mu flying off to his death immediately after.

However, Ren Suo also noticed that their manner of death was already different from the first jump.

The third cliff jump...

The fourth cliff jump...

...

By the twenty-third cliff jump, Ren Suo suddenly realized that not only were Maid Xiao Suo and Young Master Mu dying differently, but the place they landed had also greatly diverged from their initial attempts.

Initially, they would die after falling only a few dozen meters. Now, after reloading twenty-three times and flipping through *The Secret Diary of Xiao Suo* an equal number of times, Ren Suo could clearly see that Maid Xiao Suo, while holding Young Master Mu, had maneuvered them past several 'rocks that could dash one's brains out' and 'razor-sharp cliff faces'.

In the twenty-third jump, Maid Xiao Suo even used a tree trunk protruding from below the cliff to decelerate, significantly reducing their descent speed.

But because of this, they were both flung away from the cliff face, then plummeted vertically for several hundred meters, splatting into bloodied Paper People on impact.

The line, "This tree trunk can be utilized, but I need to angle my body to avoid being flung out," also appeared in *The Secret Diary of Xiao Suo*.

Ren Suo saw that even after reloading 23 times, the Krypton Gold cost for Xiao Suo to devise the perfect strategy was still 89 Merit Points.

This meant that if Ren Suo wanted to clear this section relying solely on his own efforts, he would need to reload nearly 200 more times.

But it was now almost morning.

Ren Suo yawned, made breakfast, then woke Little Jiu, helped her brush her teeth and wash her face, and rushed her off to school.

When he returned, he saw Black Bell moving like an assassin among the outdoor air conditioning units of the dormitory building. It landed safely, jumping from the Roof to the ground, and then lay lazily in the shadows, enjoying the warm Wan Qiu morning breeze—Lotus River was heating up again.

Ren Suo looked at the dormitory building. Estimating the height of the ninth floor to be about twenty-seven meters, I think I could make it down if I jumped across the air conditioning units, he thought.

But if I were to leap out directly, without any cushioning, even if the Gauze Clothing absorbed most of the impact, the remaining kinetic energy would likely be enough to throw my hormones into disarray and cause my endocrine system to fail, turning me from an active person into a vegetable, he mused.

Ren Suo shuddered, stroked Black Bell, and went back inside to catch up on sleep.

It was only when he rode the Vertical Roller Coaster at Joyous World a couple of days ago that Ren Suo had realized he might be a bit...

afraid of heights.

···

···

In the forty-fourth cliff jump, Maid Xiao Suo's arm was broken, and she ended up throwing Young Master Mu off the cliff.

During the sixty-sixth cliff jump, Young Master Mu's Protective Gang Qi was significantly worn down while tumbling. When they were almost halfway down, Maid Xiao Suo was fine, but Young Master Mu died from the impact.

The progress of their cliff jump was practically reset, prompting Maid Xiao Suo to change her strategy.

She still held onto Young Master Mu, but during their descent, she frequently rotated her body to absorb the brunt of the impacts, buffering the kinetic energy and ensuring Young Master Mu received minimal shock.

As a result, their previous tumbling posture was no longer suitable, and the difficulty of the cliff jump increased once more.

If the previous cliff jumps were like a young couple supporting each other while working hard and renting an apartment in a big city, then the current attempts were akin to a man with aging parents, young children, and a mortgage, desperately working overtime to support his entire family. The difficulty skyrocketed from 'Tomorrow will be better, happiness will knock on the door' to 'Can't live yet don't dare to die.'

In the one hundred and third cliff jump, Maid Xiao Suo realized they were rolling the wrong way. This cliffside was too steep, with no rocks or trees. It was impossible to reduce their falling speed through impact, making it very easy to simply tumble to their deaths.

They had to switch to a path littered with rocks, one that would be agonizingly painful to tumble down but offered a chance.

In the one hundred and thirty-third cliff jump, as the two neared three-quarters of the way down, flashes of Radiance from various techniques erupted from the cliffside above: Dragonfly Flash, Great Bright Palm Imprint, Formless Flying Sword...

Just as the pair seemed about to escape, the pursuing bosses on the cliff could no longer hold back!

In this situation, Maid Xiao Suo and Young Master Mu had no way to Dodge or defend; they could only endure the hits. Consequently, they died again because Maid Xiao Suo, having been struck, couldn't execute any more clever maneuvers to roll safely and reduce their speed.

Hence, Maid Xiao Suo concluded: "When jumping off the cliff, we can't roll into areas illuminated by Moonlight, or we'll be pursued by people from the Six Major Factions."

Maid Xiao Suo chose another route, immediately rolling towards an area not illuminated by Moonlight. They soon disappeared into the darkness, thereby avoiding attacks from the Six Major Factions.

However, this route was not only new but also treacherous; the darkness obscured the cliff face, forcing Maid Xiao Suo to use her own body to test and find the correct tumbling path to reduce speed and evade obstacles.

On the one hundred and eighty-fifth cliff jump, when they had fallen about halfway, Young Master Mu suddenly whispered, "To think I have to be saved by you... it really doesn't sit well with me."

On the two hundred and thirteenth jump, when they had descended three-quarters of the way, Young Master Mu spoke a second time: "You're holding me very tightly."

On the two hundred and thirty-sixth jump, after they had plunged five-sixths of the distance, Young Master Mu whispered her name: "Xiao Suo..."

Ren Suo blinked and efficiently reloaded the save file. What else was Young Master Mu going to say? he wondered.

Finally, on the two hundred and fifty-sixth cliff jump, Young Master Mu and Maid Xiao Suo leaped from the mountain peak. After countless tumbles, using rocks and trees to slow their descent, and enduring over a hundred impacts, they successfully and safely reached the river at the foot of the mountain!

Hearing the PLOP as they hit the water, Ren Suo couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief, as if an immense weight had been lifted from his heart.

It hadn't been easy.

Surviving a cliff jump was incredibly difficult.

Jumping straight off a mountain several hundred meters high would result in becoming Paper People on impact.

The chosen tumbling route needed many obstacles to act as buffers. Furthermore, because they were being pursued, they had to select dark areas where Moonlight could not reach.

During the tumble, Ren Suo had to consult *The Secret Diary of Xiao Suo* repeatedly so that Maid Xiao Suo would adjust their posture. This allowed them to use rocks and trees to slow their descent without being thrown off course by the impacts.

Also, it was only thanks to Maid Xiao Suo that they succeeded. If not for her constant protection, Young Master Mu would have perished halfway down.

That line in her character setting—"Maid Xiao Suo is proficient in Defensive Martial Arts"—turned out to be true. Her defensive power and stamina were even greater than Young Master Mu's!

Maid Xiao Suo alone absorbed almost all the impacts they had to endure, yet she didn't even suffer a bruised backside!

Having played up to this point, Ren Suo now fully understood the game's 'protagonist mechanics'.

There was a protagonist, but Young Master Mu lacked what a typical protagonist should possess—a plot armor or protagonist's halo.

The reason he could escape smoothly, find clues, and purify Filth and Resentment was because the Player, through countless reloads, had painstakingly forged this 'chosen path.'

Visiting a scenic spot could lead to encountering a bystander with clues.

Investigating up the mountain allowed for safe Infiltration and even the execution of a strategy to lure the tiger from its lair.

They could even survive a cliff jump.

This so-called protagonist's halo was the grand result of hundreds of failed attempts and reloaded saves.

All legendary tales involve forging a path to survival in seemingly impossible situations.

"Through the thrilling yet incredibly lucky cliff jump, the pair successfully escaped the pursuit of the Six Major Factions and fell into the river."

Wait a second.

Didn't Young Master Mu want to say something just now?

Ren Suo flipped through the game log and found that after Young Master Mu had spoken three sentences, a game prompt appeared: "The wind was so strong that Young Master Mu's words were drowned out by its roar and the sound of shattering rocks."

What the hell!

I hate it most when people leave things half-said! If you're not going to finish, then don't say anything at all!

Ren Suo grumbled internally and continued playing.

"The pair quickly used the river to aid their escape. Upon reaching a dense mountain forest, they carefully concealed their tracks and slipped into its depths."

"Although the cliff jump was successful, both were still significantly injured. Maid Xiao Suo diligently performed Healing on herself and Young Master Mu."

"Using the Demon's Heavenly Eye, Young Master Mu had already identified the mastermind Behind the Scenes, but he still couldn't ascertain their specific modus operandi.

However, he now knew where the final clue lay. He just needed to obtain this last piece of evidence, and then he could return to the Skycraft Pavilion. There, he could use its resources to expose the mastermind Behind the Scenes and clear his name from this undeserved disgrace."

"Due to the significant progress in the investigation and their successful escape under Maid Xiao Suo's protection, Young Master Mu felt immense happiness, yet also a touch of apprehension..."

"..."

Game Tip: "Due to the events of the night, the Demon Lord discarded all negative emotions, leaving only pure anticipation, satisfaction, and happiness. His body fully recovered, and he purified all Filth and Resentment.

The Demon Lord's mood changed from 'Morale Boosting' to 'Anticipating Tomorrow.' The Resentment purification for this round is 177,777."

Ren Suo blinked.

He looked at the Resentment bar in the upper-left corner. Previously, the Resentment bar was divided into two parts: black represented Filth and Resentment, while white represented purified Resentment.

Because Young Master Mu had previously purified nearly half of the Filth and Resentment, the bar had been almost evenly split between black and white.

But now, the black Filth portion of the bar had completely vanished, leaving only the white purification portion radiating a soft glow.

This not only meant the Player had completed the second main mission task ahead of schedule but also that Young Master Mu could now freely expend the Power of Resentment in battles to recover Health Points and strengthen himself, without worrying about being adversely affected by it or deviating from his alignment!

The game's progress had accelerated tremendously!

Ren Suo looked at the game log again, his gaze fixed on the phrase 'because of the events of the night.'

Did Young Master Mu discard all negative emotions and purify all Filth and Resentment in a single night simply because of the investigation's significant progress and their successful escape?

Or did 'the events of the night' refer to something else entirely?

But as Ren Suo checked, he found that the night had concluded automatically; he had no way to intervene!

Ren Suo opened *The Secret Diary of Xiao Suo* and saw only one line in bold pink ink:

"HEE HEE (#^.^#)."

So, what exactly happened that night?

And what was the last thing Young Master Mu said while they were jumping off the cliff?

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