Leveling Up by Defiling Milfs

Chapter 180: Ch180: The Real Zero?

Daniel drifted closer to Zero and whispered, "Status."

Nothing appeared.

Huh?

Frowning, he turned toward Zane and whispered once more, his eyes fixed on him.

"Status."

A blue translucent screen materialized before his eyes, displaying Zane Marrow’s information.

Daniel then checked Helen’s status as well.

Nothing seemed unusual.

——————

Name: Helen Bramord

Age: 39

HP: 5700/5700

Mana: 2100/2100

Description: A materialistic woman who loves money more than anything else. She once dreamed of marrying a wealthy man, but instead married into a modest household that she came to resent. Now divorced.

——————

He scanned the room and spotted a window slight ajar to Zane’s left. Without wasting a second, he returned to his physical body, slipped over to the window, and tossed a small stick inside.

Zane flinched and whipped his head toward the window, panic flashing across his face as though he had seen a ghost.

Daniel? he thought.

Standing outside, Daniel shook his head before holding his thumb horizontally across his neck, signaling that it was an emergency.

He then beckoned for Zane to come outside at once.

Closing the door without so much as a creak, Zane slipped outside and met Daniel at a shadowed corner where the darkness concealed their figures.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" Zane asked in a low voice.

"We need to rescue Zero," Daniel replied, matching his tone.

Zane’s brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

Daniel quickly explained everything he knew so far — the hidden base, the mysterious statue, and how Helen had secretly told him about it despite not wanting him to know.

"Hmm... I was wondering the same," Zane muttered, then a memory flashed through his mind. A past memory, when they had split into two groups — Zane exploring the eastern side alone while the two headed west.

The objective was to find Klaus.

"Let’s move, Zane. I don’t have much time," Daniel urged.

Zane lowered his gaze for a moment before meeting Daniel’s eyes. "We can’t leave Helen here. What if that Zero does something to her?"

"Hmm... you’re right. We can’t leave her here," Daniel admitted.

...

*Thud Thud Thud*

*Thud Thud Thud*

*Yawn~*

"Where are we going, guys?" Helen asked, stifling a yawn as she hurried alongside them.

"Daniel found where Zero is," Zane replied, his tone grim.

"What?!" Helen’s eyes widened. "Then... what about the Zero sleeping next to me?"

"It isn’t our Zero," Daniel said without slowing his pace.

A few minutes later, they arrived before the statue.

"Wait... why are we in the graveyard?" Helen asked, glancing around, her expression tense.

Daniel stepped forward and twisted one of the statue’s fingers.

*Rumble...*

A hidden passage slowly opened behind the statue, its stone walls illuminated by rows of flickering torches.

Zane’s and Helen’s eyes widened in disbelief as the concealed passage revealed itself before them.

"What the..."

"No fucking way."

"Shh... we are not alone here," Daniel whispered before stepping forward.

The three of them advanced with their guard up. Once they reached a wooden door, Daniel pressed his ear against it.

Silence.

Then, a split second later—

*Thud!*

It sounded as though someone had collapsed onto the floor.

Daniel slowly pushed the door open and peeked inside.

The room was empty.

Yet a table remained neatly set with glasses of wine, plates of food, and several other items he didn’t recognize.

Suddenly, a man stumbled out from the right side of the doorway.

It was none other than Belrim, bloated stomach, face flushed with drunkenness, wearing a dusty gray tunic, and messy hair hanging in tangled strands, while a butcher’s knife rested loosely in his hand.

"Who are you—"

Before Belrim could finish his sentence, a massive slab of rock erupted from the ground beneath him and shot forward.

It slammed him against the wall, pinning his legs and both arms in place.

No matter how hard he struggled, Belrim couldn’t move an inch.

Daniel glanced over his shoulder and saw Zane standing with both palms outstretched as though controlling the rock with his elemental powers.

"Ahh!!"

"Klaus! Are you out of your mind?!"

Belrim cried out in pain.

The butcher’s knife slipped from his hand and clattered onto the stone floor beside the doorway.

"Shut up!" Zane snapped.

*Bam!*

A fist-sized stone shot toward Belrim and struck him squarely on the forehead. His eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness, blood trickling down his forehead as his body hung limp against the stone restraints.

Just then, a muffled voice echoed from deeper inside.

"Zane. Zane!! I’m here!!"

Daniel’s ears perked up the moment he recognized Zero’s voice.

The three of them immediately rushed toward the sound.

Inside the door on the right, they saw Zane locked on a wooden table like a huge chopping board on his stomach, with his arms and and legs tied with rusty chains.

"Zero!" Helen shouted.

"Status," Daniel whispered under his breath.

Nothing appeared before his eyes.

"Wait! That’s not Zero!" Daniel announced.

Zane halted mid-step, while Helen froze just before reaching for the chains.

"Are you sure?" Zane asked, his tone uncertain, even though the man before them looked and sounded exactly like the Zero they knew.

"Haha... haha..."

Suddenly, the chained Zero slowly lifted his head, his eyes turning blood-red.

"Behind you."

Daniel spun around, his eyes widening.

Another Zero stood behind them.

"Hey, it’s mid-night. you guys should be asleep. Or maybe I can help you sleep forever," the fake Zero said with a sinister grin.

At the same moment—

*Ghhk!*

Blood suddenly gushed from Belrim’s mouth, pouring onto the floor in an endless stream.

From within the torrent, a grotesque centipede-like creature forced its way out, its head bearing a twisted, flesh-covered imitation of Belrim’s face.

It crawled up the wall and across the ceiling above them, its countless legs skittering with chilling speed.

*Sssshhh~*

A freezing breath burst from the centipede’s maw, releasing a thick, icy mist that rapidly spread through the room.

Their breaths turned visible as the frigid air filled their lungs, and the temperature inside the underground passage plummeted.

"Die!"

A massive fireball hurtled toward Daniel in the blink of an eye.