The highly aggressive plague dogs and prison guards, Dr. Liu who appears to be a two-headed monster, and the immortal prisoners all lead Lu Shi to suspect that the owner of this laboratory is the Demon Lord.
If any demonic sect possessed a technique that granted immortality, it would probably have unified the cultivation world long ago.
As he grabbed the lab doorknob, Lu Shi quietly took out a banana peel and calmly pushed open the door.
After all, no matter how dangerous the laboratory is, if he wants to pass the test, he has no choice but to go in and find out.
However, Lu Shi was unaware that a small incident was about to occur in the live stream.
Silver Hall
Red Spider is back, with another man in black standing beside him.
He used some kind of prop from the store to make his face invisible.
However, the other players could still guess that this must be a high-level player.
"I told you, our streamer would definitely be recruited by these big shots. His mental fortitude throughout this whole process has been terrifying!"
"That's true, his sanity level is like a bug, it never changes! And he can always make the best decision in a short time, it's really outrageous!"
"Anyone who would stab themselves to death without hesitation is not a normal person!"
The man in black next to Red Spider ignored the ordinary players; he stared intently at Lu Shi on the small screen, somewhat puzzled.
"How did he end up here?"
Red Spider found this player in their own guild: a player who had cleared the Plague Prison hidden dungeon.
But she hadn't expected that the other person hadn't even figured out the map. "You've never been here before?"
“The map does indicate that there is a laboratory on the third floor,” the man in black paused and said softly, “but after I killed that boss named Dr. Liu on the second floor, it told me that I had completed the game.”
"And what about your exploration progress?" Red Spider asked expressionlessly, while glancing at Lu Shi out of the corner of her eye, her desire only intensified.
"Hmm..." The expert player who frequented the Golden Hall suddenly felt embarrassed: "It seems there are only 20?"
"Let's see how he clears the game!" After saying this, Red Spider gave Lu Shi a gift worth 5,000 popularity points.
In an instant, Lu Shi's ranking soared into the top five.
The man in black grunted in agreement, but he was somewhat unconvinced. He was just a newbie who had only cleared one dungeon; even the leader couldn't blindly believe he could clear it!
...
Lu Shi was unaware of all this, since the game stipulated that discussions about the dungeon's storyline would be muted. Furthermore, Lu Shi hadn't even turned on the live chat.
He simply thanked Red Spider for the gift and remembered the somewhat unusual name.
Yes, the system warned us to treat these big-spending viewers well. They might save your life when you're about to die.
When he pushed open the laboratory door, he encountered neither the monster that had attacked him nor any object that controlled his mind.
Everything was normal here; it felt like he was home.
"Something's not right." Lu Shi was extremely vigilant. As the only place in the entire instance that he hadn't explored, and a key location for all the plot points, how could it be so safe?
The huge laboratory didn't even have a bed, only a row of dust-covered electronic devices that Lu Shi had never seen before.
This room must have been unoccupied for a long time; Lu Shi could only smell the dust and grime of being sealed away.
Perhaps I should use the skill again, Lu Shi thought.
Lu Shi's current stamina is 11/90. After using the skill, he will only have a little stamina left.
However, from Lu Shi's perspective, there's not much difference between 1 point of stamina and 11 points; both are easily dealt with by the monster on the second floor with a single claw strike.
Having figured this out, Lu Shi used the skill [Insight] without hesitation.
A glint flashed in his eyes.
In an instant, a blue light flickered in one of the otherwise dull and gray laboratory rooms.
The skill was fleeting, and Lu Shi walked up to the electronic device that had just glowed.
It was a computer, but unfortunately, Lu Shi didn't recognize it.
A note from the author:
OOC Mini-Drama:
The Demon Lord, who had never seen anything like it: A computer? What is a computer? Can it be used to refine pills?
A certain sugar daddy, who hasn't even appeared yet: Man, you're really funny! I'm going to lease out a whole computer mall for you! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2022-04-30 03:11:15 and 2022-05-01 04:14:39!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 15
☪ True Plague Prison
“This is…” Lu Shi stared warily at the old-fashioned, bulky desktop computer. In his eyes, it seemed like a well-disguised monster.
Since his skills told him that this thing was the key to breaking the deadlock, Lu Shi also had to figure out what it was.
At this moment, Lu Shi should probably be grateful that he has lost his spiritual energy, otherwise the first thing he would do would definitely be to burn this big and heavy iron box with ghost fire.
From Lu Shi's perspective, it was like an egg hatched by some kind of monster, and what he had to do was pry it open.
So Lu Shi decided to pat it with his hand.
[Live Stream Room]
The audience looked at each other, completely at a loss for words.
The man in black, who had just been admiring Lu Shi, now covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.
Is this the person Sister Hong asked me to learn from?
Something feels off!
Red Spider, being a top-tier expert, narrowed her eyes and began to analyze quickly:
"He's a very cautious person."
When the expert spoke up, the ordinary players nearby immediately crowded around.
"In a copy where even a dog can mutate, the sudden appearance of such an obvious computer makes it reasonable to suspect that it is contaminant."
"There would definitely be danger if he turned on the computer rashly... but why did he even touch it?"
"Could it be..." Red Spider racked her brains, but couldn't come up with a reason. But she was certain that Lu Shi must have a reason for doing this.
With Red Spider taking the lead, the players around him pooled their wisdom and seemed to be playing a game called "Guessing the Streamer's Moves."
"I get it!" a female player exclaimed excitedly. "Doesn't our Demon Lord know Taoist magic? Maybe he's exorcising a demon! Think about those sages on TV who exorcise ghosts by slapping people on the forehead!"
"Oh, that makes so much sense!"
When the players looked at Lu Shi, it seemed as if his image had grown even taller.
[Inside the instance]
"Hey, system, what's this?" Lu Shi asked.
However, that all-knowing system is now silent.
He squinted, perhaps he could ask the group of "audience".
Just as Lu Shi was about to speak, the long black box (the main unit) next to the iron box that he had been ignoring suddenly lit up.
If our Demon Lord hadn't been mindful of maintaining his persona, he would have almost smashed the computer with a single slap.
"So it really is possible to open it with a tap?" Lu Shi stroked his chin, feeling quite pleased with himself. "I am truly intelligent."
Lu Shi had actually guessed that this was some kind of new thing he didn't understand, but he didn't know how to use it. Now that he had stumbled upon it by accident, Lu Shi had clearly misunderstood something.
Fortunately, this was not important for him to clear the dungeon. When he saw the green background and small icons appear on the originally black screen, Lu Shi was quite shocked.
As for the fleeting glimpse of Windows 95, Lu Shi completely ignored it.
What is this? Lu Shi stared at the glowing computer screen. Was this a monster's face? No, could it be some kind of luminous treasure?
When Lu Shi realized that the thing hadn't attacked him, his mind gradually calmed down.
The mouse next to him was too conspicuous, not to mention that it had a cable connected to the computer, making even an old-fashioned person like Lu Shi understand that he should put his hand on it.
Lu Shi's dawdling movements were quickly interpreted by the audience outside as him casting a spell before touching each item.
"Our Demon Lord is far too cautious!"
...
The cool mouse lay in Lu Shi's palm, and as he moved the mouse according to his sense of touch, the cursor on the screen moved accordingly.
Lu Shi wasn't stupid; he quickly realized that the rat-like object in his palm could control the white cursor on the screen.
The computer desktop was very simple. Apart from the necessary software, only two folders caught Lu Shi's attention.
[Prisoner Information Integration]
[Research Log]
The document repeatedly mentioned what Dr. Liu was researching. So when Lu Shi saw this folder, he immediately realized that the contents were very important.
So Lu Shi moved the mouse over it.
Without being taught, Lu Shi cleverly realized that he needed to click the mouse. If it didn't work the first time, he tried the second time and quickly figured out how to open the file by double-clicking.
The folder was filled with files categorized by date, and Lu Shi quickly found the records for the first day.
The moment he opened it, Lu Shi felt as if his head was about to explode, and he felt extremely uncomfortable.
I regret it.
This is making a deal with the devil.
I have sold my soul!
But as long as it brings them punishment, I... I'm willing!
Lu Shi stared at the screen, his mood quite calm.
In the Demon Lord's understanding, demons should be monsters. These strange creatures, whose origins are unknown, do actually exist in this world? Lu Shi pondered for a moment, then opened the records for the second day:
[The first experimenter made a mistake.]