Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

"But this is wrong, it's unjust, and the law also grants human rights to orcs..."

"So what happened?"

Cheng Cheng sheathed the Sword of Benevolence and looked into the distance: "Our human race stands at the pinnacle of the world so that we can kill other races at will. Otherwise, how can we prove the nobility of our human race?"

“No,” Sylvia said weakly, “the ones standing at the top of the world are the elves of the empire. Our human race is not as strong as them. Are we also going to be slaughtered by the elves?”

"...Then I should fight against the alien races even more for the great rise of humanity." Cheng Cheng paused. "So I not only have to kill, but I have to kill more—I still have powerful enemies to deal with, sins to atone for, and mistakes to correct—I don't have the money to buy magical pets to kill right now. If I stop now, how will I become stronger? How can I stop?"

"My companions need me, the Heavenly Court needs me, the human race needs me, they need me, the Dragon Lord! — The Three Qi Return!"

"Dragon Lord?" A question mark floated above Sylvia's head.

"That's not important." Cheng Cheng coughed lightly. "In short, just think of it this way—because I'm strong, I can kill whoever I want, and I can control you. If you were stronger than me, then it should be the other way around, you controlling me."

"But Mr. Mambo..."

"Alright, stop asking. It's pointless to explain to someone like you who hasn't read 'Da Bian' or 'Gu Zhenren,' so I'm too lazy to explain anymore..." Cheng Cheng sighed. "Besides, why should I, Cheng Cheng, explain my actions to others?"

I finally found the chance to say it!

Classic lines from "Rebirth of an Urban Immortal"!

Cheng Cheng ignored Sylvia and looked smugly at his bodyguard: "Looks like there aren't any strong enemies on the first floor... How do we get to the second floor?"

The bodyguard pointed ahead to a deep, seemingly endless concrete corridor:

"The way to get from one floor to the next is different. Some require a specific ritual, some require a key, and some... it's purely a matter of luck. However, the method to get from the first floor to the second floor has been summarized by our predecessors. Just keep wandering along any extending corridor... and then you will suddenly arrive at the second floor."

Cheng Cheng nodded.

He took one last look at this gathering place of vagrants, filled with despair, death, and trade, then turned and stepped into the darkness of the corridor.

With firm steps.

Only Sylvia silently pondered a name in her heart:

"Cheng...Cheng?"

"Is this Mr. Mambo's real name? It sounds... like the name of the Elf Empire."

Chapter 18, Mamba Flies~~

The corridor seemed to have no end.

With mottled concrete walls on both sides and an exposed ceiling overhead, Cheng Cheng finally recognized the true appearance of the first level of the underground city after leaving the slum that had been turned into a slum for homeless people—an underground parking garage that stretched to the horizon.

Cheng Cheng continued to wander in the deserted corridor until the surrounding scenery began to distort slightly, the echoes of his footsteps became distant, and the rust on the walls seemed to come alive and wriggle.

Then, without warning—

One step, and the world changes.

A wave of heat hit us.

Cheng Cheng subconsciously squinted.

Before me lay a narrow, oppressive concrete maintenance passage, winding its way forward with no end in sight.

The space was only wide enough for three people to walk side by side. Above and beside the body were densely intersecting steam pipes, their surfaces covered in rust. Some of the pipes were already dark red and hot, heating the air to over forty degrees Celsius. The air was as thick as syrup, and every breath carried the fishy smell of rust and mold.

Dim emergency lights stretched out in the distance, their light distorted and deformed in the heat, making the entire second floor resemble the writhing intestines of a steel behemoth.

Not far away, a homeless man was squatting beside a scorching pipe, cooking something in a tin can. Noticing the gaze, the homeless man looked up warily, and upon seeing Cheng Cheng and his bodyguards' attire, immediately lowered his head, clutching the can and shrinking into the shadows.

“The second level is called ‘Pipe Nightmare’,” the bodyguard explained, wiping his brow. “Many homeless people come to this level to heat their food and water, but they can’t stay for long, or they will suffer from dehydration and poisoning… Therefore, there are more and stronger monsters on this level than on the first level.”

He pointed to the closed doors: "Some rooms used to be equipment rooms or storage rooms, where you can occasionally find useful things or treasures, but most rooms are empty or have fake doors, or monsters gather there. There are also doors leading to the first or third floor. We can look around."

Cheng Cheng wiped the sweat that had instantly appeared on his forehead, and at the same time, a system notification appeared before his eyes:

"First level cleared"

Rating: C (Inefficient cleanup, no hidden areas explored)

Rewards: 500 EXP, 1 Originium

"Currently, you can draw the second-tier initial blessing 'Magician'. Please choose from the following three options:"

"Arcane Charge: Reduces the cooldown of all abilities by 55%".

"Mana Reversion: After casting a spell, your next basic attack deals an additional 100% magic damage."

"Elemental Affinity: Grants your normal attacks the corresponding elemental effect based on the type of skill you last used."

I'd definitely choose skill cooldown reduction... By the way, does Sylvia even have any skills?

Among the Silver-tier characters I've seen before, Cicero used a lightning-fast martial art, and Finn can also command magical pets and summon giant hammers. Only Sylvia has just advanced and shouldn't have had time to learn those things.

After a moment of contemplation, Cheng Cheng opened his system inventory, clicked on the two fire seeds, "Fire Execution" and "Puppet," and found that they could be loaded and used.

The moment he clicked to load, a strange feeling surged into Cheng Cheng's heart. He seemed to understand the essence of burning at the stake and the puppet's ability in an instant. He only needed to simulate the corresponding ability in his mind to release it successfully, without consuming physical strength or magic power!

Licking his lips, Cheng Cheng selected "Arcane Charge".

The two began to explore forward, opening door after door. Sure enough, most of them were empty. Occasionally there were storage shelves, but everything on them had been taken away by homeless people.

Even before the ninth door was opened, a faint "fluttering" sound could be heard coming from inside.

The bodyguard immediately became alert, activating his Sacred Domain to protect Cheng Cheng within its protective area, and then opened the door—

Countless giant moths, like wasps whose nests had been smashed, swarmed towards Cheng Cheng and his companion!

"Swish..."

Each moth was as long as an adult's arm, fearlessly rushing towards the bodyguard's sacred area, crashing into him, and bouncing back, revealing its wasp-like sharp proboscis to Cheng Cheng from a distance of two meters.

“Death Moth.” The bodyguard lowered his voice. “This is troublesome. The scales of this thing are poisonous and will paralyze the skin if they come into contact with it. Miss doesn’t have any area-of-effect skills, so I’ll take care of it.”

"No need, I will take care of it."

With a slight thought, Cheng Cheng slowly raised his left hand, palm facing upward.

The next second, a wisp of black flame suddenly shot out from his palm and burned silently!

The bodyguard's pupils suddenly contracted.

He stared intently at the black flame in Sylvia's palm, his lips slightly parted, frozen in place. As a seasoned Gold-ranked cultivator, he knew all too well the characteristics of this flame—pitch black, filled with blasphemous malice, and definitely not the effect of any known magic.

This is the seed of the devil.

“Young Miss…” the bodyguard’s voice was hoarse, trembling with disbelief, “What is this…”

Cheng Cheng ignored him, focusing on guiding the flames towards the densely packed death moths that covered the entire room. His eyes sharpened, and he waved his left hand forward!

"boom--!"

Black flames shot out from his palm like living things, forming a ring of fire that spread outwards!

The flames swept through the air, far hotter than the steam pipes, and all the moths that came into contact with them were quickly ignited, leaving only charred air and ashes falling everywhere!

"Experience +5"

"Experience +5"

"Experience +5"...

The system notification sounded sixty-five times.

In just one minute, sixty-five dead moths perished in the flames, turning the entire room into a sea of ​​fire. If Cheng Cheng hadn't been hiding within the bodyguard's sacred domain, he too would have been taken away by the flames he had created!

The passageway returned to silence, save for the hissing sound of leaking air from the pipes.

Cheng Cheng lowered his hand, and the black flame in his palm quietly extinguished. He felt that the incendiary fire seed was entering the cooling-off phase and could be used again in about three minutes. He nodded in satisfaction.

With this wave of killing, Sylvia's level jumped directly to level 17, and even her level 18 experience bar was half full!

"..."

The bodyguard remained frozen in place, his face drained of color. He stared at the empty area of ​​pipes, then at Sylvia's calm profile, his throat bobbing a few times, but ultimately said nothing.

His heart was in turmoil.

The Demon Flame... How could the young lady possess something like that?!

The task of defeating demons requires at least a Silver-rank team, making each Flame incredibly valuable and often unavailable. The vast majority of Flames are held by the Church and the Kingdom's army, strictly prohibiting private sale and research. They are only awarded to those who have rendered outstanding service. Even as a Gold-rank individual, I've spent most of my life trying and haven't obtained a single one, but the young lady…

It must have been Lady Vilette who gave it to the young lady for self-defense. The master really dotes on the young lady...

I really want to touch it, I really want to feel what it feels like to have a flame inserted into my body...

Loyalty overcame greed. The bodyguard took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He silently took a half step forward, blocking Cheng Cheng's side and getting closer to the potential danger in the pipe. His hand was on the hilt of his sword, and his eyes scanned the surroundings warily.

Cheng Cheng noticed the bodyguard's reaction and nodded slightly in his heart:

"keep going."

…………

As he ventured deeper into the humid, narrow pipe passage, opening doors again and again, he unfortunately didn't encounter any more monsters as numerous and easy to slaughter as the Death Moths. Instead, he encountered mostly slimes similar to those on the first floor, the corpses of wanderers named "Sad Corpses," or "Leech Demons" lurking in the sewage, waiting to bite people's ankles. The experience points were so low that Cheng Cheng didn't even have the thought of drawing his sword.

I've encountered elite monsters a few times, such as the "Faceless Spirit" which has no facial features and is extremely fast, the "Skin Thief" which is disguised as a wanderer, and the "Hound" whose fur has been peeled off and whose muscles and blood vessels are exposed. They all have around 30 experience points and their combat power is not much different from that of the Rabbit.

The only valuable prey was the "limb mass," a huge ball of flesh composed of countless slender arms. After attempting close combat, Cheng Cheng was almost trapped by the groping hands attacking from all directions. Fortunately, he used the fire seed in time to burn it into a constantly rolling fireball.

The experience points are 250.

The experience gain efficiency was indeed much higher than the first level, and the level rose all the way to 19.

It seems that there is no bottleneck in breakthrough materials between levels 19 and 20. Cheng Cheng has some speculation about this. Perhaps the level at which the game bottlenecks breakthroughs corresponds to the Silver and Gold Legendary levels. He doesn't know how long it will take to reach that level, or where to find the breakthrough materials.

Cheng Cheng continued clearing out the monsters along the way, occasionally rummaging through half-closed rooms, and delving deeper into the mystery.

As they ventured deeper, the temperature rose higher and higher. Sweat soaked through their clothes, and breathing became difficult. Cheng Cheng had to slow down to avoid heatstroke—although pain could be masked, the physical exertion and discomfort were very real.

"Young Miss, there's a relatively safe area ahead, a temporary camp previously set up by adventurers. It has a water purification system and a door leading to the next level." The bodyguard pointed to a fork in the road ahead. "Would you like to rest there?"

Cheng Cheng nodded.

The two turned into a side road, and the temperature did indeed drop a bit.

At the end of the passage was a large room where several people dressed as adventurers were resting. When they saw Cheng Cheng and his bodyguards enter, their eyes swept over them warily, lingering for a moment on Cheng Cheng's exquisite clothes and the bodyguards' imposing golden-rank aura before they looked away.

None of the beautiful women who appear in the dungeon are easy to mess with.

Cheng Cheng walked to the water purifier in the corner, pressed the button, and fairly clear water flowed out. He scooped up some water, drank a few mouthfuls, and then washed his face.

After resting for ten minutes, Cheng Cheng got up: