Gregory Lawrence was still sleeping, his snoring unceasing.

Hannah rarely came across such an opportunity to gossip and naturally wouldn’t let it slip by.

Of course, what she was most interested in was the royal gossip.

For instance, that First Princess, and then the God of War, Wayne Lane.

As it happened, Ginny knew all about these matters.

"Just last month, I went into the palace with my master," Ginny said with pride, "Of course, we sneaked in."

Although they sneaked in, Hannah still found it quite impressive, "What’s inside the palace?"

Ginny thought about it and honestly replied, "There are a lot of people, and there’s a lot of money, too."

"What else?"

"There’s also a dungeon."

"A dungeon?" Hannah asked curiously, "What is that?"

She had never heard of it.

Ginny explained to Hannah, "It’s a place where people are locked up."

It gestured with its wings.

The dungeon was large, filled with lots of water, damp and cold; the people locked inside were almost half-submerged, and there were many torture devices beside them.

"What are torture devices?"

Hannah’s curiosity persisted, her tri-colored eyes brimming with questions.

But this time, even Ginny didn’t know.

"I only glanced at it briefly, heard someone discussing a prisoner who escaped, and then my master and I ran off too."

The dungeon’s location within the royal palace was very secretive, and even many people in the palace didn’t know of its existence.

Because the image the royalty always presented to the public was one of justice and brilliance.

Such things shouldn’t exist.

Even if they did, outsiders couldn’t be let in on it.

Gregory Lawrence had stumbled upon the dungeon by mistake and hadn’t managed to take a good look before someone escaped, shouting something about "Number 1 has escaped."

But who this Number 1 was, Gregory Lawrence had no idea.

"But I think, to be ranked first, they must be a very formidable person," Ginny surmised.

Hannah agreed, "I think so too."

One black, one white, they were in perfect sync.

A new round of the game began, and Ginny clicked to the next level.

There was a merchant in the level trying to sell goods; Ginny clicked to refuse, and the merchant scowled.

Hannah laughed joyously.

In the next level, there were many pigs running around with diamonds in their mouths.

Hannah still couldn’t catch even one, and at the final tally, her score was still the lowest.

This game has a single-player mode.

But Ginny didn’t disdain Hannah, carrying her along to play the two-player version.

One black, one white, they played all night long.

*

By the time Gregory Lawrence woke up, it was already the morning of the next day.

Today’s District Nine was much quieter than yesterday’s.

Calculating the time, the day after tomorrow would be the breeding season for the mutant beasts in the Blackwood Forest.

The mutant beasts become unusually aggressive during the breeding season, their attack power and danger increasing several fold from the usual.

By that time, even high-level hunters and mercenary teams would not dare enter the Blackwood Forest.

After a quick wash, Gregory Lawrence went to knock on Hannah’s door.

He knocked twice, but no one answered from inside.

Just as he was about to call someone, the door opened.

The room was empty and not a soul was inside.

Gregory Lawrence stuck his head inside, looked left and right, and wanted to call out, but he had forgotten to ask for a name yesterday.

After some consideration, he spoke up, "Girl, are you there?"

No one responded.

The corridor was peaceful and quiet; at the end was a wooden window pushed open to the outside, conveniently admitting a cool breeze at this time.

Gregory Lawrence scratched his head, "Where did everyone go this early in the morning?"

As he pondered alone, a voice came from behind him.