Deep in the Living
Chapter 408 - 396 Cooperation

Chapter 408: Chapter 396 Cooperation

Holding area.

Several waiters wearing rabbit masks detected signs of life force loss in a participant after passing a stage, so they quickly brought a stretcher and various medical supplies.

The ground was covered in flowers, and Luo Di stood there with an arm drained of life.

"Do you need medical assistance?"

"No need."

Luo Di hadn’t responded yet when Hua Yuan quickly rejected. With a gentle wave of her hand, the wildflowers on Luo Di’s arm were collected, no longer extracting life force.

The injury wasn’t severe, just a matter of drained nutrients.

Hua Yuan knew Luo Di didn’t intend it, so she discreetly slipped him a small bottle of nectar, which would restore him to peak condition upon consuming.

Yet her expression was grim, visibly rejecting such a sudden touch.

"Luo Di, don’t touch without warning next time...you should know why.

Moreover, we are in a servant-master relationship now. If people saw your behavior, the Sisterhood’s reputation would be affected."

"It won’t happen again."

Luo Di was quite calm; truly, it was his fault.

"Ahem! I mean, not allowed here."

Just as Hua Yuan was about to say more, Yu Lu, who hadn’t been very engaged or concerned about the game’s direction, suddenly floated over, inserting herself between them.

Her eyes under bangs seemed to fixate on Luo Di, an icy voice licking at the surface of his eardrum:

"Luo Di, what did you see when you were about to leave the first stage?

The surveillance footage only showed your personal camera; at that moment, you seemed to see something, hastening your steps, even reaching out to touch, only to end up touching Hua Yuan instead."

"Huh?" Luo Di looked puzzled, "Because the exit was just ahead, considering potential risks, like a monster might ambush from behind, I naturally quickened my pace.

The exit seemed like a thin membrane, and I instinctively reached out to peel it apart, but then got directly transported back here."

Yu Lu didn’t comment on Luo Di’s explanation but continued to gaze at him for about a minute before nodding.

At that moment,

The waiter who had handled gambling bets arrived, returning the winnings multiplied five-fold for the two sisters, with every penny intact.

Hua Yuan quickly tucked her portion into her purse, almost struggling to fit it in due to the excitement. She wrapped her arms around Luo Di’s neck, kissing him fiercely, even making a sound.

The money came easily, equivalent to two months of hard earned salary for Hua Yuan.

Even Yu Lu managed a faint smile, temporarily setting aside her suspicions. Corner currency is crucial, more valuable than cash in human society.

Yet Yu Lu quickly recollected herself, grabbing the waiter who was about to leave.

"Do you know why the betting on Luo Di’s performance suddenly closed?"

The huge waiter replied, "It was the boss who personally closed it, without telling us the reason. However, based on past experiences of closing bets, it’s usually due to a large disparity between the servant’s level and their actual abilities, leading to incorrect odds estimation.

If Mr. Luo Di chooses to continue participating in subsequent stages, we’ll reassess his odds based on his first stage performance, allowing bets to resume."

"Apart from us, who else bet on Luo Di?"

"Due to privacy concerns, I can’t disclose that information."

Yu Lu didn’t insist further, knowing better than to act recklessly here. Since she couldn’t get any answers, she opted to rest. The lengthy observation left her weary, as a hanging rope dangled from the air.

She hung herself on the rope and fell asleep.

Luo Di also sneaked glances at this special sister arranged by their grandmother, faintly sensing her true intent.

He hadn’t been spying for long before a slender, fair arm swung over, striking him hard on the back, "Hey~ Were both Wu Wen and I not enough? Now you’re eyeing Sister Yu?"

"No."

"Your eyes were fixed in a stare, and still, you say no? Given the money you helped me earn in the first round, I’ll let it go. Hurry and check the pituitary you’ve collected."

Luo Di took out the Miniature Iron Maiden, inside which lay the pituitary with transparent skeleton-like seedlings.

"It’s indeed impressive; it can sell for quite a sum. The monster wasn’t weak, and if it evolves, the plant matures, it can definitely thrive in the Corner.

You really managed to kill it across levels, worthy of being the man I have high hopes for.

Hold onto the pituitary for now, since you have Mr. Craft’s characteristics, perhaps you can directly absorb the essence to aid your own plant growth."

"Hmm..." Luo Di was actually more concerned about another matter, "Hua Yuan, the second monster I killed, had a strong stench in its skull, with the entire brain including the pituitary turning into black liquid. This is what you mentioned, those affected by disasters, right?"

"Yes,

The Fear Entity destroyed their originally stable pituitary structure, causing normally growing plants to become unchecked, chaotically developing, twisting and deforming, corrupting and decay.

Whether it’s for you humans or us monsters,

The Fear Entity is extremely dangerous,

Our pituitarions can use the Fear Entity as fertile soil, allowing pituitary plants to grow rapidly, advance their systems, move to the next stage.

The Fear Entity itself can also negatively affect our pituitary. If anything goes wrong, you’ll become a slave to fear, collapsing the system, leading to total chaos."

Luo Di remembered the knowledge he heard from Miss Youzhen, "I’ve heard humans attacked by fear eventually transform into plants, forever taking root in the Corner... So, was the creature I killed earlier still in the early transformation stage? If ignored, would it ultimately become some kind of malformed plant?"

"Yes~ the transformation process needs time, what you saw in its brain as liquefied structure is essentially tree sap.

Of course, plant transformation is just one common form.

If some creatures are chosen by fear, they might transform into something else, a dangerous entity dominated by the Corner... Just remember, fear is the biggest obstacle to exploring the Corner.

Currently, exploration in the Corner is limited to the middle layers for two main reasons,

One is the lack of a formal ’connection port’ leading to deeper layers,

Second is that the deeper Fear Entities become more dangerous, omnipresent, devouring those who accidentally venture too deep without sufficient strength.

Therefore, Luo Di, you must try not to run around alone, even in middle layers, accidents can happen if disasters arise."

"Hmm."

"Speaking of which, collecting two corpses likely won’t be enough, how many do you plan to gather for constructing the so-called Gate of Demon Ascension?"

"Not sure, the more the better."

"Well, you better work hard, based on my observation in the first round, there are many formidable ones among the servants participating in the Death Grand Challenge, more formidable than the skeleton you killed.

Plus, Mr. Question Mark’s thoughts are quite active; who knows how he’ll organize the subsequent games.

Don’t lose! I’ll keep betting on you~ but if you lose, it means dying in the game.

Naturally, the corpse works too!"

Luo Di, sensing the conversation was heading in an odd direction, opted to stop talking and sat down to regain his spirit.

About half an hour passed.

The time for the first stage, [Deep Lost], was up.

All surveillance footage on the wall turned off, but before doing so, it was possible to see a huge, unavoidable, horrifying entity entering the game area, clearing out those who hadn’t escaped the zone on time.

The spotlight once again fell upon Mr. Question Mark, whose penetrating voice resonated throughout:

"Congratulations! A total of 279 participants passed the first stage, with a clearance rate of 21.3%! Higher than my expectations.

Before I announce the second stage’s rules, participants can choose whether to continue. If you wish to exit, please raise your hand now."

The place was pin-drop silent, with no one raising a hand, or rather, servants couldn’t decide for themselves.

"With no one opting out, let’s commence the second round of the Death Grand Challenge! This round will adopt a collaboration system; servants can have their masters join the game, limited to one master.

If the servant dies in the game, the master will also be forcibly excluded, so masters must protect the servants they’ve personally chosen, collaborating to pass the stage.

And be sure not to violate the game rules; regardless of who you are or what you represent, I’ll personally erase you."