Deadly Game: Almighty Boss’s Guide to Making Money

Chapter 1318. Echoes from the Abyss (8)

Zhao Chen immediately focused his mind, mobilized his telekinetic powers, and struck the first node of the stone gate symbol.

With a muffled thud, the stone gate trembled slightly, and the first node of the blood-red symbol lit up with a red light.

Zhao Chen triggered the remaining nodes one by one, and as the "thump, thump" sounds rang out one after another, the blood-red symbols on the stone gate became brighter and brighter.

When the last node was triggered, the stone gate emitted a heavy rumble and slowly opened inward.

A chilling aura emanated from behind the door, sending shivers down one's spine.

Bai Yueming was the first to go in.

This is a small stone chamber. In the center of the chamber is a stone table with an ancient parchment scroll on it.

The walls of the stone chamber were covered with densely packed, twisted symbols, consistent with the symbols seen earlier.

Guo Yuelang walked to the stone table and carefully picked up the parchment scroll.

The parchment scroll had yellowed, and it was covered with dense writing and some strange patterns in dark red ink.

Guo Yuelang carefully read the text above.

Ouyang Yu walked over to Guo Yuelang and examined the parchment scroll together.

"This guy actually really enjoys the sound of musical notes being struck; no wonder he's called Echoes of the Abyss," Ouyang Yu couldn't help but complain. "Should we conjure up a grand piano and play a tune for him?"

Lin Xi couldn't help but cough softly.

Tong Nian must be watching them right now, and she probably saw Ouyang Yu's comments.

"What exactly is written on the parchment?" Xin also asked.

Guo Yuelang's fingertips traced the yellowed surface of the parchment scroll, and the dark red characters seemed to come alive, wriggling slightly under the light.

"It says, 'Echoes of the Abyss, guided by sound, locked by talismans,'" he read in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the map on the parchment. "This map marks three areas, corresponding to 'Swamp of Dull Sounds,' 'Wall of Clear Sounds,' and 'Core of Resonance.' Each area requires triggering mechanisms according to a specific sequence of musical notes, otherwise a deadly trap will be triggered."

Ouyang Yu raised an eyebrow, his fingertip touching the musical note in the corner of the parchment scroll.

“Look here, besides the ‘do, mi, so, la, do, fa, mi, si’ we used before, there is also a set of reversed note sequences marked ‘silence’, which seems to be the switch to trigger the trap.”

"The previous mechanisms were unlocked by forward notes, while the reverse notes are most likely traps and should be avoided at all costs."

—Reverse note?
—A choice between two options, or you're doomed if you choose the wrong one?

—The person who designed this dungeon must be a music fanatic, there are musical note mechanisms everywhere!

—That's what Ouyang just complained about too.

So, what happened before was just the prelude?

—No, no, it should be the end, right?

—It's good to have a clue. There were so many traps ahead, we didn't even have time to react.

—How long have you all been playing the game? You haven't had a chance to rest.

Xin stood at the edge of the stone chamber, his gaze fixed on the distorted symbols on the wall.

These symbols, though seemingly random, subtly follow a certain rhythm, corresponding one-to-one with the positions of the musical notes on the parchment.

“The symbols on the wall are spaced apart and resemble the rhythm of musical notes,” she said softly. “For example, these three symbols are close together, like eighth notes, while the two that are spaced further apart are more like quarter notes.”

Following her gaze, everyone indeed discovered the pattern in the arrangement of the symbols. Bai Yueming tried gently tapping the symbol corresponding to "Do" with her toe, and a deep "thud" suddenly came from the stone chamber, the sound waves making everyone's eardrums hurt.

"Don't touch it carelessly!" He immediately withdrew his foot. "Sound waves have impact; if you press the wrong sequence, it might trigger an even stronger attack."

Just then, a "click" sound suddenly came from the top of the stone chamber.

The four stone slabs slowly rose, revealing four bronze bells, with metal plates engraved with musical notes hanging below them.

“It seems the first mechanism is here.” Huang Jingjing’s expression was solemn. “The mechanism on the parchment scroll that says ‘Swamp of Dull Sounds’ is ‘Triple Continuation,’ which requires triggering three correct notes in a row without pausing.”

Zhao Chen took a deep breath: "I'll trigger it! You guys tell me the order of the notes!"

His telekinetic powers were aimed at the first metal plate, ready to be activated at any moment.

"Do-Mi-Sol!"

Wang Yiyi immediately recited the sequence, which consisted of the first three notes used to unlock the mechanism.

With a flick of his finger, Zhao Chen triggered the first metal plate, and the bronze bell emitted a clear "ding" sound.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third metal plates were triggered in turn, and two "ding" sounds rang out in succession.

Just when everyone thought the mechanism had been unlocked, the bell suddenly emitted a piercing noise, like fingernails scratching glass. The stone chamber floor began to shake violently, and black mud gushed out from the cracks, instantly submerging their ankles.

"No, the order is wrong!" Ouyang Yu drew his silver dagger, his eyes warily fixed on the dark figure surging in the mud. "The 'three-stage sequence' on the parchment is reversed! It should be Sol, Mi, Do!"

——It’s over!
—The order is reversed!

What is black mud?
—The Swamp of Voiced Sounds?
There's something moving in the mud! Is it a monster?
—Zhao Chen, quickly trigger the reverse note!

—Meng just said that symbols correspond to beats, so shouldn't we also pay attention to rhythm?

The black mud rose extremely quickly, already reaching the calves, with countless tiny tentacles wriggling within it, attempting to entangle everyone's ankles.

Although Xin Ye had no weapon, she reacted extremely quickly. She tiptoed and jumped in time with the symbols on the wall to avoid the tentacles in the mud.

"The rhythm is wrong! It was triggered too quickly! There should be a one-second interval between notes!"

Zhao Chen immediately adjusted his movements, slowing down the force of telekinesis, and aimed at the first metal piece.

"What!"

The bell made a deep, resonant "dong," quite different from its previous crisp sound.

One second later, he triggered the second metal plate: "Meow!"

A second later, the third one: "Do!"

"Buzz—" This time, the bell no longer emitted noise, but a deep and pleasant resonance.

The tremors in the stone chamber floor ceased, the black mud began to recede, and the tentacles that had emerged from the cracks disappeared. The stone slab slowly descended, revealing a staircase leading downwards, its walls on either side etched with flowing musical notes.

"Finally right!" Wang Yi breathed a sigh of relief, cold sweat beading on her forehead. "What a hassle, the order and rhythm couldn't be wrong."

The group descended the stairs, which led to a narrow passage. The walls on both sides of the passage were inlaid with glowing musical note crystals that emitted a faint blue light.

On the ground of the passage, there is a raised stone slab every meter, with different musical notes engraved on the slabs.

“This is the mechanism of the ‘Wall of Clear Sound’,” Guo Yuelang said, pointing to the black stone wall at the end of the passage. “The parchment scroll says that you need to step on the correct musical note slabs to pass through. If you step on the wrong one, the clear sound will turn into a murky sound, triggering a sonic attack.”