Chapter 261: Underworld, This Trial Is Actually in the Underworld

Underworld, this trial is actually in the underworld

The air is humid, the sensation is chilly.

Before even opening his eyes, Cheng Shi was covered in goosebumps by the faint cool wind around him.

Cold, but not wind-cold, rather yin-cold.

When his sense of smell returned, he smelled a thick rotting stench permeating the air, like the scent emitted by fallen leaves piled in a pond and rotting.

Under the stimulation of multiple senses, a thought flashed through Cheng Shi's mind:

Rainforest? Is this trial in the wild again?

With his consciousness fully restored, he quickly opened his eyes, then saw the thick accumulation of withered branches and rotten leaves under his feet, and the half-dead decaying wood forest around him.

!!!

Cheng Shi's pupils suddenly contracted, and his surprised guess blurted out:

"Underworld?"

But he didn't expect that this word "underworld" wasn't spoken by him alone, but by three or four people in unison.

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked around; his keen gaze swept over the five teammates. The teammates looked relatively calm, but their slightly furrowed brows showed they were also surprised and doubtful.

It seemed most people didn't expect a 【Prosperity】 trial to be arranged in the underworld.

You have to know the underworld is different from the surface; this is the nest of 【Decay】, the stronghold of 【Chaos】. The 【Gods】 of these two destinies are the absolute rulers of underworld faith. As for the few revered by surface life, here, to put it bluntly, they are all evil gods.

And in such a place, the will of 【Prosperity】 is barely audible.

To complete a mission protecting 【Prosperity】 in a place with almost no 【Prosperity】 faith, the difficulty can be imagined.

Cheng Shi never expected this trial to start with such a big stunt!

Fine, really fine!

The only good news now is that although the teammates look confused, they are not fearful; this shows everyone's scores are not low, likely a high-score round, with room to mix in.

Sure enough, while everyone was sizing each other up, a man wearing glasses and a gray windbreaker spoke up:

"Twisted Night Python... everyone, our situation isn't good."

"Sighing Forest!" A long-haired female player frowned, kicked the rotting leaves under her feet, and said with a look of disgust, "The aura of 【Decay】, every breath makes one nauseous."

Cheng Shi silently glanced at this sister; he could almost confirm she must be a 【Prosperity】 believer, not only because her disgust for 【Decay】 was blatantly displayed on her face, but also because of that long hair hanging past her thighs.

Too long, just like the will of 【Prosperity】, growing wildly.

Moreover, this female player's image was very eye-catching; she wore only a beast-skin tube top on her upper body, and on her lower body, only a pair of ultra-short beast-skin shorts, not even wearing shoes; her hot and primitive outfit made one feel wild at first glance.

At first glance, it seemed she belonged to the forest.

But unfortunately, this is a forest shrouded by 【Decay】; although this trial belongs to her patron, this place is indeed not very friendly to 【Prosperity】 believers.

Sighing Forest is a forest area shrouded by 【Decay】 located in the northeast of the Underworld; it can be considered the most vast forest on the entire Zhizhou, whether underground or on the surface.

It is called Sighing Forest because a mist called 【Sighing Grief Tide】 constantly surges in this woodland; this mist is full of 【Decay】 power, and any life swallowed by the mist will embrace 【Decay】 after completely losing direction, becoming part of this rotting woodland.

And the Twisted Night Python is one of the creatures modified by 【Decay】.

When the not-so-hot sun of the underworld rises, it turns into the crooked rotten wood before the players' eyes, indistinguishable from real trees; and when night falls, the rotten wood gradually comes to life, turning into rotting giant pythons under the moonlight, roaming to prey, and shedding their snake skins before the next sunrise to turn back into rotten wood.

And the snake skins they shed are the leaves people are stepping deep on.

These rotting leaves will become nourishment for 【Decay】, used to transform more lives that wander in.

This is the ecology of 【Decay】; this is Sighing Forest.

"The Dark Sun has just passed the meridian; there are about 5 hours until nightfall. I think this time is enough for us to find His clue."

"You can see the Dark Sun?" The windbreaker-wearing man with glasses who spoke first looked pleased, looking at the tall, thin man in a feather cloak who just spoke.

The feather-clad man nodded, then shook his head and said:

"It seems our teammates are still a bit short on skill, don't you think, Baldy?"

???

What is that?

Baldy?

Cheng Shi followed the feather-clad man's gaze to the female player with knee-length hair and couldn't help but want to laugh.

You call this Baldy?

Brother, your eyesight must be...

Wait! No!

Cheng Shi's mouth corner had just curved halfway when it froze; his pupils contracted violently for a moment, and he looked again at this super-long-haired woman.

A 【Prosperity】 believer... called Baldy... there seems to be a "Baldy Uses Pantene" on the leaderboard... players in the Mage channel also shared data saying the 【Prosperity】 Chosen One hasn't returned to their position...

Huh?

Could she be!!??

Just as this terrifying guess rose in his mind, that "Baldy" spat in disgust and said:

"Is Baldy a name you can call me?

Stinky bird, watch your bird feathers, don't let me find a chance to pluck you bald."

Speaking, she casually reached out, effortlessly pulled out a Twisted Snake Python, and then, right in front of everyone, used a ruthless iron hand to strip the curved tree trunk from top to bottom, literally crafting a pure wooden spear on the spot!

Then she planted this wooden spear in the rotting leaves, rested her arms on the spear butt, and leaned her head sideways towards the other teammates with a relaxed and carefree smile:

"Don't panic, personal grudge, nothing to do with everyone.

Introducing myself, Hong Lin, Druid, 2567."

Druid, the warrior of 【Prosperity】.

A combat-oriented profession capable of shapeshifting across multiple species; its offensive means are mostly fierce, able to tank and deal damage, truly all-around.

Great profession, high enough score, legs are white... also solid, but Cheng Shi... wanted to run.

"……"

2567!

A player with that score shouldn't have been matched with him.

Who the hell is running this dogshit matchmaking system?

More than a dozen Chosen are left, only a few haven't gone up yet, and this match actually runs into one!

No, not necessarily just one—anyone with a personal grudge against a Chosen can't possibly be ordinary, so this guy covered in feathers...

Cheng Shi hurriedly turned to look at the feathered man, who squinted and smiled, not offended in the slightest:

"I'm really looking forward to it. I hope you'll put some force into it when you make your move."

"......"

Wait, bro, you're also a 【Decadence】?

Cheng Shi was numb. He felt like he'd run into something filthy again, but the next guy's introduction made him wish it had just been a 【Decadence】 teammate.

"Zhen. You can all call me Zhen, as in 'drinking poison to quench thirst.'"

"Rotting Cantor, 2538."

Rotting Cantor, a singer of 【Decay】.

Unbelievable. Running into one Chosen in a single trial is bad enough, and now there's also a high-scoring 【Decay】 believer!

This is a 【Prosperity】 trial!

Setting aside the personal grudge between the two, with their opposing faiths, can this feathered bro really let this trial proceed smoothly?

Losing a few points might be easier for these people than taking a sip of water.

At this moment, Cheng Shi's brow was knotted tighter than a twist of fried dough. He sighed in his heart and silently looked toward the next person.

"Baldy? Baldy using Pantene? You're a 【Prosperity】 Chosen?" The windbreaker-and-glasses man stared at Hong Lin in disbelief, then turned in surprise to look at Zhen. "You're that guy with the ID called Zhen Du, the former 【Decay】 ladder rank four?"

Hong Lin didn't seem proud of being a Chosen; she pouted, which counted as acknowledgment. And that feathered bro also squinted with a smile and nodded.

"Oh no, this match just got serious."

"You know quite a lot. What do I call you?"

"Zuoqiu, 【Existence】..." The windbreaker-and-glasses man pushed up his glasses, his expression somewhat complicated. "Forget it, can't hide anything in front of big shots. I'm a Historian, a Historian of the History school, ladder 2343."

The first part was a lie; the second part was true.

He wasn't called Zuoqiu, but he really was a Historian.

"......"

That's something else!

Cheng Shi's face had nearly gone stiff; his whole being was numb.

I just got screwed over plenty by one Historian, and now another one shows up?

And right after I took back the 【Fraud】 faith, I get matched with another one!

What, the 【One】 who likes watching clown performances has become two now?

If you're going to play it like this, then don't blame me for picking up that "XXXXXX" again!