Please Enter the Trap
Chen Ling walked straight up to the stage and looked fixedly.
Although he was already close at hand, his reflection did not appear in those mirrors. Instead, like some kind of peering mirrors, they reflected the appearance of some corridors, rooms, or rooms full of mechanisms, looking very much like the surveillance room in a TV show.
Here, one could see every corner of this "Dark Palace".
And on the operating console, there was currently a metal product that looked like a compass. There were a large number of tiny and exquisite metal sliders on it, and there seemed to be some kind of mechanism inside. Although its volume was not large, it was incomparably heavy in the hand.
"Central control panel..." Chen Ling sized up this disc with curiosity, casually flicking one slider.
At the same time, a portion of the originally stationary gears and power rods around him began to spin amidst roaring sounds, as if something was operating in the "Dark Palace"!
Chen Ling heard a strange noise coming from outside, and immediately walked to the rotunda in the center. He saw that in that deep "elevator shaft" leading deep underground, something was rapidly rising!
Clang—!!
Chen Ling saw the thing on that exhibition stand, a flash of surprise passing through his eyes.
"This is..."
On the exhibition stand was a crystal clear glass sphere. Inside the sphere, it looked as if a star was frozen, silently shining and glowing... And directly in front of the exhibition stand, a string of text was engraved on it:
[Privilege] — When the final three-hour countdown begins, the possessor of this privilege can designate a seat for the [Heaven-Reaching Star Position] to descend at any location.
Chen Ling's eyebrows raised slightly.
He directly reached out and took down that glass sphere, carefully playing with it in his palm, casually as if sizing up an ordinary toy.
"This Privilege is not bad."
According to the original rules, after the countdown entered the final three hours, the seven thrones representing the [Heaven-Reaching Star Positions] would randomly descend at various locations in the Old District, triggering the final slaughter... And possessing this Privilege was equivalent to mastering the initiative of one of the seats, making it come find oneself, turning it from a slaughter into a home-field "defending the arena".
And now, this [Privilege] had already fallen into Chen Ling's hands without anyone knowing.
Chen Ling put away the glass sphere. After looking around, he casually rested his hand on a corner of the exhibition stand, and strands of lightning started to roam across its surface!
[Reshape]!
A few seconds later, a round, chubby, and grayish Stone Ball appeared in his palms... And an inconspicuous corner of the exhibition stand had also silently lost a piece.
"From now on, you are the 'Privilege' that they will break their heads trying to get."
A smile curled up on the corners of Chen Ling's mouth. He placed this ugly Stone Ball back on the exhibition stand, and then his fingertips swiped across the central control panel. The entire exhibition stand sank into the underground once again!
After that, Chen Ling carried this central control panel and walked behind those six pitch-black arched doors.
Chen Ling had discovered that the entire "Dark Palace" was a giant secret room of mechanisms, and the [Privilege] was the thing hidden in the deepest part of this secret room of mechanisms... These six arched doors were exactly the Six Palaces of Qiaohuang that Number 17 had spoken of. Behind each door represented different levels and dangers.
Even if Chen Ling held the central control panel and was playing a truly cracked version, he couldn't help but be won over by some of the sinister and uniquely scheming designs inside.
Six Palaces of Qiaohuang, six arched doors. No matter how many people entered, ultimately there could only be six people who could come out alive from inside...
But there was only one [Privilege].
And it was a fake one at that.
From the moment Chen Ling got the central control panel, this "Dark Palace" was destined to turn into a meat grinder full of foul wind and bloody rain, a giant abyssal maw that was destined to have no path of survival to speak of.
Who lives, who dies, who ends up covered in cuts and bruises...
The person standing behind the scenes had the final say.
After walking through the Six Palaces of Qiaohuang, Chen Ling unhurriedly returned to the rotunda. His fingertips flowed skillfully over the central control panel, restoring all the mechanisms in the "Dark Palace" to their original states!
The flames on the walls extinguished one after another, and darkness swallowed the underground little by little, ultimately falling into a cold pitch-blackness.
Chen Ling took out a sticky note from his clothes. The trajectory of fate began to be woven on it. Lines of text, like a giant invisible net, began to reel in all the surrounding participants towards the vicinity of the "Dark Palace"!
In the darkness, Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly:
"... Please, enter the trap."
...
Old District, surface.
Two thin figures slowly traveled across the desolate earth.
"The sky has already brightened... This 'Dark Palace' still hasn't been found." Fudi frowned and spoke. "It couldn't be that someone has already gotten the First to Arrive, First to Benefit advantage, right?"
"No, the manual says that when the 'Dark Palace' comes into the world, it will be announced to the entire district. There hasn't been any sign until now, which means the 'Dark Palace' hasn't been discovered by anyone yet."
"But we have almost walked through all the surrounding blocks and still haven't found the entrance. How long do we have to search for."
"... There's still a long time before the final struggle begins. Let's just take our time searching."
Tu Tian and Fudi simultaneously closed their eyes.
One seemed to be listening to the sound of the wind, while the other seemed to be sensing the Aura of the earth. They were like two sculptures, remaining completely still on the spot...
Among the distant streets, several pairs of eyes were silently staring in their direction.
This time participating in the struggle for the [Heaven-Reaching Star Positions], there were a large number of members from the official organizations of the Five Great Realms. They possessed perfect intelligence on each other. Which Domain, which organization had a heaven-chosen, and what their abilities were, everyone was aware of.
And Tu Tian and Fudi from the Dragon-Strangling Warriors were undoubtedly the most likely among the people present to find the location of the "Dark Palace". Therefore, they would naturally trigger tracking and attention from some people. After all, no one wanted to miss the [Privilege].
"Are these two guys capable or not? We've been following them for several hours already, why haven't they found the entrance to the 'Dark Palace' yet?"
"I don't know... From the east to the west of the city, they've almost walked through everywhere."
"Keep your voices down, be careful they don't hear we are here."
"Hmph, do you think they can't perceive it?"
"So what even if they perceive it? We are all outstanding figures of various Divine Path paths, and our strength is not weaker than theirs. If they really want to fight, then let's compete ahead of time."
"Agreed, before we find the 'Dark Palace', we won't attack each other. Otherwise, we'll settle accounts at their door after we get out!"
"Alright, alright, got it..."
"..."
The distant whispers of the crowd were transmitted to Tu Tian's ears through the breeze. He acted as if he hadn't heard anything, continuing to focus on searching for the entrance to the "Dark Palace".
Right at this moment, a fallen leaf fluttered in the wind, silently swaying and flying towards a certain direction;
Perceiving the sudden change in the wind direction, Tu Tian's mind stirred. After opening his eyes, his gaze looked towards a certain direction...