429: Chapter 428 Are You Getting a Little Hasty?

"Next, our three groups will each be responsible for searching one floor."

Lin Liguo immediately proposed this, and with no objections from the others, the nine of them quickly headed up the spiral staircase.

Just then, Chu Xuan suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

Everyone looked back toward the sound, their eyes filled with confusion.

Chu Xuan pondered for two seconds before saying, "Since the Administrator has stated that not all of us are Rule-Breakers, to prevent anyone from causing trouble in the shadows, you must search the rooms in groups of three and come back downstairs at the same time."

"Fine." Lin Liguo was the first to nod, then he led the group of Night Watchers away.

"We'll do as you say, then." Cai Hou gave a light chuckle and headed upstairs followed by Fat Pig and Xuan Xuan.

The reason Chu Xuan said this was considering that the true Rule-Breaker might not be limited to just the Minotaur.

The hint boxes were quite large and difficult to hide, but the keys to open them were completely different—they were only about the size of a palm.

If a Rule-Breaker were lurking among the searchers waiting for a chance to cause trouble, they could easily manipulate the situation with the keys.

However, if three people acted together, this problem could be largely avoided.

While doing this was a bit troublesome, everyone was a Transcendent; something that would be quite stamina-consuming for an ordinary person was nothing to a Transcendent.

"You've thought of everything." The Minotaur lifted his eyelids to look at Chu Xuan, his words carrying a deep meaning: "It seems you really want to win."

"With an Administrator like you, it's truly hard to say who will win or lose. I can only give it my all." Chu Xuan chuckled.

"Giving it your all doesn't necessarily mean you'll win!" The Minotaur wagged a finger, a strange smile on his face. "Right now, you are already unlocking the mechanisms."

"For the sake of the third stage, unlocking the mechanisms is unavoidable." Chu Xuan shook his head with some emotion and sighed, "There's really no other way..."

The corner of the Minotaur's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Chu Xuan continued to sigh.

To Chu Xuan, the Minotaur was practically playing with his cards visible, while the opponent knew nothing of his own trump cards.

In that case, since you want to act, I'll simply keep acting along with you.

The hall fell into silence once more.

Neither the six remaining with Chu Xuan nor the Minotaur spoke another word.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The bell rang; it was now "three o'clock."

This meant that thirty minutes had already passed.

With the sound of thumping footsteps, Cai Hou, Fat Pig, and Xuan Xuan were the first to run down.

Immediately after, Lin Liguo and the other five each walked down.

This time, the group had obtained four boxes and three keys.

Three of the boxes were successfully opened.

"Unclog the water pipes in the northwest room on the second floor... Repair the generator on the third floor... Open the secret door in the northwest bedroom on the fourth floor..."

As the text on the cards from the hint boxes was read out one after another, someone muttered, "These all seem like just daily chores..."

"It's actually a bit like a certain game. Completing these tasks shouldn't be hard in itself; the danger lies in the human factor," Xuan Xuan said, rubbing her chin.

"Regardless, we should still be careful." Cai Hou waved his hand. "Let's go, we'll finish the tasks on our respective floors first."

Leaving the extra keys and boxes behind, the group quickly headed upstairs again.

Soon, accompanied by the appearance of blood-red text, the System's prompt sounded in everyone's ears.

[Mechanisms Unlocked X2]

[Rule-Breaker Privilege: There is more than one Rule-Breaker. When the number of unlocked mechanisms reaches ten, Rule-Breakers will know each other's identities.]

Just as I thought!

When this message appeared, Chu Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly. Just as he had expected, the Minotaur was not the only Rule-Breaker here.

Who could the rest be?

Chu Xuan's mind whirled with possibilities.

"This message is useless; most of us should be Rule-Breakers anyway..." Li Na muttered.

[Mechanisms Unlocked X3]

[Rule-Breaker Privilege: For every person who dies, Rule-Breakers receive an additional 10 points. These points can be accumulated and used at any time to exchange for their own existing skills.]

"It seems it's better if a few more people die," Long Shan chuckled.

[Mechanisms Unlocked X4]

[Rule-Breaker Privilege: When a Rule-Breaker officially makes a move against a Challenger, the Combat Ban will be completely lifted.]

Seeing this message, a cold sneer couldn't help but surface on the corner of Chu Xuan's mouth.

So that's how it is!

From the looks of it, when that Minotaur seemingly attacked him earlier, it was actually just to use the Intimidation skill to force him to resist.

The opponent hadn't actually broken any rules.

But if he had resisted while being threatened, he would have directly violated the rules and would have been obliterated on the spot.

And in doing so, in the eyes of outsiders, it would conversely prove the opponent's strength, further solidifying his identity as the Administrator.

Unfortunately for him, through the Eye of Insight, Chu Xuan had long since known that this Minotaur was nothing more than a paper tiger.

Time passed slowly, and soon it was four o'clock. The searchers found another three boxes and two keys.

This time, they opened three boxes directly again.

But the tasks this time were more complex.

They were: cleaning every room on the second floor, calibrating the gauges in the boiler room, and folding every piece of clothing in the third-floor walk-in closet neatly.

These matters weren't difficult, but they were very time-consuming.

Despite the speed of the many Transcendents, ten minutes later, when the hour hand of the wall clock pointed to five, they still hadn't finished.

"How boring!" The Minotaur yawned and suddenly stood up, pacing around the hall in a seemingly casual manner.

Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow, stood up as well, and followed beside the Minotaur.

The Minotaur maintained a composed expression throughout: "Kid, what are you following me for?"

"Nothing, I've just never seen a Minotaur before." Chu Xuan also smiled. "I wonder if there's a Horse-Face here too? If there is, we could make a pair of 'Ox-Head and Horse-Face' lackeys."

When he said this, the others didn't quite understand the implication, but a slight cold sweat couldn't help but break out on the Minotaur's face.

The smile on Chu Xuan's face deepened: "You seem to be getting a little anxious?"

Right at that moment, the blood-red text and System prompts appeared one after another.

[Mechanisms Unlocked X5]

[Rule-Breaker Privilege: When a mechanism is unlocked, Rule-Breakers can hide privilege information for up to 30 seconds.]