Chapter 52

Seeing everyone looking at her with eager anticipation, Xie Lingxi pursed her lips and spoke in her clear, sweet voice:

"In the old version of the guide, the Spirit Realm travelers need to pass through the underground parking lot. During this process, a robot car appears every three minutes, chasing the Spirit Realm travelers who enter the parking lot. Those who are caught are eliminated.

"The Spirit Realm travelers must find the controller and turn off the robot car's power before everyone is eliminated. The controller is hidden in one of the cars in the parking lot."

The hot-tempered Fire Demon suddenly understood and said, "So, it's about finding the controller to turn off the robot car, right? Wang Tai, what do you think?"

The others were deep in thought, and upon hearing this, they immediately turned their gaze to Zhang Yuanqing, wanting to see what insights this capable young man, who had perfectly resolved the crisis in the first mission, would offer.

"Rude Fire Master, your method of extracting the core is simply brutal..." Zhang Yuanqing carefully worded his response:

"In the old version of the amusement park, elimination means losing experience points, not death. But now that the difficulty has been upgraded to S-level, the correct interpretation is that someone will die every three minutes."

Xi Shi's delicate face changed. "We have at most eighteen minutes..."

The Unworthy Father slowly shook his head. "No, we should avoid any deaths in this level. The more people we have when entering the haunted house, the higher the chances of survival."

Old Father, you're almost saying it outright that the haunted house needs cannon fodder... Zhang Yuanqing sighed:

"Lingxi, will our skills be sealed in the parking lot?"

Xie Lingxi recalled and shook her head. "The guide doesn't mention it."

The Fire Demon thought for a moment and suggested:

"Once we enter the parking lot, we should split up to find the key more quickly."

The Monkey King hurriedly shook his head. "In such a dangerous place, splitting up is a death sentence."

The Fire Demon glared and sneered, "You're just afraid of dying, useless thing."

The Monkey King's eyes flashed with anger but he was wary of the Fire Demon, so he coldly snorted:

"Anyway, I don't recommend splitting up."

Splitting up is a more reasonable approach, unless there's a traitor in the team... Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand to cut off the argument and suggested:

"Let's go in first. The premise of making a plan is having enough information."

He led the way down the steep slope into the underground parking lot, filled with bright white lights.

Walking down the gentle slope, Zhang Yuanqing looked around, and his lips twitched.

The underground parking lot was large, similar to a large mall's parking garage. Looking around, cars were neatly parked in the spaces.

The variety of car models was impressive, with thick layers of dust on their roofs.

Xie Lingxi and the others followed into the parking lot. Seeing the scene, the Fire Demon's face darkened:

"There are so many cars, how long will it take to find the key?"

Xi Shi's eyes darted around, and her delicate face showed worry. "Should we split up? There are so many cars, how long will it take to find the key?"

The others didn't speak because they simultaneously received a prompt from the instance:

[Ding, the team has entered the underground parking lot. The experience has begun. Excess items have been cleared for you.]

[Hint 1: Controller. Hint 2: Car Key. Good luck!]

[Countdown: 00:02:55]

"Our active skills are sealed again..."

"The inventory can't be opened, damn, the skills are sealed again..."

The faces of the team members changed slightly, but Zhang Yuanqing's focus was on the two hints.

There are actually hints? The old guide didn't mention any hints for this level...

An S-level instance wouldn't give obvious hints. Spirit Realm travelers need to observe, think, and deduce the patterns to find a way out.

The underground parking lot giving such clear hints about the "controller" and "key" indicates a high level of danger. Otherwise, the Spirit Realm wouldn't provide hints.

Zhang Yuanqing whispered, "Everyone, the situation isn't good."

The others were stunned, finally breaking free from the panic of their sealed skills. After carefully considering the instance prompt, their faces turned serious.

"Car key..." The impatient Fire Demon quickly walked to the nearest minivan and tried to open the door, but it was locked.

He turned sideways and swung his elbow to try to break the window.

Clang~

The glass made a loud noise but didn't shatter, not even a crack.

"Can't break it. It seems we need to find the car key first to get the controller..." The Fire Demon spat and cursed:

"I suggest we split up."

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at everyone and saw they all had the same idea. He immediately said:

"Alright, but don't spread out too much. Make sure you're always in your teammates' line of sight. Time is short, everyone, let's go."

The countdown was like a grim reaper, and the six Spirit Realm travelers didn't waste any time, each searching the parking lot.

The vast parking lot was silent, with only their footsteps echoing.

Zhang Yuanqing deliberately lagged behind to ensure everyone was in his line of sight. While keeping an eye on his teammates, he also searched for the car key.

"This mission seems off. The underground parking lot is so large; we can't possibly find the controller in three minutes. It's unlikely we'll all be eliminated here..."

As Zhang Yuanqing was thinking, he suddenly heard Xie Lingxi crouching down and crawling under a car. A few seconds later, she happily exclaimed, "I found the car key, it's under this SUV."

She lifted her white, tender arm and held up the car key.

At the same time, she pressed the unlock button on the key.

The parking lot remained silent, and the car showed no reaction.

Xie Lingxi's face turned disappointed, and she pitifully said, "The car isn't near me..."

Seeing this, the others continued their search. Soon, the Monkey King called out:

"I found the car key."

He pressed the unlock button, and there were two "beeps," with the taillights flashing.

The others rushed over, opened the four doors, and thoroughly searched the car.

The Unworthy Father was disappointed. "Nothing here."

"Wait..." Xie Lingxi, with her sharp eyes, leaned into the car, her small buttocks raised, and picked up a card from under the seat.

It was a metallic card, coated with a layer of gold paint, depicting a clear pond in the center.

Looking at the card, a piece of information appeared in everyone's minds:

[Life Concentrate]

[Type: Potion]

[Function: Healing]

[Description: A potion containing immense life force, capable of healing all external injuries.]

[Note: As a consumable, it has no cost.]

"Life Concentrate?" Xi Shi's eyes lit up. "I remember that Life Essence is an item for the Musician class. I didn't expect to find a consumable in the car. Do you think there are more in other cars?"

If so, their chances of success would greatly increase.

Is the Life Concentrate related to the Musician? I remember the Musician's extraordinary ability is singing... Zhang Yuanqing resisted the urge to ask. After all, Wang Tai is a seasoned traveler with extensive experience in the Spirit Realm, a reliable companion.

If the team members knew that their leader was a rookie entering the Spirit Realm for the second time, they might have different thoughts.

"Let's put it away for now..." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the countdown. "Continue searching for the car key. We don't have much time left."

The team members dispersed again, quickly searching for the car key.

While searching for the car key, Zhang Yuanqing thought:

"Providing hints and consumables, the danger of this level is likely to exceed expectations. The killer can probably sense this too. I hope he doesn't eliminate anyone and tries to preserve our team members' lives. Otherwise, we won't be able to survive the haunted house..."

Time ticked by, and no third car key was found. The Spirit Realm travelers became increasingly anxious, their search becoming more frantic.

Just then, the always-watchful Monkey King shouted:

"Time's up..."

The next moment, a powerful engine roar came from the distance. Everyone's hearts raced as they looked in the direction of the sound. At the entrance of the underground parking lot, a tall figure appeared.

It was about two meters tall, covered in metal, with red glowing eyes and a three-foot-long chainsaw in its hand.

"Everyone must die, everyone must die!"

The electronic voice echoed from the speaker in its chest.

"Transformers?!" Xie Lingxi exclaimed.

"Vroom vroom vroom..."

The engine roared as the robot car slid its feet, rushing over the distance and charging towards the group.

"Scatter!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted.

The group scattered like bowling pins hit by a ball, moving in all directions.

Xie Lingxi, with seemingly inferior physical attributes, reacted a beat slower. She was knocked down by the robot, groaning in pain as her lower back hit the car, her vision going black and unable to get up.

Gas jets from the robot's ankle vents dissipated its momentum, allowing it to stop abruptly, something a human couldn't do. It raised its chainsaw and swung it down with all its might.

The sound of the chainsaw's motor was like the whisper of death.

The young girl's face turned pale with fear, her expression one of despair.

.....

PS: Typos will be corrected later.