Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 68: The Straight Path
01:00 Beijing time, Moonlight Forest, Stone Maze.
In one hour, they had shaken off a sneak attack from a team, overcame two NPCs, watched one team being sent home by an NPC, and then, through playing a game, personally sent another team back to the maze’s entrance.
Before the level, they had prepared for “countless difficulties” based on Captain Yue’s advice, but they hadn’t used a single one. The unexpectedly smooth progress only made the team more apprehensive.
Moreover, they had been running down this path for ten minutes now. Ten minutes earlier, they had followed all the directions given by Xiao Bai, but after the last turn, they hadn’t encountered any more forks.
Tiredness was secondary; the most terrifying thing was a straight path with no end in sight. How large must the maze be to accommodate such a nearly two-kilometer-long straight road?
They would have preferred a maze with many twists and turns, even dead ends, just to feel the “reality” of “being in a maze”.
“Captain!” Kuang Jinxin, running at the end, suddenly stopped, bending over with his hands on his chest, gasping for breath, but his eyes were fixed on a door on the left wall of the maze. “There seems to be a door here…”
The three in front immediately stopped upon hearing this, not doubting him in the least and even feeling a subconscious sense of “thank god”.
After all, they had come to trust the four “bound skills” of their own team from the depths of their souls: Advisor Wu’s “Most Powerful Brain”, Captain Xu’s “Gift of Gab,” Kuang Jinxin’s “Encounter Trigger”, and Qian Ai’s “Enduring the Greatest Hardship, Enjoying the Least Fortune”.
A door, the same color as the maze wall.
There was a slight gap between the door’s edge and the wall. It wasn’t hard to find, but easy to overlook when running tiredly, with the remaining bit of attention focused ahead.
As the teammates gathered to inspect the mysterious door, Kuang Jinxin suddenly turned his head to look back.
Xu Wang noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Kuang Jinxin lifted his arm, pointing to a spot they had just passed. “Captain, look over there. Does it also look like a door…?”
Two minutes later.
Two people walked forward, two went back. Dividing into two groups to investigate, the teammates finally confirmed that they hadn’t missed just one door but almost missed a series of doors.
There was a total of twenty-one doors, spaced five meters apart, stretching for a hundred meters.
The seventeenth door was the one Kuang Jinxin found. If they had run a bit further, they probably would have missed them all.
“This road is endless.” Wu Sheng had figured it out when the four teammates regrouped. “The doors are the exits of this path.”
Qian Ai: “But Yue Shuai never mentioned such a path.”
Wu Sheng: “Yue Shuai also never encountered Xiao Bai.”
“We might have triggered some weird maze mode…” Qian Ai, no longer gasping for air, looked at the series of doors and suddenly felt that running was better—tiring but straightforward.
“Click.”
Qian Ai: “……”
Kuang Jinxin: “……”
Wu Sheng: “……”
Xu Wang, who was holding the doorknob and had already half-opened the door, blinked innocently at his three teammates. “It’s unlocked!”
Qian Ai: “Don’t use cuteness to cover up your embarrassment!”
Xu Wang: “Okay, I really didn’t do it on purpose. How was I supposed to know it would open so easily…”
Now, they didn’t need to hesitate over which door to choose; the captain had left the choice to fate.
With the door half-open, the four teammates poked their heads out, looking left and right.
They soon realized that it didn’t matter which door they opened, as outside each was the same path.
The doors weren’t a choice by fate but rather a generous offering from the maze, giving them twenty opportunities. Fortunately, they seized it on the seventeenth try.
But the teammates couldn’t be happy now.
The new path was only a hundred meters long, with clear ends visible to the left and right.
To the left, two paths diverged, empty and open for choice.
To the right, there was only one path turning right, guarded by an NPC—a petite figure wearing a black hood that hid her face, appearing as a shadow from a distance.
Qian Ai: “We still have time to close the door… Ah!”
Before he could finish, Qian Ai felt someone push him from behind. He stumbled forward, falling onto the new path, along with his three teammates.
The door closed behind them with a loud “bang”.
Click.
The sound of the lock locking.
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) No Escape] on you~~]
They had time to close the door.
But for them, the odds were slim.
Dozens of meters away, at the end of the road, the young girl in black slowly lifted her face, finally revealing it clearly.
She was as beautiful as the moonlight.
Pure, flawless, yet with a touch of cold indifference.
Her face showed no emotion, and there were no ripples in her eyes, even though she had just launched an attack on them.
If the lively and mischievous Xiao Bai was a vibrant green plant, then she was a lake under the night sky—mirror-like and tranquil.
Xu Wang: “Lao Qian, Plan X…”
Qian Ai: “Understood.”
Plan X—specially devised for encountering the young girl in black, a strategy for escape.
[Owl: Someone used [(Defense) Joyful Charge1] on you~~]
The moment Qian Ai activated the stationery, all four teammates felt a surge of energy, like drinking an energy drink, eagerly awaiting the starting gun!
“Run!”
Captain Xu shouted loudly!
The four sprang up and dashed away from the young girl in black at superhuman speed—charging, charging, charging1!
1Clarity: The stationery is called (快乐冲冲冲) This part is highlighting the (冲冲冲) in it, which basically means rush, rush, rush/charge, charge, charge (or can mean like go, go, go).
In this crucial running phase, they had been holding back from using the only stationery that could aid their sprint, saving it for this very moment!
In the blink of an eye, they reached the end of the path. Just as they were about to turn the corner and leave the young girl in black’s “sphere of influence”, a large door suddenly appeared out of nowhere, sealing their escape like a wall!
“The illusion is still active!” Wu Sheng immediately realized it was still the young girl in black’s [(Illusory) No Escape].
But Plan X had already accounted for breaking through defenses.
As Wu Sheng spoke, Qian Ai had already activated [(Offense) Qilin* Arm]. His biceps bulged powerfully. Fueled by the boost from [Joyful Charge], he dashed forward and delivered a thunderous punch to the solid wooden door!
*A legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler.
The door shattered completely, collapsing into pieces!
Behind the door, amid the flying wood chips, four astonished faces appeared.
Qian Ai, still holding his punch pose, froze on the spot. His three teammates, ready to continue running, also stopped in their tracks.
Silence fell.
The two teams faced each other at this mysterious corner.
This was a robust team, with an average height of over 1.95 meters. Each member was muscular and powerful, capable of lifting Qian Ai and spinning him around. It was unclear if fate had brought them together or if they had intentionally sought out their own kind for a strong alliance, but their presence was imposing.
The captain, clad in camouflage, broke the silence. “PK?”
They couldn’t see around the corner.
Xu Wang nodded.
Camouflage Captain: “With an NPC?”
Xu Wang nodded again.
Camouflage Captain: “What does it look like?”
Xu Wang: “Young girl dressed in black.”
Camouflage Captain: “Take care. Goodbye.”
The camouflage captain and his three teammates turned to leave without a second thought.
But after just one step, they realized their fate had taken a turn.
In front of them, a new door had risen, blocking their way back. This time, it wasn’t made of wood but was a dark yellow, copper-like color.
Xu Wang: “Strong guys, my condolences.”
Camouflage Captain: “……”
Xu Wang didn’t want to fight the young girl in black, nor did he want to face another team before having to confront her. But upon seeing the second new door, he understood that indeed, there was no escape.
As for the four teammates forcibly dragged into the battlefield by Qian Ai’s [Qilin Arm], Xu Wang could only offer his sincerest sympathies. “Even without us, you would have encountered her just around the corner. It’s fate.”
The Camouflage Captain gritted his teeth at him, seemingly with a thousand words to say, but in the end, he just gave two. “Shut up.”
Then, he no longer paid attention to Xu Wang’s team. He turned to his own teammates and spoke in a serious tone. “We have to fight this battle. Everyone, bring out your best stationery. Don’t hold back. Against this NPC, if we don’t give it our all, we’ll be annihilated instantly.”
“Why don’t we first PK between teams, and the winner gets to challenge the NPC?” Kuang Jinxin frowned. “Why does it sound like they’re only preparing for one battle?”
“Because they simply don’t consider us a threat.” Xu Wang understood all too well.
Wu Sheng smiled lightly. “Then let’s etch ourselves into their souls.”
Qian Ai: “Do you think my [Qilin Arm] can try on that copper door?”
Xu Wang: “At most, it’ll make a dent.”
Kuang Jinxin: “Qian Ge, save your energy. We have two fights ahead!”
Wu Sheng: “……”
Aiming for a cool “pre-battle declaration”—that was all Advisor Wu hoped for.
But with teammates like Wang, Jin, and Qian.
End.
[Owl: Someone used [(Illusory) All Roads Lead to Rome*] on you~~]
*It’s proverb that refers to all paths or activities lead to the center of things, which was literally true in the days of the Roman Empire, where all the empire’s roads radiated out of the capital city.
Xu Wang could tell from the gaze of the camouflage team that the stationery wasn’t used by them; they were also “victims”.
The inevitable had arrived; the young girl in black had made her move.
Just as Xu Wang was contemplating the function of the stationery, he suddenly felt dizzy, and his vision blurred rapidly!
In the spinning world, it felt like the ground under his feet was shaking, and even the walls of the maze seemed to be moving!
Just as he was about to lose his balance, someone firmly grabbed his shoulder. Xu Wang was startled and instinctively tried to pull away, but then he heard Wu Sheng’s voice. “Close your eyes. Don’t worry. This illusion isn’t lethal.”
Xu Wang complied, and as his vision darkened, the dizziness lessened, providing much relief.
The grip on his shoulder offered both support and reassurance.
After about ten seconds, the discomfort passed.
All eight people opened their eyes simultaneously and were stunned.
The corner was gone. Now, the camouflage team, Xu Wang’s team, and the young girl in black were all on a straight maze path, clearly visible to each other.
No, that’s not right.
Xu Wang looked at the copper door still behind the other four and finally realized—it wasn’t that the corner had disappeared; the corner had become straight.
The young girl in black approached them.
Calm and silent, she walked with an ethereal grace.
With no way to go left or right and a blocked path behind them, the eight could only stand and watch the young girl in black approach them step by step.
Stopping five steps away, the young girl in black said quietly, “There are many ways to get lost in the Moonlight Maze. I will only guide one team. The team that wins among you will have the right to challenge me.”
Her voice was pleasant, but it lacked Xiao Bai’s personalized emotions, giving a sense of coldness and indifference.
As if everything was unrelated to her, she only spoke what needed to be said and did what needed to be done, with no kindness or joy, no hostility or sorrow.
Without waiting for any response from the eight, the young girl in black, having announced the rules, quietly turned and walked back to the end of the path.
Qian Ai was still in a daze. “She used an illusory stationery just to talk to us?”
“NPCs can’t directly attack anyone outside their direct line of sight, but she had already blocked the other four at the corner.” Wu Sheng watched her retreating figure, and his voice grew deeper. “So, she needed to turn their standing position into her path.”
Qian Ai swallowed hard. “Can NPCs do that? Isn’t that breaking the rules?”
Wu Sheng didn’t answer, lost in thought.
Until Captain Xu reminded them, “Classmates, our neighbors are getting impatient. Shouldn’t we win first and then study Xiao Hei*?”
*Little black.
“Oh, so it wasn’t a stalling tactic.” The four men in camouflage, under their captain’s lead, collectively rolled their eyes in unison, even their disdain was executed with military precision.
The author has something to say:
The captain of the camouflage team, who almost escaped unscathed, lamented, “Why did you have to break such a cute wooden door!”
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