When the King spoke, the entire room fell silent.

Lu Li merely let out a cold scoff, but Gu Rong slid down from his chair, shliulu, crossed his little arms, and puffed out his cheeks, saying indignantly, “Don’t interrogate Zaizai!”

Everyone: “…”

Listen, listen, did this little cub in the wig just call himself “Zaizai”? Is he really not the true Little Prince?

[Wait, family, why do I feel like the little cub in overalls really doesn’t seem like Zaizai? But I also have a vague sense of familiarity?]

[This is absolutely not Zaizai! The Little Prince is Zaizai! I couldn’t possibly mistake my own cub!]

[Omo, doesn’t this look like Lord Devil? In “The Mental Hospital,” Lord Devil shared a body with Zaizai, and his tone and expression were just like this, looking at everyone like they’re trash.]

[“Looking at everyone like they’re trash” is spot on! Before, Lord Devil also spoke through Zaizai’s body, it’s indeed exactly like Lord Devil. But how did Lord Devil appear here?]

[What exactly is Lord Devil’s origin? Why does he always borrow Zaizai’s body when he appears? Doesn’t Lord Devil have his own body?]

[Zaizai is a Non-fixed NPC, could Lord Devil be a Non-fixed BOSS?]

—Spoiler-related comments only visible to audience—

The livestream audience was discussing heatedly, having already guessed the truth, but the comments were blocked by the system, so Gu Rong didn’t see them.

Old John was also astonished, thinking, Sure enough! He had been wondering why the Little Prince seated above seemed more like the Zaizai he knew. So, this one was the real Zaizai?

But how did Zaizai swap with the Little Prince? When did this happen?

Just now, he had merely followed Lu Li’s lead, trying to confuse the issue. But now, hearing that they were going to interrogate Zaizai, he immediately changed his tune: “I raised Zaizai through hardships. No one knows Zaizai better than me. This one…”

He pointed at Lu Li, “…is Zaizai!”

He could also tell that this group wasn’t genuinely welcoming Zaizai back.

Since Zaizai had become the Little Prince, and the Little Prince was incredibly noble and certainly wouldn’t be bullied, it was better to just confirm Zaizai’s identity as the one in overalls.

The other stokers didn’t understand the reasoning, but after a moment’s pause, they followed Old John’s lead and agreed one by one.

Lu Li didn’t refute it either. He was currently using Gu Rong’s body. Perhaps out of sheer boredom, he pinched his own chubby little hands like a stress toy for a moment, then poked his round, lotus-root-like arms.

Gu Rong clenched his little fists, glaring at Lu Li below. Hearing from 006 that the soul inside Zaizai’s shell had been swapped, he wanted to snatch Zaizai’s body back.

Gu Rong huffed: [He’s pinching Zaizai!]

006 wanted to say, Little host, these chubby, soft little meaty hands really do make people want to pinch them.

Hearing Old John and the stokers identify Lu Li as Zaizai, the ministers couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

The more they insisted, the more it felt like the one wearing the wig was Zaizai, especially since he had called himself Zaizai.

King Louis XIII glanced at Gu Rong and surprisingly agreed with Old John: “I also think this one is Rongrong.”

Just as the ministers were about to voice objections, King Louis XIII said, “It doesn’t count as an interrogation, just talking about past events. Rongrong needn’t be nervous.”

“Half a year ago, I took Rongrong fishing. Does Rongrong still remember how many fish were caught then, and what kind of fish they were?”

Gu Rong spread his little hands: “Bu ji dao ya.” (Don’t know!)

Gu Rong had only transmigrated into the instance when the Pharaoh set sail, so naturally, he couldn’t know.

Besides, even if he were the original Zaizai, he might not remember what fish he caught half a year ago.

But even if one didn’t remember what fish were caught, one would surely remember whether they went fishing or not. In reality, King Louis XIII had never taken the Little Prince fishing.

When everyone heard Gu Rong say he didn’t know, their eyes widened. Sure enough, this one is the fake.

But then they saw the other cub raise an eyebrow and also say: “I don’t know either.”

King: “…”

Everyone: “…”

Neither cub knew. But one was definitely Rongrong, and the other was Zaizai.

It could be attributed to the Little Prince being young; forgetting was normal.

The King paused, then continued: “There used to be a puppy in the palace. Does Rongrong remember what color the puppy was and what its name was? Rongrong even named it.”

This was all automatically generated NPC backstory; the system had no record of it, so even 006 didn’t know.

Gu Rong: “Bu ji dao!” (Don’t know!)

Lu Li: “Don’t know.”

The King and the ministers fell silent.

There were obvious differences between the two cubs. Firstly, the one wearing the wig spoke in a milky, childish voice and was softer and cuter. The one in overalls was cold and cool, looking rather bad-tempered.

After interacting for so many days, not just the King, but the ministers also felt that the soft, cute one resembled the recent Little Prince more. However, the Little Prince didn’t use to talk much and wasn’t lively. Honestly, neither of them was very much like the original Little Prince.

But surely they couldn’t both be fakes?

Just as they were at a loss, a subordinate rushed in to report: “Your Majesty, we… we’ve encountered the Phantom Ghost Ship!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.

006: [Ding! Little host, please receive new tasks!]

[Task: Please have Nicholas Zaizai escape to the Phantom Ghost Ship, become its little captain, and lead the Pharaoh into the Phantom Ghost Realm. Deadline: End of the instance.]

[Success Reward: 1 million points, Phantom Ghost Ship * 1.]

[Failure Penalty: Identity Card rendered void.]

–

[Task: Please have Nicholas Rongrong enter the Phantom Ghost Realm and retrieve the Soul Ring. Deadline: End of the instance.]

[Success Reward: 1 million points, Devil’s Key * 1.]

[Failure Penalty: Identity Card rendered void.]

Seeing the Devil’s Key, both Gu Rong and 006 were stunned.

The appearance of the Devil’s Key once didn’t mean much, but appearing in two instances alongside the highest point reward indicated it must be very important.

Gu Rong had already obtained one Devil’s Key but still didn’t know its use. Now another one appeared.

This suggested there wasn’t just one Devil’s Key, perhaps not even just two. Maybe finding out its use required collecting all the Devil’s Keys.

And for such an important item, collecting them all would surely bring an unexpected surprise.

Perhaps it was the most important thing, more important than any item.

It was just unknown for now.

Gu Rong said: [Why is there another Devil’s Key?]

The previous little key was pitifully small, even as a toy. After getting it, Gu Rong kept it stored in his system backpack and never took it out.

006 didn’t know either: [Little host, the Devil’s Key should be a very powerful item. As for what it is, perhaps we’ll only know once we collect them all.]

Gu Rong: [Oh.]

006: [Little host, Rongrong’s and Zaizai’s tasks are closely related. As long as Zaizai’s task is completed, Rongrong’s task is halfway done. Then you just need to retrieve the Soul Ring.]

If the Pharaoh is led into the Phantom Ghost Realm, Rongrong would naturally enter the Phantom Ghost Realm as well.

Gu Rong decided to do Zaizai’s task first and immediately switched back to the [Nicholas Zaizai] identity card.

He thought switching back to Zaizai’s identity card would reveal who the soul inside Zaizai’s shell was. However, the moment Gu Rong switched back, Lu Li left.

Lu Li reverted to his invisible ghost state, clad in wide black robes, arms crossed, a pair of beast ears atop his head, his blood-red eyes filled with wickedness, smiling faintly as He watched His little follower.

Gu Rong looked down at himself, even reaching out his small hand to poke his little arm and pinch his little hand.

What’s so good about pinching Zaizai’s hand?

Really don’t get it!

Simultaneously, the Little Prince’s body, now under system control, fainted on the spot.

A nearby minister quickly supported the Little Prince, preventing him from falling.

Seeing the Little Prince faint, everyone looked at him, then turned their gazes back to Gu Rong.

Gu Rong turned around, his short legs pattering dadada as he ran outside: “Zaizai is going to see the ghost ship!”

Everyone: “?”

Huh? Why does this one also call himself Zaizai?

Moreover, was it just an illusion, or did the originally cold and cool little cub’s aura suddenly undergo a massive change, becoming soft and cute?

No, that’s not the point. The point now is the Phantom Ghost Ship!

–

Including the players, everyone followed Gu Rong out onto the deck.

Many people had already gathered on the deck, all exclaiming as they looked at a ship floating on the sea surface.

Mist filled the air, and rain was falling from the sky, growing heavier.

What was astonishing was that the ship had the exact same design as the Pharaoh. The difference was that the Ghost Ship was constructed from skeletons; its frame was densely packed with skulls.

Every part of the ship was assembled from skeletons.

The Ghost Ship appeared decayed, yet it was covered in fresh, tender flower branches bearing brilliantly colored roses in full bloom.

The Ghost Ship was only about a hundred meters away from the Pharaoh, already very close. The Ghost Ship also had a crew.

Captain Alpha took out his telescope and carefully observed the Phantom Ghost Ship.

Gu Rong stood beside the captain. Seeing the captain holding the telescope, he looked at it with longing eyes, wanting one too.

Without a telescope, he cupped his small hands into circles and held them up to his eyes to look.

Seeing this, 006 immediately bought a telescope for the little host from the system store.

Gu Rong received the telescope, his little face beaming with joy. He also held the telescope and looked towards the Phantom Ghost Ship opposite them.

Thus, when the captain finished his detailed observation and looked down, he found Gu Rong mimicking him, holding an oversized telescope and looking at the opposite ship.

The telescope in Gu Rong’s hands was twice the size of the captain’s, making the captain’s telescope look quite mini in comparison. Held in Gu Rong’s arms, it created a comical effect.

This little cub was hugging the oversized telescope, panting with effort, huff huff.

Captain: “…”

Zhuang Yu and Shen Hanxiao glanced at Gu Rong, both unable to suppress a smile.

Holding the telescope, Gu Rong also saw the crew of the Phantom Ghost Ship.

Similar to the Devil Sharks, parts of these crew members’ skin surfaces were missing flesh and blood, revealing only bone underneath, appearing hollowed out.

One look told you they weren’t normal humans.

The Phantom Ghost Ship had no captain. The crew members wore eerie smiles, staring sinisterly at the Pharaoh.

Everyone on the Pharaoh felt their hair stand on end from being stared at, involuntarily shivering.

The Phantom Ghost Ship was surrounded by fishing nets. When a Devil Shark was unfortunately caught, the crew would pull it onto the deck, use daggers to slice off its flesh, and put it directly into their mouths, swallowing it whole.

Pharaoh Crew: “??!”

WTF, they even eat Devil Sharks? And raw?!

Most of the Devil Sharks’ flesh was in a hollowed-out skeletal state, but some flesh remained, albeit looking bloody, quite disgusting, and also very terrifying.

Umm… these crew members also had several hollowed-out patches on their bodies and faces, matching the style of the Devil Sharks perfectly. The fact that they ate Devil Sharks raw seemed rather logical.

Could it be that they gradually transformed because they ate Devil Sharks?

Devil Sharks dissolved into water upon contact with the Pharaoh, but when pulled onto the Phantom Ghost Ship, they didn’t disappear. Instead, they meekly served as fish on the cutting board, allowing themselves to be butchered and devoured.

Gu Rong put away the telescope, preparing to do the task. First, escape to the Ghost Ship.

But how could Zaizai get over there?

Hmm, got it!

Gu Rong’s little brain worked well. Looking at the fishing nets, he utilized the [Hanged Little Ghost] identity card. Swoosh—like a small cannonball, he launched himself directly into the opposing ship’s fishing net.

The crew of the Phantom Ghost Ship saw the net move and reflexively pulled it up. Unexpectedly, they hauled up a fair-skinned, tender, plump little cub.

Ghost Ship Crew: “…?!”

Pharaoh Crew: “…?!?”

This little cub not only fell into the water, but he fell near the Ghost Ship instead of the Pharaoh, and landed perfectly in their fishing net?!

Wait, their second prince has fallen onto the Phantom Ghost Ship!