Chapter 372 The Passage

Jiang Liyue quickly had Chu Li put her down.

For some reason, Jiang Liyue instinctively felt that Lilith's successful experiment should still be in the room.

However, the room had already been thoroughly searched by Chu Li under her orders, but they still couldn't find it.

She turned her head 360 degrees and suddenly stopped on the row of glass bottles on the wall containing human remains.

Under normal circumstances, no one would think of moving these things, since they are fragile and easily forgotten.

Moreover, the challenges of dungeons are ultimately designed for the players.

For players who are also human, the sight of the remains of their own kind would not evoke any urge to approach them.

That's precisely why it became the best place to hide things.

"Chu Li, could you help me remove all those glass bottles?"

How could it not be possible?

Chu Li was very efficient; in no time, all the glass bottles were placed on the ground, leaving the shelf empty. Jiang Liyue jumped up and started knocking and tapping, finally hearing a different sound behind a wooden board.

It's empty, as if there's something behind it.

Jiang Liyue revealed an expression of "I knew it," and with a flick of her small foot, she kicked the not-so-tall wooden plank to pieces.

Chu Li, who still wanted to help break the wooden planks: ...

The space behind the wooden board was small, a square space about 20 centimeters in diameter, and it was so dark that it was impossible to see what was inside.

Chu Li brought her a candlestick to illuminate the inside, only to discover that it was a narrow passage leading to an unknown destination.

Aside from toys, probably only mice can get through without any problems.

Now that things have come to this point, Jiang Liyue naturally wanted to go in and take a look. As for the tall Chu Li, Jiang Liyue glanced at him and said, "Why don't you just wait for me outside?"

Chu Li shook his head: "No need."

“But you can’t get in.” Jiang Liyue blinked.

Chu Li didn't speak, but her body turned into a black shadow and twisted a few times before shrinking to about the same size as her.

However, unlike Jiang Liyue, who was transformed into a chibi-style doll, Chu Li was scaled down proportionally.

Jiang Liyue's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed "Wow!" in surprise, circling around Chu Li: "You're about the same age as me now, that's amazing! But why do you still look the same? You're not cute at all. Compared to you, I'll probably become a big-headed doll!"

This is understandable, since the two are now the same height. Jiang Liyue, as a chibi doll, is at most three to four heads tall, while Chu Li still maintains her original nine-head-tall proportions, so the effect is completely different.

In that case, Jiang Liyue would look like a big-headed doll.

But the little doll with the big head is just cuter.

Chu Li noticed Jiang Liyue's dissatisfaction and smiled to comfort her, "You are cuter and prettier."

Jiang Liyue glanced at Chu Li's expression and nodded in agreement: "I think so too."

Chu Li: ...

"Alright, alright, let's go in and see what's inside." Jiang Liyue quickly changed the subject and excitedly led Chu Li into the dark cave entrance.

Because Chu Li placed the candlestick in front of the cave entrance before shrinking, the cave entrance is not actually too dark now; at least you can roughly see the path inside.

As they walked inside, Jiang Liyue spoke to Chu Li: "By the way, you didn't sense this cave entrance as soon as you entered the room, were you just waiting for me to find it? And you even knew what was inside?"

Chu Li denied it: "No, I did sense an extra presence in the room after I came in."

This is his instinct; after all, the supernatural and the wild are not much different, both being born to claim territory.

As the most powerful and domineering of the strange beings, Chu Li always checks for the presence of other people whenever he arrives at a new place.

“But you know I was completely focused on you, so I didn’t bother with these things,” Chu Li continued to explain. “After you told me not to cheat, I didn’t bother to investigate any further.”

So he shared in all the joys and surprises Jiang Liyue experienced while searching for clues.

Jiang Liyue knew that Chu Li wouldn't lie to her about something like this, so she readily believed him.

The two continued walking forward, seemingly unaware that the passage was so long, and it appeared to lead to other rooms.

"What do you think is behind this passage?" Jiang Liyue couldn't stay still and continued talking to Chu Li.

"I initially guessed that this was where Lilith stored her works, but this passage is so long, how did Lilith manage to come in and put things down?"

"Or perhaps, Lilith might have already become a doll by this point? Wait, could she have used herself as a test subject and turned herself into a doll?"

Before this, Jiang Liyue always thought that Lilith might have been harmed by someone else, or that she was cursed and turned into a doll.

But what if she was originally experimenting on herself?

Given her level of persistence, such a thing is not impossible.

But what happened after she was turned into a doll that led to her disappearance?

Jiang Liyue stopped and looked at a wall at the end of the road, blinking her eyes: "We think we've arrived."

Chu Li hummed in agreement. This time, he didn't let Jiang Liyue do anything. He touched the wall first, and the wall shattered instantly.

He looked at Jiang Liyue, seemingly seeking credit: "It's open."

Jiang Liyue: ...She actually meant to say that she saw the hidden door in the wall and could open it directly.

However, when she met Chu Liqiu's pleading gaze, she still smiled and said, "You're really amazing!"

Just as Jiang Liyue had expected, the passage did indeed lead to another room, where they were now on the bookshelf on the wall.

From above, the room was a small, dark room with no windows. Only thanks to the small lantern that Chu Li had conjured up from who-knows-where could one vaguely make out the structure inside.

However, for a lantern the size of a small doll, the light is very limited, and very little can be seen.

It can only be roughly seen that the four sides of the dark room are sealed off, and it seems that the only way to enter and exit is through this small passage.

In other words, only dolls can enter and exit.

Therefore, Jiang Liyue became even more certain of her guess that Lilith had turned herself into a doll.

Jiang Liyue was about to go down and take a closer look when Chu Li seemed to know her intention. He took a step forward first, instantly shrinking back to his original size, and then raised his hand to put Jiang Liyue on his shoulder.

As it grew larger, the lantern in Chu Li's hand also grew larger, providing enough light for Jiang Liyue to finally see the situation within the hint.

Inside were dolls that were tied up, their hands and feet bound, as if they had lost consciousness.

In the very center, a blond doll lay there.