Working Records in a Weird World - 60

 

| WRIAWW | I Don't Think I've Ever Offended You Before, Right? | 60

Zong Le, who was praying obediently, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

An intense sensation of being watched made him extremely uncomfortable, but when he looked up, he found nothing unusual.

"Strange..."

Having encountered a weird domain before, Zong Le sensed that this one was weaker than the one at Taikang Yongle Hospital but stronger than the weird infant at Tianmen Mansion. It was likely an S-level mission.

Rumors had it that high-level missions had a terrifying death rate. Worried that the survivors might face danger, Zong Le decided to check the back of the church.

"Holy Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

After finishing the last line of the prayer, the black-haired young man stood up and placed the Bible back in its original spot.

He bypassed the young priest who was busy selling items to the believers and headed straight for the church's backyard.

The Guiyi City Church was grand in scale, with the main chapel at the front and a smaller chapel at the back, both designed in intricate Baroque style. A vast lawn stretched across the center, where crows and doves perched. 

The neatly trimmed grass indicated that professional gardeners maintained it regularly, showing that the funds raised were indeed put to good use.

The weird domain was actually easy to find, one just needed to follow the faded line to enter it.

As Zong Le crossed the lawn and stepped onto the corridor, he heard the sound of running footsteps.

"What's going on? Why did the weird domain suddenly activate?"

"How should I know? Did you guys take something you shouldn't have in the confession room?"

"I told you not to touch anything. Now look, Joshua is nowhere to be found, he was probably lured away by an NPC, and now we're trapped in this S-level weird domain...This is a S-level weird domain, not an A-level domain. Who knows what special abilities it has?"

Indeed, this weird domain did have a special ability.

Although Zong Le could hear the footsteps and voices nearby, no matter how he walked, he couldn't find the survivors who should have been right in front of him.

The corridor was designed peculiarly, with intricate forks, identical tapestries, similar marble floors, and almost identical statues, creating a visual maze that left him disoriented.

Halfway through, Zong Le simply stopped and closed his eyes to observe the surroundings.

Breathing, footsteps, the subtle friction of fabric, the sound of shoes hitting the cold floor... There were six people in this corridor.

While he was pondering, the survivors on the other end started shouting again.

"Why is Old Fu missing?" someone in the group asked in confusion.

"I'm over here! I was just lighting a cigarette to calm my nerves, and when I looked up, you guys had already left. This is an S-level weird domain, how could you just leave me behind?"

Then, Old Fu realized something, his voice suddenly panicking: "Wait, I went back to the fork just now. There are four directions and four corridors, but I can't see any of you. Where did you go?!"

"What kind of joke is this? We've been walking straight down the same corridor without turning!" The teammate's voice also began to grow uneasy. "As we were walking, you just disappeared. Are you pulling some kind of vanishing act?"

This sudden turn of events made the remaining survivors breathe rapidly.

All the survivors executing this mission were veterans, though they lacked the ability to clear an S-level mission. After they finished speaking, they all realized the problem.

"We are indeed still moving forward on the same path. Old Fu, is there anything unusual on your side?"

"No, I'm also in the corridor, but I'm alone... it's completely empty around me."

"Could it be a folded space or some kind of illusion?" Others couldn't help but speculate.

"Don't panic yet. Let's retrace our steps and see if we can return to the confession room. Let's also head back the way we came."

"That's a good idea. The weird domain appeared too suddenly. Maybe Joshua is also rushing back, trying to find us. Let's go back, otherwise, we'll be wandering around aimlessly like headless flies. Once the weird domain activates, danger could be lurking everywhere."

Zong Le heard the footsteps of several people moving together, all heading back to their original position.

At first, the footsteps indeed grew fainter. But after five minutes, the footsteps that had almost disappeared suddenly reappeared, growing louder and closer.

Then it dawned on him.

'So it's a infinite maze!'

The survivors only realized this a few minutes later than him.

After all, no matter how far they walked back, they couldn't see the door to the prayer room. Anyone who had completed missions before wouldn't be unfamiliar with this.

"What should we do?!" Unable to return to the confession room, Old Fu completely broke down. "I told you guys not to go out and to just wait inside for the boss to rescue us, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted on climbing over the wall."

"Climbing the wall was bad enough, but you even took the keys from inside. If it weren't for that, the weird domain wouldn't have activated—"

His words were like a firecracker.

"Damn it, we're dead!"

"I can't believe it, no wonder it's been so quiet, you can't say anything to defend yourself, right?!"

...

Zong Le scratched his head.

'Why did they starting arguing? Forget it, I'll just follow the scent and try to shut down the weird domain first.'

The power of this S-level weird domain seemed to be turning the area into a maze, and so far, it hadn't shown any signs of aggression.

But it did make it difficult to move freely. Plus, the forum had described the weird domain's power as wildly unpredictable. For the sake of the other survivors's survival, Zong Le decided to see this through and not resort to extreme violence right away.

So he immediately pulled out his phone, logged into the survivor forum, and searched for "What to do when encountering a infinite maze in a mission" using his account ID, Cola.

One of the thread starters kindly offered a solution.

Thread starter: An infinite maze is actually a kind of illusion. Some dead ends are actually paths, and some paths are actually dead ends.

[Well said!]

[Exactly!]

Thread starter: [Are you in a rush? Let me add to this thread a bit. What I mean is, when you encounter a infinite maze, don't rely too much on your vision. Sometimes, not using your eyes can reveal a completely different world.]

After understanding the essence of this, Zong Le didn't even open his eyes. Instead, he relied on identifying the faint smell of decay to feel his way forward.

Gradually, the sound of arguing grew farther away.

The facts proved that the "line of sight closure method" taught by the veteran survivor on the forum was indeed effective.

Zong Le continued walking forward, surprisingly without bumping into any obstacles. However, judging from the flowing wind around him, the method was clearly working, unlike those survivors that were spinning in place.

Thinking this, Zong Le suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He keenly detected a seventh breathing sound. Although it was distant, it was undoubtedly a human breath.

"Is someone there—?"

Before he could finish his sentence, a swift gust of wind interrupted him.

Zong Le remained standing still, merely tilting his head slightly, and perfectly dodged the sudden attack. A cold metallic gleam brushed past the tips of his hair, sparking against the wall.

In the darkness, someone raised an eyebrow slightly.

After his plans kept failing, Joshua naturally wanted to witness the entire process firsthand. To see whether it was the favor of the God of Luck or something else at play.

Judging from the reaction to this failed attack, it didn't seem to be just "mere luck."

Zong Le opened his eyes, only to be met with pitch-black darkness where he couldn't even see his own hand.

He couldn't see anything, but the bone-chilling killing intent was palpable, pressing in from all directions.

"Kill... kill... kill..."

Hearing the growl, Zong Le's expression instantly turned cold.

He swiftly raised his hand and struck, moving at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, engaging in combat with the unknown weird in the darkness.

Lifting his hand, blocking, flipping, and countering...

For him, combat was as natural as eating or drinking, a skill deeply ingrained in his bones.

In just three exchanges, Zong Le had already determined the characteristics of the attacker: a child-like size, feline agility, a strong aura of killing intent, and a pair of extremely hard claws. Every move ruthlessly aimed at his vital points.

It somewhat resembled the weird infant he had encountered at Tianmen Mansion.

Thinking this, Zong Le freed one hand during the fight, pulled out his phone, and while deflecting the weird attacks, turned on the camera. Sure enough, as the light flashed, a wrinkled, grotesque face appeared.

Beneath the bluish-gray skin, a network of purplish-black blood vessels spread like spiderwebs. The once plump baby cheeks were deeply sunken, revealing a skeletal outline. Pitch-black pupils occupied most of the face, with the mouth torn open to the ears, exposing rows of fine, sharp teeth.

"Hehehe..."

When the weird infant laughed, the skin on its face wriggled like melting wax, revealing glimpses of other faces beneath. Zong Le guessed those were the "siblings" that hadn't been fully digested. The kind of sight that would definitely give you nightmares if seen in the middle of the night.

The person observing all this was suddenly startled.

The brief confrontation had already made him realize that Zong Le's reaction speed... was nothing like that of a typical newcomer. The precise, millisecond-level dodges and the seamless counterattack rhythm were clearly battle skills honed through countless life-and-death struggles.

In the current infinite space, the number of survivors capable of directly confronting an S-level weird could be counted on one hand, requiring at least a level seven strength enhancement.

If he was not witnessing it firsthand, who would have thought that a mere C-level survivor could hold his own against an S-level weird?

No wonder Bai Shao held such high regard for the talented newcomer, and no wonder even Tao Buxin's attack proved futile.

Truly...

Being able to still take out his phone in this situation with such formidable strength, he is undoubtedly a significant threat.

He must be eliminated.

Thinking this, Joshua no longer hesitated.

His thin lips parted slightly as he uttered an almost inaudible command.

"Kill him."

In an instant, nearly ten chilling auras descended abruptly, causing the temperature in the corridor to plummet.

"Hehe..."

Thanks to the powerful weirds behind the Church, many successful experiments had been cultivated over the years. Combined with the unique mirror-copying ability of the labyrinthine weird domain, they formed a terrifying force capable of overwhelming any opponent.

With dozens of S-level weird attacking simultaneously, even the strongest survivor would be reduced to nothing. Even if Qin Ye were here, he wouldn't be able to escape unscathed.

That said.

Witnessing it firsthand and reaching this point inevitably stirred a sense of nonexistent regret in the heart of a certain patriarch.

To possess such terrifying strength at merely D-level—if given enough time to grow and ascend to S-level, Qin Ye's title as the strongest survivor in the infinite space would undoubtedly have to be revoked.

No, perhaps even more. His existence would undoubtedly shatter all survivor's ' understanding of the upper limits of power.

But how unfortunate that such a brilliant and radiant future is destined to fall in this unknown dark chamber of the Church.

The silver-haired man smiled as he turned, his robe billowing as he strode toward the staircase.

But just as he lifted his foot, he suddenly heard a puzzled voice.

Joshua's entire body stiffened.

The voice itself wasn't particularly horrifying.

What was truly horrifying was that it was so close he could almost feel the warmth of the speaker's breath!

Joshua had always been cautious in his actions. Even when observing, he kept himself hidden at an absolutely safe distance.

Yet now, the black-haired youth, who should have been surrounded and trapped, was standing just half a step behind him, tilting his head and muttering to himself.

"Huh? Are you here to seek revenge... but I don't think I've ever offended you, right?"

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TL: Sorry for the cliffhanger (´ ∀ ` *)