Chapter 284: Deep Calculations (10/10, Autumn Subscription)

At this moment, Fang Yue once again recalled all the hints Ni Dongmei had given to the tail.

If a person jumped off a cliff normally, they would definitely scream.

But if, while falling, luck was good enough to land precisely on a water gate lying horizontally, its door facing the sky.

Then, the instant the body touched the water gate, the high-pitched scream would activate it.

All these coincidental conditions aligned perfectly, like precisely interlocked gears, and the person who jumped would, in an instant, pass through the water gate and enter the ruins!

Ni Dongmei—what a deep calculation!

Vague, absurd hints, yet somehow the fastest and most correct way to open it—all understood without words.

But to precisely enter the ruins this way, one would need immense fortune.

Anyone with slightly worse luck would meet only death.

Fang Yue explained his analysis to the tail; after considering Hai Ming's current state, the tail quickly believed him.

This time, it was the tail who jumped.

After all, this wasn't Fang Yue's Trial Mission—it was the tail's. There was no reason for Fang Yue to risk his life.

In fact, with the tail's high-pitched scream, she stood steadily on the water gate, controlling the rhythm so that only her right hand gripped the gate while the rest of Fang Ming's body hung outside its overlap zone, then she pulled him up.

At this moment, Fang Yue had already dragged Liao Moran onto the water gate.

The four regrouped; the first thing Hai Ming said upon seeing Fang Yue was, "Don't forget your promise..."

Then, as if drained, he trembled violently and went offline, his eyes dull, instantly subdued.

Impressive...

Fang Yue took Hai Ming from the tail, thought for a moment, and originally planned to leave the offline Hai Ming outside—but then he considered that this guy might log back on any moment, and if he found himself abandoned outside the water gate, that would be too cruel.

So Fang Yue brought him along.

The three of them, in unison, opened the water gate's seam and, without hesitation, jumped inside.

Plop.

The instant Fang Yue jumped into the water gate, he felt as if he were submerged in water.

Frowning, he looked around—it was indeed like the bottom of a lake, but the water wasn't deep, even quite shallow; light could be seen above.

The tail and Liao Moran had already regained their composure and held their breath. They gave Fang Yue a gesture and began swimming upward.

Fang Yue followed closely behind, and soon broke the surface.

He glanced around—and froze slightly.

This place was a room built primarily of bronze.

Around the room, there was nothing except the lake bottom they had just swum up from in the center.

It wasn't a lake at all—just Fang Yue's initial illusion. Though the room was sizable, the so-called "lake" was merely a large basin, like one used for bathing or collecting water.

Fang Yue swam with Hai Ming to the edge, climbed ashore, laid him down, and circled the room once, not rushing to leave the Bronze Room.

Then, he noticed something.

This room had no water gate.

That meant... they didn't know how to return.

But since this was Ni Dongmei's Trial Mission, she couldn't possibly trap them to die inside the ruins.

Also, Fang Yue noticed many characters carved into the Bronze Room's walls.

He had seen these characters before—they were Ancient Script, like those used in ancient arrays.

Though Fang Yue couldn't read them, the presence of such Ancient Script in the Huanggui Yiji made him feel uneasy.

It felt as if... Mo Cun and the Huanggui Yiji were somehow connected.

Fang Yue vaguely sensed something deep was hidden here, but he couldn't discern any clues.

"Have you found anything?"

Fang Yue called out to the tail and Liao Moran; they quickly moved closer.

In this unknown environment, they dared not wander off—they had to wait for Fang Yue's judgment.

After all, among the three of them, Fang Yue was the strongest; if anything happened, only he could protect them.

"Ye Ge, I haven't found anything, but... have either of you smelled a strange odor? A mix of corpse stench and bronze rust?"

The tail sniffed, frowned, and said.

Strange odor?

Fang Yue hadn't noticed it—he'd been focused on the Ancient Script on the walls.

Now, closing his eyes and sniffing carefully, he did detect a faint, peculiar stench—exactly as the tail described, blending corpse odor with bronze rust.

And the source of the odor came from outside the room.

Fang Yue's heart skipped a beat. Earlier, when he passed the room's entrance, he'd glanced outside—it was a vast hall with several pillars standing.

But what else was in that hall, whether it held danger—he didn't know.

Fang Yue himself began to feel uncertain.

Who knew what powerful, strange entities might be lurking here?

Even a single Black Grade High Stage anomaly would be more than they could handle.

But panicking now would be a disaster, so Fang Yue forced himself to stay calm.

He was the core of the team—he couldn't panic or lose composure, or the others would be even more terrified.

"What about you? What did you find?"

Fang Yue turned to Liao Moran.

After hesitating, she opened her clenched fist and held it before them, revealing four glowing beads inside.

The moment Fang Yue saw them, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

When he looked a second time, Fang Yue couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

"Fluorescent Beads?!!"

That's right! These things were exactly the Fluorescent Beads Fang Yue had seen at the Black Crow Auction!

But these few Fluorescent Beads now did not come from the Black Crow Auction.

Which meant... they might not be counterfeits, but the real thing!

Human-grade low-quality Fluorescent Beads! The genuine article, which could keep glowing for several decades without dimming!

Fang Yue's breathing grew rapid.

One had to know that the strongest talent he possessed was the human-grade top-quality 【Breath of Night】.

The skill that repeatedly earned him great merit was the human-grade low-quality 【Analysis Pupil】!

Human-grade was a level above Innate!

The genuine article of human-grade low-quality was beyond measure in value!

"Are—are they real? Where did you find them?"

Facing Fang Yue's question, Liao Moran shook her head slightly.

"I don't know, I'm not an appraiser, how would I know whether they're genuine or not. But it's glowing, so it should still be usable. I found four in total, one for each of us, just right. Hai Ming is still spacing out, so I'm holding onto his share for now, is that alright?"

Fang Yue didn't really care, but his tail clearly gave Liao Moran a couple of extra suspicious glances, though he said nothing.

At most, when Hai Ming came to, he'd let him and Liao Moran sort it out between themselves.

As for where she had come from, Liao Moran pointed in a direction Fang Yue hadn't expected.

That was... the direction of the great doors outside the Bronze Room!

10 chapters done, please subscribe for autumn!

(End of this chapter)