100: Chapter 100 Movable and Fixed Pulleys

After finishing the discussion about the loot, the pot of water Hu Jinsi had been boiling was already bubbling.

White steam rose from the pot, bubbling and churning. He quickly added the instant noodles, various seasonings, Spam, eggs, and a series of other toppings into the pot. The trio's dinner was instant noodles, though it was an upgraded version.

This was because the team's loot had been rather average in the two weeks leading up to the Qingming Festival, so the three of them had been eating quite frugally lately. Although there was still plenty of food dropped on the Great Wall earlier that morning along the way, the three of them clearly intended to save some to take back for their parents and friends at home.

As for the samurai and ninjas attacked in the afternoon, they only dropped worthless items like rice balls, natto, and shredded kelp, which were clearly not the best choice for the three of them who wanted a hot meal for dinner.

Hu Jinsi stirred the noodles in the pot, watching the eggs slowly solidify in the soup, the yolks turning from transparent to a tender yellow. The aroma of the instant noodles mixed with the savory scent of the Spam, wafting through the night air by the roadside. Su Wan leaned in to sniff it, squinting her eyes in satisfaction. Lin Rui took three bowls out of his backpack and placed them on the stone slab next to the campfire.

After dinner, it was still early. The moon rose from behind the bamboo forest, casting silver radiance over the courtyard. Hu Jinsi began to think about "skipping class" again; after all, the three of them hadn't succeeded in skipping the Great Wall in the second stage, which still secretly annoyed him.

As a transmigrator, he already knew the content of these dungeons. In every previous dungeon, he had been able to exploit some harmless bugs or find ways to slack off and skip some content. Therefore, for this dungeon, he was thinking about how he and his team could benefit. Every little bit of fighting saved was a win, and saving energy was always a priority.

The path of arson had clearly already been tried by others. Hu Jinsi felt it was a pity; after all, from the perspective of a transmigrator, he had no psychological burden about setting fire to the Japanese-style architecture before him.

But the dungeon didn't allow it, and there was nothing he could do. If he couldn't set a fire, then destroying the building was theoretically feasible. However, Hu Jinsi felt that by the time he had the effort to destroy the building, he could have just gone in and cleared it, making it an impractical idea. Demolishing a house was more tiring than fighting the boss; that wasn't skipping class, that was just asking for trouble.

Gazing at the building in front of him, Hu Jinsi felt he had thought of the answer. But the answer just wouldn't surface at the top of his mind. He paced around unconsciously, even jumping onto the roof of a nearby house to overlook the multi-story wooden structure.

The moonlight shone on the black tiles, casting a faint silvery glow. The eaves curved upward like birds spreading their wings. He stood on the roof with his arms crossed, brow furrowed, observing the silhouette of the building from every angle.

Just as Hu Jinsi was preparing to return to where the team was resting, he looked down at his feet and finally realized what he had been overlooking. The roof beneath him had neatly arranged tiles, and the wooden eaves structure was clearly visible. There were no traps, no mechanisms. He suddenly realized: why did they have to enter from the first floor?

Returning to the wooden building where the boss lived, Hu Jinsi immediately activated [Parkour]. His body rose from the ground like an agile ape, leaping onto the nearby perimeter wall. His feet tapped lightly on the bricks atop the wall, and he then jumped further up onto the tiles of the first-floor roof.

The tiles made a slight friction sound but did not break, supporting his body steadily. There were no traps, no mechanisms. Hu Jinsi, filled with surprise, tried to pry open the second-floor window in front of him with a wooden stick.

With a creak, the old wooden window hinge made a harsh grinding sound, and the window opened. The room on the second floor was pitch black; it seemed that as long as Hu Jinsi wanted to, he could enter the second floor of this building at any time, without needing to bypass the mechanisms on the first floor.

Having figured it out, Hu Jinsi didn't enter the second floor directly. He then activated [Parkour] again. With continuous leaps, his body maneuvered between the eaves and tiles, arriving on the roof tiles of the third floor.

The night wind blew past his ears, bringing a faint, musty smell of wood. In front of him was the fourth floor, the top floor's wooden window. Once pushed open, the final boss should be inside.

Hu Jinsi was a bit excited, but he didn't go in. Instead, he eventually jumped back along the eaves to the roof tiles of the first floor. Looking at the wooden window he had just opened, he had one last thing to confirm. Could he enter the second floor directly like this? What would be triggered if he went in?

Hu Jinsi held his breath and quietly poked his head inside. The room was very dark, with only a faint moonlight filtering in through the window. He could see tatami mats covering the floor and a few old wooden crates piled in the corner. He had succeeded.

But the moment he entered, it seemed to activate several ninjas resting nearby. In the darkness, several pairs of eyes suddenly lit up, reflecting faint light like the pupils of beasts. They instantly lunged at Hu Jinsi, with shuriken carving silver arcs through the air.

Hu Jinsi clearly did not want to fight them there. The room was too small, unfavorable for maneuvering, and he didn't know how many more enemies would swarm over. So he quickly retreated out the window, returning to the ground in front of the building.

The few ninjas followed Hu Jinsi out from the window, their black figures darting out like bats and landing on the stone floor.

At this time, Su Wan and Lin Rui had not yet rested. The two of them had been somewhat puzzled by Hu Jinsi's earlier antics of leaping up and down.

But when he stepped onto the third-floor roof tiles and then returned to the first-floor roof to try entering the second floor, the two of them, as long-time partners of Hu Jinsi, instantly understood his idea.

That open window and the ninjas chasing out from inside explained one thing: the outside of this building did not have the same mechanical protection as the interior. Entering from above could completely bypass those troublesome traps.

Hu Jinsi's experiment was a success. This level could also be "skipped." As for the three ninjas that chased them out, they were obviously dealt with easily by the three-person team.

"So what you mean is," Su Wan clapped her hands, her eyes brightening, "we go in directly from the second or third floor tomorrow? We don't have to go through those mechanisms on the first floor?"

"Theoretically, yes." Hu Jinsi nodded, shouldering his stick again, "But I haven't tried entering the boss room directly from the top floor. I don't know if that will trigger any additional mechanisms."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Su Wan was already excited, "Let's go try it tonight! We'll take out that ninja Amon and finish up tomorrow!"

She tugged at Hu Jinsi's sleeve, wishing she could drag him up there right now. Although Lin Rui didn't speak, his eyes also showed an eagerness to try. Clearly, the ability to "skip class" was very tempting to both of them.

But Hu Jinsi shook his head. He reached out, pressed his hand on Su Wan's shoulder, and pushed her back to the side of the campfire. "Calm down. Starting a battle with a ninja boss at night is a very unwise choice."

He sat back on the stone, picked up a twig, and drew a simple diagram on the muddy ground. "This ninja boss is different from the previous mini-boss. Not only can he teleport, but he also uses lightning and fire ninjutsu. Visibility is poor at night, and our perception will be affected. If he teleports behind us and uses lightning magic, we won't even have time to react."

Hearing this, the excitement on Su Wan's face slowly faded. She thought about it and had to admit that what Hu Jinsi said made sense. Fighting at night was actually a home-field advantage for ninjas. Having calmed down, Su Wan accepted Hu Jinsi's reasoning.

So now, the goal of the team's discussion was how to get Su Wan and Lin Rui up to the roof tiles of the third floor. If this problem wasn't solved, the "skip class" plan would just be a one-man show by Hu Jinsi.

Su Wan initially proposed that she cast [Spider Climb] on both herself and Lin Rui. That way, the two of them could walk all the way up along the exterior wall of the building.

But Hu Jinsi quickly shook his head. "If you walk like that, there are a few sections where you would need to walk completely upside down. I believe it's possible for you, Su Wan, but I think it would be very difficult for Lin Rui."

He paused and continued, "This plan is definitely the last resort. But [Spider Climb] is certainly needed, because even if we get to the third-floor roof, I don't think we should start the battle inside the fourth floor. Instead, we should lure the battle to the third-floor roof. That way, we won't have to dodge the mechanisms inside the fourth floor. Leading the battlefield to an open area is more advantageous for us."

Lin Rui gave Hu Jinsi a grateful look. He still vividly remembered his last experience with [Spider Climb]; that dizzy and nauseous feeling made him instinctively resist this plan. He immediately followed up, "Then if we don't use [Spider Climb], how do you plan to get Su Wan and me up there?"

Hu Jinsi held up two fingers. "I have two plans."

Before Hu Jinsi could continue, Su Wan exclaimed in surprise, "You actually have two plans to solve this problem!"

Hu Jinsi looked at Su Wan helplessly. "Are you done? Can I continue now?"

Su Wan stuck out her tongue, expressing her apology. "Please, go ahead."

"The first plan is to use the [Web Grappling Hook]. Su Wan, you've used this equipment before, and it doesn't have a particularly strict cooldown anyway. We can use the grappling hook to first grab the second-floor eaves. That way, I can pull you two up one by one using the hook's tendons from above."

Su Wan recalled the [Web Grappling Hook]. Thinking of those sticky tendons, her scalp immediately began to itch. The last time she used this hook, it took her a long time—using shampoo and detergent—to wash off all that sticky mucus from her hair.

The feeling of that stuff stuck in her hair was like someone had dumped a bowl of glue on her; every strand of hair was stuck together, and no matter how much she washed, she couldn't get it clean. Therefore, she quickly asked Hu Jinsi, "What about the second one?"

"The second plan is for you two to pull yourselves up."

As he spoke, Hu Jinsi took out the zip line left over from the [Dragon King Warrior I] dungeon from his backpack, along with several movable and fixed pulleys that came with the zip line when he bought it. Those metal parts gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and the edges of the pulleys still had some traces of wear and tear.

Hu Jinsi pointed to these items on the ground. "You've learned basic physics, right? After I go up, I can first fix the position of the fixed pulley. Then you two can set up the movable pulley yourselves, and in that way, pull yourselves up slowly. Of course, depending on how you wrap the rope, you two can also choose to pull yourselves up; both are possible."

But Hu Jinsi clearly overestimated Lin Rui and Su Wan's level of physics. Because in this world, things like physics and chemistry were not very major subjects in general education.

They only taught some of the most basic content, unlike in Hu Jinsi's past life, where there were so many complex exercises designed to make you learn how to solve problems.

In this world, students spend most of their time on dungeon combat techniques, understanding class characteristics, and team coordination training. Subjects like physics and chemistry belong to fringe knowledge, and only specialized scholars delve into them.

Clearly, the two people in front of Hu Jinsi had absolutely no clue about this matter. Su Wan stared at the pulleys and ropes on the ground, her eyes filled with confusion. She picked up a movable pulley, turned it over in her hand, and then looked up to ask Hu Jinsi, "How... do we set this up?"

Lin Rui didn't say anything. He picked up a fixed pulley, weighed it in his hand, and then silently placed it back on the ground. His expression said it all. He didn't understand. But Lin Rui had his own solution.

He said to Hu Jinsi, "There's no need to go through all this trouble. Let's just do it the way we crossed the suspension bridge before. Jinsi, you go up first, and then I'll throw Su Wan up from the first floor. Once you've caught Su Wan, I'll use that [Web Grappling Hook] to pull myself up. Then, you can just give me a hand from above. We can just move up layer by layer like that."

Although Hu Jinsi really wanted to insist on using his plan involving two fixed pulleys and two movable pulleys, it was clear that both Lin Rui and Su Wan agreed with this simpler and cruder solution.

The three of them didn't discuss it any further and directly decided on the final plan for tomorrow morning. Although the physics-based plan was theoretically less strenuous, the barrier to execution was too high. It was better to just go with the simple and crude method of throwing and pulling people; at least everyone could understand how to operate it.

---

The next morning, Lin Rui and Su Wan had clearly woken up a bit late. This was perhaps because they had been too excited the night before; thinking about these methods to skip class was always so intoxicating that it had led to some temporary insomnia.

Fortunately, thanks to Hu Jinsi's plan to skip class, the trio's task for today had become much simpler. They only needed to take care of this level's boss, Amon, and that would be it. As for the next level, even if they were given another 24 hours, they might not be able to pass it, so there was no need to force the effort.

After getting up early, the three of them had a burger and a cup of iced coffee each. After finishing breakfast, the time had already reached 8 o'clock. The three began to implement their grand plan to skip class at a leisurely pace.

The plan was implemented smoothly. Sunlight spilled down through the gaps in the bamboo forest, illuminating the entire courtyard until it was bright and clear.

The three of them relayed their way up layer by layer. Hu Jinsi jumped to the first-floor roof first, and then Lin Rui lifted Su Wan from below, pushing her up with force to reduce the pulling strain on Hu Jinsi. Finally, Lin Rui used the grappling hook to pull himself up, with Hu Jinsi giving him a hand from the level above. The three of them inched their way up layer by layer like this, finally meeting on the third-floor roof.

However, in the process of climbing over the rooftops, the three of them couldn't keep their mouths shut. Lin Rui inadvertently brought up the topic of [Double Dragon II]. "I have a distant cousin who participated in the [Double Dragon II] dungeon back in the day. That dungeon had a much larger scale than this one. Not only were there helicopters, but tanks and large battle vehicles were also involved."

As he spoke, he reached out to help Su Wan brush the dust off her hair. "Compared to this pure combat dungeon now, the [Double Dragon II] of back then was truly grand. Many class holders who used firearms were very keen to participate. After all, they had to face strafing from helicopters in the sky and attacks from battle vehicles on the ground. Therefore, those class holders who used firearms could easily get a piece of the action in the battle. Unlike now, firearm classes are basically just bystanders in this dungeon."

Su Wan asked directly, "Then Lin Rui, has anyone in your family participated in the [Double Dragon I] dungeon?"

Lin Rui shook his head. "That, they haven't. After all, not every dungeon happens to descend near the city where my family lives. Information about that dungeon can only be found online now."

Listening to the two chatting, Hu Jinsi also found it quite interesting. The rules for the descent of dungeons on Water Blue Star actually had such a serious obsessive-compulsive disorder, requiring them to descend in chronological order from beginning to end.

Although he had clearly known this before, he didn't know why he hadn't noticed this point, but upon careful thought, it was indeed the case. After all, the Metal Slug series of dungeons had already descended up to the third installment.

Although Metal Slug did not descend as a whole like [Double Dragon III], but was instead dispersed into individual small levels forming dungeons that descended in pieces all over the world, it was indeed true that on the timeline, it only arrived after the first-generation dungeon and the second-generation dungeon had been completely digested by Water Blue Star.

Perhaps if he lived long enough in the future, he would be able to see situations where Demon Lords and Immortal Emperors from things like Chinese Paladin 3 and 4 descended into dungeons. He wondered what level such a dungeon would be at that time.

It would probably be several orders of magnitude more difficult than these current dungeons. Hu Jinsi, while indulging in pleasant daydreams, caught Su Wan. At this moment, the three of them had also arrived at the third-floor roof, and the final battle was about to begin.

The third-floor roof was covered with gray tiles, and there were gaps between the tiles that would make a slight creaking sound when stepped on. The roof area was not large, but it was enough for the three of them to engage in combat.

Sunlight shone directly down from above, baking the tiles until they were somewhat hot. The three stood at the edge of the roof, looking toward the fourth-floor wooden window not far away. That window was tightly closed, and it was pitch black inside; they didn't know what kind of enemy was hiding there.

The three of them rested while checking the pre-battle tactics again. Lin Rui specifically said to Su Wan, "Su Wan, when the battle starts in a moment, don't stand too far away. Because this ninja has teleportation abilities, I'm afraid that if he breaks free from your control for a split second, he might teleport to your side."

"In that case, it might be too late for Hu Jinsi and me to rescue you. Keep your distance from us between five to ten meters. That way, whether it's my [Charge] or Hu Jinsi, we can reach your side in about a second to assist you."

Su Wan nodded repeatedly in agreement after hearing this. "Understood, five to ten meters. I've remembered it."

After all, since it concerned her own life, she dared not be careless. After finishing, Lin Rui looked at Hu Jinsi and asked, "Jinsi, do you have anything else to add or anything you've noticed?"

Hu Jinsi continued, "There is actually one very small detail. Take a look at the combat footage sent by others of this level's boss, Amon. Before this ninja teleports or uses ninjutsu, he always has a hand-sealing motion."

He took out his personal terminal and brought up the stored video to show them. The screen played a blurry combat recording, with a figure dressed in a pure white martial arts suit flickering in the frame.

It was indeed so. Although the postures were different, it was true that before he released lightning-attribute ninjutsu or teleported, there was always a motion of one hand or two hands coming together to form seals. That motion was very fast, probably only a fraction of a second, but it definitely existed. Fingers crossed, thumbs locked, forming various complex shapes.

Hu Jinsi pointed at the screen and said, "Therefore, I suggest that in the process of the upcoming battle, the two of us prioritize attacking this ninja Amon's hands. Whether we can cause a muscle strain in his fingers or cause other types of injuries, as long as his hands cannot form seals, then the ninjutsu techniques he displayed in previous battles will be sealed off by half."

"Without ninjutsu, this ninja won't even have half of his strength left. Like I said yesterday, in a head-on fight, punching and kicking, ninjas are very average. However, in Amon's previous battles with others, there was no information indicating he uses poison. But everyone should still prepare for the worst; keep your antidotes in the most accessible places so you can take them at any time."

The three checked their respective statuses one last time. Everything was ready.

---

Hu Jinsi used a wooden stick to pry open the fourth-floor window. He didn't go in, but just like that, through the opened window, he randomly threw a few throwing knives and shuriken inside. The throwing knives and shuriken made clanging collision sounds in the dark room, like some sort of ominous omen.

Then, he casually threw in two pieces of [Alchemist's Fire] that had been left over from a long time ago. The [Alchemist's Fire] exploded inside the room, emitting a dazzling firelight, and heat waves surged out from the window, carrying a pungent smell of sulfur. Afterward, Hu Jinsi left the position by the window, leaving only Lin Rui standing at a distance of about five meters directly facing the window.

He raised his [SWAT Heavy Riot Shield], his body leaning slightly forward, like a stone statue ready to strike.

A few seconds later, a ninja dressed in a pure white martial arts suit suddenly appeared behind Lin Rui. The three of them hadn't noticed how he had appeared. But when they saw him, he was already in a half-squatting posture, forming a seal with one hand, seemingly about to launch a ninjutsu.

The fingers of that hand were crossed into a complex shape, thumbs locked, with fingertips glowing with a faint blue light. Fortunately, Lin Rui had been keeping an eye on Su Wan and Hu Jinsi's expressions. Seeing their faces change drastically as they tried to say something, Lin Rui knew the situation was bad.

He quickly performed a [Tactical Roll] to leave the area he was currently in, rolling three meters to the side.

Sure enough, within the next two seconds, the position where Lin Rui had been standing suddenly erupted with blinding firelight from beneath the tiles.

With a boom, tiles flew everywhere, and gravel shot out in all directions like bullets. The dust generated after the explosion drifted everywhere, and gray smoke filled the entire rooftop.

For a moment, Su Wan, standing in the distance, could not lock onto the figure of the ninja Amon. The smoke was too thick; her vision was completely blocked, and she could only see a gray, hazy chaos.

Seeing this, Hu Jinsi had no choice but to rush into the cluster of smoke. He began to channel [Spinning Crane Kick], his body spinning like a top, with his legs whipping up a powerful airflow. He used his own attack to guide the surrounding airflow, causing it to carry all this dust away.

The force of the energy was like a tornado, driving the smoke toward the edge of the roof. But when these smoke and dust cleared, the three of them did not find any trace of Amon on the roof. The roof was empty, with only black tiles and scattered gravel, and the sun shone straight down without any obstruction.

For a moment, the three were a bit nervous. After all, visible enemies were not scary; invisible enemies, especially enemies like ninjas who were skilled in assassination, were the most terrifying. They stood back-to-back, forming a triangular formation, vigilantly scanning their surroundings. Every little movement of the wind or grass made their hearts beat faster.

Suddenly, Hu Jinsi felt a tightening on his shoulder. A huge force came from behind, as if he had been clamped by an iron pincer. Sure enough, the worst-case scenario had happened; he seemed to have been hit by the [Yin-Yang Explosive Flame Kill].

Without time to think too much, Hu Jinsi directly activated [Misty Step]. Fortunately, because the dust had only been dispersed to the edge of the roof, there were still several patches of smoke filled with dust remaining at the edge of the roof. Only then was Hu Jinsi able to teleport out using these media.

His body turned into a blurry shadow, appearing in another puff of smoke three meters away. Amon, having missed his skill, did not show any expression of surprise; after all, his face was already mostly covered by that silver-gray metal mask, revealing only his eyes, making it impossible for anyone to judge his expression. Those eyes were cold and hollow, like two emotionless glass beads.

However, facing Amon, who had finally revealed his true form, Lin Rui went straight for a [Charge], slamming into him with the full weight of his heavy armor.

Unfortunately, by the time Lin Rui reached him, Amon's figure had vanished. This ninja Boss had used a teleportation move to appear directly behind Lin Rui, seemingly intending to launch a sneak attack.

His figure flickered in the air before reappearing behind Lin Rui, his elbow thrusting forward, aiming for Lin Rui's kidney.

Unfortunately for him, Lin Rui's back was protected by a tower shield even sturdier than the one in front. The [Solid Rock Tower Shield] was embedded on his back like a black iron plate. Amon's elbow strike was destined to fail; his elbow tip collided with the surface of the tower shield, producing a dull thud without leaving so much as a scratch.

Furthermore, due to the effect of the affix [Labyrinth Stomp], Lin Rui's [Charge] temporarily affected the path behind him. For a moment, Amon found himself unable to break away from Lin Rui's side; his footsteps were stuck by some invisible force, as if he were stepping into a quagmire.

At this point in the battle, Su Wan finally locked onto Amon. She took a deep breath and began chanting [Crown of Madness]. Once [Crown of Madness] landed on the ninja Boss, his eyes flickered rapidly between clarity and haziness, his movements stiffened, and his elbow remained frozen in an attacking posture.

Hu Jinsi lunged back, covering three meters in an instant. He called out to Lin Rui to strike quickly while raising his staff. This time, however, he did not use unarmed attacks; after all, a ninja's fighting style was rather underhanded. He feared the ninja might have coated his body in poison, and direct contact could lead to being poisoned.

Therefore, Hu Jinsi grabbed his staff and unleashed a flurry of strikes at Amon's right elbow and wrist. The iron-wrapped wooden staff whistled through the air, each strike landing precisely on the joints with dull thuds.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Rui handled Amon's basic punches and kicks with ease. Although Amon was controlled by [Crown of Madness] and his attacks had become chaotic, the power behind every punch and kick remained significant. Lin Rui blocked a straight punch with his shield and then followed up with a [Shield Bash]. Following Hu Jinsi's plan, he focused his [Shield Bash] attacks on Amon's fingers and wrists.

Especially when Lin Rui saw Amon attempting a hand-blade attack, he met it head-on with a [Shield Bash], slamming the edge of his shield against the ninja's fingertips. The edge of the shield acted like a blunt blade, attempting to bruise his fingers. Amon's fingers were bent backward, producing a teeth-gritting cracking sound.

Su Wan's first [Crown of Madness] only lasted a little over thirty seconds on Amon. It was shorter than expected; the ninja class possessed stronger willpower than imagined. Fortunately, the trio was mentally prepared for this. Having broken free from [Crown of Madness], the Boss did not immediately activate any hand-seal skills.

Instead, he performed a single-handed seal again and struck the ground, directly activating [Lightning Array]. As his palm slapped the roof tiles, blue electrical light surged from his palm, spreading outward like countless snakes.

Seeing this, Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi quickly retreated from Amon's vicinity. They leaped to the sides, rolling in the air before landing steadily on the roof tiles five meters away. For a moment, lightning flashed within a three-meter radius centered on Amon.

The blinding lightning caused Su Wan to lose visual lock on Amon again. She closed her eyes to avoid retinal burns from the intense light, unable to immediately cast a second [Crown of Madness] on Amon. Those blue arcs of electricity whipped through the air like countless lashes, emitting crackling explosions. The roof tiles were scorched black by the electricity, releasing a pungent, burnt odor.

Three seconds later, the lightning dissipated. However, the dust kicked up by the electrical strike filled his original area. Black charred ash hung in the air like a thin mist, once again creating an environment similar to the beginning of the battle.

Hu Jinsi had to repeat his previous tactic, using [Spinning Crane Kick] once again to shift the dust by manipulating the airflow with his internal energy. His body spun again, and the airflow generated by his legs acted like a small fan, driving the dust toward the edge of the roof.

But this time, even ten seconds after the dust had dissipated, the trio still could not find Amon's shadow. This was troublesome. Where was he hiding? Why couldn't they see him?

Facing a ninja so adept at hiding, it was clear that none of the three possessed any tracking skills to resolve the current predicament. No one had reminded Su Wan to cast [Faerie Fire] before the battle. This was a pre-battle oversight, and it was too late to regret it now.

Hu Jinsi told Lin Rui to guard Su Wan and asked Su Wan to sing something right where she stood. "Try it, see if you can detect any other anomalies through sound waves."

Su Wan nodded and began humming a melody without lyrics. Her voice echoed across the roof like ripples spreading outward. When the sound waves hit objects and reflected back, they formed blurry images in her consciousness. Although not as clear as vision, she could at least perceive the general outlines of her surroundings.

Hu Jinsi closed his own eyes and began to explore the roof step by step. Based on Hu Jinsi's understanding of these ninjas, even when they hid, they mostly relied on visual deception. Illusions, camouflage, invisibility—these were all tricks to fool the eyes. But as long as one didn't use their eyes, these tricks were meaningless.

Hu Jinsi believed that with the blind sense granted by his equipment and his base twenty points of Perception, any slight disturbance in the surroundings would not escape his detection. He walked step by step, feeling the texture and temperature of the roof tiles beneath his feet. His blind sense spread outward like an invisible net centered on him. Any minute vibration, change in temperature, or movement of air would be captured by this net.

Since it was visual deception, he would simply stop using his vision for now. Of course, Hu Jinsi didn't think he had reached the level of a certain Saint Seiya; he wasn't about to gouge out his own eyes to boost his combat power. He simply closed his eyes and used his other senses to replace sight.

After Hu Jinsi finished exploring one area, he would wave for Lin Rui and Su Wan to join him in that zone. Then he would move on to explore the next. The three maintained a short distance between them, like three blind men groping in the dark. Seven minutes passed, and Hu Jinsi had already explored seventy percent of the roof's area.

He believed that Amon was hiding in the remaining thirty percent of the space. It was a shaded area near the eaves where the roof tiles were arranged more densely and the light was the dimmest.

Sure enough, when Hu Jinsi tapped on a certain tile, he detected something unusual from the sound. The echo beneath that tile was different from the others—it was hollower, as if there were a mezzanine underneath. He paused, lifting his foot slightly, preparing for the next step of his investigation.

At that moment, Amon suddenly lunged out from beneath the tiles, moving as fast as a bolt of white lightning. He grabbed Hu Jinsi's arm and executed an air throw, tossing him off the roof. Hu Jinsi's body tumbled through the air like a thrown stone, seemingly about to plummet from the fourth-story height. Falling from this height would result in severe injury, if not death.

Miraculously, however, the cloak on Hu Jinsi's back suddenly unfurled. It was the [Wyvern Wing Membrane Gliding Cloak], a piece of equipment Hu Jinsi had almost forgotten. In mid-air, its internal wire frame automatically expanded like a pair of giant wings, turning into a makeshift hang glider. The cloak caught the wind and generated lift, causing Hu Jinsi's descent speed to slow rapidly.

He adjusted his body posture and, gliding on the airflow, landed back on the second-story roof. The tiles made a slight clattering sound beneath his feet, but he stood steadily. After retracting the hang glider, Hu Jinsi returned to the third-story roof in a few simple leaps to face the Boss head-on.

At this moment, the Boss seemed to glitch at Hu Jinsi's fancy maneuver. Perhaps in the response logic of this projection, there was no way to handle such a bizarre situation. A person who should have fallen to their death could return, but flying back was a situation that exceeded expectations, causing his logic to momentarily stall.

Meanwhile, Su Wan, having been reminded by Lin Rui early on, had immediately cast [Faerie Fire] on Amon. A cluster of green flames appeared out of thin air, adhering to the ninja Boss's white tunic and emitting an eerie glow.

The flames had no temperature but would burn continuously until the target died or the spell was dispelled. With this flame, Amon could no longer turn invisible or hide. His position was clearly marked, like a lantern in the darkness.

Su Wan immediately began chanting the [Crown of Madness] spell again. Lin Rui also charged toward Amon, repeating his previous tactic. He had figured it out: this ninja Boss's basic attacks were on the same level as last night's mini-boss.

All of his damage was concentrated in those ninjutsu skills. In other words, he wasn't a martial artist at all, but a ninja—a ninja who relied purely on ninjutsu. Once his ninjutsu was sealed or restricted, his combat effectiveness would plummet.

When Amon was controlled by [Crown of Madness] for the second time, the outcome of the battle was sealed. Although Amon broke free from control again after a little over thirty seconds—his willpower was indeed stronger than most enemies—this time he could not successfully hide. After all, the effect of [Faerie Fire] kept the area around him glowing.

The green flame adhered to his clothes; even if he tried to roll or move, the flame would move with him. As long as one didn't have severe vision problems, they should be able to spot this anomalous area. Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui lunged at him simultaneously, raining down blows with staff and shield, blocking off all his escape routes.

The battle lasted nearly fifteen minutes. The ninja met his end. The trio breathed a sigh of relief and slumped onto the roof, gasping for air. The sunlight remained warm, and the bamboo forest continued to rustle, as if the thrilling battle that had just taken place was merely a fleeting nightmare.