Chapter 13

The entire morning's search was meticulous enough, but they still didn't find anything. They couldn't even figure out what had happened decades ago.

There was a B-level old man in the team who had studied cryptography for some time. He arranged the books in the entire library, and the clues that different teams had found in different places, including the "PNPSO" found in the ward, in front of him. He racked his brains, but he couldn't explain anything.

"Logically speaking, it's impossible for a former military base like this not to leave any secret messages."

The man held a ballpoint pen and drew circles on the white paper. "But I've tried several different methods, and I still haven't found any clues. We can't rule out the possibility that this base created its own password. "

Generally speaking, when such characters and letters appeared, the first thing that came to mind was a password, especially under the premise that this was a military base.

[It's strange. Why can't we solve it? Is there a different metaphor for this string of letters?]

[I'm also curious about this. But I still think it's more likely that this is a string of passwords. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a whole shelf of books related to this field over there. Maybe the Holy Son and the others have also discovered this, so they're trying to solve it with a password.]

"Isn't there a password like the Virginia Code in classical cryptography that requires a key?"

Messiah was deep in thought. "Let's stop for now. Either we're going in the wrong direction, or we're missing a key clue. "

He Jianlan, who was standing to the side, frowned deeply.

It was almost noon, but their carpet search was still fruitless. Everything was the same as last night. They were stuck at a certain point and couldn't move forward.

If this continued, it would be a clear waste of time. However, what they lacked most now was time, and what they couldn't afford to waste the most was time. If there were no more clues, they would have to take the initiative after dinner tonight at the latest.

Just as He Jianlan was deep in thought, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, approaching from afar.

He got up from his seat and walked to the door.

"Mr. Holy Son."

A C-level trainee ran up from downstairs and stood at the door of the library. He bent over and panted. "Something happened!"

####

When Messiah arrived at the scene of the incident with the rest of the people in the library, the scene was already surrounded by people.

The seniors and rookies conversed in hushed tones. All of them had looks of undisguised horror on their faces.

Seeing the golden-haired Saint come over, everyone heaved a sigh of relief, as if they had been given a tranquilizer.

"Your Excellency."

"That's great, the Holy Son is finally here."

.....

The Messiah nodded at the crowd and walked to the small path formed by the crowd.

This was the stairwell of the basement. People were blocking the staircase leading to the second floor of the basement. One by one, they stuck their heads out and looked down. Just as they stuck their heads out a little, they quickly shrank back as if they were afraid of being assimilated by the deep darkness.

The staircase leading to the second floor of the basement was very shabby. Not only was it shabby, but it also seemed to be so dark that it was to prevent them from prying eyes. There was not even a single lamp.

Messiah tilted her head and looked deeper into the basement.

Not only was there no light in the stairwell, even the entire corridor on the second floor of the basement was dark.

No one knew what kind of terrifying existence was hiding in the darkness that was baring fangs and brandishing claws.

"What happened?"

As he walked, he looked at Qin Ye, who was in charge of this area.

Qin Ye said, "I brought them to the wards on the first floor of the basement to check if there was any missing information. Then, suddenly, a rookie came over here and reported that he heard a strange sound in the stairwell. So, I brought people over."

The golden-haired Saint raised his hand and motioned for everyone to quiet down. Everyone fell silent.

At first no one heard anything, but gradually, after a minute or so of silence, everyone began to hear the strange rustling sound.

This sound was very strange. There was no rhythm to it, and it sounded like something sharp was scratching against a metal plate. It gave people goosebumps and goosebumps.

The bullet screen was buzzing with discussion.

[This dungeon is really too peaceful. It's already noon of the second day, and they still haven't finished exploring the entire mental hospital. Even though the conditions are so good, those medical staff were nowhere to be seen during the day.]

[The main reason is that the Holy Son's organization is too strong. If it were any other dungeon, the seniors would all be troublemakers. No one would give in to anyone. That way, the probability of being alone would be higher, and there would be more accidents.]

[Indeed, look at this dungeon. Only one person died alone in the toilet. The rest of the time, everyone acted in groups. There was no sense of anticipation at all. Everyone just had to mindlessly carry out the Holy Son's orders.]

[Don't worry. If they still don't have any more clues, I'm afraid they'll have to go down to the second floor of the basement.]

He Jianlan's eyes were full of unconcealable shock. "There's a living thing down here?"

"No, it might not be a living thing," Qin Ye said. "It could be something else."

They all looked at Meng Tianlu, who was standing at the side with his eyes closed.

Last time on the second floor of the basement, Meng Tianlu had tried to release his perception. In the end, he had fainted.

Fainting meant that all the psychic's mental strength had been sucked away. The feeling of his brain drying up was unbearable. It was as if someone was grinding on his head with a saw. He couldn't recover for the next few days.

Fortunately, Meng Tianlu wasn't the only one who had encountered such an emergency. This was because the overdraft of a psychic's mental strength was a very scary thing. There was once a horrifying tragedy that happened in an S-Ranked dungeon, "Evil Spirit Ancient Well."

Not long after a high-level psychic entered the dungeon, he accidentally connected with the most terrifying existence in the dungeon. The moment the connection was made, the high-level psychic's mental strength was sucked away. The evil spirit also took advantage of the situation to take over the psychic's body.

In the end, none of the three teams that entered the S-Ranked dungeon were spared. They were all wiped out. It was unknown how many years later, when the dungeon was restarted, the latecomers found the diary of the last survivor who opened the dungeon. Only then did they know about this horrifying past.

"I can't sense anything now. It could be because of the exhaustion from last night … I haven't recovered yet."

Looking at the darkness on the second floor of the basement, Meng Tianlu was unsure.

"I'll try. If I find something wrong, knock me out immediately."

There was no other way. He was the only psychic in the entire dungeon. Although he was only a mid-level psychic, he could only force a duck onto a perch.

Meng Tianlu widened his eyes. He tried to ignore the failure he encountered last night. He was about to use his mental strength to explore again.

"Wait."

Messiah suddenly interrupted him. "Just put down the rope. We need information now."

The rope that Messiah was talking about was a special item that He Jianlan had.

It was wrong to call it a rope. The item's full name was Knot Lasso. It was a B-Ranked item that He Jianlan had obtained in a B-Ranked dungeon.

It was very simple and versatile. It could be used to attack, defend, and even detect things. He Jianlan relied on it to get a B-Ranked evaluation. Relying on this practical and powerful tool, the other elders had to give him some face.

He Jianlan hesitated. "Could it be …"

"No." Messiah said. "I'm here."

The blond saint was already holding the High Priest's Staff in his hand. There were a few fresh green leaves hanging from the withered branches. In the dim corridor, there was a faint golden glow. It looked very reassuring.

Since Messiah had taken out an S-Ranked item, He Jianlan naturally did not hesitate.

He very straightforwardly took out his noose, and with Meng Tianlu's cooperation, he slowly lowered it down through the gap between the stairs.

A circle of people surrounded the place. Everyone stared nervously at the place where the rope was lowered.

He Jianlan's Knot Lasso had an ability that it would definitely bind something. It was decided that as long as the rope was lowered, it would automatically bind something and then be dragged up by everyone.

Hmm … He did not know if it would be a human or a ghost that would be dragged up. Overall, it was very risky.

He Jianlan would never take such a risk in the past. However, since Messiah had taken out the High Priest's Staff, there was no point in assessing the risk. He just went up.

Zong Jiu, who had just come out of the washroom, saw this scene and turned his head sideways.

Sheng Yu, who had been looking for him, hurried down the stairs. When she saw the person behind the crowd, her eyes lit up. "Brother Jiu!"

The high school student had probably been looking for him for a long time. He could not control his voice. Everyone around the staircase heard him.

Brother Jiu?

They all turned around and saw the white-haired youth standing there with a smile.

It was not a big deal for him to stand there. It was the person standing behind him that was the big deal.

The black-haired man's eyes were cold. As usual, he was indifferent as if the whole world owed him millions.

Not to mention the others, even Messiah's viewers in the live broadcast room were shocked.

[Damn, how long has it been? How did this white-haired beauty manage to latch onto Master Zhuge's thigh?]

[I knew it. Who would be stupid enough to reject the Son of God's invitation and leave the team? Oh, so he was prepared. It was seamless.]

[To be honest, they were guessing that the white-haired man and the Level F guy were the traitors. I think the white-haired man and Zhuge An are more similar.]

[Awesome, good-looking people are different. He found two Level S bosses in a row. I'm so jealous.]

If the bullet screen could see it, there was no reason why the other trainees could not.

For the past two days, Zhuge An had been elusive. Other than when they were eating, they did not know where he went. He was very mysterious.

This was the first time they had seen this No. 8 outside of the restaurant. What was even more shocking was that the boss seemed to know Zong Jiu. At least, if they did not know each other at all, it would be easy to tell from their expressions and actions that the atmosphere between them was more harmonious.

Zong Jiu was not affected by the atmosphere at all.

He nodded casually at Sheng Yu. "What is it?"

From afar, Sheng Yu was crying. "Brother Jiu, I came downstairs to chase after you, but I couldn't find you even after going back and forth a few times."

Zong Jiu looked at the rope that suddenly tightened in the stairwell. "Is that so? Thank you for trusting me. "

"Senior He, the rope is moving!"

He Jianlan was about to speak when he turned around and saw the rope in his hand being pulled. Hence, he turned around and frantically pulled the rope with the others.

Sheng Yu struggled to pass through the crowd and received disdainful and repulsive looks from some of the newcomers.

That's right, he and Zong Jiu were now the mole that they had stamped and verified, which was equivalent to the rat poop in the sewer. No matter if they were wronged or not, no one would dare to approach them.

"Brother Jiu, this is …?"

Just as Sheng Yu saw Zhuge An and wanted to quietly ask Zong Jiu about it, the white-haired youth suddenly patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly.

"Lil 'Sheng, I have a mission for you."

This was the first time Zong Jiu addressed Sheng Yu in such a serious manner. The high-schooler was instantly pumped up. "Brother Jiu, tell me!"

Zong Jiu pointed behind him. "Go and see what they're doing."

"But …" Sheng Yu was a little depressed. "They're avoiding me like I'm a snake."

"Don't be afraid, they're messing with you. All you have to do is squeeze in, take a few peeks, and figure out what's going on."

The white-haired youth's eyes curved. "Didn't you say you wanted to work for me? I've found you a new backer."

Hearing this, the new backer coldly glanced at them who were whispering to each other.

"I'll go and negotiate with him now. You go and find out what's going on. We'll meet up again at lunch."

Perhaps these words reminded Sheng Yu of their current situation. The high-schooler mustered up his courage and saluted. "Okay."

"I'll definitely do what Brother Jiu told me to do!"

"You're energetic. Not bad."

Zong Jiu praised without any sincerity. In the end, he looked at the people who had already begun to pull the rope up with everyone's help. Together with Zhuge An, he turned into the next ward one after the other.

"Dong —"

The ward door was gently closed.

In the silent air, the black-haired man suddenly sneered. "Negotiate?"

The bullet screen in the two livestream rooms popped up one after the other.

[A clash between a Level E and a Level S! Why am I so excited!]

[No way, what kind of mood is this white-haired beauty in to say this?]

[Wow, the moment he enters the room, he's already on equal footing. It feels like he's about to draw his sword. I feel like this conversation won't go well.]

Indeed, for an E-class to want to negotiate terms with No. 8 so confidently, wasn't it a little too confident?

Zong Jiu's expression was calm. "What? Could it be that Your Excellency Zhuge still has additional clues?

"If you had additional clues, you wouldn't have followed me sneakily, right?"

Zhuge An did not say anything.

Although Zong Jiu seemed to be airtight on the surface, he did not mind. Instead, he continued, "Unfortunately, I happen to have a clue that you want to know. It's about the Level S item in the operating theater, isn't it? "

That was right. Zong Jiu would rather leave the team early than reveal the Level S clue to others. He wanted to use this information as his trump card.

After all, this clue was not only related to the Level S item, but also the main storyline of this dungeon. If this clue was lost, the future development of this dungeon would be unknown.

With this trump card, Zong Jiu would have a life-saving talisman.

Before he revealed this piece of information, or before someone else got the same information from Doctor Chu, he could use this trump card to negotiate with anyone. He was confident and fearless.

For example, Zong Jiu was now looking for Zhuge An.

Zhuge An narrowed his eyes. "You're quite confident."

"Aren't you afraid that I'll use other means to force you to tell me the clue?"

"No, you won't."

The white-haired young man shook his head firmly.

This was what Zong Jiu had deduced from the original plot.

At the beginning of the dungeon, there was a chapter where the character's perspective was shown to Zhuge An. It was through this chapter that Zong Jiu knew that Zhuge An's ID card was a normal one.

Of course, other than that … Zong Jiu also knew some of Master Zhuge's personality traits through the plot.

For example, he was arrogant and conceited, unreasonable and aloof.

These traits were slowly drawn out by Zong Jiu from the original plot and turned into the certainty he had now.

Zhuge An looked at Zong Jiu deeply.

That was right. He would not do anything like what Zhuge An had hypothesized.

It was not that he could not.

After all, for a Level S to deal with a Level E, it would be an exaggeration to say that Zhuge An had held back in the washroom. This was because a normal person and a Level S were not on the same physical level. The former was a normal person, while the latter was a Special Forces soldier who had undergone body strengthening.

Therefore, it was not that he could not do it, but that he did not care.

He did not care to use such despicable methods.

Seeing that Zhuge An did not speak, Zong Jiu knew that he had made the right bet.

The smile on the white-haired young man's face widened. He reached out his hand to express his friendliness.

Of course, his friendliness was limited to what he could get out of it.

"What do you think? Happy working with you?"

"You're happy testing me?"

The black-haired man narrowed his eyes at him. His lips curled into a mocking smile. "You're more interesting than those ignorant creatures with single-celled brains."

As he spoke, he symbolically stretched out half of his finger and lightly clenched it. Then, he very disdainfully pulled it back, as if being in contact with a mortal like Zong Jiu was already the greatest favor he could do.

Zong Jiu: "…?"

He really wanted to ask, "Boss, are you still in your second year of middle school? You're usually as pretty as a flower when you don't speak, but why are you so annoying when you speak?"

Although they had formed a cooperative relationship, the atmosphere in the room was once again silenced by Zhuge An's words.

In order to ease the awkward atmosphere, Zong Jiu decided to tell a cold joke.

He was really curious and asked seriously, "Master Zhuge, I have a question."

"Do you have an ancestor … called Zhuge Liang?"