Chapter 52: Everyone Must Die
Seeing the eager gazes turned her way, Xie Lingxi pressed her lips together and spoke in that clear, sweet voice of hers.
"In the old version of the guide, Spirit Realm Walkers had to pass through the Underground Parking Garage. During that process, a car robot appeared once every three minutes. It would chase any Walker who entered the garage, and anyone it caught was eliminated.
"The Walkers had to find the controller and shut off the robot's power supply before everyone was eliminated. The controller was hidden inside one of the cars in the garage."
Fire Demon's hot temper gave way to understanding. "So we just find the controller and shut down the car robot, right? Wang Tai, what do you think?"
The others were still mulling it over in silence, but at those words, every pair of eyes swiveled toward Zhang Yuanqing. They wanted to see what brilliant insight this capable young man, who had perfectly defused the crisis in the first mission, might offer.
You crude Fire Sage, that way of boiling things down is absolutely barbaric, Zhang Yuanqing thought.
"In the old version of the amusement park, elimination meant losing experience points, not death. But now that the difficulty has been changed to S-rank, the correct interpretation of 'one elimination per round' is that one person dies every three minutes," he said, choosing his words carefully.
Xi Shi's alluring face shifted. "That means we have eighteen minutes at most."
Ashamed Father shook his head slowly. "No. We'd best not lose anyone to this stage. The more people we have going into the Haunted House, the better our chances of making it out alive."
Zhang Yuanqing let out a quiet sigh. Old man, you practically said it outright. We need cannon fodder for the Haunted House.
"Lingxi, will our skills be sealed away in the parking garage?" he asked.
Xie Lingxi thought for a moment, then shook her head. "The guide didn't mention anything about that."
Fire Demon considered it briefly and proposed, "Once we're inside, everyone splits up. That way, we can find the key more quickly."
Great Sage Equal to Heaven shook his head frantically. "Splitting up in a place this dangerous is a death sentence."
Fire Demon glared at him with contempt. "You're just afraid of dying, human waste."
Anger flashed in Great Sage's eyes, but he was wary of Fire Demon and settled for a cold snort. "Regardless, I don't recommend splitting up."
Splitting up is actually the more practical approach, if there wasn't a traitor in the group, Zhang Yuanqing mused.
He waved his hand, cutting off the budding argument before it could escalate. "Let's head inside first. We can't make a plan without enough information."
He took the lead down the long ramp and entered the underground parking garage, bathed in blazing white light.
Descending the gentle slope, Zhang Yuanqing glanced around and felt the corner of his mouth twitch hard.
The garage was enormous, comparable to the parking space of a large shopping mall. Rows upon rows of vehicles sat neatly parked in their spaces, stretching as far as the eye could see. The selection of cars was dizzying in its variety, and every car roof was coated in a thick layer of dust.
Xie Lingxi and the others followed him in. Fire Demon's expression darkened as he looked around.
"There are so many cars. How long is this going to take?"
Xi Shi's enchanting eyes swept across the scene, worry creeping onto her lovely face. "Should we split up? With this many cars, how long will it take otherwise?"
No one else spoke, because they had all received a dungeon notification at the same moment.
【Ding. The party has entered the Underground Parking Garage. The experience has begun. Excess items have been cleared from your possession.】
【Hint One: Controller. Hint Two: Car key. Good luck!】
【Countdown: 00:02:55】
"Our active skills are sealed again."
"Inventory won't open either. Damn it, everything's sealed again."
Several team members' expressions grew worried, but Zhang Yuanqing's attention was fixed on the two hints.
The dungeon is actually giving us hints? The old guide never mentioned hints for this stage.
An S-rank dungeon would never give overly obvious hints. It required Spirit Realm Walkers to observe and formulate their own thoughts, to identify patterns and find a way to survive. The fact that they had been provided two hints as blatant as "controller" and "key" meant the danger level was extraordinarily high. The Spirit Realm would never offer hints otherwise.
Zhang Yuanqing said quietly, "Everyone, this doesn’t look good."
The group froze, snapping out of their panic over the sealed skills. As they carefully digested the dungeon's hints, every face grew solemn.
"Car key?" murmured Fire Demon.
The impatient Fire Demon strode quickly to the nearest commercial van and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He turned sideways and drove his elbow into the window.
There was a loud, dull thud on impact, but the glass didn't crack. There wasn't even a mark.
"It can't be broken. So to find the controller, we have to find the car key first."
Fire Demon spat and cursed. "I say we split up."
Zhang Yuanqing swept his gaze over the group. Seeing that everyone shared the same thought, he spoke up immediately.
"Fine, but don't spread out too far. Make sure you stay within your teammates' line of sight at all times. We don't have much time. Move."
The countdown hung over them like a grim reaper at their heels. The six Spirit Realm Walkers wasted no more time and spread out across the garage to begin their search.
The vast parking structure was deathly silent, filled only with the sound of their footsteps.
Zhang Yuanqing deliberately hung back, keeping everyone in his field of vision. He watched his teammates' every move while searching for a car key himself.
Something about this mission feels off. The garage is massive. There's no way we can find the controller within three minutes. Even if we all died trying, we probably still couldn't find it.
He was still turning the problem over in his mind when he suddenly heard Xie Lingxi, off to his front left, drop to the ground and wriggle under a vehicle.
A few seconds later, she let out a delighted cheer. "I found a car key! It was under this SUV!"
She raised a pale, slender arm and held the key up high, pressing the unlock button at the same time.
The garage remained silent. Not a single vehicle responded.
Lingxi's small face fell with disappointment.
"The car isn't near me..." she said pitifully.
Seeing this, the group continued their search.
Before long, Great Sage Equal to Heaven called out, "I found a car key!"
He pressed the unlock button. Two short beeps sounded beside him, and a pair of taillights flashed.
Everyone swarmed over and threw open all four doors, their eyes raking through the interior.
"There's nothing," Ashamed Father said in disappointment.
"Wait."
Xie Lingxi, sharp-eyed as ever, leaned her upper body into the car, her small rear sticking up as she fished a card out from under the seat.
It was a metallic card, its surface brushed with gold paint. At its center was the image of a clear, pristine pool of water.
As they stared at the card, a line of information appeared before their eyes.
【Concentrated Life Elixir】
【Type: Potion】
【Function: Healing】
【Description: A potion brimming with immense life force, capable of healing any external wound.】
【Note: As a consumable item, it carries no cost whatsoever.】
Xi Shi's eyes lit up. "Concentrated Life Elixir? I remember that Life Essence is a Musician-class item. I didn't expect to find consumables inside the cars. Do you think the other cars might have them too?"
If so, their chances of clearing the stage would increase dramatically.
Concentrated Life Elixir is related to the Musician class? I thought a Musician's Transcendent-tier ability was singing.
Zhang Yuanqing suppressed the urge to ask. After all, Wang Tai was a reliable companion, a seasoned veteran who had been through countless Spirit Realm dungeons. If his teammates found out that the person leading the charge was a rookie on only his second visit to the Spirit Realm, he could only imagine what they would think.
Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the countdown then said, "Put it away for now. Keep looking for car keys. We're running out of time."
The group dispersed once more, searching for keys with renewed urgency.
As he hunted for car keys, Zhang Yuanqing's mind raced.
Hints and consumables both. The danger that this stage poses is probably going to exceed everyone's expectations. The killer can most likely sense it too. I just hope they try to keep as many teammates alive as possible and don't end up going after anyone else. Otherwise, it would be impossible to clear the Haunted House.
The seconds ticked away, but no third car key appeared. The Spirit Realm Walkers grew more and more anxious, their steps growing increasingly frantic.
Then, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who had been watching the countdown the entire time, let out a terrified cry.
"Time's up!"
***
The thunderous roar of an engine echoed from the far end of the garage. Every heart lurched. They turned toward the sound and saw a towering figure appear at the entrance to the parking garage.
It stood a full two meters tall, its entire body sheathed in metal. A pair of eyes glowed an eerie red. It carried a three foot long chainsaw in one hand.
An electronic voice reverberated from the speaker in its chest. "Everyone must die. Everyone must die!"
"A Transformer?!" Xie Lingxi screamed.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
The engine howled. The robot's feet slid across the ground as it hurtled forward, covering dozens of meters in an instant, barreling straight toward the group.
"Scatter!" Zhang Yuanqing roared.
The group exploded outward in every direction like pins struck by a bowling ball.
Xie Lingxi did not seem to have the same level of physical conditioning as the rest. She reacted a moment too slowly and was clipped by the robot mid-dodge, and let out a muffled grunt as her lower back slammed hard against the side of a car. Pain darkened her vision, and she couldn't get up.
Jets of gas burst from vents at the robot's ankles, halting its forward momentum instantly and bringing it to a halt with inhuman quickness. It raised the chainsaw high overhead and brought it down with all its force.
The grinding whine of the chainsaw's motor was like the whisper of Death itself.
The girl's face went white with terror, her expression one of pure despair.
