The Truth of the Maze

After seeing Old Yuan off, Luo Jun looked at the closed door but did not try to open it again.

With Old Yuan successfully leaving, Luo Jun finally felt relieved. Now, he was all alone in this vast maze, and he could finally act freely!

After stumbling and falling through this maze for over a month, dealing with a whole host of messy things, if Luo Jun were to leave in such a muddled state, he'd probably only get a "good" evaluation at best.

Although he doesn't lack magical artifacts now and doesn't care much about mission evaluations, this mission is different. The Endless Maze is far more difficult and complex than normal missions, and the secrets behind it pique Luo Jun's interest.

Furthermore, after being tormented for so long and living in constant fear, Luo Jun harbored resentment and wouldn't be at ease until he got an explanation!

As for the so-called replacement of Chaos Substance, Luo Jun was not afraid. Not to mention that the natural replacement speed in the environment is extremely slow, he could withstand even if he were invaded by powerful Chaos Creature. He didn't care about the mere replacement of the environment.

As for the escape route... even after 24 hours, Luo Jun still has three Directional Teleporter and a Locking Talisman in his bag. As long as he gets an Exit Indicator, he can leave at any time given his mobility.

It's time to clean up this damn maze!

Let's start with the Black Shop.

Luo Jun took out the black map, activated it, and began running at full speed through the maze. Soon, the location of a Black Shop appeared on the map!

Luo Jun arrived at the store and knocked on the door. Soon, a beautiful woman's head appeared inside.

The woman, who was known as the Ring Finger Merchant," glanced at Luo Jun and said, "You're still alive? You're really tenacious." Clearly, she had seen many past contestants, and very few had survived to this point.

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman suddenly frowned and sniffed. "Why does it smell bad?"

As she spoke, her expression began to contort uncontrollably, the iron gate began to tremble, and rustling sounds came from inside, as if she were about to go berserk and turn into a terrifying monster at any moment.

Just then, Luo Jun suddenly grabbed the iron gate and yanked it open. At the same time, his aura surged, and he released a terrifying pressure using his Spirit Hundred Effect 100!

Sure enough, the Ring Finger Merchant's large hand had begun to mutate; uneven textures appeared on its dry skin, as if it were about to swell and proliferate.

But when Luo Jun's oppressive aura descended, all these signs of mutation suddenly disappeared, the distorted face returned to its original smooth and beautiful appearance, and the eyes became much clearer.

"Don't worry, I'm human." Luo Jun patted his stomach. "The stench you're smelling can't get out here."

"What?" The Ring Finger Merchant showed a rare look of surprise on his face as he carefully examined Luo Jun.

"You believe me?" Luo Jun spread his hands. "I want to buy something, can we go inside and talk?"

"You won't come in just because I said no?" The Ring Finger Merchant finger sneered and turned to go into the shop.

"That makes sense." Luo Jun chuckled and followed him inside.

"What do you want to buy?" The Ring Finger Merchant pointed to the pile of junk behind him. "You've probably seen my goods countless times, so I don't need to introduce them again."

"I don't want these things." Luo Jun waved his hand. "I want to buy some intelligence."

The beautiful woman with the Ring Finger Merchant finger frowned. "Haven't I given you enough information already?"

"That's not enough." Luo Jun shook his head. "I want to know more secrets about this labyrinth."

"Let me give you a piece of advice: if you want to beat the game, it's probably better to know less," said the Ring Finger Merchant.

"My companions have already left the maze, and I can clear it anytime," Luo Jun said with a smile. "Even if I can't clear it, I don't think there's anything wrong with living here."

"What did you say?" The Ring Finger Merchant was utterly shocked this time. "Someone has left this labyrinth?"

Luo Jun nodded. The Ring Finger Merchant looked at him for a long time, and finally sighed, "You seem... not to be lying."

"You must have mixed feelings," Luo Jun said, shaking his head. "After all, this is a goal you were unable to achieve before."

The Ring Finger Merchant looked at Luo Jun: "You knew everything?"

"I guessed it, so I came to confirm with you." Luo Jun said with a smile, "The Black Shop, including you Finger Merchant, and those ethereal monsters, were all challengers who came to participate in this mission, right?"

"Your goal all along, seemingly to prevent the challengers from leaving, is actually to prevent the Chaos Creature from taking the opportunity to escape to the Main World, isn't it?"

The Ring Finger Merchant sighed, "Not entirely accurate, but not far off."

Now that she had made it clear, she had no intention of playing the riddle-maker and simply told them what she knew, "We were all challengers in the past, but our current goal is not just to stop you from leaving, but also to prevent you from becoming new Chaos Monster."

"I've never seen what this labyrinth originally looked like, but based on my speculation, it was once just an ordinary Tier A Mission, not as huge or complex as it is now."

"Later, it was speculated that the invasion of Chaos Creature caused the rules here to be distorted. Many challengers, lured by those monsters, were replaced and assimilated, becoming new Chaos Creature. The Chaos Creature, in turn, hoped to use the challengers' bodies to leave the labyrinth and invade the human world."

"However, the maze's own correction mechanism doesn't allow these monsters to leave, so the rules keep increasing and changing, making the maze bigger and more complex, even restricting its opening. The exit will only open when there are still challengers alive, and it moves intermittently. But even so, it can't stop these Chaos Creature from using every method to keep getting closer to the exit."

"Later, perhaps the labyrinth realized it couldn't control these creatures on its own, or perhaps the challengers, aware of the problem, wanted to protect the Main World from invasion. In any case, at some point, a powerful challenger, using some special method, made a pact with the labyrinth, transforming themselves into part of the mission rules. And that's how the first Black Shop was born."

Luo Jun frowned: "So, these items you sell, while seemingly helpful to challengers, are actually just using Gold Ingot to lure them into hunting Chaos Creature. Many of their effects are deceptive?" "No..." The Ring Finger Merchant shook his head. "The effects of the items are real; at most, some descriptions are not very complete."

"Like the Void Pass?" Luo Jun recalled Chen Xiao's reminder in his diary.

"The Void Pass works perfectly," the Ring Finger Merchant said, shaking his head. "That means it wasn't a lie. You can indeed gain the ethereal effect for an hour, allowing you to pass through walls at will. But what the effect doesn't mention is that this ethereal state can be toggled on and off at any time."

"As long as you turn off the Void effect within one hour and don't reactivate it before the time limit, it's a useful wall-clipping tool. But if you don't find an exit within one hour, feel unwilling to give up, and don't turn off the Void state after the time expires, then you'll never be able to turn it off. You might even gradually lose control of your actions and eventually become a slave to the Black Shop, never able to leave this maze."

"Treating fellow countrymen from the Main World is cruel enough," Luo Jun said, shaking his head.

"We didn't want to either, but this is a maze after all, and we're still bound by the mission rules. Many items and functions can't be set arbitrarily just because we want them to have a certain effect." The Ring Finger Merchant shook his head. "What's more, the Chaos Monster have been opposing us and interfering with our power."

As she spoke, she grabbed a piece of food. The strange meat, the crawling worms, and the foul-smelling slime made one feel physically uncomfortable just looking at it.

"Our food contains components that inhibit human replacement, especially this kind of meat. If we could, we would certainly like to make this food delicious. But unfortunately, due to the rules and interference from enemies, it can only be presented in this way."

Luo Jun picked up a strange piece of meat. "So, this thing, when used with the Monster Attracting Incense, can attract Chaos Monster, and that's also a function you designed?"

"No, this is more of a coincidence," the Ring Finger Merchant shook his head. "Our food ingredients actually come from the Main World, but they've been distorted by the rules of Chaos. And the taste of the Main World is already extremely attractive to Chaos Monster; it's just that the Monster Attracting Incense amplifies that attraction even further."

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"As for your assessment of cruelty, I don't think that's accurate either." The Ring Finger Merchant put down the food. "At least the Void Pass can be used not only to capture slaves, but also to save people."

As she spoke, she snapped her two enormous fingers in a deafening snap.

Then, a phantom figure passed through the shop wall and appeared in front of Luo Jun. The figure seemed somewhat familiar. Luo Jun took a closer look and exclaimed in surprise, "Senior Brother Li Ying?"

The illusory figure nodded. Luo Jun said in disbelief, "Wait, weren't you replaced by the Chaos Creature? Or did I kill you myself?"

Li Ying glanced at the Ring Finger Merchant beside him, then at Luo Jun, and said with difficulty, "They only replaced half of me..."

"He and another challenger were attacked by two Chaos Creature," the Ring Finger Merchant explained. "He was cut in half at the waist and was barely alive, while the other was almost replaced. Just then, the Black Shop spawned nearby, and he crawled over with his last strength. We smelled it, attacked, killed our replaced companion, and dragged him into the shop. The other Chaos Creature escaped with his severed lower half."

"If you encounter Chaos Creature that looks exactly like him, it must be a new monster that has grown from his lower body after the replacement is complete."

"And we can only use the power of the Void Pass to render his upper body into nothingness, then treat him, ultimately turning him into a Void Slave."

"So that's how it is..." Luo Jun sighed, feeling deep sympathy for his Senior Brother's plight.

"These ethereal slaves are also an important Combat Power for us," said the Ring Finger Merchant. "There are only five Black Shop in total, run by five fingers. Although they can move within the labyrinth, their numbers are too small. It's difficult for us to fight against the Chaos Monster on our own. Therefore, we organize ethereal creature marches from time to time, partly to kill Chaos Monster, and partly to kill ordinary labyrinth monsters, earning some extra money to exchange for more access to the labyrinth."

"So those ethereal armies are headed for the Black Shop, and they're killing any monsters they encounter along the way, especially the Chaos Monster!" Luo Jun nodded, summarizing:

"You Black Shop are made by mutated humans whose purpose is to prevent the Main World from being invaded."

"The maze, the White Shop, the ordinary monsters, various traps, treasure chests, relics, the first floor of the rest area, etc., are all part of the rules of the maze quest itself. The objective is Chaos Mission, setting up challenges, but also leaving the challenger with the possibility of success."

"And those monsters that can replace humans, the second floor of the rest area, and the Chaos Substance permeating the labyrinth are all forces of Chaos Monster, whose goal is to replace humans, leave this labyrinth, and invade the Main World?"

"That's one way to understand it." The Ring Finger Merchant nodded. "Now that you know the secret of this maze, are you satisfied?"

"That's not enough..." Luo Jun shook his head. "I also want to know how to end all of this!"

"The end?" the Ring Finger Merchant asked in surprise. "What do you mean? You've already accomplished the mission. You're the first group of challengers to clear the Endless Maze in all these years. Aren't you satisfied?"

"What I mean by 'ending' isn't that simple," Luo Jun laughed. "What I want to do is wipe out those Chaos Monster and restore this labyrinth to normal!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" The Ring Finger Merchant was completely losing his composure. "So many people, including the labyrinth itself, have been unable to stop the invasion of the Chaos Monster for so many years, and can only barely maintain the status quo. What makes you think you can change all of this?"

Luo Jun chuckled and patted his stomach, "With my abilities, I can be immune to those monsters' replacements."

As he spoke, Luo Jun's throat moved, and then he spat out two Gold Ingot from his mouth.

"Looks like it's digested." Luo Jun placed the Gold Ingot in front of the Ring Finger Merchant: "It's a little dirty, don't mind it."

Staring blankly at the Gold Ingot, the Ring Finger Merchant finally sighed and shook his head, saying, "Alright, since you insist, come with me. I'll take you to see someone."

As she spoke, she walked deeper into the store.

"Who are we going to see?" Luo Jun asked, but he didn't stop walking, following closely behind the merchant.

The Ring Finger Merchant entered the inner room, tapped the wall with her index finger, and the wall slowly opened, revealing a Teleportation Gate. She turned around, glanced at Luo Jun, and slowly said:

"Let's go see Thumb."

(End of this chapter)