This Character is Suspected of Cheating! [Unlimited Flow]

"Something's wrong... Why is there a staircase?"

The appearance of the staircase didn't just mean they could advance another level.

It also meant they would break open another door...

And release yet another monster imprisoned inside the prison.

He Yu's mind accelerated into overdrive.

Countless hypotheses and deductions raced through his head like a supercomputer processing endless calculations.

Eventually...

He reached a conclusion.

Neither Dr. Ganlun...

Nor Warden Lan Ersi...

Would ever willingly reveal a staircase for them.

The staircase benefited them.

It offered absolutely no advantage to either Dr. Ganlun or Lan Ersi.

More importantly...

It had appeared suddenly.

Which meant someone had deliberately released it just now.

It couldn't have been Dr. Ganlun.

It couldn't have been Lan Ersi.

Neither of them had any reason to do such a thing.

He Yu frowned.

Qu Wu said firmly,

"It's definitely a trap."

Behind them, the gray-white-faced creatures lunged forward at astonishing speed.

Eugene and Ling Buchen barely held them back.

Meanwhile, Duan Yuchen ran around carrying the still-unconscious Zhen Xing, preventing the gray-white-faced creatures from slipping past Eugene and Ling Buchen to attack everyone else.

As they struggled against the monsters...

Their attention remained fixed on the staircase.

Everyone was becoming increasingly anxious.

Breathing heavily, Siya asked,

"He Yu... what do you think?"

He Yu kept staring at the staircase.

Only after a long silence did he turn around.

Confusion lingered faintly in his eyes.

"No matter how I analyze it..."

"The probability of surviving by taking this suddenly appeared staircase..."

"...is still higher than breaking through the ceiling."

After a brief pause, he added,

"My recommendation..."

"...is to take the stairs."

Breaking through the ceiling into the fifth floor meant dropping directly into whatever danger awaited above, with nowhere to escape.

Breaking back down through the ceiling afterward could just as easily send them straight into the gray-white-faced creatures.

At least the staircase offered more room than a vertical hole through the ceiling.

It gave them a little space.

And a little time to react.

While Ling Buchen restrained six gray-white-faced creatures, Eugene finally managed to deal with one of them.

He sawed off its legs.

Then its arms.

Then its neck.

Only then did it finally lose the ability to attack.

Yet even so...

Its severed limbs continued twitching, still trying to grab at them.

Eugene's scalp tingled.

He kicked away a crawling hand, raised his chainsaw, and ground his teeth.

"Let's go."

"We've already come this far."

"What the hell is there left to fear?"

With that, he headed toward the staircase first.

Given everyone's current combat strength...

He naturally had to take the lead.

Ling Buchen remained at the rear, dealing with the gray-white-faced creatures.

They had already been dancing on death's doorstep.

There was no reason to continue hesitating.

Since the staircase had appeared...

And He Yu believed its survival rate was higher than the ceiling...

Then they would charge straight through it.

Carrying Zhen Xing, Duan Yuchen followed close behind Eugene while shielding both Zhen Xing and He Yu.

Siya...

Qiong...

Qu Wu...

All followed.

Although they couldn't use their equipment, they still retained a little fighting capability.

The staircase was eerily quiet.

Nothing seemed to be lurking there.

Within only a few steps...

They reached the entrance to the fifth floor.

Without hesitation, Eugene immediately began sawing through the door.

The act itself was utter madness.

They had no idea what waited inside.

They had no idea what releasing another monster would bring.

Gray-white-faced creatures pursued them from behind.

Unknown lifeforms waited ahead.

Yet Eugene never hesitated.

[Bullet Screen: "HAHAHA Eugene's gone crazy too."]

[Bullet Screen: "Spend enough time following a lunatic, and everyone eventually loses it."]

[Bullet Screen: "Damn... I'm nervous again."]

The gray-white-faced creatures knew no exhaustion.

Even missing arms and legs...

Their offensive strength hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Had Ling Buchen not been constantly circulating energy through his body...

He would've collapsed already.

Holding off six of them was becoming increasingly difficult.

Duan Yuchen and the others could only assist from the sides.

Their limited combat ability prevented them from sharing much of the burden.

They could only keep carrying Zhen Xing back and forth, doing everything possible to stop the gray-white-faced creatures from injuring anyone.

Eugene never looked back.

He could hear everything happening behind him.

The only thing he could do...

Was cut through the door even faster.

Two teeth had already broken off his chainsaw.

It hurt enough to make his jaw clench.

He Yu lowered his gaze toward the staircase.

His mind continued racing.

This staircase...

Where had it really come from?

Lan Ersi froze.

He frowned and stared at his own hand in confusion.

A moment ago...

He had clearly intended to activate the prison's defensive system, making it far harder for them to cut through the ceiling.

Why...

Had he instead released the staircase?

For that instant...

It had almost felt as though he'd lost control of his own body.

Shaking his head, Lan Ersi decided it must have been an illusion.

Or perhaps he'd simply pressed the wrong control.

He sneered and reached out again.

At that exact moment—

He Yu had been staring at the staircase the entire time.

His heartbeat suddenly skipped.

His head snapped upward.

"Quick!"

"The staircase is disappearing!"

At the same time he shouted...

He threw himself toward the very door Eugene was sawing through.

Everyone froze.

Then their pupils contracted.

Without the slightest hesitation...

Every one of them lunged toward that door as well.

Because...

They believed He Yu.

And fortunately...

They did.

In that instant...

Driven by sheer shock, Eugene erupted with unexpected strength and finally cut completely through the door.

But by then...

The staircase had already vanished.

Beneath them lay only endless darkness.

The kind of darkness that made one's hair stand on end.

Anyone who fell...

Would probably never survive.

Because Eugene had been pressed against the door, he fell inward together with it...

Landing inside the fifth floor.

He immediately spun around to rescue the others.

Before he could move...

A pair of hands grabbed him.

An enormous force dragged him deeper inside.

Someone lunged directly at him...

Trying to bite him.

He hurriedly raised an arm to block.

"Damn it!"

"Watch out!"

His chainsaw roared as he shouted the warning.

The instant the staircase disappeared...

None of the others had managed to enter the fifth floor.

Siya...

Qu Wu...

Both threw themselves forward, grabbing the fallen door and desperately climbing upward.

Duan Yuchen grabbed the door as well.

To his credit...

He didn't abandon Zhen Xing just to save himself.

Instead...

He threw Zhen Xing toward the fifth floor.

Then—

An overwhelming force of attraction erupted from the abyss below.

It felt as though countless invisible hands were dragging them downward.

Everyone lost their balance.

The nearly successful Duan Yuchen...

Qu Wu...

And Siya...

Were all yanked downward again.

Their fingers dug desperately into both the door and the floor, their expressions twisted with agony as they struggled not to fall.

Even the unconscious Zhen Xing, who had just been thrown upward...

Was sucked back toward the abyss.

He Yu's pupils contracted violently.

"Ling Buchen!"

The instant he shouted...

He released his grip.

Throwing himself toward Zhen Xing, he caught him with one hand.

At precisely the same moment—

Before He Yu had even finished saying the first syllable of "Ling Buchen"...

Ling Buchen seemed to already know what he intended.

Without a moment's hesitation...

He reached downward.

Perfect timing.

He caught He Yu's outstretched hand.

Dangerously close.

As He Yu leaped after Zhen Xing...

One hand seized Zhen Xing.

The other reached upward.

With barely half a second to react...

Ling Buchen caught that hand perfectly.

Standing inside the fifth floor...

Ling Buchen held onto He Yu.

"Qiong—!"

Siya suddenly cried out.

He Yu's pupils shrank.

Ling Buchen immediately swung both He Yu and Zhen Xing upward before preparing to dive after Qiong.

"Watch out!"

Eugene suddenly shouted.

Behind Ling Buchen...

A pair of arms wrapped around his neck.

A strange-looking man opened his mouth and bit toward him.

At the same time...

The newly rescued Siya...

Duan Yuchen...

Qu Wu...

And He Yu...

Were all seized around the neck as bizarre people opened blood-filled mouths and bit toward them.

The fifth floor...

Contained humans.

And not just one.

Several bizarre humans.

Bang!

Qiong shot upward from below and landed.

Threads flew from between her fingers.

Countless incredibly tough strands wrapped around the necks of the strange people, dragging them away from He Yu and the others.

At the same moment...

Ling Buchen broke free.

Holding Li Zhan's zither before him, he joined forces with Qiong to restrain them.

Eugene finally managed to break away from the several strange people who had dragged him down moments earlier.

The sudden ambush had pinned him to the ground before he'd had time to react.

More importantly...

Something about these people felt wrong.

He absolutely couldn't allow himself to be bitten.

His chainsaw roared.

He cut through those blocking his path and returned to stand before He Yu's group.

Everyone...

Had survived.

The events just now had been so dangerous that everyone's heart still pounded violently.

Duan Yuchen let out a long breath.

"Thank goodness everyone's alright."

"Qiong..."

"You unlocked your bracelet?"

Holding both hands high while manipulating countless threads, Qiong grinned.

"I finally managed it at the last second."

"So?"

"Pretty amazing, right?"

Her weapon consisted of impossibly thin threads.

Yet those delicate strands tightly bound every strange person, leaving them unable to escape.

Ever since descending to rescue everyone...

Qiong had picked up spare parts on the ninth underground floor.

She assembled a bracelet decoder.

From then onward...

She had spoken very little.

The entire journey...

She silently concentrated on unlocking her bracelet.

He Yu's silence came from constant thinking.

Qiong's silence...

Came from working nonstop to crack the bracelet.

Everyone else's attention had been focused entirely on escaping.

No one had noticed just how quiet she'd become.

They all knew she was trying to unlock the bracelet.

None of them realized...

She'd been doing it while fleeing for her life.

Humans truly were capable of anything...

When cornered.

Fortunately...

It had worked.

She succeeded at the final moment.

Even her decision to let herself fall had been part of her gamble.

Releasing her grip...

Just to finish unlocking the bracelet.

That was every bit as crazy as everything else they'd done.

The viewers were right.

Every one of them had gone insane.

Hearing her words...

He Yu smiled.

In such a dangerous situation...

Within such a terrible environment...

His smile was dazzlingly bright.

His rimless glasses couldn't hide the beauty of his almond-shaped eyes.

"Mm."

"You were incredible."

"As expected..."

"...you're a teammate I chose myself."

The strange people struggled desperately.

Qiong and Ling Buchen coordinated perfectly, restraining them while keeping them from attacking.

The group slowly backed away from the danger behind them.

Qiong asked,

"If I'd fallen..."

"What would you have done?"

Without hesitation, He Yu answered,

"Found the doctor."

Qiong laughed.

Her youthful face, almost boyish in appearance, revealed two adorable dimples.

She said nothing more.

Yet everyone understood what that smile meant.

Having a captain like this...

Was reassuring.

Yes.

Captain.

He Yu was their captain.

And they...

Were one team.

Just as He Yu had leaped after Zhen Xing...

Just as Ling Buchen had prepared to save Qiong...

Neither had hesitated.

Not for even a fraction of a second.

Under such terrifying circumstances...

Only two of them still possessed real combat strength.

One person remained unconscious.

The rest couldn't even use their equipment.

The fact that everyone had survived...

Was a miracle.

If even one person had clung to the mentality of—

"This is a deathmatch."

"Eliminate your competitors."

Then the ending would've been completely different.

They didn't have to treat everyone beside them as enemies.

It wasn't true that only someone else's death could ensure their own survival.

He Yu had shown them another road.

Perhaps...

All of them could live.

Break the rules.

Overturn the system.

[Bullet Screen: "AHHH! Everyone's okay! Thank goodness!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Qiong scared me to death! I thought she was finished! Turns out she'd been unlocking her bracelet the entire time!"]

[Bullet Screen: "I knew she was unlocking it! I even noticed He Yu deliberately standing in front of her to give her space and buy her time!"]

[Bullet Screen: "God... that sequence was incredible. Duan Yuchen threw Zhen Xing inside, Zhen Xing started sliding into the abyss, He Yu jumped after him, Ling Buchen caught him... I'm going back to watch that over and over."]

[Bullet Screen: "Their teamwork is unbelievable... I'm strangely moved."]

[Bullet Screen: "Honestly, cooperation is so much more entertaining than slaughter. Why did I never realize that before?"]

Eugene raised a hand.

"Guys..."

"Mind paying attention to our current situation?"

Looking at the green blood coating his chainsaw, he looked utterly miserable.

"This stuff is poisonous!"

Ling Buchen asked with concern,

"Are you alright?"

Eugene shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"But my equipment got covered in their blood."

"My weapon's combat effectiveness has been cut in half."

Everyone: "..."

That...

Was indeed serious.

Qiong's expression changed.

"My equipment's effectiveness dropped too!"

Her face darkened.

The threads restraining the strange people became noticeably weaker.

She had to increase the force considerably just to keep them bound.

As long as the threads remained coated in that green blood...

Her weapon would continue weakening.

"Let go."

Ling Buchen spoke.

His zither was a ranged weapon.

It wasn't affected.

There was no reason to keep sacrificing Qiong's equipment.

Qiong immediately withdrew her threads.

Ling Buchen increased the tempo of his playing, once again restraining the strange people.

These people weren't as strong as the monster downstairs.

Nor as powerful as the gray-white-faced creatures.

Yet...

They were equally dangerous.

Qu Wu's face suddenly turned pale.

His voice trembled.

"I..."

"I feel dizzy..."

Looking at the wound on his hand stained with green blood...

His body went limp.

He collapsed onto the floor.

He Yu immediately looked toward his hand.

His expression changed.

"Cut off his finger."

Originally...

The injury had only been a tiny cut.

But now...

The wound was spreading.

Faint black energy was creeping inward along his finger.

Without hesitation...

Qiong swung her weapon.

One finger fell to the ground.

Qu Wu groaned in agony.

Moments later...

His eyes gradually regained focus.

Clutching his injured hand, terror filled his face.

"What..."

"What exactly is this?"

He Yu pursed his lips.

As though remembering something...

He frowned deeply.

Suddenly, Ling Buchen spoke, his face pale.

"The surrounding energy..."

"It's wrong."

"I can't manipulate it."

He Yu's brows relaxed.

Taking a deep breath, he answered with certainty.

"It's Yu Qi."

Everyone froze.

Eugene quickly reacted.

Yu Qi.

The energy they'd encountered back in Ghost Town.

The substance that composed ghosts.

The name had originally been coined by He Yu himself.

Eugene frowned.

"But Yu Qi..."

He Yu nodded.

"The Yu Qi here is violent."

"And harmful."

"It comes from these strange people."

His eyes remained fixed upon them.

Every one of the strange people wore grotesque expressions.

Green blood flowed from their wounds.

Black light flickered faintly across their faces.

It was deeply unsettling.

The energy flowing through their bodies differed completely from that of Ling Buchen and the others.

That difference had contaminated the surrounding environment.

No wonder Ling Buchen found manipulating energy so difficult.

"If this weren't the wrong time..."

"And the wrong place..."

"I'd really like to study these people."

His eyes gleamed with excitement.

"So my guess was correct."

"What Dr. Ganlun has been conducting..."

"...really are human energy experiments."

Everyone: "!!!"

Duan Yuchen stared at him in disbelief.

"Energy?"

"Dr. Ganlun is already researching energy?"

He Yu nodded, smiling faintly.

"Yes."

"Although he's headed in the wrong direction..."

"He really is researching energy."

"And he's already achieved some results."

"What countless Federation scientists haven't managed to accomplish..."

"A scientist inside a competition instance has."

Everyone inhaled sharply.

[Bullet Screen: "???"]

[Bullet Screen: "Holy shit! I thought this was just a normal dungeon instance! There's actually lore like this?!"]

[Bullet Screen: "Damn... that doctor is actually incredible!"]

Looking off into the distance, He Yu sighed almost regretfully.

"I really..."

"Want to meet Dr. Ganlun."

Eugene raised a hand helplessly.

"Time out."

"Forget energy."

"What do we do now?"

"Staying in this environment can't be good."

"And these things keep weakening us."

They could still restrain the strange people for now.

But as time passed...

Their own combat power continued declining.

Eventually...

The roles would reverse.

Kill them?

That still meant getting covered in blood.

His rimless glasses rested quietly on the bridge of his nose.

Regret filled his beautiful eyes as He Yu looked at the strange people.

He let out a long sigh.

"It seems..."

"We simply aren't fated."

"I won't get to study you after all."

Everyone: "..."

Dr. Ganlun was a mad scientist.

He Yu...

Was an even greater lunatic.

At a moment like this...

He was still thinking about research.

He Yu casually pointed beside them.

"Isn't there already a ready-made disposal site?"

Everyone looked.

The abyss they'd climbed out of.

"Oh!"

Eugene slapped his forehead.

"I was so panicked I forgot the obvious!"

He'd been fighting nonstop.

Enduring one life-threatening situation after another.

Exhaustion had dulled his thinking.

Even such a simple solution hadn't occurred to him.

Duan Yuchen smiled bitterly.

"Same here."

Ling Buchen inhaled deeply.

His pale face tightened as he restrained the strange people.

Qiong's threads flew out once more.

Working together, they dragged the struggling figures toward the edge.

Whenever they proved too heavy—

Eugene stepped forward.

One kick.

"Down you go!"

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

One kick...

One body.

Duan Yuchen and Siya joined in as well.

Every second wasted meant their own combat power continued dropping.

No one hesitated.

These troublesome enemies...

Were dealt with surprisingly easily.

Everyone felt somewhat dazed.

Ling Buchen lowered his zither.

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he drank a potion.

Color gradually returned to his face.

He finally let out a relieved breath.

He Yu looked at him.

Ling Buchen simply shook his head.

Seeing that...

He Yu withdrew his gaze.

This environment placed Ling Buchen at an enormous disadvantage.

His own combat strength wasn't especially high.

The only reason he could wield Li Zhan's zither so effectively was because the instrument itself possessed extraordinary properties.

Combined with the cultivation method taught by He Yu...

His music relied on drawing in surrounding energy.

Inside an environment saturated with violent Yu Qi...

Without He Yu's unique energy circulation...

Every note became a struggle.

Not wanting to waste any more time, He Yu immediately headed toward one corner.

His destination was unmistakably deliberate.

His pace was quick.

Eugene picked up Zhen Xing and hurried after him.

"Looking for the stairs?"

The mere mention of the staircase sent chills through everyone's spine.

He Yu shook his head.

"The staircase disappeared once already."

"That means someone doesn't want us using it."

"There probably isn't a usable staircase on this floor anymore."

"Even if we find one..."

"It'll disappear the instant we try to climb."

Everyone's faces darkened.

Killing intent flickered in their eyes.

Someone...

Was determined not to let them survive.

Stopping in a corner, He Yu looked up at the ceiling.

"Cut through here."

Siya blinked.

"Why here?"

He Yu remained calm.

Everyone else could only see the current floor.

Inside He Yu's mind...

The detailed prison map he'd reconstructed continued unfolding.

Adjusting his glasses, he explained,

"If my deduction is correct..."

"Directly above us..."

"...is the fourth floor's stairwell entrance."

"The staircase can disappear."

"But the staircase's location..."

"And the doorway's location..."

"Cannot change."

Duan Yuchen's eyes lit up.

Then he looked at He Yu with an indescribably complicated expression.

"That brain of yours..."

"...really is something."

They all had brains.

Yet people truly weren't created equal.

Duan Yuchen considered himself fairly intelligent.

But there was no way he could infer the upper floors' layout based solely on the lower ones.

Especially considering...

The prison staircases weren't aligned vertically.

Every floor had a different position.

The fact that He Yu could still deduce the exact location...

Wasn't something ordinary people could accomplish.

Even Eugene...

Who was practically a living detector...

Couldn't manage it.

Eugene flexed his mechanical arm.

"Then I'll start cutting here."

"While we're at it..."

"We'll cut open the door too."

"If the stairwell is still there, we can use it as temporary cover."

"If it isn't..."

"We don't lose anything."

"Maybe we can shove whatever's on the next floor into it."

Activating his flight equipment, he floated upward.

"My chainsaw isn't nearly as sharp anymore."

"This'll take much longer."

"You guys cover me."

Sitting on the floor while clutching his injured hand, Qu Wu looked upward.

"It's fine."

"The gray-white-faced creatures disappeared together with the staircase."

"The monster on this floor is gone too."

"Take your time."

Qiong immediately objected.

"We don't have time."

"It's almost ten o'clock."

"We only have one hour left."

Everyone's expressions changed.

Eleven o'clock...

The Night of Chaos...

Was almost here.

—

He Yu's deduction proved correct.

They had entered from the perfect location.

And...

The stairwell on the fourth underground floor still existed.

Their entry point had been ideal.

There was a stairwell where monsters couldn't enter.

Now they had three people capable of fighting again.

Though every battle remained difficult...

Though danger lurked around every corner...

They advanced successfully.

Underground Floor Four...

Underground Floor Three...

Underground Floor Two...

Step by step...

They climbed upward.

At 22:40...

They finally reached Underground Floor One.

Everything had gone so smoothly...

Even Eugene and the others found it unbelievable.

At the same time—

Lan Ersi reached out once more.

He wanted to operate the prison's central intelligence system.

But the blue light flashing through his eyes became increasingly intense.

Every attempted movement failed.

Ever since forcing the staircase to disappear...

He had discovered he could no longer control his own body.

He wanted the stairwell to vanish again.

He wanted every doorway to become dangerous.

He wanted to activate the prison's defensive system and stop them from cutting through the ceilings.

But...

He couldn't.

He simply couldn't.

He only wanted...

To kill those people.

So why...

Couldn't he do it?

The instant the thought of "killing them" surfaced—

It felt as though his consciousness had been beaten mercilessly.

An explosion of pain tore through his head.

His face twisted violently in agony.

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