"Do we go in?" Zheng Zhuliu turned his head to Fang Ming, waiting for his answer.
Fang Ming took a deep breath, still hesitant. He had no choice but to ask Nannan beside him, "Nannan, can you sense the strength of the Sha seeds behind us?"
"No, I can only vaguely feel something behind the door. It's quite far from us, and my perception isn't very clear, but its strength is indeed very strong," Nannan said after closing her eyes for a moment and then opening them.
"A bit... far?" Fang Ming rubbed his chin and asked No. 1, who was hiding in the corner, "Do you know what's going on on the eighth floor?"
No. 1 scratched his head, "I don't know either. I've always stayed below the seventh floor and never came up. I'm not clear about what's upstairs."
Forget it, Fang Ming sighed. He had to go up to the eighth floor sooner or later. Instead of agonizing over it, he might as well go up and see.
"Let's go up and take a look. We have to go up sooner or later anyway." Fang Ming stepped forward and pushed open the large door, revealing a dark staircase before them.
"Let's go." Fang Ming led the way, with Nannan closely following, and Zheng Zhuliu and No. 1 trailing behind.
"Bang!" As the group entered the staircase, the door behind them closed automatically. The light from the maze disappeared completely, and the staircase plunged into darkness.
Zheng Zhuliu turned on his flashlight, illuminating the surroundings. Fang Ming, with his Sha seed physique, could barely see in the dark. Nannan and No. 1 were even less of an issue.
As they walked up the stairs, Fang Ming and Zheng Zhuliu carefully observed their surroundings.
"There's a very oppressive aura," Zheng Zhuliu suddenly said. Fang Ming nodded. A bad premonition grew stronger, but when he tried to sense it, it seemed to disappear.
The surroundings were eerily quiet.
"Fang... Fang Ming..." No. 1 suddenly stammered and called out to Fang Ming.
"What's wrong?" Fang Ming asked, turning back.
"I think I know... who lives on this floor." No. 1's tone was very nervous. Although not as panicked as when he met Nannan, he was still very fearful.
Fang Ming's eyes lit up at this. If he knew who it was, he could figure out how to deal with it. He quickly asked, "Who is it?"
"It."
"It?" Fang Ming stopped. He was a bit confused. This was as good as saying nothing! "Which 'it'?"
"It is 'it'. That is its name," No. 1 explained. "Do you remember what Python Sha said about 'it' before? The special Sha seed created based on me. This floor is 'it'."
Fang Ming remembered this when he heard it. That Python Sha had indeed mentioned this. Although it hadn't seen No. 1, it had guessed No. 1's name at first glance, based on what it called "it".
"Do you know what its abilities are? Since it's modeled after you, does that mean its abilities are similar to yours?" Fang Ming guessed.
No. 1 nodded, "Professor and I were cultivated in the same batch of Sha seeds. I was the first one created, so I was named No. 1. Besides me, there were ninety-eight other Sha seeds with abilities similar to mine. We were all failures. Only 'it' was the hundredth, and the only successful one."
No. 1 continued, "You've seen my abilities. I can become intangible, and my weaknesses are very obvious. More importantly, both you and Nannan can always find my location."
Fang Ming nodded, "Although your form disappears, the resentment that makes you up doesn't. I can clearly see your location."
"So I'm just a failure." No. 1 gave a bitter smile. "But 'it' is different. Its ability is the ideal state that Professor envisioned, called 'Entering the Mirror'. It has two worlds: one is reality, and the other is a mirror world."
"What does that mean?" Zheng Zhuliu interjected, his curiosity piqued by this mysterious Sha seed.
No. 1 glanced at him and continued, "When its ability is activated, a hidden mirror image will remain in the real world, and its main body will enter the mirror world. Then, it will attack its mirror targets based on the mirror's vision."
"In other words, it can attack us in the real world from within the mirror, but we can't attack its mirror image in the real world. It even used this ability to kill a ferocious Sha seed raised by the Professor without a scratch!"
"Does it have other abilities?" Fang Ming pressed.
No. 1 shook his head, "This is all I know for now."
Fang Ming fell silent for a moment and then asked Zheng Zhuliu, "Uncle Six, what do you think?"
Zheng Zhuliu frowned. Based on No. 1's description, this "it" was a completely unsolvable existence. He didn't have any good ideas either. He wondered if the compass would work.
"I don't have a particularly good solution either," Zheng Zhuliu shook his head. "Just based on No. 1's description, its abilities are indeed somewhat unsolvable. We'll only know the specifics when we encounter it. However, I don't believe there are truly monsters with unsolvable abilities in this world. Otherwise, wouldn't they be invincible?"
"That's right. We'll only know the situation when we see it. Let's continue," Fang Ming took the lead and walked forward. No. 1's abilities might not be strong, and its understanding of "it" might not be comprehensive. As Zheng Zhuliu said, its abilities couldn't be that perfect, or it would have conquered the world.
The group walked forward with heavy hearts, not daring to neglect their senses. No one knew when they would encounter "it" before seeing it.
Finally, after a few minutes, they reached the corridor of the eighth floor. The layout here was no different from the floors below. There was a corridor in the middle, with rooms on either side.
"Fang Ming, I sense that guy!" Nannan suddenly said.
Fang Ming's spirits lifted. "Where?"
"Over there!" Nannan pointed to the dark corridor ahead. "It seems to be busy with something?"
"Busy with what?" Fang Ming was surprised. What could these Sha seeds be busy with on this floor? It was rare to see one that wasn't sleeping.
"Fang Ming, I think we should go around it if possible. Try not to provoke it," Zheng Zhuliu said from behind.
"Okay, let's carefully go around it and try not to get into a conflict," Fang Ming agreed with Zheng Zhuliu. After all, they currently had no way to break its abilities, and confronting it rashly was too dangerous. Even if Nannan was safe, Zheng Zhuliu would be in the most danger.
"Let's go."
The group carefully approached the next staircase, intending to bypass "it" and go directly to the ninth floor.
"What's that smell? Why does it smell burnt?" Zheng Zhuliu asked doubtfully as they walked.
Fang Ming sniffed. There was indeed a burnt smell, but it wasn't strong, and it was coming from ahead.
"What is 'it' burning?" Fang Ming guessed. "No. 1, go check it out."
"Me?" No. 1 was a bit scared and shook his head. "I don't dare. If it finds me, I'm done for."
Fang Ming gave it a contemptuous look. "You guys wait here. I'll go ahead and check the situation."
With that, he cautiously walked forward. Nannan quietly followed behind Fang Ming, and they went together. Zheng Zhuliu, unable to see No. 1, felt a chill all over him standing there alone, so he hurried to catch up. Seeing that he was the only one left, No. 1 nervously followed the main group.
In the end, what was initially planned as Fang Ming going alone to check turned into everyone going.
"..." Fang Ming rubbed his forehead, looking at them helplessly. Nannan blinked and looked back at Zheng Zhuliu, who shrugged.
"Forget it, let's go together."
The group crouched down and carefully approached the source of the smell. A door was ajar, and a crack allowed the burnt smell to emanate from the room.
Inside the room, they heard a crackling sound, followed by a man's frustrated groan.
"Damn it! I followed the recipe exactly, why did I mess up? I've wasted so much human ingredients again. I don't know when I'll be able to go out next time."
Outside the door, Fang Ming and Zheng Zhuliu exchanged glances. So, this Sha seed was cooking in the room? What a strange hobby!
"Let's go, let's not disturb it," Fang Ming whispered and made a gesture. The group quietly passed the room and hurried towards the staircase.
"Creak—" The door behind them suddenly opened, and a man came out of the room, holding a basin of unknown "dark cuisine."
"He... hello?" Fang Ming and the others turned to look at the man. The man looked at them. Their eyes met for a moment, and Fang Ming slowly greeted him.
"Prepare for battle!" Fang Ming suddenly roared. His right hand quickly transformed into a scaled sword, and he assumed an attacking stance. Nannan floated into the air, her eyes coldly fixed on the man. No. 1 hid behind Fang Ming, peeking out half of his head to look at the man. Zheng Zhuliu held his copper coin sword.
"Tsk~" The man sneered dismissively, turned around with his dark cuisine, and left.
"???" Fang Ming and the others were full of questions. Hey, hey, this wasn't the expected plot. Where was the passionate battle? I've already raised my sword, and you're not going to fight?
"What do we do?" Zheng Zhuliu whispered to Fang Ming.
"Be careful. Let's slowly retreat," Fang Ming said, staring at the man's retreating back.
The two sides went their separate ways. Soon, the man's figure disappeared into the darkness. Fang Ming and the others also arrived at the staircase leading to the ninth floor.
"Let's go," Fang Ming made a gesture. The group quickly entered the staircase and unhurriedly reached the ninth floor.
The view was the same as the eighth floor, as most floors were designed similarly. Fang Ming and the others were unfazed and continued towards the tenth floor.
A few minutes later.
"That's..." Fang Ming looked at the man walking towards them not far away, and his heart sank. He was still holding that basin of dark cuisine. He ignored Fang Ming's gaze and brushed past Fang Ming and the others.
"What's going on? Are we still on the eighth floor?" Zheng Zhuliu exclaimed in shock.
Fang Ming nodded and looked back at the man's retreating figure. It seemed that leaving this floor wouldn't be easy...