The laboratory's roof was the first to be pierced by the raging flames.
Shattered glass and steel rebars sent shrapnel flying in the explosion as the fire spread downward from the roof, raging through the corridors, Experiment Area, incubation pods, and underground pipes.
The surviving monsters inside, who had been lucky enough to avoid encountering Cen Yao and her companion, let out piercing shrieks.
But the fire was too massive; nothing could escape.
One iron door after another glowed cherry red, warped, and ultimately melted and collapsed.
The incubation pods exploded in succession. The turbid liquid evaporated in the flames, sending up massive plumes of white steam.
Deep within the laboratory, the archives that recorded countless atrocities curled, blackened, and dissolved into handfuls of ash in the fire.
The flames climbed higher and higher, until the entire laboratory looked as though it had been swallowed by a fallen sun.
The walls cracked in the intense heat, collapsing in massive chunks.
Billowing black smoke surged into the sky, only to be dyed dark gold by the flames.
Cen Yao stood before the fire.
Her hospital gown fluttered noisily in the hot wind, which also whipped her long black hair around her face.
Looking at the gradually collapsing laboratory, she spoke softly.
“A place so steeped in evil shouldn't exist in this world.”
Xie Zhouxing stood by her side.
He couldn't see the fire, but he could feel the oncoming heatwave, hear the constant rumbling of the collapsing building, and smell the combined scent of burning wood, metal, and decaying flesh.
He fell silent for a few seconds before saying earnestly, “Good riddance.”
The laboratory finally collapsed completely amidst the flames. After a massive rumble, dust billowed into the sky.
Cen Yao raised her hand to cast a barrier, blocking out the oncoming ash.
By the time the dust gradually settled, the sun had already begun to sink in the west.
The sky was dyed dark red by the sunset glow, making it look to be around four or five in the afternoon.
Only now did Cen Yao get a clear look at the scene outside the laboratory—
The place looked like a city that had been ravaged by the apocalypse.
The roads were cracked, and most of the shops along the street had collapsed, leaving behind only shattered signs and half-ruined walls.
Tilting skyscrapers stood in the distance, their glass curtain walls long since shattered completely. Some buildings were even snapped in half, barely held together by a few twisted steel rebars.
The streets were littered with rubble, abandoned vehicles, and charred debris.
Wherever one looked, there was nothing but devastation.
Cen Yao's heart sank slightly.
She didn't like scenes like this.
Regardless of whether this was a dungeon, the decay and destruction before her felt incredibly oppressive.
But in the next second, her gaze landed on a tilted road sign not far away.
On the road sign was a line of familiar writing.
The sadness on Cen Yao's face vanished instantly, and her eyes even lit up.
Xie Zhouxing keenly detected the change in her aura.
She had been downcast just a moment ago, yet now she had suddenly cheered up. He was somewhat puzzled.
“What's wrong?”
Cen Yao couldn't hide the upward curve of her lips.
“Nothing.”
“I just saw something that made me happy.”
Xie Zhouxing grew even more confused. “What?”
Cen Yao was in an excellent mood. “It's completely ruined out here, with rubble and debris everywhere.”
Xie Zhouxing seemed to realize something. “Is this place... Japan?”
Cen Yao gave him a surprised look.
“How did you know?”
Xie Zhouxing smiled. “Just because this young master is blind doesn't mean I don't have a brain.”
“A ruined place like this would normally make anyone feel heavy-hearted, and you did too at first. But then you suddenly cheered up. It's not hard to guess what kind of location would make you this happy.”
Cen Yao nodded. “Not bad. You guessed right.”
“Japan actually did something right for once, performing a great act of merit.”
Hearing this, Xie Zhouxing burst into laughter. “True, they actually did something right for once.”
“No wonder this dungeon is called Reaping What One Sows.”
The more Xie Zhouxing spoke, the funnier he found it, his shoulders shaking with laughter by the end.
“The dungeon really lives up to its name, hahahaha!”
Cen Yao smiled as well, and the live stream bullet chat grew even livelier.
[Hahaha, the speed of Lady Witch's face-changing!]
[A moment ago: 'What a pitiful city.' Now: 'Oh, it's Japan. Never mind then.']
[LMAO, the Night King's comprehension skills are top-tier!]
[Reaping What One Sows, it really fits the dungeon name.]
[Wait, Lady Witch actually burned down the entire laboratory? That was so cool!]
[When those flames surged up, I literally got goosebumps.]
[Lady Witch looks so stunning amidst the flames. I can't take my eyes off her.]
[I'm actually crying. It turns out so many of the test subjects in those incubation pods were human. Damn Japan, they're absolute beasts. They loved doing human experiments two hundred years ago, and two hundred years later, a leopard still can't change its spots.]
[There's still a difference. Two hundred years ago, their victims were foreigners, but two hundred years later, they started ruining their own people.]
[Lady Witch looks soft, but she has very clear boundaries.]
[She even remembered to run away with a blind guy.]
[Xie Zhouxing: This young master is the Night King, not some ordinary blind guy!]
[During the day, you're just an ordinary blind guy.]
After laughing, Cen Yao looked back at the team map.
Zhu Lingxi and Pei Tinglan weren't too far from them anymore.
However, this city ruin was exceptionally difficult to navigate.
Rubble, broken steel rebars, and collapsed building debris littered the ground everywhere.
It was fine for Cen Yao, since she could at least see her step. But Xie Zhouxing was blind; walking in a place like this was practically no different from stepping on landmines with his eyes closed.
Cen Yao thought for a moment.
“Xie Zhouxing.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever ridden a broomstick?”
Xie Zhouxing paused, a bad feeling rising in him. “A what?”
Cen Yao didn't answer. She waved her hand, and with a flash of light, a dreamlike purple broomstick appeared out of thin air before her.
The moment the broomstick emerged from the Temporary Player Item Storage, it acted as if it had regained its freedom, suddenly shooting up into the air.
It looped twice around Cen Yao's head, then circled Xie Zhouxing three times. The wind it kicked up blew stray hairs into both of their eyes.
Finally, it was so excited that it almost crashed headfirst into the nearby ruins.
Cen Yao: “...”
She didn't know if she should say it, but it behaved a lot like a husky running wild.
But then again, ever since it had been given to her by the orb, the broomstick had indeed been cooped up for quite a while.
Actually, it hadn't been that long; this was only the second dungeon since she had acquired it.
Now that she had finally let it out, the little thing was practically ecstatic.
Cen Yao felt a sudden wave of guilt. She patted the broomstick's handle.
“Stop flying around randomly.” The broomstick screeched to a halt in midair, hovering obediently in front of her.
Cen Yao waited for it to calm down before saying, “Go, carry him.”
The broomstick understood. With a whoosh, it darted toward Xie Zhouxing.
Xie Zhouxing had been standing perfectly fine when he suddenly felt a long object slide between his legs.
He was so startled he nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Holy shit!”
“What is this?!”
Seeing him tilt backward and almost fall, Cen Yao kindly reached out to steady him.
“My broomstick.”
“Sit tight. We're leaving.”
Xie Zhouxing froze. “A... broomstick?”
His beautiful eyes went wide and round.
“Is it the kind of broomstick I'm thinking of?”
Cen Yao glanced at the broomstick, which was already twitching with impatience, eager to take off.
“Whether it's the one you're thinking of...”
“...you'll find out once you try it yourself.”
The moment she finished speaking, the broomstick received its command and shot into the sky in excitement.
Whoosh!
It blasted off, leaving behind only a light purple afterimage and a shriek that practically pierced the heavens.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
Xie Zhouxing clung to the broomstick's handle for dear life.
His golden curls were whipped into a chaotic mess by the howling wind, the hem of his hospital gown fluttered wildly in the air, and he was dragged across the sky by the broomstick.
“Slow down!”
“This young master wasn't ready!”
“Help!!! Why is this thing so fast?!”
Cen Yao stood in place and blinked.
“You can't blame me for this.”
“It's the broomstick's fault.”
After saying that, she slowly raised her hand, magic power surging within her.
In the next second, a pair of massive wings unfurled behind her.
They were a pair of nearly dreamlike wings.
The feathers were layered, looking as though they were condensed from the purest moonlight.
Every single feather shimmered with delicate light, their edges tinged with a faint silvery blue.
As the setting sun hit the wings, the entire ruins seemed to light up for a brief moment.
Cen Yao gently flapped her wings, her body lifting off the ground.
She flew in the direction of Xie Zhouxing's screams.
The live stream chat had already gone completely wild.
[Aaaaah, Lady Witch is so beautiful! A shot straight to my heart!]
[Ah yes, yes, yes. It's all because the broomstick was too impatient. What does that have to do with our Lady Witch?]
[Right, right, right. What bad intentions could baby Witch possibly have? She just wanted the Night King to travel smoothly.]
[Yeah, right... Like I'd believe you guys!]
[Xie Zhouxing's screams are so loud, hahahaha.]
[Broomstick: Finally out for some fresh air, take off!]
[Night King: 'This young master declares that the night is under my control.' Broomstick: 'You're under my control during the day first.']
[Those beautiful wings I haven't seen in ages. I finally get to see them again, sob sob.]
[Aaaaah, this is the third time seeing baby Cen's wings! I'm speechless from the beauty once again, all I can do is scream!]
[WTF? This is already the third time they've appeared? Crying I missed out! Horror Game, you're really not feeding me well!]
[Baby, I love you so much! How can anyone have such gorgeous wings?!]
[The way Lady Witch violently destroyed the laboratory with fire elements was also so dazzling. My eyes are practically glued to her!]
[When she flew up, I really thought I was looking at an angel.]
[Lady Witch: 'I'm no angel, I'm just relatively good at sending monsters to the afterlife.']
[The comment above is a god-tier summary.]
[Lady Witch is the best!]
In midair, Xie Zhouxing's screams were still ongoing.
“Cen Yao!”
“Cen Yao, where are you?!”
“Hurry up and make it stop!”
Cen Yao flapped her wings and followed behind him, saying unhurriedly, “It's just too happy.”
“Let it have its fun for a bit.”
Xie Zhouxing: “...”
He gripped the broomstick even tighter.
“I take back what I said earlier!”
“Lady Witch isn't kind at all!”
Cen Yao flew up next to him. “What did you say?”
Xie Zhouxing immediately changed his tune. “I said...”
“...Lady Witch is kind-hearted, naturally gorgeous, and exceptionally powerful in magic.”
“But can you please make the broomstick fly a little slower?”
Cen Yao laughed out loud. She reached out and pressed down gently in the air.
The broomstick's speed gradually decreased.
Only then did Xie Zhouxing recover from his near-death state.
Sitting on the broomstick, he hugged the handle tightly. His face was pale, though his earlobes were flushed red from the wind.
Looking at him, Cen Yao couldn't help but say, “Didn't you say you were the most handsome man in the world?”
Xie Zhouxing grit his teeth. “Even the most handsome man in the world is afraid of heights.”
“But you can't even see.”
“I can't see, but I can feel! Don't you know how terrifying it is for a blind person to suddenly take off without a safety harness?!”
“I actually didn't know that. Don't worry, with me here, you definitely won't fall.”
“Is that what I meant??”
The setting sun sank lower and lower.
Cen Yao spread her wings and, alongside the broomstick, flew toward the two familiar glowing dots representing her teammates on the map.
Behind them, the burning laboratory collapsed completely.
The blazing fire painted half the sky red, like a long-overdue judgment.
Rate on N.U.
