It wasn't a slight tremor, either. It was an extremely obvious quake, as if the ground were about to jump!
The ground shook along with it!
Live-stream chat.
[What on earth did Lin Yan encounter in there?]
[What do you think he encountered? Obviously a big rig!]
[I admit I like driving big rigs too, but an RV is my limit. Lin Yan's driving a semi-trailer dump truck!]
[Brother Yan, yyds!]
[The beastmen's construction standards are damn impressive! The bell tower's practically bouncing, and it's completely fine!]
[Is this really the time to marvel at their construction standards?! Don't you have even the slightest bit of sympathy? Look at how frozen An Xinghe is out there!]
An Xinghe figured the battle inside the bell tower wouldn't end anytime soon, so he simply pulled out several bananas, a stack of chives, and two pig kidneys. Then he found some thorns and started grilling.
The earth's trembling continued for nearly the entire night. Early the next morning, the thorns around the palace began to gradually recede.
An Xinghe knew that Lin Yan had succeeded!
At that moment, a spindle was thrown in front of An Xinghe. He looked up and saw a gaunt, haggard-looking man with deeply sunken eye sockets.
He asked curiously:
"Who are you?"
"It's me, Lin Yan! Lin Yan!"
"How did you get so thin?"
With an expression that said his past was too painful to recall, Lin Yan walked over to An Xinghe. He snatched the chives from An Xinghe's hands, took a bite, and said mournfully:
"Don't ask! Even if you do, I won't say a thing!"
"Oh. Is it hot where the Pig Race lives?"
"It is hot... Fuck! An Xinghe, you knew it was the Pig Race in there all along, yet you still sent me in! Today, I'll risk my life to smash you to pieces in the name of justice!"
Just as Lin Yan was about to pounce on An Xinghe, a muffled voice came from inside the bell tower:
"Oh-ho, hubby, where did you go? Come back so we can continue!"
Lin Yan's horrified expression was like that of a man whose name had just been called by the King of Hell! He hurriedly grabbed An Xinghe and ran outside!
He didn't even look back!
An Xinghe still found time to mock him:
"Lin Yan, you called me a scumbag! Didn't you sleep with her and refuse to take responsibility too?!"
"This is different! I feel like there's no future left in my life!"
An Xinghe had no idea where Lin Yan got his strength from. Dragging him along, Lin Yan sprinted all the way out of the beastmen's capital.
The two of them then hired a carriage and headed toward the Black Tower, the source of the Fairy Tale Mutation and the main focus of this instance.
The Black Tower's shape resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Once the carriage reached its outskirts, it could go no farther.
A clearly visible barrier blocked the carriage's path.
The two got out and exchanged a glance.
An Xinghe pulled out five items from his pocket: [Poisoned Apple That Was Eaten], [Cinderella's Glass Slipper], [Sleeping Beauty's Spindle], [Little Red Riding Hood's Hat], and [The Little Mermaid's Scales].
After the five items appeared, they automatically flew up and stuck themselves to the barrier.
[ Ding! The barrier around the Black Tower has been lifted. The two players may enter the tower and investigate the true cause of the Fairy Tale Mutation! ]
[ Ding! The five items have lost their magic! ]
The five items fell from the air. An Xinghe walked over, crouched down, and picked up the Crystal Slipper and Vanessa's Red Scale.
These two items held great sentimental value for him.
He picked up the spindle as well and asked Lin Yan:
"Don't you want to keep this as a memento?"
Lin Yan glanced at him, quickly walked past him, and entered the tower.
An Xinghe followed close behind and entered the tower as well.
The first things to catch their eyes were two staircases leading in different directions.
The two exchanged a glance and immediately knew what to do.
An Xinghe patted Lin Yan on the shoulder:
"One staircase each. Let's go."
"Sure. I owe you a lot for this journey. Let's add each other as friends after we get out, then queue for instances together... Preferably ones without women!"
"Damn it, I'd rather take on a more dangerous instance than keep eating dog food beside you!"
An Xinghe nodded. "Preferably one with small animals!"
"Fuck you! How many times do I have to say it before you'll believe me?!"
After joking around for a while, the two formally set off up their separate staircases.
An Xinghe followed the staircase for ten minutes before a door finally appeared ahead of him.
A line of tiny words was written on the pillar beside the door:
[Only the brave may pass this trial!]
An Xinghe curled his lip. "Trying to sound mysterious!"
An Xinghe's Memories
A man like An Xinghe had no idea what fear was.
He pushed open the door and walked straight in.
The next second, everything went black before his eyes. His body hit the ground with a thump, and he passed out.
His consciousness sank completely into the darkness.
Time passed second by second. An Xinghe vaguely felt that his consciousness was suspended in chaos, yet he couldn't properly control his body.
It was somewhat like a lucid dream!
So what exactly is this trial supposed to do? Test my patience?
As he pondered this, a powerful pain struck his lower back.
It wasn't the kind of pain that came from sore muscles. It was the sort of pain that felt as if his insides had been hollowed out!
An Xinghe instantly recalled countless exhausting days and nights.
Holding his lower back, he knew that this must be the so-called trial.
And then... nothing happened.
After An Xinghe's back hurt for a while, a whisper came from the darkness:
"This man's painful memories... Could they really consist of nothing but back pain???"
Immediately afterward, An Xinghe awoke. He stood up and found an scantily clad young woman standing before him.
The young woman had two small horns on her head, a pair of petite bat wings on her back, and a black tail beneath the wings. A large red heart sat at the tip of the tail.
Most eye-catching of all was the pink heart-shaped pattern drawn on the young woman's abdomen!
As an experienced veteran who had spent years immersed in the world of adult manga, An Xinghe understood the meaning of that pattern at a glance!
Wasn't this damn well an erotic tattoo?!
That meant the identity of the young woman before him was obvious!
"Miss, are you a succubus?"
The succubus girl nodded shyly. "I'm a rookie succubus. My name is Lilith, and I'm also the examiner for this trial!"
"Oh. Then what does this trial involve?"
"It replays the examinee's painful memories to test whether they can surpass themselves!"
"How did I perform?"
"Well..." Lilith looked slightly embarrassed. "Your performance was rather special. You passed the trial, but your painful memories were all just back pain..."
Live-stream chat.
[Is this the legendary rookie defeating the expert?!]
[As long as I don't feel pain, the succubus can't do anything to me!]
[Lilith was really unlucky to run into someone of An Xinghe's caliber.]
[Just how many enviable things has An Xinghe experienced since he was a child?! I want to have back pain too!]
[If you had An Xinghe's face, you could become a bulldozer too!]
[Is there anyone in this world who can stop An Xinghe's harem journey??]
[Maybe a yandere can. For example, Kotodama...]
[I think the person above might actually have a point.]
Regardless of what happened during An Xinghe's trial, as long as he successfully awakened from the dream Lilith had constructed, it counted as passing.
Lilith brought over three buttons:
"Sir, since you're the first player to pass the trial, you have one chance to make a choice!"
"These three buttons represent three choices. You only have one chance, and you can't regret it after making your choice."
An Xinghe looked at the three buttons. At that moment, the system also displayed detailed explanations for them.
[Button One: Pressing this button will allow you to kill the player Lin Yan in the other room. You will simultaneously receive the key to leave this trial room from Lilith! After the instance ends, Lin Yan's rewards will be transferred directly to you!]
[Button Two: Pressing this button will allow you to receive the key to leave the trial room from Lilith. Player Lin Yan may perhaps break through the succubus's trial like you did, or he may die in the trial.]
Before you continue