At this moment, outside the stone doors at the base of the tower...
A large number of super-warriors from various countries had gathered. Most of them had either failed to enter the second floor or were waiting for their teammates to come out.
Right now, they were huddled together, arguing and discussing loudly. Their expressions varied, and their tones were filled with confusion and unease.
"Did you guys hear? The squad that just went into the second floor sent back some news..." a scrawny super-warrior whispered, his face pale with fear.
"What is it? What happened?" Several nearby super-warriors immediately crowded around. Many were waiting for the vanguard squads to scout ahead and figure out the situation on the second floor before going in themselves. After all, the plant monsters on the second floor were incredibly bizarre, and one wrong move could cost them their lives.
"The monsters inside... they've all disappeared!"
"And the dense forests that used to be on the second floor, the ones so thick that not even sunlight could pierce through? They're completely gone now! It's like they were burned to the ground. You can't even find a single intact branch!"
"What?!" As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd erupted. Their faces were full of disbelief.
"That's impossible, right? Those plant monsters are so powerful and great at camouflage. So many squads have fallen to them before. How could they suddenly all disappear?" A blonde, blue-eyed Caucasian super-warrior frowned and retorted, his tone full of doubt. He simply didn't believe such an outrageous rumor.
"I think it's impossible too!" another super-warrior chimed in, a look of disdain on his face.
"Maybe the squads inside got scared out of their wits and deliberately made up this lie to trick us into going back, so they can hog all the loot on the second floor for themselves!"
However, quite a few super-warriors looked thoughtful.
"I don't think it's a lie. Two different squads just sent back the exact same news."
If it were really a lie, something like this would be exposed immediately.
"Could it be that an even more terrifying monster has appeared inside?"
"Maybe some incredibly powerful beast invaded the second floor, ate all the plant monsters, and burned down the forest?"
As soon as this was said, the surroundings instantly quieted down. Fear crept onto the faces of many super-warriors.
If there really was an entity more terrifying than the plant monsters, then going up to the second floor would be tantamount to suicide.
You have to realize that the level of the regular monsters was already high enough.
What kind of level would a being have to be to wipe out all the monsters on the second floor at once?
"What are you all afraid of?" Just then, another super-warrior spoke up.
"So what if there's a scary monster? There are so many of us. If we join forces, you think we can't beat it? Besides, the forest disappearing is actually a good thing for us!"
"Before, those trees blocked our line of sight, and the plant monsters were masters of disguise. It was a pain to find the floor's boss or the entrance to the next level. Now that the forest is gone, we can take the opportunity to easily find the guardian monster of the second floor, kill it for the loot, and then find the entrance to the third floor. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
These words instantly awakened the surrounding super-warriors.
"Yeah! Why didn't I think of that!"
"With the forest gone, it's definitely easier for us to move around. We don't have to worry about getting ambushed by plant monsters anymore!"
"Who cares what caused it! As long as the monsters are gone, it's a good thing for us! Let's go in together, find the boss, grab the loot, and then head to the third floor!"
The super-warriors who had previously shown fear now had looks of greed on their faces as they echoed their agreement.
They had come here for loot and to increase their strength anyway. Since the threat of the second floor had vanished and it had become much easier to explore, they naturally wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity.
Ultimately, the desire for treasure overpowered their reason.
Any random item from the tower could fetch a high price on the outside. Even if there were people too afraid to enter, there were always those willing to risk their lives for money and power.
"Let's go! We'll go in together! There's strength in numbers. Even if something unexpected happens, we can look out for each other!"
The super-warrior who made the proposal shouted and took the lead, striding toward the stone doors of the tower.
The others quickly followed, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.
Soon, the group of super-warriors filed through the stone doors. After searching the first-floor maze for a while, they quickly found the entrance leading to the second floor.
The moment they passed through the doorway and stepped onto the second floor, everyone froze in place. The anticipation and greed on their faces were instantly replaced by extreme shock and utter disbelief.
The scene before them was far more shocking than anything they had seen in photos.
Many of them had seen the videos and photos taken by the pioneer squads—in those videos, the second floor was a suffocatingly dense jungle. Towering trees blotted out the sun, weeds grew wildly, bizarre plants were everywhere, and the air was filled with a faint green poisonous mist that hid deadly traps.
But right now, what greeted their eyes was a vast expanse of bare, scorched earth. As far as the eye could see, there wasn't a single trace of green. The ground was covered in burn marks.
"Is... is this the second floor?"
One super-warrior, his face full of disbelief, touched the ground.
"How could this be? Where is the forest? What about the plant monsters? Were they really all burned away?"
"This is t-too bizarre..."
"Just who has the sheer power to burn down an entire forest in an instant and make all the plant monsters vanish?"
The surrounding super-warriors all fell into silence.
Looking at the blackened earth before them, their earlier greed and anticipation were completely gone. All that remained in their hearts was an endless, deep-seated dread.
This completely incinerated jungle seemed to be silently warning them that a power they could never hope to resist existed here.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Ye Chuan and Lan Xiaoke had already arrived on the third floor.
In stark contrast to the environments of the first and second floors, the third floor was a vast, boundless ocean.
Crystal clear and azure, it stretched out endlessly, seeming to reach the very horizon without any end in sight.
"Whoa—it's the ocean~" Lan Xiaoke stood suspended in the air, looking down at the sea below her, unable to hold back her comment.
"I can't believe the entire third floor is just water. This is ridiculous, there's not even a place to stand."
"The monsters are in the water," Ye Chuan said casually.
He could sense that there were many things swimming beneath the surface, and they seemed quite large.
"Ye Chuan, what do we do?" Lan Xiaoke asked curiously.
"We definitely need to lure the monsters over first to take a look." Ye Chuan wasn't sure exactly how many monsters were in this vast ocean either.
"How do we lure them?"
Before Lan Xiaoke could even finish her sentence, Ye Chuan lifted her up with one hand.
(•́ω•̀) Huh?
Before Lan Xiaoke could even react, Ye Chuan hurled her straight down into the water below.
"Waaaah Ye Chuan?!!!!!" Plummeting rapidly, Lan Xiaoke instantly realized what was happening.
"You're using me as chum?!!"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
