Chapter 134: Shenqu Leyuan (VI)

【Host, are you going down?】

【Let's take a look. At worst, I'll just die. Anyway, before we entered the battlefield, I prepared a Resurrection Card.】

Su Xi asked the clown, "Do you want me to go down?"

The clown stopped its attack on Su Xi and even took a step back.

As expected.

Su Xi also wanted to know what was below, so without further hesitation, she jumped into the deep trench.

Er Miao reminded Su Xi, 【There is a type of micron-sized Zerg in the mist, and it is eroding the system's defenses. It is very fast.】

【This is a battlefield; it's impossible for it to be as simple as just playing a game.】 Su Xi looked downward; the gray mist gradually faded, revealing the scene at the bottom of the trench.

Su Xi couldn't help but feel her scalp tingle.

The bottom of the trench was covered in severed limbs and broken arms; they had the appearance of clowns, mechanical cores, and a pitch-black, foul-smelling oily substance.

【Er Miao, are these clowns all from the Mechanical Race?】

【They are manufactured machines, not people of the Mechanical Race.】

【Manufactured by the Mechanical Race?】

【Not necessarily the Mechanical Race. Humans can also manufacture tool robots, and some are even endowed with intelligence, just like Er Miao.】

【Was that clown from just now also a machine?】

【Yes, Host.】

Su Xi took a few nimble leaps and finally stood on the shoulder of a giant, broken clown.

She took a few photos of the dense pile of severed clown limbs and arms before her, preparing to send them to Ziyu Jiao.

Er Miao said to Su Xi: 【Host, the system's power is completely restricted here! I cannot open the system group.】

Su Xi was surprised.

"Who are you?" the giant clown's broken head suddenly spoke.

Su Xi was startled and hurriedly jumped off the clown's shoulder.

She stared vigilantly at the clown's head, which was missing half; the only remaining eye glowed slightly, and the burst-open side revealed the complex mechanical veins inside.

"My name is Su Xi, and I am a trainee god. While I was doing a mission, I encountered a clown, and it kept pressing me, forcing me to come here," Su Xi replied.

The clown's head fell silent; its single eye flickered between bright and dim, as if it were thinking.

Su Xi looked at it and asked politely, "What should I call you? And why did that clown want me to come here?"

"Aosikate, you may call me Asi. That clown should be one of my subjects, but I did not see him specifically, and I am not quite sure."

"Your subject?" Su Xi looked at him. "Aren't you a robot?"

"We are the Weilin people from the Zude Universe. Because we lost in the God War, our universe entered an Invasion Sequence and was eventually cannibalized by the surrounding universes. A portion of our people chose to fall with the universe. I brought the people who still wanted to live and made a deal with the battlefield, becoming the clown machine monsters of Shenqu Leyuan to test god players. If killed by a player, the remains are transferred to the Shenzhong."

"... Shenzhong?" Su Xi looked up; the thick gray mist blocked everything.

"If you have a Resurrection Card, self-termination to leave is the simplest method. There is no exit from the Shenzhong."

Su Xi attempted to use Teleportation to go upward, but there seemed to be an invisible energy barrier here, and she could not leave at all.

【Host, he is right. If the host delays checking in, the host's romantic partner will also be unable to leave the Terror Mushroom House project. The God War has a time limit; it is not infinite.】

【How long is this God War?】

【There is no time information.】

Asi said to Su Xi: "Besides the regular amusement projects, there are also hidden-route amusement projects, totaling ninety-nine in all. Only after completing all check-ins can it be considered a success."

"Ninety-nine!?" Su Xi gasped. "The amusement projects shown on the check-in board only total thirty-six!"

"Regular projects are divided into two parts: open targets and hidden targets. After the thirty-six open targets are completed, the hidden targets will appear. Hidden targets are difficult to clear, and almost all the hidden routes are within the hidden target projects." As Asi said this, his voice stuttered for a moment before he continued: "Actually, for the entire God War, the thing that needs the most attention is time."

"The time for the God War has not been announced."

"The time will only appear after triggering a hidden target project. By convention, the time from the opening to the closing of Shenqu Leyuan is three days," Asi replied.

Su Xi was shocked. "Three days!? Ninety-nine projects, how is it possible to complete them?"

Asi continued: "The world within each project has its own time point, which is not synchronized with the battlefield."

"Even so, it is too difficult." Su Xi's brow furrowed.

"If every project can be checked in successfully on the first attempt, it is absolutely possible to complete," Asi said to Su Xi, his tone carrying a somewhat stiff comfort.

Su Xi: "... If I cannot leave this place, it will certainly be a failure."

Asi was silent, and after a moment, he said: "It is rumored that there is a hidden Easter egg amusement project within the Shenzhong. If you can find it and check in successfully, perhaps you can leave. The Easter egg amusement project can offset one unsuccessful check-in project."

"An Easter egg!" Su Xi's pupils narrowed slightly.

"Yes. You are not the first god to enter the Shenzhong, but none of them found the Easter egg. Good luck, Su Xi!" After Asi finished speaking, the light in his single eye dimmed completely.

"Asi—" Su Xi called out to him.

【Host, he has entered hibernation.】 Er Miao said to Su Xi: 【I can transfer some energy to him to keep him awake. Does the host need me to?】

【Yes!】 Su Xi said to Er Miao: 【Keep him awake.】

【Very well, Host.】 A dazzling pulse of data light entered Asi's broken head!

Soon, Asi's head began to tremble violently!

Su Xi watched in astonishment. 【Er Miao, what is wrong with him?】

【He used a portion of the energy for Regeneration and repair,】 Er Miao replied.

【Regeneration and repair?】 Su Xi looked at Asi, muttering to herself, 【Er Miao, we have already thrown ourselves into the Shenzhong; don't go and create a Great Demon King.】

【It's too late to say anything now,】 Er Miao sighed.

The broken head suddenly went still!

Su Xi stared without blinking.

After a few breaths—

"Crack—crack—" Following a series of cracking sounds, the head shattered into several pieces, revealing a palm-sized, pure white clown robot.

"Hello, Su Xi." Asi's originally heavy, hoarse voice had become as tender and crisp as a young child's.

Su Xi: "... Asi?"

"It is me. Thank you for giving me energy; I owe you a great favor." Asi hovered in front of Su Xi and extended a small hand wearing a white glove.

Su Xi did not know how to shake it, so she finally curled one finger and tapped his small hand, her voice also softening involuntarily, "Hello, you're welcome."

"Follow me. There are some things here that you might be interested in." Asi's tiny body flashed and arrived several dozen meters away.

Er Miao said to Su Xi: 【Don't be fooled by the fact that he is a clown now; he was a god in the past. Host, do not be careless.】

Su Xi followed Asi and sighed to herself: 【Sigh! It's too late to say anything now!】

Er Miao: 【...】