Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Black and White Trap

After a few minutes, there was no sound of rolling stones. Xu Xin and the four stone statues crawled out of the small hole.

Chang Yin patted the wall again, and the originally concave hole gradually became shallow, eventually returning to its original flat state.

“Obsessive-compulsive disorder, I can’t stand leaving a hole in the wall,” Chang Yin explained, shrugging.

Xu Xin pointed behind them, where a few giant rolling stones had blocked the way: “Looks like we can only move forward.”

“What, do you still want to go back?” Chang Yin glanced at the stones behind him and said indifferently, “If you really want to go back, I can take you. A stone can’t block my way.”

Xu Xin understood. Chang Yin’s ability seemed to be controlling rocks. While he might not be able to stop a rolling stone, he had no problem smashing a stationary stone into pieces.

“Are there any more mechanisms ahead?” Xu Xin asked.

“No more,” Xue Lan held the little stone boy’s hand, “Last time, until the first door, there was only this type of mechanism. The rolling stones only appeared three times.”

They continued forward and soon caught up with the mutated leopard lying on the ground, waiting for them to catch up.

As Xu Xin passed by the leopard, he instinctively wanted to pat the big cat’s head, but it easily dodged again, then followed silently two meters behind him.

There was no other way; Xu Xin could only satisfy his itching hands by patting Keke’s little head, who was sleeping soundly on his shoulder. Keke gently wriggled, making a “whine” sound like sleep talk, and continued to sleep sweetly.

The tunnel became increasingly wide.

Xu Xin could already see a large door not far ahead.

It was a door similar to the entrance of the dungeon, but larger, like the gate of a castle.

The group soon arrived at the door. Chang Yin tried it first, but no matter how hard he pushed or hit, the metal door remained unmovable.

Xu Xin looked up and found a hole above them, similar in size to the rolling stones, likely where the stones came from.

This was when the bat from the previous pact came into play. Xu Xin rotated a ring with his thumb, and the mutated bat appeared before him.

“Hmm? You’ve got a bat under contract too?” Chang Yin looked at the large bat in surprise.

“Go see what’s in that hole up there that you can bring down,” Xu Xin instructed the bat to fly up into the hole before responding to Chang Yin, “Having a flying bat is much more convenient.”

“Well… indeed, but this bat’s individual strength is very mediocre, it needs many of them to actually have some combat power.”

Xu Xin learned upon inquiry that these bats were actually failed experiments of Chang Yin and Xue Lan.

The current [Mutated Beast Elixir] was the final version developed through various experiments by Chang Yin and Xue Lan. The initial effects were very weak, and the bats in the staircase passage were originally test subjects.

After absorbing the initial experimental elixir, the bat group did indeed undergo mutations and gained some special abilities, but each bat’s ability was too weak. Only by grouping them could their abilities be showcased.

Xu Xin had suffered from the bat swarm before, and recalling the experience made his head throb slightly.

“The ability of the bat swarm is an ultrasonic wave that can affect people’s mental state,” Xue Lan, well-acquainted with the experiments, explained to Xu Xin, “But a single bat is useless, only bigger and longer-lived than ordinary bats.”

Before Xu Xin could say more, the bat returned from the hole above, flapping its wings, holding a walnut-sized red stone in its claws.

“See, it still has some use, doesn’t it?” Xu Xin caught the round red stone, focusing on it, noticing it emitted a blue glow.

It was actually a blue-grade stone.

[Polluted Radiation Stone (Blue): Emits special radiation, affecting a radius of ten meters. Mutant beasts subjected to it long-term will become stronger! Don’t worry, this radiation is harmless to normal people and animals.]

Seeing the word “radiation,” Xu Xin almost threw the stone away, but the rest of the description reassured him.

Understanding the stone’s use, Xu Xin couldn’t help but smile. A tool that could make mutant beasts stronger! It’s exactly what he needed.

The mutated leopard was just on the verge between low and mid-level; a little strength boost would upgrade it directly to a mid-level beast! And a stronger bat could play a bigger role.

Who would’ve thought he’d find such an unexpected surprise here.

“What, is this stone useful?” Chang Yin asked, examining the stone in Xu Xin’s hand.

“Nothing much, just a stone that can make weapons,” Xu Xin said, putting the stone into his backpack.

“Weapons, huh, not interesting. My body is a weapon. Alright, let’s open the door,” Chang Yin motioned toward the door ahead.

Xu Xin walked up to the door and touched it.

“Eh?” A familiar feeling arose from within him, a feeling of… the treehouse?

It’s as if I’ve grasped the treehouse’s roots, that feeling of seemingly merging with it. Could it be that the roots of the treehouse are affecting the door here?

With a gentle push, the huge double doors slowly opened inward. Xu Xin quickly dodged to the side, afraid that something might come out from inside.

Behind the door, there was still a corridor as spacious as a tunnel. Unlike the previous section of the path, the ground ahead was paved with alternating black and white stone tiles. Each tile was a square with sides about one meter long, presenting a scene filled with mismatched black and white squares.

“Traps?” Xu Xin voiced his assumption.

“Exactly.” Long Yin pointed to the differently colored tiles on the ground, “Each tile could be a trap, but it could also be safe.”

Xue Lan also spoke up, “There are many types of traps, and it’s basically impossible to predict which type they are. So even if you’re prepared, it won’t be much help. Twenty-four years ago, one of our partners wouldn’t heed our warnings, thinking he understood all the traps and recklessly proceeded. He did get through a long distance, but in the end, he fell into something like a meat grinder, and then…”

Xue Lan didn’t finish, but Xu Xin could imagine the scene at that time and felt a shiver run through him.

“What triggers these traps, is it weight?” Xu Xin asked.

“If it were weight, it would be easier, but it doesn’t seem to be. I’ve tried using stones similar in weight to humans, but they don’t trigger the traps. Maybe the condition requires lifeforce.” Long Yin replied.

“So… are you planning to use mutated beasts to step on the mines?” Xu Xin guessed Long Yin’s intention.

“That’s correct.” Long Yin waved his hand, releasing a trembling Mutated Blood Pattern Wolf.

“Why not release a few more?”

“Release more so the traps can kill several at once?” Long Yin snapped, “I only brought a dozen or so, but it’s enough. Most tiles are safe, only a small portion will trigger traps. Last time, only seven died and we made it through.”

This trap-filled path really requires lives to pave the way.

Xu Xin turned his head, the leopard was crouched about two meters away.

“Don’t run around later, only step on the tiles we step on, do you hear me?” Since he couldn’t put it into the ring, Xu Xin could only warn it.

The leopard glanced at him, licked its fur, and it was unclear if it understood.

“Alright, let’s go. With its speed, it might be able to avoid a trap even if it steps on one.” Long Yin commanded the Mutated Blood Pattern Wolf to step on one tile as it walked forward. Once it had walked seven or eight meters, Long Yin then stepped onto the black and white tiles.

Xu Xin was just about to move forward but was blocked by the maid statue.

“We can block off the mechanisms for you up front. There will be some traps involving exploding crossbow arrows and fire, which have a large range. Walking in front would be dangerous for you.” The middle-aged maid statue suddenly spoke, having been silent until now while watching over the little boy statue.

“Oh, alright, thank you.” Xu Xin let Xue Lan, the maid, and the little boy go first.

The leading Blood Pattern Wolf seemed to be controlled by Long Yin, not running around randomly but walking straight ahead.

“Be careful not to accidentally step on the adjacent tiles and trigger exploding crossbow arrow traps; we don’t mind, but be careful not to harm yourself.” Xue Lan warned Xu Xin.

The little boy statue, originally fond of running around, was now very obedient, following along the path the wolf had tread. Hearing Xue Lan’s words, he nodded vigorously: “Yeah, yeah, Uncle, don’t run around, it’s very scary!”

Seems like the previous incident left him with some trauma.

“Alright, thank you.” Xu Xin thanked them, followed behind these statues, and stepped onto the tiles.

As soon as he stepped on one, Xu Xin found the tile sank about half a centimeter and emitted a slight stone grinding noise. His body instantly became tense: “What’s going on, why did it sink?”

“It’s like that.” The maid stepped onto the tile in front, and it sank as well. “Some mechanisms are instantaneous and some are delayed, such as spike traps and meat grinders which trigger immediately, causing you to fall straight down. Delayed ones are like this, sinking the tile, and once you lift your foot, the mechanism triggers.”

Saying so, she walked a tile forward, and the tile bounced back up to its original state.

This mechanism makes even ordinary tiles act like trap tiles, lulling those who pass into a false sense of security. Xu Xin couldn’t help but marvel; this trap-filled path is indeed quite difficult to navigate, far more challenging than those Li Wenxi mentioned.

In the tunnel, the sound of statues walking and tiles sinking and rising echoed continuously. Xu Xin glanced behind him, finding the leopard following him with perfectly measured feline steps, progressing along the path Xu Xin had tread.

Given the situation, rather than worrying about the leopard, he should worry about himself possibly tripping and falling to the side.

Suddenly, the mechanical sound of a mechanism being triggered and a pitiful wolf’s howl came from ahead.

The mechanism has been triggered!

Xu Xin turned his head to look; the Blood Pattern Wolf had already vanished. Where it once stood, the tiles were gone, and Long Yin, who was originally seven or eight meters away from the wolf, quickly moved forward, going to the trap tile and looking down into the trap.

“How is it, what kind of trap is it?” Xu Xin asked from behind.

“Spike trap, the wolf is dead.”

Long Yin waved his hand again, and a Blood Patterned Cat appeared. He retreated a few steps and let the cat bypass the triggered trap and continue forward.