Chapter 236 - 235: Pseudo-God

Chapter 236: Chapter 235: Pseudo-God

Li Qing spoke in a rapid-fire burst, "We’re not the first people to enter this Maze. There have been several groups of players who came in to earn points, but something happened to all of them. Crow was worried we wouldn’t dare risk entering the Maze, so he lied to us, pretending no one had ever been in here before. The truth is, this place became a point-farming spot for players long ago. The reason so many players gathered in Guangshan City is because there’s a Maze here to farm points..."

"Wait, wait, wait—" Feng Ling interrupted him, frowning slightly. "Slow down. I don’t understand. One minute you’re saying something happened to all the players who entered the Maze, and the next you’re saying this is a place for players to farm points. If something happened to all the players, how could they farm points?"

Li Qing realized he had spoken too hastily and took a moment to even out his breathing.

BANG! Something was slamming against the rolling shutter door outside, accompanied by the sound of scratching.

It was a sound they were all too familiar with. Xu Yiming blurted out a curse, "Shit, those Mouse Monsters are back!"

Feng Ling glanced at the banging rolling shutter door, then looked away and back at Li Qing. "It’s fine. Keep talking."

Li Qing organized his thoughts, slowed his pace, and began explaining to Feng Ling again:

"The Maze in Guangshan City was discovered relatively early on. At first, only a few players teamed up here to earn points. Later, news of the Maze spread, and more and more players came to Guangshan City, gradually establishing a foothold. But starting last month, a strange mutation occurred inside the Maze, and none of the players who went in came out. Because they couldn’t earn points anymore, some players leaked intel to the Star Association. The Star Association sent executives to take charge. Their plan is to eliminate the administrator and let the genes from inside the Maze spread to the real world. Once the pollution spreads on a large scale, all the city’s residents will turn into Pollution Bodies. That way, the players can start earning points again."

CRACK—

Ye Zheng snapped the solid wood headboard of a double bed next to him with his bare hands.

Li Qing: "..."

Feng Ling gently patted his shoulder and said soothingly, "It’s okay, it’s okay. Keep going. What kind of mutation happened inside the Maze? Why did none of the players come out?"

Li Qing said in a low voice, "The administrator lacks the means to protect himself, so they usually don’t explore deep into the Maze. It’s the same for Crow. He stays at the entrance, responsible for letting players in or seeing them out. He doesn’t know the specifics of what changed inside the Maze, only that the rats are multiplying and other creatures have almost vanished. That’s obviously not normal."

Feng Ling listened and thought seriously. "...So you’re saying, there were originally other creatures in the Maze, but for some reason, they all died, and only the rats are still alive."

"Maybe the rats ate them all." Xu Yiming was guarding the rolling shutter door. Listening to the continuous scratching from outside, he felt sick. "These humanoid rats are ravenous, they eat anything. Maybe they even ate the Maze Master!"

Feng Ling asked Li Qing, "Does Crow have any information on the Maze Master? Since we entered the Maze, we haven’t found the Maze Master at all. Besides the rats, there’s only the Pseudo-God in the Divine Travel Team. Oh, right, why is it a Pseudo-God?"

Li Qing’s expression was grim as he shook his head. "I asked Crow. He said he doesn’t know..."

Ye Zheng, standing to the side, let out a cold sneer.

Feng Ling chuckled as well. "Then I’m guessing Crow doesn’t know where the safe house is either, right?"

Li Qing lowered his eyes, his voice very quiet. "...He really doesn’t know."

"You’re just covering for him!" Huangfu Miaomiao said angrily. "You said the same thing before we entered the Maze, that he didn’t know the entrance’s location, and what happened? I say we should make him sign a Demon Contract with me. Then he’ll definitely tell the truth!"

Li Qing, completely lacking confidence now, said dejectedly, "If you want to have him sign a Demon Contract, I won’t stop you."

Huangfu Miaomiao immediately turned her head to look at Feng Ling.

Feng Ling thought for a moment, then said, "There’s no rush. Let’s rest for a bit first. Zhengzheng and I need some time to recover."

Xu Yiming chimed in, "You all should rest. I’ll watch the door. If I can’t hold them back, I’ll call you."

This shop sold four-piece bedding sets, and coincidentally, there were two beds inside available for sleeping.

However, neither Feng Ling nor Ye Zheng lay down. One sat down on the spot to rest, while the other hung on the wall.

Seeing the perfectly good beds being ignored, Huangfu Miaomiao quietly lay down on one herself.

She was dead tired. It felt like all her strength had been drained by that bizarre mountain of flesh, and eating a Little Jelly hadn’t helped much.

The Mouse Monsters outside were still frantically clawing at the door, making a constant racket, but Huangfu Miaomiao wasn’t affected at all. She fell asleep almost the instant her head hit the pillow.

Feng Ling and Ye Zheng also closed their eyes to rest.

A thin membrane grew over the surface of their bright red bodies, so thin that the network of capillaries beneath was clearly visible.

As time passed, this membrane gradually thickened, its color changing from slightly transparent to a normal skin tone. Hair and scales also began to regrow.

An unknown amount of time passed. The Mouse Monsters outside stopped their racket, and everything became unnaturally quiet.

Xu Yiming peered out at the street through the gap between the slightly warped rolling shutter door and the wall.

There wasn’t a single rat on the street.

He raised a hand to wipe his sweat and whispered to Li Qing in a relieved tone, "It’s probably because this street is pretty close to that mountain, so there are fewer rats around here. Look, they scratched for ages, but the door is still fine."

Because there were so few of them, the damage they could cause was limited.

Li Qing nodded. "That’s good. Without the Mouse Monsters causing a disturbance, Feng Ling and the others can rest better."

The words had barely left his mouth when the sound of drums echoed from a distance.

Xu Yiming and Li Qing’s expressions changed in unison. The Divine Travel Team had appeared again!

Li Qing immediately rushed to the door, hunching over without a care for his image to press his eye to the gap and look outside.

Xu Yiming said in a hushed, low voice, "No wonder the rats ran off. The Divine Travel Team is here."

Out of the thick mist, a procession composed of Mouse Monsters gradually emerged. They beat gongs and drums, shook bells, and danced, moving forward slowly to a bizarre rhythm.

In the middle of the procession was a palanquin, as before. Seated upon it was a fake Immortal with an extremely disproportionate head-to-body ratio.

Li Qing squinted, looking closely. This time, the creature sitting on the palanquin was called "South Sea God·Pseudo-God."

The procession drew closer, and the effect of the spiritual power grew stronger.

Xu Yiming felt a reverence and yearning for the divine welling up from the bottom of his heart, along with an impulse to go outside and worship devoutly.

He fought to suppress the urge and reflexively grabbed Li Qing, worried that Li Qing might feel the same impulse.

Li Qing muttered under his breath, "Why a Pseudo-God... Pseudo-God, Pseudo-God... If the Wandering Gods are fake Immortals, then where are the real ones..."

"Hey, what’s wrong with you? What are you mumbling about?" Xu Yiming asked him.

Li Qing didn’t answer, instead turning to scan the shop.

Coincidentally, after entering the Maze, they had noticed that many rooms contained Divine Statues but had thought nothing of it. Now that he was looking for one, this shop didn’t have any.

Eager to verify his theory, Li Qing hurried to the bedside and shook Huangfu Miaomiao. "Miao Miao, wake up, you have to wake up!"

Huangfu Miaomiao opened her eyes, saw Li Qing’s face, and immediately got angry. "Why are you so annoying! You woke me up when I was sleeping so soundly!"