Chapter 280 Requires More Money

Time ticked by, second by second!

Chen Yu couldn't even remember how many stone doors he had pushed open or how many traps he had dodged!

Finally,

after pushing open this latest door, everything changed!

No traps?

No pitfalls?

The stone chamber was as silent as... a long-forgotten tomb... A tiny, cold white light source was embedded in the ceiling, softly illuminating a low stone platform in the center of the room.

A dark gold sigil with irregular edges floated above the platform.

Chen Yu approached the stone platform and reached out.

The moment his fingertips touched the surface of the sigil, a faint, gentle warmth surged into his finger, passed through his palm—which had been suppressed by the shackles for too long—and traveled up his arm to the space between his eyebrows.

[Origin Sigil — Acquired]

[Second Shackle: Perception — Broken]

[Rating: Average]

[Entering the Third Shackle Area in half an hour. Please wait patiently.]

Chen Yu shrugged and glanced at the remaining time; it matched the half-hour announcement perfectly.

Half an hour passed quickly.

In a state between sleep and wakefulness, Chen Yu heard a familiar voice.

[Third Shackles: Physical Body — Entered]

[This floor is the Physical Shackle domain. All entrants' constitution and Agility attributes are reduced by 8 points.]

[Floor Mission: Follow the circular corridor upward. Reaching the light point on the upper floor will be considered breaking the Physical Shackle. The corridor is approximately several kilometers long, and gravity increases with height. Reaching the light point completes the level.]

As the voice faded, gravity pressed down from all directions at once!

But for Chen Yu, it had little effect.

Chen Yu stepped out of the stone chamber and looked toward the ceiling...

About seven or eight stories up, there was a light; that should be the exit!

At this moment, Chen Yu's attributes were also weakened.

[Basic Attributes]

constitution: 96 (1+3-8)

Agility: 33 (28+3-8)

Perception: 36 (23+3)

charisma: 23 (10+3)

spirit: 19 (6+3)

luck: 23 (10+3)

In this life, Chen Yu's constitution value had dropped below 100 points for the first time!

But truth be told,

Chen Yu actually felt a slight sense of weakness.

Ordinary people with only ten or so points in constitution wouldn't be able to pass even if they made it here. This was a hard filter.

...

...

On the other side, the corridor was wide and dim, a grayish-white passage spiraling upward.

As the gravity pressed down, Song Xingmian's knees buckled half an inch before she forced them straight, but the burden on her spine was clearly more than double what it had been seconds ago.

She adjusted her breathing several times before speaking: "...It's this kind of suppression again. Wasn't that gravity guy's ability on the island just like this?"

Zhang Lieyang rolled his shoulders, his bones letting out several crisp cracks. "Miss Song, are your constitution and Agility really alright?"

Song Xingmian nodded. "Don't worry, I popped some pills."

Zhang Lieyang: "..."

Chen Muqing was already pressed against the floor. "Miss Song, any spare pills to share?"

Song Xingmian nodded and tossed him a small transparent bottle.

After Chen Muqing swallowed the medicine inside, he was immediately able to stand up.

"A temporary 10-point increase to all attributes... this effect..."

Chen Muqing couldn't help but marvel; the Military District really did have a lot of good stuff.

"Let's go up and see."

"This is the final stage."

Song Xingmian waved them forward. Zhang Lieyang took the lead, and Chen Muqing brought up the rear as they moved up in a classic formation.

It was fine at first.

But after walking for a while, Song Xingmian's breathing began to grow ragged.

Her physical stamina was the weakest in the team.

Her back began to slump, and every step took several seconds to complete. Her ponytail was soaked with sweat, and a dark patch of perspiration spread across the back of her military uniform.

"I need to rest."

"Me too..."

Zhang Lieyang stood ahead of the two and looked back at them. "Understood. But I recommend reaching the top as quickly as possible; staying in this environment for too long might cause other issues."

"Right! I can keep going after a two-minute break!"

Song Xingmian nodded.

After a brief reorganization, the three set off again.

This time,

they walked for a long time. Song Xingmian was drenched, sweat pouring off her like rain.

However,

the good news was that the end of the corridor was just ahead.

The light point was within reach, its cold white glow illuminating the entire flight of stone steps.

The bad news was that three people were standing on the final section of the stairs.

The leader was lean and wore an old, dark gray kimono with sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing an old scar stretching from his wrist to his elbow.

He was casually playing with a piece of broken Glass.

Behind him stood two men in suits, one with his arms crossed and the other looking indifferent.

Song Xingmian stopped. "We're about to clear the level. What is the meaning of this...?"

The man in the lead smiled. "Being able to make it here shows you are indeed strong. Hmm... but I've lost several team members. Their bodies had clean, decisive cuts—all killed in a single strike."

Zhang Lieyang frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

The man chuckled. "They weren't killed by traps."

Song Xingmian met his gaze. "Your teammates' deaths have nothing to do with us. We also suddenly found bodies at a crossroads!"

The man took a step forward. "If it wasn't you, then was it me, Kuroda Hikari? Did this captain kill his own teammates? Hmm?"

Kuroda Hikari continued, "There are only two teams here: Sakura and China!"

Song Xingmian didn't answer immediately.

Because she did think of one person: Lu Heng.

After entering the lighthouse, he was nowhere to be found.

Even Chen Muqing couldn't find him.

But she found it hard to reconcile that image with Lu Heng.

He was just an S-rank strength-type Awakened.

That blue jelly... aside from having strong defense, killing people so cleanly and decisively? It seemed unlikely...

Song Xingmian took a deep breath. "So, you want revenge?"

"Revenge?"

Kuroda Hikari shook his head. "The dead are dead. Revenge won't bring them back to life."

Zhang Lieyang asked, "Then what do you want?"

Kuroda Hikari smiled slightly. "You'll have to pay extra."

"?"

Kuroda Hikari continued, "Your Chinese Team's stockpile of items must be quite impressive, right? Hand over everything in your personal and Public Backpacks, and you can pass through here."

"But if you think you can leave without giving anything up..."

Kuroda Hikari pressed the sharp tip of the Glass shard into his palm. "Then I'll just have to take them myself."

Zhang Lieyang stepped forward. "Miss Song, car owner Chen, step back."

Song Xingmian's brow furrowed, and she reached out to grab his sleeve. "Officer Zhang, we can still talk..."

"We'll talk after the fight."

In the next second, Zhang Lieyang had already charged out!

His palms were ready to clap together!

On the other side,

Kuroda Hikari gave a cold laugh as the Glass shard sliced across his palm. A line of blood extended from the webbing of his thumb to his wrist. As the dark red blood welled out, his pupils suddenly lit up!