"Food is here."
Zheng Zhu Liu's voice came from the kitchen, and he then walked out with two dishes, one sweet and sour pork ribs and one shredded pork with green peppers. Nannan followed closely, holding a large bowl filled with steaming seaweed and egg drop soup.
"More food?" Number One said happily.
The man also turned around with a slight smile and walked to the dining table with Number One.
"Come, come, try Fang Ming's other dishes," Zheng Zhu Liu beckoned.
"Where is Fang Ming? Isn't he done yet?" Number One peeked into the kitchen.
"Fang Ming will be here soon," Nannan said. Just as she finished speaking, Fang Ming walked out with a roasted fish.
"The last dish—roasted fish." Fang Ming placed the roasted fish on another stool, pushing it together with the previous one to form a small table.
"Then I won't be polite," Zheng Zhu Liu laughed heartily and picked up his chopsticks first.
"Eat as much as you want, I'll make more if it's not enough." Fang Ming looked at everyone's satisfied expressions. Compared to fighting, he was actually better at cooking.
"Mm, good, good," Zheng Zhu Liu praised, then asked, "By the way, are you a chef outside? How are your skills so good?"
Fang Ming shook his head and sighed, "After my parents disappeared ten years ago, I've been taking care of myself. These skills are all things I've just tinkered with at home when I had nothing else to do."
He was only twelve or thirteen when his parents disappeared, and since no relatives were willing to take him in, he had to rely on the family's funeral home to get by. He would fiddle with cooking when he had nothing else to do, as eating out was a luxury for him.
"Sorry," Zheng Zhu Liu realized he had touched upon Fang Ming's sad memories and quickly apologized.
"It's nothing, it's nothing. Now I have clues about my parents, and it's just a matter of time before I find them," Fang Ming waved his hand, indicating he didn't mind.
"Then I wish you find your parents soon!"
"Haha, your good words are welcome."
For the next while, the group became engrossed in eating. Fang Ming ate only a few bites and then stopped, just watching them eat with their heads down.
He was now a "Sha Zhong" body and did not have as much desire for food.
"Fang Ming, aren't you eating?" Nannan looked up and asked.
Fang Ming chuckled, "You guys eat. I eat this stuff often at home."
"Oh." Nannan continued to bury her head in her meal.
After the meal, they looked at each other, their gazes fixed on the man.
"The meal is finished, and you know why I broke your table. Tell me, how do we leave this floor?" Fang Ming leaned back in his chair and stretched, asking. Cooking so much food had made him mentally tired.
The man didn't hide anything and said directly, "The way to leave this floor is for me to personally take you up. This floor has some things designed by the Professor, and anything that doesn't belong to the eighteenth floor cannot leave."
"Then I can't leave either?" Number One asked in confusion.
"You?" The man glanced at it. "Below the seventh floor, you are considered not a 'Sha Zhong' of the eighteenth floor by default."
This implied that things abandoned by the Professor were automatically rejected by this floor.
Number One: "..."
"Then do you know how to leave this building?" Fang Ming pressed further.
The man nodded and, with one hand, drew a stroke beside him. A spatial rift as tall as a person appeared, displaying a mesmerizing swirl of colors.
"You can enter and exit the eighteenth floor from this mirror space rift. This is my own special ability, which I discovered when I was testing my powers by accident."
"Oh?" Fang Ming was surprised. This guy's ability had such a function?
"Then how do we get out after going in?"
The man explained, "The world inside is consistent with the world outside. However, due to my ability, the range of the mirror world is not very large. When you reach the edge, you will automatically leave and appear at the corresponding location in the real world."
"Is it that useful?" Zheng Zhu Liu walked to the spatial rift. "Can I go in and try?"
The man nodded.
Zheng Zhu Liu stuck half of his body into the rift, peered inside for a few moments, and then withdrew.
"Indeed, the world inside, apart from the colors being black and white, is no different from the real world. Even the rest of us appeared inside," Zheng Zhu Liu marveled, his eyes widened by the abilities of these "Sha Zhong."
Fang Ming also curiously peeked inside and, as Zheng Zhu Liu said, it was true.
"Since we know how to go up and how to leave, what do you guys plan to do next?" Fang Ming looked at Zheng Zhu Liu, Number One, and the man.
They exchanged glances. Number One spoke first, "I'm sorry, Fang Ming, I choose to leave. I want to see the outside world."
"Leave... huh?" Fang Ming looked at Number One's position, feeling a bit reluctant. Although this guy had a poor personality and bullied the weak, they had gone through quite a bit together.
"Mm, I understand. Master Liu, what about you?" Fang Ming respected everyone's choice, and after all, they were mostly strangers who had met by chance.
"I choose to continue upwards. I want to know the true secrets of this building. This is also the responsibility of our Investigation Department!" Zheng Zhu Liu, surprisingly, did not choose to leave. After all, given what they had seen and heard so far, the road ahead would undoubtedly be more difficult.
"Of course, don't mind if my strength is too weak," Zheng Zhu Liu said with an embarrassed smile.
"Master Liu, you jest. We may need your help in many places from now on," Fang Ming said, secretly pleased that Zheng Zhu Liu was staying. This person was truly talented and would definitely be of great help.
"I choose to follow you," the man's cold voice suddenly rang out.
"What?" Fang Ming blinked, did he hear correctly? What did he just say?
"I choose to follow you until I learn your cooking skills," the man repeated.
"Are you sure?" Fang Ming asked with a calm expression, though inwardly he was overjoyed. Good heavens, this guy could be considered a top-tier "Ban Sha" and he wanted to follow him just to learn to cook?
"Yes." The man's tone was firm. He had already made up his mind.
"Then do you have any requirements?" Fang Ming asked. He didn't want to take in a "Sha Zhong" with all sorts of restrictions.
"I do," the man said.
"Go ahead."
"Every time you cook, you must let me observe and tell me your techniques."
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"Deal!" Fang Ming felt like ten thousand little people were joyfully dancing inside him. This wasn't a requirement at all, it was completely helping him for free!
"May I ask, do you have a name?" Fang Ming suddenly remembered.
"You can call me Qing Mian," the man said coldly.
"Qing Mian... a good name!" Fang Ming praised him without hesitation.
Qing Mian smiled faintly, accepting Fang Ming's compliment.
"Without further ado, let's continue our journey," Fang Ming stood up, and everyone else followed.
"Take care on your journey, Number One!" Fang Ming waved to Number One, and Nannan also waved her little hand.
"Don't cause trouble in human society," Zheng Zhu Liu emphasized, though he couldn't see Number One. "I don't want to see you as an enemy face-to-face again next time."
"Hahaha, this talented Nicholas Connery will not kill indiscriminately." Number One laughed heartily, but his tone carried a hint of sadness. "Fang Ming, Master Nannan, and you two, goodbye. We will meet again!"
With that, he plunged into the spatial rift. Number One's aura of resentment instantly disappeared from the room.
"Let's go," Fang Ming watched Qing Mian close the spatial rift and turned to walk out.
Ten minutes later, they left the staircase and stepped onto the ninth floor.
However, the surrounding layout was no different from the eighth floor, yet there was a strange feeling.
"This floor..." Fang Ming did not rashly step in but stood at the edge of the stairs, sensing the situation around him.
"Fang Ming, I'm sleepy," Nannan suddenly said.
"Sleepy?" Fang Ming squatted down and patted Nannan's head. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I've just consumed too much resentment." As soon as Nannan finished speaking, her body turned into a "Sha Wen" and returned to Fang Ming's right arm.
"Rest well." Fang Ming touched the "Sha Wen." These few floors had indeed made Nannan work hard.
"Qing Mian, do you know what's on this floor?"
"I've never been to the higher floors and don't know the situation here, but..." Qing Mian reached out and sensed the surrounding environment. "This floor should be the Yin layer within the Yin-Yang layers."
"Yin-Yang layers?" Fang Ming was confused. What was that?
"As far as I know, the Professor has been conducting some experiments in this building. Both Number One and I are test subjects, and even my abilities are just his research data."
Qing Mian continued:
"The Yin-Yang layers are another experiment by the Professor, where two floors are transformed into two purely opposite environments. On this floor... there is not a trace of resentment, so it should belong to the Yin layer."
Hearing this, Fang Ming extended his right hand and removed the disguise, transforming it into a tentacle. As expected, the tentacle could clearly feel the depletion of resentment. Over time, his tentacles would "die" due to the thinness of resentment.
"Be careful, there might be some strange things on this floor," Qing Mian said, as if remembering something.
"Neither of our abilities can be used on this floor. If there's danger, retreat immediately."
Fang Ming tried to transform his tentacle into a scale sword upon hearing this, but he couldn't. All his abilities were banned.
Damn it, isn't this a range silence? Fang Ming thought to himself. However, this should be impartial, otherwise, this floor would be too outrageous.
"Then be careful."
Fang Ming led the way, with Number One at the rear, protecting Zheng Zhu Liu in the middle. The three of them cautiously proceeded towards the next staircase, passing through rooms on either side.
"I smell a smell of decay in these rooms. How is that possible?" Zheng Zhu Liu asked in confusion.
"A smell of decay?" Fang Ming looked at the doors around them.
"Yes, it's very familiar. Let me confirm," Zheng Zhu Liu took out his copper coin sword from his embrace and then performed a secret art, muttering, "Heaven and Earth have the Tao, all spirits return to one, I decree the law, evil spirits be revealed!"
The copper coin sword emitted a faint glow, illuminating the dim surroundings. Streams of black energy appeared before them.
"As expected..." Zheng Zhu Liu looked at these familiar black streams and suddenly understood.
"What is it?" Fang Ming pressed.
"This energy is not resentment, as you said, but a kind of decaying energy. It is mostly found in ancient tombs. This level of concentration is generally only possible in certain millennium-old tombs!"
"Ancient tombs?" Fang Ming was puzzled. He lacked knowledge in these areas.
"Be careful!" Just as Fang Ming was thinking, Qing Mian from behind suddenly shouted.