The gardener's entire body was enveloped in a halo of light, as if he were submerged in a leaping sea of fire, and his clothes and skin began to melt instantly.
He let out an angry roar, and the black mist quickly gathered, enveloping his body in an attempt to resist the erosion of the light.
"What is this?! What did you do?! How did you open the passage outside?!" The gardener's distorted face looked particularly terrifying, and the two black beads that served as eyes rolled down one after another, making a crisp sound.
The ground beneath the light bulb gradually softened and slowly sank, like stretched leather, becoming thinner and thinner until it became almost completely transparent.
As the light and shadow shifted, it eventually transformed into a portal of light, slowly rotating, waiting for Xiao Cheng to step inside.
The intense sunlight, which was extremely damaging to the gardener, suddenly became gentle when it fell on Xiao Cheng.
Bathed in light, she looked at the gardener who was almost unrecognizable before her and said thoughtfully, "So it wasn't some kind of compensation, but a disguised form of house arrest. You poor thing, you didn't just find out about something so important, did you?"
The gardener became increasingly hysterical, with half-melted flesh dripping from his skull, splashing down with each tremor of his body.
The place was a complete mess.
Xiao Cheng felt a little nauseous at the sight, waved goodbye to him, and then jumped into the portal without hesitation.
The seven-colored light before her eyes flickered and intertwined, then was instantly swallowed by darkness. Her body plummeted downwards, followed by a muffled thud.
Xiao Cheng fell heavily into the water, the bone-chilling cold seeping into her skin and assaulting her entire body. But she quickly adapted, even managing to breathe normally and swim with remarkable ease, easily touching the edge of the pool.
It's glass.
Xiao Cheng tried her best to open her eyes wide, observing her current situation with the extremely faint light in the water.
If I'm not mistaken, this should be a fish tank. It's completely sealed off from all sides, and the space isn't particularly large. It's covered with a black cloth, and the light comes in through the gaps in the cloth.
The current situation is too bizarre; it's completely unexpected for Xiao Cheng.
The light bulb opened the passage. Although the principle behind it is still unclear, it was clearly Fang He's doing. The dwarf clown had also said that time outside would stand still after entering the trial.
Not being able to see Fang He is understandable, but how exactly did I manage to freeze time and get into the water?
Xiao Cheng circled around several times but couldn't find any exit, so she simply floated upwards and tried to pry open the fish tank lid.
However, before she could even surface, the black cloth covering her was suddenly ripped off, and a blinding light shone down, stinging Xiao Cheng's eyes. She turned her head slightly to avoid the direct light.
Suddenly, thunderous applause and cheers erupted in her ears, and countless wealthy and powerful people surrounded her, their eyes fixed on her with covetousness and greed.
The woman who unveiled the black cloth was a young woman in a long dress, who was arrogantly introducing her collection to the crowd.
"She is a mermaid who gave up her tail."
Xiao Cheng heard her say that.
She could barely grasp the current situation now, and a bad feeling welled up inside her. She tentatively opened her mouth.
Sure enough, apart from a series of bubbles, it couldn't even utter a meaningless humming sound.
The powerful and wealthy thought they had received a response and instantly fell into an even more frenzied joy.
Xiao Cheng: "..." Thank you, but there's really no need for that.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" A portly man rushed to the front, gazing at the young woman with infatuated eyes. "Give it to me! I'm willing to give up three cities for it!"
“It is not a gift, but a salvation,” the princess said in an elegant tone, her slender fingers gently tracing the surface of the glass as if playing a silent melody. “It has been betrayed by its lover, and it will turn into bubbles because it cannot find true love.”
"I will save it!" The man seemed bewitched, involuntarily moving closer. "Five... no, I will offer up everything I have! Cities, wealth, slaves, it's worth it for me to give up everything to save it!"
“No, I don’t want anything from you, all you need is…” the princess smiled slightly, “all you need to offer is your most sincere faith.”
“Your Highness, please forgive my bluntness.” The man knelt heavily on the ground with a thud, his obese body prostrate, his piety visible to the naked eye. “I have long been your believer.”
Xiao Cheng: "..." What kind of cult scene is this?
“Very good.” The princess looked down at the man on the ground with an air of nobility, a satisfied smile on her face, but then she changed the subject, “But she cannot belong to you until all the collections have been displayed.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of gears turning was heard, and a marble tile split in two from the center. Then, the display stand slowly rose from the ground.
On the stage, Player No. 5, who had been made into a puppet, was fixed in place. He held a half-open carnivorous plant in his palm, swaying the stem gently and contentedly, revealing the fine, barbed teeth on the inside of the petals.
It even had traces of blood on it.
Number Five's limbs were nailed to the erected wooden frame, keeping him in a stiff position, but he was still alive, with an expression of extreme pain on his face, clearly enduring great torture.
The nobles cheered again, their gazes quickly shifting from Xiao Cheng to the princess's slow steps, moving all the way to Number Five, revealing the same infatuated expressions.
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