Chapter 18: Final Boss

Jiang Wuming and his team hastily gathered food from the shelves, considering this trip a huge win even if they hadn't found the maze exit, as the provisions could sustain them for a long time.

Bang!

Suddenly, a loud noise came from a door behind the counter; something was ramming against it.

Zhou Yuan's heart instantly leapt to his throat, and the Eyes of Identification popped up with a dangerous warning:

[Our Dache may not be able to lead away all the demons and monsters; some exceptions always exist, and these exceptions are extremely dangerous, so I suggest you get out of here quickly.]

"Time to go!"

Without needing Zhou Yuan's reminder, Jiang Wuming and his team were already in motion, bursting out of the mini supermarket and sprinting for their lives.

During their escape, Zhou Yuan was surprised to find that his running speed wasn't much different from theirs; he was even faintly faster than one of the investigators. Didn't this mean his physical fitness was now not far from that of a real extraordinary person?

"What grade are you guys?" Zhou Yuan quickly inquired.

"I'm Grade 2." Jiang Wuming replied.

"Grade 1."

"Grade 1."

The other two investigators were both Grade 1.

Zhou Yuan then had a rough idea of his physical fitness; even without having awakened Aoneng Power, his physical fitness was on a par with a Grade 1 extraordinary person. What if he were to awaken his powers? Wouldn't he take off flying?

—Of course, it was also possible that these two investigators were simply not skilled in physical capabilities.

But no matter how you looked at it, his physical fitness had definitely reached the standard of a Grade 1 extraordinary person.

Regarding this, Zhou Yuan had a doubt.

Chen Guangxi had said that as long as one's life essence reached a level that was sufficient for awakening, one would naturally awaken the Aoneng Power.

After using the Super Soldier Serum to enhance his body and adding points, his four attributes had exceeded human limits; logically, he should have met the awakening conditions. So why hadn't he awakened?

Or was it because of the special nature of the Child of Stardust Player System, he had to reach Level 10 to unlock Aoneng Power, and he couldn't awaken before then, even if he met the conditions?

Zhou Yuan's mind was swirling with thoughts, which he quickly suppressed. The matter of urgency was to clear the maze world first.

They sped along and arrived at a crossroad.

"Which way?"

Jiang Wuming and his team began to worry.

The time was limited; if they chose the wrong direction, they might not be able to leave within the allotted time.

Tip-tap...

Suddenly, light footsteps sounded straight ahead. A slender woman in a red dance dress wearing red dancing shoes emerged from around the corner, gracefully dancing toward them.

The dancer's skin was as pale as paper, completely colorless, yet the dress and shoes she wore were the brightest, most bloody red, creating a strong visual impact with the stark contrast of colors.

[This lady will only "invite" one person to dance at a time. As for what happens to the one invited... I can only say if you haven't eaten the rubber fruit, then you should run far away.]

Zhou Yuan's expression changed subtly—did it mean that every bone in the body would be broken?

"Fuck!"

Jiang Wuming's face turned ashen: "This place can actually foster a red-dressed spirit!"

"Wuming, right side." one of the investigators said softly.

To the right of the crossroad, a burly and fierce-looking man was approaching, holding a 20-centimeter boning knife dripping with fresh blood.

[In life, he was an amusement park chef, and in death, he remains so. Watch out for the boning knife—it can taint the soul.]

"There's one behind us too!" Another investigator exclaimed.

Behind the group, a woman dressed as a shop attendant was steadily approaching. Her uniform was stained and she bore many terrifying wounds from which blood unceasingly flowed, leaving behind bloody footprints with every step she took.

[A group of thieves has stolen items from the store. I won't say who it was. Now the attendant is on their trail. You best run fast, or if you get caught, you'll be locked up in a dark room.]

Zhou Yuan felt his scalp explode—ambush on three sides!

Fortunately, the Eyes of Identification promptly pointed out the direction to escape:

[Take the left route, it's the correct path.]

"Let's go left." Zhou Yuan spoke with certainty.

"You're sure of that?" Jiang Wuming frowned.

"I choose to take a gamble. Whether you follow or not is up to you."

Zhou Yuan knew they might not trust him, so he didn't bother to say more and just started running down the path to the left.

"Shall we follow?" one of the investigators asked in a deep voice.

With hesitance flashing across his face, Jiang Wuming weighed his options. With spirits closing in from the front, back, and right, retracing their steps seemed the best choice. But Zhou Yuan appeared to have some unknown ability...

Eventually, he gritted his teeth: "Keep up!"

[Continue straight for 50 meters then make a left turn...]

[At the 80-meter mark, there's a giant axe trap, don't step on the tiles to the right.]

[...]

Zhou Yuan led Jiang Wuming and his team through twists and turns in the maze, as time slipped away and a sense of urgency began to rise.

Just as one of the investigators was about to break the silence with questions, Zhou Yuan suddenly stopped, turned his head to them with a serious look, and said:

"After we turn this corner, we'll be at the exit."

"That's great news!" Jiang Wuming exclaimed excitedly.

"The bad news is, there's a very scary monster guarding the gate, nearly as dangerous as the red-dressed spirit we just encountered."

"Damn it, so it's a boss fight?" Jiang Wuming began to worry, a monster as dangerous as the red-dressed spirit would unquestionably be extremely vicious!

"No, then how do you know that?" An investigator couldn't help but ask.

"I have a miraculous, wonderful tool." Zhou Yuan answered solemnly.

"Wonderful my ass..." Jiang Wuming was visibly exasperated, but he wasn't particularly bothered by this secrecy. After all, who didn't have secrets?