Li Wei's consciousness sank into darkness, and he felt a sudden light-headedness as if he were weightless. But just as quickly as the sensation came, it disappeared. Soon, Li Wei felt his body make contact with the ground again and a cold, damp breath made him shiver.

He immediately opened his eyes and sat up, quickly scanning the surroundings.

"Where is this..."

Li Wei quickly realized that he seemed to be in a pitch-black dungeon...

His mind quickly raced, this scene seemed oddly familiar.

Before he could react further, he heard a murmuring voice coming from the neighboring cell.

"Somebody must have tampered with the experiment, don't worry, the truth will be revealed soon. I'll be able to get out of here, get out of this damn place soon..."

A woman wearing a white coat, with disheveled black hair, and deep black circles under her eyes, sat huddled in a corner of the cell, muttering like this.

However, after a few minutes, she couldn't contain herself any longer and shouted in distress.

"Help! I don't want to be trapped in this damn place anymore! Anyone, please get me out!"

Observing this, Li Wei couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

This game was truly limited to only five playthroughs, and now the plot was repeating itself, huh?

Nevertheless, even if it was the same plot, there might be some variations to explore. With this in mind, Li Wei regained his composure and contemplated what he should say in his current situation.

So, he cleared his throat lightly and impatiently spoke up.

"Stop your incessant babbling, woman! Stay quiet!"

"!"

The woman, who had been shouting, jumped as if startled like a rabbit and nervously looked around.

She confirmed that the voice came from the neighboring cell, but Li Wei was hiding in the shadows, and the cell was dimly lit, making it difficult for her to see clearly...

Immediately, she stuttered and spoke in Li Wei's direction...

"Y-you, who are you?"

One could hear her attempt to feign calmness, without the confidence she had when shouting earlier. She sounded meek and submissive, as if afraid of provoking Li Wei.

Li Wei smiled and continued pretending, "Since we've all landed in this damn place, of course, we're all prisoners confined here, just like you..."

However, this statement seemed to sting the woman with black hair, and her face immediately turned red. She struggled to refute Li Wei's words.

"N-no, I am not a prisoner! I haven't done anything wrong... I'm innocent!"

"Heh, everyone who comes here says the same thing. But judging by your appearance... are you a researcher, woman?"

Immediately, the black-haired woman proudly lifted her head.

"That's right, I'm an alchemist affiliated with the Royal Alchemy Organization. I'm also the youngest Gold Emblem Alchemist in the empire's records!"

One could tell she had great confidence in her abilities. When she spoke of these things, her spirit was high, and there was no trace of the submissive and cautious manner she had when speaking to Li Wei earlier.

However, with just a few words, Li Wei destroyed her proud demeanor.

"Oh, so why have you been confined here, Miss Grand Alchemist?"

"Uh..." The black-haired woman suddenly faltered, then she whispered, "I had a serious laboratory accident during an important research project, so I've been detained here pending investigation..."

But she quickly reaffirmed with determination, "However, my experiment procedures had no issues. Someone deliberately tampered with my equipment, someone wanted to sabotage my experiment. The empire has established a special investigative team, and they will soon find out the truth and release me!"

She muttered softly afterward, "It's been three days already, why haven't I heard anything yet? Haven't they finished the investigation?"

Hearing this, Li Wei couldn't help but shake his head. He had roughly understood the situation when he first played this part of the game.It can only be said that this alchemist Miss is talented, but in some aspects, she is naive...

Just at this moment, the sound of orderly footsteps suddenly came, and a group of soldiers escorted a dignified middle-aged man who slowly walked into the dungeon.

"!"

At that moment, a look of surprise appeared on the face of the black-haired woman. She quickly stood up and leaned over, asking eagerly.

"Great, have the investigation results come out?"

"Indeed..." The middle-aged man had no expression on his face and answered in a very indifferent tone, "...the investigation results of the previous incident have already been concluded."

"Haha, great! I knew I was wronged. Can you let me out now?"

However, a cold smile appeared at the corner of the man's mouth.

"What are you talking about? According to the empire's investigation, the entire experiment accident was due to your negligence. This accident caused the empire a loss of three billion gold coins. The empire has already issued a sentence, sentencing you to twenty years of imprisonment. Of course, the empire pities your talent and allows you to redeem yourself by continuing to assist in research... of course, only as an assistant!"

At this point, the man paused and continued speaking.

"As for the main responsible person and related affairs of the project, everything will now be handed over to Gerard, the director of the Alchemy Institution. Do you understand?"

At that moment, the face of the black-haired woman turned pale. She retreated incredulously for two steps and then rushed to the location of the prison door, grabbing onto the bars.

"How could this be happening? How is it possible? There must be some mistake! I want to see Director Gerard! Let me see Director Gerard!"

However, the middle-aged man in charge of the sentence took a step back. "That's probably difficult. Director Gerard is busy handling the aftermath of your mistake. It's unlikely that he will have the time..."

Having said that, without giving the black-haired woman any chance to argue, the man turned around and left with the group of soldiers.

"..."

Li Wei looked at the distraught girl as if she had lost all support, and couldn't help but sigh.

"It turns out to be like this..."

Over there, the black-haired woman, upon hearing Li Wei's voice, quickly raised her head. Her eyes were filled with tears, and her voice trembled as she spoke.

"It's not me. I was framed. That project was the culmination of my six years of hard work. How could I make such a foolish mistake? It's true, please... believe me!"

She almost begged Li Wei, seeking a hint of affirmation from this stranger to support her crumbling emotions.

"Well, I believe you..."

"?"

An unexpected response made the black-haired woman incredulously raise her head. She thought Li Wei would definitely mock and ridicule her. Unexpectedly, Li Wei answered so seriously.

In the next moment, she saw the man in the darkness standing up, slowly walking out of the shadow, and revealing his face...

"My name is Li Wei. What's yours? Miss unlucky alchemist..."

The black-haired woman bit her lip and then spoke slowly.

"Luo Zhen, my name is Rojin Dalke..."