After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

The journey was uneventful, and Tang Li and Xiao Mei's teamwork became increasingly seamless. After rounding a corner, the familiar row of filing shelves came into view.

Tang Li felt certain. The file shelf was still covered in all sorts of disgusting slime, but the worms that had previously roamed there had been drawn away by the commotion caused by the fake Tang Li.

She rushed to the row of archives and hurriedly pulled out a new book.

As soon as Tang Li picked up the book, her heart sank: Gu Xiaoying's notes were getting thinner and thinner.

"Tang Li?" Just as she was about to open the book, Xiao Mei's hesitant voice came through the earpiece, "Your walkie-talkie... is contacting me?"

Tang Li couldn't understand what Xiao Mei was saying at all. These walkie-talkies were made by Fang Yingjie himself after buying materials from the weird live-streaming mall. Half of them were high-tech and the other half were engraved with talismans. She would believe it if he said that there was actually a Den Den Mushi living inside them.

Since entering the basin, the walkie-talkie has been completely silent, as if it knew she was in danger.

Tang Li hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Then, would you like to take it?"

"You have been connected to the 'Emergency Forced Internal Transfer' channel." Xiao Mei's voice became businesslike.

Then, Jiang Hui's urgent voice suddenly rang out from the earpiece: "Tang Li? Tang Li?"

"Make a sound, can you hear me?"

Tang Li suppressed her urge to make a sound and coughed lightly: "Jiang Hui?"

"Where did you go?" The person on the other end visibly relaxed. "Why couldn't we locate you?"

"I'm in the cricket fighting bowl," Tang Li said, slightly relaxing upon hearing her companion's voice, her tone unusually tinged with a muttered complaint. "Jiang Hui, the dean turned into a bunch of disgusting bugs and came to catch me."

Jiang Hui and Qiu Wanting felt a chill run down their spines. They knew Tang Li was keeping quiet...

"A fighting basin?" Qiu Wanting began with a rapid-fire analysis, "Theoretically, once someone enters that basin, they can never get out, unless someone overturns it from the outside, in which case the person inside will be released."

"But the dean should know this too, so why did he dare to follow you into the fighting arena?"

"You said he turned into many insects? If it's this kind of bizarre, multiplying creature, does that mean the Dean retained most of his body outside the fighting basin?"

Tang Li thought of the overwhelming swarms of giant, dismembered insects. If these were just the tip of the iceberg of the Dean's true nature, she couldn't imagine just how powerful he really was.

"No." A timid voice suddenly rang out. AI Xiaomei, who had been listening in, joined the group chat. "The Dean also used the fighting basin to deal with players before. It seems that he can break himself into tiny insects and crawl out through the gaps in the fighting basin."

"But players can't seem to find those gaps. There was a player who had the ability to shrink, but still failed."

Yes. Tang Li thought coldly, it was indeed the dean who knew this basin best; he made it himself.

"And even if we find a gap, Tang Li's body shape won't allow her to leave..." Xiao Mei continued to analyze, her tone becoming increasingly anxious.

Now, upon analysis, she simply couldn't understand why the master had sent Tang Li to fight in the pot. Was this... wasn't this sending Tang Li into a cage that only the headmaster could come and go as he pleased?

Qiu Wanting and Jiang Hui didn't know who the sudden voice belonged to, but noticing Tang Li's calm demeanor, they didn't waste time asking.

Qiu Wanting coughed lightly: "Don't worry, it's alright."

"A few days ago, I took another core item from the dungeon, the 'Curved Surgical Shears,' and also chiseled a hole in the basin. And Lei Hong didn't know about this."

"Speaking of which, this prop was given to me by Dr. Jiang."

Dr. Jiang... Gu Xiaomei.

Tang Li's eyes lit up, and she quickly considered the conditions Qiu Wanting had provided: "So, that means I can find the hole you opened and sneak out of the basin. But Lei Hong doesn't know I've left and is still looking for me in the maze..."

"This way, we can keep Lei Hong tied down in the fighting arena!"

Qiu Wanting's voice came from the other end of the earpiece. The cunning Boss Qiu coaxed, "Broaden your thinking and think about it again, Tang Li. When dealing with the supernatural, the player's first consideration is always 'certainty'."

Leaving Lei Hong in the trough, immersing him in a scam, yet allowing him to come and go freely—that's "uncertainty." And since it's uncertain, there's always the possibility of taking risks.

Tang Li frowned in thought, then a brilliant idea flashed through her mind, and her tone became increasingly eager: "After leaving the basin, I can turn it upside down and seal the bottom tightly with tape!"

The little insect that the dean transformed into was completely unable to leave the fighting basin, and was forever trapped in the maze!

She quickly browsed the eerie live-streaming marketplace and swiftly added several sealing items labeled "permanent adhesive" and "gum-like full coverage" to her cart.

Qiu Wanting nodded in satisfaction, while the walkie-talkie had already been handed to Jiang Hui.

"I think you guys are still too conservative."

"I disagree with Mr. Qiu. In my opinion, when dealing with the supernatural, the first thing players should always consider is 'aggressiveness'."

A calm female voice rang in the headphones, gradually revealing an underlying madness.

"She's here! She's here!" "My heart is racing!" "That's why I became a fan of this streamer!" "Sister Hui! Sister Hui!" "New streamer, learn from Sister Hui!"

Jiang Hui's tone remained gentle and friendly, and methodical.

"Why can't we just put a bunch of bombs on the ground, cover them upside down with a basin, back off, and then detonate them?"

Qiu Wanting: ...

Tang Li: !!!

Tang Li calmly emptied the sealed items in her shopping cart with one click and replaced them with a bunch of bombs just like Jiang Hui's.

Sure enough, you can learn a lot from experienced players!

Just as Tang Li was finally able to relax for a moment...

"Come back! Come back!" A loud voice suddenly rang out in the maze, its source indistinct, only echoing through the air. "A bunch of idiots! It's fake! It's fake!"

The dean, who could clearly give commands to the dismembered worms in his mind, was now shouting out in anger, clearly driven to the brink of madness.

Tang Li stuffed the new book into her arms and hugged it tightly. She stood up, forcibly stretching her sore legs, preparing to leave.

"What's wrong?" Qiu Wanting asked, as they had also heard the commotion of people cursing.

"It's alright, someone's defenses have been breached." Tang Li spoke quickly, while looking around to guard against the possible appearance of the dismembered worms.

She should start taking action, but...

Uh, which way should she go?

"I suddenly remembered a crucial question," Tang Li coughed lightly, "Boss Qiu, that hole you dug out..."

"How do I find it?"