This was a terrifying tunnel that made people tremble with fear.
Rumors had it that this tunnel was mysterious and horrifying, filled with the spirits of notorious criminals.
Everyone who entered this tunnel met a tragic end, and no one survived.
At this moment, countless evil undead souls roared and surged deep within the tunnel.
Their greed nostrils caught the scent of fresh life.
“Such a delightful scent.”
“Not just one, but two.”
“Has another stupid human overestimating his capabilities finally stepped into this place??”
“Hehehe, they are mine!”
“Mine, all mine!”
“Give me their eyes, I love to feast on the eyeballs of the living, hehe.”
“Come on, such delicious prey. Whoever gets there first claims it!”
“Ah, don’t even think about competing with me! They caught my eye first!”
“Get out of my way, they are my prey!”
The ferocious evil spirits clamored and rushed forward from the dark depths and cramped walls and rocks, heading toward those two sweet scents.
As the scents drew closer, a few of the evil spirits among them suddenly showed expressions of horror.
They had smelled one of these scents before.
It was the scent of a demon even more terrifying than themselves!
That demon had single-handedly devoured half of the evil spirits in this tunnel, leaving only a few lucky survivors.
They turned around and desperately tried to push away the evil spirits converging from all directions, attempting to escape from here.
These terrified evil spirits fled while letting out cries of pain.
“No, don’t go over there!”
“There’s a devil over there, you can’t go. You’ll be eaten!”
“Don’t push me! I don’t want to eat, let me leave this place!”
“Fuck, you idiots, if you want to die, don’t drag me with you!”
However, the voices of these few evil spirits were completely powerless amidst the clamor of the larger group. They were swept forward by the tide of evil spirits, and in the blink of an eye, they could already see two blurry figures ahead.
Suddenly, a square metal box descended from the sky, emitting an even sweeter scent, driving the already irrational evil spirits into a frenzy.
Like greedy beasts following their instincts, they changed direction and charged toward the square box.
The few evil spirits who had seen the power of the box were already terrified, trying their best to hide away.
The next moment, the square box suddenly opened, greedily swallowing all the evil spirits within it.
And at this moment, all Bai Lixin could think of in his mind were—History always has astonishing similarities.
[Ding! Pandora’s Box is opened. Due to the “uncertainty attribute” of Pandora’s Box, random buffs will be granted to the player. Good luck to the player.]
[Random selection complete. Congratulations, player, you have obtained a debuff: Time Reduction. Your time will be reduced by twelve hours.]
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Not this again?!
Damn it, Pandora’s Box!’
Am I gambling with time in this copy?’
The current time was a little after nine in the morning, and jumping twelve hours ahead would be a little after nine at night, with just over an hour left until the end of the copy.
Before the familiar dizziness set in, Bai Lixin silently swore in his heart.
After getting out of here, he will dismantle Pandora’s Box and sell it as scrap!
To hell with Pandora’s Box, to hell with the last hope.
Right now, it was his biggest nightmare.
…
“Crack.”
“Crack.”
“Crack.”
[Lord Host, wake up quickly!]
[Lord Host, wake up! If you don’t wake up, we’ll be eaten!]
[Master Bai Lixin, please, open your eyes quickly, I’m so scared. Are we going to be eaten, Brother M?]
When Bai Lixin regained consciousness, his mind was filled with the terrified voices of the two. At this moment, he was still in the early stages of waking up, only able to sense the environment outside but unable to open his eyes or move freely.
He could feel something viscous crawling over him. Wherever it passed, it brought a sharp stinging sensation.
Hot, sticky, with a predatory instinct.
His body seemed to be crushed by some heavy object, as if being pressed beneath a mountain.
Although he couldn’t open his eyes to see the situation around him clearly, the danger radar etched into his bones kept sounding the alarm.
It was very dangerous; his current situation was extremely perilous.
He had to get up right now, or he might really lose his life here.
Finally, after struggling incessantly, Bai Lixin managed to force his eyes open.
What greeted his eyes was a bright red bloody mouth.
From the terrifying mouth oozed thick, viscous saliva, dripping down in droplets along the sharp white teeth and crimson tongue.
Some fell onto the ground, some dripped onto Bai Lixin’s body.
Whenever the saliva landed on his body, it would soon be licked off by the monster’s enormous tongue, causing Bai Lixin a wave of pain as the barbs on the tongue scraped against his skin through the clothes.
Bai Lixin stared blankly at the situation before him.
It was true that he wanted to see the black monster Dijia, but he never thought of meeting this way.
Ah, could he be the first lord god to be swallowed whole by his husband?
The “delicacy on the tip of the tongue” of the lord god realm?
The beast’s crimson eyes stared fixedly at Bai Lixin, whom it had pinned down under its claws. The blood-red pupils elongated into thin lines, indicating that it had completely lost its rationality and was driven solely by the instinct to devour and kill.
Bai Lixin, who was pressed heavily under it, felt his strength gradually returning.
He tried to wrest control of his body back from the monster’s claws, but his resistance seemed to anger the black monster. It sprayed white mist from its nose and let out a menacing growl from deep within its throat.
Its claws tightened, tearing Bai Lixin’s already tattered clothes, exposing his bruised skin marred with scratches.
Seeing this messy scene, the black monster became even more erratic. Its body writhed incessantly, emitting a series of suppressed whines from its mouth. The chains binding the monster rattled with each movement, accompanied by the metallic clang of impact.
Enduring the pain, Bai Lixin raised his head. Amidst the clashing chains, he spotted a small keyhole beneath the monster’s thick black mane.
As long as he could insert the key into this keyhole, he could release it and restore its freedom.
Freedom.
Something that most people could easily attain, yet it was the lifelong pursuit of his beloved in this copy.
He had no way of knowing how Elizabeth I had sealed the black monster, but the appearance of Warden Dijia was clearly what the black monster desired deep down.
Warden Dijia had mentioned “freedom” more than once.
Was it because he wanted freedom that he severed his soul from the body of the black monster?
But the black monster was still Dijia’s true form. As long as his true form was trapped, Dijia could not go anywhere and could only be imprisoned with his true form in this dark and sunless prison.
Warden Dijia was the highest authority in this prison and also the prisoner who had been sentenced to the longest punishment in this prison.
Perhaps Elizabeth III had already devised a countermeasure as she aged. After gradually losing control of Warden D she imprisoned him here, and just like Queen Elizabeth I had done, sealed Warden Dijia once again.
Once humans gain benefits from forces that do not belong to them, they become greedier and want to hold onto those things tightly, unwilling to let go. Even if they cannot obtain them completely, they refuse to give them up.
A fierce glint flashed in Bai Lixin’s eyes, but quickly disappeared.
He took a deep breath and tentatively called out Dijia’s name, trying to awaken the other party’s reason.
“Dijia, it’s me.”
“I’m Bai Lixin, and I’m back.”
“Dijia.”
“Dijia.”
He slowly freed his arm from the monster’s claws. This time, he didn’t run away but instead grabbed the monster’s claws with his tiny hands and buried his face in the monster’s thick black fur. He kept calling out Dijia’s name.
Whether it was his calling that had an effect, the previously restless black monster gradually calmed down.
The sound of the chains faded away, and the huge beast hesitantly retracted its claws, releasing Bai Lixin. It tilted its head, observing the pitiful prey it had tormented.
With his chest finally freed, Bai Lixin gasped for air until he regained some strength, then looked up and met the black monster’s eyes.
One was a huge monster towering over ten meters tall, and the other was a fragile human.
As their eyes met through the air, the still scene gradually became strange.
[Beauty and the Beast] S419M murmured.
Or, a slightly more terrifying version of “Beauty and the Beast”.
At this moment, Bai Lixin didn’t hear S419M’s sarcasm. All his attention was focused on the monster before him.
He stretched out his hand, placing his bloodstained palm on the monster’s enormous claw.
The black monster, like a frightened little beast, hurriedly withdrew its claw from under Bai Lixin’s small hand and moved its body a few steps back into the darkness.
Bai Lixin followed, taking two steps forward, and once again placed his hand on the monster’s paw.
The black monster seemed startled again, retreating two steps backward.
What was originally a terrifying scene now seemed somewhat comical at this moment.
A terrifying monster was actually frightened by a seemingly powerless human, which was somewhat amusing no matter how you looked at it.
The human and the beast continued their dance of advance and retreat, their figures gradually disappearing into the darkness.
Finally, the black monster let out a whimper, awkwardly leaping away from Bai Lixin and hiding in another spot.
If you looked closely, you could see its tail trembling slightly behind its buttocks.
This time, Bai Lixin suddenly reached out, grabbed one end of the chain and pulled it down with force.
Unaware of what was happening, the panicked black monster’s huge head was suddenly brought down to Bai Lixin’s level, and they locked eyes once again.
Seeing the suddenly enlarged human face, the black lines in the monster’s red eyes instantly spread into two huge black circles.
Without waiting for the monster to react, Bai Lixin pressed his forehead against the moist nose of the monster and called out again, “Dijia, be good. Relax your body and lie down on the ground.”
The monster’s black pupils trembled for a few times. It whimpered and gradually relaxed, obediently lying down in front of Bai Lixin.
Seeing this, Bai Lixin smiled and patted the black monster’s nose, saying a gentle and affectionate tone, “Good boy, you’re such a good boy. Do you want a reward?”
The black monster seemed to understand, and nodded its huge head up and down.
Bai Lixin took out the key from his backpack. “Now lift up your neck. As long as you do this, I promise to give you a reward.”
The black monster looked at Bai Lixin in a daze. Eventually, it obediently lifted its head, revealing the keyhole hidden beneath its mane.
Bai Lixin stood on tiptoes and inserted the key into the keyhole. The golden key fit perfectly into the keyhole, seamlessly integrating with the lock.
Bai Lixin held his breath and slowly turned the key.
With a crisp “click”, the chain, which had almost merged with the black monster, fell to the ground with a loud bang.
Feeling uncomfortable, the black monster looked around at the scattered chains in astonishment.
These chains had been on it for so long that it had forgotten it wasn’t originally bound by them.
Now that the chains had fallen off, did this mean it… was free?
The sound of palms hitting each other awakened the monster from its contemplation. It looked at the young man before it with confusion, emitting a series of uncertain whines from its throat.
Bai Lixin didn’t rush, gently soothing the huge beast. “The chains are gone now. You are free.”
However, the black monster didn’t leave. It lay on the ground, nudging Bai Lixin with its huge head, its tail swaying from side to side behind it, clearly unwilling to leave. It whimpered as if wanting to tell Bai Lixin something.
Bai Lixin looked at the black monster for two seconds, then pointed at himself hesitantly. “You want a reward?”
The black monster let out a roar and nodded vigorously.
Bai Lixin gestured towards the huge bright space outside. “Let’s talk about it after we leave here. I won’t break my promise.”
The black monster looked at the unfamiliar outside world, then back at Bai Lixin with doubt, but was unwilling to move its feet.
Like a baby elephant tied to a stake in its youth, it still thinks it will be restrained by a small rope when it grew up, so it’s easily trapped by a thin rope.
The black monster was now similar to this elephant.
Although the chains had been removed from its body, the long-term confinement made it unable to adapt to this freedom immediately.
Bai Lixin stood up and walked towards the outside.
Seeing Bai Lixin walking away, the black monster whimpered and hurriedly chased after him from behind.
Unconsciously, by the time it reacted, it had already walked out of the shadow where it had stayed for a long time.
The black monster couldn’t help but stop, raising its curious eyes to look around and at the scattered chains left behind.
Only at this moment did it realize that it was really free.
It tentatively stretched out its claws and took a step forward.
The young man in front of it was standing not far away. He neither left nor approached, standing at a distance neither near nor far, as if waiting for it to catch up.
The black monster immediately straightened up, raised its claws, and sprinted towards Bai Lixin.
Just as the black monster was about to pounce on Bai Lixin, a powerful force suddenly rushed from behind Bai Lixin, ruthlessly smashing into the black monster, flipping the huge monster over and slamming it heavily to the ground.
With a low growl, the black monster struggled to get up from the ground, angrily glaring at the figure behind Bai Lixin, baring its teeth and assuming an attacking posture.
The crisp sound of leather shoes on the ground slowly rang out from behind. A voice colder than the surrounding air said indifferently, “Even if you’re a monster, you’ve already injured him like this and I won’t spare you.”
A warm, heavy coat was draped over Bai Lixin’s back, and the next moment, he was forcefully wrapped in a sturdy and cold embrace.
Even without looking up, Bai Lixin knew who it was, but he still glanced up.
The man’s jaw was tense, and his cold silver eyes stared ahead, looking at the monster opposite with a murderous gaze.
The monster across from him stared back with a pair of blood-red eyes, unwillingly meeting Dijia’s gaze.
Tension filled the air.
It seemed like bloodshed was about to happen at any moment.
Bai Lixin: “…”
Well, this seems a bit different from what he imagined.
The scene he imagined was as follows:
He released the black monster, which happily wagged its tail and naturally merged with Dijia who had come because of the disturbance, becoming a free and complete entity.
The actual scene:
Whether it was the black monster or Warden Dijia, it seemed like they both wanted to tear each other apart.
‘Ah, this..’
Bai Lixin felt a headache coming on.
‘Was it that he had split too many times that he had lost empathy? Do you always have to be so harsh on yourself every time?’
Bai Lixin wondered whether he should say something to liven up the atmosphere.
But this idea just flashed through his mind and before he could speak, he was pushed behind by Dijia.
The man hastily threw out a “stay back” and rushed towards the black monster head-on.
For a moment, the scene was extremely bloody.
S419M: [Tsk tsk tsk, so brutal. Fight, fight, hit harder, whoever wins will be the Lord Host’s, hurry up and fight!]
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Great, there’s another one here who doesn’t mind watching the excitement.’
Black fur flew everywhere. Bai Lixin took a few steps back to avoid the scattered mane, silently glancing at the task bar.
[Task One: Survive for five days and nights. (Remaining time: 4 hours)]
[Task Two: Find the true culprit who stole the Kiss of the Sun. (Completed)]
Bai Lixin stared at Task One.
There were still four hours left on the countdown.
According to Pandora’s Box’s judgment, he should have had less than two hours left after the time leap.
Last time the time reduction was very precise, so why did he wake up early this time?
Bai Lixin looked around belatedly and realized that Lin Xiao, who had come in with him, was gone.
Why did he wake up early?
Was it because of S419M and the escape system’s calls, or was it his reaction to danger? Or did Lin Xiao wake him up early?
Where did Lin Xiao go?
Did he suddenly disappear like in the previous copy?
Lin Xiao called himself an “Orderly” and said that the copies he appeared in were all on the brink of chaos and collapse.
Did he appear in this copy to correct a mistake?
If so, what was the mistake?
As Bai Lixin pondered, he was once again engulfed in the cold embrace from earlier.
Bai Lixin came to his senses and subconsciously turned his head.
In the empty space, apart from the black mane strewn all over the ground, the black monster was nowhere to be seen.
He blinked and looked up at Dijia with confusion, only to see that Dijia’s originally cold silver eyes had somehow turned blood-red.
Dijia licked his lips, a distorted ferocity hanging on his cold face.
Bai Lixin blinked.
Dijia’s eyes returned to their usual cold silver, and his expression returned to its usual indifference.
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘Did they… merge?’
His mouth opened slightly, ready to say something, but all his words were swallowed up by a familiar action.
His lips were forcefully ground and crushed. The man was like a tireless beast, wanting to devour Bai Lixin whole.
Bai Lixin had become accustomed to Dijia’s madness in this copy. He quickly adjusted his posture, raised his hand to encircle Dijia’s neck, and passionately kissed him back.
After an unknown amount of time, the kiss ended, and Dijia reluctantly released Bai Lixin, resting his head on Bai Lixin’s shoulder and murmuring, “You really came back.”
“Not only did you come back, but you also brought the key.”
His voice was very low, sounding more like he was talking to himself than to Bai Lixin. “You actually came back. Why did you come back?”
The man’s sudden display of weakness made Bai Lixin’s heart soft. He gently patted Dijia’s hard back and comforted in the most soothing tone, “I promised you I would come back. My business is done, so I came back to find you.”
“Why, don’t you want to see me?”
Dijia raised his head and looked at Bai Lixin with a complicated expression. “No, I have been looking forward to your return. During the time I waited for you, I also prepared a gift for you.”
Bai Lixin was puzzled. “What gift?”
Dijia’s expression was unusually sincere. “Follow me, you will like it.”
…
Bai Lixin followed behind Dijia.
He was very familiar with this path, having walked it more than once or twice.
This was the way back to Dijia’s office.
With a hint of anticipation in his heart, Bai Lixin followed Dijia step by step.
What gift could it be?
A ring? Or was Dijia preparing to propose to him?
Filled with anticipation all the way, Dijia opened the door, his usually cold expression tinged with pride and arrogance. “Go in, you will definitely scream with joy.”
Bai Lixin entered the office with skepticism. On the black bed, he saw a giant birdcage made of gold. “…”
???
Dijia placed his hand on Bai Lixin’s shoulder from behind, leaned close to Bai Lixin’s ear, and whispered, “You said you liked gold, so I had this birdcage made of gold for you.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Every night, I imagine locking you inside.”
“Are you looking forward to it as much as I am?”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘I’m looking forward to you getting lost!’
Dijia’s cold lips rubbed against Bai Lixin’s neck. “I regretted it the moment you walked out of the prison. I told myself back then that if you didn’t come back, I would let you go completely. But if you did come back, I would never let go of your hand again.”
“Now, you can’t escape. You are mine.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
‘This lunatic! He’s getting crazier and crazier!’
Lol