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Before Tang Mei'er could answer, the woman inside spoke again. "Honored heroes, we're terribly frightened. We've decided to stay inside until everything is settled. Would that be all right?"
"Settled? Once everything's settled, what the hell would I need you for?!" Tang Mei'er's face twisted into something grotesque as she glared at the stone door. She looked like a specter, and her body trembled slightly.
Before entering this world, she had anticipated all kinds of mishaps and prepared numerous ways to deal with them. But she had never imagined that the mission trigger could go wrong!
And in a way that was fatal!
The optional missions appeared to number three, but in reality, they could be combined into one. At their core, they all required killing the Snake Demon and Fox Demon.
The first mission needed no explanation: the three plot characters were meant to fight the Snake Demon and Fox Demon to the death. Either they died or the two demons did. The second mission, the escort mission, however, had two different ways to complete it.
The first was to kill the two demons, then find the girls and begin protecting them. This was the safest approach, and most Reincarnators chose it. The other option was to escort the girls first, but then the Snake Demon and Fox Demon would block the exit to their lair. Not only would the fight become much harder, the mission would also be far more likely to fail!
The plot characters and newcomers didn't know the difference, but Tang Mei'er knew it very well. The reason she had chosen the second approach was that she had never intended to complete that optional mission at all!
In her plan, those innocent girls were perfect pawns. They served two indispensable purposes!
During the escort mission, the Snake Demon and Fox Demon would treat the girls' attempt to flee as betrayal, making them their primary targets. So if the Reincarnators wanted to keep the girls alive, they would have to pay a much greater price. Tang Mei'er, however, planned to do the opposite. She had prepared a trump card that would rob the Snake Demon of his reason while greatly increasing his attack power, then let the girls take the brunt of his fiercest first attack. The result would be simple: death—and a gruesome one at that!
The girls, who had been so full of life moments before, would die in an instant. The mission would fail, and the boss's true strength would loom over them. Under the weight of those three blows, even the toughest newcomer would be badly shaken. Then, it would take far less effort to control them with her skill!
Two birds with one stone. Utterly vicious!
But now, Gao Xu had beaten her to it and ruined everything!
"What am I supposed to do now? Do I really have to use my trump card from the start? No, that's too dangerous!" Her thoughts raced, but Tang Mei'er still refused to give up. She tried to coax the girls again, yet they had clearly made up their minds and wouldn't respond.
The three plot characters didn't care whether the girls opened the door. The Yin-Yang Taoist even said, "It's only natural that they're afraid. And with the stone door shut, they won't be caught up in the fighting. We can come back once we've dealt with the monsters. Come on—we mustn't waste time!"
Tang Mei'er had no choice but to leave the stone door, though she was deeply reluctant. Before departing, she looked at Qin Guang and Zhu Hao, whose faces showed only a trace of confusion and not a hint of worry. She gritted her teeth and thought, There's no other way now. I'm sorry, you two. It seems you won't live long enough to see the golden equipment after all!
Having decided that she would achieve her goal even if it meant sacrificing her two subordinates, Tang Mei'er quickly regained her composure. A few comforting words over the channel were enough to soothe the foolish Qin Guang and Zhu Hao. After passing through a long corridor, they finally reached a spacious, lavish room.
Compared to the bare stone chamber, this room was lavishly furnished, with ornate couches and carved decorations everywhere. It was no less splendid than a reception hall in the Lin Family Fort.
A woman with loose black hair sat at the dressing table, combing it as she gazed into the mirror. Her profile was breathtakingly beautiful, radiating an indescribable, alluring charm. She was the Snake Demon's wife—the Fox Demon!
"You're the ones who hurt my husband? And you dare come here? You're courting death!" The Fox Demon leisurely smoothed her silky hair. Her words were harsh, but there wasn't a trace of anger in her voice. Her soft, lilting tone drifted into everyone's ears. Several newcomers with weak self-control blushed, their bodies suddenly growing hot.
"Monster, stop beguiling people!" The Yin-Yang Taoist's cultivated martial arts seemed to offer some resistance to bewitchment. He sensed something was wrong at once and shouted, striking back with words. "Demons are truly heartless and shameless! Your own husband is injured, yet here you are seducing your enemies!"
Bewitchment was the Fox Demon's innate ability. What she had just done was an unconscious display of it, not a deliberate attempt. The Yin-Yang Taoist's words were needlessly cutting, and he had completely abandoned the dignity expected of a man of the cloth. The Fox Demon couldn't tolerate it. Her face darkened, and murderous intent flashed in her eyes. She pulled the jade hairpin from her hair and said coldly, "Let's see if you can keep that sharp tongue once we start!"
As a fight seemed about to break out, the newcomers instinctively began edging toward the exit. But just then, Tang Mei'er suddenly blocked the doorway and smiled at them. "Everyone, I have a small favor to ask. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to bring it up..."
A beautiful woman was asking for help, and the male newcomers immediately perked up. Kong Jun spoke first. "Miss Tang, there's no need to be so polite. Just say the word. I'd brave hell and high water for you!"
"No need to be polite? That's wonderful..." The three plot characters were already fighting the Fox Demon nearby. Tang Mei'er's clear eyes lowered slightly, and her voice sank into an eerie murmur.
When every newcomer turned to look at her without thinking, she snapped her head up. An indescribable red light flashed in her eyes. The newcomers felt their minds seized; their thoughts went blank, and their faces instantly turned vacant.
"It really won't work. Under normal circumstances, I can't control this many people!" Tang Mei'er had only just turned the newcomers around when she gave a muffled groan. Two streams of scarlet blood ran from the corners of her eyes.
With a sigh, Tang Mei'er abandoned her unrealistic plan and finally used her trump card ahead of schedule. As she chanted an incomprehensible incantation, a small crimson crystal appeared on her forehead. She spun lightly, and a pair of purple-red wings and a thin tail sprouted from her back.
The transformation tore her clothes apart, revealing a voluptuous figure that took the breath away. Flashes of pale skin and glimpses of rosy flesh were enough to drive any man wild. A glint of light flashed, and a long black whip appeared in her hand. Only then was her transformation complete.
This was Tang Mei'er's strongest form: a bloodline skill from the magic-fantasy system—Succubus Transformation!
This bloodline skill was tied to one of the most humiliating episodes of Tang Mei'er's life. Though she was clever and capable, a woman of deep guile, she had been swindled in the space. She bought a bottle of succubus blood at a price slightly below market value, only to discover after using it that the blood was diluted essence. Somehow, the seller had still managed to alter a Reincarnator's bloodline.
But this also magnified its flaws beyond measure. Not only could she no longer use most of the succubus's exclusive skills, the cooldown was a full world—which meant she could transform only once in each story world!
Even worse, for Reincarnators in the magic-fantasy system, bloodlines made up a crucial part of their strength. At the beginning, they could have at most one and couldn't change it. Tang Mei'er had originally possessed great potential and a bright future, but this had nearly ruined it.
The swindler had been a piece of work, too. When Tang Mei'er went to confront him, he made a gesture. She turned the bottle over and saw a crooked little "a" on its base. The sight made her faint dead away with rage!
Most people would have been crushed by such a blow, but Tang Mei'er hadn't given up. She was exceptionally resilient. A flaw was nothing to fear—she would simply find a way to make up for it!
That was why she had come to the Hidden Dragon Cave. The Fox Demon's inner core was the perfect item to make up for the weakness in her bewitchment skill. And her diluted bloodline had one advantage: it was less resistant to outside forces, so it could accommodate items from the cultivation system.
The Fox Demon and the Succubus were creatures from Eastern and Western legends, both masters of seduction. If she could combine their powers effectively, perhaps she could unleash unimaginable strength!
Tang Mei'er was fiercely ambitious. She wanted to become one of the space's powerful figures, not a slave who relied on her beauty to attach herself to others. So no matter how strong the Fox Demon was or how low the chance of her inner core dropping, Tang Mei'er believed she would succeed!
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