“Done!”
As planned, Ye Lian had successfully hunted two armored gray crocodiles.
He had now finished forging his combat boots, lower armor, helmet, and upper armor.
Fully geared, he looked every bit like a valiant warrior.
“My level’s up to 3 now. Once I hit level 5, I’ll leave this place.”
With his defense significantly improved, the pressure he felt had dropped considerably.
Even if he encountered a few more armored gray crocodiles, he now had the ability to fight back—and a high chance of winning.
But the lingering pressure came from Mu Ling.
That terrifying, seemingly “cheating” player.
“Catching up to her level is going to be tough. It’s not like she’s just waiting around for me.”
Ye Lian tightened his grip on his spear and shook his head.
“We probably won’t run into each other anytime soon. No point worrying about it now. I need to focus on getting stronger—fast.”
***
The underground river was about ten meters wide.
Its depth and danger level were unknown, but the water flowed swiftly.
Jumping in recklessly wouldn’t be wise.
Ye Lian decided to stay nearby and hunt a few more armored gray crocodiles—or any other nightmare monsters he came across.
Even though he was fully armored, he didn’t let his guard down.
His focus remained razor-sharp.
He followed the river downstream for over a minute when a sudden croak echoed ahead.
“Ribbit!”
The sound was loud and sharp.
Ye Lian immediately went on full alert, slowing his steps and lowering his body like a seasoned hunter.
“Ribbit!”
“Ribbit!”
“Ribbit-ribbit-ribbit!” The croaking grew louder and more frequent—it was clearly coming from more than one creature.
As he crept closer, he spotted them: eight blue frog-like monsters, each about the size of a rabbit, crouched by the riverbank, croaking loudly.
‘Damn it, why doesn’t this game show monster levels?’ Ye Lian grumbled internally.
Not only did the game hide monster levels, it didn’t even display their names—obviously, some interface modules were missing.
Because of that, he could only rely on appearance and the pressure they gave off to gauge their strength.
Which was far from reliable.
“Too many of them. I need to lure just one over.”
The simplest way to judge a monster’s strength was to fight it—but with eight of them together, he’d be overwhelmed in no time.
Just then, all eight frogs, which had been facing the river and croaking in chorus, suddenly turned to look in his direction.
(‘I’ve been spotted?!’) Ye Lian’s heart skipped a beat.
He immediately took a stance, ready to fight—but then realized something was off.
The eight blue frogs were trembling uncontrollably, their bodies lowered flat against the ground in a sprawled-out, almost comical pose.
They were prostrating themselves, shaking all over.
“They’re groveling? Shaking all over? They’re scared of me…?”
A chill ran down Ye Lian’s spine.
He quickly gripped his spear and spun around.
Nightmare monsters wouldn’t fear a player like him—
They were afraid of something far worse.
But when Ye Lian turned around, all he saw was a golden slime hopping cheerfully toward him.
In other games, a slime of this color would just be a rare variant of the lowest-tier monsters.
But here, it could kill a beginner with ease!
‘So why were those blue frogs behind him acting so terrified?’
‘Something wasn’t right.’
Not at all.
This slime might be far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
It was a formidable enemy!
As the golden slime approached, Ye Lian tensed up, his nerves stretched tight.
Against a powerful opponent, blindly fleeing would only expose his back to an easy attack.
Only by finding the right opening could he hope to escape.
“Ha…” Letting out a slow breath, he gripped his spear tightly with one hand, eyes flashing with sharp determination.
The golden slime’s bouncy, goofy movement might’ve seemed cute, but to Ye Lian, it was like watching a tyrannosaurus leap toward him!
The distance quickly shrank to three meters—within Ye Lian’s attack range.
His gaze sharpened.
In a flash, he charged forward, spear thrusting like a dragon!
The golden slime had just leapt into the air—midair and defenseless.
The spear’s glowing tip shot forward, ready to pierce straight through the creature.
But then—an abrupt twist!
A golden barrier suddenly formed in front of the slime.
The spear crashed into it, and the powerful rebound force flung Ye Lian backward instantly.
His gauntlets shattered, his palms split open, and his spear went flying, embedding itself into a stone wall.
Ye Lian crashed to the ground, stumbling back over a dozen steps before he managed to steady himself.
Then, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The intense pain surged straight to his brain.
Even though his nerves felt like they were being ripped apart, he didn’t scream.
Not because he had an absurd tolerance for pain—he simply didn’t have the luxury to.
Because that terrifying golden slime had already lunged toward him again.
Its speed was insane!
From that brief clash, Ye Lian had glimpsed the truth.
It was pure power—overwhelmingly strong!
Against such a monster, all he could feel was despair…
“Like hell I’m dying in this place!”
In the end, Ye Lian chose the wisest of the Thirty-Six Stratagems—retreat.
He turned and ran!
‘Yes, showing your back to an enemy was foolish, but when you had no better option, escape could still offer a sliver of hope.’
At the very least, running might give him a chance to come up with a way to survive.
Suddenly, he cast his gaze toward the underground river.
The raging waters might just save his life.
“I’m betting everything on this!”
Fighting through the pain that felt like his organs were ruptured and his bones shattered, Ye Lian pushed his body to the limit and dashed toward the river.
Just as he was about to leap—
A barrier materialized out of nowhere, right in front of him.
Duang—
It was like slamming into a mattress.
His entire body bounced back.
At the same moment, the golden slime lunged again at terrifying speed.
“Stay away from me!” Ye Lian shouted in sheer panic, still airborne.
That was the last thing he cried out in the Nightmare Space.
Plop!
The golden slime spread open its body, ballooning with the wind like a massive golden pancake—then swallowed Ye Lian whole in one gulp, without a trace.
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Tftc!
I mean… I know it’s not game over, but that’s still extremely lame.