Chapter 220 - 158: Corruption, Madness, Parasitism
What Brother Mangzi showed off were, naturally, the drops he got from defeating the Hosted Bone and Blood Giant Statue.
[Elixir of Eternal Life]
[Type: Consumable]
[Effect: After consuming, you enter a hosted state for a period of time, greatly increasing all of your Attributes. You will die when the duration ends.]
[Explanation: The power of eternal life seems to be concealed within, but is what it brings truly eternal life?]
The Eternal Life Block still looked like a lump of flesh and blood, but it was actually a slightly hard chunk, and it was quite disgusting to look at.
Similarly, the Scab Pendant wasn’t much better.
Small, scab-like chunks were strung together by a red cord resembling a blood vessel, forming the Scab Pendant.
[Scab Pendant (Excellence)]
[Type: Accessory]
[Effect: For a short time after taking damage, you will slightly recover some of the Blood Volume you just lost.]
[Explanation: Scabbing, healing, powerful Life Force.]
The last drop was a piece of "Chest Armor" that was rather unexpected in both appearance and function.
That’s right, it was a piece of equipment—heavy Chest Armor. And based on its appearance, not only was it not disgusting, but it was actually quite cool, possessing a unique, otherworldly beauty.
[Eternal Confusion (Excellence)]
[Type: Chest Armor]
[Effect: Provides moderate Defense and will slowly restore your own Blood Volume when not under attack, but consumes a small amount of Spiritual Power.]
[Explanation: Eternal life? What is the point of an eternal life filled with such suffering?]
Battle Bliss: "How about that, bros? It’s finally my time to shine, hahahahaha..."
Brother Mangzi was still gloating.
But Bu Long had already scrolled through the chat log. He covered his face and poked his friend.
"Brother Mangzi, stop posting. Niuniu and the others killed it before us. Just look at the chat log..."
Bu Long felt both helpless and red-faced with embarrassment.
Hearing this, Brother Mangzi froze for a moment.
Then he quickly scrolled through the chat log, his face growing redder and redder with obvious embarrassment.
Niuniu and Mushroom had not only discovered this boss long ago, but they had also killed it much faster than them.
And here he was, like a fool, thinking he’d definitely gotten the first kill and that no one else had even found it.
Battle Bliss: "...Haha, ha. You can always count on Brother Niu! Killing that girl the moment he went in—so decisive!"
Brother Mangzi let out a dry laugh, trying to cover up his own embarrassment by praising Niuniu.
But he clearly hadn’t paid much attention to the other players repeatedly roasting Niuniu in the chat log.
What he didn’t know was that this sentence was basically rubbing salt in Niuniu’s already-stabbed wound.
I do Bull’s Push-ups: "...Don’t talk about it."
Well, that’s just great.
Before, only one person was unhappy. Now, two people were unhappy.
Seeing this, Li Miao, who hadn’t logged off yet, nearly died laughing.
Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam: "...It’s fine, Brother Mangzi. You got the second kill, that’s still really impressive."
But seeing Li Miao’s attempt to console him, Brother Mangzi didn’t feel happy at all.
Even someone as "all brawn, no brains" as him could understand one thing: everyone only remembers first place. No one remembers second place or the stepping stones.
He wasn’t Yue Lun, after all.
So... his plan to wash away his shame had once again gone up in smoke!
Brother Mangzi felt like crying, but no tears would come.
Seeing his dejected look, Bu Long could only pat him on the shoulder.
"It’s alright. There’s still Little Demon, right? Maybe he managed to get the first clear on his end?"
Hearing that, Brother Mangzi’s face fell even further. "If he succeeds, wouldn’t that make us look even worse?"
"..." Bu Long fell silent.
’Hmm... I guess that’s true, isn’t it?’
As the saying goes, you’re scared to see your bros suffer, but you’re also scared to see them driving a Land Rover.
They had already disgraced themselves completely. If Little Demon succeeded, the "trio of failures" would become the "duo of failures"!
"Is he out yet?" At this thought, Brother Mangzi quickly asked.
"Not yet." Bu Long shrugged.
...
Since the Prison Players were focusing their explorations on the Skeleton Forest, and most players generally believed two-player dungeons were easier, most of the discussion in the world chat was about the [Skeleton Forest] dungeon.
As for the other, single-player dungeon, [Gael’s Depression], while fewer people were discussing it, they weren’t non-existent.
After all, some players were just stubborn and loved to try things no one else had.
However, unlike the discussions about the Skeleton Forest, players talking about Gael’s Depression mostly asked just one question...
"Which way are you supposed to go in Gael’s Depression?"
"For fuck’s sake, where the hell did that little b*tch send me? Am I even in China anymore?"
"Why does the Spirit Candle’s guidance keep pointing forward and then backward? Is it bugged?"
"It’s not a bug. The game gave a hint about some mysterious force’s influence, but what’s the source of this force, and how do we deal with it?"
"Where are the guides? Save us!"
"..."
That’s right. The first challenge players entering Gael’s Depression had to face wasn’t a dangerous monster or a puzzle, but simply finding their way!
This vast starting area, filled with swamps, caused many players to get lost.
Furthermore, a mysterious force seemed to be at work within the swamps, making it impossible for them to find the right direction. They would often get lost, wander unintentionally into an area full of monsters, get killed, and have to start all over again.