"Was the gap in strength really that huge?" Zhang Ruofeng wondered to himself. Judging by the name, that person might not even be the strongest fighter. He clicked his tongue and set off for the Dungeon with Xin Mu. Xin Mu clearly didn't care about any of this. One look at her expression told him she wasn't the least bit moved.
"I wonder what the other powerhouses are like. I'd really like to meet them if I get the chance." After killing a Weak Mushroom, Zhang Ruofeng shook his head. Getting distracted in battle was a major mistake. Even though he'd caught a glimpse of the powerhouses' strength today, he couldn't let it unsettle him—especially with Xin Mu by his side.
"Let's make the sixth floor today's goal. I want to test what my skill actually does. Its negative effects are obvious, but I feel like it must have some positive effects too. We'll have to try it to find out. But deliberately getting hurt on the upper floors would be stupid and inefficient, so let's take a chance and go farther down." Xin Mu nodded in agreement. Zhang Ruofeng had always thought that Xin Mu was the truly indifferent one. Unlike him, who deliberately concealed his many sides, she really was someone who didn't care much about anything.
The two of them made their way down without any trouble. The only mishap was on the third floor, when a spider unexpectedly bit Zhang Ruofeng's right hand. Otherwise, they reached the stairs to the Dungeon's fourth floor without encountering any obstacles.
"Hiss..." Zhang Ruofeng hadn't expected "Boiling Dragon Blood" to have such powerful healing effects. As he was still cleaning the blood around his wound, a sharp pain shot through his right hand. Then the wound began to emit a mist formed from his blood, and the muscles visibly healed before his eyes. The wound wasn't large, but it would normally have taken several days to heal. Now it was completely recovered in just five minutes.
"That's amazing." Zhang Ruofeng flexed his right hand. It felt completely normal, as if he'd never been wounded. Only a faint scar remained.
"We're on the fourth floor now. Be careful." Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu exchanged nods, then headed down to the fourth floor. The maze's walls were now ocher, but visibility was even worse. They could see less than five meters ahead; after about ten meters, everything became blurry.
A faint buzzing sounded through the passages. The monsters on the fourth floor were giant earth bees, shaped much like ordinary bees. Each was about the size of a soccer ball. They survived by sucking blood and feeding on the juice of mushrooms growing in the Dungeon. Their stings caused localized paralysis. Since they lived in swarms, their numbers—and the danger they posed—increased over time. A lone earth bee would leave once it had finished feeding, so one or two weren't dangerous. But for novice adventurers, it was hard to defend against a large swarm. Once stung, they would gradually be drained of blood or become so paralyzed that their hearts stopped. That was why experienced adventurers usually came to this floor first and wiped out most of the earth bees that had gathered overnight. The novices who came later faced far less pressure.
"Five to the left." Even in the dim surroundings, Xin Mu could accurately point out the monsters' positions. Zhang Ruofeng could barely see five meters ahead; beyond that, everything was blurry. Perhaps because she'd spent so long using throwing knives, Xin Mu could see much farther than he could.
"Phew." Zhang Ruofeng let out a quiet breath. The earth bees were now less than ten meters away, and their buzzing was unmistakably clear. He was curious how the monsters could see him from so far away. Perhaps they didn't rely on sight at all. At last, he could make out the earth bees rushing straight toward them. Their ocher bodies blended in with the Dungeon's walls, and they were indeed huge. The most striking feature was the thick stinger on each one's abdomen, about fifteen centimeters long. Their mouths and legs looked much as he expected, so Zhang Ruofeng guessed they fed by sucking through their stingers.
Zhang Ruofeng watched the earth bees. They were all flying together; none seemed to have strayed from the swarm. He didn't bother deciding which one to kill first. He charged forward and punched, his left armored gauntlet cutting through the air as it struck the abdomen of an earth bee directly in front of him. It went flying. Zhang Ruofeng quickly ducked as another bee's stinger swept over his head.
"Do these earth bees really attack the head too?" Zhang Ruofeng had assumed that bloodsucking creatures would aim for the torso, but he hadn't expected this one to go straight for his head.
"Ts!" An earth bee on the left let out a shrill sound. Xin Mu had pinned one of its wings to the wall, and although it was still struggling, she threw another dagger and drove it into the bee's abdomen. Green fluid spilled out. The bee slowly stopped struggling and turned into a pile of black sand.
Over on Zhang Ruofeng's side, he felt as if he were playing dodgeball. He'd sent the first bee flying with a punch, but against flying creatures—especially earth bees, which were quite light—it had done very little damage. The bee quickly flew back to attack him, and Zhang Ruofeng dodged back and forth among the four of them. He hurriedly evaded an earth bee going for his leg while grabbing another by the upper abdomen with his right hand. He stomped hard on an earth bee on the ground, but then another bee struck his head, knocking it to the side. He couldn't keep attacking.
Zhang Ruofeng didn't panic. An earth bee's wing had cut a gash across his face, but he didn't even have time to wipe it clean. He tossed the bee still writhing in his hand into the air, and Xin Mu precisely sent a dagger straight into its mouth. It instantly turned to fine sand.
"Ts." An earth bee still managed to sting Zhang Ruofeng's right shoulder. After a brief stab of pain, he felt the strength draining rapidly from his right arm. But he couldn't afford to deal with it. He swung his left arm backward, and the tips of his armored gauntlet sliced off part of an earth bee's wing. It immediately lost its balance and crashed into the wall. Zhang Ruofeng wasn't about to give it a chance to fly again. He drove a straight punch into its head, crushing it instantly. Then it crumbled into dust.
"Phew. Two left." Zhang Ruofeng caught his breath and began searching for the remaining two targets.
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