Cooperation

Waiting area.

Several waiters wearing rabbit masks rushed over with a stretcher and various medical supplies after detecting that a participant was showing signs of life loss after completing the challenge.

All that could be seen were flowers scattered on the ground, and Luo Di standing there with one arm completely drained.

Do you need medical assistance?

"Unnecessary."

Before Luo Di could respond, Hua Yuan flatly refused. With a gentle wave of her hand, she removed all the wildflowers from Luo Di's arm, ceasing their draining of life.

The injury wasn't serious; it was just that the body was completely drained of nutrients.

Hua Yuan knew that Luo Di hadn't done it on purpose, so she secretly slipped him a small bottle of Flower Nectar. As long as he drank it, he would be back to his best condition.

However, her expression was very unpleasant, and she seemed to be very resistant to such sudden touching.

"Luo Di, don't suddenly touch me next time... You should know why."

Furthermore, we are now in a master-servant relationship. If others see you behaving like this, the sorority's reputation will be affected.

"It won't happen again next time."

Luo Di, on the other hand, remained calm, acknowledging that it was indeed his fault.

"Uh! What I mean is, not here."

Just as Hua Yuan was about to say something, Yu Lu, who hadn't been very involved or concerned about the game's progress, suddenly floated over and stood between the two.

His eyes, hidden beneath his bangs, seemed to be fixed on Luo Di, and his icy voice felt like it was licking the surface of his eardrums.

"Luo Di, what did you see when you were about to leave the first level?"

The surveillance footage only showed your personal shot. You seemed to see something, so you quickened your pace, and then reached out to touch it, but ended up touching Hua Yuan instead.

"Huh?" Luo Di looked surprised. "Because the exit was right in front of me, and considering the potential risks, such as monsters attacking from behind, I naturally quickened my pace."

The exit point felt like a thin film; I instinctively reached out to push it aside, only to be teleported back here.

Yu Lu didn't respond to Luo Di's explanation, but stared at him quietly for about a minute before nodding.

At this time,

The waiter who had previously handled the betting arrived and brought back the two sisters' winnings, which had increased fivefold, without cutting back a single penny.

Hua Yuan hurriedly stuffed her portion into her purse, which was almost overflowing. Overwhelmed with excitement, she wrapped her arms around Luo Di's neck and gave him a hard kiss on the cheek, even making a pecking sound.

This money came too easily; it was equivalent to two months' worth of hard-earned wages for Hua Yuan.

Even Yu Lu smiled faintly, temporarily setting aside her doubts. Corner Coin were very important funds, even more useful than banknotes in Human Society.

However, Yu Lu quickly came to her senses and grabbed the waiter who was about to leave.

"Why was betting on Luo Di suddenly closed? Do you know the reason?"

The waiter from Elephant Casino responded, "The boss closed it himself without telling us the reason. But based on past experience of closing betting, it's likely that there's a significant gap between the servant's rank and their actual strength, leading to an incorrect multiplier calculation."

If Mr. Di chooses to continue participating in subsequent levels, we will revise the odds based on his performance in the first level, and he can continue to place bets thereafter.

"Besides us, who else placed bets on Luo Di before?"

"I cannot comment on privacy issues."

Yu Lu didn't press the matter, and even she wouldn't dare to do anything reckless here. Since she couldn't get any information out of her, she chose to rest. The long period of observation had left her somewhat tired, and a noose suddenly appeared and dangled from the ground.

She actually fell asleep hanging on the rope.

Luo Di also stole glances at this special sister who had been arranged by his Grandmother, and vaguely sensed her true purpose.

Not long after he started peeking, a slender, fair arm swung out and slapped him hard on the back. "Hey~ aren't Wu Wen and I enough? You've already set your sights on Sister Yu?"

"Without."

"Your eyes are practically glued to the screen, and you still say there isn't one? I'll let it slide since you made me so much money in the first round. Now, hurry up and check the pituitary gland you collected."

Luo Di took out the miniature Iron Maiden, inside which was the pituitary gland with transparent, skeletal seedlings growing.

"Indeed excellent, this quality could fetch a good price. This monster itself is not weak, and if it can be developed further and the Plant Maturity, it will surely be able to survive in the corner for a long time."

You actually managed to kill someone of a higher level; you truly deserve to be the man I have the highest hopes for.

"You can keep the pituitary gland for now. Since you possess Mr. Kraft's characteristics, perhaps you can directly absorb its essence to assist your own Plant Growth."

"Hmm..." Luo Di was actually more concerned about something else. "Hua Yuan, the second monster I killed had a head that reeked of a strong stench, and its entire brain, including the pituitary gland, had turned into black liquid. Is this one of those monsters you mentioned that were affected by the disaster?"

"Yes,

The Fear Entity disrupted their originally stable pituitary structure, causing normally growing plants to become unrestrained, develop chaotically, twist and deform, and degenerate and decay.

Whether it's for you humans or us monsters,

Fear Entity are all extremely dangerous.

Our pituitary gland can use Fear Entity as nutrient soil, allowing the Pituitary Plant to grow rapidly, improve the system, and advance to the next stage.

The Fear Entity itself can also negatively affect our pituitary gland. Once it malfunctions, you become a slave to fear, the system collapses, and utter chaos ensues.

Luo Di recalled the knowledge he had heard from Miss You Zhen, "I heard that those humans who are afflicted by fear will eventually turn into plants and be forever rooted in a corner... Could it be that the thing I just killed was still in the early stages of transformation? If left unattended, it will eventually turn into some kind of deformed plant?"

"Yes, the transformation process takes time. The liquefied structure you see when you cut open his brain is actually a kind of tree sap."

Of course, plant transformation is just the most common one.

Some creatures, if chosen by fear, may transform into something else entirely—a dangerous individual dominated by the corners... In short, Luo Di, all you need to know is that fear is the biggest obstacle to exploring the corners.

There are two main reasons why exploration of the corners is currently limited to the middle level.

One is that a formal "Connection Port" to a deeper level has not been found.

Secondly, the Fear Entity deep within is even more dangerous, as it is all-pervasive. Those who are not strong enough will be immediately swallowed by the fear even if they accidentally venture into its depths.

So, Luo Di, you should try not to wander off alone, even in the Mid-level Zone. Things can still go wrong if you encounter a disaster.

"Um."

"Speaking of which, two corpses shouldn't be enough, right? How many do you plan to collect to construct the so-called Gate of Demon Ascension?"

"I don't know, the more the better."

"Then you'd better do your best. Based on my observations in the first round, there are many powerful minions participating in this [Death Grand Gauntlet], even more powerful than the skeleton you killed."

Moreover, Mr. Question Mark has a very active mind, and it's anyone's guess how he'll arrange the rest of the game.

Don't lose! I'll bet more on you later. If you lose, I'll beat you to a pulp! No, if you lose, it's like you're dead in the game.

It doesn't matter, the corpse is the same!

Seeing that the conversation was getting a bit off, Luo Di stopped talking and chose to sit on the ground to recuperate.

About half an hour passed.

The time has come for the first level, "Depth Lost".

All the surveillance cameras on the wall shut down one after another, but before they shut down, a huge, inescapable, terrifying object could be seen entering the game area and eliminating the servants who failed to escape in time.

The spotlight once again fell on Mr. Question Mark, his penetrating voice echoing throughout the venue:

"Congratulations! A total of 279 participants have passed the first round of challenges, achieving a pass rate of 21.3%! That's higher than I expected."

Before I announce the rules for the second round, participants can choose whether to continue. Those who wish to withdraw, please raise your hand now.

The room was completely silent; no one raised their hand, or rather, the servants were simply unable to make the decision on their own.

"If not, let's start the second round of the Death Grand Gauntlet! This round will use a cooperative system, where servants can participate in the game with their masters, but only one master at a time."

If a servant dies during the game, the master will also be forcibly removed. Therefore, masters must protect the servants they have personally chosen and work together to complete the levels.

And please, whatever you do, do not break the rules of the game, otherwise, no matter who you are or what forces are behind you, I will personally eliminate you."