Chapter 1 Finally Breathing Normally

"Huff... finally I can breathe normally." These were the first words Little Tan said after taking off his breathing mask.

At this moment, Brother Jue and his group had arrived at the end of the river channel. There were no more black roses or poisonous pollen here; only a waterfall flowing upstream.

"Another one of these waterfalls..." Looking at the water flowing against gravity, Feng Bujue immediately thought of his encounter at the Reasoning Club last time. "Could it be another one of those weird mental time travel settings..."

Although he was apprehensive, he had no other choice. After all, there were no forks in the river channel, and it was impossible to turn back.

"Everyone, let's just ride the water up," Feng Bujue said as he slowed down near the edge of the waterfall, putting away his pipe and turning to his teammates.

"I have no objections. It's just a change in weight anyway..." Buu replied.

"Ah... I don't care either. I'm already wet," Little Tan chimed in.

"I have no objections," Oub also agreed.

However... the two ladies who hadn't fallen into the water yet seemed reluctant to jump in.

"Bujue, do you mind if I stand on your shoulders for a bit?" Ruoyu asked.

"Huh?" Feng Bujue was taken aback and replied, "I don't mind... but... is it really necessary?"

"Of course!" Before Ruoyu could answer, Little Ling interjected, "Even though being soaked doesn't affect any stats, it's super annoying when wet clothes stick to your body after you get out of the water." She paused. "Besides, neither of us got wet on the way here. It feels like a wasted effort to jump into the river now."

"Okay..." Feng Bujue conceded. "Then... Siyu can stand on my shoulders, and as for Beiling... Little Tan, you can carry her."

"Uh... how am I supposed to carry her..." Little Tan said. "I can swim, but I can't guarantee I won't wobble with someone standing on my shoulders."

Feng Bujue smiled. "Heh... simple. Just have her ride on your neck..."

...

Thirty seconds later, the players entered the waterfall's current. The direction of gravity here was different from the previous area, so they didn't have to worry about falling "down" after leaving the water. For them, what was previously "below" was now "behind." And what was previously "forward" was now "down."

"Hmm... I really won't fall down..." Brother Jue muttered with a constipated expression, squatting on the water surface, arms outstretched and muscles tensed. "Bearing the weight of three people, and I still haven't fallen..."

At this moment, Little Tan, Buu, and Oub were all floating on the water; only Feng Bujue... was squatting on the surface like a circus performer, with one person standing on each shoulder...

"We're girls, so we should count as 1.5 people," Little Ling said from Brother Jue's left shoulder.

"That depends on the situation..." Feng Bujue retorted. "If the 'person' in question is Buu, your combined weight might only count as 0.8 people."

"Jue-laoshi, I can make myself very light," Buu interjected (stabbed) at the right moment, drifting past Brother Jue.

"Sigh..." Feng Bujue sighed deeply and recited an impromptu verse: "Don't lament the bitterness of Huanglian, for even laughter breeds sorrow."

"Uh... what does that mean?" Oub asked, treading water in the distance.

"The core idea is..." Ruoyu said from Jue's right shoulder, "He deeply realizes... that his current predicament is entirely caused by his own smart mouth."

Upon hearing this, Buu even looked impressed. "Hmm... as expected of Jue-laoshi, even his poetry is so profound..."

Oub also said, "As expected of Jue-laoshi... even his self-reflection is a little more artistic than most people's..."

"Are these two really not sent by the author to pad out the word count... how many times are they going to use the same sentence structure..." Feng Bujue didn't dare say it aloud, but he was already complaining inwardly.

...

The group traveled quickly with the current. Before long, the golden river "behind" them disappeared from sight, and with it... the light source.

There were no gold or jewels at the bottom of this "waterfall," nor was there any light shining up from below. The players had to take out their own lighting equipment again to illuminate the path ahead.

In just a few minutes, the players had seemingly "drifted" from dusk into night, and a night where it was impossible to see your own fingers without a light.

Of course, when you think about it... the direction they were heading wasn't the same "darkness" that had been above them just moments ago...

In this belated realization, a thick, almost tangible shadow surrounded them. Even the searchlight in Brother Jue's hand could only illuminate a range of less than five meters.

The rushing current pushed them forward, and the unknown darkness loomed like a beast.

In this situation, the players' fear levels naturally rose sharply...

Little Tan, Buu, and Oub all swam closer to Brother Jue and grabbed onto each other. A strange thought arose in their hearts - if they were swept away into the darkness, they would never find their teammates again...

"Uh... have you guys noticed... it feels like it's getting colder around here," Little Tan suddenly said after a few minutes.

"Could it be because we've been soaking in the cold water for so long, and our body temperatures have dropped?" Buu replied.

"No, it definitely is getting colder," Ruoyu said firmly. "The temperature has dropped from twenty degrees Celsius to around five degrees."

As someone who hadn't been in the water, her words were very convincing.

"And... the stone walls on both sides are gone..." Little Ling added, sweeping her flashlight from side to side as she spoke.

Indeed, the stone walls that had been three meters apart had vanished... replaced by a thick, velvety darkness.

"I... noticed all of that," Feng Bujue said calmly. "I noticed it a long time ago."

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" Ruoyu asked.

"I thought you all knew..." Feng Bujue replied matter-of-factly. "The darkness is getting thicker, the distance between the stone walls is widening, the air is getting colder – these are all things you can tell with your eyes and senses. We haven't encountered any monsters or anything special along the way, so you should have realized these things, right..."

"Hmm... it seems like we realized it too late..." Little Tan said.

"It's all the same..." Feng Bujue said languidly. "Even if I had noticed those changes right away, it wouldn't have changed anything, would it? At most, I would be mentally calmer than you, and I wouldn't feel that belated sense of panic."

"Given that you don't experience panic under any circumstances," Ruoyu replied, "next time you notice something... you should probably say something sooner rather than later."

Feng Bujue replied weakly, "Alright... next time I will..."

[Finding, finding, finding a friend~ Finding a good friend~] Suddenly, a strange childish voice rang out, interrupting Brother Jue.

[Say hello and shake hands...] The voice suddenly stopped there...

"Ah!" At this moment, Oub cried out and sank into the water.

"What happened? Wasn't he holding onto you guys?" Feng Bujue immediately turned to Buu and Little Tan.

"I... I don't know..." Buu was completely stunned. He looked blankly at Brother Jue and stuttered, "He... when the song started... he seemed to... let go on his own..."

At this moment, the childish voice chuckled eerily and continued singing: [Hehe... found a good friend...]

"Finding your [bleep]..." Feng Bujue cursed directly. "Don't pull that crap on me, give him back!"

Brother Jue knew very well that in a normal difficulty script, there was no way such an unheralded instant kill scenario could occur. And he had checked the game menu as soon as it happened... in the team column, Oub's status was still "Surviving." Therefore... what was happening now was most likely just a scare tactic. From the previous atmosphere buildup to the lyrics... it was all part of the psychological warfare.

In this situation, you had to overwhelm the opponent in terms of momentum, disrupting the terrifying atmosphere they were creating. That way... the enemy would reveal their flaws.

[Finding, finding, finding a friend~] After a few seconds, the childish voice sang again, seemingly wanting to ignore Brother Jue and repeat what had happened.

But... there was no way Feng Bujue would let it have its way...

"Singing your [bleep]!" Brother Jue immediately yelled into the darkness in a voice twice as loud as the opponent's. "I'm talking to you!"

This time... the voice couldn't continue singing smoothly. It had to pause for a few seconds before continuing: [Finding a good fri...]

"Are you a deaf alien?!" Feng Bujue shouted. "Try singing another line if you dare?"

After a brief silence... [Say hello...]

"Shaolin Kung Fu is awake~ Ho ho yeah~ Shaolin Kung Fu is strong~ Is really strong! I am Iron Head Skill~ Invincible Iron Head Skill! You are Steel Leg Skill... Steel Leg Skill!" Feng Bujue used this song to choke off the next line of its lyrics.

Finally, when Brother Jue sang the line "Shaolin Kung Fu ho yeah," "it" couldn't stand it any longer...

"Stop!" the childish voice roared. "It's awful!"

This roar signaled that... "it" had been drawn into Brother Jue's吐槽 rhythm. In a sense... the battle was already decided.

"Heh... so you can hear me?" Feng Bujue stopped his unscrupulous singing and smiled. "Well, that makes things easier. If you want to negotiate... give me back my companion first."

"What if I don't?" it asked.

"I am Steel Leg Skill! Steel Leg Skill! Woohoo~ Woohoo–" A high-pitched scream answered its question.

"Okay... you win..." Its tone of shock and helplessness made it clear that its current mood was – ball-ache.

Splash splash splash—

The next second, Oub's figure suddenly emerged from the water near the players.

"Haa... haa..." He gasped for breath as soon as he surfaced. "Haa... what... what just happened?"

"It's nothing really... I think... you should be glad you weren't here just now," Ruoyu said to Oub, but her gaze was on Brother Jue, her eyes filled with contempt.

"Feng Bujue... I thought... the rumors about you were a bit exaggerated..." After a moment, it spoke again. "Now it seems... seeing is believing..."

"We haven't officially 'met' yet, have we?" Feng Bujue said. "At least... I haven't seen your real form, have I?" He probed without revealing any emotion. "Don't tell me your true form is a sparrow..."

Before he could finish speaking, the voice of Zhuanjiezun rang in his mind: "Feng Bujue, don't do anything stupid... If you confront 'it' head-on, you're dead, and even I can't help you..." Zun-ge said seriously. "Right now, 'it' has merged with the 'me' in the script. All you have to do is find the little boy's corp..."

"Shut up! Zhuanjiezun!"

In that instant, something incredible happened... "It" actually shouted loudly, interrupting the voice in Brother Jue's mind.