Absolute Death Game

Unfortunately, the Rat King was not an object; otherwise, Xiao Buli, as the Time-Space Order Keeper, wouldn't have to worry about such useless things. After the Sect issue settled down, he'd find a way. Now, he couldn't even leave the game; to think he could let the Rat King out was a pipe dream.

Thinking this, Xiao Buli felt he had spent enough time inside. He wondered how Yi Xuan was doing outside. He had just seen a few rats scurry out along his path in; whether they had encountered Yi Xuan or not was unknown. Xiao Buli quickly crawled out in the direction he had come from, the Rat King closely following. However, when he poked his head out, all he saw below was darkness; it seemed there was no one there.

"Yi Xuan?" Xiao Buli called out softly. There was no response, just silence below.

Xiao Buli hurriedly jumped down to the ground, looking around, but he still couldn't find any trace of Yi Xuan. Could Yi Xuan have found another entrance and crawled through? Xiao Buli urgently searched the walls, but after going around in circles, he found no signs of any other entrances.

Could it be that Yi Xuan ran ahead on his own to continue the mission without waiting for him? Xiao Buli thought it unlikely; firstly, Yi Xuan wasn't strong enough, and going alone would definitely be dangerous—there was no reason for him to go ahead alone. Secondly, the mission required mining skills, which Yi Xuan lacked; he still needed Xiao Buli's help, so it was impossible for him to leave by himself. Maybe the falling rats had scared Yi Xuan out of the cave? Looking toward the cave entrance, Xiao Buli could see the light from far away, as it was a straight passage.

While hesitating whether or not to go to the entrance, Xiao Buli suddenly let out a huff. Normally, without his command, the Summoned Beast, his Rat King, was supposed to follow him closely. But since he had jumped out of the cave, the Rat King had been curling up inside, unwilling to come down. At first, Xiao Buli was worried Yi Xuan hadn't noticed, but now he found it strange. He called out at the entrance, and only then did the Rat King reluctantly jump down from the entrance. After landing, the Rat King constantly kept to the walls, avoiding the middle of the road and running along the edge. This behavior reminded Xiao Buli of the pathetic sight of rats freezing in fear at the sight of a cat downstairs, but there was only him inside—what could have frightened the Rat King so?

Xiao Buli inspected the ground around him and suddenly noticed some sticky substance. He dabbed some with his hand and sniffed it, and a pungent, stinky smell assaulted his nose. Rubbing his hands together and in deep thought, he concluded that a creature must have crawled over here, leaving behind this mucus. Snails, he thought, typically left such slime trails. But considering the Rat King's reaction, it seemed improbable that it was afraid of a giant snail. What could it be, then...

The giant snake!? A thought flashed urgently through Xiao Buli's mind, and he rushed forward. The image of that giant snake was etched deeply into his memory; let alone Yi Xuan, even if he had encountered it himself, his chances would have been slim. It seemed the snake could have possibly followed their scent. But then again, he thought that unlikely, since he had used Cloud Thunder Leap previously, which no creature, no matter how powerful, could outpace lightning.

It could be another snake, but regardless, Xiao Buli was concerned about the safety of his new friend. After all, the game involved gambling with their lives. As long as his own life wasn't threatened, Xiao Buli didn't want to witness any death.

As Xiao Buli ran, he noticed the terrain seemed to be continually sloping downward, with some sections quite steep. In places, the path dropped several meters straight down, clearly indicating this was not a mine; it was too natural for that. Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

He guessed that the earlier entrance might have been excavated by Stone-tooth Rats or some other creature, but the terrain inside appeared to be naturally formed, merely connected to the outside world by the previous segment of the cave.

Running on, Xiao Buli felt waves of heat and saw faint red glows approaching. The source of the red light seemed to flicker, resembling either flames or a flickering television screen. From his position, Xiao Buli would rather believe it to be the former.

At last, rounding the corner of the passage, Xiao Buli saw what lay before him: a huge cavern filled with magma. The cavern was enormous, the size of a soccer field, with its middles filled with stalagmites and other rocky structures that resembled the ribs of some great beast. Aside from a small area in the center that emitted steam, the floor was riddled with molten lava holes, looking like cheese filled with chili sauce. The bubbling lava and bursting bubbles made the light flicker constantly, explaining why it appeared to be flames from afar.

There were several other entrances around the cavern. From Xiao Buli's position, with the light from the lava, he could see a little way into them; these seemed to be other exits, but where they led was unknown. Checking his map, Xiao Buli finally found the name of the cavern, not some Crystal Stone Mine, but rather the Lava Snake Cave.

Xiao Buli looked back at the Rat King, thinking, "Aren't you a little rascal, making a den right over the head of your mortal enemy?"

It was truly bizarre; how had they ended up in this godforsaken place? The heat from the magma was unbearable, so he quickly cast Five Elements Spirit Armor Technique on himself and finally felt more comfortable. Watching the Rat King squeaking and running around in circles without moving forward, Xiao Buli knew it didn't want to proceed but couldn't leave given its attachment to him as a pet. He casually cast the same spell on it, and the Rat King finally quieted down.

Looking at the situation, Xiao Buli felt somewhat helpless. Although he was willing to help, he couldn't risk his own life. Yi Xuan, you'll just have to fend for yourself.

Though he felt uneasy, Xiao Buli still decided to leave the place as quickly as possible. But just as he turned to go, a fierce roar came from behind him, making the entire cavern tremble thrice. (To be continued... If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)