Chapter 41: The Descent of Demons

No wonder this dungeon lasts for three days.
No wonder this dungeon limits daily play time.
No wonder this dungeon is suitable for all players.
It turns out this isn't a trial dungeon at all—it’s a survival construction dungeon!

"The next wave of monsters will launch an attack in 04:25."

There was no time to waste. Although the difficulty of gathering resources was unknown, this was a dungeon designed for four people. Yan Qing guessed that the difference between high-level and low-level players lay right here: high-level players gather faster, while low-level players are slower.

And the fastest way to gather resources was, without a doubt, for all four to work together, with assigned roles—they couldn't just scavenge aimlessly. If Yan Qing guessed correctly, in the original game, all four players would have construction rights, meaning they had to agree on a building strategy. Otherwise, if even one person acted recklessly, the entire team’s dungeon experience would spiral into an unpredictable catastrophe.

This was the type of dungeon Yan Qing liked the least: high interaction, intense communication, no entry barrier, and teammate quality entirely dependent on luck. If lucky, the four teammates might become good friends over the three-day dungeon; if unlucky, it would result in a "PvP" experience where teammates were dragged onto game forums to be roasted for three days straight.

Fortunately, at least one teammate was willing to take orders.

...

"Young Miss, do you have the ability to move stones?"

"Ah?" Qian Gongyu was a bit bewildered, but still answered, "Yes, I possess a keepsake, the Ox-Bone Finger Chain, which grants my fingers the strength of nine oxen."

"Time is tight, I'll keep it brief: I need you all to move as many stones as possible to the vicinity of the wooden hut within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea."

After saying this, the cold and haughty Jiang Shi left the hut, leaving behind a stunned Qian Gongyu and two top-tier socialites she couldn't afford to offend.

Qian Gongyu opened her mouth, then turned around tremblingly to look at Shang Xinlei and Jie Yuanshao, offering an incredibly awkward smile: "T-two ladies, my bodyguard, she... she... I am so sorry! Please forgive her rudeness!"

Setting aside a mere "Black Belt," even a "Blue Belt" noble like herself would be beheaded by Shang or Jie for such perceived disrespect, and the latter would face no consequences.

While the Liang State did not allow noble warriors the freedom to kill at will like those in the Qi or Zhou states, it replaced that with more "legitimate" rights to kill: commoners had to strictly observe etiquette and show sufficient respect to the gentry, or the gentry could beat or kill the impolite commoners at will.

"A cup of tea’s time is very short. Little Yu, aren't you going to move?" Shang Xinlei smiled.

*L-Little Yu!?*

Qian Gongyu was instantly dizzy from this immense surprise, too excited to speak, feeling that this trip was already worth it. Even if Shang Xinlei offered her no other help, just the fact that Shang called her "Little Yu" in front of others would be enough to pull the Qian family out of the mire of disrepute. Just being able to talk to the Fourth Young Lady of the Shang family was enough to make other noble families look at her with newfound respect.

Watching Qian Gongyu stumble out of the hut as if drunk, Shang Xinlei looked at Jie Yuanshao: "I plan to go and take a look. Aren't you coming?"

"Of course not. According to the intelligence I have, hallucinations will strike within a cup of tea’s time at most. Staying in the hut is the safest option; there is no reason to go out and move any stones." Jie Yuanshao sat cross-legged on the floor, motionless. "Besides, you show such favor to that bodyguard. Even if you want to recruit her, having kindness without authority is not the way to lead people."

"It’s a pity you claim to be an expert in judging character. Haven't you noticed that Jiang Shi is the type of person who would never submit to others?"

With that, Shang Xinlei also left the hut, leaving Jie Yuanshao alone to close her eyes and rest.

"Everything has its hierarchy. How can anyone stand alone? Even if one is unwilling in their heart, they will eventually be forced to bow by the weight of circumstance," Jie Yuanshao muttered to herself. "Everyone bows—including you, Shang Xinlei."

She glanced outside the hut. Although they had entered at dawn, the secret realm had its own celestial shifts. The Memento Forest was now as dark as midnight, with only a little moonlight illuminating the jungle. As they left, the small wooden hut suddenly felt very empty, and darkness swallowed the space.

Usually, participants would bring candles or other lighting tools, but Jie Yuanshao had come here to temper her will and had brought no items to lower the difficulty. She sat in the dark for a few seconds, then stood up and walked to the door, whispering to herself: "I’m just going out to remind them to hurry back. The trial hasn't even started yet, how could I be afraid..."

A cup of tea’s time passed quickly. Qian Gongyu had only managed to move two large stones. Shang Xinlei hadn't moved stones; instead, she carved three stones into ovals and pushed them, letting them roll to the vicinity of the hut.

As for Jiang Shi, who had ordered them to move the stones, she returned empty-handed.

Jie Yuanshao looked at this with disgust, but before she could say anything, she saw Jiang Shi reach out toward the open space next to the hut, and a massive pile of timber appeared out of thin air.

Seeing this, everyone's pupils constricted. Qian Gongyu couldn't help but exclaim: "Jiang Shi, you actually have a storage keepsake? And the space is so large... just how many 'turns' is this artifact?"

"I don't have a storage keepsake," Jiang Shi replied.

This response was undoubtedly unsatisfactory, and even Qian Gongyu felt Jiang Shi was being too rude—how was this any different from treating them like fools? But soon, they had no time to dwell on the minor matter of a storage artifact.

Because the earth was shaking.

*Rumble, rumble, rumble—*

With the violent shaking, the wood and stones around the hut seemed to be controlled by an invisible mason, being incorporated into construction at an incredible speed. First, the wooden hut was instantly dismantled, then combined with the new materials to become a larger, more spacious, and sturdy stone house.

Part of the stone was transformed into neat blocks, stacked outside to form a perimeter wall. Some of the wood was assembled into giant wooden crossbows; because Jiang Shi had brought back so much timber, a total of six crossbows were built and installed in the courtyard.

When everything settled, the three women were speechless. They were like country girls who had never seen the world, touching the stone house here, the wall there, and reaching out to stroke the crossbows, their faces filled with shock.

They weren't shocked by these items alone—if this dungeon had allowed them to bring in servants and supplies, even Qian Gongyu could have fortified this place into a bunker. However, this was a randomly grouped secret realm, and the trial hallucinations arrived quickly; even if they had the idea to upgrade the base, they lacked the time to put it into practice.

Since ancient times, everyone had believed the Memento Forest was a place to temper one's will, where messengers could only hide in the hut and endure the pressure of the demons and hallucinations. No one had ever thought of—or attempted—modifying the hut.

All three of them realized that the history of the Memento Forest was about to turn a brand-new page right here.

*Hum—*

A shrill, piercing scream came from the wind. Jie Yuanshao’s expression changed drastically. She called for everyone to get inside and immediately shut the door, speaking rapidly: "Do not attempt to destroy the demons that appear. These are illusions, immortal and indestructible. Even if a third-turn messenger kills them a thousand times, they will revive in an instant. The only thing we can do is stay here and hold out until the wave of demons ends."

No sooner had she spoken than thick fog rose in the jungle, and massive monsters emerged. Some were lizard-like, others were like strange birds; there were bats with sickle-like tails and lions with wings. Regardless of their form, their bodies were exceptionally huge, with thick scales and hide.

Before them, the upgraded stone house seemed fragile.

However, most of the monsters were just passing by, rushing into the fog toward some unknown destination. Only one lizard monster remained.

"A Fierce Lizard Demon!" Jie Yuanshao’s expression was grave. "This is a demon that only appears in second-turn secret realms!"

With a roar from the Fierce Lizard, a large group of smaller lizards appeared in the fog, numbering in the hundreds in the blink of an eye. They roared at the stone house one after another, the sound merging into a chorus like rusted butcher knives, cruelly slicing at their ears and souls!

Everywhere they looked, there were demons!

"Don't be nervous, don't be agitated, don't go outside!" Jie Yuanshao grabbed them, though she herself was trembling. "They cannot break into the sanctuary, but the closer they are, the more pressure we endure. Eventually, our minds will collapse and we will become wrecks... So, if you feel you can't hold on, you must run into the fog in the gap between the two waves of demons to exit the Memento Forest."

"Do not let the demons kill you. Although you can exit the Memento Forest that way, your soul will suffer great trauma, and your strength will essentially never progress further."

"Most people can't last half an hour, but our house is larger and has a wall, so perhaps it will be easier." Having said this, Jie Yuanshao couldn't help but look at Jiang Shi and complain: "You should have placed the crossbows inside the house so we could operate them. Building them outside is completely meaningless—"

*Swish!*

As a small lizard stepped within fifty meters of the sanctuary, the wooden crossbows in the courtyard automatically aimed and fired! With the sound of bowstrings cutting through the air, a sharp arrow flew over the wall, crossed the fifty-meter grass field, and pierced the head of the small lizard!

Spattered with blood and letting out a shrill cry, the small lizard collapsed like a rag doll, never to stand again.