Chapter 156: Arrival at the Third Survival Zone

You are now my master.

After saying this, Moonlight went down on one knee and looked at Xiyan with absolute devotion. This scene left Xiyan somewhat bewildered.

To think that Moonlight had actually acknowledged him as her master! He could not tell whether bringing this instance dungeon along with him would prove to be a blessing or a curse. Why did he have a persistent feeling that Moonlight had deliberately unloaded this dungeon onto him?

However, since Moonlight had already submitted to him as her master, he could not simply ignore her. Xiyan reached out, helped Moonlight to her feet, and said with a beaming smile, "I will treat you well."

Although Xiyan's words were entirely proper on the surface, they somehow sounded slightly peculiar when spoken aloud. Moonlight's face flushed a delicate shade of pink upon hearing them, while Qingyan felt a sudden, oppressive tightness in her chest.

Once accepted by Xiyan, Moonlight stood up and gave a wave of her hand. The amusement park dungeon instantly returned to normal, and all the survival challengers were restored to their previous positions, while the spectator zone vanished completely.

Qingyan appeared before the two of them. She looked at them with a heavy heart, yet she had no idea what to say.

At that moment, Bai Yuan came running over in a breathless rush from a distance. Without even exchanging pleasantries, he began to lecture Xiyan relentlessly.

"Are you out of your mind? You actually went to challenge the leaderboard! Do you have any idea—what do you mean by blinking at me? It's useless even if you blink, you—"

The more Bai Yuan spoke, the more abnormal he felt, because he noticed that Xiyan kept blinking at him while maintaining a smile at the corners of his mouth. The entire atmosphere felt thoroughly wrong.

Only then did Bai Yuan notice that there was a woman dressed in white standing right behind Xiyan.

Looking at the woman's silhouette, Bai Yuan found her somewhat familiar. However, because the woman's face was concealed, he could not be certain of her identity.

Just as Bai Yuan was feeling perplexed, Moonlight stepped out from behind Xiyan and offered Bai Yuan a gentle smile.

Upon catching sight of Moonlight, Bai Yuan froze for a moment before turning completely blank. He whipped his head around to stare at Xiyan and asked, "She... you..."

Xiyan smiled, took a step to Bai Yuan's side, and quietly recounted everything that had just transpired.

When Bai Yuan finished listening, the single word "shock" was all that could adequately describe his state of mind.

Xiyan had actually subdued this instance dungeon? Xiyan had made Moonlight acknowledge him as her master?

Countless question marks surfaced in Bai Yuan's mind. No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not believe that Xiyan was capable of reaching such lengths.

Bai Yuan raised his head to look at Xiyan, then glanced back at Moonlight, who wore a gentle smile. Not a single trace of menace or manipulation could be detected on Moonlight's face. Instead, it radiated complete and utter heartfelt submission.

It was not as though no one had ever discovered Moonlight before, and Moonlight had even performed actions identical to today's in the past. Yet, not a single survival challenger had ever been able to make her willingly yield and hand over a dungeon.

At that moment, Bai Yuan's estimation of Xiyan rose to a whole new level. Xiyan had actually managed to make Moonlight go this far.

"Alright, we can discuss the rest later. Since the dungeon now belongs to me, what about our wager..." Xiyan left his sentence unfinished, stopping right there as he looked at Bai Yuan with a teasing smile.

Bai Yuan gave a helpless, resigned chuckle and shook his head. "I will naturally honor our agreement. However, since this dungeon now belongs to you, there is no longer any need for me to continue selling strategy guides here. Let us head outside. We can talk about everything once we are out."

Xiyan nodded, then turned his gaze toward Moonlight. Catching his look, Moonlight gave a soft, gentle nod, and with a wave of her hand, the scenery before them instantly shifted.

A flash of brilliant white light swept across their eyes. Once the light faded, all the survival challengers within the dungeon found themselves back on the solid ground of the Eighth Survival Zone.

Whether it was Moonlight's doing or not, everyone who left the dungeon was separated into individual arrivals, and their drop locations across the Eighth Survival Zone were entirely random.

Only the three of them remained together, standing right next to the service area of the Eighth Survival Zone. A walk of just a few minutes would bring them straight to it.

Realizing that he had successfully left the dungeon, Bai Yuan felt a lingering sense of sentimentality, having spent such a long time selling strategies inside.

"Sir, we are near the service area. Shall we head over there?" Xiyan proposed.

He had expected Bai Yuan to readily agree, as it was a sensible suggestion—a service area was bound to be far safer than the outside.

Instead, Bai Yuan immediately shot down the proposal. "No, we can only discuss this matter inside the service area of the Third Survival Zone."

Bai Yuan's stern expression aroused Xiyan's curiosity. Why was this place unsuitable, whereas the Third Survival Zone would work?

Bai Yuan was quite reasonable, and without waiting for Xiyan to ask, he explained directly, "The Third Survival Zone belongs to me, but I simply do not trust this Eighth Survival Zone ruled by Kela."

Xiyan was rather astonished upon hearing this. There were only nine survival zones in total; how was it that wherever he went, he seemed to run into the masters of these nine zones?

"Very well." Xiyan agreed to his idea without any further hesitation.

After all, staying wherever he was made no difference to him at the moment. What he truly needed to do was investigate the origin of the survival zones. How had the survival zones actually come into existence? And why did they resemble a game so closely?

"Alright, to demonstrate my sincerity, I will cover all the transit points required for our departure."

Xiyan nodded, not declining Bai Yuan's kind offer. After all, saving points was always wise, even though he considered himself somewhat well-off by now.

However, Qingyan was still with him, and Xiyan could not possibly disregard her feelings, so he turned to ask for her opinion.

Naturally, Qingyan had no intention of parting ways with Xiyan. Thus, although she was somewhat reluctant—primarily because she found Bai Yuan rather intimidating—she still agreed to accompany Xiyan on the journey.

Shortly after, the group arrived beside the teleportation array. A single teleportation array could accommodate up to five people at a time, allowing them all to leave together.

Bai Yuan paid the points, and the teleportation array activated. The transit process was identical to their previous journey from the Ninth Survival Zone to the Eighth Survival Zone, with no discernible differences.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the teleportation array of the Third Survival Zone.

Unlike the Eighth Survival Zone, this Third Survival Zone looked nothing short of paradise.

The entire environment of the Eighth Survival Zone had appeared gloomy, murky, and somewhat terrifying, whereas the Third Survival Zone was filled with the sounds of chirping birds and fragrant flowers, enjoying eternal spring. It was a literal paradise!

Staring at this borderland, Xiyan froze in place.

Before coming here, he had imagined countless versions of what the Third Survival Zone might look like, but never in his wildest dreams had he anticipated that it would resemble this.

Seeing Xiyan lost in a daze, Bai Yuan smiled with a sense of quiet satisfaction and said to him, "Do not be fooled by how beautiful and pleasant it appears. The level of danger here is no less than that of any other among the Nine Survival Zones."

Bai Yuan's words struck like a basin of cold water, instantly snapping Xiyan back to reality.

Indeed, this was a survival zone; there was no such thing as a paradise. Everything before them was undoubtedly nothing more than a beautiful trap!