The captain said there was a solution, so there must be a solution. Zi Wei, Xiao Dao, and Huang Mao, who had been very depressed just now, now all gathered around and asked anxiously: "Captain, what is the solution to this dungeon?"
Zhuang Li waved his hand. "I can't tell you yet because I have a guess that needs to be verified. Let's go and visit Liu Jizu's house."
"Let's go." Xuan Ming held his hand tightly and walked into the thick fog first.
The others hurried to follow.
The sounds of fists and feet fighting, insults and shouts, and cries and pleas for mercy seemed to be the eternal melody of 2801. As soon as the group stepped out of the elevator, these noises penetrated their eardrums, making them feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Fuck it, they're fighting again! If I were his neighbor, I would have called the police long ago." Zi Wei squatted in the stairwell and muttered to himself.
"Captain, what should we do next? What do you want to verify?" Xiaodao asked in a low voice.
"Wait patiently." Zhuang Li leaned against the wall, his eyelids half closed, his face full of fatigue.
"I'll hold you, you can sleep peacefully." Xuan Ming pulled him into his arms and sat on the steps.
"Go to sleep." He covered Zhuang Li's eyes with his big hands and said in a low and soft voice, "I'll call you if there's any movement in 2801."
"What are you going to do?" Zhuang Li put his arms around his neck.
"Boss, it's no problem for you to go without sleep for ten days and ten nights." Huang Mao urged, "Captain, go to sleep quickly. Only when you get enough sleep can you think clearly. We'll be watching over you here, don't worry."
Xuan Ming cast an admiring look at the yellow-haired boy, then lowered his head and coaxed him more gently: "Go to sleep quickly, I'll let you listen to my heartbeat." He gently moved the little devil's head and let him lean on his chest.
Bang, bang, bang...
In this strange place, only Xuanming's heartbeat remains constant. It is always so steady, and always so strong.
Listening to this heartbeat, Zhuang Li's tense nerves finally relaxed completely. In this person's arms, he must be safe, warm, and worry-free. He gently nuzzled Xuan Ming's chest and whispered, "Have I ever told you how great it is to meet you?"
"I said it." Xuan Ming couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips.
"Have I ever told you that I love you so much?" Zhuang Li placed his palm on the strongly beating heart.
"I did." Xuan Ming laughed out loud.
"Have I ever told you that I love you more now?" Zhuang Li's voice gradually became lower.
He fell asleep.
Xuan Ming lowered his head to look at him, his eyes filled with blazing passion, and whispered, "Me too." He kissed the top of the man's head, then leaned against the railing and sighed with satisfaction.
Huang Mao looked at them with envy and muttered, "Fuck, if I had known earlier, I would have been in a relationship. The boss and the captain would have no regrets even if they died here, and I'm still a single dog. I'm so fucking losing out!"
"Can you talk? We can all get out, and no one will die!" Xiaodao slashed his head fiercely, then took out two decks of cards and raised his chin at Zi Wei: "Let's play Landlord."
The listless Zi Wei immediately perked up.
The Smoker's wooden figurine crouched on the 29th-floor railing, silently watching them. Through the figurine's eyes, the Smoker monitored their every move. Three tall men sat opposite her, their expressions solemn.
"Have you figured out the details?" one of them asked in a deep voice.
"I've found out. The prettiest one is the weakest, and seems to be a dark wizard. There's a demon-summoning circle tattooed on the back of his hand. But I've never seen a circle like that, and I can't find its origin. The tallest man is unfathomable. My puppet trembles when it sees him and says his aura is terrifying. The one with the spiky hair is an S-rank player, and the yellow-haired man and the handsome one are both SSS-rank questers."
"Why are their strengths so uneven?"
"I don't know. This team has the weakest average strength."
"Do you think they can break the despair?"
"impossible."
This answer seemed to be expected by everyone, so everyone fell silent.
The three men looked at the thick fog outside, then finally stood up dejectedly. Their voices were deep, "Keep watching them. Make sure they don't do anything rash. If Lin Shiyu dies unexpectedly, many people won't be able to endure another reincarnation. Do you understand?"
The smoker looked at the man lying in the bedroom, his eyes red, "I understand. I'll keep a close eye on them."
The three men walked into the bedroom, took turns saying a few words of comfort to the paralyzed man in bed, and then quietly left. They had a premonition that when time resets next time, their companions might be completely swallowed up by the world of despair.
He will turn into a dried corpse and break into pieces when the day breaks.
Every time a new player arrives, it is the beginning of hope for them, but also the beginning of another plunge into despair.
If the new player doesn't understand the rules and kills Lin Shiyu, then after the time resets, many people will lose their lives. They won't even have the chance to jump off the building and will disappear forever.
"I'll keep an eye on them, don't worry." The smoker promised again as he sent the people out.
---
At 5:30 in the morning, the beating in Room 2801 finally ended. The door creaked open, and Lin Shiyu, with a bruised face and nose, walked out, carrying a cloth bag and heading to the supermarket outside the complex to buy groceries.
Xuan Ming immediately woke Zhuang Li up.
Zi Wei, Xiao Dao and Huang Mao quickly put away the playing cards.
"Follow her." Zhuang Li ordered in a low voice.
After buying groceries with Lin Shiyu, the group returned to the residential complex. After entering the elevator, Lin Shiyu didn't press the button for the 28th floor, but went straight to the top floor.
When they climbed up the stairs to the top floor, they saw her standing on the edge of the rooftop, staring blankly into the distance. The cold wind blew against her extremely thin body, making her skirt rustle. If the wind had been stronger, she would have been blown off.
Zi Wei was so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that she would jump off the building and commit suicide if she couldn't figure it out.
If she jumps, everyone will be finished!
Xiaodao quickly stepped forward, ready to save the man, but was tripped by the smoker hiding in the corner. She waved to everyone, signaling them to follow her.
After circling around the water tank, the smoker whispered, "Don't worry about her, she won't jump. She goes up to the rooftop every day and stands there for five minutes, then goes back down on her own. Don't try to persuade her, or she'll be overcome with grief and might actually jump. Five unlucky guys did that before, and time reset before they could complete their mission. We got screwed that time, damn it."
The smoker's eyes were bloodshot, showing that he didn't get much sleep last night.
It's no wonder. Her companions clearly won't be able to survive the next reboot, so her anxiety is naturally growing.
"I really hope you can pass the level, I really do." Her hands were shaking as she lit a cigarette.
"Of course we can pass it. Thank you for the clues you provided us before." Zhuang Li stretched out his hand.
"What?" The smoker was stunned.
Zhuang Li took her hand and shook it up and down, his tone full of confidence: "You have helped me a lot. I will take you out in seven days."
"What?" The smoker was even more confused.
She felt as if she had heard something out of the Arabian Nights. Didn't this person just say he'd lead everyone out in seven days? Where did he get his confidence from?
"Hold your cigarette tightly and don't burn his hand." Xuan Ming reminded in a deep voice.
The smoker immediately bit the cigarette butt tightly in her mouth. If it fell, it would really burn Zhuang Li who was shaking hands with her.
What's wrong with these two? Are they crazy? One keeps saying he'll beat the game in seven days, while the other, facing imminent death, still worries about whether her boyfriend will get burned. What the hell is this combination?
The smoker was dizzy.
As soon as the five minutes were up, Lin Shiyu left. Zhuang Li walked around from behind the water tank and approached where she was standing, looking around. Xuan Ming stretched out his arms and held him tightly to prevent him from falling.
Zi Wei, Xiao Dao and Huang Mao also climbed up the high railing and looked into the distance.
The smoker stood under the railing, hissing at his cigarette, his face full of despair.
She seems to have driven five new players crazy.
"Guess what Lin Shiyu saw?" Zhuang Li suddenly asked.
"I can't see anything, it's all fog." Huangmao shook his head.
Indeed, they could not see anything. Thick fog filled the community, and buildings were looming in the dim sky. In the distance, there was only unknown darkness and shadows, as if evil spirits were lurking.
This place is more like the underworld than the human world.
"What did she see?" Xuan Ming knew that Zhuang Li already had the answer in his mind.
"She saw despair." Zhuang Li pointed into the distance and said slowly, "Despair isn't just in her heart; it permeates every corner of this world. This entire world is the very essence of despair. So, have you noticed? From the very beginning, we misjudged the problem. The so-called breaking of despair isn't about breaking the despair in Lin Shiyu's heart, but about breaking the despair of this world. That's the true way to pass this level."
"Huh?" The yellow-haired man was completely confused.
The smoker scratched his ears and asked hurriedly, "What did you say just now?"
"I say," Zhuang Li chuckled in the wind, "the way to pass the level is to directly break this world."
"Fuck! Did I drive you crazy?" asked the smoker guiltily.
Break the world? What the hell was that like? Compared to breaking Lin Shiyu's inner despair, this condition was SSSS... countless S levels!
"Are you crazy! How are you going to break this world? Do you think you are a god? You can tear the sky apart with a wave of your hand, crush the earth with a stomp of your feet, and pierce the universe with a punch? You must be fucking crazy!" The smoker walked back while waving his hands.
Zhuang Li looked at her from behind and warned her in a deep voice, "I can tolerate your surveillance, but please don't hinder my plans. I'm the only one who can get you out. Do you understand?"
The smoker wanted to blow out an S-shaped smoke ring and a B-shaped smoke ring in response, but unfortunately she had not mastered this difficult technique yet, so she could only sneer.
Zhuang Li stared at her back, his eyes darkening, and then ordered: "Find an empty room with a computer, and we will settle down first."
"Okay." Xiaodao and others responded with great enthusiasm.
They believed the captain's words unconditionally. The captain was the one who turned the Forbidden Land dungeon into a company team building activity.
Everyone quickly found an empty room with a computer in the building. Zhuang Li uploaded the video he had taken the previous night using Task Manager to the computer, then used the internet to find Lin Shiyu's phone number and sent the video to her.
Seeing his actions, Zi Wei was a little scared and asked in a trembling voice, "Captain, why did you send the Black Mass you filmed last night to Lin Shiyu? Didn't the Smoker say that if Lin Shiyu saw Liu Jizu chopping off her son's head, she would be so shocked that she would commit suicide."
"She won't commit suicide under my control. Believe me, I can definitely get you out." Zhuang Li comforted.
Xuan Ming hugged his head, kissed his forehead, and whispered: "Of course I believe you."
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