“Huff~ huff~”
“The second stage, the Maze of Confusion Forest, has finally arrived.”
Xu Yinsheng’s cheeks flushed slightly as she stared solemnly ahead at the eerie forest made entirely of flesh and blood.
The terrifying flesh-colored giant trees were each at least as thick as a bucket, with lengths soaring several meters high, like enormous tentacles sprouting from the ground.
The dense, flesh-colored branches and leaves blocked out the sky, making it impossible to see what was lurking within.
Xu Yinsheng silently recalled the攻略 she had looked up while playing Huangyou.
The key to the second stage was speed—if she was fast enough to dash out of the forest without alerting it, the second stage was considered cleared.
But if she was too slow or disturbed the forest and got caught by the trees, it was a defeat and gg, getting tangled and played with by the vine-like tentacles!
Zhao Yicheng, I curse your entire family.
Silently cursing Zhao Yicheng in her heart, Xu Yinsheng quietly took off her corroded, tattered shoes.
Passing the second stage wasn’t difficult, but clearing it without injury was another matter entirely.
The “Flesh and Blood Maze” had multiple endings.
Xu Yinsheng had recently finished grinding through both the Fallen and Justice paths and was now working on the Sacred path, which required the protagonist to remain untainted by creatures along the way and keep her virginity intact.
If defiled, it meant failure of the Sacred path.
To clear the second stage without injury, Xu Yinsheng had to reload at least ten saves before, finally passing it unscathed with a stroke of luck.
A testament to grind saves.
The decadent whispers that filled Zhao Yicheng’s office, spread among employees, and went viral in the company gossip group were all about Xu Yinsheng’s repeated attempts.
Now, staring ahead at the Maze of Confusion Forest formed by countless massive tentacles, Xu Yinsheng swallowed nervously.
After all, the tentacles were so thick and huge, she was genuinely trembling!
She had no idea what kind of nerve Zhao Yicheng had sending her into a Huangyou game.
Was he not afraid she’d fail and get ravaged by the tentacles?
Or did he have some self-destructive tendencies?
After taking off her shoes, the tips of her toes shimmered faintly as she stepped onto the flesh carpet, which seemed to massage her feet with two gentle wriggles, signaling its comfort.
God bless me!
Xu Yinsheng glanced at the Maze of Confusion Forest ahead, took a deep breath, and the next moment, she launched herself forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring!
Her speed was incredibly fast, and the scenery around her constantly shifted.
A breeze swept past, carrying a faint floral scent.
While running, it felt as if moist, slippery tentacles were licking her cheeks one by one.
Xu Yinsheng shuddered but quickened her pace all the same!
***
Tianlin City.
A rundown alley.
As an old district of Tianlin City, this place had once been prosperous but had now fallen into disrepair—greasy rats, scattered weeds, crumbling walls, hazardous structures, and broken concrete roads.
Economic development was never balanced; even in Huayuan Federation, the old district serving as the cradle of new districts was no better than a crutch for the lame.
Except now, the lame had stopped limping.
Sunlight struck the aged apartment buildings, dazzlingly white, but only on one side.
Here, many places remained shrouded in shadow.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The crisp sound of high heels tapping rhythmically on concrete echoed as a slender figure crossed the street, heading straight here.
She wore a white blouse and black trousers, six-centimeter high heels, and had a flawless delicate face.
Though she looked like a young girl, she deliberately dressed like a mature woman.
Under the sunlight, the girl raised her face slightly, eyes gleaming brilliantly.
A silver button on her white blouse shone especially bright in the sun.
“This must be the place Second Brother mentioned,” Bai Ruoxi pinched her nose, glanced at the dilapidated surroundings, and fanned the stale air with her hand.
Although it was already autumn, the air in the old district was stiflingly hot, especially in these difficult-to-clean alleys.
Sunlight poured into the old apartments, mixing with a heavy moldy smell, along with the rotting stench of spoiled fruits and vegetables that clung to her nose and ears for a long time.
“Is this the place?”
From the darkness stepped out a muscular man with a tiger-striped tattoo on one arm and a dragon tattoo on the other.
He had a rugged face, fierce and menacing, with a jagged scar running across his left eye—a man clearly not to be trifled with.
Faced with the almost predatory aura of the thug, Bai Ruoxi shrank her neck and her legs trembled.
She should have brought a bodyguard, but no—if she had brought one, her father would have found out for sure.
She raised her chin, feigning calmness, and with her mature outfit, she looked like a little adult.
“Are you the person Second Brother introduced to me?”
“Yes, I’m Li Ri, but the street folks call me Li San,” Li Ri smiled, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth that gave off an eerie vibe.
“Miss, if you have any personal grudges, I have some connections with Bai Ershao, and the price is negotiable,” Bai Ruoxi’s eyes darted, “Are you here to hit someone?”
“May I ask… what kind of background does this person have?”
Li Ri didn’t agree immediately but first inquired if the target had any connections.
People in their line of work served as the gloves of the rich—collecting debts, beating squatters, forcing good people into the underworld to provide playthings for spoiled brats.
There was an unspoken rule: before hitting someone, know who they are.
If you hit the wrong person or someone with hidden backing, and the big shots step in, the least you’d get is prison time.
“Just an ordinary person,” Bai Ruoxi sneered.
She couldn’t touch Zhao Yicheng, nor the one Zhao Yicheng protected, nor Jin Xinnuo.
If she couldn’t deal with the tough ones, then a nobody like Xiao Karami was even less of a threat!
“That’s easy then.”
Hearing it was just an ordinary person, Li Ri relaxed.
He raised his hand and spread out five fingers, tentatively saying, “This is the price.”
Bai Ruoxi glanced at it and agreed: “Fine, 500,000 it is. Even if Dad cuts off my card, I can still manage pocket money for the next half month.”
Hearing this, Li Ri’s expression didn’t change, but inwardly he cursed: damn, these rich folks really had money to burn.
He wanted to quote 50,000, but it turned out to be 500,000!
Damn rich, damn eager to pull off a big score!!
“Per the rules, I’ll take ten thousand as a deposit first.”
Li Ri nodded quickly to show agreement.
Bai Ruoxi didn’t waste words and pulled an envelope from her bag, handing it to Li Ri: “This is the woman’s information.
“I want you to slap that woman’s face, preferably disfiguring her. Just seeing her face makes me angry! And that, how dare she splash tea on me? If it weren’t for Zhao Yicheng’s protection, I’d have given her a hard lesson too!”
“Ten thousand down, and I want to see news within a month.”
***
After struggling through the Maze of Confusion Forest, Xu Yinsheng’s clothes were tattered to shreds, almost nothing but scraps left.
She sat on the ground, gasping heavily, glancing back at the vast forest of flesh tentacles, her eyes filled with relief and lingering fear.
So close, just a little bit closer, and she would have been caught by the menacing flesh branches.
Resting on the spot for a few minutes until her strength returned, Xu Yinsheng grabbed a robe woven from flesh-colored leaves lying on the ground and draped it over herself before staggering to her feet.
The “Flesh and Blood Maze” had five stages in total, each corresponding to an ancient saying:
Put on the Forest Robe, cross the River of Adversity, wear the Flesh Crown, drink the Blood of the Evil God, and you will receive the answer.
Onward, Xu Yinsheng swam through a milky river that emitted a strange smell, stepped carefully past mushrooms that sprayed red spores when stepped on, and even crossed a tentacle bridge covered with small granules.