Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Stone Guardians

"Thank you for your reminder!" Xiao Zhang replied with genuine sincerity. "Everything you've said, I'll remember well."

The woman in black stared deeply at him. "You're quite a strange one. After all I've said to you, aren't you angry?"

"Why would I be?" Xiao Zhang responded cheekily. "I'm a newbie, after all. When a veteran shares their experience, of course I should listen!"

The woman tilted her head and glanced at Zhao Bai. "Who is this guy to you? Did you just pull him in as a temporary teammate to make up the numbers?"

"My brother," Xiao Zhang said slowly.

"Do you realize that in a dungeon, just surviving on your own is already extremely difficult? If you have to split your focus to protect someone else, sooner or later you'll be dead."

Xiao Zhang shrugged. "That's why I have to work hard to become a master."

Zhao Bai, who had been quietly indignant, suddenly spoke up, "Master, I'm not a freeloader!"

"Alright, time for chatting is over," the woman in black waved her hand, already having sheathed her weapon. She walked to the edge of the platform and glanced at the clock. "We've got twenty minutes left."

Turning her head, she looked at Xiao Zhang. "Any suggestions?"

"Are we supposed to fly out of here?" Xiao Zhang rubbed his nose and smiled wryly.

"That's not impossible," she said with an air of seriousness, pointing to a gap in the wall opposite. "Want to give it a try?"

Xiao Zhang said nothing, thinking for a moment before asking, "Isn't there some way to stop the lava?"

The woman in black frowned at him. "Do you think it's a barrel of water? Just poke a hole and it'll drain?"

Zhao Bai thought for a moment, then pointed to a broken bridge nearby. "Under that spot seems to be hollow!"

Hearing this, the woman perked up with excitement. "There?"

Xiao Zhang was speechless. There was no way to dig through lava. "How are we supposed to hit that spot?"

The woman glanced at him as if he were an idiot. "You really are the greenest of newbies."

...

And then Xiao Zhang witnessed firsthand the formidable side of the woman in black!

She stood at the spot closest to the broken bridge, raised her sword lightly, and a streak of sword light flashed across.

With a boom, the bridge was gone.

She turned to Zhao Bai. "Did it open? Did it open?"

Zhao Bai hurriedly replied, "Missed it! Missed it!"

She swung her sword again toward the lava beneath the broken bridge, and a sharp arc of sword energy split the lava in that area.

Watching the slowly converging lava, Zhao Bai shouted, "Off target! Off target!"

The woman, seemingly annoyed, unleashed an even stronger wave of sword energy, slashing at the lava.

With a loud crash, the ground was pierced through.

She dusted off her hands, put away her sword, leaped lightly to Zhao Bai's side, and grabbed his collar. "Freeloader, are you lying to me?"

"No, not at all!" Zhao Bai didn't resist. "Master, there's just a tiny bit left that's not broken through!"

Xiao Zhang was about to speak, staring at that spot, when suddenly a small whirlpool appeared, and the lava began to drain downward.

The woman in black finally let go of Zhao Bai, a joyful smile appearing on her face. She straightened his collar and said with a laugh, "So you weren't lying to me, freeloader! Fine, just follow me later, I'll look after you!"

She must have felt the lava was draining too slowly, so she drew her weapon to strike again.

Xiao Zhang quickly followed up with a silvery slash at that spot; her actions were too loud—if other players were drawn here, they'd be in trouble.

The surrounding lava swiftly flowed into the opening, pouring into the cavity below, and the small whirlpool grew into a huge vortex.

The lava inside was dropping rapidly...

The woman in black narrowed her eyes, sizing up Xiao Zhang. "Looks like you've got some skills, kid!"

She paused, then patted Xiao Zhang's shoulder hard. "Your name is Xiao Zhang, right? I forgot to tell you earlier... My name is Lia Picasso."

Picasso? Like the painter? But Xiao Zhang didn't press further; it wasn't right to interrogate someone you'd just met.

After waiting about twenty or thirty minutes, the lava finally drained, revealing the bottom.

Lia leapt from the platform and swiftly ran to the spot she'd pointed out to Xiao Zhang earlier. Peering inside, she withdrew and smiled, "As expected, it's an exit!"

Xiao Zhang breathed a sigh of relief and called Zhao Bai over.

When Xiao Zhang looked at the opening, it seemed quite large from the outside, but once inside, he found the tunnel neither spacious nor short; it sloped upward and its length was unclear. He took out his flashlight, about to step forward, but Lia stopped him. "What are you doing?"

Xiao Zhang was startled by the question. "Going out, what else?"

"Wait, let me test it first!" Lia tossed in a dragonfly-like device.

After two minutes, Lia said, "Let's go, stick close behind me."

Xiao Zhang glanced at her and thought for a moment. "Alright."

Lia ducked into the tunnel first. Xiao Zhang deliberately had Zhao Bai go ahead, choosing to stay at the rear.

The tunnel was extremely long, winding and twisting, sometimes going up, sometimes down, left and right, as if navigating a maze. Xiao Zhang estimated he'd fallen at least a hundred meters, and with all the turns, the tunnel must stretch several kilometers to the exit.

It grew narrower, eventually only wide enough for one person, forcing them to crouch—Xiao Zhang struggled, and Zhao Bai, being bigger, had it even worse. Xiao Zhang watched Zhao Bai crawl for nearly half an hour.

"Reached the end," Lia called from ahead, pushing a round stone slab aside with both hands. Pale moonlight spilled in, and Lia slipped out, followed quickly by Xiao Zhang and Zhao Bai.

As soon as they emerged, the scene outside left Xiao Zhang and Zhao Bai both stunned!

Even Lia stood quietly at the side, gazing intently ahead...

"This...this..." Xiao Zhang drew a sharp breath, "It's enormous!"

Right in front of them stood a colossal humanoid stone statue!

Xiao Zhang estimated the giant was at least ten meters tall; under the moonlight, he saw that nearly all the figures around them were such massive statues.

Zhao Bai checked his system with a jolt—these creatures were, incredibly, just minor monsters.