bayedsolid Chapter 749 Challenge Dungeon 5
Chapter 749 Challenge Dungeon 5
This time, the energy fluctuations were much clearer!
Under Yun Chu's palm, the silver rhombus pattern suddenly lit up, and the azure light flowed upwards along the invisible lines on the tower like awakened veins!
The pattern itself seemed to come alive, slightly sunken, forming a clear palm print groove.
【Ding! 】
A chilling notification tone simultaneously resounded deep within the consciousness of both Yun Chu and the girl in the distance:
[Valid coordinated contact detected! The check-in channel at the top of the Tower of Light is now open!]
Please enter the passage within sixty seconds!
Right in front of where the two were standing, a door silently opened on the smooth metal wall of the tower.
Inside the door was not a physical staircase, but a spiral energy staircase that slowly rotated upwards, shimmering with a ghostly blue halo, leading straight to the top of the tower!
The rotating blue lights, like fragments of stars, silently invited the two players to step into the unknown.
A sixty-second countdown started simultaneously in their minds!
Almost the instant the passage opened, the girl darted out like a cheetah, stepping ahead of everyone else into the dark blue spiral staircase.
Her figure was swallowed by the swirling halo of light, leaving only a low but clear urging: "Hurry!"
Yun Chu followed closely behind, stepping in with one stride.
What you step on is not a physical step, but a strange, slightly elastic energy field that sinks you in slightly and then lifts you up again, as if you are stepping on condensed light mist.
All around were flowing bands of pale blue light, as if one were inside a river paved with shattered diamonds, with only the almost silent hum of flowing energy in one's ears, isolating one from all the noise of the outside world.
The spiral ascent was not fast, but it was exceptionally smooth.
Looking up, you can see the girl's blurry silhouette rapidly shrinking in the stream of light.
The space inside the tower seemed much larger than it appeared from the outside, or rather, the passage itself distorted space.
About twenty seconds later, the view suddenly opened up.
They reached the top of the tower.
This is not an open-air viewing platform, but a hemispherical enclosed space with a transparent dome, from which you can clearly see the gradually brightening sky and the panoramic view of the park below.
In the center of the space, a pale golden sphere of light, constantly changing with intricate geometric patterns, floats, its soft glow illuminating the entire top floor.
[Please touch the core light sphere to complete the check-in.] The prompt sounded at the appropriate time.
Without the slightest hesitation, the girl stepped forward and placed her hand on the surface of the sphere of light.
As the light sphere shone brightly, Zhou Zi's figure was enveloped in a layer of golden data light, which lasted for about three seconds before fading away.
[Player 'Zhou Zi' has successfully checked in.]
She withdrew her hand, quickly stepped aside, and scanned her surroundings warily, making room for Yun Chu.
Yun Chu stepped forward and placed her hand on the ball of light as well.
The touch was warm, as if a faint electric current was spreading along my arm, and then a confirmation sound echoed in my mind:
[Player 'Du Xue' has successfully checked in.]
[Check-in task completed. Risk of coordinates being exposed eliminated.]
The light from the sphere gradually dimmed, returning to a slow rotation.
The blue spiral staircase leading down still rotates silently at the entrance, but the countdown has stopped.
With the mission accomplished, both of them breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief.
Zhou Zi's tense shoulders relaxed slightly. She looked at Yun Chu again, the sharp hostility in her eyes fading and replaced by a scrutinizing and assessing look at the value of the cooperation.
"It's a pleasure to work with you," she said, her voice more steady than before, but still crisp. "My name is Zhou Zi, and in this game... I'm a kebab vendor."
She pursed her lips, seemingly dissatisfied with the role she was playing: "The night shift worker at 'Old Wang's Barbecue,' not far from the north gate of the park."
Yun Chu nodded, pulled down her mask, and revealed the ordinary but tired face that belonged to "Du Xue".
“Du Xue. Night shift at ‘Starlight Convenience Store,’ intern.” She gave her name and location in a calm voice, “Intersection of Starlight Street and West Park Road, about… a fifteen-minute walk from your store.”
Zhou Zi quickly reviewed the map in her mind, her eyes brightening slightly: "Not far. This dungeon seems to be concentrated in one area. If there are more challenging quests like this that require teamwork later..."
She paused, then looked at Yun Chu. "We can help each other again. How do we contact each other? There's a risk of being exposed if we use a cell phone in the instance; the investigators might find out."
Yun Chu was prepared. She casually pulled two small rolls of oden skewers, wrapped in oil paper and commonly found in convenience stores, from her sweatpants pocket and handed one roll to Zhou Zi.
"A small item from the convenience store. If you need anything, or if you find anything, you can mark it with this inside the third trash can at the north gate."
“Horizontal lines represent safety or a scheduled meeting, circles represent warnings or cancellations, and crosses represent emergencies or the need for support. I pass by there to take out the trash every day at four in the morning.”
Zhou Zi took the bamboo skewer, twirled it between her fingertips, and revealed an almost arrogant expression of admiration: "Good, well hidden."
"Here... there are specific chili powder markings in the kitchen. If you see fresh, extra-spicy chili powder sprinkled in the shape of arrows along the back wall of 'Old Wang's Barbecue,' the direction of the arrows is where you'll meet or the direction you need to be careful of."
"The timing... it depends on the situation. I'll try to choose a time when there are fewer people."
Simple contact methods were thus finalized. Without much small talk, a temporary alliance, forged amidst both interests and risks, was swiftly established in silence.
"Let's go." Zhou Zi turned around first, stepped back into the blue light staircase, and her figure quickly sank and disappeared.
Yun Chu waited for about ten seconds before stepping onto the light staircase.
The descent was faster than the ascent, and a few seconds later, she was back outside the small, closed gray door on the east side of the tower.
The morning sunlight was already quite dazzling, and there seemed to be more people in the square.
She lowered the brim of her hat and, just as she had come, slowly walked away along the lakeside path, soon merging into the crowds and traffic outside the park, as if she were just an ordinary citizen who had finished her morning exercise.
---
Shortly after Yun Chu and Zhou Zi left, other cautious figures began to appear near the Tower of Light.
Some pretended to take photos, while others feigned a rest, all secretly observing and waiting, looking for partners or opportunities to be triggered.
The task prompts applied equally to everyone, and soon, one player group after another successfully triggered the sensor, opened the passage, and completed the check-in.
The pale blue staircase appeared and disappeared intermittently, then quickly closed again, causing little disturbance to ordinary NPCs—the rules of the instance subtly distorted their perceptions.
However, not everyone is so lucky.
Time passed second by second, and the 24-hour time limit was nearing its end.
A male player, playing the role of a "delivery sorter," wandered alone near the base of the tower with a panicked expression.
He arrived too late and failed to find a reliable partner in time.
With the deadline fast approaching, a desperate madness flashed in his eyes, and he recklessly rushed toward the sensor, attempting to press it repeatedly with one hand.
The result is no suspense.
[Warning! Collaboration conditions not met! Check-in failed!]
[Player XXX failed to check in; coordinates (near the logistics park in the eastern part of the Neon Street area) have been exposed to the investigation team!]
The cold, inaudible notification sound was like a death knell to him.
Almost as soon as the notification sound ended, a screen lit up with a striking red light in front of "Night Owl" at the search officers' command center. An area on the map was highlighted and kept flashing as it shrank in size.
"Coordinates locked, Eastern Logistics Park, error radius 500 meters." Night Owl's voice was flat. "'Falcon', 'Arc Light', you two are closest, go and verify immediately."
"The target is male, and the character is likely related to logistics and transportation. Be wary of the skills he may possess."
"Roger that!"
The two investigators immediately took action.
Beneath the Tower of Light, the defeated player slumped to the ground, his face ashen.
In a panic, he jumped onto a passing electric tricycle carrying empty boxes, attempting to escape the area. Little did he know that this hasty action was nothing more than a firefly in the dark in the eyes of the investigators who had already received precise coordinates.
His escape was destined to be short-lived.