316: Chapter 316 If I Were a DJ

Buck lay prone on the edge of the scorched crater, leaning half his body over to look down.

He rubbed his eyes, then slapped his cheeks hard, his face full of bewilderment.

"My Lord, this is impossible." Buck swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"I've worked here for decades. I know every mine shaft and every abandoned ventilation duct like the back of my hand."

"Beneath the power room's reactor, there is absolutely a solid dark iron vein. There's no such thing as an underground passage."

Chen You ignored Buck's shock.

A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and he couldn't help but open his system inventory, locking his gaze on the item named [damaged turntable part].

The item's border was flashing with a faint purple light.

Chen You instantly pieced the logic together.

If ordinary players managed to grind down this mutated mechanical BOSS with a team, it would only drop conventional equipment and materials.

But he was carrying the quest clue item given by the Lord of Cangxing City.

The system determined the conditions were met, forcibly triggering the BOSS's core self-destruct mechanism, using the blast's power to blow open this path to a hidden map.

Chen You cursed inwardly.

Right now, this avatar of his only had 1 HP and couldn't recover. If some AOE attack swept through, wouldn't he be finished?

Although there wouldn't be any substantial loss, he would have to wait for the avatar to make the trip all over again.

"Let's go." Chen You drew the yuhuang sword, the tip of the blade pointing toward the pitch-black entrance.

Buck's legs went weak, and he knelt directly on the ground.

"My Lord! I have elders and children to support! An unknown area like this must hold great horrors; going in is just seeking death!"

Chen You flicked his wrist, and a heavy bag of gold coins slammed onto the scorched earth in front of Buck.

"Scout the way."

Chen You's voice was devoid of any inflection.

Buck looked at the gold coins on the ground, then at the yuhuang sword in Chen You's hand, which was radiating a chilling aura.

He quickly grabbed the money bag and stuffed it into his bosom, standing up nimbly. "To be of service to your Lordship is the greatest honor of Buck's life."

Buck pulled a glow stick from his waist, snapped it, and tossed it into the crater.

The glow stick tumbled through the air, illuminating the metal inner walls of the passage.

After descending about twenty meters, the glow stick landed on a metal grid floor with a crisp clatter.

"Height is safe, My Lord." Buck was the first to jump down.

Chen You followed closely behind.

As his feet hit the ground, the metal grid gave off a dull echo.

The passage wasn't narrow; it was wide enough for two heavy trucks to pass side-by-side.

The walls on both sides were forged from an unknown black metal, their surfaces covered in complex patterns.

As the two entered, the passage's internal sensor system seemed to be activated.

Swish—

Interwoven bands of red and blue light lit up along both sides of the walls.

The light bands extended all the way forward, illuminating the entire passage.

The flashing frequency of the light was extremely fast, carrying a strong cyberpunk style.

At the same time, a rhythmic heavy bass sound drifted from deep within the passage.

Thump— Thump— Thump—

The sound was dull but possessed a strong piercing power.

The metal grid under Chen You's feet resonated in frequency with the bass rhythm.

Buck covered his ears, his face turning pale. "My Lord, it's that mental pollution again! Whatever's ahead must be even scarier than the monster on the reactor!"

Chen You didn't speak.

He checked his own status.

No HP loss, no negative debuffs.

"Continue. Move forward."

The two walked deeper along the neon light bands.

The slope of the passage gradually declined, and the smell of machine oil in the air was replaced by a strange fragrance.

After walking for about five minutes, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Chen You stopped in his tracks, a hint of astonishment flashing in his eyes as he looked at the scene before him.

At the end of the passage was a massive circular space larger than a football field.

Dozens of giant spherical spotlights hung from the ceiling.

Multi-colored laser beams intersected and cut through the air.

Around the edge of the circular space were arranged a ring of semi-circular wooden booths.

In the center of the space was a massive sunken dance floor.

The dance floor was made of transparent reinforced glass panels, with a dense matrix of subwoofers arranged underneath.

There were no monsters.

There weren't even any NPCs.

This place felt like a fully equipped, luxuriously decorated underground nightclub.

Deafening electronic music echoed throughout the space, and the spotlights flashed wildly to the rhythm.

Buck held his head in his hands, crouching next to a booth and trembling.

He closed his eyes and shouted, "My Lord! This is an illusion! It's definitely an illusion set up by a high-level demon! Don't be fooled by these false appearances!"

Chen You ignored Buck's wailing.

Holding his sword, he walked down the steps toward the dance floor.

The music was playing on a loop.

It was a very fast-paced heavy metal electronic track.

Chen You stood in the middle of the dance floor and listened for half a minute.

He couldn't help but frown.

Although he wasn't a musician and usually only listened to popular catchy tunes, he still noticed the abnormality in this track.

The rhythm of the music was inconsistent.

At certain specific nodes, the heavy bass would experience brief stutters.

When the synthesizer accompaniment reached a high pitch, there would be a harsh crackling sound.

The whole track sounded like a scratched old vinyl record, carrying a clear sense of incompleteness.

Chen You's gaze locked onto the high platform directly in front of the dance floor.

A five-meter-long metal console was placed there.

Chen You strode onto the platform.

The panel of the console was covered with a dense array of faders, knobs, and buttons.

The indicator lights for many buttons were extinguished.

In the very center of the console, there was a square slot.

The edges of the slot were lined with metal contacts, and the interior emitted a faint red light.

Chen You opened his inventory and took out the [damaged turntable part].

The size and shape of the part fit the slot perfectly.

It seemed this was where it belonged.

He aligned the [damaged turntable part] with the slot and pressed it down firmly.

Click.

The sound of a seamless mechanical engagement rang out.

The moment the part touched the slot, a burst of blinding blue electric arcs erupted.

The arcs spread rapidly along the console's circuitry.

The previously extinguished indicator lights lit up one by one.

Hum—

The lights of the entire underground nightclub instantly went out.

The deafening, fragmented electronic music came to an abrupt halt.

In the darkness, only the center of the console emitted a ghostly blue glow.

Buck let out a terrified scream from below.

Three seconds later.

Above the console, dozens of blue light beams projected and intersected.

A holographic projection slowly took shape in mid-air.

It was a humanoid image wearing an exaggerated reflective jacket and a massive mechanical helmet.

Green soundwave frequencies pulsed on the helmet's display screen.

The holographic projection raised a hand, holding an exaggerated microphone.

"Welcome to Starry Sea Carnival Night."

A passionate voice rang out in the empty nightclub.

Immediately following, a flawless and highly explosive new electronic track boomed out.

The spotlights at the top all lit up, focusing on Chen You.

The green soundwaves on the helmet pulsed violently.

"Let's hand the stage over to tonight's guest DJ—Chen You!"