The City Hall fortress is built against the mountain, with tower roofs reaching high, and the main gate tightly closed. The moat in front has long dried up, leaving only a thin layer of light yellow substance clinging to the bedrock surface.
Li Cheng gasped for breath as he inserted the Brass Key into the keyhole and pushed open the door. The wounded Wanli Sealed Blade, Claudia, and Mian Yue passed by him, tumbling into the castle.
"Woo——"
A deafening roar ca from afar as the Mushroom King leaned against the Bell Tower, his size swelling to thirty ters, his legs deeply rooted into the ground, and the mycelium under his feet spreading across the whole plaza.
Item [Sacrificial Gu] requires a 24-hour start-up ti, boosting all basic stats upon activation, including temporarily increasing player levels;
Skill [Life Absorption Domain] upon activation, continuously draws Life Force from surrounding soil and living beings, greatly improving self-healing speed;
Skill [Divine Power Incarnation], usable from Level 32, proportionately enlarges size and Strength;
...
All items and skills interact, with the core [Sacrificial Gu] needing 24 hours to charge. The task’s ti limit is 48 hours, so the Mushroom King triggered it only after boarding the train, now ready to unleash.
Countless chanical stone gargoyles in the sky surround the gigantic mushroom being higher than the Bell Tower, relentlessly firing beams.
The mycelium creates and fades, fades and creates, while the Mushroom King, standing still, spreads endless spores with every punch and breath.
The spores, like foam rubber, adhere to the stone gargoyles’ surface and expand with the wind, infiltrating their engines and dragging them to the ground, where they are shredded and ripped apart by the swaying mycelium like seaweed.
The exorbitant increase in Strength must co at an equally high price, Li Cheng nodded distantly toward the Mushroom King and forcibly slamd the door shut.
"How much gas do you all still have in your lungs?" Claudia raspily asked, despite having just replaced her bottled lungs, she felt intense fatigue after a brief exchange.
"70%" Wanli Sealed Blade lifted his skin, glanced at the remaining gas volu in the cylinder, his mind racing — if equating player Strength with the gas left in the lungs, the rate of gas Consumption continues to accelerate, leaving a survival ti of at most...
minutes.
"No ti left, hurry up."
Wanli Sealed Blade took the lead, heading towards the deepest part of the castle where the Astronaut Will was, requiring passage through the hall and side hall.
Bursting through the hall doors, the floor was covered with the immobilized chanical town’s citizens.
Unlike the Spiritual Body forms of the jump-rope little girl and the shop owner Robinson, these "people" had physical bodies, ranging from male to female, young to old, holding hands, expressionless, their spines connected by flexible tal hoses to a small gas extraction well in the center of the hall.
The extraction well was dust-covered, evidently abandoned for a long ti, with the chanical town’s residents’ inner workings already ceased, lifeless.
Sweeping his gaze across them, Wanli Sealed Blade faintly guessed what had happened — the chanical residents needed to breathe high-pressure gas to survive, but neither the Bell Tower’s dium gas well nor the church’s large gas well could provide adequate high-pressure gas.
The desperate chanical residents chose to assemble in the hall, inhaling the last bit of high-pressure gas, hand-in-hand, to welco death.
After executing multiple Script Tasks, witnessing nurous tragedies beyond imagination,
Wanli Sealed Blade, once a spirited youth, didn’t beco heartless like so peers who regarded script characters as livestock or score-boosting Tools but learned to restrain emotions while retaining basic empathy.
"These people died long ago; they’re illusory constructs from the Land of Beautiful Dreams. The urgent task is to find the Astronaut..."
Crashing through the side hall doors revealed a dissection table starkly laid on the red carpet, and behind it, the narrow tunnel leading to the tal do.
Clang clang clang——
The crisp sound of chisel strikes echoed from deep in the tunnel, and Wanli Sealed Blade sighed with relief, suppressing the discomforting sensation, rushing into the tunnel.
Darkness enveloped the surroundings, the air was extrely decayed, Brother Xiao Dao could sense the chisel sound just ahead, even vaguely seeing Astronaut Will’s silhouette holding an Ice Axe.
Yet every step drained strength rapidly, Wanli Sealed Blade sprawled, futilely reaching his hand, collapsing weakly.
Clap.
The Bat Hook Claw Gun grasped his waistband, dragging him out of the tunnel, Wanli Sealed Blade, dazed, regained Divine Wisdom, but saw the Dragon Slayer Sword toppled at the entrance just ten ters away, far from reaching the end.
The tunnel, like a chasm, isolated players from the Astronaut.
Wanli Sealed Blade supported himself on his knees, panting heavily, struggling to speak:"Drone, who has a drone, fly it in to find the Astronaut."
"It’s useless. Tunnel space is akin to a Mystery Lock, each step forward imposes severe burden on players. Including killing field Tools and drones."
Mian Yue observed clearly, expression becoming relieved.
This task wasn’t a regular Script Task, with clear task guidance or hints. They had done everything possible, unable to complete it wasn’t their fault.
The only consolation was Mian Yue and the other three companions had purchased comrcial insurance...
"..." Claudia bit her lips, unwilling, slicing open dozens of blood bags, controlling the flow of blood river into the tunnel.
But the sa problem persisted, ntal speed rapidly slowed, Strength quickly drained, unable to endure, resignedly dropping hands, leaning against the wall.
Outside the castle, the sound of explosions gradually softened, while the castle doors transmitted constant pounding noises — those stone gargoyles suppressed the Mushroom King, diverting Strength to attempt clearing players.
"Thank you all for your contributions and companionship. No banquet lasts forever. Reflecting on the journey we shared, every effort, each collaboration, every night of overti grinding, is deeply etched in my heart. United we’re fire; apart we’re stars. The worldly road is long, see you until peak reunion."
Under a stifling atmosphere, an AI electronic recitation began from an unknown source, absurdly, the castle’s side hall walls even projected a PPT, cycling through Reyes, Griffin, White Horse Tombstone, Mushroom King and others’ close-up photos.
"???"
Wanli Sealed Blade’s eyelids twitched, couldn’t help covering his forehead, mocking: "Is this the dissolution speech of a fledgling team after burning investor money? Making us feel dead."
Wait, the real question is when did you make this PPT, we’ve been together all the way.
"Don’t understand, do you? My action cara cos with editing capabilities. It can automatically capture close-up photos of teammates."
Li Cheng casually put away the action cara, "Of course, I’d never secretly use teammates’ photos to borrow loans online."
"Preditated cri announcent, huh, Mr. Phantom Thief Jide"
Wanli Sealed Blade rubbed his brow, suddenly curious, asked tentatively: "About this task, you already have an answer?"
"Not an answer, just a guess."
Li Cheng strided toward the dissection table placed in the side hall, propped himself with one hand, vaulting the guardrail, and lay down, "I want to dissect myself."
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