Chapter 116 Mirror Dream and the Corpse on the Snow

“Captain, how do we get out?”

A team member asked in a low voice.

Everyone fell silent.

In truth, how could they not know… even if the captain was powerful, he wasn't a god, and couldn't find an exit so quickly.

The "door" he mentioned earlier might just be a guess.

However, it seemed they didn't have much time left.

On this Black Snow Mountain, the falling snowflakes were becoming more and more numerous, more and more dense. Losing Gu Shen's "Blazing Fire Link," their spirits were also gradually weakening…

"Soon."

Zhong Yuan only paused his steps for a second. His expression didn't change much. From beginning to end, there hadn't been emotions like dejection, regret, or disappointment…

The Phoenix Fire was no longer as intense as before.

So he narrowed the range of illumination of the Phoenix Ring, controlling the light to around ten meters, so that the seven team members, closely huddled together, wouldn't be scattered by the wind and snow.

"Captain, is there any use… in us continuing like this?"

Yuan Yuan looked a little pale, silently transmitting his thoughts.

Some things couldn't be said publicly, and this sentence was one of them.

If he spoke out, the morale of the entire team would waver.

He was the vice-captain of the Second Team, and also the person in the world who trusted Zhong Yuan the most. Yuan Yuan agreed with the previous guess about the "mirror world," but if the team had really entered a virtual mirror world, what use was there in just continuing to walk?

It was just circling around in a loop.

Wasting energy, wasting spirit… eventually, the Phoenix Fire would definitely extinguish.

And at that time, everyone would usher in the ultimate "darkness."

Hearing this, the blond man turned his head slightly, calmly glancing at his deputy. Even at this moment, his eyes remained unwavering, giving Yuan Yuan an extremely firm response in the dim light where black snow howled.

"Trust me."

So the entire team just kept trudging forward in silence.

Black snow filled the air.

In order to conserve energy and fight this endless "journey," everyone chose to hold their breath, silently focusing their minds…

They completely trusted their captain.

Trusted that the captain could lead everyone out of danger.

But no one understood, what was the point of continuing like this…

After who knows how long.

Zhong Yuan suddenly stopped.

They had returned to the campfire once again, the place where this nightmare began.

The team members looked up blankly, looking into the distance and then behind them.

"Found the 'door.'"

After a long journey, the flames in the Phoenix Ring had become so weak that they could barely protect the light within a ten-meter radius…

And at this moment, Zhong Yuan's words were like a lifeline.

"Where is the 'door'?"

Yuan Yuan looked confused. All he could see were countless flakes of snow flying around.

"Have you noticed? Everything here is real. Maintaining an equal pace, it takes two thousand three hundred and eighteen steps to complete a full cycle. It's always like this. This isn't something a dream can do."

Zhong Yuan said softly.

Yuan Yuan was stunned. "You mean… this is another real world."

"Yes. But it's exactly the same as 'reality.' If this is a real world… then it also needs the support of supernatural source matter to function. No matter how special, it must conform to the iron laws of the real world."

Zhong Yuan suddenly smiled. "I've been wondering how we got separated from Mr. Gu. At first, I thought something had happened to Mr. Gu, but now it seems… we were pulled into the 'mirror.'"

A team member asked in a deep voice, "Captain, what have you seen?"

"Remember how we got in here?"

The team members looked at each other.

Of course they remembered!

The reason they entered this hellish place was because they lit the campfire.

And then… they encountered black snow!

"I think we violated the 'taboo' on this Black Snow Mountain, so we attracted the descent of the 'door,'" Zhong Yuan said calmly. "Perhaps, the taboo is… fire."

"Light?" Yuan Yuan asked in surprise.

In the next moment, he understood what the captain meant.

Zhong Yuan raised his palm and waved it gently. The flaming phoenix lingering in the air let out a loud, drawn-out cry, dragging its remnants and dissipating into the black snow-filled sky.

The light enveloping the team's heads went out, the phoenix feathers and flames withering in the churning black snow.

Immediately afterward.

Zhong Yuan flicked his finger, agitating a strand of spirit.

He extinguished the Phoenix Fire in the stone pile.

The whole world instantly became dark… Before, with the protection of the Phoenix Fire, everyone only felt dimness, but now it was the true arrival of eternal night. In the next moment, the "black snow" falling from the top of the mountain swept over again.

Black Snow Mountain is perpetually silent.

Without light all day long.

If someone had really set up this "mirror world" and set up a "door," then the best way… was to find "light." Where there is light, there are people.

The Phoenix Fire was too bright.

So they were directly targeted!

Zhong Yuan stared at the darkness ahead. Countless black snow scenes from nightmares swept over him. He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, there was only a line of golden, bright, and dazzling light in his pupils!

His right hand swept across the side of his Source Armor.

*Tear!*

Zhong Yuan released the tough hook rope developed by the North Continent military from his waist. The black rope was as cold as iron wire, and at this moment, it fluttered open in the strong wind, becoming a true "lifeline"!

"Everyone, grab the rope."

Since the light was extinguished.

To keep the team from scattering… they needed to use the most primitive method.

Fortunately, those primitive methods were often very useful.

A force of grasping came from the black rope. The seemingly small blond man exploded with great power in his body. He stepped into the snow pit, and several forces swayed by the snow were transmitted to his waist along the rope, but they couldn't shake the "thin" man's footsteps at all.

Zhong Yuan pulled the team members and began to climb the snow mountain. After the flames went out… no one knew what was ahead.

No one knew if the previous reasoning was correct.

The wind and snow were too strong at the moment, and no one even knew where they were going.

Darkness, endless darkness!

The fear from the unknown was crushed step by step!

The figure at the very front, heading forward against the wind and snow, showed a faint outline in the darkness. The team members quickly recovered. They tightened the long rope, gathered their strength, and climbed together.

Of course, this team wasn't just Zhong Yuan calculating.

The previous few "cycles," step distance, time, direction… everyone had silently calculated these data. Not long after, a team member exclaimed in the black snow.

"We succeeded… we really left that hellish place!"

Darkness swallowed the top of the mountain.

At this moment, all everyone could do was climb. This was no different from the previous mirror world… But after walking for so long, everyone never saw the previous "stone pile" again.

"I sensed Mr. Gu's 'Blazing Fire Link'… He's not far away?!"

Yuan Yuan also said in surprise.

The link that had been broken for a long time seemed to have a tendency to reconnect, with a faint signal guiding them from a very long distance!

He raised his head.

If he wasn't mistaken, Gu Shen… was ahead!

At the top of the mountain!

The team members couldn't suppress their surprise, but there was one exception at the moment.

The blond man who was walking at the front of the team, pulling seven team members with a rope, looked dignified, even more dignified than before in the "mirror world"...

His mental strength was the most sensitive.

So, he saw the most!

"No…"

Zhong Yuan said in a low voice, "It's not just Gu Shen."

Yuan Yuan was the first to react, "There are other people on the top of the mountain… Meng Xiao?!"

His heart skipped a beat.

Along the way, Duke Zhenyue's team had been following behind their group, but he hadn't taken it to heart before climbing the mountain… because if their group didn't disperse, even if Meng Xiao caught up, there was no need to be afraid!

Just fight!

The captain had long been displeased with Meng Xiao, and so was he!

"No… that's not right…"

Yuan Yuan suddenly realized something unreasonable. If the taboo of this Black Snow Mountain was light, then Mr. Gu's "flame" should also attract the descent of the "door."

Besides!

How could those guys from Light City possibly advance in the dark?

"I know what you want to say."

Zhong Yuan was silent for a second, then said calmly, "This seems very unreasonable… We both used 'fire,' so why were we pulled into the mirror, but they weren't?"

Yuan Yuan nodded seriously.

"The only explanation I can think of… is that their 'fire' is much stronger than the Phoenix Fire. Darkness wants to devour light, but it's also a coward that bullies the weak. If it has to choose someone to attack, the mirror dream should only be able to choose us."

Yuan Yuan was speechless.

Using this answer to explain Zhenyue was reasonable. After all, Meng Xiao came from Light City, and he carried the "blessing of the Throne of God" on his body. The power of God was too powerful.

If Meng Xiao risked his life to use it all, he could probably light up the entire Black Snow Mountain!

But… what did Gu Shen rely on?

Was his "S-level ability" really that powerful?

Why, after being together for so long… did Yuan Yuan always feel that Gu Shen's Blazing Fire was weak?

Well… it must be his illusion.

Vice-Captain Yuan shook his head helplessly.

The group climbed to the top of the mountain… but in the darkness, they saw a tragic scene again. Before reaching the top of the mountain, they smelled a bloody scent.

"Was there a battle here?"

A team member crouched down, looked at a broken face, and felt inexplicably familiar.

After staring at it for a moment.

He recognized the owner of the face…

It was himself!

The blood on the snow was still warm and hadn't dried. The head seemed to have been cut off by an extremely sharp iron weapon. This scene was too scary.

Anyone who suddenly saw their own head would be startled.

"Captain!!!"

The team member felt his scalp tingle, couldn't control his emotions, and howled in a low voice.

Zhong Yuan was experienced.

When he sensed the extra aura, he released his domain, controlling the surrounding wind and grass… The team member's voice was completely intercepted in the domain.

Yuan Yuan frowned, "What's wrong? Why are you so scared!"

The team member's voice was hoarse, "It's a corpse…"

Yuan Yuan said, "There are corpses everywhere here."

In the darkness.

Zhong Yuan spoke for the frightened team member, calmly saying, "It's our corpses."

"…?!"

Because the light source was extinguished, everyone could hardly see the scene on the top of the snow mountain.

Logically speaking, after the light source was extinguished, normal people could quickly adapt to the darkness… but this Black Snow Mountain was different. There were constant snow, fog, and wind, and under the interference of these phenomena, it felt as if ink was constantly drifting from outside the line of sight.

They had smelled the bloody smell a long time ago.

It wasn't a big deal to find these corpses.

"What's going on?" Another team member also exclaimed in a trembling voice, "My head was cut off?!"

He couldn't help but touch his neck.

Having just walked out of the "mirror dream," although they had successfully broken through this nightmare under Zhong Yuan's leadership, several people still had psychological shadows. They suddenly had the illusion that they were still in the mirror world.

Seeing this broken corpse, it seemed that this was the real body.

"Don't worry, you are all alive and well."

Zhong Yuan said quietly, "Remember what I said at the beginning?"

"Real people entered the mirror… fake people came to reality," Yuan Yuan murmured, "This is our 'copy'… made by this Black Snow Mountain, a fake us."

After saying this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Unimaginable.

If these "copies" walked out of the snow mountain… what would happen?

"They were killed by Gu Shen." Zhong Yuan looked around and said, "The strength of these copies… doesn't seem to be that strong, otherwise he wouldn't have fought so easily."

The reason for saying this.

Was because… he also saw his own corpse.

On the snow, a blond corpse with "ten thousand knives piercing the heart" was lying face up, emitting a charred smell after being severely burned.

Zhong Yuan stared for a moment, and roughly simulated the scene of the copy of himself fighting Gu Shen in his mind.

"My 'Phoenix Fire' was copied, but the ability wasn't…"

In the end, he should have been pierced through by Gu Shen using his mental power to control the iron edge, and finally ignited.

This was good news.

If Black Snow Mountain could unscrupulously copy the power of "Transcenders," then Gu Shen would not be able to cope with just himself alone.

However… the scales of the world were fair.

Even God couldn't create such a "strange place."

"A total of eight…"

Yuan Yuan said in a low voice, "The number is right, it matches exactly!"

Gu Shen… what strong combat power!

When checking the corpse, he carefully checked it. The transcendent aura contained in these dead copies was not that weak!

Fighting eight with one, including the copies of himself and the captain!

"No, it's nine…"

Zhong Yuan slowly came to the corner of a broken rock on the top of the mountain, which was pitch black… different from the pitch black of Black Snow Mountain itself, this was the "dimness" after being completely burned.

It seemed that a strong holy light had scorched here.

"This is, the aura of Light City?"

"Yes." Zhong Yuan calmly deduced, "In that battle, the copies Gu Shen faced were not just us. The corpse that once existed here was the ninth copy, himself. In the end, these copies were all killed by him. Then a second battle broke out soon after. I guess it was the team led by Zhenyue who chased him."

In the darkness, the remaining aura of Light City was indeed conspicuous.

Black snowflakes fell one after another on the top of the mountain. At this moment, there was a faint column of light still shrouded in the sky, illuminating the black snow in that area, which was brighter than other places.

"Those guys, in the end, still made a move."

The most ominous thought in Yuan Yuan's heart really happened.

"Gu Shen escaped." Zhong Yuan narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Zhenyue's subordinates went after him, while he stayed here alone… He deliberately destroyed Gu Shen's corpse? Why is that?"

This destroyed corpse had been burned by the divine light of Light City.

The information of this trace was more important than all the other places combined!

Since the last contact, Zhong Yuan had suspected that Duke Zhenyue, Meng Xiao, had a strange sealed object that could窥视other people's fate… Was this destruction of Gu Shen's corpse related to that sealed object?

Compared to Meng Xiao's secret.

In fact, what Zhong Yuan was more curious about was Gu Shen's secret… This young man, who seemed to be only at the seventh level, actually had a combat power far more powerful than he had imagined. The return from the maze mission was enough to prove this.

It was just that he really didn't expect that Gu Shen could escape from Meng Xiao after solving these copies!

However, it was also reasonable.

After all, this was someone personally sent by the Empress…

Before long, Zhong Yuan's thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"Mr. Gu is in danger…"

Yuan Yuan became nervous, clenched the battle knife at his waist, and said through gritted teeth, "Captain, let's go after him immediately. We should be able to catch up."

Zhong Yuan stood on the top of the snow mountain.

He calmly looked down the mountain, but did not issue an order to go down the mountain, but shook his head and said, "Don't chase, seize the time and prepare to return."

Yuan Yuan and the others: "???"

Everyone didn't expect the captain to make such a choice!

"Return!? Are you serious about this order?!"

Yuan Yuan widened his eyes, this was the first time he had contradicted the captain, "Are you worried that we won't be able to catch up? We have all had a mental link with Gu Shen, and we can sense the direction of the 'Blazing Fire' in our hearts… Just not long ago, we were very close. Even if we are pulled away again at this moment, it won't take long to chase after him!"

The other team members, although they didn't speak like Yuan Yuan, also grasped their battle knives.

It could be seen that they were ready to fight.

Along the way, Mr. Gu didn't say much, but after entering the dangerous place, the strand of Blazing Fire he gave them saved them a lot of energy and gave them a lot of mental help… They all remembered this kindness in their hearts!

The most important thing was that the iron law of the North Continent mission was to strictly prohibit colleagues from killing each other!

The light debris on the top of this Black Snow Mountain, as well as the remaining traces of battle, were enough to prove that Meng Xiao had attacked Gu Shen… They hated such vicious people who attacked their comrades in secret!

Zhong Yuan faced Yuan Yuan's question and just asked calmly.

"In absolute darkness, can you see the way down the mountain?"

"Can you confirm that the 'door' will only appear once?"

"Most importantly… even if you catch up, do you think our team's strength can save Gu Shen?"

Yuan Yuan was stunned.

He hadn't considered these questions. It wasn't that he was reckless, but the situation was urgent and he didn't have time to consider.

In absolute darkness, if there was still a "link," then finding someone would be much simpler… But now that the distance had reopened, the entire team needed to rely on the captain to pull them forward. Finding Mr. Gu in the vast darkness was really like "looking for a needle in a haystack."

As for the "door"... Yuan Yuan recalled the scene when it was triggered before.

Black snow surged, and it was clear that Gu Shen was also an existence who had violated the taboo!

But the "door" only took them away. Although he didn't know why, if they were taken away by the "door" again, then it would really be terrible. The spirit and physical strength of the entire team had already begun to weaken.

In such an environment, if they really had an encounter with Duke Zhenyue, even if the captain still maintained his peak posture and could fight against the powerful blessing of the Throne of God, his team members would probably be crushed by Meng Xiao's team and become the captain's burden.

"I understand what you mean."

Zhong Yuan said in a low voice, "Gu Shen is currently being chased and killed by Zhenyue, and the situation is critical. If we don't save him, we will betray our conscience… But think carefully, wasn't the battle that just broke out on the top of the mountain dangerous? That was nine copies from the mirror dream."

Judging from the traces of the battle.

Everything happened quickly and ended quickly.

In less than ten minutes.

These copies were all solved by Gu Shen!

"You should have also sensed the Blazing Fire Link just now… This guy's aura is extremely stable, and he didn't suffer even a bit of damage after solving these copies," Zhong Yuan said lightly, "His strength is far stronger than you think. Instead of worrying about him, you should worry about yourself."

"If everyone's physical and mental strength were at their peak, I would have ordered a charge at this moment, but now you would only become a burden in the battle."

Zhong Yuan's words didn't leave any face for his team members.

But it was like a basin of cold water, making Yuan Yuan extremely sober.

"Captain… you're right."

Yuan Yuan said in a hoarse voice, "But Mr. Gu saved our lives in the border… I really can't just leave and sit idly by."

Zhong Yuan frowned, "Sit idly by? Who told you that we are just leaving and sitting idly by?"

Yuan Yuan was taken aback.

"The iron law of the North Continent, the mission to go outside the border, comrades entrust each other with their lives, and must not stab each other in the back." Zhong Yuan's voice was colder than the black snow flying at this moment, "Duke Zhenyue, Meng Xiao, disobeyed the iron law and his crime is unforgivable… We return to the station and inform our comrades of this news to punish this beast together. If you and I fall on this snow mountain, how will this news be brought back?"

"But at that time… Mr. Gu is already…"

Zhong Yuan waved his hand to interrupt Yuan Yuan's anxious voice.

He said meaningfully, "You should know… Gu Shen is a 'privileged person' invited by Her Majesty to participate in this mission."