There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Winston started trembling the moment she got near the iron gate.

In life, she had been a Necromancer, so she was more sensitive to supernatural things like Magic Power and could more easily sense the ominous feeling emanating from the iron gate.

Standing outside, she leaned against Beist and said apologetically, "I should have gone in with you all; I might have been able to find out more. But I have a really bad feeling about it, so I can only stand guard out here."

"It’s fine. Beist, you stay here and protect Winston. But with you two alone, just be careful things don’t get... heated."

"...That’s a strange thing for you to be worried about."

"Mhm, because I don’t want to come back to a scene that’s too explicit."

"That’s not going to happen! Now hurry up and get in there!"

Bald Qiang pictured the scene Duan Fei had just described, and his brow furrowed deeply.

’Duan Fei, why did you make me imagine such a horrifying scene!’

The cumbersome iron doors were shut tight; it would have been nearly impossible to push them open with fewer than a dozen people.

But Beist stepped forward and slammed both hands against the iron doors, making them shudder violently.

Then, he let out a low bellow like a bull. In that moment, his deceased body erupted with infinite Power, and as his bellow intensified into a full-throated roar, the doors groaned open, revealing the pitch-black, subterranean corridor behind them.

"Go! The door is trying to close! I can’t hold it for long! And something is trying to get out from inside, so be careful!"

With no time to talk, Duan Fei pulled Bald Qiang inside, tossing Bald Qiang’s phone back out the door just before they entered.

The phone was already connected to Duan Fei’s via Bluetooth. That way, when Duan Fei and Bald Qiang returned, they could use it to contact the outside and have Beist open the door again.

Seeing Duan Fei and Bald Qiang rush through the gateway, Beist released his hold. The iron doors were slammed shut by some mysterious force, the aftershock of which sent him stumbling back to his original spot.

Seeing that Winston was still trembling, Beist walked over, took her hand, and said in a firm yet gentle voice, "Don’t worry. I’m here."

His solid armor gave Winston a sense of security, and she turned to lean against him.

At this, Beist asked nervously, "Are you tired?"

"No, I just wanted to lean on you. It’s incredible... As my past memories return, you big lug are starting to look a lot more endearing."

"I never expected it either. To think that you, who everyone called ’Old Bones,’ were actually my wife."

"Am I?" Winston said mischievously. "Not everyone who’s done... *that*... is a married couple."

"You aren’t?"

"...I am."

Leaning in, Winston pressed herself a little more tightly against Beist.

Behind the doors, the moment Beist stopped holding them, they slammed shut with a BOOM, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

He switched on his phone’s flashlight, and the world was instantly illuminated.

The latest phone from the Rongge Company was designed specifically for players.

In addition to its extra-long battery life and powerful processing capabilities, it also had useful little features like a high-powered flashlight and a laser igniter. It was a compact yet imaginative piece of work.

The built-in flashlight could easily illuminate a radius of over ten meters and had multiple modes. When you weren’t running a dungeon, you could even use it as a disco ball to create some serious atmosphere in a room.

Seeing the scene before them, Bald Qiang took a sharp breath.

The narrow passage twisted and snaked like a sheep’s intestine, its walls smeared with blasphemous words and symbols written in blood.

What’s more, every so often the path would fork, splitting into different routes.

The moment they stepped inside, they noticed the pollution indicator on the backs of their hands slowly rising, a sign that the contamination here was already quite severe.

According to the available data, this tunnel had existed for over fifty years. For it to still be this contaminated after so long meant the place was genuinely dangerous.

As he led Bald Qiang down the path, a thought occurred to Duan Fei, and he couldn’t help but ask, "What exactly is this ’pollution’ anyway? They call it a ’pollution invasion,’ so how can a place from fifty years ago already be polluted?"

"The way I see it, pollution is more like a manifestation of intense emotions. Some dungeons were probably contaminated long ago and were just recently discovered. Some analysts think the world of *Abyss* must incorporate some idealist philosophies—the idea that the mind can influence the external world. If that’s true, then it’s perfectly logical for negative emotions to transform into pollution."

"I see. You’re a pretty competent Daoist, Bald Qiang."

"I’m just average. My senior brother is the really impressive one."

Bald Qiang was about to praise his senior brother some more when he noticed Duan Fei had stopped dead in his tracks.

"Stop. We can’t go this way. Let’s turn back and take another path."

Bald Qiang gave Duan Fei a surprised look and saw that he was staring at the space above his head.

Realizing Duan Fei must have sensed something, he nodded silently, backed out of the current path, and followed him to another.

After seeing the word "Danger" above Bald Qiang’s head slowly disappear, Duan Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

Bald Qiang was a Daoist and possessed Extraordinary Power in the form of Magical Power.

Since he possessed Extraordinary Power, Duan Fei could perceive the danger around him. He could guide him, step by step, along the safe paths, and then...

...they were right back where they started.

Staring at the iron doors before them, Bald Qiang said helplessly, "Uh... how did we end up back here?"

"Looks like my theory was wrong."

’Looks like I got that wrong,’ Duan Fei thought. ’The area below is something that terrified even Beist and Winston. It stands to reason that it wouldn’t be safe.’ ’In other words, the only way to reach the destination and see what’s really going on down here is to head straight into danger.’

After recalibrating his strategy, Duan Fei led Bald Qiang onward.

Along the way, he deliberately chose the most dangerous paths, causing the "Danger" sign above Bald Qiang’s head to glow brighter and brighter, which in turn made Bald Qiang’s bald head more and more conspicuous.

Finally, when the "Danger" sign had become too bright to ignore, they reached their destination.

The moment they arrived, they saw their pollution indicators climbing rapidly. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they both received their first pollution-based buff.

Knowing time was short, Bald Qiang quickly took a mask from his pocket and put it on.

"Temple Priest Mask: Uncontaminated, Blue.

Description: A mask used during the Summon God ritual. It increases the probability of summoning Upper-Rank Deities, but a new crack appears after each use. The more cracks it has, the higher the chance it will shatter."

In addition to the mask, Bald Qiang also took out three Incense Sticks. With a flick of his wrist, they lit themselves and began to rise slowly into the air.

After bowing once toward each of the four cardinal directions, Bald Qiang chanted, "Spirits of the four corners, gods of the eight lands, your disciple Bald Qiang requests divine aid! By urgent decree, let it be so!"

The moment he finished, the Incense Sticks in the air began to move, though there was no wind, arranging themselves into a mysterious symbol.

Bald Qiang, meanwhile, hunched over, scratching his ears and cheeks and fidgeting with his body.

Seeing his companion’s posture, Duan Fei asked in delighted surprise, "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"

"Nah," Bald Qiang said with a playful grin. "Just some wild monkey spirit."

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