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The underground labyrinth has 23 floors.

An unknown area shrouded in dense fog, where logistics troops are encamped.

Inside a black tent, people were whispering among themselves.

"They're even worse than those prostitutes who have diseases and still sell themselves! The plan was going smoothly, how come someone suddenly came to ruin it?" A young man with effeminate features gritted his teeth.

"This is what they call plans not keeping up with changes, isn't it? We finally managed to make use of these idiots, but then a necromancer popped up. Not everyone has that ability to use magic loops to fix souls within their bodies," the woman said with a coquettish laugh.

"No, the souls of these hundred-plus adventurers are the best nourishment for the Ghost Grass. We've been planning for this for almost half a year. We've finally gotten this opportunity, and we absolutely can't let it slip away," said another long-haired man. "The combination of magical plants and magical creatures will be the first step in opening up a completely new path for us."

"Are you trying to take advantage of this opportunity? I don't think those guys are easy to mess with. Not only was Tyrannosaurus defeated, but Valentina is also among them."

"A direct confrontation will be a bit difficult, but we can use some tricks," the effeminate young man sneered. "We spent a lot of effort getting our cute little tentacles away from that thing's pursuit. That guy should still be lingering in the fog, which we can keep as a backup plan."

"That's too dangerous... It took us a lot of effort to shake it off. If that thing gets out, we might be in trouble too." The long-haired man's tone was tinged with worry.

"Don't worry, we know its location. If things get awkward, we can just give it a little directions. As long as that carefully cultivated magical plant is still there, we won't have to worry about not being able to carry out the next experiment. Mutant magical plants are hard to find, but there are plenty of tentacle monsters in the underground labyrinth. As long as we can successfully cultivate it, we'll be able to reach that legendary treasure room!"

The effeminate man suppressed his voice, but could not completely control his excitement.

"That's...the legendary tomb of that alchemist master!"

……

……

Meanwhile, the adventurers managing the area outside the tent were also actively making preparations.

If we fail, we can only wait for reinforcements from the guild.

However, if Hua Zhen and the others succeed, they can rush into the fog as quickly as possible to carry out the rescue operation.

However, the waiting time was agonizing.

For the first time, Niu Si and others experienced the feeling of powerlessness of "having strength but being unable to use it".

Even though they are experienced and well-equipped enough to traverse the 37th floor of the underground labyrinth.

But when faced with this situation, it's like an old father happily going to the PC only to find out he's been tricked into clicking on his prostitute daughter—it leaves him completely bewildered.

Fortunately, the people Vivi sent out didn't keep them waiting too long.

Soon, adventurers heard the sound of an engine coming from inside the tunnel. The magical engine was running at full power, emitting a deafening roar that sounded like thunder.

Bright light shone from the dark tunnel.

The superconducting ghost fire sped towards us at a speed of 130 kilometers per hour, leaving long, dark blue magical trails behind its tires, which were half a meter wide, looking like burning flames.

"It's a cleaner!" an adventurer exclaimed in surprise.

Cleaner.

They are members of the Adventurers' Guild who are specifically responsible for assisting adventurers in dealing with monster corpses. The magical will-o'-the-wisps beneath them are expensive to build and can move freely across various terrains. Ordinary monsters simply cannot keep up with their speed.

Although most monster meat is inedible, some monsters have tender and delicious flesh that is free of dangerous toxins, making their meat quite valuable even without being used as food.

After all, humanity's yearning for delicious food is endless.

One day, humanity will develop a food that can provide 10,000 calories in one bite.

The Adventurers' Guild is able to provide cheap and delicious set meals.

A large portion of the meat comes from these monsters.

In addition, the scavengers are also responsible for regularly surveying the environment within the underground labyrinth to ensure there are no anomalies, and collecting the bodies of deceased adventurers within the labyrinth... if there are any more bodies to collect.

In short, if we compare the underground labyrinth to a dangerous place full of opportunities and wealth.

So the cleaners are the people who ensure that nothing unusual happens in this treasure cave.

No one knows how strong they are, nor do they know their exact identities.

Niu Si and the guy with twin ponytails rushed over upon hearing the news.

Disappointingly, only one cleaner came this time.

Wearing a helmet and completely shrouded in a black latex suit, the scavenger brought orders from above.

"Everyone, evacuate the 23rd floor immediately within six hours, abandoning everyone else in the fog."

"Wait, weren't the guild supposed to be here to rescue us?!" Tyrant Tiger demanded angrily, clutching his groin.

"We've come to rescue you. The guild takes this incident very seriously, so we've found that great scholar from the Great Library," the Cleaner said calmly. "This incident isn't an anomaly from the underground labyrinth."

"I know," Niu Si said. "A young lady with necromancer qualifications mentioned that the mist is emitted by a mutated magical plant called 'Ghost Grass.' That scholar is unaware of this!"

"Of course he knew that no matter how much they mutated, monsters and magical plants would retain their original basic attributes. For example, the Ghost Grass, after being consumed, contains special magical elements that can cause a person's soul to leave their body. This mist is a derivative of its mutation."

"If that's the case...!"

"However, it doesn't actively release such a large amount of this mist, because it's a huge drain on the magical plant itself," the Cleaner said. "Therefore, it reacts by continuously consuming its own life force in order to protect itself. The adventurers lost in the mist exist as food for it to continue this behavior. The most crucial point is... without external interference, this special magical plant, the Ghost Grass, will not mutate."

"What...does this mean?"

"Whether it's magical plants or magical creatures, they all have two possibilities: mutation or no mutation. However, some magical plants and magical creatures are not included in this category because their magical energy circuits do not meet the conditions for mutation, unless... human intervention is involved, which requires quite advanced knowledge and rich experience to accomplish this."

"You mean someone's plotting against us?" The man with pigtails and a thick beard was stunned.

They are among the top adventurer groups.

Who would be foolish enough to go against fifteen powerful warbands?

Adventurer is just a profession.

Some of these friendships are formed because of a mutual attraction or a life-saving debt.

There are also those who become enemies because of commissions or other reasons.

Because of resentment, they often take various acts of revenge.

However, it is extremely rare to target so many adventurers at once.

Nius pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up: "Where are those support personnel who strayed onto the wrong path? Bring them here immediately!"

Adventurers immediately began to take action.

But the adventurer returned in just two minutes.

"They're gone. Five minutes ago, someone seemed to have seen them heading into the dense fog ahead."

Niu Si was taken aback, and was about to say something when...

Another adventurer came running over, holding a communication crystal, panting and looking flustered.

"It's...it's a message from the vanguard on the 24th floor!" the adventurer said urgently. "They discovered traces of the Hydra Serpent ascending along the lower levels. It's a powerful monster that only appears on the 39th floor. There are signs of its destruction in many places below. The vanguard told us to ignore them for now and evacuate the 23rd floor immediately!"

……

……

Hua Zhen groped around in the thick fog with one hand.

Although at first the scenery in front of you may seem a bit strange.

But after a while, it seems like I've even lost my sense of direction.

Only by reaching out can you feel that you are still on the right path.

Suddenly, Hua Zhen touched something soft, but the back of her hand was cold and hard.

"Hmm...?"

"Huh, what's this?"

Squeeze.

It has a bouncy, chewy texture, just like Want Want QQ candy.

No, it should be described as silky smooth, like the pudding sold in shopping streets.

But Hua Zhen's expression quickly hardened as she realized she had touched something she shouldn't have.

It then silently retracted its claws.

If it were Tia, this guy would be furious.

If it were Ms. Jin Jin, she would probably be clamoring to pour some cement into her body.

But neither of them made a move.

Then there's only one possibility left.

Good heavens, this is clearly Carula, the mature and elegant lady!

Only she will tilt her head cutely and look at you curiously without getting angry. Even if you say that you are a baby and your tummy is hungry, she will probably show her little bud and say softly, "Mommy is here to feed your tummy."

But where does that cold, hard touch come from?

"Please don't move," a cold voice came from ahead. "To think of something like this under these circumstances, that's why I hate guys like you..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"If there's a next time, I'll cut off your hand," Valentina said coldly.

Hua Zhen remained silent.

This resulted in a direct decrease of 50 points in favorability.

"Sigh..." Tia sighed from the thick fog beside them. "I don't know whether to call you clever or repressed, that you actually thought of taking advantage of the situation to touch me randomly... And what you just said was as ridiculous as an irresponsible scumbag saying 'Sorry, I forgot to wear it'."

"Go to hell with Tia! I can't see anything at all right now, okay? I feel like I'm walking on the road to the underworld, and if I keep going, I'll reach a bridge where an old lady sells mung bean soup!"

"I already told you that's her weakness," Tia whispered to Hua Zhen. "If you rashly touch someone's weakness, they'll definitely get angry."

"No, I think even if it's not a weakness, a normal person would be angry. Besides, I really didn't mean it." Hua Zhen also started whispering to her.

"Hey, you're being narrow-minded... You should start by chatting with her, gradually getting to know her, and casually touching her hand or something. This kind of seemingly strong but actually weak woman is very easy to fall for."

"Damn, are you helping me pick up girls?" Hua Zhen exclaimed in surprise.

"We're like family, aren't we? I can't bear to see you stay a virgin forever," Tia continued muttering under her breath. "Besides, she definitely has some kind of secret fetish!"

"What do you mean?"

"She said she doesn't like money or fame, so why would she do such a dangerous job?"

"It's like a girl marrying you not for your feelings or your money, so why would she marry you?" Tia said, exasperated. "You should think about the reasons behind this carefully."

"Okay... wait, why am I thinking about all this so carefully?"

"There's something ahead," Jin Jin suddenly said.

Everyone immediately fell silent.

They had been trekking through the area for two hours since discovering the bone fragments.

Even Tia's legs were trembling from walking, but she still came up empty-handed.

Now that a discovery has been made, everyone's attention has undoubtedly been focused.

"Can you see things in the fog?" Hua Zhen asked after a while.

"That's roughly it, but to be precise, I'm observing magic," Jin Jin said. "There's a humanoid magical shadow ahead, moving in a certain direction. Let's follow it and take a look."

Everyone perked up and followed Jinjin quickly over.

Even after getting close enough, the other person didn't react at all.

Valentina then stepped forward to check and confirm her identity.

"She's an adventurer who got lost here, and she's a Silver-rank."

"Strange, but why can this guy still walk?" Tia asked.

"It's attraction!" Jin Jin exclaimed excitedly. "The ghost grass is using their souls to attract these zombie-like bodies!"

"Can that thing really do something like that?"

"Because it's a mutated magical plant, it's still possible," Valentina said. "Generally speaking, magical plants attack adventurers by trapping or killing them through various means, using the corpses as their nourishment."

"So, if we follow her, we can find the location of the mutated ghost grass?" Hua Zhen understood quickly.

"That's right, we're getting closer... but the thing that destroyed my skeleton still hasn't shown up... Let's keep moving forward, finding the Ghost Grass is the most important thing right now."

"Agreed," Valentina's voice was cold. "As long as we deal with that mutated demonic plant, whatever is lurking here will be exposed once the mist dissipates."

"Then why not just keep going in this direction?" Hua Zhen said. "We'll be much faster and save more time."

"Isn't the risk too great? What if we go in the wrong direction?" Valentina frowned.

"No," Jin Jin said. "Based on the direction this guy is heading, there must be other adventurers ahead. Although the time it takes for each person's soul to leave their body varies, since they all entered at roughly the same time, it means the distance between them is not too far."

And this does seem to be the right advice.

The most noticeable change was that Jinjin observed an increasing number of adventurers ahead who had lost their souls.

The water here gradually rose to about knee-deep.

Finally, through the thick fog, Miss Jin Jin discovered the mutated Ghost Grass.

In her vision was the outline of a huge flower made of blue magic.

But... why does this flower have tentacles?