Chapter 1016: Burden
Translator: CKtalon
This wasn’t alarmist talk because Zhou Wen had discovered that the Maze of Lies on Sunday had a terrifying taboo power.
Unless one had the ability to restrain taboo powers like the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, the moment one stepped into the Maze of Lies on Sunday, it was equivalent to activating a death countdown.
According to Zhou Wen’s constant tests during this period of time, he realized that if he didn’t enter Witch Castle within three hours after entering the maze, he would be killed by the taboo power.
This was the power of the rules. No matter where one was, it was inevitable as long as one didn’t leave the Maze of Lies.
Entering Witch Castle within three hours allowed one to obtain a two-hour death countdown inside. If one failed to enter the garden within two hours, they would also be killed by the taboo power.
After entering the garden, the death countdown became an hour. One could only stay in the garden for an hour, or they would also die.
What was even more terrifying was that the death timer in every area wouldn’t be reset just because one entered the next area. It wouldn’t stop either.
In other words, if he used two and a half hours in the maze before entering Witch Castle after half an hour, the countdown in the maze would have reached zero. He would also die if he returned to the maze.
Therefore, although it looked like the first two regions had a longer time limit, it was actually impossible for him to spend that much time there. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to come out even if he obtained the mask.
Zhou Wen had the Heaven-Opening Scripture of the Highest Elder, so he wasn’t afraid. However, if Wang Lu, Lance, and company exceeded the time limit inside, they would die.
Now, Zhou Wen had already figured out these rules, but these weren’t all of Sunday’s rules. The other problems were still being tested.
“Zhou Wen, are you alright?” Lance and Sadie didn’t have any special reaction because of Zhou Wen gaming. This was because they were already used to Zhou Wen gaming and didn’t find it strange.
“Me? I’m fine.” The blood-colored avatar died again in-game. Zhou Wen put away his phone and looked at Lance and company in puzzlement, unsure why they were asking.
“Coach, don’t tell me you have been gaming in your room all day?” Sadie’s expression turned even odder as she asked Zhou Wen.
“That’s right. Is there a problem?” Zhou Wen looked at Sadie in puzzlement.
As expected… Wang Lu held her forehead helplessly. She knew that Zhou Wen wouldn’t lie.
Lance smiled and said, “You’re very calm. It looks like you already have a card up your sleeve. However, the others are a little worried that you might give the wrong orders because you don’t understand their abilities. If you have the time, it’s best you take a look at their training. At the very least, you’d have some understanding of their abilities. That would be a good thing.”
Zhou Wen sighed and said, “That’s why I feel that it’s best I go alone to avoid leading them into trouble.”
Zhou Wen’s words came from the bottom of his heart. If he were to go alone, he could activate Evil Nullification and the Heaven-Opening Scripture the entire way. He wouldn’t need to worry about the group’s survival, nor would he need to study the dungeon so clearly. There was no power inside that could kill him.
It didn’t seem difficult for a person to rush into the garden in reality to see if there was a mask.
However, the Ultimate Family Clan was definitely worried about letting him enter alone, afraid that he would take the mask for himself. Also, there was no time or opportunity for him to enter alone.
Gaiman had already decided to lead people into the Maze of Lies this coming Sunday.
Lance and Sadie exchanged looks and smiled bitterly. Zhou Wen’s thoughts were even more straightforward than they had expected. He had actually treated all the strongmen in the North District as a burden.
They naturally knew that it was impossible for Zhou Wen to enter the maze alone. All Lance could do was say, “It’s good to have more people. After all, the maze is strange. If anything happens, even if they can’t help, they can spread out the firepower. Why don’t…”
Just as Lance was about to ask him to take a look, Sadie beat him to it. “Coach, I suddenly remembered that we have something to do.”
With that said, Sadie pulled Lance away quickly.
“What’s going on?” When they came to a place without anyone, Lance looked at Sadie in puzzlement.
Sadie said, “You wanted Coach to visit the training grounds?”
“That’s right. At least appease the experts from those places,” said Lance.
However, Sadie said, “That will probably make things worse.”
“Why?” Lance was momentarily taken aback.
“With my understanding of Coach, even if he goes to the training grounds, he will definitely find a place to lie down and game. Do you still think it’s a good idea for him to go or not?” Sadie said.
Lance was immediately enlightened as he nodded. “That makes sense.”
…
The two of them had no choice but to tell Gaiman what Zhou Wen had said. Gaiman couldn’t help but frown slightly when he heard that. “Zhou Wen is indeed very capable, but he’s so arrogant. He doesn’t take this operation seriously at all. Does he treat this as child’s play?”
“Family Head, I think Coach naturally has his reasons for saying that.” Sadie was very confident in Zhou Wen.
“What’s the reason? He hasn’t even entered the Maze of Lies on Sunday. With his arrogance, he will probably suffer greatly.” Gaiman was already secretly considering if he should hand the final veto to Zhou Wen.
Although Frod had agreed to give him the veto rights, he couldn’t just watch as Zhou Wen made some unreasonable decisions.
Gaiman had already decided that if Zhou Wen’s decision was the same as his, he would listen to him for the time being. If it wasn’t, he would prioritize his own opinion.
He believed that the members of the Ultimate Family Clan and the experts of those places would listen to his orders.
…
Zhou Wen didn’t think too much about it. There were less than two days left until Sunday. He had to figure out the details as soon as possible.
The repeated deaths in-game deepened Zhou Wen’s understanding of the Maze of Lies. In the end, he was basically studying the tree and the method to kill it.
Although this tree might not necessarily exist in reality, there was nothing wrong with being careful. It was always better to be prepared.
This tree was extraordinary. It could also kill people, but its method of killing wasn’t that obvious. It was even more bizarre.
Time passed quickly. Seeing that there were only a few hours left until Sunday, Zhou Wen suddenly felt a strange energy fluctuation emit from his body.
Neonate’s evolution is complete… Zhou Wen figured out the source of the fluctuations and was immediately overjoyed.