Chapter 35

Chapter 34: Mountains and Seas 12

Thirty minutes had passed.

Shi Zong still hadn’t encountered anyone.

Of course, this was partly because he spent so much time playing mini-games that his progress was slightly delayed.

Besides 【Disguise】, he had also obtained 【Extra Time Card】 and 【Scene Review】 from the first item shop he encountered.

Not long after, he reached a crossroads and ran into another item shop, primarily offering weapons and equipment.

After playing three mini-games there, Shi Zong obtained three items useful in battle—

The first was a ranged weapon called 【Arrow that Slices the Blue Sky】, with 50% accuracy and 50% lethal chance.

The second was 【Golden Bell Shield】, providing 70% damage reduction.

Both could only be used once.

The third item was 【Return to Start】

【Effect: Target a player to send them back to the maze’s starting point, restarting from the beginning】

【Can only be used once】

After leaving the second item shop, Shi Zong’s next task was to choose a path.

Standing at the crossroads, he didn’t move immediately. Instead, he squinted, raised his left hand, and tried to let his intuition guide him.

Intuition—this was the ability given by the 【Night】 knight emblem.

Currently, with only one emblem, his intuition wasn’t very strong, but he vaguely felt the emblem stir slightly whenever he faced a certain direction, and his palm felt warm.

It wasn’t a positive feeling.

Shi Zong could sense a heaviness in his chest, as if something bad had happened in that direction.

But for now, the badness was limited.

Before entering the dungeon, one morning, Shi Zong had narrowly avoided a falling lamp.

That was the first time he had felt the emblem’s effect.

Back then, his life had been in danger, and the emblem’s signal had been intense.

Now, he just felt uneasy.

He sensed that something dangerous might lie ahead, but not enough to threaten his life.

So Shi Zong didn’t hesitate and chose to move in that direction.

After about five minutes, he reached a second crossroads.

Immediately, his left palm burned.

Looking at it, the black knight emblem embedded in his palm shimmered, sometimes hidden in the lines of his hand, sometimes seeming to break through the skin like a relief.

Now his sense of danger was far stronger than before.

It seemed the problem lay at this second crossroads.

Although the ominous premonition wasn’t overwhelming, Shi Zong remained cautious.

He pressed his body against the wall to minimize the chance of being quickly spotted.

At the same time, he held his breath and listened carefully, wary of someone lurking nearby ready to strike.

But he heard nothing.

The maze was incredibly quiet.

Quiet enough that he could hear his footsteps and even his heartbeat.

In such conditions, he should have been able to detect anyone approaching.

Of course, there was a possibility the ambusher had an invisibility or sound-blocking item—but his emblem showed no further reaction.

It seemed unlikely anyone was ambushing here.

Then… could this be a trap made by an item?

The maze’s items were strange and varied; any function was possible.

The path ahead could be a disguised item.

Once another player stepped on it, it could instantly transform into a ferocious beast and devour them.

But all of this was speculation—no proof.

To find the source of this vague sense of danger, Shi Zong took out the item card he got from the first item shop—

【Item Name: Scene Review】

【Effect: Perhaps you’ve walked this path twice. Target the current path with the card to display anyone who passed through in the last ten minutes; can be used to orient yourself and avoid getting lost】

【Range: 10 meters】

In the maze, the ceiling, walls, and floor were indestructible. Without special items, players couldn’t leave marks easily.

Without marking, it was easy to get lost.

Thus, this card helped players know if they were going in circles.

Shi Zong wasn’t using it to find his way.

If his intuition was correct, and no one was ambushing here, then perhaps someone who had passed here before had murderous intent toward him.

Soon, the item activated.

It floated up like a magical 3D projection, covering the path ahead, showing everything that happened there in the past ten minutes—sped up.

Shi Zong stood behind the card, watching like a movie—

The people who had appeared here were Zhu Shuangyun and Zhang Qijun.

They spoke for a long time and then left together.

When Zhu Shuangyun encountered Zhang Qijun, she took a half step back, probably on guard, but Zhang Qijun moved closer.

It looked as if Zhang Qijun had known Zhu Shuangyun would pass here and intentionally appeared to create the illusion of a chance encounter.

The ten-minute footage played in just seconds, leaving Shi Zong unable to discern their microexpressions or what they said.

But he could roughly guess—

In his judgment, Zhang Qijun should be on their side.

Then why did Zhang Qijun actively approach Zhu Shuangyun and walk with her?

One possibility: Zhang Qijun tricked Zhu Shuangyun into thinking they were on the same side, with the ultimate goal of securing victory for the “Mountain” faction.

But Zhu Shuangyun wasn’t easily deceived.

Why she followed Zhang Qijun so readily was likely more complicated.

Shi Zong couldn’t help recalling a photo supposedly taken by Zhang Qijun’s master, Li Rongjing, which had annoyed him greatly.

Since entering the dungeon, he had been wary of Zhang Qijun.

Combined with the 【Night】 emblem’s guidance, he considered another possibility—

That Zhang Qijun had chosen to side with Zhu Shuangyun, becoming part of the “Sea” faction.

But why would he do that?

As one of the Cen Qianshans, didn’t he want to win?

Was he not afraid of the debuff the system applied after losing?

Shi Zong still didn’t know exactly what the debuff was.

If it could threaten lives, it must be significant.

But players’ identities differed—Asuras, Humans, Animals, Ghosts…

Perhaps each reacted differently to the debuff.

Since Zhang Qijun didn’t care, maybe for him as an Asura it was harmless, but for Shi Zong, it could be lethal.

So… he wanted to kill me?

Recalling Li Rongjing’s words: “I just want to perform. I’m not interested in your identity.”

Shi Zong smiled wryly.

He decided to use this opportunity to observe what the master and disciple were truly up to.

Shi Zong continued exploring the maze.

During this, he replayed the previous footage in his mind, speculating about Zhang Qijun’s abilities.

He had been in the maze a long time without encountering anyone.

Why had Zhang Qijun met others so quickly, and immediately as a member of the “Sea” faction?

What seemed like coincidence was likely carefully designed.

The earlier footage made it seem as if Zhang Qijun had been waiting there.

It appeared that Zhang Qijun, as the second-strongest Asura after the Celestials, could not only foresee others’ identities but also predict where and when others would pass.

Another Asura, Zhou Lu, might not have the same ability, but both were comparably powerful.

And now, the two strongest were with He Zhen.

Shi Zong realized he needed a strategy to win.

Thirty-five minutes into the game.

Zhu Shuangyun and Zhang Qijun had walked a long straight path and finally reached another crossroads.

Another item shop was there.

But Zhu Shuangyun no longer had the patience for mini-games.

She had only 25 minutes left, and without finding the exit, more items wouldn’t help.

She couldn’t help but ask Zhang Qijun beside her, “Do you have an ability to sense teammates’ locations? Then why haven’t we found the male lead yet?”

Zhang Qijun said, “He might have concealed his location, so I can’t sense him for now.

“Don’t forget, he’s from the Hell Path. After all, this is a game dungeon, not reality. Maybe in the game, Hell Path people are real ghosts. And ghosts can’t be seen. Invisibility might be his ability.”

“What should we do now?”

Zhu Shuangyun asked, “By the way, why don’t we just look for the exit? Your ability should help in finding the exit, right? Where is it?”

Zhang Qijun said, “I can indeed sense the direction of the exit. But direction isn’t the same as the exact route. Moreover, this maze is enormous. With only our initial 60 minutes, we can’t get out. So we need to kill others and steal their time.

“Wait—

“I sense someone not far away!”

Zhang Qijun closed his eyes, seemingly using his ability to sense something.

Soon he said, “It’s Crow. That person not far ahead is Crow. So…”

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Qijun continued, “First, we find Crow, then bring him to the Scriptwriter. Then we kill him and the Scriptwriter.”

Zhu Shuangyun asked in confusion, “Why find him first, then kill the Scriptwriter and him? You and I, against the Scriptwriter and Crow, it’s two-on-two.

“But if we kill Crow first together, then kill the Scriptwriter together, both times it’s two-on-one.

“Wouldn’t two-on-one be easier than straight two-on-two?”

Zhang Qijun shook his head, “The Scriptwriter and Crow have always gotten along well; they probably already know each other’s identities. From their perspective, they just need to find one teammate. So if they see us appear together, they’ll get suspicious.

“Right now, we don’t know what items Crow has. If he can turn into a crow and fly… he might escape immediately if he suspects us, and our plan fails.

“Furthermore, even if we successfully kill Crow, when we reach the Scriptwriter, he will see our time has increased and get suspicious.

“If he never finds Crow, he might directly suspect we killed him and prepare defenses.

“So a step-by-step method isn’t reliable. Also…”

Zhang Qijun looked at Zhu Shuangyun. “There’s an item shop here. You can play games and earn items. I’ll meet you here after I’ve killed the two of them.”

Zhu Shuangyun was almost stunned. “You don’t want two-on-one, you want one-on-two? You’ll fight them both alone?”

“Yes,” Zhang Qijun nodded decisively.

Zhu Shuangyun was bewildered. “You used the Truth Card and persuaded me for so long just because you needed my help, right? But if you’re going alone… why did you even come to me?”

“Of course I need you. Your role is crucial.

“When I came for you, I didn’t anticipate encountering Crow first. We’re taking it step by step. Now that we’ve met him, I’ll adjust my strategy based on the situation—”

Zhang Qijun said, “As I just mentioned, if you appear with me, Crow will get suspicious. So I’ll meet him alone first.

“I’ll use my 【Charm】 ability on Crow to make him obey me and become my puppet.

“If Charm succeeds, I’ll take Crow to the Scriptwriter.

“The Scriptwriter trusts Crow. I’ll use that trust and their lack of guard to kill him. After killing the Scriptwriter, I can then kill Crow alone, easily.

“My 【Charm】 success rate is only 70%. If I fail, I can’t handle both of them alone, and we’ll think of another plan then.

“So, you play games here to earn items. Whether you succeed or fail, I’ll come meet you.

“If I fail… then I can only rely on you. Hopefully, you get a very powerful item.”

Zhu Shuangyun exhaled deeply. “I understand. I wish you luck. But… I’m worried…”

Frowning, she voiced her concern. “I know you’re telling the truth. But I’m still worried. See, if you kill both of them, all their time will be yours. But I…”

If Zhu Shuangyun couldn’t steal time, no matter how many items she acquired, they’d only benefit others.

When her time ran out, she’d die, and all the items would fall into Zhang Qijun’s hands.

She didn’t dare say all of this aloud.

But Zhang Qijun clearly understood.

He quickly took out another item card and handed it to her.

【Item Name: Equal Wealth Card】

【Effect: Target a player; your remaining time will be combined and then evenly split between both of you】

Zhang Qijun said, “If I really succeed in killing both, you can take part of my time. That works, right?”

“No… no problem. Sorry.”

Zhu Shuangyun awkwardly accepted the card.

Zhang Qijun’s composure was so calm. Even though he was the “traitor,” the “uncontrollable factor” in her eyes, Zhu Shuangyun couldn’t help feeling like she was the petty one.

“All right. No time to waste. I must act quickly.

“Rest assured, I won’t let the ‘Mountain’ faction win.”