After the Senior from the Sect blocked the disaster, the escape could not proceed normally until the third day. This delay, however, significantly advanced the game's storyline:

"Young Master Mu learned from Maid Xiao Suo that the Senior from the Sect had blocked the disaster; 'Demon's Heavenly Eye' activated."

"Young Master Mu realized that the person behind the scenes was not only closely connected with the Six Major Factions but also wielded significant power, very likely occupying a high position. Clue percentage +20%."

"Current total clue percentage: 27.9%."

"Because the clue percentage was >25%, the investigation made great progress. Young Master Mu, with the help of 'Demon's Heavenly Eye,' triggered the 'Traces' ability. This allowed him to vaguely sense where crucial clues about himself might appear and which person possessed the information he needed."

"Note: Important clues may also come with various risks."

Ren Suo blinked. It felt like Maid Xiao Suo summoning the Senior from the Sect for help was an essential, unavoidable, and indispensable part of the storyline. Thanks to Ren Suo's efforts in creating a perfect start over the first two days, he managed to surpass a 25% clue percentage. This enabled him to obtain the 'Traces' ability right at the start of the third day.

Ren Suo estimated that the Senior from the Sect's assistance on the third day was a plot event bound to happen at a set time. If Ren Suo hadn't achieved more than a 5% clue percentage in the first two days, he would have had to waste another turn increasing it.

Young Master Mu said, "This young master has a faint premonition..."

He opened the map. Aside from thirty-three investigation points and scenic spots, six red circles marked with '!' also appeared. Each red circle covered a vast area, encompassing multiple scenic spots and investigation points.

The game displayed a hint: "Young Master Mu, while investigating within these circles or visiting scenic spots, might encounter passers-by carrying clues."

So, does this mean I have to rely on luck and randomly wander around? Ren Suo thought. And then, after visiting all the places, summarize the best route to get through today?

Wait a minute... Ren Suo felt this plot, requiring reloading saves, seemed familiar. He opened "Xiao Suo's Secret Diary" and found that although no new ink floated up, the line "What should I do?" was shining brilliantly in gold, as if urging him to hurry up and pay.

With a click, Ren Suo's eyes practically popped out of his head—it actually required 50 Merit Points for Xiao Suo to directly think of the answer!

The highest reward in this game is just 500 Merit Points, and the Merit Points I'd get for finishing might only be around 300. Now you want to take 50 points from me?

Indeed, playing games still relies on real skill, not these kinds of shortcuts!

Back in the game, Ren Suo randomly selected a location within a red circle to investigate. His luck wasn't bad this time; he immediately found someone carrying information. As Young Master Mu approached the investigation point, he spotted a wandering Soul Hall Warrior nearby.

The game presented options: "Follow him quietly and capture him when no one is around," "Avoid him," or "Send Maid Xiao Suo to use the Beauty Trap to extract information."

The first two options were quite normal. Ren Suo, however, was taken aback by the third option. So this is the proper use of Maid Xiao Suo?

He silently chose the third option.

Maid Xiao Suo demurred, "Ah~ I'm not good at this sort of thing."

"I know you have a way with seducing men. Go on," Young Master Mu said.

"How could that be? I've never seduced any men before."

"Stop chattering and hurry up."

After some hesitation, Maid Xiao Suo finally went over to pry for information. She returned moments later, saying, "The Soul Hall Warriors have received orders to station themselves in areas that have experienced disasters. It seems they're chasing someone. I couldn't find out who, but it's very likely they're after you, Young Master!"

Young Master Mu mused, "How would they know I'm in Edo? We came here undetected, leaving no trace. Ling'er would never betray us... Ah, right. Since they were able to discover I'm a descendant of the Demon Lord, it isn't surprising they have a method to track me. However, they only vaguely know I'm in Edo now, so we still have time..."

With that, the investigation naturally couldn't continue, and the daytime round had to end.

Ren Suo considered this. What would happen if I beat up the Soul Hall Warrior? He decided to try, so he reloaded the game and chose, "Follow quietly and grab him when no one is around."

The game suddenly switched to a battle screen. Ren Suo had Young Master Mu wait at a corner. The Soul Hall Warrior's field of vision appeared on the screen, obviously reminding Ren Suo not to let Young Master Mu enter it.

After 10 seconds, the Soul Hall Warrior turned his head to walk in another direction, and Ren Suo immediately had Young Master Mu follow stealthily behind.

However, Young Master Mu had barely taken two steps when the Soul Hall Warrior suddenly whipped his head around, staring intently at him. A crimson glow appeared in the bottom-left corner of the screen, signaling as if someone was attacking Young Master Mu from behind!

Ren Suo immediately had Young Master Mu switch the camera angle and saw a red outline in a nearby building—Soul Hall had a hidden sentry post monitoring this investigation point!

Several harsh whistles sounded, and the game displayed a notification:

"Young Master Mu has been exposed!!!"

The top-left corner of the screen very appropriately displayed five red alert stars, indicating the player had failed to remain stealthy and needed to activate Unparalleled Mode.

However, the hidden sentries were too far from Young Master Mu to realistically eliminate them all. Ren Suo was forced to control Young Master Mu to fight his way from that street to the vegetable market. The number of red alert stars did decrease. At this point, a dialogue bubble appeared for Young Master Mu:

"I've already been exposed; the area will soon be sealed off. I don't know if Xiao Suo is safe... but I can't meet up with her now. I must continue the investigation alone... Staying in Edo is very dangerous, but every investigation point in Edo is guarded by Soul Hall Warriors. I must leave."

"But where can I go? Soul Hall's influence in Yingzhou is overwhelming. Previously, since I hadn't shown myself, they might have underestimated me. But now that I've killed their members, they definitely won't give me any chance to escape Edo... And even if I run, where can I continue the investigation?"

"Without Xiao Suo, I can't hold on either..."

"Ending—Lost: The fleeing Demon Lord grew increasingly disillusioned and was eventually captured by the Six Major Factions. Although a Senior from the Sect came to the rescue, the rescued Demon Lord suddenly went berserk and fled thousands of miles, only to be slain by an arriving Great Warrior."

One wrong step leads directly to a BAD ENDING? Is it really this tense and thrilling?

Looking at it this way, Maid Xiao Suo is quite useful after all. No wonder Young Master Mu previously taught her the language of Yingzhou; otherwise, she really wouldn't have been any use here.

If it weren't for Maid Xiao Suo, Young Master Mu's correct move here would have been to avoid the Soul Hall Warriors. However, with Soul Hall Warriors guarding every investigation point, both here and elsewhere, his investigation efficiency would have drastically decreased. This would ultimately lead to failure to complete the game.

When Ren Suo was about to proceed with the night round, he suddenly remembered something. He opened "Xiao Suo's Secret Diary" and discovered a newly added, heavily inked line of text: "All investigation points are guarded by Soul Hall Warriors. Young Master Mu has exposed his presence in Edo. We don't have much time left for our investigation."

The Krypton Gold cost had also decreased from 50 to 45 Merit Points. Ren Suo blinked and chose to load the save from the third day of the escape. He discovered that Maid Xiao Suo suddenly said at the start of the daytime round:

"Young Master, every investigation spot may now be guarded by Soul Hall Warriors, and you've already exposed your presence in Edo. You can no longer investigate these places openly."

Young Master Mu didn't doubt Maid Xiao Suo's source of information. "I can't go to the investigation points to search for clues... What should we do now?" he asked.

Maid Xiao Suo suggested, "Let's not go to the investigation points. Let's try our luck somewhere else and see if we can find any Traces."

Young Master Mu sounded dejected. "Luck... Have I fallen so low that I must rely on luck to overcome difficulties? Can I only depend on luck now? Am I truly... out of options?"

Game Prompt: "Due to special circumstances, Young Master Mu's mood is severely affected, shifting from 'Quite Pleased' to 'Depressed'."

Ren Suo immediately opened "Xiao Suo's Secret Diary" and saw a new blot of ink at the bottom: "Young Master Mu doesn't believe in luck. I have to make him believe in me."

Since he hadn't used Krypton Gold initially, Ren Suo was now even less willing to do so. He steeled his resolve, preferring to reload countless times to forcefully unravel this plot!

Maid Xiao Suo said, "Young Master, trust me. As long as I'm by your side, all your troubles will be easily resolved."

"Why are you so certain?" Young Master Mu asked.

"Because you're the protagonist of a legendary story! You'll become an important figure in the future, revered by everyone as the Demon Lord..."

"Why am I the protagonist? How can you be sure?"

"Because right now," Xiao Suo said softly, "you are *my* protagonist."

Through multiple reloads, Ren Suo suddenly understood Maid Xiao Suo's true purpose. Just as her character description stated, she wasn't clever, wasn't articulate, and didn't know how to comfort others.

But with each reload, Maid Xiao Suo, drawing on her experiences from previous game attempts, knew what Young Master Mu was worried about and what was on his mind. Thus, she could offer precisely targeted comforting words, soothing his frustrations time after time.

It was like arguing with someone and losing. Then, late at night, you finally think of the perfect comeback. Imagine being able to travel back in time to that argument and deliver it flawlessly.

Maid Xiao Suo was the same. Her reactions were always slow. She would barely offer a word of comfort before Young Master Mu retorted, leaving her at a loss.

Ren Suo had to open the secret diary to let her 'think,' then reload, before she knew how to respond effectively to each of Young Master Mu's points.

After a dozen reloads, Maid Xiao Suo finally managed to smoothly counter all of Young Master Mu's dispirited remarks. Left with no other recourse, Young Master Mu sighed, "…Hmph. I really don't know where you get so much confidence in me."

Maid Xiao Suo continued, "A wronged person, after numerous hardships, catches the mastermind and clears their name. A fugitive encounters incredible adventures and ultimately returns victorious. Justice will prevail, and true lovers will be united—isn't this how stories always go?"

Young Master Mu chuckled. "Heh... I might not be on the side of justice right now. But if justice must prevail and true lovers are united... that wouldn't be so bad."

Game Prompt: "Struck by reality, Young Master Mu's spirits were rekindled. His mood shifted from 'Quite Pleased' to 'Confident and Exuberant,' significantly affecting the Resentment he carried and purifying 20,000 Filth Resentment."

Ren Suo shook his right hand, tired from clicking the mouse. I finally managed to get through this without using Krypton Gold! he thought. And I even purified an extra 15,000 Resentment. Not a waste at all.

They were still in the daytime round, and since he couldn't investigate, Ren Suo naturally chose to "Rest Well."

Looking at the many attractions on the map, Ren Suo randomly chose the "Fish Market." Then, the scene transitioned, showing the two spending the day there.

A simple message popped up: "It rained at the Fish Market today."

The game displayed only this simple notification. There was no dialogue between Young Master Mu and Maid Xiao Suo, nor did it trigger any side story about Maid Xiao Suo after the rain. More importantly, no clues for the 'Traces' plot appeared...

Sure enough, after the daytime round ended, the game displayed a notification: "Because nothing was gained during the day, the Demon Lord's mood was slightly affected."

So, choosing the wrong location not only wastes a round but also worsens Young Master Mu's mood.

After several attempts, Ren Suo finally found a location that triggered an event: Central Street.

While Young Master Mu and Maid Xiao Suo were touring Central Street, Young Master Mu suddenly exclaimed, "That girl has Traces on her!"

The girl wore gorgeous clothing that was clearly impractical for combat; she was obviously not a member of Soul Hall. So, Young Master Mu didn't hesitate and said bluntly to Xiao Suo, "This young master knows you're good at seducing girls. Go on."

Maid Xiao Suo retorted, "How could that be? I've never seduced girls before!"

Young Master Mu huffed, "Hmph… fine. Let's go together then."

After some conversation, they learned that this girl was friends with a short, villainous man who had been killed by Soul Hall.

According to the girl, this man was originally timid and cowardly. He had suddenly disappeared about ten days ago. Her other friends also progressively vanished within those ten days. It was only after Soul Hall killed the man that she realized her friends had been murdered by him.

Young Master Mu mused, "So, someone originally timid, weak, and with low strength suddenly gained power and the courage to kill…"

The total clue percentage rose to 30.8%. After obtaining the information, they parted ways with the girl and continued their tour of Central Street.

Although they didn't trigger any exclusive story content for Maid Xiao Suo, at the end of the daytime round, Young Master Mu muttered to himself, "Just wandering around, and we happened to meet someone bearing crucial clues... Could it be, as Xiao Suo said, that I really am a fated one...?"

The game displayed a notification: "Because the day was fruitful, and sightseeing with Maid Xiao Suo also greatly pleased the Demon Lord, these various facts made the Demon Lord more confident. The amount of Resentment purified this round is 30,000."

The daytime round on the third day of the escape also ended perfectly. However, Ren Suo increasingly felt that something was off. In this game, Maid Xiao Suo was just like the main character in *Assassin*—able to 'remember' information from previous save files. This helped her manage Young Master Mu perfectly, preventing his mood from worsening.

Combined with Ren Suo's infinite save reloads, it meant Young Master Mu made every step correctly, without any mistakes.

This meant that Young Master Mu's 'protagonist aura'... was actually something I, the player, painstakingly forged!

However, Ren Suo quickly recalled his past experiences with other open-world RPGs. Didn't I also use countless reloads and reference numerous guides to create a perfect save back then? My current playstyle isn't any different. I was even addicted to creating such 'builds' (character setups).

And Ren Suo didn't feel lonely. Looking at Maid Xiao Suo in the game, he thought, Playing a game where the player and an NPC nurture the main character together... that actually sounds quite interesting...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.