Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

No, if you touch it closely, there is still a tiny bit...

“I’m telling you…” Bugu sighed, “‘Enjoy Sylvia and Freya’s bodies while you still have time’ is just a joke, how come you actually started to enjoy it?”

"It's nothing," Cheng Cheng shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure I still have a conscience."

But there's only one thing... that's all gone!

"Okay! Let's do it!"

Cheng Cheng bravely faced his death, step by step approaching Bugu directly; Bugu blinked, not yielding an inch, its blue-purple eyes intently fixed on Cheng Cheng, neither of them looking away.

Their eyes drew closer and closer, the girl's sweet breath almost touching theirs. The corners of her mouth were still upturned in a playful smile, but her slightly flushed cheeks betrayed her. Cheng Cheng noticed this shyness that was hard to fake, raised an eyebrow, understood, and quickened his pace.

Their noses touched, and the girl's warm, sweet breath brushed against Cheng Cheng's lips.

Cheng Cheng closed his eyes—

"Well!"

A finger was placed in front of their lips, the fingertip gently touching Cheng Cheng's lips.

"Hehe~ I was just kidding! You actually took it seriously~" Bugu giggled and turned her face away, but she didn't dare to look at Cheng Cheng at all: "You actually took it seriously~ You're such a lecher, boss..."

As she spoke, she noticed that Cheng Cheng had stopped moving.

Cuckoo panicked for a moment: "Um, I was just joking, don't get pregnant..."

"Yay!" Cheng Cheng clenched his fist. "I won the bet!"

"Huh?"

Weren't we just playing a game of 'seeing who can hold their gaze until the very end'?

"Childish devil!"

Bugu snorted coldly, turned around, and ignored him.

Out of sight, her fingers were twisting the hem of her coat, so tightly they almost tore the hem off...

"Young Miss, Cuckoo, stop fooling around! Let's decide whether to fight or flee!" Paul stamped his feet anxiously as he watched the Jingguan Bodhisattva, which had already advanced to within a kilometer's radius.

"Now you can tell me what your plan is, right?" Cheng Cheng said with a smile. "You don't dare to actually kiss me, so don't waste your time."

"Who said I wouldn't dare!" Bugu exclaimed angrily, turning around abruptly. "You've misunderstood!"

"what?"

"I said I'd give you a kiss, but I didn't say where."

Cuckoo's fingers slid down from the corner of her lips, across her slightly rounded breasts and her smooth, white waist, finally stopping at the sash of her skirt: "A girl's lips aren't just on her upper body... I was just afraid there wouldn't be enough time, so I made you owe me another chance."

"Alright, alright, focus on driving and hurry up and hand over the solution."

At this moment, the Jingguan Bodhisattva statue was only 500 meters away from the city wall.

The shadow of that colossal object loomed over the entire section of the city wall, while the chanting of Buddhist scriptures by the monks echoed in my ears.

Bugu glanced back at Cheng Cheng and sighed.

Then, he extended two fingers and pinched a phantom card.

"moon".

In those blue-purple eyes, a blood moon faintly rose, gradually filling the entire iris.

Then, the irregular, dark sun in the sky gradually began to be replaced by a blood moon.

The space was shaking.

It's as if two unseen giant hands are wrestling in the sky, treating the sky as a sheet, each wantonly splashing their own paint onto this white cloth—while simultaneously covering up the other's colors.

This is a battle between the Black Sun and the Blood Moon, two powers that clash at the conceptual level and are projected into reality.

Ultimately, the Black Sun achieved a temporary victory.

But the blood moon's color did not completely disappear; instead, it hid behind the black sun, casting its soft moonlight upon the earth.

As the moonlight fell, Cheng Cheng felt a lightness on his shoulders, as if the overwhelming pressure emanating from the Jingguan Bodhisattva was being covered by a thin veil.

The sound of the thousand hands landing, so close yet so far, stopped.

"clang--!"

The bell tolled across the sky, and the dozen or so humanoid arms of the Jingguan Bodhisattva retracted, like petals closing up, folding section by section and tucking them behind his back. Then, he sat down compassionately, his hands overlapping each other, palms facing up, thumbs touching, forming the "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Dharmadhatu Mudra," also known as the "Ksitigarbha Wish-Granting Mudra."

This mudra signifies "granting satisfaction," "lifting the soul," and "perfecting the Dharma nature." It is the mudra made by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva when he guides souls, delivers them from suffering, and saves beings from hell.

At the same time, the Vajrabhairava Mantra, which originally seemed to be chanted by countless monks and resounded through the sky like billions of demon soldiers fighting, gradually changed its style and became the compassionate and sacred Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Heart Mantra.

It felt like a knife, the blade still against my neck, suddenly turning into warm water that flowed down my spine; I couldn't tell if it was warm or strange.

"This is..." Cheng Cheng looked puzzled.

"I don't have the power to make it disappear."

Cuckoo squatted on the ground, panting heavily, her chest heaving violently, a thin layer of sweat accumulating in her collarbone, and wisps of heat rising from her neckline: "I barely managed to fool it, making it think that all the creatures on the fifteenth floor were dead, so it sat down and began the ritual."

As he spoke, the chanting of Buddhist hymns became hesitant, and the kind-looking face of the Jingguan Bodhisattva gradually furrowed.

"It's about to discover me!" Bugu exclaimed in surprise. "As expected, I'm no match for a fully-fledged demon lord in my current state..."

"What should we do then?"

Bugu thought for a moment, then lifted her leg and took off her left sneaker.

The shoe popped off her heel with a soft "pop," and warm air escaped from inside. A drop of sweat trickled down her delicate, fair foot from the fishnet stocking, evaporating instantly in mid-air.

"The sweat from your feet undergoes a complete Clausius cycle within the shoe's cavity. The Maillard reaction between water molecules and keratin reaches a level worthy of a three-star chef. This crystallization, a concentrated essence of a day's toil, is a true treasure of nature. You can almost feel the surging vitality confined within the fabric for twelve hours through the screen! What a sublime art of fermentation! As it slowly emerges, the fragrance of lactic acid bacteria and keratin, entwined in a 37-degree Celsius constant temperature chamber, is like the scent of lavender fields in Provence mixed with caramel sea salt! Between your fingers, glistening with sweat, a morning mist, a tribute to the earth, slowly rises. Use your tongue to decipher the historical rings that have seeped into the dermis—this complex top, bottom, and top notes transcend the limits of the perfume industry! The top note is a salty sea breeze with a metallic texture; the middle note reveals the aroma of malt liquor from the hard work of yeast; and the base note offers a moist, earthy feel reminiscent of moss! Don't you want to compress this moment into a solid and preserve it forever?"

Cheng Cheng: "???"

Cheng Cheng: "What are you babbling about?"

"Mind reading! Bugu just noticed the boss's gaze and read out what the boss was thinking!" Bugu shook the sneakers in her hand. "Also, Bugu is a girl, so it's impossible for her to be being sarcastic!"

"...Whatever makes you happy."

"Hehe~"

The cuckoo chuckled softly, then threw its right-hand sneaker hard, smashing it onto the head of the Jingguan Bodhisattva!

"Snapped!"

The sound was very soft, like a pebble thrown into a lake, causing no harm.

But the Bodhisattva of the Jingguan was stunned for a moment, and then, instead of getting angry, he gently picked up the sneakers and placed them in his palm.

Then, the chanting of Buddhist hymns rang out again; it was the compassionate "Heart Mantra of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva".

"I see..." Cheng Cheng understood. "Did you win its favor by giving gifts to the Jingguan Bodhisattva and bribing it?"

Put yourself in Cheng Cheng's shoes; you would be very happy to receive such a gift.

It would be even better if you took off your fishnet stockings and gave them to me.

"No, that's not true!"

Cuckoo huffed angrily, refusing to put on his shoes, and stepped barefoot onto the city bricks, his toes curling: "It's an illusion, an illusion! The Jingguan Bodhisattva realized there were no inanimate objects around, so it started to waver, and Cuckoo just added a little illusion!"

"What does it mean?"

“Don’t you know? Shoes worn all day have tens of millions of microorganisms on them, constantly multiplying and dying,” Bugu explained. “So Bugu thought of using the death of these ‘microorganisms’ to create an illusion and deceive the Jingguan Bodhisattva, making it believe that it is holding the remains of tens of millions of living beings…”

"Moreover, the shoes that Bugu has used for so long have absorbed the 'moon's' aura, doubling the effect and lasting at least an hour!"

"So, isn't the cuckoo clever?"

The cuckoo tilted its head back, its face full of "Praise me!" expressions.

Cheng Cheng sighed: "In the future, say less things that are detrimental to food safety."

Cuckoo: "What does it mean?"

"Don't you feel disgusted to hear that your shoes and feet have a lot of microorganisms on them?"

"What does that mean?" Bugu tilted her head. "Isn't this like adding seasoning? Without it, it's basically tasteless."

"It has to be you again, you old eater."

"We're in the same boat..."

"Alright," Cheng Cheng clapped his hands, "Enough with the small talk, it's time to discuss how to deal with this demon."

…………

In the center of the military camp, in Navel's office.

The map on the wall was shaken askew, half hanging and half drooping; the teacup on the table tipped over, and tea dripped down the edge of the table, forming a small puddle on the floor.

However, no one paid attention to these trivial matters.

"The Five-Finger Fist Heart Sword..."

All the gold-rank generals gathered together, and Cheng Cheng and his four companions were naturally invited to participate in the plan to subdue the Jingguan Bodhisattva.

There were twelve gold medalists, filling the small office to the brim.

The air was filled with the smells of sweat, leather, gun oil, and the lingering sweetness of mooncakes.

“Yes,” Navel said, “Master once used this move to kill the Demon Lord, but I have never done it… no, at most I can only seriously injure it.”

She stood behind the desk, her hands braced on the surface, her knuckles white.

Navel was well aware of the gap between her skill level and that of her master. This matter concerned the lives of 200,000 soldiers and officers of the kingdom. As a general, she could not be arrogant—but she also could not let the troops lose their morale.

“Therefore, once the demons resume their activities, I will attempt to fight them… If we all work together, we might just be able to slay the lord, become heroes, and achieve feats comparable to your legends,” Navel said. “After that, if we fail… please lead the kingdom’s army to split up as much as possible. The Jingguan Bodhisattva will move first to the place where the most life forms gather.”

The breathing in the office became heavier.

Someone gripped their sword hilt tightly and couldn't help but ask, "Haven't the General and the Judge arrived to provide support yet?"

“The method of entering from the fourth level has failed,” Navel said. “Fortunately, communication with the outside world has not been lost. The two legends have now arrived at the fourteenth level, but…”

"But what?"

“But for some reason, the boss of the fourteenth floor, ‘Blood Spirit Ancestor,’ awakened.” Navel sighed. “Master said that the boss went berserk while roaring something like ‘Where’s my hair? Who burned my hair?’ and destroyed the field hospital leading to the fifteenth floor…”

"Sigh, who on earth angered that monster..."