< Chapter 26: Running and Jumping with Arms >
Ning Zhuo fell into deep thought.
He didn’t know what the suspension ring on the mechanical component was, nor did he understand what the “a surge of spell energy” meant.
However, he did know about spirit stones, and he was acutely aware of his current lack of them.
“I’ve spent a lot of time fumbling around earlier, and now the spiritual energy in the spirit stones inside me is less than forty percent.”
“Let’s choose the spirit stones!”
Ning Zhuo made up his mind.
The next moment, a ring of light appeared out of nowhere in front of him. The circle of light slightly expanded and spat out a spirit stone.
Ning Zhuo hurriedly caught the spirit stone. At the same time, the ring of light quickly dissipated.
Carrying the second spirit stone, Ning Zhuo struggled to push open the door and entered Room No. 2.
Bang!
The door automatically closed behind him.
Ning Zhuo turned around to push the door, attempting to return to Room No. 1.
The door didn’t budge.
“Well then.” Ning Zhuo turned back around and began to closely examine Room No. 2.
The layout of Room No. 2 was very different from that of Room No. 1. The room was elongated and empty, with the floor and wall bricks square and emitting a brass sheen.
Ning Zhuo immediately noticed the door.
It was directly in front of him.
The message came through again—to pass through Room No. 2 and enter Room No. 3.
After observing for a moment and not gathering any new information, Ning Zhuo took steps forward, heading directly for the door.
As a result, after walking a few steps, Ning Zhuo realized he was moving backwards.
He quickly looked down and saw that the floor tiles were slowly moving backwards!
Ning Zhuo had no choice but to quicken his pace and increase his speed.
The speed at which the floor tiles moved also increased.
He walked faster and faster, eventually being forced to run.
“If I had known this was the test, I should have chosen the leg components carefully.”
In Room No. 1, concerned about the consumption of spiritual energy and the need to save time, and because it was hard to match the length of his legs, he had made do.
Now, the result was that his legs were uneven, causing him to limp when he ran, which was quite bumpy and affected his speed.
When he ran at his fastest speed to the middle of the room,
suddenly, a giant log shot out from the right wall.
The log was fixed at one end to the wall, while the other end sprang out like the sweeping arm of a giant.
Ning Zhuo remained vigilant and quickly leaped to avoid the log.
But as he landed, another giant log shot out from the left wall.
Ning Zhuo had already jumped, but given the continuously moving floor tiles, he didn’t manage to apply enough force and his footing was unstable. This time, his jump was too low.
Bang.
A soft sound was heard as he was struck by the log, sending him through the air in a long arc before he crashed to the floor.
He slid backward on the ground for a distance before finally crashing into the first door, where he came to a stop.
Puppet Ning Zhuo lay on the ground, dizzy and disoriented. After a few breaths, he regained his senses.
“Is there such a mechanism?!”
“The runes on that giant log seem to have the ability to weaken the soul.”
Ning Zhuo felt a wave of weakness in his soul.
He looked up and observed: the dark runes on the giant log gradually disappeared, and the entire log slowly retracted into the wall. Then, the bricks on both sides clicked and shifted, returning to their original state.
“I understand now!” A thought struck Ning Zhuo.
“These sweeping logs are both my obstacles and my stepping stones.”
“I need to leap onto them as they swipe across, then use them to jump forward.”
The puppet’s own speed was very limited, and by the midpoint, it was slower than the speed at which the floor tiles were moving backwards.
Relying solely on running, Ning Zhuo could not get close to the second door.
The walls were initially smooth and offered no leverage, but the logs that sprang out provided an opportunity.
With this new insight, Ning Zhuo tried again.
He timed his jumps, one after another, until the fifth log…
Bang.
He was swept away by the log.
“The closer I get to the door, the faster the floor tiles move backward. I must accurately judge the speed of the movement to land stably.”
After summing up the lessons learned, Ning Zhuo continued.
Bang.
When he reached the eighth log, the difficulty increased. A log shot out from the ceiling, coming down and directly knocking him off.
Ning Zhuo crashed into the door, his body falling apart.
He scrambled to reassemble himself, eventually extending his hands to pick up his head and reattach it to his neck.
“The head component is also a bit large. It’s square, and turning my head is slow. I should have opted for a smaller head.”
“The biggest issue is the uneven legs.”
“Fortunately, I remember the positions from where the logs were launched. If I keep trying and learning from my errors, I should be able to get through!”
Bang!
This time, he only managed to jump over three logs before being knocked back again.
Ning Zhuo watched the log retract into the wall, utterly astonished. “Isn’t it so that the positions of these logs are fixed? Can they actually change freely?”
The difficulty suddenly skyrocketed tenfold!
On the throne in the main hall, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been covertly observing the first trial participant. It chuckled gleefully, gurgling with laughter as it watched Puppet Ning Zhuo stand motionless.
The dull-witted Puppet Ning Zhuo seemed to be putting on a vivid puppet show for it. Watching the entire spectacle, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit derived a great deal of amusement.
Bang, bang, bang…
Ning Zhuo continuously failed to break through.
“I’m running out of spiritual energy.”
He sighed inwardly, sat down cross-legged, and opened a small hatch on his belly.
Beneath the hatch, there was a hidden compartment containing a spirit stone.
This spirit stone was dim and nearly depleted of spiritual energy.
Ning Zhuo removed this spent stone and quickly replaced it with the second spirit stone.
He closed the small hatch on his belly and patted it gently with his small palm to ensure it was securely fastened.
“When replacing the spirit stone, it must be done quickly, making use of the residual spiritual energy still circulating within the puppet’s body. This is probably the most vulnerable time for the puppet.”
The replaced spirit stone still retained a bit of spiritual energy.
But Ning Zhuo dared not continue using it.
If, during a sprint, the spiritual energy were to be completely depleted, leaving nothing in the puppet’s body, he would be completely immobilized.
“Under the puppet form, the consumption is not only the spiritual energy in the spirit stones.”
“Every time I’m hit, the runes on the giant logs weaken my soul a bit.”
“I entered the palace as a soul, and if the soul becomes too weak, even with spiritual energy, I’d still be immobilized.”
“Also, this puppet body is continuously accumulating damage.”
Ning Zhuo examined himself and found that various parts such as his arms and head were developing cracks and fissures.
“If the position of the logs is unpredictable and there’s no trick to it, then I must put in hard work.”
Concentrating his mind and rallying his spirits, Ning Zhuo once again launched into a sprint.
Bang, bang, bang…
Ning Zhuo was repeatedly knocked back, each time accumulating experience and increasing his proficiency in controlling the puppet body.
His improvement was visible to the naked eye.
When he reached the last stretch, seven or eight logs acted simultaneously. They seemed to spasm, continuously launching. Some swept across, some plunged straight, some descended from above, and some even changed direction mid-course.
Ning Zhuo was knocked down once again, his leg smashed completely upon impact. After falling, the shifting floor tiles moved him back in front of the first gate.
Previously, both legs had suffered bumps and bruises.
Now, with one leg gone, what should he do?
After some thought, Ning Zhuo came up with a bold idea.
“Shall I try?” he murmured.
He disassembled his arms and attached them under his torso to substitute for his thighs.
Then, he attached the remaining thigh to where his right arm once was.
He transformed into a bizarre puppet-like figure, his appearance quite eerie.
Ning Zhuo did not rush to proceed but stayed where he was, practicing for a while to gradually master his new form.
Half an hour later.
Ning Zhuo, left with only one arm, fortunately managed to reach the second gate.
His condition was dire; his soul had been severely weakened by the runes.
“Quick, quicker!” he urged himself, struggling to reach out and touch the gate.
Instantly, information flowed to him.
Just like before, there were three options:
First, a spirit stone.
Second, mechanical parts.
Third, a spell.
At his limit, Ning Zhuo did not have the luxury to examine the options carefully and immediately chose the spell.
The next moment, he passed out.