Chapter 7

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Lin Qing brought Lady Li and her daughter to the entrance of the maze, the city gate.

As they got closer, they could finally see the grandeur of the legendary "Epic Wall."

It was truly epic!

The wall, towering over a hundred meters high and thirty meters thick, was almost impregnable, even to the legendary Cyclops.

In the center of the wall stood a towering city gate.

A cold wind howled through the narrow, dark gate, and on the other side, lay the divine maze filled with danger and treasure.

Through the gate, a dense fog seemed to obscure the view, making it hard to see clearly.

Lin Qing stopped in his tracks.

Lady Li, in his arms, her face flushed, weakly said, "This... this maze, we shouldn't enter lightly."

Lin Qing turned coldly.

Behind him, more than thirty members of the Southern Mountain Brotherhood had gathered.

They held various weapons, forming a half-circle around the three of them.

Old Niu, a fat man with a bloated belly, hard to imagine having a dog-like tracking skill, licked a sharp bayonet and sneered, "Run, I'd like to see where you two lovers can run to?"

The henchmen around him started to shout.

"Right. You slut, you don't know how terrifying this maze is, do you?"

"Drop that pretty boy and follow Captain Niu, and you'll have a good life."

"You have no map, no manpower, you'll only die if you go in!"

Old Niu seemed very pleased with his new position, patted his big belly, and chuckled, "Brothers, I won't be selfish like Fang Lingcheng. After I'm done with these two beauties, you can all have a turn. In this space, women are for this, right?"

His words resonated with the henchmen.

Yan Ran, her chest heaving with anger, suddenly took out a slingshot and shot Old Niu in the eye.

Old Niu screamed in pain, "Catch this girl, I'll make her beg for death! Attack!"

Lin Qing coldly glanced at the eager henchmen, sneered, picked up the flustered Lady Li, and pulled Yan Ran, turning to walk into the maze.

Old Niu was stunned.

The henchmen were stunned.

They didn't expect this person to really dare enter the maze.

"Damn, it doesn't matter if this kid dies, but the beauties must come back!" Old Niu waved his hand.

Several henchmen rushed forward, trying to grab them.

But Lin Qing's steps were firm, and he disappeared into the dark gate.

"Attack! You bastards!" Old Niu roared.

"Captain Niu, why don't you lead the way? I, He Lao Si, will follow," a henchman said sarcastically.

Old Niu glared, his bull eyes wide, and was about to go forward.

A cold wind blew.

He shivered.

Then, he turned to He Lao Si, and slapped him hard!

"Damn, you think I'm stupid, trying to get me to die so you can take over? Dream on!"

He cursed and walked away.

"If these lovers are hiding nearby, what if they come back later?" a new recruit asked, unwilling to give up.

"Go to hell!" He Lao Si, with a swollen face, slapped him, "You rookie, didn't you hear the gate closing? No one can survive a night in the same level maze! No one!"

The new recruit turned to look.

The massive gate was slowly closing, making a deafening sound.

"The Chief Ring area changes every midnight, closing the gate fifteen minutes early," an older henchman shook his head, "The Chief Ring area changes every 24 hours. So, the gate will open again in at least 24 hours. These three are probably already dead in some monster's belly. Sigh, what a pity for those beauties, they are truly stunning."

The new henchman shivered, "Changes every 24 hours?"

"Yes, the further out, the shorter the change time. It's said the Chief Ring changes every 24 hours, the Major Ring every 12 hours, the Imperial Ring every 6 hours, the Holy Ring every 3 hours, and the Divine Ring every hour, or even 30 minutes. Anyway, the strongest gang leader I've seen is only Chief Ring level. I don't know where these kids got the idea of the Divine Ring! All talk!"

After a moment, the henchmen left, none willing to stay in this dangerous place.

The new henchman, recalling Lady Li's beauty, sighed, looked at the deep gate, which seemed like a monster waiting to devour life, felt a chill, and turned to leave, unwilling to stay a moment longer.

No matter how beautiful a woman is, once she enters the maze, she becomes food for monsters.

"Great," Lady Li looked at the tightly closed gate, sighed, "With your efforts and persistence, we've gone from a dire situation to a certain death. From now on, we are all dead."

Lin Qing smiled faintly, not commenting, and walked alone into the distance.

Yan Ran exclaimed, "Where are you going?"

"To the entrance of the dungeon marked on Fang Lingcheng's map," Lin Qing turned and said calmly, "No time to waste here."

In the distance, the savage and bloodthirsty roars of unknown creatures could be heard.

The moon was high, and the maze was filled with cold winds and ghostly shadows, terrifying.

Yan Ran, like a frightened deer, clung to her mother, her body trembling.

Lady Li, helpless, smiled bitterly, "Sir, you've saved us three times, why not one more?"

Lin Qing turned and smiled, "Alright. We are a team now. Let's go."

He insisted on bringing Lady Li and her daughter, partly out of chivalry, but more because he valued Lady Li's calm wisdom and the information she had gathered.

He was a newcomer, completely unfamiliar with the maze. Lady Li, though powerless in combat, had gathered a lot of information in a week, which was very important to Lin Qing.

In the maze, information is more valuable than gold.

"Indeed, there's no time to hesitate," Lady Li, now openly sharing, "The gate just closed, and the Chief Ring area is about to change. The Chief Ring changes every 24 hours. Check the time and date on Fang Lingcheng's map. We have a very small chance of finding the location marked on the map."

Lin Qing's mood sank.

He realized that even with the dungeon map, the changing terrain of the maze might not align with the map.

"The date on the map is November 23rd!"

"Great!" Lady Li's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, "He entered the maze on this day last month. It's exactly one month. The maze should revert to the form it was in when he entered... No, that's not right!"

She trembled, her eyes wide, her body shaking, "No! It's almost midnight, the maze is about to change!"

Yan Ran cried, "Mom, do you mean if we miss it, we have to wait a month to enter?"

"Probably," Lady Li's body trembled, even the calmest woman would feel weak in such a dire situation, "The gate will close at 11:45, we only have 15 minutes to get there."

Lin Qing panicked.

The map showed that the location was at least 3 kilometers away.

And that was a straight-line distance.

He was just an ordinary person, and 3 kilometers in 15 minutes was very urgent.

He picked up Lady Li and roared, "Charge!"

Lin Qing charged forward.

Yan Ran followed.

Everyone realized the danger was imminent.

If they couldn't reach the dungeon entrance and enter the story world in time, they would be trapped in the maze, where monsters roamed.

"No one can survive a night in the same level maze," Lady Li's face turned pale, "If we miss the entrance, we are dead."

Lin Qing had never run so fast, especially with a mature woman in his arms.

The woman wasn't heavy, but she weighed a hundred pounds or so.

But with life on the line, Lin Qing ran like mad.

The maze was indeed as described, filled with massive boulders, each over a hundred meters in length, width, and height, weighing tons.

The boulders, along with huge iron sheets like airplane wings and massive logs that ten people could barely encircle, were arranged in a maze, with narrow passages filled with dry vines and other plants, making the place eerie.

Lin Qing ran through it, occasionally tripped by vines or uneven ground. The maze seemed flat, but there were many small traps.

What made Lin Qing's eyes even colder were the low growls that occasionally echoed around.

"I can detect these beasts in advance," Yan Ran suddenly said.

"How can you...?" Lin Qing panted.

Yan Ran smiled slightly.

On her shoulder, a small yellow bird had landed, tilting its head, its tiny eyes curiously looking at Lin Qing.

"Each of us has a spatial attribute," Lady Li said, smiling in his arms, "The attribute can manifest as a certain plant or animal, even a mythical being, to help us on our adventures. Yan Ran's attribute is a small yellow bird. Though it can't do much besides sing, it is intelligent and can help with reconnaissance."

Yan Ran raised her hand.

The small yellow bird flew out.

In the dark night, the bird's chirping could be heard from time to time.

Yan Ran, seemingly in tune with the bird, understood its language, and waved her hand, "Two zones to the left, there's a monster. We'll go this way!"

Lin Qing, holding Lady Li, felt very fortunate.

He was glad he had saved Lady Li, otherwise, he would be wandering aimlessly in the maze, eventually running into a monster.

He asked Lady Li, "What is your attribute?"

Lady Li shook her head, "Though everyone has an attribute, few have awakened theirs. Mine hasn't awakened. What about you?"

Lin Qing shook his head.

He knew his [Rebellious Falcon], but he didn't want anyone to know.

At that moment, the ground beneath them trembled.

"The maze is about to change!" Lady Li cried, "Speed up!"

Lin Qing was already running at full speed.

If they missed this chance, they would have to stay in this dangerous maze for a whole night.

"Bad! There's a monster ahead!" Yan Ran's face turned pale, "We have to take a detour."

"No time!" Lin Qing grabbed Yan Ran and charged forward.

Yan Ran could see the situation ahead through the bird's eyes.

It was a massive corpse-eating monster, with sharp claws that could tear through any chest and even crush bones.

Such a creature, they couldn't possibly defeat!