Chapter 34

Chapter 33: Mountains and Seas 11

Shi Zong pressed his palm against the door for 10 seconds, and sure enough, a sign appeared out of thin air on his chest, displaying: “60:00.”

The door opened, and he stepped inside. The door automatically closed behind him.

Shi Zong looked back and saw only a deep black wall, as if the door had never existed.

The countdown had begun, and the number on the chest sign changed to “59:55.”

Shi Zong didn’t move immediately; instead, he observed the maze.

He was in a long corridor with no visible end. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all white, blending almost seamlessly into the dense fog ahead.

Shi Zong ended up walking alone in the maze for much longer than he expected.

After 10 minutes, he still hadn’t seen any intersections.

Only 50 minutes remained, yet he couldn’t even make out the outline of the maze.

He could sense that this maze was extraordinarily large.

Sixty minutes wouldn’t be enough just to walk through, let alone collect story fragments, items, and deal with other players’ schemes.

To get out, he would have to seize time from others.

As an ordinary Human Realm player with no special abilities, the best method was to use teammates as tools.

First, have them eliminate the opposing faction, then kill the two teammates himself, and finally, with everyone’s time combined, become the sole victor and exit the maze.

Currently, Shi Zong only knew one certain teammate: Zuo Sanqiu.

They had chatted extensively before breakfast.

After forming an alliance, Shi Zong learned that when Zuo Sanqiu completed his side quest, he had gone to the Beast Realm and awakened part of his ability:

【Ability Name: Crow’s Lament】

【Usage: Emit a piercing crow’s cry, slowing the target’s movement and thinking】

【Duration: One minute】

【Cooldown: 60 minutes】

【Note: This ability must be used in a specific scenario】

At least for now, it seemed the system gave players these abilities for the faction battle.

So the “specific scenario” likely referred to the maze.

In this maze, Zuo Sanqiu’s ability acted as a debuff against enemies; he didn’t yet have strong offensive power.

And his skill had a cooldown of 60 minutes—probably usable only once in the maze.

As for the remaining teammate, Shi Zong guessed it was Zhang Qijun from the Asura Realm.

His skill was still unknown.

After walking about three more minutes, Shi Zong noticed a square on the wall ahead light up.

It was probably a screen that sensed his approach. When Shi Zong stepped forward, text appeared:

【Welcome to the “Item Shop”】

【Complete mini-games to randomly obtain item cards】

【The higher the difficulty of the game, the stronger the item card, but more time will be consumed】

【Note: Each item card has a blue button on the back. Press it with your index finger for ten seconds to use the card】

【You may obtain three item cards this time】

【The strongest item cards in the maze are not available in this shop】

【The strongest item cards can summon indestructible killing tools, with unlimited uses and no cooldown. There are only two in the maze, and players are advised to actively search for them】

After reading all the instructions, Shi Zong decisively chose the highest difficulty game.

In the first game he played, a painting was divided into 20 squares, each rotated by 90, 180, or 270 degrees around its center, making the painting look chaotic.

Players had to rotate each square to its correct position to restore the painting.

The difficulty was that rotating one square would also rotate two or three other squares simultaneously. Players needed to find the pattern and determine the order to complete the task.

The puzzle wasn’t hard, just tedious.

Shi Zong completed it as quickly as possible and received an item card:

【Item Name: Disguise】

【Effect: You can transform into the appearance of another player】

【Duration: 5 minutes】

【Can only be used once】

Meanwhile, Zhu Shuangyun entered the maze through door number 3.

She was perpetually hungry and could only temporarily relieve it by eating, so she had brought a backpack.

The system prohibited controlled knives and similar items but didn’t restrict food.

So Zhu Shuangyun walked through the maze while gnawing on a chicken leg.

After 20 minutes in the maze, she began to feel dazed.

She had been walking straight through a pure white corridor, unable to see the end or retrace her steps. It felt as though she would keep walking until she got lost forever.

Except when playing mini-games to get item cards, time felt extremely long to her.

In this environment, where she couldn’t see ahead, no teammates were visible, and silence was so deep she could hear her own heartbeat, she had to use all her willpower to keep going.

When she finally heard footsteps, her first reaction wasn’t to identify friend or foe but to exhale in relief—

At least she wasn’t alone to walk to her death.

The person approaching was Zhang Qijun.

They met at a crossroads.

Zhu Shuangyun recognized him.

She wasn’t interested in Peking Opera herself, but her mother liked it, and she had gone to theaters a few times, seeing Zhang Qijun perform.

She had also seen online reports describing him as plain-looking with ordinary temperament, unnoticed in crowds.

But once on stage, he was different—instantly the most dazzling presence.

In this story, he played a female Asura and was exceptionally beautiful, even distracting her as a female herself.

Earlier that morning, they had explored the castle’s third floor together and cooperated well. Zhang Qijun had made a good impression, seeming considerate.

Still, Zhu Shuangyun kept her composure.

After a brief sigh of relief, she quickly became cautious again.

Through three mini-games, she had obtained three item cards, and he might have as well.

She didn’t know if he was friend or foe.

Then Zhang Qijun straightforwardly said, “I know your true identity. You are Liang Yuyan, right? I not only know you are Liang Yuyan, but I also know everyone else’s identity.

“As a female Asura, one of my abilities is ‘Prophecy.’ I can see everyone’s identity.”

“W-why are you telling me this?”

Zhu Shuangyun frowned. “Wait, what ‘Prophecy’? That’s way too strong. How do I know you’re telling the truth?

“I’ve played games like Werewolf before. How do I know your prophecy ability is real?”

Zhang Qijun said, “Actually, my ability isn’t that strong. By completing side quests and receiving system info, combined with story fragments in the maze, it’s not hard to guess some players’ identities. I just know a little more than others.”

Glancing at her expression, Zhang Qijun continued, “I can tell you the male lead is also Liang Yuyan. From what I’ve observed, he’s strong. We can have him lead. We need to find him quickly and ask how he wants to play.”

Zhu Shuangyun eyed him skeptically. “I won’t go with you. So you’re also Liang Yuyan?”

Zhang Qijun gave her an unexpected answer. “No, I’m Cen Qianshan. Logically, I should team with the Scriptwriter and Crow. But… for personal reasons, I can’t let the Scriptwriter win.”

Zhu Shuangyun grew serious, scrutinizing Zhang Qijun, trying to discern his true motive.

Zhang Qijun calmly took out an item card and handed it to her.

【Item Name: Truth Card】

【Effect: When used on someone, they must tell you the truth, or suffer severe internal injury and bleed】

【Duration: 3 minutes】

【Can only be used once】

“Press the button on the back, and you’ll know everything I said is true,” Zhang Qijun said.

Full of suspicion, Zhu Shuangyun pressed her finger on the button for ten seconds. A faint red light enveloped Zhang Qijun.

He repeated his words: “Scriptwriter, Crow, and I are Cen Qianshan; the male lead, male supporting, and you, the female supporting, are Liang Yuyan.

“Although I’m Cen Qianshan and should ensure the Scriptwriter wins, for personal reasons, I need him to lose this faction match. Even if I lose, it’s fine.

“Female supporting, you don’t need to feel burdened. Death in the faction match doesn’t mean actual death. Since I’m on the same side as him, I’m willing to lose. I’m not going to send myself to die, right?

“Also, I can probably guess… you and he might have formed something like a guild? New players are often sent together to the next scenario. It’s tradition.

“After the newbie scenario, players meet in real life and form guilds. But do you know what happens?

“After such a faction match, can guild members still work together without resentment?

“No. Every similar guild I know disbanded after the second scenario.

“So if you worry cooperating with me will affect your relationship with Scriptwriter’s guild members, you don’t need to.

“Besides, consider