Speedrun (4000 words)

Just as Su Yuan began his ascent into the tenth level of the maze.

Su Yuan's alias "Ming" disappeared silently from the tenth stone tablet.

The tenth stone tablet corresponds to the tenth level of the maze. If the owner of the name begins to explore the next level of the maze, the name will temporarily disappear.

If the attempt to storm the palace fails, the name will reappear on the original stone tablet.

If you successfully storm the palace, your name will appear on the next stone tablet.

Call!

The names on the tenth stone tablet are countless, after all, the <Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth> is open to all citizens of the Galactic Human Empire.

The first ten levels of the Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth are tests for strategists.

However, if it is Starry Sky Lifeform, it still has a chance to break through if it tries dozens or hundreds of times.

Even some Planetary Lifeform, if they are lucky, have a chance to overcome relatively simple maze challenges.

On the tenth stone tablet, among the countless names, the name "Ming" still attracted considerable attention from many people and forces.

Passing through the tenth maze is not particularly difficult, but "Ming," the challenger, took an extremely short time to go from passing the first to passing the tenth.

It's important to know that there are no walkthroughs for the maze challenges in <The Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth>.

Even with the same maze challenge, the specific challenges encountered by different people will be different.

"Ming is going to explore the maze."

"By timing his ascent to the maze's reset time, Ming's strength must far exceed the tenth level of the maze."

"Logically speaking, with Ming's strength, he should have come into contact with the <Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth> long ago, so why did he only start exploring it now?"

How could we know? Or maybe they're deliberately avoiding it? Or are they held up by something?

In the <Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth> Community World, some Empire Citizen have their eyes fixed on the first stone tablet.

Based on the speed at which Su Yuan had navigated the first ten levels of the maze, navigating the eleventh level wouldn't be difficult; it would simply be a matter of how much time it would take.

"How many levels do you think Ming can reach during this reset period? Will it still be the maximum of level 20?"

I think it's very likely.

"Difficult. The difficulty of the 'Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth' increases rapidly starting from the eleventh layer, especially the eighteenth and nineteenth layers. Many strategists are not confident they can pass them in a short time."

"That's true."

The Empire Citizen were abuzz with discussion.

They were either representatives of power, strategists, or quasi-strategists, and they were quite interested in "Ming," this suddenly rising Empire Citizen.

The eleventh layer of the maze.

Su Yuan opened his eyes and looked around.

Smoke of war filled the air, and corpses littered the ground.

At the same time, thoughts about the challenges of this maze flooded Su Yuan's mind.

"You are a general who has won every battle, fighting against hundreds of enemies single-handedly on the battlefield. Unfortunately, you were trapped on the summit of Deer Mountain. The enemy surrounded you from all sides, and you could only lead your remaining troops to the top of the mountain to hold them off with great difficulty."

Objective: Break through the encirclement and lead your troops to break through the enemy's encirclement!

"Clearance Restriction: You cannot use combat power exceeding the limits of this dungeon level!"

Su Yuan looked up and saw constant wails; whether they were ordinary soldiers or deputy generals, their morale was low.

Now they are trapped on the mountaintop. Although they have managed to hold off the enemy's attack with the help of the terrain, they have lost their food and supplies and can only last for a week at most with the rations they have brought.

Even if the enemy doesn't attack, they will starve to death a week later.

"I currently command 30,000 men, while the enemy has 300,000. We have 300,000 fighting against 30,000, and they're trapped on a mountaintop, isolated and without supplies."

Su Yuan's heart sank.

This looks like a recipe for death.

Break through the enemy's encirclement? Just wait a few days, and his troops will surely be thrown into chaos.

"Unable to utilize methods and strength outside the maze."

Su Yuan realized the difficulty of this labyrinthine trial, meaning that Su Yuan could only use the strength he currently possessed—the strength to fight a hundred enemies single-handedly.

And to fight a hundred against one?

Facing an encirclement of 300,000 troops, fighting against a hundred men alone is of little significance.

Even if the 300,000-strong army offered no resistance and let Su Yuan cut off their necks, it would still take several days.

How to break this deadlock?

Su Yuan reached the highest point and looked down at the foot of the mountain.

The 300,000-strong army did not rush to attack, but instead set up camp on the mountainside.

Clearly, the enemy general had no intention of launching a direct attack; instead, he planned to starve Su Yuan out.

Is this currently the best strategy? A direct assault? To boost the morale of the remaining troops. Even if they win, it will be a Pyrrhic victory, with tens of thousands of soldiers dying.

A mere siege would take at most a few days, and Su Yuan's forces would crumble on their own.

The lack of supplies, the despair of being besieged on the mountaintop, and other factors were constantly impacting the morale of the troops.

What should we do now?

Su Yuan glanced at the mountaintop, lost in thought.

"Never mind, I'll just ask directly."

Su Yuan thought for a moment, then asked the Grey Mirror deep within his consciousness.

"The specific execution method for this multi-layered maze."

The Gray Mirror churns and ripples, offering a series of methods.

[Method 1: Among the remnants of your army, there is a soldier named Wang San who is suffering from the plague. Order Wang San to take your general's seal and go down the mountain to negotiate with the enemy. During the negotiations, Wang San's plague will spread to the enemy generals. Three days later, the enemy generals will all be infected with the plague and fall into a coma. You can then lead your army to break through with all your might and pass the test.]

[Method 2: Two days later, the enemy general will quietly approach the mountaintop for inspection. You ambush and kill the enemy general, throwing the enemy army into chaos. At this moment, you lead the remaining troops to charge and you can pass through.]

[Method 3: Immediately order your soldiers to smash cooking pots, burn remaining rations, and destroy tents and buildings. You should then lead the charge against the enemy. This will allow you to pass the test.]

The Grey Mirror kept providing solutions, including specific steps. As long as Su Yuan followed the steps, he could successfully pass this test.

In the game "The Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth," each level of the challenge has multiple ways to pass, and the first ten levels are no exception.

Method 3

Su Yuan's gaze fell on method three.

The reason is simple: this method is the fastest.

It's also the simplest.

As for other methods?

You might have to wait half a day or several days.

Therefore, its implementation is quite complex.

Therefore, Su Yuan decided to use method three to pass the level.

"Smash cooking utensils? Burn military rations? Destroy tents and buildings?"

Su Yuan grasped the key to this method.

That means cutting off all escape routes for oneself.

It's either break through the encirclement or die.

Without cooking utensils and military rations, even if they retreated back to the mountaintop, they would still be doomed.

Therefore, in this state of emergency, every soldier of the remaining troops had no choice but to do everything possible to break out of the encirclement in order to survive.

"And."

Su Yuan looked towards the mountainside.

At this moment, the enemy was setting up camp and had no idea that Su Yuan would launch a counterattack as soon as he retreated to the top of the mountain.

This is the best time to charge down the mountain.

Thinking of this, Su Yuan waved his hand.

"General."

The lieutenant approached.

"Pass on my orders: smash cooking utensils, burn military rations, and destroy tents and buildings," Su Yuan said calmly.

"What? General, what's going on?" The lieutenant's expression changed drastically.

"Then, follow me and charge down the mountain." Su Yuan glanced at his deputy.

"Alright." The lieutenant took a deep breath and immediately gave Su Yuan's order.

As cooking utensils and military rations were smashed and burned, a sense of despair began to permeate the remnants of Su Yuan's army.

"Gentlemen," Su Yuan stepped forward, looking down at the tens of thousands of remaining troops, "I will be the first to charge into the enemy ranks. If I die, do not stop, keep charging. As long as you can break through, you will survive!"

After this encouragement, the previously despairing atmosphere began to change rapidly.

"Charge with me!"

Su Yuan was the first to rush towards the mountainside.

Congratulations on passing the eleventh maze!

Su Yuan opened his eyes and returned to the outside of the game.

"The first trial of the maze," Su Yuan shook his head slightly.

The third method he chose tested the strategist's decisive decision-making ability.

As a strategist, the worst thing is to be indecisive, especially on the battlefield where opportunities are fleeting.

For example, in the siege battle just now, if the enemy had recovered and successfully formed an encirclement on the mountainside, method three would not have succeeded.

The most crucial element in the three methods provided by the Grey Mirror is the word "immediately".

"Seize the key opportunity, then go all in."

Su Yuan's thoughts raced.

"Begin the twelfth level of the maze."

Su Yuan immediately began the twelfth level of the maze test.

In the <Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth> Community World, the group that was talking suddenly noticed that "Ming," who had just disappeared, had reappeared on the first stone tablet.

This means that "Ming" has passed the first level of the maze.

"What?"

"You made it through?"

"So fast?"

"Back then, I waited inside the eleventh level of the maze for a full six days before finally seizing the opportunity to pass. How long has this 'Ming' been in the eleventh level of the maze? Half an hour?"

The crowd erupted in excitement, with many not surprised that "Ming" had passed the first level.

After all, their speed in getting through the first ten levels speaks for itself.

But how did they manage to get through the eleventh maze so quickly?

"Luck, absolutely luck."

"It must be that this 'Ming' was lucky and encountered a test that could be passed in a short time, which is why he was so fast."

Someone couldn't help but say something immediately.

The challenges in the "Ten Thousand Layer Labyrinth" are all different. Some require months or even years to complete, while others only take half a day or a few hours.

"Yes, I think so too. Ming's luck is just too good."

"It can't be called luck," Ming said. "He is indeed capable. Without that ability, he wouldn't have been able to get through the eleventh level of the maze."

Initially, only a few people were paying attention to Su Yuan's adventure through the maze, but as the discussion grew, more people started to pay attention, and various opinions were raised.

Most opinions suggest that Su Yuan encountered a time-limited challenge, which allowed him to clear the level quickly.

However--

Before anyone could even begin to discuss the essay...

The character "Ming" disappeared from the eleventh stone tablet and appeared on the twelfth stone tablet.

A brief silence fell over the field.

A sound came after a moment.

"Ming's luck is truly incredible, getting into two consecutive mazes."

Before he could finish speaking...

The word "" appears on the thirteenth stone tablet.

Soon after, the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth stone tablets were erected.

Inside a labyrinth of labyrinths.

Su Yuan initiated the "speedrun" process.

At the beginning of the maze, Su Yuan observed the surrounding environment, studied the test content, and pondered how to break through and pass the level.

However, in order to save time, Su Yuan simply gave up the thinking phase for the later mazes.

They directly asked for a walkthrough of the Grey Mirror level.

As for whether this is due to the use of external forces...

Since the Grey Mirror has been completely refined by Su Yuan, and the two are now bound together, the wisdom of the Grey Mirror is the wisdom of Su Yuan.

It's perfectly normal to navigate through maze after maze using one's own wisdom.

Congratulations on passing!

Congratulations on passing!

A short while later.

Su Yuan then arrived at the twentieth level of the maze.

"You are the last emperor of the dynasty, ascending the throne at the age of twelve, hoping to save the crumbling empire. However, the dynasty is now beset by internal and external troubles, with foreign invasions, a tense court situation, and chaotic politics in the harem that are causing you endless headaches."

"The objective is to pass the test and preserve the emperor's status."

"Passage restrictions prohibit the use of methods exceeding the emperor's own power."

On the Nine-Dragon Throne, Su Yuan sat upright, looking down at the assembled civil and military officials.

"The twentieth trial in the labyrinth: my identity is that of an emperor?"

Su Yuan thought to himself.

He glanced down at the spot not far below.

That was the current prime minister, yet he was carrying a sharp sword to court and meeting the emperor without kneeling.

"Is there another objective to pass through? Is it to preserve my status as emperor?" Su Yuan pondered to himself.

"Your Majesty," a minister knelt on the ground, weeping, "The world is in chaos, and the people beg Your Majesty to abdicate and let Prime Minister Qin ascend the throne."

"Your Majesty, please abdicate!"

"Your Majesty, please abdicate!"

One by one, the ministers knelt down.

"No wonder he said he wanted to preserve my status as emperor," Su Yuan sighed.

At this moment, everyone in the court was Prime Minister Qin's man, and even the guards were eyeing Su Yuan covetously.

With the restriction that he could only use the emperor's own power, Su Yuan had no ability to resist.

"This test will be the strategist's patience and forbearance."

Su Yuan immediately asked the Grey Mirror for the solution.

"In that case, Prime Minister Qin, please obey the people and ascend the throne!"

Su Yuan stepped down from the Nine-Five Throne and spoke earnestly to Prime Minister Qin.

"That simple?"

Prime Minister Qin was quite surprised; he had thought the young emperor would rebel.

After Su Yuan abdicated, he was imprisoned in a remote palace within the palace complex.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," a young eunuch in formal attire whispered, "We are all still loyal to Your Majesty, and so is our ancestor."

"Are you still able to contact the outside world?"

Su Yuan said.

"Can."

The young eunuch nodded.

"Take this Belt Edict."

An hour later, the palace was breached with the help of an inside eunuch.

The Prime Minister Qin was executed, and all his followers were also killed.

Su Yuan ascended the throne again, retaining his status as emperor.

The difficulty of the twentieth labyrinth lies in whether Su Yuan can make the right decision, even if it is extremely humiliating and requires him to give up the empire left by his ancestors.

"Congratulations, you have passed the twentieth level of the maze."

"The reward for completing the twenty-level maze is..."

Su Yuan's spirits lifted; the reward for clearing the twenty-level maze was one of the resources he needed most at the moment.