Don't provoke mentally ill people in the infinite flow genre!

Yi Zanglan walked along the stone steps into the depths of the dark passage. At first, the passage was quite spacious, but it became narrower and narrower as she walked, barely enough to accommodate one person.

The passageway was dimly lit, with only a faint light from an unknown source that could barely illuminate the nearby area.

She groped her way forward, feeling the icy seawater gradually rising beneath her, until it was up to her knees in an instant.

...until she finally reached the end of the secret passage, where a damp stone wall blocked her way, so she stared intently at it.

On the stone wall is a sliding puzzle similar to Huarong Road, a 6×6 square chessboard with an exit at the bottom.

Judging from the scattered patterns on the puzzle pieces, this is probably a topographical map of Chaoyu Island. She can only obtain the item by moving the puzzle pieces to complete the map.

It wasn't actually that difficult, but just as she was about to start, she suddenly heard a soft sound and a stone wall fell down from above, instantly obscuring half of the chessboard.

With the chessboard obstructed, she could no longer continue the puzzle, and at the same time, the water level beneath her rose again, soon reaching her waist.

Yi Zanglan calmed down and reached out to search around, but found no extra mechanisms, and the stone wall could not be lifted on its own.

This means that she cannot change the situation on her own and can only wait patiently.

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait too long. She heard another friction sound, and the stone wall slowly rose while the water level dropped a little.

She paused instinctively, then suddenly seemed to understand something. Her expression turned serious, and she immediately and decisively began to rapidly adjust the positions of the puzzle pieces.

……

At this very moment, in the other secret passage, Yan Zhao was gritting his teeth, struggling against the huge, heavy stone sphere in front of him.

The stone ball rolled out from the depths, almost blocking the entire passage. After some trial and error, she discovered that as long as she kept pushing the stone ball back to the end, the light in the dark passage would become dimmer and dimmer, and the water level beneath her would rise accordingly.

The more she pushed forward, the stronger the resistance became. When she finally pushed the stone ball to the end, the water level reached her neck, just half an inch away from submerging her mouth and nose.

A suffocating feeling washed over Yan Zhao, forcing him to tiptoe to catch his breath for even a moment.

Just as she was about to relax and rest for a moment, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind:

No, am I just here to push the ball? If so, what's the point or meaning of this?

unless……

I'm just a support; the real task of obtaining the items is on Yi Zanglan's side.

Perhaps her environment is the opposite of Yi Zanglan's; as the light brightens on her side, it darkens on the other side; similarly, as the water level drops on her side, it rises on the other side.

Therefore, she needs to withstand the pressure and create the conditions for Yi Zanglan to complete the mission.

Yes, that's it.

Yan Zhao silently confirmed her judgment. She immediately held her breath, exerted all her strength, and pushed the stone ball back to the end of the secret passage.

Time passed second by second, perhaps not for very long, but it was already enough torment for both of them.

The puzzle pieces are heavy, and moving them up, down, left, and right requires considerable effort. Unfortunately, Yi Canglan's left shoulder and right hand are severely injured, and her strength is greatly impaired. The ever-increasing pain is an even greater challenge.

Blood dripped into waist-deep seawater, creating gentle ripples. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her expression calm, and her hands continued their work without pause.

At the same moment, Yan Zhao, who had been in a suffocating environment for a long time, was almost exhausted. He suddenly choked on several mouthfuls of water, and his lungs began to feel like they were being pricked with needles.

She tried to summon the Claws of Fury to aid her, but the weapon malfunctioned, presumably because it wasn't a combat situation.

Whether it was seawater or sweat, it was clear that water was dripping from her forehead, wetting her entire face. She remained firmly in the water, her eyes resolute, without taking a single step back.

* * * * * *

When Yi Zanglan put all thirty-five Huarong Road puzzle pieces back in place, a complete map of Chaoyu Island appeared before her. Then, a small blue pearl rolled out from the bottom exit.

She grabbed the pearl and immediately turned and ran back the way she came.

On the other side, the giant stone sphere shattered into pieces without warning, the seawater rose high and the current was rapid, instantly submerging Yan Zhao completely.

Propelled by this force, Yan Zhao bounced back and forth against the stone wall. She held her breath, moved her limbs to maintain her balance, and desperately swam towards the exit.

……

Yi Zanglan pushed the door open again and quickly went around to the secret passage next to it. She saw that seawater was constantly gushing out of the nearby stone platform, which looked like it had been completely filled.

An ominous premonition arose within her, her eyes narrowed, and she jumped down almost instantly.

The seawater reached her head, and she couldn't see anything. She could only move forward by instinct until she seemed to touch something.

...That was Yan Zhao's hand, she was certain.

The two quickly grabbed each other's wrists underwater, their fingers tightening to form an extremely secure knot.

Yi Zanglan decisively changed direction, dragging Yan Zhao forward. She leaped to the surface, using her arms for support, and with her other hand, she pulled Yan Zhao into her arms.

The two of them fell onto the stone platform together.

As soon as fresh air entered her lungs, Yan Zhao felt a sharp pain. She leaned against Yi Zanglan's chest, bent over, and vomited, coughing up large amounts of seawater.

Yi Zanglan gently patted her back to help her regulate her breathing. When Yan Zhao finally calmed down a bit, she looked up, panting heavily.

"Why did you jump? What if we both die inside?"

"We won't die in there," Yi Zanglan replied slowly. "Black Wind Stronghold will still need us to work together to build it up in the future. It would be shameful to die in such a small place, and it wouldn't suit your character as the second leader."

"..." Yan Zhao was both amused and annoyed, then asked, "Did you get any props?"

"Got it," Yi Zanglan said. "The other secret passage requires completing a Huarong Road puzzle piece. How about yours?"

"I'm going to push the stone ball to the end of the passage, which I suspect might directly affect your puzzle progress."

"Indeed, otherwise the stone wall on my side would block the puzzle pieces, and the water level is also rising."

Both sides must cooperate seamlessly to obtain the item as soon as possible; any hesitation or slackening on either side could lead to failure.

Yan Zhao was stunned for a long time, as if recalling something from a long time ago, and then suddenly spoke.

"Hey, do you remember when we were on a mission at Qingyang Prison, you were in charge of pulling the rope and I was in charge of the puzzle—now it's all reversed."

"But you still did a great job."

She laughed heartily, rarely showing her emotions, and suddenly felt an indescribable joy in her heart. She immediately reached out and hugged Yi Zanglan tightly.

"Really? Like you said, I've always been amazing."

Yi Zanglan smiled and hugged her back, then gently rubbed her wet hair.

"Of course."

The two embraced in the cold wind that swept across the cliff. The dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and a ray of morning light shone through the clouds onto the stone platform.