Chapter 191 - 190: Zhou Diao’s Faith

Chapter 191: Chapter 190: Zhou Diao’s Faith

Li Qing looked dejected. "I give up."

Feng Ling’s eyes widened. "Why are you giving up?"

"The mythological system of that place is too complex..." Li Qing said, thoroughly discouraged. "If I want to understand it completely, three days isn’t nearly enough."

"You probably don’t need to research it that thoroughly, right? A general idea should be fine," Feng Ling said between bites. "The Mazes designed by this game system just select a few special elements and manipulate the direction of genetic mutation. There’s no way they’re designed to follow the myths and legends perfectly. We just need to know the gist of it, and that’ll be enough."

"Yeah, I get it..." Li Qing still seemed downcast.

He had a keen interest in human civilization and enjoyed studying the folklore of various cultures. But the place they were headed this time was a real headache. It involved too many gods and spirits, and it was hard to judge their relative power levels.

Because of this, he couldn’t deduce the Maze Master’s characteristics, let alone make the necessary preparations in advance.

He had clearly boasted to Feng Ling that he would do everything in his power to help her, but now he was useless. It was incredibly frustrating.

"By the way..." Li Qing pulled himself together and looked at Feng Ling. "The Maze Administrator I contacted before sent me a message last night. He agreed to cooperate with us. His situation is a bit dangerous right now, and he hopes we can get there as soon as possible."

Feng Ling finished her rice noodles and casually tore open another takeout bag. This time, it contained small shrimp wontons, still steaming hot.

"How is his situation dangerous, specifically?" she asked, opening the lid of the wonton container.

"The players are here," Li Qing said in a low voice. "According to the system’s rules, the Maze Administrator’s movements are restricted. He can’t leave the Maze area, so he can only hide for now. But the players are constantly loitering nearby. I’m afraid he can’t hold out for much longer."

Feng Ling thought for a moment, then asked Huangfu Miaomiao, who was next to her, "Players find Mazes by collecting riddles, right?"

Huangfu Miaomiao nodded vigorously. "Yep!"

Li Qing immediately cut in, "Mazes are hidden instances. Besides the riddles that drop randomly as quest rewards, there’s no other way for players to find a Maze’s location."

Huangfu Miaomiao: "..."

’Would it kill you to let me say a few more words?’

"So, you’re saying these Alien Species have riddles, which they used to find the Maze entrance. And because of the system’s rules, the Maze Administrator has to stay near the entrance, so it’s easy for the two sides to run into each other. Hmm... I think I get it now." Feng Ling popped a wonton into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "So, did this administrator you contacted say what the Alien Species he encountered look like?"

"He didn’t dare get too close, afraid the players would spot him. He only said there were three of them in total, and one was a particularly tall woman," Li Qing replied.

"Among the Alien Species Ye Zheng encountered, there was also a very tall woman. It might be the same group," Feng Ling said with a small smile. "That’s good. It would be even better if the one in the straw hat was with them."

Huangfu Miaomiao frowned. "I wonder what Cards those three players have."

That was indeed a problem.

Feng Ling didn’t think these Alien Species could be stronger than her and Ye Zheng. What concerned her more was whether they had a Squirrel Card.

Li Qing was silent for a moment before saying, "Although he didn’t mention it, based on the information he gave me, at least one of the three players has the ability to change the shape of a body part. While searching for the Maze Administrator, they went door-to-door and managed to open every single lock."

"A Universal Key, huh? How convenient~" Feng Ling commented simply, then went back to eating her wontons.

DING-DONG—

DING-DONG—

A doorbell rang inside the room.

The sound confused Feng Ling for a few seconds. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of someone banging on the metal gate outside that she realized Su Yuqing had actually installed a doorbell on the temporary construction fence.

"Go get the door," she said to Huangfu Miaomiao.

Huangfu Miaomiao’s mouth immediately drooped into a pout, her feelings written all over her face: ’Why me? Why isn’t the Daoist getting the door?’

"Go on, hurry up. It must be Su Yuqing," Feng Ling said teasingly while eating her wontons. "He’s Captain Su of the Qingjiang City Inspection Bureau. You should show your face around him more, get on his good side. That way, if I die someday, you won’t find it impossible to survive in Qingjiang."

Huangfu Miaomiao decided Feng Ling was looking out for her, so she hopped off the barstool and trotted to the door.

The visitor was, indeed, Su Yuqing.

This time, Su Yuqing had come because he wanted to install several rows of spotlights at the base of the building to illuminate the walls.

He believed that since moths are drawn to light, an illuminated building would be more attractive to the Pollution Body, encouraging it to stay here. At the same time, it would prevent the lights from residential buildings at night from attracting the Pollution Body’s attention.

Feng Ling was truly speechless.

She wanted to praise Su Yuqing for being meticulous and thoughtful, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

What she really wanted to ask Su Yuqing was: ’Are you really treating your lover like a giant moth? Is that it?’

Feng Ling opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. She tried again, and stopped again. Finally, she just changed the subject. "Zhou Diao came by last night."

Su Yuqing’s expression darkened slightly. "Yes, I know."

Feng Ling asked, "He doesn’t have a big mouth, does he? He won’t tell anyone that Ye Zheng is here with me?"

"No, Zhou Diao wouldn’t do that." Su Yuqing took a slow breath. "I may not have told you this, but Zhou Diao’s feelings for Ye Zheng run very deep. After what happened to Ye Zheng, the blow he suffered was no less than my own. So, he definitely won’t leak this secret."

As if to add to his persuasiveness, Su Yuqing turned to face Feng Ling and said earnestly:

"Zhou Diao’s parents were both killed by Alien Species. During that time, the Alien Species in Qingjiang City were extremely active, with murders happening almost every day. Zhou Diao only survived that attack because Ye Zheng intervened in time. Ye Zheng killed one of the Alien Species, and the Card that formed from it happened to be absorbed by Zhou Diao. You’ve probably guessed it—that Card was the Hellhound he has now. Later... Ye Zheng brought Zhou Diao back to the Inspection Bureau. Back then, the inspection system wasn’t as well-developed as it is now. There were no coaches, no courses, and the selection criteria for new Inspectors were nonexistent. So, Ye Zheng took him under his wing personally, teaching him whenever and wherever he could. From basic combat techniques to marksmanship and battle tactics, he taught him everything he knew."

Su Yuqing sighed softly. "Later on, Ye Zheng was transferred to Yunhai City for work. Zhou Diao, thanks to his excellent assessment scores, successfully became the Deputy Captain of the Qingjiang City Inspection Bureau. Before he left, Ye Zheng half-jokingly told Zhou Diao, ’Now it’s your turn to be Qingjiang’s guardian. You have to protect this place well.’ Zhou Diao... he’s always treated those words as his creed."

"So that’s how it is..." Feng Ling gazed at the building. "No wonder he barged in here in the middle of the night."

Su Yuqing gave a bitter smile. "He’s probably in even more pain than I am right now."

The god who had once guided him toward the light had fallen and become a Pollution Body, the very embodiment of evil.