Chapter 301: Era

Inside were several large elevators; adhering to the principle that "splitting up in a horror movie equals voluntarily splitting up," all players stayed in the same elevator, heading to the fiftieth floor.

Click.

Baijixiong transformed into a Mind Demon (a fantasy creature resembling a blue sphere nearly two meters in diameter, with seven eyes and a gaping maw, plus numerous tentacles each ending in tiny eyeballs),

silently activated the Mind Demon's innate telepathic ability, pulling Li Cheng, Zhao Zijing, and Fu Ding Hualong—those he could trust—into a mental network for communication.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me?"

Baijixiong asked: "Do you believe what Noah said?"

"Hard to say," Fu Ding Hualong analyzed: "His story has too many inconsistencies. First, the 【Web Phantom】 is a mid-to-high-ranking member of the Whale Song Guild; his signature ability is digitizing his body—he can always escape when outmatched.

It's hard to imagine how Noah managed to capture the Web Phantom.

Second, if the trap software was uploaded by the Web Phantom back to our world, why didn't he simply reveal the truth, especially urging his Whale Song Guild friends and family to rescue him? Why go through such a complicated scheme, trapping so many people?

Third, Noah claims all the mutated monsters originated from pathogens he invented.

The one who ties the bell must untie it; with his technical prowess, couldn't he have invented a vaccine or virus to permanently eliminate the monsters roaming outside?"

"Noah is definitely not telling the truth—at least not the whole truth."

"A lie composed of nine parts truth and one part falsehood is more destructive than a complete lie."

Li Cheng also said: "Like when I begged for a seed on the forum for hours, only to download an 800GB file that wasn't the complete set of 'Huluwa.'"

??? What version of the complete Huluwa set could possibly be 800GB? Even 4K, HDR, AI-restored versions wouldn't reach that.

Fu Ding Hualong mentally scoffed—unaware that in the mental network, all thoughts were instantly converted into spoken communication.

"You wouldn't know that."

Li Cheng casually said: "I downloaded the deepfake AI face-swap custom version, replacing the Seven Brothers of Huluwa with Ma Jiaqi, Ding Chengxin, Song Yaxuan, Liu Yaowen, Zhang Zhenyuan, Yan Haoxiang, and He Junlin."

Holy shit, Team TianTi!

Even though he'd gradually grown accustomed to Master Pi Fu's way of thinking, Fu Ding Hualong still felt his balls tighten and his ass clench.

Dude, how the hell do you remember these names so well, like you've got them memorized?

Zhao Zijing, however, remained calm and even had the leisure to ask back: "Seven-member group? Not BTS? Not BTS?"

"I don't watch non-Chinese idol groups—I'm all about the all-Chinese lineup."

Astrophysicist Carl Sagan once proposed a theory called "The Dragon in My Garage," similar to Occam's Razor, both asserting that entities should not be multiplied without necessity.

All information the players have received comes solely from Dr. Noah; imagination and internal discussion cannot verify its truth—only future evidence-gathering can confirm or refute it.

Li Cheng chatted idly, and as they spoke, the elevator car ascended to the fiftieth floor; the metal doors slid open slowly.

As Dr. Noah had said, this Gao Ta appeared to have been designed from the start to function as a space station.

The corridor's cross-section was square; walls and ceiling were lined with hooks for zero-gravity use, with airtight doors installed at regular intervals.

A six-legged, crab-shaped robot led the way, using keys to open each airtight door.

The further they advanced, the more unstable the lighting became, flickering constantly; numerous different models of combat robots stood motionless along the path.

In the Consultation Synthesis Glasses, these robots showed no external damage—only their high-density batteries had been completely drained of power.

"The mutated monster lurking in the power room can drain electricity remotely and block electromagnetic communication—I don't even have a single complete image."

The six-legged robot emitted Dr. Noah's voice: "Your task is to kill it, without damaging the power."

Before he could finish uttering the word "room," the six-legged robot froze abruptly, its mechanical arms dropping straight down—clearly drained of power remotely.

"It's coming."

Dorian Gray's expression hardened; he drew a dueling rapier from thin air. Other players also retrieved their weapons, staring down the dark corridor.

Tap, tap, tap.

A sticky, dragging footstep echoed from the corridor's end, followed by heavy breathing and the shrill scrape of fingernails on metal walls.

An unspeakably terrifying aura surged toward them; every hair on their bodies stood on end—this pressure approached the level of a Divine Corruption.

Zhao Zijing flipped her palm and pulled several non-electric red glow sticks for cave exploration from her storage ring, using telekinesis to send them into the darkness at the corridor's end.

The red glow illuminated the walls; everyone clearly saw the source of the sticky footsteps.

"Holy shit, Nezha!"

At the corridor's end stood a mutated entity over two and a half meters tall, humanoid in form, with thick, muscular legs and a torso bearing three heads and six arms.

The three heads represented Black, Yellow, and White races, their expressions sorrow, joy, and rage respectively.

The six arms held different weapons: a bone club, metal rebar, a chain-anchor, and others.

The overall aesthetic resembled those early-year 【Dark Fantasy Journey to the West Flash Game Ads】.

The two sides stared across the corridor; Dorian Gray slightly pursed his lips, stepped half a pace forward, and pulled a bottle of perfume from his inventory slot, spraying himself twice.

Battlefield players employ bizarre tactics; mere good looks could never elevate one to high rank, secure wealthy patrons, or become a lover to European heavy industry officials.

Dorian Gray was a player specialized in Charm; all his skills and items related to charm.

This bottle of 【Instinctual Desire】, a premium item, temporarily enhanced his charm and persuasiveness—including his ability to persuade non-human intelligences.

"Hello, can you understand what I'm saying?"

Dorian Gray spoke slowly to the three-headed, six-armed monster, his voice no longer arrogant or haughty, but utterly gentle and kind.

His other skill revealed that the monster possessed cognitive ability equal to that of an ordinary human—meaning communication was possible.

"We mean you no harm. You feed on electricity—I happen to have a high-density battery right here,"

Dorian Gray pulled a blade battery from his inventory and gently placed it on the ground: "Perhaps we could…"

Before he finished speaking, the mutated monster hurled its metal rebar with blinding speed—Li Cheng's dynamic vision could barely catch the afterimage.

Thud!

The metal rebar pierced Dorian Gray's chest, pinning the still-flirting man to the wall.

"Your charm skill was wasted," Li Cheng pushed his Consultation Synthesis Glasses up the bridge of his nose and said to Dorian Gray: "This thing's male."

"You—you didn't tell me!" Dorian Gray coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"You didn't ask either, and your Charm actually can't work on both men and women—I suggest you go study some all-gender killing techniques from Zhang Xianzhong and Genghis Khan."

Li Cheng said casually, picked up the Victory Banner Spear, and turned his head to look back at the aberrant monster.