Bai Xing opened his eyes. He was no longer in the palace's dining room and Grey was nowhere to be seen. All around him were tall trees with lush canopy. Unlike the woods around the palace with a flattened path, he was truly in the middle of nowhere with no road as far as his eyes could see.

His servant clothes have changed into a cotton shirt and trousers with tall leather boots. He was wearing a pair of gloves which were also made out of leather and a dark green cloak, blending him with the forest.

"??"

His phone vibrated and he immediately checked it. Above the newly sent message was a message from M telling him that he has successfully terminated the virus in Cinderella's world and the world transfer was about to commence.

[M: I didn't think you would exterminate it all the way. It was enough to prevent the happy ending from happening, but you went as far as killing it]

[M: Thank you. Because of that, I managed to retrieve almost 20% of my power. I was planning to recover the stories only after you secured all 5 stories, but I can finish faster like this]

[M: Let me welcome you to your second story. I realized I didn't give you an auto-translate function before, so I have fixed that for you]

[M: This is the world where Snow White lives]

[M: You are currently in the forest where Snow White will run away to later. Snow White is turning 18 in 2 days and that is when her beauty will bloom to its fullest. The virus is already inside her]

[M: Instead of making you a palace servant again, I have provided a cottage in this forest for you to live. It is too dangerous to live under the same roof with the virus and the queen who is a witch. She likes to eat human's heart on a daily basis depending on her mood]

[M: In addition, she must give a sacrifice every time she wants to use her magic mirror since a device that speaks the truth about everything is actually very powerful in reality. Not to mention her witchcraft experiments]

[M: So for her, the palace servants are basically livestock for her to use]

[M: I have marked your cottage in the directory and updated the app. If you need anything, you can try messaging me, but I may or may not answer immediately since I also have work to be done]

[M: Then, I'm off to process the corrupted stories. Good luck and be careful]

"…"

M is sure busy, isn't he? He sounded more rushed than the first time they spoke.

But this setup was good. He didn't need to work and be around people anymore. He also didn't need to be on constant alert for the queen and the virus.

M said he updated the app, so Bai Xing explored around to check.

On the main page, there was an additional menu. Food and drink. Like the wardrobe, it had an extensive choice of food, but there was no processed food. Most of them were fruits, vegetables, and herbs. There were also meat, chicken, pork, and fish, but all of them were raw. As for drinks, there was only plain water.

Bai Xing opened the note from M at the top. He said that he could provide him with ingredients, but he couldn't give him processed food. This was because M was not familiar with the realm of taste. It means that all the processed food he gave would have no taste.

It would be better for Bai Xing to cook them himself. The cooking equipment was also provided at the weapon section, but they wouldn't vanish after a single-use.

"…"

Well, cooking equipment could also be used in a fight…maybe.

Bai Xing opened the directory and tapped the yellow notice at the corner of the screen. M noted that, for animals, he added an indicator shaped as a yellow triangle. It would show every animal in the directory with a body at least as big as a rabbit.

Bai Xing inwardly thanked M and went to his cottage. There should still be a few days until Snow White went to the forest. He could use this time to get used to things and find the virus's power source.

Thanks to Grey, he wasn't really tired from the previous story. He also learned that it was important to not let the virus know that it was being targeted. Maybe the virus has thoughts or memory that were carried when it went to other stories? Possibly.

He didn't hear what Grey said at the end. Hopefully, it wasn't anything important. Rather, Grey didn't react that much when he disappeared. Did he know about it? Or maybe he has also experienced it too?

Then…could he possibly be one of M's previous helpers? He was also familiar with the virus, though it was uncertain whether he knew it was a virus or just thought it was some kind of an evil being. He never really did say the word 'virus'.

If so, what happened to him? Did he really just forget about his identity or did the virus do something to him?

After walking for 10 minutes, he finally found the cottage M marked for him. Rather than a cottage, it was more suitable to be called a cabin. The size wasn't that big, but it was big enough for one person to live. It was completely made out of woods.

Entering it, the interior design was simple and minimalistic. The furniture was also made out of woods, but they were beautifully carved and polished. Probably would worth quite high in his world.

There was a couch with blue cushions, a low table, a small cabinet, and a fireplace in the living room. The kitchen used logs for the fire. It was provided just outside the kitchen door under a small shed. The bedroom was small with only one double bed and a bedside table. The dining table was across the bedroom with one square table and a set of chairs.

As for bathing, there was a basin under the bed. He could use the towels to from the app's wardrobe and the water M just gave him to wipe his body. It was the same method as when he was at Cinderella's story.

There was also a closed shed outside for when nature called.

Thankfully, M considerately provides an oil-based soap and shampoo that didn't produce much foam and bubbles in the wardrobe section. Toothbrush and toothpaste too. He probably should suggest M to add an inventory menu in the app.

If he couldn't change clothes and get ingredients from the app, he probably wouldn't be able to live here as a modern man.

He looked at his satchel. Why did M give him this if he provided everything in the app anyway?

Bai Xing sat down on the couch and emptied his satchel. He found a note inside.

'These fruits are poisonous, so it's better if you memorize them. These twigs easily break and will produce a crisp sound loud enough for you to hear clearly. You can use them as a signal if there are any animals or unexpected visitors. Stay safe.'

Bai Xing put the twigs back to the satchel and stood up, planning to scatter them around the cabin. It was then he noticed there was something lying behind the couch. He reached down and picked it up.

It was a shotgun.

M's note hung on the handle:

'For self-defense. Doesn't have any magic features. Bullets in the cabinet. Be careful when using it'

Bai Xing, "…"

M really thought things thoroughly, didn't he? Was he feeling guilty for how he dragged him into this? Or did he has a thoughtful character in general?

Bai Xing entered their chatroom. He considered in silence for a full 5 minutes before finally typing a short thank you and sending them.

He took the shotgun along with the twigs and went out.

Somewhere in the forest, a man wandered with his gun in hand. His eyes swept his surroundings like a hawk and his ears were pricked up, picking any subtle noise. He was requested to hunt down boars, but he hasn't found any trace of them until now.

This forest was dangerous at night, so he needed to leave before then.

The man stopped his advance and scanned around. Today was probably not a good day. He should try again tomorrow.

He was about to walk away when noticed a trace on the ground. He went to check it. It was a person's footprints. From the looks of it, the person seemed as if he was strolling here. The prints also didn't look like they came from hunting boots.

Did someone got lost here? But why wasn't there any human trace before this spot?

"…"

Not knowing what came over him, the man decided to follow the trail.