Su Er's expression revealed a slight confusion: "This... is not appropriate?"
His eyes instantly regained clarity, and he pointed at the maze and said, "Didn't they say it has to absorb enough panic? One less person like me..."
"You are redundant." The Lord of Tengshe Cave did not give him another chance to speak. He waved his sleeves and teleported Sur out first.
"The dungeon will be reopened in three days. Do not attempt to download it during this period."
It seemed to be in the state of immortality and liked humans, and turned into a snake flying in the air.
After two unexpected incidents, the players' minds relaxed a little. More precisely, their attention was drawn to Su Er. Someone twitched their lips and looked at Ji Heng, "Did he get through this before?"
Ji Heng avoided a direct answer: "Sticking to the old ways isn't necessarily a good thing."
Accidents happened frequently, and the Tengshe Cave Master didn't want to hear these players' conversations any more in the short term. He let out a hissing warning sound from his throat, flicked his tail like lightning, and the air returned to silence.
In another space crack, Sur was floating up and down in the chaotic darkness. He had stayed in this wonderful area for a long time, thinking about the reason why he had not yet arrived in the real world.
Perhaps everyone has to arrive in the real world at the same time, and he is the first to set off.
Just as this speculation, the confused state did not last long, and the longed-for light returned.
His body's reaction was a little slower than his consciousness. Sur lowered his head and realized belatedly that he was still holding the pen in his hand.
"I'm back."
He sighed softly, but his tone was not relaxed at all.
Footsteps were heard, and Ji Heng was standing at the door. He knocked twice on the open door symbolically before coming in.
Su Er turned around and shrugged helplessly: "On the surface, I got a great bargain."
A waste of coal. Under normal circumstances, it would definitely be possible to pass the maze. Since this was a special dungeon, there would be rewards for completing it. However, nothing is absolute. Even if you take the right path, you may encounter dangers, which will lead to even greater investment.
Now, whether it is a loss or a profit, there is no result.
Suddenly thinking of something, Su Er raised his eyebrows: "You also have a coal ball in your hand."
"The maze has been upgraded. You won't need this thing next time you go in." Ji Heng's tone was casual.
Su Er couldn't help but feel regretful, his eyes flickering: "Nothing is absolute."
After a lot of trouble, I lost my mood for solving problems. After canceling the alarm, I checked the answers and asked, "Did you find anything?"
He was pointing to this room.
"It looks pretty normal," Ji Heng said. "There are only two things. First, you should have noticed that the smile in the photo is unnatural."
Soul nodded.
In the family photo, everyone has a curve at the corner of their lips, but a closer look reveals an indescribable coldness and incongruity, as if the three members of the family are just going through the motions.
"Then there's your room," Ji Heng looked around, "it's decorated pretty casually."
Su Er coughed softly and gathered the exercise books on the table: "I've been busy studying recently and haven't had time to tidy up my room."
It's a bit messy.
Ji Heng stopped joking and noticed that Suer's pen was placed on his left hand. His eyes paused slightly, and he remembered that in the previous copy, he had said that there was a strange memory in his mind because the left-handed person was scolded and beaten.
"I remember you preferred to use your right hand most of the time."
Su Er laughed: "I can use both hands. I can even hold a pen in each hand and copy different texts."
Ji Heng's face was a little solemn, and he asked an unexpected question: "What do you hate the most?"
Su Er did not hesitate: "Announce the math results."
"…describe it with concepts."
"Bound." Su Er thought for a moment: "Like now, being manipulated by the copy rules for no apparent reason."
"Hate the game itself?"
Su Er was silent, realizing that he couldn't answer this question directly.
"If you can't figure it out, forget it." Seeing his brows furrowed, Ji Heng said, "Don't dwell on one issue."
Su Er hummed vaguely.
Before leaving, Ji Heng ordered him a takeout meal of chicken and fish. Su Ermeimei ate the meal, took a half-hour break, and then started to practice again.
The afternoon was basically a process of fighting against Wu San. After dinner, I took a walk downstairs. When I came back, it was completely dark.
Giving up on staying up late, Su Er washed up and went to sleep with infinite anticipation for the future. Because it had rained the day before, the weather was a bit cold, so he even closed the window before going to bed.
In the middle of the night, he felt an itch near his ear, as if a bug were crawling on it. He brushed it with his hand and turned over, but the strange feeling persisted. He subconsciously slapped it hard, and something long and thin slipped through his fingers.
After entering a few dungeons, the body has formed a basic conditioned reflex.
When the temperature plummeted, Soul opened his eyes. One glance nearly brought him to cardiac arrest. It's not a good thing for anyone to open their eyes and be met with a pale face. Wet hair clung to the side of the face, and the person lying on top of it looked like a water ghost.
"Zhu... cough cough..." His neck was pinched hard, and his voice became dull and hoarse.
"I can't control it." There was an apology between the lines, but the movements of his hands did not relax at all.
He grabbed her wrist tightly in an attempt to relieve the suffocating force, and with his other hand he reached under the pillow and fumbled for a pair of scissors, stabbing them fiercely into her thin shoulder.
The blood that flowed out was almost transparent. After being pricked, Zhu Yun paused. Su Er took the opportunity to push her away and gasped for air.
"The original position..." She tried hard to say something, but seemed to be restrained by some force.
Soul quickly retreated to a safe area, holding the scissors across his body to prevent sneak attacks. When he reached a more spacious space, he asked, "Can I really leave the game after collecting all the achievement points?"
"Shuffle, shuffle the order..."
Finally, he emphasized the word "order" and Zhu Yun's figure gradually disappeared.
On the bed.
Su Er was awakened by a nightmare, his limbs stiff, and a pair of scissors in his hand. The moment he woke up, his muscles relaxed, and the scissors fell to the ground with a thud.
It couldn't be just a dream.
He stared at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.
Even the host couldn't enter the real world, so how could Zhu Yun contact him through dreams? Su Er seemed to have thought of something, and he got up, turned on the light, and stared at the dark electric shock device.
"Is it related to it..."
Unfortunately, no one can answer this question.
Suer did not sleep in the second half of the night. He got dressed at dawn, hurriedly put the books and test papers on the table into his backpack, and took a taxi to the downstairs of Ji Heng's house.
The security in the high-end residential complex is very strict. Before the security guard could ask any questions, Ji Heng, who had received the call, had already walked out of the building.
"My friend."
After Suer registered the information, he followed him upstairs and started talking about what happened last night after entering the door.
"Zhu Yun wanted to remind me of something, but she couldn't control her murderous intent." Su Er said bluntly, "I need to find a place to stay for two days."
Otherwise, you might die in your sleep.
'Coming uninvited' is very rude, but neither he nor Ji Heng obviously thinks so.
"Seeking help immediately was a wise decision," Ji Heng mused. "If the electric shock device is the medium, your classmate might be able to briefly travel back and forth between the two dimensions."
Judging from what happened last night, the reason why he doesn't do it more frequently is because killing has become an instinct ingrained in his bones.
Thinking of this, Ji Heng frowned slightly...Has he turned into a ghost?
Soul pondered the word 'sequence', not noticing his expression: "What order is being disrupted? It's still a mystery."
"You're not afraid to risk your life to come and remind me, which proves that it's very important." Ji Heng said calmly, "It can be used as an introduction, and it will be effective one day."
…your life is in danger.
Su Er pressed his brows, these words hurt his heart.
There was something strange about the dream, and sleeping in the guest room wasn't a safe option. Since same-sex relationships weren't very particular, he temporarily shared a bed with Ji Heng. Despite the age difference, they had a lot in common because of the game. When Su Er couldn't sleep, he'd ask Ji Heng about his past dungeon experiences.
Time passed quickly, and when they were forcibly summoned into the dungeon for the third time, their moods remained almost unchanged.
The Lord of Tengshe Cave began to repeat the same rule indifferently for the third time.
The height of the maze did not change, but there was a dense web of flying insects in the sky. It would definitely not work if he wanted to copy Sur's last method.
After several days of not getting any food, Maze seemed a bit restless, occasionally absorbing flying insects. It would be a good thing if it could completely eliminate the flying insects, but Maze had little interest in such fleshless creatures, and after swallowing twice, it stopped.
The host conducted the experiment again using mice.
After being thrown into the air, the mouse was gnawed by flying insects until only bones were left before it was eaten by the maze.
"Don't even think about breaking through from a high altitude," the Tengshe Cave Master glanced at the players with different expressions, then turned his head to Su Er: "When the dungeon is over, I will personally send you to the Dark Realm."
Because of these words, Su Er instantly became the center of attention. Some of the glances seemed unbalanced, their restrained expressions tinged with complex emotions.
Ignoring these gazes, Suer looked at Ji Heng and his lips moved: Be careful.
The latter nodded calmly.
As one figure after another walked into the maze, soon only Suer and the Tengshe Cave Master were left.
The Lord of Tengshe Cave did not transform into a human form. He flew down from mid-air and coiled aside.
Putting himself in the host's shoes, Su Er expected to be slammed at least a few times, yet the host remained motionless. This peaceful situation was so unusual that he quickly suspected, "Have you asked the other hosts about me?"
The Teng Snake Cave Master's tail twitched, the front half of his body stood upright, and he spat out his snake tongue: "Noisy."
The truth was much the same as Su'er's story. Not long ago, it had gone to settle accounts with Dongfeng Jushi, questioning why he had given such a cheating artifact to the players. Dongfeng Jushi, exhausted and heartbroken, recounted Su'er's actions in the dungeon. After hearing this, Tengshe Cave Master felt a surge of resentment build up in his chest.
Snakes are cunning, so to be on the safe side, they asked other hosts and learned about Sur's past deeds, which made them feel uneasy.
In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, whenever Sur makes a move, the Tengshe Cave Master will be alert and make many inferences.
About an hour later, the first scream was heard from the maze.
Su Er frowned, then suddenly took a few steps forward, cutting his hand in an attempt to use the blood to attract some of the flying insects. His plan was to use the electric shock device to absorb the Yin Qi. This would, on the one hand, relieve the pressure on the players inside, and on the other hand, the previous storage capacity had been almost used up. If he opened it, he would at least have some capital to save his life.
Some flying insects did indeed fly towards the smell of blood.
But before Sur took out the stun gun, the Tengshe Cave Lord whipped the insects with his tail, and the flying insects scattered.
Su Er said coldly: "What is this for?"
"Since I promised you a recommendation, I have to ensure your personal safety," the Teng Snake Cave Master said with great calculation: "It would be bad if you get bitten by a bug."
Afterwards, Su'er passed the time rubbing mud on the ground, while the Teng Snake Cave Master moved a few stones to compact the soil. Su'er stood up and said he wanted to walk for a while, and the Teng Snake Cave Master followed him closely.
Su Er didn't get angry. Instead, he recounted his previous dungeon experience in detail. At the end, he suddenly said, "Actually, I have another very interesting item."
The Lord of Tengshe Cave became more vigilant.
But Suer did not make any further movements. He just bent down occasionally, or suddenly lowered his head and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground when he was not paying attention. His behavior was illogical.
While focusing on the strange behavior, the Tengshe Cave Master suddenly realized that he had reached the entrance to the maze. He immediately sneered, "I see. The game requires you to be sent as a guide. If anything happens to you in the maze, it will be my fault."
He paused for a moment, and exhaled a cold breath: "You can try, can you get in?"
Sur didn't move rashly. Instead, he paused and smiled. "From just now until now, every time I make a move, you become very nervous. This emotion can be summed up as worry and fear."
"...You said before that the maze needs to absorb enough panic, fear, and blood to help it open. Now you are also the source of fear."
The master of Tengshe Cave narrowed his eyes.
Suhr: "Providing nutrients to the maze on behalf of the players... What will happen if I report it?"
Originally quite calm, the Teng Snake Cave Master's scales shook uncontrollably upon hearing these words.
Su Er looked at it seriously: "It seems that the emotions are stronger than before." His hand touched the periphery of the maze: "I don't know if the maze has absorbed your negative emotions. If so, then it is also an accomplice."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the contact surface of his palm suddenly turned to air. The maze began to retreat abruptly, startling the flying insects in the sky and sending them flying. The players inside were forced to make fried rice and follow the movement. A cloud of dust flew up, and the maze stopped several feet away, conveying four words with its actions:
Don't get close to me!
Looking at the defeated flying insects with satisfaction, Suer narrowed his eyes. This way, as long as Ji Heng wanted, he could use the coal balls to escape at any time.