"I want to!" Chu He replied firmly.
"Then... all right." Xia Yao seemed to have made up her mind.
After she finished speaking, she waved her hand lightly, and a red button appeared on the door of the Principal's Office!
Xia Yao pointed at the button and looked seriously at Chu He. "Press it. There... you'll find everything you want to know."
Oh, hell. The dormitory challenge!
Chu He immediately regretted it, cursing himself for putting on an act just now. Why had he insisted on playing the lovestruck hero?
Now he was in trouble. If he failed this, he was dead! Just a moment ago, he'd still had a guaranteed way to survive the night—and enjoy himself while he was at it.
Now he might only last two hours.
The Dragon Country livestream chat exploded:
"What's God Chu doing? Why isn't he taking the safe option?"
"It's over, it's over! Love's gone to his head!"
"He's really done for now. Who could possibly pass an SSS-Class challenge?"
"No! I believe in God Chu! This has to be part of his plan! He's going to fully conquer this BOSS!"
Chu He stared at the red button, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
But the words were already out of his mouth. There was no taking them back.
Seeing him hesitate, Xia Yao's eyes flickered with a hint of worry and nervousness. "Are you... scared?"
Chu He took a deep breath, then turned to look into Xia Yao's concerned eyes. "I'm not afraid. I said I wanted to understand you, and I'll do it."
At his words, Xia Yao's cheeks flushed again. Her voice was so soft he could barely hear it. "I'll... wait for you to come back."
Chu He reached out and touched her face. "Don't worry. I'll be right back."
With that, he pressed the button without hesitation.
In an instant, the world spun around him, and his consciousness was dragged into endless darkness.
[You have triggered the unique hidden SSS-Class challenge: Her Heart]
[Challenge: Find her lost "True Heart" in the labyrinth of her memories. Time limit: two hours. Failure penalty: Your soul will become part of the labyrinth and sink into it for all eternity.]
Chu He opened his eyes in the endless darkness and found himself in a strange space.
It was neither reality nor a dream, but more like some kind of manifestation of consciousness.
Everything around him flowed slowly, like a world pieced together from shattered mirrors.
Each shard reflected a different scene. Some were blurry, while others were exceptionally clear.
"The memory labyrinth?" Chu He murmured. "Then let's see what you've been through."
He straightened his clothes, set off with firm strides, and walked deep into the labyrinth stretching endlessly before him.
Flowing lights and shadows surrounded him. Shattered mirror shards floated in the air, each one holding a memory belonging to Xia Yao.
Chu He saw it.
On a barren, blood-red plain stood a little girl, no more than sixteen years old.
Before her loomed a Hundred-Eyed Giant Beast as massive as a mountain. Madness and destruction poured from its countless eyes.
The little girl merely glanced at the Hundred-Eyed Giant Beast with indifference.
The beast silently crumbled to pieces, turning into ashes that scattered across the sky.
Not a trace of emotion crossed her face throughout the entire thing, as though she had merely crushed an ant.
She sat on a stark white throne of bones. Below her knelt countless powerful anomalies, trembling and too afraid even to raise their heads.
She was a queen, yet her eyes were as empty as ice that had never melted in ten thousand years. Not a ripple stirred within them.
Loneliness was the only color in this world.
The farther he went, the younger Xia Yao appeared, and the colder and crueler the surroundings became.
After who knew how long, an exceptionally clear mirror shard blocked his way.
No matter whether Chu He went left or right, it didn't budge. It remained fixed in front of him.
"Is this the place?"
Chu He stopped trying to avoid it. He reached out and gently touched the cold surface with his fingertips.
The next moment, white light swallowed everything.
When he regained consciousness, he was in a dim room.
The air was filled with a strange, foul stench of rust and decay. Twisted graffiti, painted in dark red liquid, covered the walls.
In the middle of the room, a little Xia Yao who looked only five or six sat cross-legged on the floor, her mouth smeared with bright red blood.
Just like she'd eaten dragon fruit!
In her arms, she held the enormous head of a Lion Anomaly. Its golden mane was still stained with warm blood.
Her soft, pale hands tugged irritably at the lion's ear. Her brows were furrowed, and she seemed troubled by something.
When she sensed Chu He's arrival, her pitch-black eyes instantly fixed on him.
She warily twitched her little nose and sniffed the air.
"You smell so good."
Her childish voice said something that made Chu He's scalp prickle.
Good?
That wasn't a good thing! In the world of anomalies, it basically meant, "You look delicious!"
Chu He forced down the nausea churning in his stomach. Looking at the lion's head, which was still dripping blood, he cautiously asked, "Are you having trouble with something?"
Little Xia Yao seemed surprised by his question. She froze, then looked down at the head in her arms and pouted, displeased.
"Mom says all the nutrients in an anomaly are in its head. But I don't like eating heads."
Chu He's heart tightened.
As expected, she was fretting over "mealtime."
He steadied himself and decided to get straight to the point. "I'm not here to interrupt your meal. I'm here to find something—something you lost."
"I'm looking for your heart."
Little Xia Yao stopped moving. She slowly raised her head, and a strange smile suddenly spread across her innocent little face, revealing two sharp little canines.
She stuck out her pink tongue and lightly licked her bloodstained lips.
"You said you came to find my heart?"
Little Xia Yao tilted her head, and a strange smile suddenly spread across her innocent little face, revealing two sharp little canines.
She stuck out her pink tongue and lightly licked her lips.
"Then... why don't you dig out your heart first and let me taste it? How about it?"
As soon as she spoke, Chu He felt the hairs on the back of his neck shoot straight up!
Good grief, she wasn't even pretending?
She was as blunt as ever! Xia Yao really was the sort who said whatever was on her mind!
Faced with the fatal demand from this illusion of a memory, the Dragon Country livestream audience was on the edge of their seats.
"It's over! It's a trap! Was this anomaly always this vicious, even as a kid?!"
"How is he supposed to get out of this? He can't beat her or run away. This challenge is certain death!"
"God Chu, think of something! Don't try to fight her head-on!"
"What do you mean, fight her head-on? This little girl could crush God Chu with one finger!"
As everyone speculated, Chu He was breaking into a cold sweat on-screen.
He watched helplessly as the adorable little girl slowly set down the blood-dripping lion's head in her arms, then stood up and started walking toward him, taking one small step at a time!
With each step she took, the rusty, bloody stench in the room grew stronger.
The air seemed to freeze, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.
What now?
Run? This whole space was part of her memory. Where could he possibly go?
Beg for mercy? With that "you smell delicious" look on her face, begging would probably only excite her more.
Before you continue