Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

Hearing these names, Cheng Cheng felt inexplicably awe-inspiring.

How do I get to the next floor?

“Find a floating island with wooden houses,” Paul said. “Go into the houses and you can cut to the seventh floor.”

The group began searching the sea.

The Black Sea stretches endlessly, and all you can see is seawater. Occasionally, you can spot some floating debris—broken masts, shattered planks, and enormous, unidentified skeletons.

On the way, they encountered two eagles, but before Cheng Cheng could even make a move, they were grabbed by Li Xianyu's Myriad Corpse Immortal and instantly refined.

As a result, the Corpse Immortal of Ten Thousand Industries swelled up and grew a pair of wings.

The group continued on their way, encountering several more monsters along the way, which they easily dealt with.

Finally, three hours later, a small island appeared on the horizon, with a lone wooden house standing on it.

The group landed on the island, pushed open the door, and entered the next level.

The seventh floor is called "Theme Park" and contains only one type of low-level monster called Party Guy. Only a few of these monsters can reach the Silver rank and are known as Silver Party Guys.

They were easily wiped out by the group.

After playing on the wooden horse three times, Cheng Cheng finally returned to a familiar place.

The familiar gray-white sky, the familiar empty streets, the familiar rows of buildings.

The eighth floor, the boundless city.

Cheng Cheng took a deep breath and gripped the Sword of Benevolence tightly.

“Start the search,” he said. “Find that bear-wolf-dog.”

…………

The streets of the boundless city were empty and silent.

The team split into three groups: Paul, Li Xianyu, and Freya flew into the sky and searched from three directions; Cheng Cheng led twenty cultists forward on the ground; and Wanye Corpse Immortal followed at the back of the team, his body, stitched together from countless fragments, casting a long shadow on the street.

Three hours passed, and apart from some ordinary monsters, there was nothing.

Cheng Cheng sighed softly.

There's nothing we can do about it. After all, encountering a chicken, tiger, bear, wolf, or dog is completely random. The time and place are unpredictable, and nobody knows when they'll meet it, just like nobody knows when an online novel author will update their work.

If I'm lucky, I'll show up on time; if I'm unlucky—

"Miss Sylvia."

Li Xianyu, who was flying in the sky, suddenly descended. After spending some time together, she naturally learned Sylvia's real name.

Have you spotted any bears, wolves, or dogs?

"No, we've spotted a group of people to the due east direction... about thirty of them. Should we go check it out?"

Cheng Cheng frowned slightly.

Adventurers exploring dungeons usually form teams of around seven people, so it's extremely rare for someone like Cheng Cheng to lead a team of twenty.

I never expected that someone would be even rarer than me?

Cheng Cheng became interested, and the group changed direction and headed in that direction.

After walking for ten minutes, the people on the other side spotted them and came up to make contact—the leader was a middle-aged man wearing a dark combat uniform with a short knife hanging at his waist. He raised his hand from a distance to indicate that he meant no harm.

"Friend! Don't be nervous! We're mercenaries, here to find materials!"

Cheng Cheng looked at him without saying a word.

The middle-aged man walked closer and sized up Cheng Cheng's group—twenty armed cultists, a little girl carrying a coffin, and a pink-haired loli dressed in a maid outfit.

His gaze lingered on Sylvia's face for a second before quickly shifting away.

"My name is Karen," he introduced himself. "A mercenary for the Liu Group. I'm here on the eighth floor to find some materials. And you?"

Cheng Cheng said calmly, "I'm also hired to search for something on the eighth floor."

"That's perfect! This floor is too big; searching alone is too slow. Why don't we go to our base to rest for a bit? We can search together and look out for each other."

Cheng Cheng glanced at Paul.

Paul nodded slightly – these people weren't very strong; the strongest was only at the mid-silver level, posing no threat.

Moreover, most of the team members are not yet at the Silver level, and after fighting on the eighth floor for so long, they all need to rest.

"Lead the way," Cheng Cheng said.

…………

The base is not far away.

After crossing two blocks, Karen stopped in front of a three-story building.

“This is it.” He pushed open the door. “We found a building where we can rest and have been staying for several days.”

The building looks more spacious inside than outside.

Several tables and chairs were set up in the lobby on the first floor, and some supplies—dry food, water, and sleeping bags—were piled up in the corner. Seven or eight people were sitting on the floor resting; some were cleaning their weapons, some were dozing off, and some were boiling water and cooking.

Everyone looked up when they saw Cheng Cheng and his group enter.

All eyes swept over, and upon seeing Cheng Cheng, they subconsciously looked away, pretending to wipe their weapons, but couldn't help glancing in their direction out of the corner of their eyes.

Cheng Cheng was already used to this, after all, Sylvia was very beautiful and often attracted stares when she walked—what surprised him more was that there was actually a little boy mixed in with this group of mercenaries.

The boy, who looked about seven or eight years old, was wearing a faded old coat and huddled behind a burly man, looking at them timidly.

Just then, Sylvia's voice suddenly rang in his mind: "Mr. Mambo, things are not good."

"Ok?"

"They are esoteric members of the Primordial God's cult!"

Cheng Cheng was taken aback for a moment: "What a coincidence, it's the same for us."

"It's different!" Sylvia's voice was urgent. "We're fake, they're real!"

“I’ve seen that boy before! He’s the one who was in the same prison van as me when I was kidnapped by the Secret Society… He’s the one who gave me the letter, which is why I went to 13 Mink Street!”

Cheng Cheng's gaze fell on the boy.

The little boy seemed to sense his gaze, and shrank back, hiding behind the burly man, only showing half of his face.

How did the Genshin Impact cult and the Liu Group's mercenaries end up together?

Could it be...

Just then, Karen came over carrying a pot of steaming chicken soup: "Chicken soup is here! Come on, everyone, have a taste! We've been simmering it all afternoon, it smells amazing!"

Cheng Cheng did not answer.

He simply looked at Karen and said calmly, "In this situation, we should have a big toast. You drink first."

Karen's smile froze for a moment.

"Why aren't you drinking?" Cheng Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Are you afraid someone has poisoned the soup?"

“No way!” Karen laughed. “This young lady is quite the joker. You all eat while it’s hot, I’m going on patrol now, I won’t disturb you.”

“You can’t leave.” Paul stood in front of Karen.

"Sir, you don't believe her joke from earlier, do you?"

"I believe it, I believe it very much."

Paul took the bowl and ladled out a bowl of chicken soup: "If it's not poisoned, you can drink this bowl of chicken soup first."

“Fine! I’ll drink it!” Karen gritted her teeth. “I’m just being polite. Since you’re worried—I’ll drink it first! Oh, this chicken soup is so delicious.”

He picked up the bowl, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp.

After finishing his drink, he showed the bottom of the bowl to Cheng Cheng: "See? Are you alright? Drink up, drink it while it's hot, everyone have some."

Cheng Cheng remained motionless.

"Miss, it seems you're the team leader, you should set an example... If you don't drink, how can the others drink?"

"..."

"Damn it! Why won't you drink! Drink up! Give me some!"

Karen suddenly flew into a rage and slammed her hand on the table. Cheng Cheng silently gave Paul a look.

Paul took a step forward, and the Golden Sanctuary suddenly unfolded, its oppressive aura instantly enveloping the entire hall!

Karen's knees buckled, and she almost knelt down. The mercenaries sitting in the corner turned pale, and some of them could barely hold their weapons.

“Gold…Gold rank…” Karen’s voice trembled. “The intelligence was wrong. How could there be gold?”

"Now," Cheng Cheng looked at him, "tell the truth. Who sent you?"

Karen's lips moved.

Then he suddenly laughed.

"Since I'm already poisoned, I'm not going to continue this act! I am the Jade-Faced Thunder King!"

He suddenly raised his right hand, pulled a grenade from his pocket, and charged fiercely at Cheng Cheng!

"Get down!"

Paul roared, and the Golden Sanctuary expanded instantly, enveloping everyone within it!

"boom--!!!"

The grenade exploded, and flames engulfed the entire hall!

The shockwave struck the sacred domain, causing the golden barrier to tremble slightly, but before they could even catch their breath—

"Da da da da da—!!!"

Gunshots rang out from all directions!

The mercenaries who were originally sitting on the ground pulled out all kinds of guns from the stools under them, from the backpacks in the corner, and from under the piles of supplies. They aimed at Cheng Cheng and his men, pulled the triggers, and bullets rained down like a storm!

The storm of metal left a dark red trail of flame in the air, crashing into the sanctuary and exploding into bursts of sparks!

"Watch out, these are all enchanted bullets!"