Chapter 58: No Room for Slackers

Page (1/3)

"Hey? What are you looking at?" Xiao Zhang frowned.

The woman didn't answer.

"How did you get in here?"

Still, no response.

"Is there no way out?"

Silence again.

But finally, the young woman lifted her head, her slender eyes casting Xiao Zhang a sidelong glance. "Can you be quiet for a moment?"

"..."

Xiao Zhang was at a loss for words.

At that moment, Zhao Bai finally managed to get up, but upon seeing the woman dressed in black, he immediately collapsed to the side and began to vomit.

The woman was clearly annoyed now, though she continued to suppress her irritation.

A thought flashed through Xiao Zhang's mind, and he asked tentatively, "Did you come here to look for materials as well?"

A hint of surprise crossed the young woman's face. "Are you here for the same reason?"

"No, we just want to get through this dungeon smoothly," Xiao Zhang frowned. "Everyone's trapped here now. Wouldn't it be better to talk it over? Are you an awakened one from a squad? Or part of an organization?"

The young woman furrowed her brows but didn't answer. She stared at the treasure map for a moment and muttered under her breath, "Where on earth is the White Dragon..."

Xiao Zhang was startled, and then his eyes lit up. "You mean the White Dragon?"

"I saw a stone dragon earlier. Is that what you're looking for?"

"Forget it, we should figure out how to get out! Otherwise, we'll all end up trapped here!"

From the side, Zhao Bai shouted, "Xiao Zhang, the lava's rising!"

What?

Xiao Zhang's heart skipped a beat. He rushed to the platform's edge and looked down. Sure enough, the lava was slowly climbing higher.

"What do we do now!" Zhao Bai panicked again. "What should we do?"

The woman in black gave Zhao Bai a strange look, then snorted, "Why are you yelling? Instead of panicking, shouldn't we be figuring out how to escape? Have the awakened organizations lowered their standards for recruitment so much?"

Heh.

Xiao Zhang quickly leaned over the platform's edge and said rapidly, "At this rate, the lava will swallow this place in less than an hour!"

The woman in black said coolly, "We have at most forty minutes before the lava reaches the platform beneath our feet."

Forty minutes?

Page (2/3)

Xiao Zhang's expression turned grim. "Forty minutes?"

The woman in black snorted, "At most forty minutes!"

"They're here! Xiao Zhang, we're surrounded by mobs!" Zhao Bai suddenly noticed countless red dots appearing on his map.

The woman in black glanced at Zhao Bai, her brows furrowed. "This guy's map still works?"

"He's a newbie," Xiao Zhang said, drawing his weapon and preparing for battle. "Let's fight!"

Zhao Bai drew his weapon as well. "Yeah."

The woman in black pulled her double swords from the ground. "Let's fight, then!"

Before she finished speaking, creatures wreathed in flame emerged from the lava.

Lava monsters, over a meter long and resembling wild dogs, leapt onto the platform one after another.

Clearly, their target was Xiao Zhang and his companions.

With a flick of her double swords, the woman in black was the first to charge. "If you don't want to die, fight! Don't expect me to help you!"

Her movement was incredibly agile; in a few steps she was beside a lava hound, slicing it cleanly in half. The creature melted into a puddle of lava on the platform.

More lava hounds lunged at her, but with a few swift turns and slashes, she dispatched every one that came near her.

Xiao Zhang stared in awe.

The woman in black turned her head coldly. "Have you watched enough? If so, start fighting!"

Xiao Zhang grinned, quickly telling Zhao Bai, "Stay behind me!"

He brandished his Spider Cutter and began attacking the lava hounds coming from another direction.

The defenses of these creatures were surprisingly low. Xiao Zhang felled them one by one, so quickly that Zhao Bai could barely find a chance to strike.

"Not as weak as I thought," came the voice of the woman in black from behind. Xiao Zhang turned and saw her standing a few meters away, the ground littered with molten puddles; she'd already cleared the monsters on her side.

Xiao Zhang glared, about to speak, but the woman broke into a smile. "Careful, more are coming."

Xiao Zhang hurriedly turned and saw three more hounds leap toward him. He let out a shout and executed a Silver Slash, taking all three down at once.

"Not bad," the woman said with a bright smile, watching Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang said nothing. He was already aware—he'd clearly encountered someone formidable.

Page (3/3)

"Your skills aren't so bad," the woman in black said with a dismissive wave. "From the look of you, you're a rookie. For a rookie to handle things this well is impressive. Hmm, you barely qualify to be my temporary teammate. Tell me your name, newbie."

"Xiao Zhang... And you?"

"What about me? What about me?" Zhao Bai chimed in from the side.

The woman in black smiled. "Sorry, I don't accept freeloaders~"

Zhao Bai: ⊙﹏⊙

Xiao Zhang: (゜▽゜)

"As for my name—" she was about to speak, but suddenly paused.

Xiao Zhang's expression changed. His system had just received a new message.

System prompt: Dungeon 100% unlocked. Players will enter in five minutes.

Five minutes...

Pla! Yer! Entry!

Xiao Zhang's expression shifted as he looked at the woman in black. She furrowed her brows, her slender eyes narrowing, "It's about to begin, isn't it?"

While Zhao Bai was still upset about being called a freeloader by the beauty, Xiao Zhang was growing anxious—not for himself, but for Mo Xiaoxiao and Tu Shanbai.

The woman's gaze seemed to change, a faint glimmer flashing in her narrowed eyes. She pursed her lips into a smile and turned to Xiao Zhang. "Nervous?"

Xiao Zhang curled the corner of his mouth.

"Kid, how many dungeons have you been through?" The woman seemed genuinely curious about Xiao Zhang.

"Why are you so sure I'm a newbie?"

She laughed, her eyes curving into crescents. "Because you feel like a rookie to me—sorry to hurt your feelings."

"..."

Xiao Zhang said nothing.

"Reason?"

"Who gets distracted during a fight just because someone says something?"

Xiao Zhang listened carefully, waiting for her to finish. He nodded. "Anything else?"

"Anything else?" The woman in black thought for a moment, then said slowly, "When you enter an unfamiliar environment, don't run around blindly. Get a sense of the terrain first. You came straight over to me. If I had malicious intent, your body would have been cleared from the system by now. Seasoned awakened ones, when encountering others in a dungeon, their first reaction is to stay guarded, in case someone means harm. You strolled right over to me. If I wanted to kill you..."