Deep in the Living

Chapter 551 Alienation
This labyrinthine, swirling street is frighteningly large.

The group walked for a full hour and still hadn't reached the very center.

Using the hellish system, Roddy used his spine and metal to fix his body in place, thus suppressing the vortex's influence on his flesh.

Based on his current situation, he also made some rough deductions about Teacher Guo.

This undeveloped area was definitely not like this at the beginning.

Whether it's the ashes filling the sky or this terrifyingly large vortex-like street,

These were all created by Teacher Guo. These structures, seemingly designed to block outsiders, are actually more like suppressing and sealing the innermost thing, which is that alienated dungeon.

Such a project cannot be completed overnight, but Teacher Guo has only been in the corner for a short time.

There is only one possibility.
After completing the selection and promotion process, Teacher Guo immediately went to this undeveloped area in the corner and placed all her hopes on it.

Someone was giving him hints, someone was pointing him in the right direction... Was it Mr. Kraft?
Could it be that Mr. Kraft foresaw in advance that Mr. Guo would be chosen by the comic book store, and that's why he arranged for him to come here? Was he preparing in advance for his encounter with the alienated dungeon?

I'll have to wait until we're more familiar before asking Professor Guo in person. It's not a good idea to ask Mr. Kraft directly, and he probably won't tell me anyway.

In any case, this is bound to be an opportunity.

This alienated dungeon might offer something different, something that doesn't belong in this corner, perhaps even allowing one to prematurely encounter true danger.

Just as Roddy took a deep breath to compose himself,

The two sisters suddenly moved closer, wanting to sandwich Roddy between them, just like they had done that night, and hold his hand.

However, just as their hands were about to reach out...

Snapped!
Roddy suddenly felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, pulling him forward. Golden hair drifted past the two sisters, who dared not utter a word of anger.

"Libert?"

Roddy was somewhat surprised that the other party would suddenly approach him like this, and judging from Libet's relaxed state, he seemed to be unaffected at all.

Li Beite, however, looked serious. "Roddy, do you know anything about my father? Has he been here before?"

"Yes, Teacher Guo mentioned this."

"That's right!"
No wonder I received a letter from home that seemed ominous; my father had actually asked me to help this organization.

Once the organization is established, I will be invited to join it.

That Teacher Guo must have talked to my father about something... It's getting stranger and stranger. My father used to be the strictest, but now he not only lets me go out, but even takes the initiative to let me leave the manor and join another organization.

There must be something very important hidden behind this.

"That's fine too. Then I won't be confined to the house anymore, and I can go back to the human world with you anytime and experience human life."

"Ah."

"By the way, Luo Di, who do you think is the strongest among all of Teacher Guo's students?"

"Judging from the aura alone, it should be the tall, thin woman, but considering all factors, it should be Domo. If his dreams can interfere with reality, there are many variables that can be controlled."

"That's about the same as what I felt... I didn't expect there to be so many powerful guys in the corner."

"Professor Guo's vision has always been very unique."

Li Beite's tone suddenly changed, "I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to kill them all in the future, and whether it's easier to kill this Teacher Guo or Mr. Question Mark... Shh!"

Libet held his index finger up in the middle, as if in his eyes, everyone except for Roddy, a human, was a competitor.

There may only be one top position in the food chain.

……

After walking for almost two and a half hours through the vortex streets, we finally arrived at the very center.

Here exists a downward staircase, a spiral structure, extending endlessly downwards with no end in sight.

Teacher Guo's voice came from the front:

"The entrance is right below. From now on, stop restraining your physical bodies and follow the sensations of the vortex to enter."

As everyone followed and stepped onto the spiral staircase, they gradually broke down their physical defenses, and their bodies immediately began to change.

Roddy could see his fingers being stretched and curled.

The same applies to hair, tongue, spine, legs, feet, and even the entire body.

Even the field of vision and space began to rotate.
As a result, Roddy didn't need to walk anymore; he was automatically rotated downwards until he reached the bottom hole, where he, twisted into a noodle shape, smoothly flowed into it.

hum!
As Teacher Guo's arm touched his shoulder, Luo Di's body was instantly restored.

The familiar video store was right in front of them, meaning they had entered the "entrance," but something about this video store seemed off.

The movie posters that used to be plastered outside have all been replaced with comic-style promotional text. Push open the door and enter.

The movie DVDs and related props that used to be on the shelves are all gone, replaced by messy comic strips, haphazardly pasted and scattered all over the floor.

Many of the manuscript papers were mostly blank, with at most some strange lines.

Descending the stairs inside the photo shop, every floor is the same.

Therefore, it is impossible to predict what kind of events such a mutated dungeon will provide, or what items one can obtain.

The bottom layer,

The counter here has been redesigned to resemble a painting table.

The bartender was drawing some diagrams, but he would only make two strokes at most before throwing the paper away, seemingly never satisfied and never meeting the desired requirements.

The 'biological fissure' that symbolized the corner on the shop assistant's face has disappeared, and has been transformed into another face.

His entire face became smooth, without any structural protrusions, but he stuffed all sorts of painting tools onto his face.

Different sized rubber stoppers are placed on the left and right sides, corresponding to the eyes.

The nostrils correspond to a deep, recessed pen holder filled with various types of pens, readily available for use.

The sides of the cheeks have vertical grooves where various rulers are stored.
The mouth corresponds to a pool of ink.

As Teacher Guo stepped forward, the vortex of pressure dissipated, and the alienated shop assistant slowly raised her head.

He wanted to speak but couldn't make a sound. He touched his mouth and realized that he no longer had any vocal organs.

He could only quickly draw a stereoscopic camera on the paper, while also drawing the player in a "pressed" state.

The sound actually did come from between the pages of the manuscript, intermittently.

"Welcome to Corner Shadow... Comic Shop. It is not officially open for business yet. The dungeon structure is not yet fully stable and it is not open to the public for the time being."

Wait... you have some here.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 comic book acceptors.

However, this gentleman needs to be singled out; your depth differs from others.

The shop assistant was pointing to Teacher Guo.

"Because more than 50% of you are fans of comics, you can participate in the trial operation of our store. But how exactly do we do it? Please wait a moment."

The shop assistant took out another piece of paper, drew a letter to himself, and then took out the letter to check its contents.

"I have a plan, I know what to do! First, please draw lots twice."

The shop assistant immediately drew a lottery box on the paper, and used ink to paint a black hole at the top, thus creating an interior space where one could put their arm inside.

"First, we will draw lots. Each person will draw a numbered ball, and the people whose numbers correspond to their numbers will form a team."

The shop assistant picked up the manuscript paper, pointed the dark hole at everyone, and after a quick check to confirm that there was no problem, Teacher Guo nodded in agreement.

The tall, thin woman was the first to draw a number, followed by others.

Li Beite immediately ran over to compare numbers with Roddy, only to find that their numbers were vastly different: Roddy's was [1], while Li Beite's was [5].

"Can this be exchanged?" Li Beite had originally planned to cooperate well with Roddy, but he perked up the next second, "Oh, that guy is also a 5."

Not far away, bald-headed Domo was holding a small ball with the number [5] and smiling and waving in this direction.

Hua Yuan originally wanted to check her numbers with Luo Di, but Wu Wen immediately stopped her. The two sisters were lucky and both drew [3].

Luo Di had no choice but to look at the last familiar face, "Yu Ze, what are you smoking?"

Yu Ze showed the ball with the number [2] and shook his head. "Looks like I'm having a bad day. It's the worst possible day."

His helplessness was understandable; the other person to draw the number 2 was that tall, thin woman who looked like a monster. She was staring at Yu Ze with the eyes of someone scrutinizing prey.

"That's strange, who's number one?"

Roddy could only turn his gaze to the boy with the iron nail in his mouth, who immediately glared back, as if warning him not to peek for no reason.

As for the black-and-white boy who couldn't speak, he was holding a ball with the number [4].

After eliminating everyone else, only one person remained.

Katayama was the last to approach, and with great difficulty, he managed to stick his greasy arm into the hole and pull out the ball [1].

He also felt Luo Di's gaze, slowly turned around, and nodded and bowed apologetically.

Perhaps sensing the murderous aura emanating from the other party, Katayama began to secrete a large amount of sticky fluid, leaving a stinky clump on the ground and stains wherever he went.

(End of this chapter)