As everyone turned to her with expectant gazes, Xie Lingxi pursed her lips and spoke in her clear, sweet girl's voice:
"In the original version of the strategy guide, Spirit Realm Walkers had to pass through an underground parking lot. During this process, a robot car would appear every three minutes and chase anyone who entered. If it caught you, you were eliminated.
"The goal was to find the controller hidden inside one of the parked cars and shut down the robot before everyone was eliminated."
The short-tempered Fire Demon suddenly understood. "So all we have to do is find the controller and shut the thing down. Wang Tai, what do you think?"
The others were still deep in thought but turned to Zhang Yuanqing upon hearing this, eager to hear the insights of the young man who had flawlessly handled the crisis in their first task.
Crude Fire-type... your method of extracting the core point is way too blunt, Zhang Yuanqing thought, but he kept a straight face and said:
"In the old version of the amusement park, 'eliminated' meant losing experience points, not dying. But now the difficulty is S-rank. The correct interpretation is: someone will die every three minutes."
Xi Shi's charming face changed color. "That means we have at most eighteen minutes…"
"Better not let anyone die in this phase," muttered Guilty Father with a slow shake of his head. "The more people we bring into the haunted house, the higher the odds that someone survives."
Old man, you're practically spelling out that we'll need cannon fodder in there… Zhang Yuanqing sighed internally.
"Lingxi, will our skills be sealed in the parking lot?"
Xie Lingxi thought for a moment and shook her head. "The guide didn't say."
Fire Demon pondered and suggested, "Once we're in, we split up to search. That'll be faster for finding the controller."
"No way!" said Great Sage Equaling Heaven, shaking his head vehemently. "Splitting up in a place this dangerous is suicide."
Fire Demon narrowed his eyes in disdain. "You're just scared. Coward."
A flash of anger crossed Great Sage's eyes, but he feared Fire Demon and only snorted coldly. "Either way, I don't recommend we split."
Splitting up would be the most efficient method... if there wasn't a traitor among us. Zhang Yuanqing raised a hand to cut off the argument and suggested:
"Let's just go in first. We need more information before we can come up with a real plan."
He took the lead, descending the sloped ramp into the underground parking lot illuminated by glaring white lights.
As they reached the bottom, Zhang Yuanqing glanced around—and his mouth twitched hard.
The parking lot was massive, like the ones beneath large shopping malls. Cars of every make and model were parked neatly in rows, all blanketed in a thick layer of dust.
The others followed him in. Upon seeing the vast number of vehicles, Fire Demon's expression darkened.
"With this many cars, how long is it gonna take us to find the right one?"
Xi Shi looked worried. "Maybe we really should split up? There are just too many cars."
No one replied. At that moment, they all heard the system prompt:
[Ding! The team has entered the underground parking lot. Experience initiated. Unnecessary items have been cleared.]
[Hint 1: Controller. Hint 2: Car Key. Good luck!]
[Countdown: 00:02:55]
"Active skills sealed again…"
"Can't open the inventory either. Dammit, another skill lock…"
Several players' expressions darkened, but Zhang Yuanqing's focus was on the two prompts.
We actually got hints? That wasn't mentioned in the old guide...
S-rank dungeons typically don't offer obvious hints. Players are expected to observe, analyze, and figure out the solution themselves.
The fact that they were given such clear clues—controller and car key—meant this phase was extremely dangerous. Otherwise, the Spirit Realm wouldn't have handed out help.
He muttered, "This doesn't look good…"
The others, shaken from their panic over the sealed abilities, slowly realized the implication of the prompts and their faces grew grim.
"Car key..." Fire Demon strode over to a nearby minivan and tried the door. Locked.
He twisted his torso and slammed an elbow into the window.
Clang!
A deafening bang, but the glass didn't even crack.
"No way to break it. That means to find the controller, we'll have to find the right key first..." He spat on the ground and cursed. "I say we split up."
Zhang Yuanqing scanned the group and saw that most of them shared the same thought. He immediately said:
"Fine, but don't spread too far. Always stay within each other's line of sight. We don't have time to waste. Let's move."
Like a death knell, the countdown ticked away. The six Spirit Realm Walkers scattered across the parking lot, searching with urgency.
The huge underground garage was silent except for the echo of their footsteps.
Zhang Yuanqing deliberately kept to the rear, making sure he could see everyone while still searching for keys himself.
Something feels off. This parking lot is huge—there's no way we'll find the controller in three minutes. It's practically designed to wipe the party...
As he brooded, he suddenly saw Xie Lingxi ahead of him drop to the ground and crawl under a car. A few seconds later, she emerged, beaming.
"I found a car key! Under this SUV!"
She held up a delicate, white arm, waving the key.
Then she pressed the unlock button.
The parking lot remained deathly quiet. No response from any vehicle.
Her expression fell. "The car must not be nearby…"
The others resumed searching. Not long after, Great Sage called out:
"I found one!"
He pressed the unlock button—beep beep—the tail lights of a car nearby flashed.
Everyone rushed over and flung the doors open, eyes scouring every inch of the interior.
"Nothing," Guilty Father said with a frown.
"Wait—" Xie Lingxi, sharp-eyed, crawled halfway into the vehicle, her petite bottom sticking up in the air. She reached under the seat and pulled out a card.
It was a metallic card coated in gold paint, with an image of a clear, tranquil pool etched in the center.
As they stared, an informational prompt surfaced in everyone's mind:
[Condensed Life Essence]
[Type: Potion]
[Function: Healing]
[Description: A potion brimming with powerful life force. Heals all external wounds.]
[Note: As a consumable, it has no cost.]
"Condensed Life Essence?" Xi Shi's eyes lit up. "I remember Life Essence is an item used by the Musician class. If we can find consumables like this in other cars, our odds of clearing this will improve a lot."
Isn't the Musician class focused on singing in the Transcendent stage? How does that relate to Life Essence... Zhang Yuanqing resisted the urge to ask. Wang Tai was a veteran of many Spirit Realms and a reliable teammate.
If the others found out their "team leader" was just a rookie on his second run, he didn't want to imagine their reaction.
"Pack it up," Zhang Yuanqing said, glancing at the countdown. "Keep searching. We're running out of time."
The group dispersed again, combing the lot for more keys.
Zhang Yuanqing continued the search while analyzing the situation.
Hints, consumables... This phase must be deadlier than we thought. The killer must've sensed it too. Hopefully, he holds back and doesn't start murdering the team. If we lose people here, the haunted house will be impossible to clear...
Time ticked by. No one found a third key. The tension was mounting, everyone becoming more anxious, their movements more frantic.
Then Great Sage, who had been keeping an eye on the countdown, suddenly shouted:
"Time's up!"
A deep, mechanical roar echoed from the distance. Everyone froze, hearts pounding, and turned to look.
At the entrance to the garage stood a towering figure.
Over two meters tall, its body gleamed with metal plating, red lights gleaming in its eyes. It held a three-foot-long chainsaw in one hand.
"All must die. All must die!"
A cold, electronic voice boomed from the speaker embedded in its chest.
"Transformers?!" Xie Lingxi cried out.
VROOOOM!
The engine roared. The robot's feet glided across the concrete, accelerating like a missile as it shot toward them.
"Scatter!" Zhang Yuanqing bellowed.
The team burst apart like bowling pins struck by a perfect throw.
Xie Lingxi, clearly not as physically capable, was a beat too slow. As she dodged, the robot clipped her hard, slamming her into a nearby car.
Thud!
She cried out, pain flaring through her lower back. Her vision went dark. She couldn't get up.
Steam hissed from the vents on the robot's ankles as it decelerated with inhuman precision, skidding to a stop.
Then it raised its chainsaw high, revving the motor.
The engine's scream was like the whisper of death.
The young girl's face turned pale. Despair filled her eyes.