Exit
Somewhere in the maze, Space Distortion, and a moment later, Luo Jun's figure appeared out of thin air.
As soon as he appeared, he took off the Storage Backpack on his back, activated it, and poured out two people.
"Pfft! This is so uncomfortable!" As soon as she poked her head out, Sun Xiaowei gasped for breath. Mao Xintong, standing beside her, also let out a long sigh and said, "After all, it's a pure vacuum. Without the protection of our inner energy, even if we could endure it, it would be extremely painful."
Luo Jun's men didn't stop; they immediately switched backpacks, and with another shake, Ma Qiao and Zhuge Zi fell out this time.
Then came the third backpack, from which fell out Old Yuan and the frozen Ling Jian.
That's right. Luo Jun's method is actually very simple. The Second Checkpoint challenge on the second floor gives you a Storage Backpack that can actually hold living beings. However, the space inside the backpack is a complete vacuum and absolute zero, with conditions even more extreme than outer space, making it impossible for normal living beings to survive.
However, if it's just a teleportation, which takes less than ten seconds, Cultivators can still survive inside.
Each backpack has a space of one cubic meter, containing a cube with a length, width, and height of one meter. It can squeeze in two people, or six people in total. They were divided into three groups according to their tolerance level and packed into three backpacks. Luo Jun then used Locking Talisman to fix the location of the exit, and then used Positioning Teleportation to arrive at a location within 30 kilometers of the exit.
Sun Xiaowei and Mao Xintong have the lowest tolerance, so they'll be released first. Zhuge Zi has a solid foundation, and Ma Qiao is Martial Combat Faction; both are quite resilient, so they're placed in the middle. As for Old Yuan, his internal energy allows him to survive for a long time in extreme environments as long as he can hold his breath. As for Ling Jian, he's already frozen, so it doesn't matter to him.
At this point, the seven people were less than 30 kilometers from the exit, and the exit would not change for the next 24 hours. They also had an Exit Indicator in their hands!
Only one step left to clear the level!
"Alright, let's use the Exit Indicator and get going!" Ma Qiao was in high spirits and full of energy.
"Before that, I want to confirm something." Luo Jun opened his storage bag and took out a compass.
"This is... the Origin Point Pointer?" Everyone was stunned for a moment. "At this point, what use is the Origin Point Pointer?"
"Aren't you curious about how far the exit is from the Origin?" Luo Jun picked up the pointer, and saw that the pointer was pointing diagonally downwards at about twenty degrees, and the distance displayed on the pointer was... 2,265 kilometers!
"You must be joking!" everyone exclaimed in unison.
"We've been quite efficient in the past month or so, and the furthest we've explored is probably no more than 300 kilometers," Sun Xiaowei exclaimed in surprise. "Over 2,200 kilometers! That's crossing several provinces in Zhendan!"
"This is just the distance between the exit and the far end, not the upper limit of the maze," Mao Xintong shook her head and said, "Judging from this, the entire maze might be larger than the land area of Zhendan. Finding a small exit in such a huge area is like finding a needle in a haystack!"
"And the pointer is pointing downwards," Zhuge Zi said, looking at the direction the pointer was pointing. "This means that the vertical height difference between here and the distant point is several hundred kilometers. The Main World doesn't have seas that deep."
"Besides, this needle is drifting with the current, and it's uncertain where it will end up..." Old Yuan touched his old face. "Alright, let's hurry up and set off now, and try to find the exit in one go!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Luo Jun took out the Exit Indicator and officially started it.
As the indicator light illuminated, a phantom arrow appeared above it, pointing downwards at approximately a 30-degree angle.
"Thirty kilometers in this direction?" Ma Qiao asked excitedly.
"Not necessarily. It means it's teleported to somewhere within 30 kilometers." Zhuge Zi shook her head and said, "At most 30 kilometers, but it could also be just a wall away from us..."
"Moving it around will tell you how far it is." Luo Jun picked up the video recorder again, activated the map, and recorded both the map and the pointer.
The map is also at a fixed angle, and although the pointer is much larger than the map, its direction is accurate. Combining these two factors is very helpful in finding the exit. Even if the exit is not found within the time limit, its location will not change within 24 hours, and the search can continue based on the previous pointer direction. In this way, the recording by the video camera becomes very important.
The group immediately set off, recording video footage while attempting to move.
The pointer barely changed direction during short-distance movement, indicating a distant location. The team immediately sped up, and slowly, the pointer's direction began to change noticeably.
Instead of rushing straight to the exit, Luo Jun first made a detailed note of the pointer directions at several points. By comparing these points, he was able to locate the exit before starting to move forward in the direction of the pointers.
The group once again unleashed their Limit Speed from their map exploration days, but the difference was that when they were exploring, there was no clear goal, and if they found a path blocked, they would simply change direction. But now, things were different; they frequently found themselves in Dead Alley following the pointer, forced to detour and continue, sometimes even going in the opposite direction of the pointer...
Regardless, they continued to move towards the exit. Finally, at the fifty-fifth minute, they came to a crossroads. Three of the directions had corners that were not far away, while only one direction stretched straight into the depths of the thick fog...
The Exit Indicator points straight in that direction.
If you walk ten meters to the left, the pointer will turn slightly; if you walk a short distance to the right, the pointer will also move. This indicates that the exit is not far ahead on this road.
Everyone held their breath excitedly and strode forward. Finally, after advancing several dozen meters, they saw a huge door emerge from the thick fog, with the word "Exit" clearly visible on it!
We've finally arrived!
The group ran all the way to the exit and excitedly pushed the door, but no matter how hard they tried, the door wouldn't budge.
"What happened?"
Just as everyone was wondering, a line of words suddenly appeared on the door:
Only one person can pass through at a time at the exit. Please prove you are human!
"Prove I'm human?" Ma Qiao frowned. "How do you prove that?"
"There should be a way to verify the door..." Luo Jun placed his hand on the door and tried to infuse it with his vital energy, but the door seemed to be made of an even more inert material than the maze walls, and no matter how much vital energy he poured in, there was no reaction.
"Why not ask about the mysterious relic?" Sun Xiaowei suggested.
Yes, Luo Jun had plenty of relics in his storage bag. He immediately took one out, activated it, and received a notification.
"Get lost, you stinking thing!"
Everyone looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What does this mean?"
"Isn't this swearing? Why is the prompt showing emotions?"
"Wait a minute..." Luo Jun suddenly waved his hand. "Stinking thing... could you be referring to the smell?"
"Smell?" The others were taken aback, but Old Yuan frowned. "Right, back in the Black Shop, that Big Hand Merchant mentioned that the people who were replaced had a foul odor. So, the maze distinguishes humans from Chaos Creature by smell?" At this point, everyone sniffed themselves. They had just taken a shower and were all fresh-smelling, with no smell at all.
"It's definitely not a normal smell," Zhuge Zi shook her head and said, "But the problem is, doors don't have noses, so how can they smell anything?"
"Get away, does that mean just moving the smelly person away?" Mao Xintong said. "Among us, the only one who needs to be replaced is probably Ling Jian. If we put Ling Jian away, will the door open?"
"Let's try..." The group immediately placed Ling Jian far away and returned to the door, but there was still no reaction.
"That shouldn't be the problem," Luo Jun shook his head. "The Black Shop said before that even people who have been severely replaced will be purified when they pass through the exit. If it really is Ling Jian's problem, then he can't even get close to the door, so how could he be purified?"
"Oh dear, you still believe those monsters at a time like this!" Ma Qiao shook his head and said, "They're definitely lying!"
Luo Jun didn't explain, but he knew that with the dice as collateral, even if the Big Hand Merchant was hiding something, what he said would definitely be the truth, and Ling Jian could be purified through the gate!
So the problem definitely isn't here...
"Let's open another notification," suggested Old Yuan.
Luo Jun nodded, consuming another relic. This time, the prompt was. "Good child, don't be picky about food."
The error-free version can be read at 69 Book Bar! 6=9+shuba is the first site to publish this novel.
"What is this again?"
Everyone looked exasperated.
Luo Jun looked at the instructions, then at the words on the gate, and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he reached out and pulled out a strange piece of meat.
As soon as this thing appeared, the others covered their noses and scattered. "Why did you take that out?"
This food was obtained from the Black Shop, but everyone had been using it to make an enhanced version of the Monster Attracting Incense. Because of the reminder in Zhuge Gan's diary, they had never actually eaten it.
Luo Jun looked at the thing, then opened his mouth, wanting to bite it.
"Hey, what are you doing? Are you out of your mind?!" Sun Xiaowei hurriedly stopped him, and Old Yuan grabbed his wrist, his eyes full of doubt.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is the key to proving that you are human!" Luo Jun looked at the foul-smelling meat in his hand. "Only humans can eat this!"
"Why?" the others asked, puzzled.
"Have you forgotten? On the second floor of the rest area, in the Fourth Checkpoint challenge, those who have eaten this Chaos Substance will have a violent reaction, or even die on the spot, if they eat the Chaos Matter. Does that mean that if someone has eaten the Chaos Substance, eating this stuff will have the same result?"
The others' eyes lit up upon hearing this. "So, as long as you can eat this kind of meat and remain unharmed, you can be considered human?"
"But this is too risky..." Sun Xiaowei was still a little scared. "What if something goes wrong?"
Luo Jun nodded. He was at least 90% certain of this deduction, and he believed that even if he guessed wrong, the piece of meat wouldn't do anything to him. After all, according to the diary, Zhuge Gan and the others had already eaten it and were still alive and kicking.
But the problem now is that if he eats it and actually opens the door, he'll have to be the first to leave, leaving his Master behind, and he's a little worried about that.
Although success was within reach, Luo Jun was still somewhat worried about the way his Master Death Omen, as Xiao Min had mentioned before.
Let others try it? They definitely wouldn't agree... After thinking it over, Luo Jun looked at the intersection behind him, where a stiff body was parked.
Luo Jun carried Ling Jian back to the front door, pried open his mouth with his hands, and stuffed the meat inside.
"Will this work?" Sun Xiaowei blinked and asked, "He's unconscious, how can he still eat?"
"Whether it works or not, we have to try." Luo Jun stuffed the meat in with his hand, but suddenly his fingers slipped, and he found that the strange piece of meat seemed to have melted and flowed into Ling Jian's throat.
"He ate it?" Everyone hurriedly lifted Ling Jian up and slammed him against the door, then held their breath, waiting for the final moment to arrive.
With a click, the door vibrated and slowly opened!
"It's really open!" Ma Qiao shouted excitedly, rushing forward to leave, but was blocked by an invisible force.
However, Ling Jian, who had been stuck to the door, fell straight into it without any hindrance. Then the door slowly closed and returned to its original state.
"It seems only the one who ate the meat can pass through the door!" Luo Jun smiled with relief. "Who's next?"
As he said this, he looked at his Master: "Old Yuan, you are a highly respected elder, please go out first?"
But Old Yuan waved his hand and said, "This old man isn't in a hurry. Let the young people go first."
"Then I'll give it a try!" Sun Xiaowei, who had been complaining about being disgusted, stepped forward, ate a piece of meat with a look of disgust, then opened the door and excitedly skipped out.
Next was Zhuge Zi. After eating the meat, she looked at the open door, breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped away.
Then it was Ma Qiao's turn.
"This thing smells so awful, is it really edible?" Ma Qiao asked with obvious disgust.
"Eat up, haven't you been saying you wanted to beat the game?" Mao Xintong urged from the side.
"Okay, okay..." Ma Qiao picked up the meat, about to open his mouth, when he suddenly paused. "Hey? Look, isn't this meat a little off?"
"What's wrong?" The group was taken aback and went closer to look, but suddenly, several sharp tentacles shot out and aimed straight for their eyes with lightning speed!
"What?" Luo Jun reacted extremely quickly, dodging the attack like a cat startled by a shock, and at the same time, he threw a punch, sending Ma Qiao flying and crashing heavily into the door!
"Hehehehe..." Ma Qiao let out a chilling laugh, stood up in a bizarre posture, the depression in his chest writhed and quickly recovered, flipped his left hand, and the strange flesh fell to the ground, where he stomped it to pieces, and on his forearm, several tentacles were waving wildly.
Chaos Creature?!
Luo Jun never expected that Ma Qiao was actually the mole!
In his shock, Luo Jun heard a groan. Turning his head, he saw Old Yuan clutching one eye, blood gushing from between his fingers. Beside him lay Mao Xintong, her head pierced, lying in a pool of blood...
(End of this chapter)