173: Chapter 173 Destroying the Puppet

Each change of the metal chessboard lasted only three seconds.

Within three seconds, the safe squares would turn into dead squares.

The dead squares would fall silent again, and poison spikes would pop up from elsewhere.

Lin Ye walked in front, his pace extremely fast.

He did not test the waters or pause; every step landed precisely in the split second before the ground spikes erupted.

Zhao Mengmeng followed closely behind, her eyes locked onto his boot heels.

She didn't dare look around.

One look and she would lose her rhythm.

Five steps to the left, an entire row of bronze poison spikes suddenly shot up.

Their tips were coated with a black liquid that dripped onto the metal squares, corroding them with wisps of white smoke.

Immediately after, a forest of spikes erupted on the right.

Sandwiched in the middle, they had less than half a breath's margin of error.

The bullet screen of the Great Xia Live Stream paused for a brief moment.

[My eyes can't even keep up, how does he dare to just walk straight through?!]

[This is like dancing on poison spikes—if you're half a beat slow, you're dead!]

[Sister Mengmeng is also insane. She steps wherever Brother Eye steps; if she's off by even half a second, she's done for.]

Lin Ye's Left Eye blinked open and shut rapidly.

The green squares for his next three steps flickered on his retina.

Beyond three steps, everything was completely swallowed by dense red light.

He couldn't look at the entire chessboard at once; it consumed his mental energy too quickly.

He broke down every three steps into a single breath.

Front right.

Straight ahead.

Front left.

Pause half a beat.

Move sideways.

Jump a square.

Zhao Mengmeng followed him so closely that sweat beaded on her forehead, and the clay pot in her backpack clinked softly.

"Brother Lin, can we walk at a human speed?"

"No."

"Then give me a heads-up beforehand so I can pull my soul back in."

"Jump right."

Hearing those two words, Zhao Mengmeng's body lunged to the right before her mind could even think.

In the next instant, the metal square she had been standing on suddenly flipped open.

It wasn't poison spikes.

A row of upward-shooting bronze blades grazed the tips of her flying hair, slicing off a few stray strands.

She crashed into Lin Ye's back upon landing and whispered, "This floor can add extra dishes to the menu too?"

Within the vision of Lin Ye's Left Eye, a massive area ahead was completely red.

The three traps of poison spikes, blades, and trapdoors interlocked, completely cutting off any safe route.

Twenty meters away, a protruding iron ring glowed with a green light.

Behind the iron ring was a narrow safe zone.

Lin Ye raised his right arm. "Fly over."

"Finally, we don't have to play on the dance machine."

The Dark Weaver's grappling hook shot out, wrapping tightly around the iron ring.

Lin Ye grabbed Zhao Mengmeng's tactical belt.

At the same time, Zhao Mengmeng fired her Wind-Chasing Claw, its three prongs locking into the groove next to the iron ring.

Both cables retracted simultaneously.

The two of them flew low, skimming just above the chessboard.

Beneath them, bronze poison spikes erupted one after another, their tips less than half a foot from Lin Ye's breastplate.

Zhao Mengmeng tucked her legs in tightly, almost having her knees sliced by a row of blades.

The two landed steadily on the edge of the safe zone.

Just as they landed, the area they had flown over completely exploded.

Ground spikes, blades, and bronze spears shot out together, densely filling the space.

The four black stone pillars in the center of the chessboard drew closer and closer.

The pillars were seven meters tall, their surfaces carved with star patterns.

Blinding dark red light gleamed from the cracks in the pillars.

Lin Ye's Left Eye swept over them; the feedback of danger was extremely heavy.

But the safe route had to pass through the center.

Detouring would require crossing three consecutive red zones, and the grappling hook's range was not enough to repeatedly swing across.

"There's something in the central pillars," Lin Ye spoke up.

Zhao Mengmeng leveled her crossbow. "Alive?"

"Soon."

"That's the most annoying answer."

The moment they stepped into the central area, all four stone pillars vibrated simultaneously.

*Crack.*

Three of the stone pillars split down the middle.

A heavy mechanical grinding sound echoed through the underground space.

Rubble flaked off as three giant puppets, each three meters tall, stepped out from within.

The puppets were constructed from a combination of rock and star crystals.

Grayish-blue cores were embedded in their chests.

In their hands, they dragged heavy chain hammers, the spiked heads covered in sharp thorns.

As they dragged them across the metal chessboard, harsh sparks flew.

Zhao Mengmeng raised her crossbow and fired immediately.

*Thwang!*

The bronze arrow struck the chest of the puppet directly in front.

The arrowhead only left a white mark on the star crystal shell before bouncing off.

The second arrow was aimed directly at its joints.

*Thwang!*

The arrow struck the crack in the knee, but got wedged by the rock plates inside, failing to slow it down in the slightest.

The puppets raised their chain hammers and took heavy steps, precisely blocking the only safe route ahead.

Lin Ye reached out and pushed down her crossbow. "Don't waste arrows."

Zhao Mengmeng quickly lowered her crossbow. "These things are unreasonably tough."

Lin Ye activated his Left Eye.

The puppets glowed entirely red, with no pierceable weak points.

Their thick armor, joints, and cores were all heavily protected by star crystals.

But the chessboard beneath their feet was different.

The squares still changed every three seconds.

The puppets were extremely heavy; every step they took would accelerate the triggering of the mechanisms beneath the metal squares.

They were blocking the way.

But they could also be killed by the path itself.

Lin Ye closed his Left Eye, and his horizontal saber slid out of its sheath.

"I'll bait them."

Zhao Mengmeng stared at the three puppets. "How do we coordinate?"

"Force them to raise their hammers."

"Understood. Trash-talking and cheap shots."

The first puppet had already swung its heavy hammer.

The chain hammer traced a heavy arc in the air, smashing down directly toward Lin Ye's head.

Instead of retreating, Lin Ye stepped right in front of a dead square that was about to turn red.

This step made Zhao Mengmeng's heart squeeze tight.

The puppet's chain hammer crashed down.

The grappling hook on Lin Ye's right arm instantly shot toward an iron ring ten meters to the side.

*Whoosh!*

The hook bit in, and the cable retracted with explosive speed.

He swung sideways close to the ground, his back armor scraping against the metal squares.

The chain hammer smashed heavily into the dead square right in front of where he had just been standing.

*Boom!*

The dead square was triggered by the heavy impact.

The mechanism let out a violent roar.

A row of high-pressure steel spikes, thicker than the puppet's waist, shot out from underground.

The steel spikes pierced through the puppet's pelvis and abdomen from below, brutally rupturing the star crystal core in its chest.

The grayish-blue core instantly exploded into powder.

Half of the puppet's body was hoisted up, and the chain hammer flew from its grip.

Its rocky body shattered into large chunks, crashing heavily onto the chessboard.

The poison spikes retracted back underground, leaving only Shattered Star Crystals scattered across the floor.

The second and third puppets simultaneously changed their tactics.

They no longer smashed in a straight line, but split to the left and right.

They attempted to block Lin Ye's grappling hook path with their chain hammers.

The safe squares on the chessboard were becoming fewer and fewer.

Zhao Mengmeng quickly assessed the situation.

She absolutely couldn't let the puppets flank him.

She raised her crossbow.

Instead of aiming at the core, she aimed directly at the joint of the left puppet's chain hammer.

*Thwang!*

The arrow struck the middle of the chain. It failed to break it, but it threw the high-speed swinging hammer head off by an inch.

That inch was just enough.

The left puppet's chain hammer smashed down prematurely.

It hit a normal metal square, failing to trigger any steel spikes and only leaving a massive dent.

Seizing the tiny window as it retracted its hammer, Lin Ye hooked onto the broken end of the right stone pillar and lunged toward the right puppet.

The right puppet raised its foot to block his path.

Lin Ye's Left Eye blinked open briefly.

Beneath the puppet's next step, the red light was blindingly thick.

It was a dead square.

But it was still half a step away from stepping on it.

Lin Ye gripped his horizontal saber in a reverse hold and struck the metal square beside him heavily with the back of the blade.

*Clang!*

The crisp sound forcibly drew the right puppet's attention.

Zhao Mengmeng understood instantly.

Her second arrow flew off the string, striking the star crystal on the puppet's shoulder.

The arrow bounced off.

The sound was sharp and ear-piercing.

The puppet's target briefly became confused, and it accelerated its steps, pressing down between the two of them.

Its right foot stepped heavily onto that dead square.

Lin Ye tapped the ground with his toes, and his grappling hook retracted.

His body retreated backward at high speed by two squares.

Zhao Mengmeng's Wind-Chasing Claw bit into the stump of the stone pillar in reverse, sending her flying sideways out of her original position.

The right puppet swung its hammer into the empty space.

In the next instant, the dead square's ultimate mechanism was triggered.

Three rows of high-pressure steel spikes erupted in rapid succession.

The first row pierced through its right leg.

The second row tore open its abdominal armor.

The third row shattered its chest core.

*Boom!*

The second puppet exploded into a shower of rubble.

The final puppet suddenly went berserk.

Completely abandoning defense, it dragged its heavy hammer and charged straight at Zhao Mengmeng.

As soon as Zhao Mengmeng landed, she only had two steps of safe space left beneath her feet.

Behind her was a massive zone of poison spikes about to erupt.

In front of her was a three-meter-tall rock monster.

With the black liquid splashed earlier still on the corner of her mouth, her gaze was incredibly fierce.

She leveled her crossbow, aiming her last black bamboo arrow at the metal square in front of the puppet's feet.

*Thwang!*

The arrowhead struck the ground, throwing off sparks.

That square was not triggered.

But the loud noise drew the puppet's chain hammer toward the ground.

Lin Ye's Left Eye blinked open briefly.

The metal square behind Zhao Mengmeng was about to turn green, while the red light at the puppet's hammer drop point was taking shape.

Half a breath's difference.

He suddenly whipped out the Dark Weaver's secondary line, wrapping it tightly around the side loop of Zhao Mengmeng's backpack.

"Retreat!"

Zhao Mengmeng used the momentum to slide backward.

The chain hammer grazed her breastplate as it fell, smashing heavily into the metal square that had been struck by the arrow.

*Boom!*

The defense mechanisms of the entire central area were completely detonated by the puppet's consecutive heavy impacts.

A giant steel spike erupted from underground.

Thick as a pillar, it pierced straight through the puppet's lower abdomen.

A second spike shot out diagonally through its chest.

A third spike broke through its back bones, crushing the grayish-blue core.

The half-swung chain hammer went out of control and crashed toward the space in front of Zhao Mengmeng.

Lin Ye pressed the retract button, forcibly dragging her back half a zhang.

The hammer head missed.

The spikes on the hammer grazed her leg guards as it rolled past.

Zhao Mengmeng fell beside Lin Ye, her voice hoarse. "I think it understood this lesson."

Lin Ye retracted the scalding secondary line.

"Tuition has been collected."

The three puppets were completely destroyed.

The frequency of poison spikes in the center of the chessboard dropped significantly.

Dim star crystal fragments dropped from within the ruins of the four stone pillars.

A light screen popped up with information.

[Shattered Star Crystal]

Lin Ye used the tip of his saber to pick out two star crystal fragments with the least pollution, quickly stuffing them into his outer pouch.

Zhao Mengmeng retrieved her deflected arrows.

The shafts of two arrows were bent, but the arrowheads were still usable.

"This place is really stingy. Defeating three big guys only drops two stones."

"They can be used to repair mechanisms."

"Then they didn't die in vain."

Lin Ye stood up, his Left Eye scanning ahead once more.

At the end of the chessboard.

A giant bronze door, ten meters tall, blocked the far end of the underground space.

Dozens of concentric gears were embedded in the door.

The edges of the gears were carved with sun shadows and star orbits.

Leaning beside the door was a withered skeleton, its hand bones tightly gripping a broken wheel.

A light screen appeared.

[Bronze Sundial Giant Door]

Zhao Mengmeng looked at the door full of gears, her brow furrowing. "Another puzzle?"

Lin Ye sheathed his saber.

"Better than getting smashed."

"That's true."

Stepping on the gradually stabilizing safe squares, the two strode toward the giant door.

Having survived the puppet death trap,

this metal killing field could no longer stop their advance.