LWGP - Chapter 152
Chapter 152: Ambush
Lin Guiwan was taken aback, but she quickly shook her head.
Her family of origin was poor, but her parents were loving and supportive. She herself was talented, excelled in her studies, had a respectable career, and enjoyed a fulfilling marriage that gave her a lovely, well-behaved daughter. Even after her husband died in a plane crash and her parents passed away one after another, she had endured.
Setbacks are a part of life, nine times out of ten. How could that be considered pitiful?
She was a very confident and composed person. In previous years, she had countless suitors, but they had vanished in recent years, which was also due to Lin Jun’s machinations behind the scenes.
People who are well-liked are always more confident than the average person.
Besides, she had naturally given herself a pillar of faith to lean on.
Since it wasn’t pity, then it was either because of Lin Zi or because she herself had value.
Lin Guiwan felt as if she had found the answer.
Wang Jiu said, “She thought you were outstanding and very courageous—that’s why after you sensed that Lin Jun was being forced back by some unknown power, you chose not to take your family and leave the capital, in order to ensure you remained in such a stable environment. That day, the old lady lamented to me that women easily act foolishly for love, but a mother will also become more clever and brave for her daughter. You are indeed very perceptive. So even though you didn't know of her existence, you still sensed that after my old lady passed away, Lin Jun immediately made a comeback with his designs on you. You were probably being monitored. So you immediately seized the opportunity of the game’s launch to get away from your hometown, the capital, and directly avoided him.”
These events were too sudden to have been investigated by Wang Jiu. It could only mean that the latter knew her very well and also understood Lin Jun very well.
“You’ve investigated me before?”
“Yes.”
Wang Jiu swirled the tomato juice, took a sip, and smiled at her. “Sorry, just curious.”
Although most of her investigations were driven by murderous intent.
Like that bastard Qian Cheng.
Thinking of the past, she lowered her eyes, a trace of bewilderment inexplicably spreading through them.
How many days had it been? How many days since the old lady died?
Why did it feel like such a long, long time?
Of course, Lin Guiwan didn’t believe her. From her experience of dealing with Lin Jun for some time, she deeply sensed that Wang Jiu possessed an essence that far surpassed Lin Jun’s.
Obsession.
A terrifying obsession.
But Lin Jun’s was out of control and rampant, indulging his desires.
Wang Jiu was different.
The obsession of a sacrifice on a hellish altar, the loyalty of an offering in a glorious sanctuary.
It was frightening, yet inexplicably sorrowful.
So, was Wang Jiu jealous of the appreciation and care Professor Lin Zi showed her, and thus developed the intent to kill?
Lin Guiwan didn’t know.
In this world, no one knew what the current Wang Jiu was thinking.
“This data seems to be about the strength of those who entered the maze.”
Lin Guiwan helped Wang Jiu look through some of it, frowning slightly. “There have already been several waves, but why do I feel like this data is too…”
“Too much?”
“Yes.”
Lin Guiwan was thoughtful. “It’s only been a few days since the launch. No matter how strong someone is, they should have only become capable of entering this Nightmare Dungeon in the last two days. Coupled with geographical and other restrictions, not too many people should have entered the maze. But the data here shows over a thousand entries, and most importantly, the time.”
She flipped to the very first time stamp, pointed her finger at it, her expression extremely strange.
“Data from five years ago.”
“Five years ago, our world hadn’t been loaded in yet.”
That left only one explanation.
“Before the world was fully loaded in, some special individuals had already entered, like in a closed beta?”
She was also seeking Wang Jiu’s opinion. Wang Jiu, however, mentioned the Nightmare Dungeon she had experienced last time, the one with the Tribal Chief.
“A group of people had been trapped for a long time, far earlier than when we were loaded into the game. But what’s interesting is that their clothing and manner of speaking were a bit different from ours. Combining the two, I’m more inclined to think it’s a different world, not different people.”
Lin Guiwan’s brow twitched. Was that possible?
“I don’t know. Anyway, once I reach level 40, I’ll be able to read the file folder they left behind.”
“Level 40. You’ll probably get there by clearing this Nightmare Dungeon.”
“You think I can beat it?” Wang Jiu asked in return.
As it stood, they were constantly being played with by the other party.
Lin Guiwan glanced at her. “Why don’t you tell me how to guide Xuejing and the others out?”
“No need for guidance. This isn’t difficult for her. Besides, the maze will open automatically soon.”
“Hmm?”
Lin Guiwan saw Wang Jiu setting a timer for the maze’s closing procedure. She wanted to let those people out?
What was the benefit in that?
Right!
Lin Guiwan’s brow suddenly twitched. “In the energy detection data for this maze, within today’s time limit, Tan Yingzhou’s isn’t here!”
Tan Yingzhou’s average attributes were definitely above 5000. Even with the reduction, it would be 2500. But the highest in the data here was only 2200.
Of course, if you went back further in time and looked at the earlier data, there were many more experts, some even with original average attributes of seven or eight thousand. It was terrifying.
“So he didn’t enter the maze at all. He must have used some special means to directly enter another area.”
After Wang Jiu finished the settings, she said, “Their strength is too high, but even the simplest brute-force method to break the maze is clearly very time-consuming, unless they can phase through walls like me. So I estimate they used special means to directly enter the second floor and are clearing it from the top down. That way, they can also catch the person controlling the maze and finally clear the maze to boost their score. The BOSS on this floor isn’t a big deal for them, but it’s still a resource that can’t be ignored.”
Lin Guiwan deeply agreed. “That is indeed the best strategy. So you think they’ll definitely notice the commotion on the first floor from the second floor and come down to kill for treasure? So you’re just going to release everyone to attract their attention?”
“Li Chui should have already notified them. If they don’t come down, it’s actually worse.”
Lin Guiwan fell silent.
Indeed, if they had already received definite intel that Wang Jiu had made off with a huge amount of resources and was separated from her teammates, yet they still didn’t come down, it would mean there was trouble on the second floor holding them up.
That would be trouble for them as well.
But that was the inherent difficulty of the dungeon. Another difficulty lay in the fact that the dungeon’s main storyline seemed very clear—Zhang Shen was a mad scientist who was burned to death after being exposed, but he didn’t die and made a comeback to destroy the entire town.
But two points were particularly strange.
1. The first-generation head of the Research Institute was Zhang Shen. After Zhang Shen’s death, his adopted son Zhang Jue took over. So, where did this Zhang Jue go?
2. The construction of the Research Institute and other things basically started after Zhang Shen was burned to death. The person in charge at that time should have been Zhang Jue.
“Looking at it this way, the most problematic person should be Zhang Jue.” Lin Guiwan had always been suspicious of this point.
Wang Jiu, however, handed her an experiment logbook.
“After Zhang Shen’s death, the Research Institute was managed by Zhang Jue. As the increasingly severe mist gas endangered the entire town, the project Zhang Jue advocated for was to find a solution to the mist. I’ve looked at it; the project was very conservative and safe, with lab mice as the main test subjects. But not long after, Zhang Jue suddenly disappeared for a few days. The police files mention this, and it corresponds to a few days of missing experiments at the institute. It’s estimated that the entire staff went looking for him. A few days later, Zhang Jue returned, seriously injured. Afterward, his temperament became taciturn and silent, and not long after, he applied for the construction of the underground research institute. At the same time, the experimental projects in the institute began to include human experiments. At the time, this caused a split within the institute due to differing philosophies, but ultimately, Zhang Jue’s decision prevailed. The others either fell silent or resigned.”
Lin Guiwan frowned. “Such a drastic change?”
“Yes, that drastic.”
Their eyes met. Wang Jiu’s gaze was meaningful, and Lin Guiwan seemed to have a realization.
“That Zhang Jue might not have been the real Zhang Jue.”
“Probably. But the crematorium is a paradise for the dead, and the dead always leave something behind. Let’s go.”
“Aren’t we waiting for Xuejing and the others?”
“No need.”
Wang Jiu simply distributed the rewards from the maze BOSS randomly. She also took all the loot from the players killed by the mercury wave earlier and distributed it randomly, with Lin Guiwan getting 15%, Xie Lu 10%, and everyone else 5%.
A massive amount of resources entered everyone’s inventory through the mail system.
Wang Jiu then led Lin Guiwan out of the secret room. Just as they left, a surveillance and listening device behind a piece of realistic-looking tile in the secret room silently turned to a new angle.
Before they even went up, Wang Jiu and the others saw the stairwell covered in blood. Just as they were about to ascend, a person collapsed at the top, bleeding from all seven orifices, his face twisted. “Save me!!”
Before he could finish, a strange green liquid crawled up his back. Soon, his body melted, turning into streams of green liquid that flowed down the stairs.
Poison? The second floor was indeed troublesome.
“Do you have any detoxification skills?”
“No.”
Both Wang Jiu and Lin Guiwan held their breath and moved upward cautiously. The staircase was very high and long, its height comparable to the sixth floor of an ordinary building.
The walls were so thick, likely to prevent people in the maze from avoiding the mercury and breaking through the ceiling.
Suddenly, as Wang Jiu and the others stepped over the corpse and looked at the somewhat dirty hall ahead, she turned her head to look at the body.
It was a corpse, yes, but it hadn’t disappeared.
Not a player? Was this poison a Bloodthirsty-type method?
Both Wang Jiu and Lin Guiwan felt something was wrong, especially Wang Jiu. She immediately dodged away from her original position, but she was a step too slow. A rotating, hexagonal red array had already connected to their feet.
System Notification: “Congratulations, you have been hit by a rare array item—attracts the attention of hostile dungeon creatures and causes them to attack you frenziedly. Effect lasts for ten minutes. Note: This small array is of medium-rare grade. It cannot be dispelled unless you have high-level Exemption or a higher-grade dispelling item.”
First, the corpse and the poison were used to restrict their movement, forcing them to move along the edge and inevitably step on that small area, which happened to be where the attraction array had been placed.
It was likely that this corpse was also a special item. Because the corpse was real and the poison was real, even the Demon’s Eye couldn’t distinguish it—it was probably a very powerful alchemical product.
They had been ambushed.
Who did it?
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