Calming Bai Jin down, Yang Yu returned along the same path. Approaching the exit, suddenly a fork appeared.
At that spot, there had clearly been a wall when they arrived, but now there was a passage stretching endlessly forward.
This passage was even narrower and darker than the one where Yang Yu had just fought the Giant Stone, and his instincts told him there was definitely something inside.
Suddenly, the air was filled with the scent of a hidden task.
While Bai Jin and Iyas were still puzzled about why there was an additional passage, Yang Yu eagerly stepped into it.
In less than a minute, Yang Yu reached the end of the passage.
In the corner, a middle-aged man hugged his knees, buried his head, and shivered. Judging from his attire, he was a magician, but his magic wand was nowhere to be found.
Opening the panel, the attributes of the disheveled middle-aged man were clearly displayed.
Race: Human (Adventurer)
Level: LV49 HP: 1210/1668 MP: 810/2129 Stamina: 57/252
Attributes: Strength 90, Defense 117, Intelligence 396, Special Defense 163, Agility 109, Endurance 189
Resistance: Magic 10%
Status: Extreme Fear]
He didn’t seem like a monster from the underground city, with HP, MP, and stamina all depleted—it’s unlikely he was an NPC originally from the underground city...
The Giant Stone had mentioned that several adventurer teams confident in their strength had descended to the third layer early. So, was he an adventurer who had entered the third layer ahead of time?
Why was he hiding here alone? Where had his team gone?
Extreme fear—an unprecedented status... What exactly had he seen on the third layer?
In any case, Yang Yu decided to ask him about the situation.
Just as Yang Yu was about to step forward and inquire in detail, Iyas’s voice suddenly rang in his ear.
"I just asked you to wait! Don’t just walk into such a suspicious passage!"
"Asked me to wait? All this way, I didn’t hear any sounds..." Yang Yu felt something strange, as he couldn’t have missed hearing Iyas’s voice.
"Rushing ahead with no stopping, it’s not surprising even if you say you didn’t hear," Iyas’s face showed dissatisfaction, pointing at the panting Bai Jin, "You can ask Bai Jin. She also called out many times, but you didn’t respond at all, making me almost draw my arrow to shoot you!"
That was indeed a terrifying statement made very seriously.
Yang Yu looked at the panting Bai Jin, who coughed lightly, her words also revealing dissatisfaction.
"You would never ignore my voice before, it was as if you didn’t hear it at all this time. I thought you wanted to shake us off in this complex labyrinth... then leave alone..."
As she spoke, Bai Jin, like a jealous little girl, grabbed the corner of Yang Yu’s clothes, then flashed a sinister smile on her face,
"Hehehe. I knew you were still thinking about that other woman, thinking that by completely abandoning us, you could be all lovey-dovey with her. But, you’re being too naïve to think you can leave me behind! No, what I mean is..."
"Since you picked me up, don’t abandon me so easily... Idiot..."
Today, Bai Jin couldn’t bring herself to express her true feelings. For some reason, the more she looked at Yang Yu, the harder it was to voice her thoughts.
"It’s not what you think. How could I abandon you? Just listen to my explanation..."
Before Yang Yu could start explaining, a middle-aged man squatting in the corner suddenly stood up and grabbed Yang Yu’s hand.
"You said you would never abandon me, right? You said you would definitely take me out of here, right? Hurry! Get me out of this damned place! I can’t stand being here for another minute! I don’t know the answer to any problem! That thing isn’t the monster we defeated! It’s a real monster! In an instant, it killed all my people! If only we knew, we never would have gone for that damned ring!"
With eyes bloodshot, the disheveled man’s face was pale, his voice hoarse. He clung tightly to Yang Yu’s hand, trembling from his pale knuckles to Yang Yu’s hand, as if Yang Yu were his only lifeline.
"I told you to get me out of this damned place fast! What are you waiting for? Even if it has spared me now, I’m sure I haven’t escaped its clutches. This underground city is its possession, and those of us in this underground city will become its possessions, and it will toy with us like a tiger toys with its prey. So, don’t stay here any longer! Get out of here now!"
Calm down for goodness’ sake! You’re draining my blood!
Enduring the intense pain in his hand, Yang Yu placed his hand on Calugada’s rough hand, covering the twitch at the corner of his mouth, and maintained as calm a smile as possible, "Mister, I can take you out of the underground city. In exchange, I hope you can tell me everything that has happened to you in the underground city!"
"I know! I got it! As long as you can get me out of here, I’ll say anything!" Calugada readily agreed, still gripping Yang Yu’s hand tightly.
After several attempts to persuade the man to let go were unsuccessful, Yang Yu had to endure the pain and drag the middle-aged man up the stairs of the first and second levels, then through the narrow tunnel, and finally out of the underground city.
Outside the underground city, the setting sun coated the forest in a beautiful golden hue. Birds foraging outside flew towards this golden light, landing among the treetops, returning to their peaceful nests.
Upon reaching the surface, Calugada, who had been gripping Yang Yu’s hand tightly, immediately let go and started running.
Crouching down, Yang Yu’s palm touched the ground, and thorns appeared in front of Calugada, firmly binding him.
"Let me go! Let me go! I don’t want to stay here for another minute!"
"I went through so much effort to drag you up here, and you just want to run away... This isn’t what we agreed on! I said if I brought you out, you’d tell me everything you know!"
"No, please! I beg you, don’t make me recall everything that happened there! Please!"
Calugada’s voice turned into a sob, his face now filled solely with endless sadness and regret.
Confronted with the man’s tears, Yang Yu remained unmoved.
Since Calugada was the only one who knew the truth and he didn’t want to talk, Yang Yu had to resort to more drastic measures to pry open his mouth.
"If you won’t speak, then I have no choice but to send you back to where I found you."
Saying this, Yang Yu took out a rope and tied up Calugada tightly, dragging him towards the entrance of the underground city.
"Are you a devil? Don’t you have a bit of humanity?"
Calugada struggled fiercely, but Yang Yu didn’t pause for a moment, continuing to drag him towards the black abyss.
"Don’t! I don’t want to go back anymore! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything, just don’t let me go back down into the underground city!"
Seeing that they were getting closer to the underground city, Calugada finally chose to compromise.
"Why didn’t you do this earlier? Talking to someone might lighten your load." Yang Yu stopped and loosened the rope on his hand, giving a light smile, "Let’s hear about what exactly is in that underground city!"