Deadly Game: Almighty Boss’s Guide to Making Money

Chapter 1315. Echoes from the Abyss (5)

"Quick! Follow me!"

Guo Yuelang put away the light shield and took the lead in running towards the end of the space.

The group followed closely behind, and the poisonous insects beneath their feet all gave way. A barrier formed by sound waves unfolded around them, and the poisonous insects dared not approach.

But just as they reached the center of the space, the sound waves suddenly weakened, the last note of the music fell, and the light on the stone slab gradually dimmed.

"Oh no, the sound waves are about to disappear!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the poisonous insects that had been retreating surged forward again.

Moreover, this time they were faster and their shells were darker, clearly having adapted to the previous sound wave frequencies.

"Zhao Chen, trigger it again!" Huang Jingjing said.

Just as Zhao Chen was about to make a move, he discovered that the patterns on the stone slab had disappeared, indicating that the mechanism could only be triggered once.

"It's no use! The mechanism has failed!" Zhao Chen said urgently.

Ouyang Yu's eyes darkened.

"Everyone, stick together and move forward. Xin Xin and I will lead the way, Teacher Huang will protect those behind us, Feng Xi and Wang Yi will take care of the flanks, Xiao Mu will keep an eye on the live stream, and Xiao Qin will use the speed-delay card to stall for time!"

Everyone immediately adjusted their formation.

However, there were simply too many poisonous insects, and even with a clear division of labor, everyone gradually found it difficult to work.

Lin Xi shone her flashlight towards the end of the space and finally saw that what stood there was not a sculpture, but a high platform.
On the high platform stood a bronze bell, its body engraved with the same twisted symbols as those on the rock walls of the passage.

“The bronze bell on the high platform!” Lin Xi said, pondering. “Would the poisonous insects disperse if the bell were rung?”

"I'll trigger it!"

As Zhao Chen spoke, he used telekinesis again, pressing the invisible force towards the symbols on the bronze bell.

When the first symbol was touched, the bronze bell emitted a muffled "hum," the sound waves becoming stronger than before, and large swarms of poisonous insects around it vanished.

Zhao Chen then pressed the second and third symbols.

The bronze bell rang louder and louder, and the shockwaves from the sound waves echoed throughout the space. The poisonous insects seemed to have encountered their natural enemy and fled in all directions. Some even self-destructed, splashing black liquid on the ground and emitting a pungent odor.

Just as Zhao Chen was about to touch the last symbol, the bronze bell suddenly vibrated violently, and the symbols on the bell lit up with red light.

The venomous insects that had been fleeing suddenly changed direction and swarmed wildly toward the platform. They no longer avoided the sound waves, but instead rammed their bodies against the platform, trying to stop Zhao Chen from ringing the bronze bell.

"Oh no! Poisonous insects are stopping us!" Feng Xi shouted.

The white jade slabs below the platform began to crack, and the impact of poisonous insects made the platform teeter on the verge of collapse.

Zhao Chen's telekinesis was interfered with, his power became unstable, and he failed to touch the last symbol several times.

"Aim at the center of the symbol! Go all out!" Xin also reminded in a deep voice.

Zhao Chen nodded, concentrated his mind, focused all his strength on his fingertips, and slapped towards the center of the last symbol.

"Boom-"

The bronze bell emitted a deafening roar, the sound waves transforming into golden ripples that swept across the entire space. All the poisonous insects, impacted by the golden ripples, instantly turned into black smoke and vanished without a trace.

The black liquid was evaporated by the sound waves, and the pungent smell disappeared, restoring brightness to the space.

The moment the poisonous insects vanished, the golden sound waves turned into specks of light, slowly settling in the air. Zhao Chen slumped onto the white jade slab, his chest heaving violently. He had almost exhausted his mental energy while fighting off the poisonous insects, and now the dense, persistent insect shadows still lingered before his eyes.

"Phew... I finally survived." Feng Xi let out a long sigh of relief. "This insect is really troublesome, it's a nightmare."

Huang Jingjing treated Xin Ye's scraped arm, and Xin Ye smiled but couldn't help but joke.

"Luckily, Yi Yi remembered the notes, otherwise we might have been eaten away to the bone by now."

Wang Yi's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said with a wry smile, "I was lucky. When I was trapped under the rock with nothing to do, I memorized the sound. I never thought it would actually come in handy."

—Is this Meng Ye's first time entering a dungeon?
—That's incredibly calm.

—Although I didn't do much, I really didn't hold anyone back.

—Think about the two people I met in the last instance who had just gone through the trial. One was so arrogant that he didn't know who he was, and the other was extremely timid.

—Not bad, the timid one is getting better slowly.

—Is this a trial for Meng Ye? Isn't this her first time entering?

—Help! I got goosebumps all over when the poisonous insects swarmed over!
—Has anyone noticed that after the poisonous insects disappeared, there seemed to be steps below the platform?

Lin Xi happened to catch a glimpse of this comment and immediately raised his flashlight to shine it down from the platform.

Sure enough, a winding stone staircase appeared in the corner that had been hidden by the poisonous insects.

The stone steps are made of bluish-black rocks, covered with moss, and look slippery and difficult to walk on.

At the end of the stone steps is a small stone arch bridge, with intricate cloud patterns carved on its body and lifelike crane carvings on the railings.

However, the crane's eyes glowed with a faint red light, giving it an indescribable eeriness.

“There are steps and a bridge!” Lin Xi said softly. “It should be the path to the next level.”

Ouyang Yu stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "Everyone, check your equipment and organize your props. This bridge looks complicated, so make sure you're well-prepared before you set off."

Guo Yuelang stepped onto the stone steps first. The moss was indeed slippery, and he paused slightly, mobilizing his internal energy to stabilize himself.

Reaching the head of the arched bridge, he reached out and touched the rocks on the bridge. His fingertips felt a cold, hard texture; the rocks were extremely dense and did not appear to be naturally formed.

"Watch your step, everyone, the stone steps are slippery," he reminded them as he turned around, before stepping onto the bridge.

The moment his foot touched the bridge surface, a hissing sound suddenly came from below the arch bridge.

Immediately afterwards, a narrow crack appeared in the ground, and a stream of black gas shot out from it, carrying a strong sulfurous smell that made people cough.

"It's gas!" Huang Jingjing's expression changed drastically, and she immediately covered her mouth and nose. "This concentration of gas will explode with just a tiny spark!"

Startled, Wang Yiyi quickly stuffed the Flame Card back into her pocket, saying with lingering fear, "I'd better put it away first. What if I accidentally say the word 'fire' and we all turn into kebabs!"

Guo Yuelang's eyes narrowed, and he immediately activated teleportation, trying to retreat back to the stone steps.

But those black gas clouds seemed to have a life of their own, closely following his figure. No matter where he teleported, the gas clouds followed him like a shadow, and their size grew larger and larger, gradually enveloping the entire arch bridge.

“Gas can track living things!” Guo Yuelang said. “This bridge is impassable, quickly find another way!”

Lin Xi immediately used his flashlight to scan the surroundings. His gaze swept over both sides of the platform and he suddenly discovered two hidden depressions. Each depression contained a narrow passage, and at the end of each passage was a bridge.

"There are two more passages here, one with a wooden bridge on the left and a stone bridge on the right."