Han Su rushed up to the fourth floor without looking back.
He followed the familiar, deathly silent corridor to the third room, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Only then did he let out a deep breath.
If that half-bodied woman changed her mind and tried to catch him, the stairwell would be the most dangerous part of his path.
On the contrary, once he got past the stairs onto a new floor, that ant temporary safety.
Each of these monsters had their own territory.
The stairwell seed to be a public area—any monster could enter—but their individual floors were private domains. Under normal circumstances, the monsters wouldn’t cross into another’s domain, except for that old butler.ㄴ
“Kid Bro’s weapon—it’s actually made pretty well.……”
Han Su glanced at the weapon in his hand.
He didn’t know where he’d found it—a strange tal with razor‑sharp edges.
He surveyed the surroundings.
Piles of old toys of various eras and styles lay scattered.
There were dolls, dust‑covered plastic soldiers, plush puppies, and black electronic spinning tops.
There were also larger wooden dolls dressed in fancy skirts, lined up in a glass cabinet against the wall—each about half the size of an adult.
“Finally made it up…”
Han Su couldn’t relax, but adrenaline had begun to sharpen his nerves.
The key was on the fourth floor, so the door would appear there too.
And although there were annoying doll‑puppets on the fourth floor, this monster—the Pale Giant—was slow and stupid.
As long as he was careful, he could snatch the key from it.
Once he got the key, the door would appear.
Once through that door, no matter which floor he erged onto, he’d have escaped the Ancient Castle.
He didn’t know the exact chanism.
That door wasn’t originally part of the castle.
It had appeared mysteriously alongside the key after he’d rescued Xu Ji.
Like…so reward from fate?
Unfortunately, he had no energy to investigate the cause. He only knew this was his hope for escape.
“Pale Giant’s vision is poor, movent is slow, but hearing is sharp…”
“The dolls in the glass cabinet are alive, but they seem to like disguising themselves. They won’t make a sound unless necessary…”
“The dolls are hostile to living things in this castle, but they’re not allied with the Pale Giant…”
“And new info!”
“Last ti, after the Pale Monster was injured, its flesh lted away and flowed like water. So this ti, unless necessary, I’d better not injure it. If it’s not hurt, it’ll be easier to deal with…”
“Also…”
“If this ti I manage to avoid it damaging my eyes, will that significantly change my life path when I return to the future?”
…
A flood of information flashed through his mind. Han Su couldn’t judge many things. He thought it best not to alter his life path too much, but too many factors were beyond his control.
He even considered the spell Song Chu‑shi had given him, which had activated powers in his right eye.
Now that he’d reverted to being a ten‑year‑old, would the spell work again?
But all of that had to give way to the goal of “getting out.”
While thinking, Han Su slowed his steps and crept deeper into the room.
In the massive glass cabinet beside him, a wooden doll with a weird smile on its face was staring at him with large eyes—even while seemingly sleeping.
The room was large, yet felt cramped.
Besides the mountain of toys, he could see at the far end a large pink bed, a piano, and heavy black curtains that appeared to have been pink originally.
“Manman…”
Han Su stopped and looked toward the pink bed.
There, a slim girl was hugging her knees and sitting in the corner.
She heard his voice and blankly looked up.
Tear marks were visible on her face.
She was Manman—the daughter of the CEO of Magic Box Corporation.
She was also the little doll‑girl from before, the weak but obedient and hard‑working girl who had nearly escaped the bunker with him previously.
Han Su noticed the cabinet nearest to them. Among that row of wooden dolls, a blonde doll’s head tilted slightly.
It had “woken up” and was observing him through the glass, a smile on its lips.
“Shh…”
Han Su steadied his nerves, looked at Manman, and raised an index finger to his lips.
This little girl was clearly very afraid, but just like every ti Han Su had seen her before, she reacted quickly—despite being startled by soone suddenly showing up, she didn’t make a sound.
Han Su slowly approached and patted her on the head, a flash of the mont last ti—when her head had suddenly been torn apart just as they neared the door—flashing through his mind.
But he quickly pushed aside this useless emotion, stared intently at the little girl, and said, “Manman, I ca to save you. I know today is your birthday, and I also know you have a card on you—from your mom and dad, saying they love you.”
“I also know you have the latest toy from Magic Box Corporation. It can fold into many useful little tools, like a magnifying glass, a set square, small pliers… and a mirror.”
“Right?”
Li Manman slowly widened her eyes. She didn’t know Han Su well.
But this boy had accurately said her na, her identity, and even listed the items she had on her, which eased her doubts. She nodded firmly, eyes lighting up with hope.
“Now, I’m planning to get you out of here.”
Seeing her nod, Han Su added, “But outside, there’s a monster guarding the door. Before I rescue you, I need you to help with sothing. Can you do that?”
Li Manman nodded hard.
“Good.”
Han Su leaned close to her ear and carefully explained so key issues, keeping it as brief as possible so she could understand.
Only after that did he ignore the increasing number of dolls in the glass cabinet that were “waking up” and staring at him with strange, excited expressions, and quietly walked to the cabinet.
He glanced back at the tiny figure huddled in the corner and suddenly felt a bit of anticipation.
If he only planned to take one person out with him, then maybe this ti—wasn’t this the best chance yet?
Although he hadn’t intended to save anyone when he ca back this ti, now the opportunity was right in front of him. If he could successfully get the key and lead her out of the room, wouldn’t there be a chance to take her out of the Ancient Castle as well?
With that thought, he also reminded himself to stay alert.
Han Su slowly closed his hand, then approached the door, took a few deep breaths, and suddenly yanked down a nearby cabinet, sending a cloud of dust into the air and perfectly blocking the door.
The dolls in the glass cabinet were startled—their expressions twisted grotesquely, as if cursing madly.
This massive disturbance imdiately shattered the silence on the fourth floor.
Soon, the heavy sound of flesh dragging across the old floor echoed—the monster had started moving slowly toward the door.
Han Su’s heartbeat quickened, but he only slightly closed his eyes. His expression turned blank again—under intense stress, he tended to face crisis with an emotionless face.
The stench of rot began to fill his nose, and the sound of dragging flesh reached the door. Han Su heard panting and sensed a shadow outside the room, peering in.
At that mont, he turned and made a hand gesture toward Li Manman.
That tiny figure stood up, braced herself, walked to the glass cabinet, and lightly tapped on it.
The dolls inside the cabinet beca angrier when they saw her approach. The air filled with a sharp, eerie sound—like their scolding voices.
The monster outside seed to hear those sounds. It grew tense, letting out a low, throaty roar and then forcefully pushed at the door, knocking loose clouds of dust, trying to barge in faster.
The door was blocked by the cabinet Han Su had toppled and couldn’t be opened without force.
At that mont, following Han Su’s instructions, Manman pulled out one of her little toys in front of the glass cabinet and unfolded a palm-sized mirror.
She stood on tiptoe and aid the mirror at one of the dolls in the glass cabinet, letting it clearly see its own reflection.
The dolls in the cabinet had been cursing—normally when there were people around, they would pretend to be lifeless—but facing a little girl like Li Manman, they showed no fear, hurling vicious insults.
However, when the mirror was raised in front of one of the dolls, that doll imdiately froze in place.
Its plastic eyes nearly bulged out.
Suddenly, it let out a terrifying scream—a scream no plastic doll should have made, but one more like a desperate, broken little girl.
Plastic dolls feared mirrors—they drove them into despair and breakdown.
“Boom!”
The scream also caused the Pale Giant outside to grow concerned.
It no longer cared about elegance.
Suddenly, it exerted full force and pushed the door open with a loud bang.
The cabinet that blocked the door was sent flying, wooden boards scattered everywhere, even smashing into so of the glass cabinets inside the room and shattering them.
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