Although it was pitch black inside, fortunately, both of them were dungeon bosses and possessed night vision. No matter how dark it was, they could see perfectly clearly.
“Is there a car here?”
The vehicle had been abandoned for many years. Many parts of it had already decayed, leaving behind little more than a rust-covered iron frame.
“This was originally a vehicle used to transport miners.”
Fang Tang pointed ahead.
“The miners would take this car first, and then ride the monkey car down once they reached the front.”
A monkey car?
This was a rather novel term that Zuo Lin'an had never heard before.
But that wasn't important.
The two continued along the tunnel. Before long, they came across a pile of rocks blocking their path.
“This is...?”
Fang Tang quickly climbed up.
“This way.”
Only then did Zuo Lin'an notice a gap at the top of the piled rocks. However, the gap was extremely narrow and well-hidden. One would have to climb up close and feel around bit by bit just to discover it.
Moreover, it only allowed him to squeeze through sideways, and that was only because he was lean.
If he had even a little more meat on his bones, he wouldn't have been able to pass.
“Is this the path of survival?”
He squeezed through the narrow gap, getting covered in coal dust in the process.
Fang Tang said, “Yeah. What do you think? Isn't it hidden really well?”
Zuo Lin'an climbed down from the pile of rubble and patted the dust off his clothes.
“It's pretty good.”
Since a path of survival had to be left for the players, it definitely couldn't be completely sealed off.
That was likely why Fang Tang had left such a gap; otherwise, she probably would have blocked off the entire exit tunnel.
The two of them continued walking along the pitch-black passage.
Along the way, he saw dirty cables on the ground, and some iron frames scattered in the corners, mostly buried under dust.
The iron frames looked very strange, curved and twisted, seemingly with seats attached.
Could these iron frames be the so-called monkey cars?
Zuo Lin'an withdrew his gaze and continued forward. While examining the state of the passage ahead and behind him, he asked,
“By the way, this is my first time acting as a temporary partner. Once the dungeon opens, will I also have the dungeon's God's-eye view?”
Fang Tang replied, “Of course you will.
“Once the dungeon starts, your identity will also be defined as a dungeon boss. Since you're also a dungeon boss, you'll naturally have the God's-eye view. You don't have to worry about that.”
Zuo Lin'an relaxed slightly.
“Then, once the dungeon starts...”
Halfway through his sentence, he saw a fork in the road ahead.
Fang Tang pointed straight ahead.
“We'll take the middle one.”
Zuo Lin'an said, “Alright.”
Fang Tang turned to look at him. “What were you trying to say just now?”
Only then did Zuo Lin'an remember his question.
“I wanted to ask, once the dungeon starts, do you need me to take action immediately, or should I hold back first?”
Fang Tang shook her head. “Don't make a move yet.
“This dungeon run is quite special. I opened it to test whether I can handle the intensity of a Regional Dungeon, so it's mainly up to me.
“The reason I contacted you through Bai Yuan was because I felt your Death Rule and matching specter items are very good, so you can serve as my safety net.
“There are twenty players in total, and the main quest has a duration of one day. If I fail to kill more than half of the players within twelve hours, it won't be too late for you to step in.”
Zuo Lin'an naturally had no objections.
“Sure.”
She was the owner of this dungeon after all, and he was just here as hired help. It was better to follow her lead.
However, Zuo Lin'an had his own thoughts as well.
If Fang Tang's mistakes gave some players a chance to clear the dungeon, his own dungeon might also be at risk of being locked down.
Therefore, once he sensed that something was amiss... he would make his own judgment on whether he needed to intervene.
In any case, he wouldn't joke around when it came to his own dungeon.
Over the next while, Fang Tang continued leading him deeper inside.
Zuo Lin'an saw the constantly branching paths and the dark, deep mine shafts.
It had to be said that this mine shaft leading straight down was pitch-black and profound, extending downward as if it had no end. However, he wasn't afraid.
Instead, just like Fang Tang, he directly switched to his specter form and jumped down.
The two of them plummeted down into the darkness. After a while, the space ahead suddenly opened up.
It turned out to be an extremely spacious underground area.
Before hitting the ground, Zuo Lin'an's figure flickered and vanished in mid-air. When he reappeared, he was already standing firmly on the ground.
Seeing this, Fang Tang's eyes widened in surprise.
But before she could speak, she slammed into the ground with a loud thud.
Zuo Lin'an looked over in surprise.
Fang Tang sprang up instantly and ran over to him, covered in black dust, staring at him with wide eyes.
“You, you, you... What was that just now?”
Only then did Zuo Lin'an remember.
The flicker-step ability he had grown so accustomed to didn't seem to be something all specters possessed.
Just as some specters had the ability to set up ghost walls, he didn't have that either.
“This... isn't important.”
Fang Tang had been a Human-Specter Symbiont for much longer than Zuo Lin'an, so she naturally knew that some people were just lucky. Thus, she didn't dwell on it for too long.
“I really hate you geniuses.”
Zuo Lin'an didn't reply, choosing instead to scan their surroundings.
This spacious underground area also contained a lot of debris. Some corners were piled with black coal, but the quality looked poor, mixed with a lot of stones and dirt.
On the other side, there were many abandoned, rusty mine carts.
Further ahead, some tracks could be seen, which were likely meant for the mine carts, though they were heavily damaged and probably unusable.
Zuo Lin'an recalled the mine shaft structural diagram Fang Tang had sent him, suddenly realizing that this location was only about one or two hundred meters deep.
Meanwhile, the deepest shaft was around a thousand meters deep.
In other words, after hours of exploring, they were still at the very top.
He took out his phone and glanced at it.
“It's eleven thirty. There's still half an hour before the dungeon opens. By the way, Ms. Fang, you—”
Fang Tang interrupted him.
“Oh, we already know each other now and will be friends in the future. Calling me Ms. Fang is way too formal. Just call me Fang Tang.
“If you really don't want to, you can also call me Rainbow.”
Zuo Lin'an blinked.
Calling her by her name was fine, but what did 'Rainbow' mean?
Fang Tang continued on her own.
“Because of my hair color, my friends all call me Rainbow Candy. But that's just a nickname for when we're hanging out. I definitely can't be called that in public, or I'd lose face!
“So when we're outside, I have them call me Rainbow.”
Zuo Lin'an was somewhat speechless.
So she really was a 'Rainbow Candy'?
“Alright, Fang Tang.”
Although he also felt that calling her Rainbow was more fitting, this was only their first time meeting. Having just met, calling her Rainbow directly seemed a bit inappropriate no matter how he looked at it.
"Rainbow" was probably a name only close friends could use.
Fang Tang turned to look at him.
“By the way, what were you about to say?”
Zuo Lin'an asked in all seriousness,
“I wanted to ask... are you afraid of ghosts?”
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