Chapter 53

Just before dusk, Wenren Tu, Yun Zouchuan, and Deng Yan gathered in their dorm room.

“Why hasn’t Zhu Ming come up yet?” Deng Yan was getting impatient. Her Person Pointer had a signal; she knew Zhu Ming was still alive.

“Don’t wait anymore.” Wenren Tu came out of the washroom in slippers and lay directly on her bed. “She’s fine.”

“Really no need to go down and look?”

“No need. I received her signal.”

Deng Yan then left the tunnel entrance and hurried off to wash up. “Then I won’t worry about it.”

Previously, the Six-Armed Goddess Statue had emerged from their dorm room at night, which was exceptionally terrifying. Deng Yan didn’t dare sit at the tunnel entrance waiting for the goddess to come up.

The three lay in the dorm, eyes closed, discussing the instance tasks.

Today, Yun Zouchuan had stayed above ground during the day. She said, “I feel like there’s no noteworthy information left up here. In the planting task, our group is still in the lead, followed by the Ruler Group and the Harp Group. The worst is the Sword and Shield Group. As for the crafting task, our group, the Ruler Group, and Harp Group are progressing at a similar pace. The Sword and Shield Group seems to be missing a key item and hasn’t been able to get it right.”

Since the crafting task had to be done using the fixed tools on the exam tables, everyone could only bring the test papers and flower pots back to the dorms to guard, but couldn’t do anything about the crafting.

“Should we take turns keeping watch at night?” Deng Yan asked.

“It hasn’t reached that point yet. Let’s just sleep.” Wenren Tu was very open-minded. “Being too tired makes it easy for danger to happen.”

“Right, have you guys noticed? The other groups don’t seem to have all their people back either?” Deng Yan asked again.

“Now that you mention it, it seems true. I haven’t seen that newbie from the Ruler Group.” Wenren Tu thought carefully, then suddenly sat up with a start. “Yin Yu hasn’t come up either!”

Yun Zouchuan didn’t understand why she was so agitated. “What about Yin Yu?”

Wenren Tu slapped her thigh angrily, unsure how to explain. “Anyway, I just don’t feel at ease leaving her alone with Zhu Ming. Ugh, it’s all because of that unknown thing that impersonated Zhu Ming and lured me away, or we wouldn’t have gotten separated. If I ever catch it, I definitely won’t let it off!”

…

Inside the Ruler Group’s dorm.

Sun Ningning sat on her bed, hugging her knees, crying pitifully.

“They… they went too far!”

Wang Ziwei scratched his hair. He felt a bit of schadenfreude inside, but since they were teammates, he still lent Sun Ningning his T-shirt to wear.

“Well, what can you do? You can’t beat them.”

Sun Ningning grabbed Bai Lianxue’s hand and sobbed, “Xiao Xue, you have to help me, or I’m going to die!”

Bai Lianxue patted her soothingly. “Take your time and tell me.”

“They made me trade information about you for my life. You have no idea how terrifying Yin Yu is. She can control the air—I almost suffocated!” Sun Ningning choked out between sobs. “What do I do? My Shadow Puppet is gone.”

Hearing this, Bai Lianxue looked thoughtful. “If that’s the case, then we’ll trade with my information. By the way, Ningning, you said Yin Yu and Zhu Ming are working together? Is their relationship very good? Tell me everything that happened after you met them, exactly as it was, without any changes or exaggerations.”

“Okay, it was actually quite simple.”

Sun Ningning recounted the events through her tears. As she spoke, the images of the two individuals became increasingly clear and sharp in Bai Lianxue’s mind.

She gently drew a cold breath.

Just what kind of background does this Yin Yu have?

…

Day four of the instance, 5 AM.

Zhu Ming climbed up through the tunnel.

Dazed and disoriented, she fumbled her way to her bed. But when she reached out, someone let out a yelp.

Crap, she must have crawled into the wrong dorm.

“Sorry, my mistake.”

Zhu Ming ducked her head and headed back to her own dorm. When she opened the door, her teammates were sleeping soundly. With this level of vigilance, sigh!

She shook Wenren Tu violently, waking her up, and said, “If you encounter the invisible monster and can’t dodge it, you can jump into a pit. But be careful not to open a treasure chest to change positions at that moment, or the person in the pit will die.”

Wenren Tu’s short hair was a complete mess. Just as her brain managed to process the meaning of those words, she saw Zhu Ming dive headfirst into her own bed and fall asleep.

Not giving her any chance to ask questions.

Wenren Tu stared for a while, really wanting to slap Zhu Ming twice. That girl had woken her up only to go to sleep herself.

Wenren Tu lay there with her eyes closed until daylight, then continued with the exam tasks.

Zhu Ming slept all the way until late afternoon. The arrival of Examiner Crowcrow once again, its raspy, harsh voice incredibly loud, finally roused her.

“Ack, gah! How come there are fewer believers? So impious, really.”

Examiner Crowcrow flew around the temple, mocking them. “Everyone’s progress is very slow, gah! You must redouble your efforts and continue to work hard, gah! At 6 PM this evening, the Underground Labyrinth will close. Please do not linger inside. Tomorrow morning at 7 AM, the test paper grading will be conducted publicly at the feet of the goddess. All devout examinees must not be late; assemble on time!”

Having said its piece, it flew off again with a “gah gah”.

Leaving behind the crowd in the temple, looking at each other.

By this day, everyone had accumulated some food. Coupled with the fact that the materials from the treasure chests were mostly sufficient, most people chose to stay above ground.

The only ones who entered the Underground Labyrinth were Yin Yu, Tu Wei, Wang Ziwei, and Bai Lianxue.

After Zhu Ming slowly finished washing up, the sky was almost dark. As soon as she came out, she heard the complaints of the two Zhao brothers.

“Good thing we didn’t go down today. Otherwise, who knows about the maze closing if they only warn us at this hour!”

The Sword and Shield Group didn’t enter the maze today for two reasons. One, Second Brother Zhao had been injured yesterday and couldn’t risk opening more chests. Two, their group really couldn’t figure out the crafting task and seemed to have given up.

Zhu Ming ate something while going over to the exam table to check. Their group’s vanilla plant was growing lush and verdant, looking less like it had been planted for three days and more like a whole month. As for the dagger required for the crafting task, due to missing materials, the finished product was overall a size smaller, but it still looked decent enough.

Overall, their group’s results were on par with the Harp Group, slightly better than the Ruler Group, with all three groups far surpassing the Sword and Shield Group.

“You’re awake?” Wenren Tu beckoned her over and whispered, “We’re studying the last question.”

Zhu Ming glanced at the answer sheet and smiled. “Should we answer it now or wait a bit longer?”

“Let’s wait a bit more. Who knows, there might be some surprises tonight.”

The two exchanged a look, both understanding the other’s meaning. The exam was ending; those planning some underhanded tricks certainly wouldn’t hold back any longer.

…

Night fell.

This was the last night before the grading.

Inside the Sword and Shield Group dorm, the atmosphere was oppressively heavy.

“It’s not that I’m criticizing you, Wei Yuan, but we left the third question to you. How come you still don’t have an answer?” Second Brother Zhao shoved him irritably. Just looking at Wei Yuan’s silent, withdrawn state made him angry.

“You’ll find out tomorrow.”

“Really?”

Wei Yuan lay on the bed, his mind circling everything he had encountered in recent days. “Mm.”

He hadn’t gone down into the underground palace even once, always staying in the temple. While the others opened treasure chests, he was supposed to use the materials already obtained to complete the crafting task.

But it was simply impossible to finish.

Because they were missing one key item. Without that item, that ball of silk wool simply couldn’t be felted together, no matter what.

And the Sword and Shield Group had no target. They didn’t know who had stolen the item, so they could only vent their frustration on him.

On top of that, with Boss Zhao dead, the moods of Second Brother Zhao and Third Brother Zhao were even worse, making them even more hostile towards Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan didn’t want to talk. He lay in bed pretending to sleep, but the two Zhao brothers couldn’t rest as easily as him.

“Look at this damn attitude, it’s really infuriating. We never should’ve chosen him for the group!” Second Brother Zhao didn’t bother to lower his voice, just cursing out loud, “Tell me, what’s he good for? No skill, not even a bit of motivation. What use is he?”

Third Brother Zhao patted him. “The group’s already formed. What can you do about it now? Our group is still in a very dangerous position. Stop complaining, we need to find a way to salvage this, or we’ll be letting down Boss’s sacrifice.”

Second Brother Zhao said, “You’re the smartest in our family. You tell me, what can we do now?”

Slowly, a ruthless glint seeped from Third Brother Zhao’s eyes. “Since we can’t improve our own score, we’ll use the old trick and make sure the other groups don’t have it easy either! Hmph, they took the item for our crafting task, so they can pay us back with their own craft pieces.”

“But going out at night could get you killed.” Second Brother Zhao was just about to agree when he suddenly remembered this point.

“Tonight the maze is closed. No matter what monsters there are, none will appear. It’s the perfect time to act.” Third Brother Zhao rubbed his hands together eagerly, just about to head out, when suddenly he heard the previously silent Wei Yuan speak up.

“No need to go out.”

“Huh?”

“No need to sabotage their items. I have a way to make our group the first-place winner.”

At these words, both Second and Third Brother Zhao were shocked. “Are you serious? Don’t you lie to us!”

Wei Yuan said calmly, “I’m serious. We’re in the same group, why would I lie to you?”

Second Brother Zhao was more straightforward and asked directly, “Just what is this method?”

But Wei Yuan refused to elaborate. “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

“You!” Second Brother Zhao immediately bristled at his detested attitude and almost wanted to start a fight. Third Brother Zhao quickly held him back. “Forget it, Second Brother. Don’t accidentally break the rules. Hey, Wei Yuan, we’re all grasshoppers tied to the same rope here. You’d better think carefully before you speak again.”

Wei Yuan rolled over, effectively ending the conversation.

The two Zhao brothers looked at each other. They couldn’t really do anything to him, so they could only threaten, “If you’re lying, we brothers definitely won’t let you off. Don’t forget, there’s still one day left in the instance.”

Wei Yuan met their words with silence.

A similar scenario played out in the Ruler Group’s dorm.

For the same reasons as the Sword and Shield Group, Sun Ningning and Wang Ziwei were not confident in their current standing.

“Tonight is the last chance. We must make a move.”

“Who goes?”

“You go. You’re stronger.” Sun Ningning gritted her teeth whenever she thought of Zhu Ming and Yin Yu. “Find a way to snap the Moon Group’s knife in half. The Harp Group’s is simple, just smash it directly.”

Wang Ziwei wanted her to come along. “Why am I the only one going while you just wait here?”

Sun Ningning ordered imperiously, “Why else? At least I succeeded once before. What have you done?”

She was referring to the time she had used her Shadow Puppet to lure Boss Zhao out to his death.

“Fine.” Wang Ziwei thought about it. That was somewhat reasonable. “But if we destroy both groups’ craft projects, won’t it be too obvious? People will immediately know it was our group, right?”

Sun Ningning said, “So what? The grading is tomorrow morning. Even if they figure it out, it’ll be too late to change anything.”

“Alright, I’m going.”

Just as Wang Ziwei was about to move, Bai Lianxue suddenly stopped him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Wang Ziwei and Sun Ningning exchanged a glance and smiled. “Xiao Xue, you’re kind-hearted, but sometimes you have to harm others to benefit yourself.”

Sun Ningning chimed in, “Exactly! Plus, they bullied me so badly, am I not even allowed to get a little revenge?!”

“I just feel… this isn’t a good idea.” Bai Lianxue lowered her head with a soft smile, her eyes unreadable. “But I won’t stop you. We’re all adults now. You have to learn to take responsibility for your own actions.”

Sun Ningning urged impatiently, “We know, we know. We definitely won’t drag you into it. Wang Ziwei, are you going or not? Hurry up!”

Wang Ziwei rubbed his ear, then cautiously opened the door and slipped into the temple.

He headed straight for the Moon Group’s large table. Afraid that the sound of smashing crystal would attract others, he decided to break the Moon Group’s dagger first.

Wang Ziwei had it all planned out, but just a few steps in, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He instinctively lowered his head, closed his eyes, and broke out in a cold sweat.

A dark silhouette sat behind the Moon Group’s exam table, quiet and still, as if waiting for prey to walk into its trap.

In the vast, eerie temple, the bizarre murals, under the glow of a ghastly blue fluorescence, seemed to come alive. Not to mention this terrifying figure, its face illuminated by blue light.

Wang Ziwei instantly thought of that mobile Six-Armed Goddess Statue. How could this be? The underground palace was clearly closed. How could the goddess still emerge?

Wang Ziwei was nearly scared to death, but he wasn’t dead. It must be because he hadn’t gotten a clear look just now!

With the Goddess Statue here, what was the point of sabotaging anything? Better to just go back and sleep.

But at that moment, he heard a somewhat familiar voice: “What are you doing out here so late at night?”

Wang Ziwei: “…” That voice sounded a bit like Zhu Ming? No, it was definitely Zhu Ming!

He instantly opened his eyes and said, annoyed, in a lowered voice, “What are you doing sitting here instead of sleeping at this hour?! Don’t you know that scaring people can scare them to death?!”

Unlike his embarrassed anger, Zhu Ming was quite composed. She rested her hand boringly on the table, her fist propping up her cheek, her eyes lifeless. “I slept too much during the day and can’t sleep at night. It’s none of your damn business.”

Wang Ziwei: “…”

Zhu Ming let out a cold laugh. “Your group’s table isn’t over here, yet you came straight this way. You weren’t planning on doing something… unpleasant to our group, were you?”

“Ahaha… of course not.” Wang Ziwei gave a hollow laugh and instinctively explained, “No, I just thought our group’s craft project could use a bit more effort. Diligence can make up for lack of talent.”

“Really?” Zhu Ming’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

Wang Ziwei scratched his nose and then his chin. Yeah, only a fool would buy that.

But he suddenly had a thought. He probed tentatively, “What if I said… it was a lie?”

Zhu Ming ignored him, just rolling her eyes.

A flash of inspiration struck Wang Ziwei. He suddenly had an idea. Excitedly, he walked over to Zhu Ming’s table, bent down, and said, “Actually, your group is under a lot of pressure too, right.”

…

“AHHHH!!!”

In the middle of the night, a scream woke everyone up.

What’s going on now? What kind of trouble is it this time?

The occupants of the four dormitories simultaneously crowded near their doorways, trying to eavesdrop on the situation outside. The scream came from a participant. Had another unknown danger appeared on this last night?

Indeed, it had.

Because Wang Ziwei was dead.

He had died in a very strange manner. His face was twisted in fear, extremely ferocious. His corpse was kneeling in prostration towards the Six-Armed Goddess Statue in the center of the temple, forehead to the ground, just like that—motionless, having died inexplicably.