Alien Species Invasion? I Kill Them Back.

Chapter 41: Chapter 39: Riddle

After her shower, the takeout she’d ordered earlier started to arrive.

The dining table was piled high with food. Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao sat at the table, eating as they studied the clues for the Maze.

Huangfu Miaomiao was exceptionally serious about this.

"You should understand by now that a Card is a special kind of gene sequence. Any creature that comes into contact with a Card will undergo a corresponding genetic mutation. And the Maze is a massive experimental field where all kinds of genetic mutations are constantly occurring—"

Huangfu Miaomiao held up a disposable fork and made an exaggerated gesture with her arms, emphasizing, "Extremely large. Incredibly huge!"

Feng Ling played along with a nod, peeling a crawfish.

Huangfu Miaomiao said, "Because it’s an experimental field, the genes inside the Maze are extremely chaotic and unstable. Countless creatures mutate, reproduce, and die there, forming a unique biosphere. One of these creatures will eventually distinguish itself, complete its final evolution, and become the victor of this experiment. It is both the victor and the Maze Master. The players’ mission is to defeat the Maze Master! And destroy the Maze!"

Feng Ling understood. "So it’s like a dungeon. Take out the dungeon boss, and the whole dungeon will naturally disappear from the map."

"Right, you can think of it that way." Huangfu Miaomiao nodded repeatedly. "Killing monsters in the Maze grants double points, so players are crazy about it."

"Do you get Cards after killing them?" Feng Ling asked.

"No. Only stable genes can form a Card. The creatures in the Maze are all in an unstable, chaotic state, so they don’t drop Cards when killed. But the Maze Master is different—" Huangfu Miaomiao’s eyes narrowed, and she said very, very slowly, "The Maze Master possesses a complete and stable gene sequence. Once it’s successfully killed, it will drop a one-of-a-kind Rare Card."

Feng Ling peeled a spicy crawfish, dipped it in sauce, and popped it into her mouth.

"No wonder your Divine Statue is placed in the Maze," she said.

Huangfu Miaomiao froze for a second. "...Huh?"

"To ensure players can claim their rewards without any trouble." Feng Ling glanced at her, continuing to peel her crawfish. She spoke unhurriedly, "It’s obvious. The Maze Master’s Card is the most valuable prize in the entire Maze. But using a Card with an incompatible trait will generate a high Pollution Value. If I were a player, I’d be content with just farming mobs in the Maze. Why would I go after the Maze Master? Even if I went through all the trouble to kill it, I might not even be able to use the Card I get. It’s a terrible deal. So, to prevent the grand prize from becoming useless, the system placed a so-called Divine Statue in the Maze to relieve you players of that concern."

Huangfu Miaomiao thought about it for a moment. "I guess... that’s true. I never thought about it that way before."

"Alright, tell me about the clues you have." Feng Ling wiped her hands, her gaze shifting to the durian pizza on the table. "...We find the Maze, go in together, you get points, I get the Divine Statue. It’s a win-win."

She picked up a slice of durian pizza and took a bite.

Huangfu Miaomiao stirred the spaghetti bolognese on her plate with a fork. "I’m not sure I can find it... The clue to the Maze is a riddle. It’s three lines long, and I’ve only managed to solve one of them."

"Let’s hear it," Feng Ling said as she ate.

"A frog in a top hat rushes to the clouds, coveting a kiss from a lone White Bird, Snake Month’s Heavenly Fire burns forth a door from the ashes." Huangfu Miaomiao recited the riddle word for word.

Feng Ling: "..."

’Suddenly, she felt... she might never be able to clear this 29% Pollution Value in her lifetime.’

’The Maze’s riddle is just too baffling!’

"So which line did you solve?" Feng Ling asked.

"The first one. ’A frog in a top hat rushes to the clouds.’"

Huangfu Miaomiao ate a few mouthfuls of noodles before saying, "Frogs don’t wear top hats, and they certainly can’t rush to the clouds. So while I was doing my map-running quests, I made a point to look for frog-like landmarks in the city. Then I discovered it. The Ferris wheel at the amusement park has cartoon-themed cabins. They’re painted with things like Rabbits, ducks, and elephants on the outside. One of the green cabins is painted with a frog wearing a top hat."

Feng Ling breathed a small sigh of relief.

’If that’s the case, the riddle doesn’t seem that difficult after all. As long as we find the right reference points, we should be able to find the Maze’s entrance, right?’

"The amusement park tickets are too expensive," Huangfu Miaomiao said. "I didn’t have the money to ride the Ferris wheel, so I went to the forums to look for help. I thought if I provided the clue, they’d at least let me earn a few points..."

Feng Ling already knew what happened next.

Feng Ling stuffed the last bite of pizza into her mouth, opened the foil container of charcoal-grilled pork ribs, and said, "We’ll go to the amusement park after we finish eating."

Huangfu Miaomiao’s face was full of disapproval. "Have you forgotten? Your location has already been exposed on the forums. There will definitely be a lot of players coming to find you over the next few days. It’s even possible someone in a player team will use scouting Skills. It’s too dangerous to just go out. We could easily run into them."

Feng Ling was getting annoyed. ’These players are so much trouble.’

Her mood soured, and the pork cartilage CRUNCHED loudly in her mouth. Huangfu Miaomiao pressed her lips together and silently lowered her head to eat her spaghetti.

After a moment, Feng Ling said, "Go on the forums and send a message to that person. Tell them you want to buy info on the hidden boss and see how they react."

’I really should check it out,’ Huangfu Miaomiao thought.

She opened her virtual screen, found the thread discussing the hidden boss, and scrolled through hundreds of replies to find the one that mentioned Qingjiang City.

The forums were anonymous, so you couldn’t see the replier’s name. You had to add them as a friend to send a private message.

Huangfu Miaomiao sent a friend request to the person. The message read: "Buying boss info for a high price."

"Ah, they accepted the friend request. That was fast." Huangfu Miaomiao stared at her virtual screen. "Her name is Moon Shadow. She’s probably a girl. Her online time is only two days. She’s either a new player or it’s an account she’s logged back into after dying once."

"Tell her to name her price," Feng Ling said impatiently.

"I’m asking..." Huangfu Miaomiao was tapping on the screen. When she saw the other person’s reply, her expression turned to one of slight shock. "She wants 2,000 points!"

Since it wasn’t real money, the points didn’t feel tangible to Feng Ling. She said casually, "Then 2,000 it is. Ask her how she wants to trade."

"2,000 is way too much!" Huangfu Miaomiao said anxiously. "That price is completely unreasonable! It’s just for a clue. Why should it cost 2,000? The reward for killing the hidden boss might only be around 3,000 points!"

Feng Ling said, annoyed, "It’s not like we’re actually going to give her that many points. The point is to lure her out or figure out where she is."

"She said someone else offered 1,800 points, so I have to offer 2,000 for her to even consider selling the info to me. I’m asking where she is now..." Huangfu Miaomiao frowned. "No good. She’s really cautious. She won’t say."

This made Feng Ling even more irritated. "How are we supposed to trade if she won’t give her location?!"

Huangfu Miaomiao was also getting anxious. She was about to ask again when she noticed the message failed to send. Her face immediately changed.

"...She deleted me as a friend."

A burst of anger flared up inside Feng Ling. She slammed her fist on the table. BANG! All the food was jolted out of place.

Huangfu Miaomiao stared at her, completely stunned.

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