Chapter 150 Can’t Always Hide Behind Him

Ling Mo showed no interest in the actions of those people.

After entering the Dungeon, he mainly directed his attention to the Castle.

He had now developed a habit of shifting his mindset to game mode upon entering Dungeons, filtering out a vast majority of unrelated distractions—except for anything concerning Xia Xinyan.

It seemed that since the game started by placing them outside the Castle, it implied that even taking the first step inside came with danger.

As if sensing his curiosity to take a peek inside, Xia Xinyan subtly grabbed his arm: “Wait, let’s see what others do.”

The first person to test the waters always bears the greatest risk, but Xia Xinyan wasn’t worried about that; rather… she didn’t want them to catch the attention of Yan Ziguo and his group.

Although she wasn’t afraid of him, dealing with him would still be troublesome.

Moreover, judging by Yan Ziguo’s flamboyant personality, he was more likely to take the lead himself.

—And indeed, that’s exactly what happened.

After failing to gather any useful information outside, Yan Ziguo led his group into the Castle, casually retrieving a powerful flashlight from his space watch to illuminate the area behind the Castle’s door.

Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo followed suit, and just as they all entered the Castle, the door suddenly slammed shut, locking everyone inside.

Murong Yue was taken aback and immediately spun around to push against the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Tch, fine, same old routine.” She shrugged at the others.

The others merely glanced at her before turning their attention back to their lighting devices, observing their surroundings.

They found themselves in a very wide Corridor. After they entered, dim lights flickered to life at the end of the corridor, about ten meters away, with nothing in between… well, not nothing; there lay a black, dead cat on the ground not far ahead.

The dead cat seemed to have been squished into a thin layer, showing no signs of blood, which presented an inexplicable eeriness in the surrounding gloom.

Yan Ziguo curiously stared at the dead cat for a few seconds before saying, “Cheng Yu, go pick up that cat.”

The only man in their group whom Xia Xinyan didn’t know, Cheng Yu, was momentarily stunned: “What?”

“Go pick it up.” Yan Ziguo repeated.

Cheng Yu’s expression twitched: “It’s just a dead cat; it shouldn’t be a game item, right? Let’s just ignore it and move on.”

“You won’t pick it up?” Yan Ziguo’s gaze turned pointedly toward him, carrying a hint of something unsettling.

Cheng Yu’s expression shifted slightly, but he ultimately nodded: “I’ll go.”

With that, he retrieved a long sword from his space watch, cautiously approached the dead cat.

However, nothing happened as he approached it.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly crouched down to pick up the dead cat, preparing to turn back when Yan Ziguo instructed, “Throw it forward.”

Cheng Yu hesitated, then tossed the dead cat away.

Everyone heard a loud thud from ahead in the dimness, and suddenly, the entire ground began to shake.

Cheng Yu was startled, quickly scanning his surroundings, but nothing seemed out of place.

Meanwhile, Xia Xinyan looked up at the ceiling.

Then, she suddenly called out, “Come back!”

In the quiet, when a voice suddenly rang out, Cheng Yu reflexively obeyed her command and turned to run back.

Not a few steps in, the ceiling at the front of the corridor suddenly crashed down, nearly squashing him as it fell; had he been a moment slower, he might have met the same fate as that dead cat.

It even scared him so much that he plopped down onto the ground: “Holy crap!”

On the other side, Yan Ziguo watched the scene unfold with the amusement of a bystander, seemingly indifferent to Cheng Yu’s peril.

Xia Xinyan shot him a confused glance, their eyes locking for a moment before she subtly looked away.

That’s why she found this guy so annoying.

She was certain he had noticed something strange—after all, he, like her, possessed certain night vision abilities—but he hadn’t said a word. If she hadn’t shouted, his sidekick would have been in serious trouble.

And the guy actually had the nerve to smile.

Tch.

Cheng Yu, still shaken, got back up and stared at Yan Ziguo for a few seconds but ultimately said nothing.

Murong Yue scanned the area, about to speak when the ground shook again.

Everyone jumped, hurriedly shining their flashlights around to check the surroundings and the ceiling, only to find the walls on either side of the corridor slowly closing in, compressing their living space step by step.

Hao Nan exclaimed, “Holy crap! Don’t start off like this! Brothers, think of a way!”

Xia Xinyan grabbed Ling Mo and dashed forward. In the exact spot where the ceiling had just caved in, there was a bloody handprint. She placed her hand over the bloodstain, and the ground’s tremors intensified again as the ceiling began to slowly rise.

“Go!” Xia Xinyan urged, bending down and crawling out through the tiny gap just as the stone slab started lifting.

The others quickly caught on and hurriedly followed through the narrow space. Just as the last person managed to escape, the walls on either side slammed together with a loud bang.

As Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo crawled out of the corridor into the Hall ahead, barely taking a few steps, the ground beneath Xia Xinyan suddenly cracked and collapsed, causing her to fall.

Seeing this, Ling Mo was alarmed, and promptly lunged forward to grab her arm, pulling her back into his embrace: “Be careful!”

Xia Xinyan, still startled, nestled against him for a few seconds before regaining her composure.

She then pushed away from Ling Mo and glanced down through the hole in the floor; several meters below, there were sharp spikes everywhere.

A wave of dread washed over her.

It was only at that moment she realized this was a genuine top-tier difficulty Dungeon, with a clearance rate of only ten percent in her previous life; she had indeed underestimated it.

It turned out that these past few months of too much ease had made her a bit complacent.

“This floor is dangerous; one wrong step, and you could fall,” she instantly shifted to her cat-girl form, preparing herself for the most agile stance, “I’ll scout ahead; follow my route.”

Ling Mo instinctively wanted to stop her: “Wait, that’s too dangerous…”

But Xia Xinyan raised her hand to cover his mouth, softly saying, “I was just careless before; this kind of terrain poses no threat to me. Don’t worry. Stay here and keep an eye on the others while I scout. Be good.”

She realized she had been way too lazy lately, nearly forgetting her former state.

Now, it was time to move her body.

She couldn’t keep hiding behind Ling Mo like a useless burden.