5: Cuiguo, hit me!

A certain Sword Saint has a famous saying: Hesitation leads to defeat.

Mountain Child's actions were perfectly in line with the next phrase: Decisiveness leads to giving it all away for nothing.

It never expected that casually sneaking into a door would lead it into a Thunder Sound Temple, a room full of glowing golden Buddhas.

This was truly like a thief breaking into a police station, eagerly delivering performance metrics to them.

Mountain Child desperately hoped everything before its eyes was an illusion, but the next second, it was grabbed by the scruff of its neck, by fate itself.

"So you're Mountain Child? So you're the Dungeon Boss?"

Cheng Zhen sneered, "So you're the one performing sacrifices and abducting children, huh? And you slapped me?"

"Cui Guo, hit him for me!"

Fat Buddha received the attack command and acted without hesitation.

It grabbed Mountain Child and started 'slapping' it repeatedly.

After a few slaps, Mountain Child's eyes cleared, and it was utterly bewildered.

Weren't those slaps you gave yourself?

When did I hit you? You're the one who's been hitting me non-stop!

With an undeserved blame placed upon it, Mountain Child angrily waved its claws and shrieked.

"Oh? You dare to glare at me?"

Cheng Zhen raised a hand and directed another bodyguard to join in the beating.

Again, several iron fists, as big as casseroles, landed, and that baboon-like face was almost beaten into a gorilla's.

"Roar ah ah ah—"

Mountain Child had long been accustomed to lording it over this territory; when had it ever been grabbed by the scruff of its neck and beaten like a dog?

Not even my father ever hit me like this!!!

The enraged Mountain Child, in a fit of anger, just got angry for a moment.

After all, it wasn't a Saiyan that could power up, how could it possibly fight a group of Arhat Buddhas?

Cheng Zhen had just been hitting the wooden fish so hard sparks were flying, accumulating a vast amount of merit to strengthen and upgrade the initial Fat Buddhas he had summoned, their combat power having multiplied several times over.

Under the shadow of several 200x200 muscular figures, the small Mountain Child looked as weak as a chick.

(Image)

Mountain Child roared in anger, its veins bulging, and with one claw, it scratched off a tiny bit of Fat Buddha's health.

Cheng Zhen watched, then tapped the wooden fish twice more.

Fat Buddha's almost imperceptibly lost health bar instantly refilled.

A level one assassin fighting a level ten tank was bad enough, but what was even worse was that the tank also had a healer!

And there were several more such awesome guys next to him!

What's the point of fighting anymore?

I don't wanna die!!!

With its mentality shattered, Mountain Child let out a strange cry, hunched its body, and transformed back into mist.

When Cheng Zhen saw it condense into mist, he thought it was going to use another move, and he was just about to stand ready with a vigilant expression, but unexpectedly, that guy actually escaped directly through a crack.

No, it just ran away like that?

Cheng Zhen slowly typed out a question mark.

Aren't you supposed to be the Dungeon Boss for the villager sacrifice? How did you run away after taking two slaps?

I was so carefully vigilant for so long...

Cheng Zhen felt his emotions had been wasted. He had worked hard for a long time to get +15 equipment, thinking it would be a tough battle.

Unexpectedly, when the fight actually started, he didn't even need to use skills; one basic attack and the opponent was gone.

It was truly like drawing a sword and looking around, feeling lost.

Cheng Zhen was lost, but Mountain Child was broken.

Look at those several burly Buddhas.

Who exactly is the Dungeon Boss???

Beaten like a dog in its own lair, how could Mountain Child swallow this indignity?

It remembered that during the day, Cheng Zhen had almost been abducted by it. And with its abilities enhanced at night, the guy in that room would surely be easily handled by it, just like that Green Hair!

Mountain Child's face grew increasingly sinister. It bared its teeth, and a strange childish voice emerged, causing echoes to ripple through the surrounding mist, as if numerous children were singing in a grand chorus.

Cheng Zhen had already been down that path before, so how could he not be on guard? He had already placed Fat Buddha at the entrance when he was setting up the formation.

With that tonnage blocking the door, you couldn't open it without a tractor. Even if he were truly charmed, he probably wouldn't be able to get out at all.

However, when that familiar dizzying sensation arrived, the golden light of merit around Cheng Zhen suddenly flashed again, and his mind instantly became clear.

At the same time, a line of text appeared above his head:

Merit - 1

Cheng Zhen was surprised; this could actually resist mental attacks?

Truly worthy of being the version's T0 merit-flow!

Discovering the benefit, Cheng Zhen was overjoyed, while Mountain Child outside continued to sing with abandon.

With wave after wave of mental attacks, '-1' kept appearing above his head.

So Cheng Zhen started tapping his small wooden fish again, replenishing the lost merit.

Singing outside, tapping inside, as if a chorus had an accompaniment.

Subtracting on one side, adding on the other, when would it ever reach zero?

That Mountain Child put in a great deal of effort to get Cheng Zhen out.

But it howled for a long time, its voice almost cracking, yet the door remained as if welded to the wall. The person inside seemed to hear nothing, completely unaffected by any charm or hypnosis.

Mountain Child's angry eyes burned with raging fury, wishing it could tear down the house and drag the person out.

But, it couldn't.

It tried for a while longer, but the only response it got was a continuous 'thump-thump' sound.

Finally, it could only reluctantly retreat into the mist, leaving those few rooms.

The thick fog receded, and a few streaks of light appeared in the sky.

Looking at the morning light, Cheng Zhen still felt a bit unreal.

When they entered, those veteran players looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

But in the end, it was just this? Just this?

Cheng Zhen was momentarily unsure whether his bodyguards were too strong or the opponent was too weak. He felt like he hadn't even exerted much effort before it was over.

Or perhaps...

The first day was just a prelude, and the next two days would be the real tough battles?

After all, this dungeon required surviving for three days, so he still couldn't be careless.

Cheng Zhen waited a while longer, until the sun appeared and the mist completely vanished, before he pushed open the door and stepped out.

Although he had been tapping the wooden fish all night, he had also paid attention to the commotion outside.

Green Hair's room was right next to his, and it had been quite noisy in there.

But it wasn't long before that side fell silent, and then he saw Mountain Child shift its target to himself. The result was predictable.

Cheng Zhen wasn't too surprised by the comparison; after all, from the moment that guy entered the dungeon, his performance practically screamed 'cannon fodder.' In Conan, he wouldn't even survive half an episode.

Cheng Zhen quickly walked towards Green Hair's room. Although the Endless Game didn't have a concept of 'looting,' he had something he needed to investigate.

The door was open, and the situation inside was clear at a glance.

The room was a mess, with some scattered bloodstains on the floor.

The old wooden furniture was all damaged, lying in pieces on the ground.

Cheng Zhen walked in, first looking at the overturned bed board, and then easily found what he was looking for.

A red rag doll.

It should have been a child's toy, but its bright crimson color looked out of place in this dilapidated room.

Cheng Zhen reached out and picked it up. Seeing the golden light of merit flash on his body again, he roughly had an answer in his heart.

After entering the dungeon, every Raiders (strategist/player) would get an item bar, capable of holding 10 items, equipment, or weapons. After Cheng Zhen put the rag doll into his item bar, he searched other places but found no other clues.

Just as he was about to leave, several figures appeared at the doorway.

"That Green Hair was attacked, most likely already..."

Jacket Uncle looked at the bloodstains on the ground, frowning.

His teammates looked calm, seemingly accustomed to it. The two students beside them, however, were pale-faced and looked somewhat scared.

"Rather than saying he was attacked and killed..."

Cheng Zhen walked out, "To be precise, he was probably taken away and is now missing."

Jacket Uncle's face showed surprise, not expecting Cheng Zhen to be there too.

"Uncle, do you want information about the Dungeon Boss?"

Cheng Zhen didn't care about their thoughts. He curled his lips into a smile and held up two fingers.

"Want to know the Dungeon Boss's skill strength? Want to know crucial information from someone who experienced the attack firsthand?"

"Important intelligence now available for a surprising price, only 20 points!"