At this moment, although Zhao Lin was still on the seventh underground floor of the mine shaft, he was already very close to the sixth. If no one interfered with him, he would be able to reach the sixth floor before five o'clock.
As for Wu Su...
He had only just left the eighth underground floor and entered the seventh.
He was still far behind.
Fang Tang pulled out her phone.
“I bought you a ticket for 1:30 AM, so you don't need to buy one later.”
“Oh, right!”
“If Zhao Lin survives, you'll have to buy his ticket yourself. I'm not paying for that.”
Zuo Lin'an replied, “Alright.”
Not minding the dirt, Fang Tang sat down against a rock and leisurely started playing a mobile game.
Seeing this, Zuo Lin'an sighed softly.
Even the dungeon master was this relaxed, so there was no need for him to be tense.
In any case, only two players remained in the entire dungeon.
Monitoring them was incredibly simple.
If any unexpected situation arose, they could easily deal with it in time.
He also took out his phone to check his messages, but there was still no news from Xu Youyou.
Not back yet?
It seemed he would have to wait a bit longer.
While he was at it, he opened the forum and browsed through new posts from other dungeon bosses.
He read about their experiences dealing with enemies and looked at the list of troublesome players they had marked, which detailed their talents and the specter items they might possess.
Afterward, he checked some bounty posts.
He bookmarked them one by one.
If he encountered these players in the future, he could target them a little.
Time flew by.
Before they knew it, it was already 11:59 PM.
Fang Tang put down her phone and stood up.
“It's almost time.”
Zuo Lin'an continued to browse the forum.
“There's still an hour left to find the path of survival.”
Fang Tang said, “I know.”
“But they are destined not to find it.”
At this moment, Wu Su was still on the fifth underground floor. Although he was about to enter the fourth floor, he wouldn't even be able to get out of the fourth floor in an hour.
As for Zhao Lin.
His speed was indeed fast, and he had already reached the second underground floor.
But unfortunately...
To get from his current position to the actual exit, it would take at least two hours no matter what.
Meanwhile, at Zhao Lin's location.
He was panting heavily, leaning one hand against the stone wall as he walked forward.
Although he was exhausted, he could tell through his art of Qi-gazing that he was not far from leaving the mine shaft.
As long as he held on a little longer, he would be able to escape alive.
Just then.
【Congratulations on successfully surviving for one day. Please find the path of survival within one hour, otherwise you will remain in the abandoned mine shaft forever. 00:59:59】
Seeing the dungeon notification, Zhao Lin narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I've already survived for one day?”
In truth, he was still somewhat puzzled, unable to make sense of things no matter how much he thought about it.
The specters had been targeting him earlier!
They had forced him to sacrifice the people he had planted curse seeds in, until all the players around him were dead, leaving him completely alone.
Especially at the moment Su Menglan was killed, he had fallen into despair.
He had truly believed he would be next.
But once he was the only one left, neither of the two specters had appeared again.
“What's going on?”
“Could it be... they were repelled by other players?”
Aside from this, there didn't seem to be any other explanation.
“Who could be that powerful?”
“A specter immune to repel effects could still be...”
“Or did someone have a way to control that specter for a long time?”
“But... who? Who has that kind of ability?”
Unable to figure it out, Zhao Lin simply gave up.
“Whatever.”
It didn't matter who it was. The important thing was to find the path of survival quickly!
An hour was neither too long nor too short.
And the final outcome was exactly as Fang Tang had predicted.
Neither Zhao Lin nor Wu Su managed to reach the exit within the hour.
Wu Su stood absolutely no chance.
As for Zhao Lin...
In the final ten minutes, he had a small burst of energy.
He had likely used some secret technique that overdraws the body and cannot be maintained for long, making his speed several times faster than his usual limit.
He was so close to reaching the exit, but in the end, he was still a little too short.
【The countdown has reached zero! The path of survival has closed! The player has failed to clear the dungeon and will remain in the abandoned mine shaft forever!】
The moment the dungeon notification appeared, Zuo Lin'an recalled his specter body, stood up, and stretched.
“It's finally over.”
Fang Tang walked over to his side.
“Yeah, that was close but safe!”
As soon as she finished speaking, she pointed toward the mine shaft.
“The person you wanted is here.”
Then, Zuo Lin'an heard a faint sound of footsteps.
And this person was, of course, Zhao Lin.
In less than half a minute, Zhao Lin's figure appeared before them.
He looked somewhat dazed at the moment.
His talent had disappeared, and even the main quest notifications no longer existed. Furthermore, he had developed an indescribable connection with this dungeon.
He could even clearly see the figures of the two people ahead in the pitch-black mine shaft.
“It really is... you guys!”
Zuo Lin'an looked at Fang Tang.
“I'll take this person with me.”
Fang Tang nodded.
“Of course. We agreed on this beforehand, and I'm not the type to break my word. You can take him and leave first. The specter bus will arrive to pick you up in half an hour.”
The ticket she bought was for 1:30 AM, which was about twenty-odd minutes away.
Saying this, she also pulled out her phone and transferred 3 Contribution points to Zuo Lin'an.
“Alright, the dungeon is perfectly finished. The Contribution points and the puppet have been paid. I won't keep you any longer. I hope we'll have the chance to cooperate again in the future.”
She was somewhat impatient to go collect the puppet Wu Su, who was still struggling in the mine shaft.
This person perfectly suited her aesthetic!
Seeing the notification of the incoming transfer, Zuo Lin'an's mood improved significantly.
“Sure, I'll head out first. You can contact me if anything comes up in the future.”
Of course, he was just being polite.
Even if she did contact him, he didn't plan on coming back here to work as a temp again.
He put away his phone and looked at Zhao Lin.
“Follow me.”
Hearing this, Zhao Lin was stunned for a moment.
Because just now, he felt his connection with this dungeon... sever.
He had many questions in his heart, but now didn't seem like a good time to ask.
In that case, he would just follow along for now.
He had a premonition.
Perhaps he was about to welcome a brand-new life.
Zuo Lin'an led him out of the mine shaft.
Standing on the barren, exposed, and lifeless ground.
Facing the cold wind, Zhao Lin breathed in the outside air, looking at everything before him in a daze.
So, where were they going next?
Wait.
He seemed to have heard that woman say a specter bus would come to pick them up.
Could it be...
Zuo Lin'an took out his phone and bought a ticket for Zhao Lin, timed exactly for when he would board.
In the blink of an eye, another hundred thousand was spent.
Zuo Lin'an couldn't help but sigh. Money really was spent too easily.
“Let's go.”
Zhao Lin snapped out of his daze and followed behind him.
Before long, he saw the familiar wall of white mist blocking the path ahead.
He had seen the white mist before and knew players couldn't enter it.
However, after seeing Zuo Lin'an walk inside, he realized one thing.
The dungeon had ended.
And he was no longer a player.
Rate on N.U.
