Chapter 120: The Human Skin Drum (24)

"Deduction won't get us anywhere," Lu Zhengqing couldn't help but interject. "Do you have any idea what kind of monsters I imagined we might face last night, after seeing that white, pasty substance ground out by the stone mill?"

"I thought that white paste was meant to trap us, to restrict our movement. But I never expected it to be a catalyst for the variants. Instead of sticking to us or slowing us down, it actually sped things up."

"So, the boss of this dungeon is designing these stages with completely anti-logical thinking. It isn't following conventional logic at all."

Anti-logical thinking?

Lu Zhengqing’s words sparked a thought in Tang Mu.

"The day before yesterday, our check-in locations were the Luo River and the female stone statue. There was no direct connection between those two spots, and consequently, the two monsters that appeared—the mutated green ivy and the spider lily—had no direct connection either. Yesterday, it was the rice and the stone mill, and the monster was a variant catalyzed by the white paste. There was a connection between those two locations, so the monsters produced at night were related to each other."

"Today, our two check-in locations are the tofu factory and the pavilion."

"Perhaps, we might need to add a woman into the mix."

"But essentially, the likelihood of a connection is slim. At most, it's just grabbing some tofu for a snack to eat at the pavilion."

"If this boss we are ultimately facing enjoys anti-logical thinking... then tofu is soft, and a pavilion is cool..."

Before Tang Mu could finish her sentence, the entire village was suddenly plunged into extreme heat.

Even without the sun, everyone felt as if they had been dropped into a scorching wok.

It was incredibly hot—so hot that the air itself seemed to warp. Just moving a few steps felt like entering a steamer; everyone was drenched in sweat, as if trapped in a sauna.

"Hiss, what is going on? This is way too hot!" The sudden spike in temperature made it impossible to feel even a hint of coolness in the pavilion. Instead, it was like standing on the edge of a volcano, with magma surging beneath the surface, creating an illusion that one might melt at any second.

"Damn it, it's fucking hot." Yu Peng, a man weighing several hundred pounds, suffered the most in the heat. He was sweating profusely, especially around his neck. The sweat rolled down, leaving a layer of white residue—dried physiological saline—which looked particularly alarming to everyone else.

"If it stays this hot all night, we won't be able to fight when the monsters come."

"Isn't that the truth?" The fat man fanned himself while cursing, "I hate this kind of stifling, humid heat the most. If it gets any hotter, I feel like we’re going to be boiled alive!"

As if to validate his words, the temperature in Luomen Village surged again, climbing several notches higher.

"Damn it! Fatty, stop talking! It feels like it’s already 50 or 60 degrees Celsius!"

"Check if there are any cooling items in the shop?" Cai Jinglun was beyond distressed. Since entering the "Human Skin Drum" dungeon, he had burned through as many items as one might use tissues while watching a tear-jerker.

At this rate, he felt that not only would he fail to profit from this dungeon, but he would also end up losing quite a bit.

"There are," An Xiaoying said coldly. "Area C, cooling agent. 100,000 points per bottle. It's cheap because it's a one-time consumable. Area B, shark-silk veil. 780,000 points. It's cheap because it’s practically useless—before entering a dungeon, who would think this thing is worth it? It has zero added value for attack or defense. It only provides a cooling effect."

Too expensive.

"Is there anything cheaper?" Once Qiao Yuan spoke, An Xiaoying’s tone softened slightly. "Yes, Area D, cooling spray. 30,000 per bottle. One spray lasts 15 minutes, but the bottle only holds 20ml. If you spray your whole body, you might run out in one or two uses."

Spend 30,000 points just to be cool for 15 minutes?

Forget it.

Suddenly, they felt they could endure a little longer.

"Strange, the village is too quiet today. It’s as if the villagers disappeared overnight. There are no monsters either. Could it be that our challenge for today is just to survive the heat?"

As it turned out, when the boss makes a move, it is never simple.

Once they left the pavilion and headed down the mountain, they realized the true reason why the village was so hot.

Luomen Village had truly turned into a volcano!

Magma was rolling down from the peaks of every hill and mountain range. Red and bright yellow liquid magma covered almost the entire landscape. Furthermore, magma was continuously erupting from beneath the village soil.

The ponds and the Luo River were bubbling incessantly with sulfurous gas.

It had only been a few short hours.

Yet, the very geography of Luomen Village had been altered.

It was absurd.

"What exactly does the boss of this dungeon want? If it wants to roast us all to death, just say so. Given how difficult the conditions are, how many people throughout history could have actually cleared this?"

If the dungeon existed solely to kill for the sake of killing, then there wouldn't be so many people constantly rushing into the game.

The lower the level of the dungeon, the lower the boss's supernatural power.

The higher the level of the dungeon, the stronger the boss's supernatural power.

Those with low power rely on mass slaughter to bolster their strength. Not only are the drops low-level, but the death toll is also the highest.

However, in an A-grade dungeon like this, the monster's power is already immense. For a monster of this caliber, whether to kill everyone or just a few is no longer the most important thing. They are more concerned with the emotional knots that have entangled them for countless years.

Since it is meant for liberation, the stages of the dungeon shouldn't all be dead ends.

That leaves only one possibility.

The boss seeks torment; it seeks to turn this place into a true purgatory.

Tang Mu and Qiao Yuan exchanged glances, both seeing the truth of the matter in the other's eyes.

"Fight poison with poison," Tang Mu replied quickly. "Since she wants to turn this place into a purgatory, we will turn Luomen Village into a paradise."

"...Will that work?" Qiao Yuan looked skeptical.

"Of course it will," Tang Mu said, her gaze fixed on the distance. "Sometimes, trying to untie their knots by playing along with their desires only makes them worse."

"So, it’s better to go against them. This is what we call 'destroying to build, breaking to mend.'"

"Just like the dungeon where you faced your own inner demons?"

Tang Mu did not answer Qiao Yuan.

Mentioning Zi Yushu, Tang Mu admitted that the wretch had left indelible marks on her life. Whenever she thought of those marks, she only wanted to destroy them. She had spent years running away, never wanting to return and face them. It was just the idiocy of this game that forced her back into the past to experience it all over again.

Yet, this shattering had been a blessing; it had mended the heart that had been broken for years. Instead, it had allowed her to reshape and fulfill herself, making her heart and soul as solid as a rock once more!

"We are talking about the boss of this dungeon. Why bring up my past? If you like spouting nonsense, you can stay silent. No one will mistake you for a mute."

Qiao Yuan, "..."