The thought that the male lead's fetish might be related to him made Yin Ming stiffen.

Did the villain really cast such a deep shadow on the male protagonist?

Although it was just Yin Ming's own speculation, he still felt a chill run down his spine.

Does this indirectly suggest that the original owner of this villain was truly a mortal enemy whom the male protagonist wished he could tear apart, skin him alive, grind his bones to dust, and scatter his ashes eight hundred times?

"Let's go," Lingyao suggested. He was already used to Yin Ming's frequent absent-mindedness lately.

Yin Ming shivered, shook his head, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.

Stop! Don't scare yourself.

Nothing has happened yet, and there is still hope.

If he starts to manage his relationship with the male lead properly from now on, he will definitely not end up like that.

Yin Ming forcibly cleared his mind of all the chaotic thoughts and followed Ling Yao's steps.

The monster's lair is almost here; victory is just ahead!

But no sooner had Yin Ming stepped on the ground that Ling Yao had just trodden than the sound of a mechanism turning immediately rang out.

A bottomless pit suddenly appeared where Yin Ming was standing. Before he could react, he stepped into thin air and fell down.

Holy crap! This is ridiculous!

A sense of powerless falling washed over him, and Yin Ming's first reaction was that this world was too much of a rip-off. Stepping on the places the male protagonist had walked on could trigger mechanisms. How could they play such a trick on people! World System, I advise you to be kind!

What worried Yin Ming the most was, "Where the hell am I going to fall? Could it be that trap hole?"

No way? He only used half his power to fight the monster!

The villain in the original story still had all his skills and was barely managing to stay alive. In his current state, he's probably going to die right here.

Waaaaah, is it too late to regret it now? He shouldn't have shown off. He could have easily defeated that fourth-realm lightning leopard with just 30% of his power!

Unfortunately, it's no use saying anything now. How could Yin Ming have known that this world system would be so treacherous? He had already helped the male lead fight monsters, but it still wouldn't let him follow the male lead. It was simply absurd!

The trap seemed as deep as hell; Yin Ming fell for an unknown amount of time before finally reaching the bottom.

His back slammed hard against the ground, and Yin Ming felt a sweet taste in his throat, unable to stop himself from vomiting blood.

The luminous bead that was originally in his hand fell to the ground and shattered into countless pieces, plunging the surroundings into darkness once again.

Yin Ming was so shocked by the fall that he saw stars. After finally regaining his senses, he was trying to stand up when he suddenly heard a whooshing sound from above.

Before he could react, an unidentified object slammed into him.

puff……

Another devastating blow struck Yin Ming, who immediately coughed up another mouthful of blood. He felt as if his body was falling apart, his ears were ringing, and his vision was blurry; he almost lost consciousness.

Wow, this time I really can't take it anymore! Luckily, this body has been cultivated; if it were an ordinary person, they would have been smashed into a meat patty and sent to the Western Paradise by now.

Although I survived this ordeal, this feeling is truly unbearable for a human being... God, please have mercy on me...

Yin Ming wept silently inside, his face ashen.

This time it really hurts so much I can't move. What the hell was that thing that hit me?!

The unidentified object on his body suddenly moved, first letting out a confused "Eh," then letting out a gasp, before finally retreating from Yin Ming's body.

Yin Ming was completely disoriented from the impact. Only after the weight on his body subsided did the suffocating feeling in his chest slowly dissipate.

Finally able to catch his breath, Yin Ming coughed intermittently a few times, his mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood—

With internal organs shattered and several ribs broken... what's next, the hands and feet?

What's meant to happen will happen.

He's already acting like this before we've even started working on the mechanism.

It's over, let's cool down.

Is this punishment for his unauthorized changes to the plot? He didn't torture the male lead according to the plot, so his existence lost its purpose and he has to disappear prematurely?

"Yin Ming, I'm sorry..."

A familiar voice came from the darkness, making Yin Ming's eyelids twitch.

He hadn't thought much about what might have hit him, but now, upon hearing the sound, veins throbbed on Yin Ming's forehead. He barely managed to move his fingers, pulling out another illuminating bead from his spatial ring, its light instantly illuminating the entire cave.

He looked in the direction the sound came from and, sure enough, it was the male protagonist, Ling Yao.

How did this unfortunate kid end up coming down with him?

Seeing Ling Yao completely unharmed, Yin Ming felt another heart attack.

Look at this amazing protagonist's aura! Even if he falls from a great height, he'll be perfectly fine!

If he were reading a novel, Yin Ming's thoughts would definitely be a string of big 6s, but now that he is personally experiencing becoming the male lead's backing, he says he is beginning to understand why the villain in the original work hated the male lead.

This is absolutely outrageous!

Villains are human beings with flesh and blood too! Villains feel pain too! Is it really okay to torture villains to make the protagonist shine?!

Oh well, never mind, why is he arguing with a child?

The male lead was portrayed as a pure and innocent girl in the early stages, but now he jumped down despite the danger, probably because he was worried about him.

What a damn sweet burden!

"I'm... I'm fine... Help me up." Yin Ming's words were broken into several sentences, as if he were practically a cripple.

Lingyao hurriedly stepped forward to support him, her body, which was a head shorter than Yinming's, stubbornly supporting Yinming's entire weight.

Yin Ming leaned half his body against Ling Yao, and could barely walk.

Lingyao's cultivation level is only at the fourth realm, and Yin Ming himself is in this state. Facing this trap cave, their chances of survival are slim.

I wonder if this protagonist's halo will be enough to protect them?

Yin Ming glanced furtively at the top of Ling Yao's head. Although there was nothing there, he still silently prayed in his heart, "I'm counting on you from now on!"

Miraculously, Lingyao helped Yinming walk, and nothing happened between the spot where they fell and the stone gate at the end of the mechanism cave.

Yin Ming was overjoyed; the protagonist's halo had truly activated!

But now they were in a dilemma: the stone door had two control switches, only one of which was real. They had to choose the right one to find a way out.

What? Why are you so sure that only one of them is real? Why can't it be that two people need to turn both mechanisms simultaneously to open the door?

Oh, because there are instructions engraved on the door.

The stone gate clearly states that there are two mechanisms: one controls the stone gate, and the other is a trap.

When Yin Ming saw those few lines of explanation, he looked like an old man on the subway. What the hell are you doing, tomb owner? Did you write this so that others wouldn't be able to complete the game?

So, do you not want your things to be stolen, or do you want your things to be stolen?

Otherwise, is this the treatment that tomb raiders should receive?

Despite his complaints, Yin Ming turned to look at Ling Yao and gave him an encouraging look.

The message conveyed in his eyes was very clear—you choose, I trust you!

Lingyao met his overly trusting gaze, pursed her lips, and reached out to press the mechanism on the right.

The two are currently positioned with Yin Ming on the left and Ling Yao on the right.

Yin Ming had reason to suspect that the child simply chose that mechanism because it was closer to him.

Unexpectedly, after Lingyao pressed the mechanism, the turning sound actually rang out, and the stone door in front of him slowly opened from the left.

Before Yin Ming could even get excited, he saw something that instantly widened his eyes, and he instinctively lunged to the right at Lingyao—a barrage of arrows was being fired from behind the door!

Although Yin Ming reacted quickly enough, the left side of his body still couldn't dodge and was hit by more than a dozen arrows from the incoming barrage.

At such close range, the force of the arrow rain was enough to pierce through the body of a seventh-realm cultivator.

The arrows didn't even pierce Yin Ming's body; they only left dozens of bloody holes in his body, all embedded in the wall above and behind him.

Yin Ming was shot in the left shoulder, left hand, left abdomen, and left leg, and blood gushed out instantly, dripping onto Ling Yao.

Ling Yao felt a dizzying sensation as Yin Ming pressed him to the ground. The illumination bead rolled to the side, and the light in his vision dimmed, so he did not see Yin Ming's miserable state.

Lingyao subconsciously pushed away the body pressing down on him, but his hands were unexpectedly covered in wet liquid.

Upon smelling the rusty, bloody odor, his voice finally trembled uncontrollably: "Yin Ming, are you alright?!"

"I'm glad you're alright..." Yin Ming's voice was weak and his consciousness was gradually fading.

*****

When Yin Ming woke up, he found himself lying in an inn.

"Yin Ming, you're awake?" The young man's voice, still somewhat immature, carried a barely perceptible excitement.

Yin Ming turned his head with difficulty, and Ling Yao was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at him, wringing out a towel in her hand, the basin of water filled with glaring red.

Lingyao draped a towel over the basin and helped raise Yinming's pillow.

Yin Ming looked down and saw that his body was clean, except for the bandages wrapped around his wounds, which must have been treated by Ling Yao.

He feels like he's going to fall apart if he moves even slightly; his left side is in excruciating pain.

Yin Ming looked up at the sky speechlessly, thinking about his current situation. Compared to the original story, the original story's ending was actually much better.

What kind of human suffering is this?!