After No. 3 threw down the gauntlet of ‘a wise man does not fall in love’, a strange silence descended over the conference room.
Zhuge An didn’t seem like he was going to waste words on explaining either. Saying that, he shut his eyes and continued to silently lean against the wall once more, his back as upright as an infallible evergreen pine.
Zong Jiu raised his eyebrows. “Come, then. Recount what your team encountered in the Labyrinth of Death.”
At the mention of the topic, Xu Su, who had just regained some hope, drooped again. Unwillingness flickered clearly across his face.
Even so, he still forced himself to keep listening.
He told himself he could not leave Xu Sen’s death unanswered. No matter how much grief it caused him, Xu Su must ascertain how he died.
If he can’t even garner the courage to relive the past, then how would he help Jiu-ge stand off against No. 1? How would he even work towards winning the universal wish ticket?
After a moment’s silence, Zhuge An, who had been resting, opened his mouth again and concisely described what they encountered in the Labyrinth of Death.
The labyrinth encompassed the entire surface of the special otherworldly space it belonged to. It was a place shrouded by endless fog, reaching into every crevice and obscuring its view from prying eyes.
The main task of this instance was to find the single exit to the Labyrinth of Death. If they did not manage to do so within seven days, it would result in a group wipeout.
The structure was similar to the fabled labyrinth in Greek mythology, the one built for King Minos of Crete. The difference, however, was that the Labyrinth of Death only consisted of one unimaginably large level.
In the beginning, everyone was dropped at the entrance. To their back was a dead end, and to their front was a road with three forks.
The labyrinth mandated that only one person could enter at a time.
Some recalled the Greek myth wherein Theseus used a ball of yarn to decrypt the labyrinth, which many also attempted to copy. Unfortunately, after entering, they found the monsters inside would actually cut the yarn or shift it around. After losing several trainees who directly followed their yarn into the tiger’s mouth, they had no choice but to change their strategy and use the clumsiest method to measure the distance in the labyrinth.
And after losing a few more, they managed to obtain a blue fire that could dispel the fog. They carried it around in a copper lamp like a small lantern.
With the blue fire, the labyrinth relaxed the restriction, allowing more people to enter at one time.
But what nobody expected was that the blue fire attracted the monsters roaming in the labyrinth. Just like that, another batch of teams were wiped out in quick succession.
It could be said that the way out of this labyrinth was paved with the blood and bones of contenders.
There was even an instance where they excavated half of the labyrinth, only to encounter shadow creatures that could hide in the shadows of people. Therefore, when raising the blue fire, they had to prevent not only the flame from going out but also shadow creatures from sneaking up on them in the shadows.
Xu Sen had the Black Pullet in his hands. Incidentally, as his head was lowered to recite a spell, he didn’t notice that the book in his hand had cast a long shadow on the wall of the labyrinth.
His fate was almost set in stone, but Zhuge An intercepted the blow in the nick of time and used an A-rank Substitution Doll. Xu Sen was saved and suffered no more than shock.
Later on, Zhuge An also inferred from various clues that the Labyrinth of Death likely existed in a mirror world.
Qtja atfs tjv ecmbnfgfv yfibcufv ab atf olgra qbgalbc. Veyrfdefcais, atfs rlwqis tjv ab obiibk j vljubcji kjixlcu qjat jujlcra atf wlggbg regojmfr ab olcv atf fzla bqqbrlaf atf fcagjcmf lc atf reqfglwqbrfv gfoifmalbcr.
Dea atf mfcagf bo atlr qjat kjr ilaafgfv klat wbcrafgr atja lcrqlgfv jypfma afggbg, jibcu klat mbecaifrr batfg tbggloslcu fzlrafcmfr atja kfgf lcnlrlyif ab atf fsf.
By this point, the number of straggling survivors dwindled drastically along the journey out, until only two were left in the end. Yet the path ahead was blocked by a swarm of malevolent monsters, all of which required fresh blood to lure away.
Zhuge An and Xu Sen clearly understood if neither of them made a sacrifice, this would be it for the both of them.
Furthermore, the Taiji Eight Trigrams was used heavily earlier on and had hit its cap.
Xu Sen was silent for a long while. “There is a forbidden spell in the Black Pullet…”
Zhuge An was walking ahead, his body covered with blood and his black hair ruffled. He looked over his shoulder at him.
This forbidden spell was the most potent black magic of all the spells within, harnessing an attack strength comparable to an S-rank offensive prop.
But black magic was unlike the gentleness of its white magic counterpart. It demanded an according price for the strength it leant.
And that price was life force.
Xu Sen had already paid the price once in the collective instance before this. A charred finger allowed him to survive and fly up to A-rank as a result.
Shivering, he flipped open the black magic book in his hand, as even the charred finger that had long since lost sensitivity was trembling faintly.
Deep down, Xu Sen knew what this decision would mean for him.
Sacrifice – death – he would never… see Xu Su again.
The young man whose smile was able to dispel the gloom of the people around him. The one from whom Xu Sen struggled to hide his ugly hand, yet still reached out and carefully touched his finger. The words that were left unspoken, and the confession that would never find its voice.
He would never see him again.
The silence seemed to drag on for an age, or perhaps only a second.
Xu Sen gritted his teeth and suddenly looked up, his voice painfully hoarse. “Buy me two minutes.”
There was only ten minutes before the instance closed.
Zhuge An saved him once, and this was a debt that Xu Sen felt obliged to repay.
If he sat back and did nothing, both of them would die here, with not even one survivor.
He had his honour and he would not die without repaying all of his debts.
Xu Sen bit open a pen cap and squatted by the wall, spreading the magic book in his hand and began writing swiftly on the first page.
In the one year since he entered the infinite loop, he had never shed a tear. This one time, an exception was made; his eyes were clouded with tears and every word he wrote was shaky.
When he finished penning those few paragraphs, he tore the last page containing the forbidden spell from the Black Pullet, handing the heavy black tome to Zhuge An.
“Help me… pass this book to Xu Su, the C-rank trainee from Jiu-ge’s team.”
The dark-haired man fixed his gaze on the A-rank prop in the other’s hand and nodded. “I will make sure he gets it.”
Inexplicably, the usually reticent man asked further, “Do you have anything else you would like me to convey?”
“That’s all. Thank you for taking care of me before. You must survive.”
Xu Sen wiped his tears, then recited the intricate incantations with the torn page clutched in his fist, never looking back as he rushed into the dense fog.
Monsters howled in his wake, devouring the body that gradually turned charred.
The pain induced by the tale was more painful than dismemberment.
Xu Su’s eyes, which were bloodshot from crying, welled up again. He flipped to the end of the Black Pullet with trembling hands.
Sure enough, there were traces of a page being torn out from the spine of the book.
He stared at the torn remnants for a long time, lightly skimming the edge with his hand, then cried and laughed.
Xu Sen knew the danger of this forbidden spell, so he would rip away the page and not allow Xu Su the chance to try it or know its secret.
The conference room was submerged in silence again after Zhuge An’s recollection.
The white-haired young man abruptly raised his gaze to sweep down the dark-haired man’s sharp side profile and jawline, an odd suspicion taking shape in his mind.
There was a unique, tacit understanding between them.
Currently, whilst they were with Xu Su, Zong Jiu didn’t take it up with Zhuge An that he had deliberately led the other team through that space door. Similarly, Zhuge An also kept his mouth shut, pretending that this matter never happened.
But if Zong Jiu followed this line of reasoning, Zhuge An had likely coughed up blood before the instance because he had used the Taiji Eight Trigrams to deduce part of the future.
If Zhuge An could deduce the danger in the next instance, then could he also have guessed that Xu Sen would not survive? Guessed that he alone would return unscathed from that instance?
To be frank, Zhuge An had a good eye for reading people. He could see through the indifference that Zong Jiu hid behind a facade and even the fetters he carried at first glance. Therefore, it was impossible he didn’t understand Xu Sen’s nature. While Xu Sen preferred to keep more to himself, he was assuredly someone who would return every kindness he received.
Furthermore, abruptly taking a blow for Xu Sen and consuming a valuable A-rank prop didn’t align with Zhuge An’s style at all. He would normally be prepared for any eventuality, mulling over the strategy over and over again like a control freak, never permitting the possibility of any detail going beyond his control.
Besides, although they had formed a temporary alliance and Zong Jiu could also see sincerity from Zhuge An, in all honesty, No. 3 wasn’t the type who would sacrifice himself and valiantly block a blow meant for another.
Therefore, knowing that this instance would pose a large danger to Zong Jiu and that he would definitely survive the instance, Zhuge An committed to entering that space door.
If he could have even predicted Xu Sen’s reaction based on his nature, he would have used it to calculate every odd and achieve his goal.
One had to admit that this was more in line with Zong Jiu’s understanding of Zhuge An.
In that split second, many thoughts crossed Zong Jiu’s mind.
He remembered the out of place Moon tarot card that he had drawn, symbolising deception, which he had not yet found the source of.
It pertained to the matter that Zhuge An was concealing from him.
What on earth could it be?
It was also at this moment that the dark-haired man whose eyes were shut suddenly opened his eyes again, squarely meeting his gaze.
The black irises were unfathomably deep, like small whirlpools were swirling inside, grabbing all sight.
Zhuge An’s gaze was collected. But when their gazes met, Zong Jiu was certain they were both likely thinking of the same thing.
Despite being caught staring, Zong Jiu didn’t show a flicker of panic on his face, instead calmly gazing back without hiding the suspicion in his eyes.
After a while of staring back and forth, just when Zong Jiu thought Zhuge An should be preparing to speak soon to enlighten his puppet king—all of a sudden, the black-haired man calmly went back to closing his eyes, not having the slightest intention to explain.
Seemingly conveying that since the alliance between them had been made anyway, leaving a devil covetously eyeing its prey on the outside, it didn’t matter whether Zong Jiu believed him or not.
Zong Jiu, “…”
Truly, only Zhuge An.
After No. 3 threw down the gauntlet of ‘a wise man does not fall in love’, a strange silence descended over the conference room.
Zhuge An didn’t seem like he was going to waste words on explaining either. Saying that, he shut his eyes and continued to silently lean against the wall once more, his back as upright as an infallible evergreen pine.
Zong Jiu raised his eyebrows. “Come, then. Recount what your team encountered in the Labyrinth of Death.”
At the mention of the topic, Xu Su, who had just regained some hope, drooped again. Unwillingness flickered clearly across his face.
Even so, he still forced himself to keep listening.
He told himself he could not leave Xu Sen’s death unanswered. No matter how much grief it caused him, Xu Su must ascertain how he died.
If he can’t even garner the courage to relive the past, then how would he help Jiu-ge stand off against No. 1? How would he even work towards winning the universal wish ticket?
After a moment’s silence, Zhuge An, who had been resting, opened his mouth again and concisely described what they encountered in the Labyrinth of Death.
The labyrinth encompassed the entire surface of the special otherworldly space it belonged to. It was a place shrouded by endless fog, reaching into every crevice and obscuring its view from prying eyes.
The main task of this instance was to find the single exit to the Labyrinth of Death. If they did not manage to do so within seven days, it would result in a group wipeout.
The structure was similar to the fabled labyrinth in Greek mythology, the one built for King Minos of Crete. The difference, however, was that the Labyrinth of Death only consisted of one unimaginably large level.
In the beginning, everyone was dropped at the entrance. To their back was a dead end, and to their front was a road with three forks.
The labyrinth mandated that only one person could enter at a time.
Some recalled the Greek myth wherein Theseus used a ball of yarn to decrypt the labyrinth, which many also attempted to copy. Unfortunately, after entering, they found the monsters inside would actually cut the yarn or shift it around. After losing several trainees who directly followed their yarn into the tiger’s mouth, they had no choice but to change their strategy and use the clumsiest method to measure the distance in the labyrinth.
And after losing a few more, they managed to obtain a blue fire that could dispel the fog. They carried it around in a copper lamp like a small lantern.
With the blue fire, the labyrinth relaxed the restriction, allowing more people to enter at one time.
But what nobody expected was that the blue fire attracted the monsters roaming in the labyrinth. Just like that, another batch of teams were wiped out in quick succession.
It could be said that the way out of this labyrinth was paved with the blood and bones of contenders.
There was even an instance where they excavated half of the labyrinth, only to encounter shadow creatures that could hide in the shadows of people. Therefore, when raising the blue fire, they had to prevent not only the flame from going out but also shadow creatures from sneaking up on them in the shadows.
Xu Sen had the Black Pullet in his hands. Incidentally, as his head was lowered to recite a spell, he didn’t notice that the book in his hand had cast a long shadow on the wall of the labyrinth.
His fate was almost set in stone, but Zhuge An intercepted the blow in the nick of time and used an A-rank Substitution Doll. Xu Sen was saved and suffered no more than shock.
Later on, Zhuge An also inferred from various clues that the Labyrinth of Death likely existed in a mirror world.
Qtja atfs tjv ecmbnfgfv yfibcufv ab atf olgra qbgalbc. Veyrfdefcais, atfs rlwqis tjv ab obiibk j vljubcji kjixlcu qjat jujlcra atf wlggbg regojmfr ab olcv atf fzla bqqbrlaf atf fcagjcmf lc atf reqfglwqbrfv gfoifmalbcr.
Dea atf mfcagf bo atlr qjat kjr ilaafgfv klat wbcrafgr atja lcrqlgfv jypfma afggbg, jibcu klat mbecaifrr batfg tbggloslcu fzlrafcmfr atja kfgf lcnlrlyif ab atf fsf.
By this point, the number of straggling survivors dwindled drastically along the journey out, until only two were left in the end. Yet the path ahead was blocked by a swarm of malevolent monsters, all of which required fresh blood to lure away.
Zhuge An and Xu Sen clearly understood if neither of them made a sacrifice, this would be it for the both of them.
Furthermore, the Taiji Eight Trigrams was used heavily earlier on and had hit its cap.
Xu Sen was silent for a long while. “There is a forbidden spell in the Black Pullet…”
Zhuge An was walking ahead, his body covered with blood and his black hair ruffled. He looked over his shoulder at him.
This forbidden spell was the most potent black magic of all the spells within, harnessing an attack strength comparable to an S-rank offensive prop.
But black magic was unlike the gentleness of its white magic counterpart. It demanded an according price for the strength it leant.
And that price was life force.
Xu Sen had already paid the price once in the collective instance before this. A charred finger allowed him to survive and fly up to A-rank as a result.
Shivering, he flipped open the black magic book in his hand, as even the charred finger that had long since lost sensitivity was trembling faintly.
Deep down, Xu Sen knew what this decision would mean for him.
Sacrifice – death – he would never… see Xu Su again.
The young man whose smile was able to dispel the gloom of the people around him. The one from whom Xu Sen struggled to hide his ugly hand, yet still reached out and carefully touched his finger. The words that were left unspoken, and the confession that would never find its voice.
He would never see him again.
The silence seemed to drag on for an age, or perhaps only a second.
Xu Sen gritted his teeth and suddenly looked up, his voice painfully hoarse. “Buy me two minutes.”
There was only ten minutes before the instance closed.
Zhuge An saved him once, and this was a debt that Xu Sen felt obliged to repay.
If he sat back and did nothing, both of them would die here, with not even one survivor.
He had his honour and he would not die without repaying all of his debts.
Xu Sen bit open a pen cap and squatted by the wall, spreading the magic book in his hand and began writing swiftly on the first page.
In the one year since he entered the infinite loop, he had never shed a tear. This one time, an exception was made; his eyes were clouded with tears and every word he wrote was shaky.
When he finished penning those few paragraphs, he tore the last page containing the forbidden spell from the Black Pullet, handing the heavy black tome to Zhuge An.
“Help me… pass this book to Xu Su, the C-rank trainee from Jiu-ge’s team.”
The dark-haired man fixed his gaze on the A-rank prop in the other’s hand and nodded. “I will make sure he gets it.”
Inexplicably, the usually reticent man asked further, “Do you have anything else you would like me to convey?”
“That’s all. Thank you for taking care of me before. You must survive.”
Xu Sen wiped his tears, then recited the intricate incantations with the torn page clutched in his fist, never looking back as he rushed into the dense fog.
Monsters howled in his wake, devouring the body that gradually turned charred.
The pain induced by the tale was more painful than dismemberment.
Xu Su’s eyes, which were bloodshot from crying, welled up again. He flipped to the end of the Black Pullet with trembling hands.
Sure enough, there were traces of a page being torn out from the spine of the book.
He stared at the torn remnants for a long time, lightly skimming the edge with his hand, then cried and laughed.
Xu Sen knew the danger of this forbidden spell, so he would rip away the page and not allow Xu Su the chance to try it or know its secret.
The conference room was submerged in silence again after Zhuge An’s recollection.
The white-haired young man abruptly raised his gaze to sweep down the dark-haired man’s sharp side profile and jawline, an odd suspicion taking shape in his mind.
There was a unique, tacit understanding between them.
Currently, whilst they were with Xu Su, Zong Jiu didn’t take it up with Zhuge An that he had deliberately led the other team through that space door. Similarly, Zhuge An also kept his mouth shut, pretending that this matter never happened.
But if Zong Jiu followed this line of reasoning, Zhuge An had likely coughed up blood before the instance because he had used the Taiji Eight Trigrams to deduce part of the future.
If Zhuge An could deduce the danger in the next instance, then could he also have guessed that Xu Sen would not survive? Guessed that he alone would return unscathed from that instance?
To be frank, Zhuge An had a good eye for reading people. He could see through the indifference that Zong Jiu hid behind a facade and even the fetters he carried at first glance. Therefore, it was impossible he didn’t understand Xu Sen’s nature. While Xu Sen preferred to keep more to himself, he was assuredly someone who would return every kindness he received.
Furthermore, abruptly taking a blow for Xu Sen and consuming a valuable A-rank prop didn’t align with Zhuge An’s style at all. He would normally be prepared for any eventuality, mulling over the strategy over and over again like a control freak, never permitting the possibility of any detail going beyond his control.
Besides, although they had formed a temporary alliance and Zong Jiu could also see sincerity from Zhuge An, in all honesty, No. 3 wasn’t the type who would sacrifice himself and valiantly block a blow meant for another.
Therefore, knowing that this instance would pose a large danger to Zong Jiu and that he would definitely survive the instance, Zhuge An committed to entering that space door.
If he could have even predicted Xu Sen’s reaction based on his nature, he would have used it to calculate every odd and achieve his goal.
One had to admit that this was more in line with Zong Jiu’s understanding of Zhuge An.
In that split second, many thoughts crossed Zong Jiu’s mind.
He remembered the out of place Moon tarot card that he had drawn, symbolising deception, which he had not yet found the source of.
It pertained to the matter that Zhuge An was concealing from him.
What on earth could it be?
It was also at this moment that the dark-haired man whose eyes were shut suddenly opened his eyes again, squarely meeting his gaze.
The black irises were unfathomably deep, like small whirlpools were swirling inside, grabbing all sight.
Zhuge An’s gaze was collected. But when their gazes met, Zong Jiu was certain they were both likely thinking of the same thing.
Despite being caught staring, Zong Jiu didn’t show a flicker of panic on his face, instead calmly gazing back without hiding the suspicion in his eyes.
After a while of staring back and forth, just when Zong Jiu thought Zhuge An should be preparing to speak soon to enlighten his puppet king—all of a sudden, the black-haired man calmly went back to closing his eyes, not having the slightest intention to explain.
Seemingly conveying that since the alliance between them had been made anyway, leaving a devil covetously eyeing its prey on the outside, it didn’t matter whether Zong Jiu believed him or not.
Zong Jiu, “…”
Truly, only Zhuge An.
