The Labyrinth of the Monsters

Late at night, outside Ancient Village, in a small grove.

After Wang Zikai vomited, he fell into a deep sleep. Chubby Jun tried to treat him, but there was no improvement. Chubby Jun's talent in healing was only at level 2, and its main function was to accelerate the recovery and healing of external injuries in a short period of time.

Chubby Jun was helpless when it came to Wang Zikai's "poisoning" phenomenon.

After experiencing this ordeal, everyone dared not stay in Ancient Village any longer, but they couldn't leave either, so they had to pretend to leave and hide in the small grove. Everyone was exhausted, and there was even more psychological torment. No one knew how long they would be trapped in this strange place, and no one knew what would happen next.

Officer Huang suggested that they split into pairs and take turns resting to conserve their physical strength. Everyone agreed without objection.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Gao Yang was paired with Qing Ling, while Officer Huang was paired with Chubby Jun. They would switch every two hours.

Throughout the afternoon, the sounds of opera, drums, suona, and firecrackers kept coming from the direction of Ancient Village, giving off a peculiar feeling unique to the secluded mountain village's underdeveloped small society. It didn't stop until dusk.

Not long after nightfall, Wang Zikai moved. He seemed to not have slept enough, tossing and turning before falling asleep again. His state was more like being drunk rather than being poisoned.

All of this was within Gao Yang's expectations. No matter what Wang Zikai had eaten, he was still a beast. It wouldn't be so easy for him to die.

Gao Yang closed his eyes, opened the system, and checked his Lucky Points. He had accumulated 25 Lucky Points from idle play.

Starting from yesterday afternoon at two o'clock, until they visited the ancestral hall of Ancient Village in the evening and got caught by the strange hair, it had been about eight hours. Normally, he would gain 8 Lucky Points in that time.

After arriving at the "second" Ancient Village, starting from noon, it had also been eight hours. However, the earnings doubled, so he gained 16 Lucky Points, totaling 24 points.

As for the extra 1 Lucky Point, it should be the time he was unconscious. Estimating it, the time he fell into a coma after falling into the "well" didn't exceed half an hour.

"What are you thinking about?" Qing Ling's voice.

Gao Yang opened his eyes and left the system domain.

"Nothing." Gao Yang said, then reached out and pinched Qing Ling's face.

"Getting addicted to pinching?" Qing Ling frowned.

"Don't misunderstand, it's been more than 12 hours, I can copy talents again." Gao Yang said sincerely, "The fact is, Officer Huang's Gun God talent is not as useful as your Sword God talent..."

"Ah..." Before Gao Yang finished speaking, he suddenly supported himself with both hands, blood rushing, and his breathing became rapid.

"What's wrong again?" Qing Ling asked.

"It's...nothing." A few seconds later, Gao Yang waved his hand, his face flushed, "Just now, all of a sudden...it felt so comfortable."

Qing Ling slightly stunned, "Your talent has leveled up."

[Congratulations! Copy: Upgraded]

[Level 2 Copy: Can copy all talents below Serial Number 22]

[Copy method: Touch the other person's body for 0.9 seconds]

[Number of copies: 1 Storage time: 3 hours]

[Usage time: 10 seconds Interval time: 8 hours]

[Level 2 Copy permanent attribute bonus: Spirit +100, Charisma -20]

[Physical Strength: 27 Endurance: 28]

[Strength: 17 Agility: 27]

[Spirit: 137 Charisma: 47]

[Luck: 132]

[Note: Does not stack with the permanent attribute values of Level 1 Copy]

Gao Yang nodded, "Yes, my talent has reached level 2 in copying."

Qing Ling pondered for a moment, "It seems like I was right. The way to level up from level 1 to level 2 should be simply proficiency. My Sword God and Metal talents both leveled up after using them a few times."

Gao Yang reminisced a bit, "So that feeling I just had, you've experienced it twice, no, three times already?"

"Yes."

"No wonder you're so eager to level up!" Gao Yang sincerely understood Qing Ling from the bottom of his heart. To be honest, that one or two seconds of leveling up felt so damn good that it was heavenly.

Qing Ling understood the hidden meaning in Gao Yang's words and a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes.

"Gao Yang, your talent has leveled up? That's great, it increases our chances of winning a little bit more." Officer Huang had already woken up. The first thing he did was look for cigarettes, but he only found a shriveled cigarette box in his front chest pocket.

"You don't need to emphasize the 'a little bit more' part." Gao Yang self-mockingly said.

Officer Huang threw away the empty cigarette box, stood up, stretched his body, then habitually checked his gun for bullets and loaded it before putting it back in his waist.

Chubby Jun also woke up in a daze. A gust of cold wind blew, causing his chubby body to shiver. He instinctively moved closer to Gao Yang and Qing Ling.

Officer Huang glanced at Wang Zikai, who was still sleeping peacefully and breathing evenly, "This kid seems to be fine."

"He should be okay now." Gao Yang said.

"He truly is the most amazing..." Officer Huang didn't finish saying the words "Lost One" and just smiled.

"It's best not to spend the night here tonight." Qing Ling suggested.

Officer Huang looked around and nodded, "Indeed, it's not a good place to rest. My back is sore from sleeping here."

"..."

"Just kidding." Officer Huang looked towards the faint light outside the grove, in the direction of Ancient Village, "Once they fall asleep, we'll go into the village."

"What? We're going back..." Chubby Jun seemed a bit unhappy.

"It's not safe here." Gao Yang said, "It's pitch black, with no cover at all. We'll be extremely vulnerable to being ambushed at night."

Qing Ling glanced at Chubby Jun, "You'll definitely be the first to die."

Under the moonlight, Chubby Jun's face turned dark, his mouth twitched, and he struggled to get up, "Let's go back to the village! Let's hurry back to the village!"@@novelbin@@

...The night was deep, and everyone in Ancient Village had gone to bed. The only light that remained was from the Spirit Hall on the hilltop, where some people were still keeping vigil. Wang Zikai had sobered up from his drunkenness. Under the guidance of Officer Huang, the five of them, without turning on any lights, stepped into the ink-like darkness of the night. They walked out of the woods, crossed the vegetable fields and ponds, and arrived at the entrance of the village.

As soon as they entered the village, the group turned left and arrived at a rammed earth house on the west side. The house was about a hundred square meters, rectangular in shape. The front yard was a cement floor, with a chicken coop simply constructed from fences and wood. The surrounding area was wrapped with the caution tape used at crime scenes. Officer Huang tore open the caution tape and walked in first.

"Ah..." Chubby Jun quickly covered his mouth before he could scream. Under the moonlight, he saw the faint bloodstains on the cement floor, they were everywhere.

"Officer Huang, are you thinking..." Chubby Jun didn't finish his sentence.

"Yes." Officer Huang nodded, "We'll rest here tonight."

"But, but, people have died here! A family of five, they were dismembered..." Chubby Jun was panic-stricken.

No one responded to him. Everyone walked through the front yard and arrived at the main house entrance. The front door was sealed with a tape, and many dried corn cobs and red peppers hung from the eaves above the door. Several piles of firewood were stacked next to it.

Officer Huang tore off the seal on the door and gently pushed it open.

"Creak, creak, creak—" The door slowly opened, and everyone unconsciously took a deep breath.