Yan Wei raised the Moon Wheel, ready to act, but Yan Mingguang beside him was quicker. The Long Whip swiftly swept through the air several times, effortlessly knocking down the black Arrow Feathers flying towards them.
On the other side of the maze path, two Lin Zhens were already engaged in combat, while various Lin Zhens appeared at different intersections. Some didn’t take action, merely standing with arms crossed, watching like spectators, while others took advantage of the arrow rain to close in.
In an instant, Lin Zhen in the rear found himself facing several opponents—all of them himself.
Yan Mingguang was engaged in battle with the Lin Zhen ahead, and while it was somewhat easier than Lin Zhen’s situation, it was still far from effortless. Lin Zhen excelled in long-range attacks, and these “Lin Zhens” alternated between close combat and hiding in the winding paths, firing arrows from a distance. Even Yan Mingguang could only defensively protect Yan Wei. Lin Zhen, too, was unusually disheveled, narrowly avoiding injury as arrows, familiar to him, grazed his sleeves.
These “Lin Zhens,” clearly puppets, were neither like the Benevolent Automaton, sharing the same consciousness as their True Self, nor like the Malevolent Automaton, mechanically numb with low attack power. They possessed the exact same abilities as Lin Zhen but attacked without restraint, somewhat resembling…
A combination of the Virtuous and Malevolent Puppets.
Yan Wei understood immediately.
The danger of this maze lay in the possibility of encountering multiple hostile replicas of oneself at any moment. The Man in Black Robe was confident that no player could enter here because these replicas wouldn’t allow players the time to slowly find their way.
They couldn’t afford to linger here and fight.
Yan Mingguang, too, understood the severity of the situation. After repelling the “Lin Zhens” around him, he grabbed Yan Wei’s hand and ran towards the path with the fewest “Lin Zhens.”
Yan Wei shouted, “Lin Zhen! Follow us!!”
Lin Zhen, still somewhat disappointed amidst his disheveled state, asked, “We’re not fighting anymore?”
“You might end up looking like a porcupine if we do!”
Lin Zhen stopped his actions and followed Yan Wei and the others.
But with his natural agility, this kind of pursuit was his forte. Yan Mingguang and Lin Zhen continued to fight while leading Yan Wei, but the “Lin Zhens” behind or beside them still couldn’t be shaken off.
Lin Zhen shouted, “I’ll give it a try!”
Before his words faded, he blinked, his eyes shifting from their usual crimson to a deep black. His typically carefree expression in the face of danger turned serious, and with a slight increase in his Body Index, he fired ten arrows in rapid succession.
He hadn’t even used this skill when he killed his own Benevolent Automaton.
Yet, none of the ten arrows hit their mark!
Behind them, the nearest “Lin Zhen” had also activated the same skill, and the arrows collided mid-air, falling harmlessly to the ground.
Even Lin Zhen was slightly stunned by this outcome.
Yan Wei, panting, said, “This isn’t working! Yan Mingguang, do you still have uses left for your first skill?”
Yan Mingguang paused briefly—without needing to say more, he understood Yan Wei’s intent. Yet, he didn’t immediately use his skill. Instead, he said to Yan Wei, “Lend me the Moon Wheel.”
Yan Wei handed it over without hesitation.
Yan Mingguang pulled Yan Wei behind him, holding the Long Whip in one hand and the Moon Wheel in the other, standing still as an arrow aimed directly at him flew towards his forehead.
At the moment between life and death, Yan Mingguang’s eyes darkened.
The Live Towards Death skill was passively triggered. With his Body Index doubled, he swung the whip, sweeping all the “Lin Zhens” in the vicinity to the ground, leaving them momentarily incapacitated.
As these puppets fell, the Moon Wheel in Yan Mingguang’s hand floated, and under his command, it began to slice through the space before them. An invisible barrier quickly formed, temporarily separating Yan Wei and the others from the pursuing “Lin Zhens.” In the next moment, the three of them vanished from the spot.
Yan Wei’s vision blurred from the short-distance teleportation, and when he steadied himself, they were finally free from those entities. The rustling of leaves nearby indicated that Yan Mingguang hadn’t taken them too far, and those things could find them at any moment.
Yan Wei caught his breath and communicated through Perception: …How did you know how to use the Moon Wheel?
Yan Mingguang paused.
You taught me before.
This “before” naturally referred to the time before they reunited in the Corridor Hotel instance. Although they had never explicitly discussed it, it was a tacit understanding between them.
Lin Zhen, usually not one to take things seriously, was clear-headed in this critical moment. Without needing Yan Wei to say anything, he shot an arrow into a high branch of the maze wall, leaped up, and stood lightly on it, half his body blending into the foliage. His black attire made him almost invisible in the dim maze.
Yan Wei stored the Moon Wheel, slowed his breathing, and leaned against the foliage with Yan Mingguang, their hands still intertwined, trying not to make any noise that might attract the puppets.
The air in the maze was cold and damp, but Yan Mingguang’s body radiated warmth.
Outwardly, Yan Mingguang always appeared indifferent and cold, but up close, one could always feel his burning warmth. It was as if Yan Mingguang never cared about anything, yet he was the one who held the most kindness.
Nearby, many “Lin Zhens” were searching for them, while on the other side, Lin Zhen lay hidden, ready to strike. Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang stayed hidden in the foliage of the maze wall, motionless, barely breathing, making no sound. For a moment, Yan Wei’s thoughts wandered.
Yu Feizhou had chosen the more challenging path without hesitation because of his inherent kindness, not wanting to indirectly cause the death of any player. Lin Zhen, on the other hand, was indifferent and even relished the sudden increase in difficulty. Yan Mingguang, of course, was no exception. And Yan Wei himself had also chosen the unconventional path without hesitation—was it partly because he felt… that Yan Mingguang didn’t want to harm the players?
It was a kindness buried deep within him, one he even wanted to deny, but it was also something he believed Yan Mingguang would agree with.
Yan Wei’s thoughts were momentarily flustered, and his hand, held by Yan Mingguang, twitched slightly, his fingertips lightly brushing over Yan Mingguang’s knuckles. The man seemed to stiffen, his other hand suddenly pressing down on Yan Wei’s fingers, enveloping his hand entirely.
Yan Wei stopped moving.
He listened to the sounds of arrows being shot and the chaotic footsteps nearby, feeling the cold of the maze and the warmth of Yan Mingguang’s body. In this increasingly perilous situation, his rationality swiftly returned.
They couldn’t afford to keep dragging this out without taking action.
The number of “Lin Zhens” around them was too great. With just the three of them, no matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t keep fighting dozens of “Lin Zhens.” Moreover, they would tire, get injured, need food and rest, but these fake Lin Zhens, likely puppets, seemed to have no such needs. Even if they did, their numbers were simply too overwhelming.
And earlier, Lin Zhen had even used a skill that invoked Lin Qing’s abilities, but the opposing puppets were still able to counter it in the same way. When Lin Zhen’s Benevolent Automaton had died too quickly, Yan Wei had subconsciously assumed that using this skill would give Lin Zhen an edge over the puppets, but he hadn’t expected that the skills could be completely replicated.
—This indeed made more sense. His own Benevolent Automaton could use Perception Burst and One-Half Immortality, so there was no reason Lin Zhen’s couldn’t.
Back then, it might have been as Yan Mingguang said: Lin Zhen’s potential and explosive power, due to his connection with Lin Qing, were something the puppets couldn’t replicate. But this slight advantage was insignificant when facing dozens of replicated fake Lin Zhens.
This maze probably couldn’t replicate so many people at once, otherwise the puppets of him and Yan Mingguang would have already appeared. The reason Lin Zhen was being replicated was likely because he was relatively easy to replicate, and his abilities gave him an absolute advantage in this maze.
But dealing with just the fake Lin Zhens was already challenging enough.
Even without these fake Lin Zhens, reaching the core of the maze would have been a difficult task. Now, with them being chased by the fake Lin Zhens at every turn, they might not even be able to explore the entire maze before the instance ended. Since the Jungle Maze’s structure had the castle at its center, there must be something at the core or another exit—the Man in Black Robe couldn’t possibly be sleeping against a tree, right?
The “Born Unlucky” at the entrance had already hinted at a clue running through the instance, and to find it, he needed to delve deeper into the maze.
To delve deeper into the maze, he needed to shake off these annoying flies with minimal cost.
But how?
Moving in any direction would likely lead to an encounter, and staying hidden would only delay the inevitable. These replicated puppets, a mix of Virtuous and Malevolent Puppets, didn’t follow the usual patterns. Unlike other Benevolent Automatons, they didn’t blend in with the players, making it hard to distinguish who was who. These puppets simply replicated Lin Zhen’s memories, personality, and abilities, attacking on sight, turning this challenge into a purely physical confrontation.
A purely physical confrontation usually required greater force to break through violently.
But they simply couldn’t do it. Even if Yan Mingguang activated the Live Towards Death skill, and even if he used the “False Reality” card to replicate Yan Mingguang’s data for three minutes to join the fight, it still wouldn’t be enough to deal with all these puppets.
Yan Wei was genuinely starting to get a headache.
It would have been better if these puppets had all pretended to be Lin Zhen and tried to blend into their group, letting him distinguish them—that was his strength—
Yan Wei’s expression froze as an idea suddenly struck him.
I have a plan.
Hmm?
Since they’re not trying to blend in with us, why don’t we…
On a side path of the maze.
A puppet Lin Zhen whistled as he walked, looking around for his targets, occasionally firing a few arrows forward. The arrows missed, but he didn’t mind, continuing on his way, not expecting to find anyone immediately.
He chuckled and said, “No one here.”
Other areas were similar, with Lin Zhen’s voice echoing from time to time.
Suddenly, another voice identical to Lin Zhen’s called out, “Over here! My arrows were deflected!”
The other puppet Lin Zhens, hearing this, immediately ran towards the direction indicated. This Lin Zhen swung his bow, watching as the other identical Lin Zhens rushed over, his crimson eyes deep and full of intrigue.
Once all the “Lin Zhens” had run off in that direction, Lin Zhen quickly followed.
After all the Lin Zhens had moved far down the side path, Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang, hidden in the foliage, finally jumped down to the ground.
Yan Wei brushed the mud off his hands and smiled. “If they’re not trying to blend in with us, then we’ll just blend in with them.”
