It might be that the Great Love Poet's phantom is being cautious, not planning to show itself and attack Lan Qi for the time being.

Or perhaps the initial distance was too great, and it hasn't caught up to Lan Qi yet.

"Sure enough, it's a complete copy of the Great Love Poet. Even the cowardly nature of absolutely not showing up if it can't win has been replicated."

Lan Qi's eyes scrutinized every prison door, every marking on the walls, searching for clues to move forward.

Previously, the Great Love Poet was quite afraid of Talia, so when Talia was around, the Great Love Poet resolutely refused to come out.

Proceeding along the direction indicated by the map isn't too difficult. Eventually, arriving at the agreed-upon exit transfer hall will allow him to reunite with the others, but this process may take a while.

The surrounding maze corridors are sometimes cold and hard, and sometimes reveal a strange beauty—runes meander through the walls, and the corridors seem endless, with each turn bringing a new unknown sight.

The entire structure changes randomly on a regular basis, but one thing remains constant: the location of the entrance transfer hall and the exit transfer hall.

After a period of solo travel.

Lan Qi's gaze was attracted by a light ahead. He could see bright and warm indoor lighting.

He walked in that direction, its coordinates precisely the warden's office on the -5th floor as indicated on the map, with no more deep blue magical shadows around it, consistent with the safe zone transfer hall.

Before reuniting with the team, finding the warden of the -5th floor and obtaining clearance is a task that must be completed.

Now it seems that he is the most suitable person in the team to complete this task.

Lan Qi stood in front of the office and gently knocked on the closed door.

He wasn't sure if the warden was in the office at this time.

But the lights were on inside, so it was likely that the warden was in the office, or hadn't gone far.

The sound of knocking echoed softly inside and outside the quiet office, and soon dissipated in the silent space.

A full few seconds passed without a response.

"Come in."

Just as Lan Qi hesitated whether to leave, a clear, cold female voice came from inside the door.

Lan Qi, who was about to leave, then pressed the doorknob.

Pushing the door open, before him was a tidy office with objects arranged in an orderly manner, appearing warm and comfortable.

Lan Qi's gaze quickly noticed the only person in the room—a female knight in light armor was sitting in a chair next to the desk.

The female knight had a straight posture, revealing a dignified and elegant temperament even while sitting.

She seemed to have finished her work this morning, having just bandaged her wounds and put on her armor. Several rolls of unwound bandages and a half-empty bottle of potion were scattered on the table.

Even so, one could see the faint color of bloodstains seeping out from the white bandages on her body.

It seemed that no prison guard with healing abilities had come to treat her yet.

The female knight looked up, her eyes filled with both fatigue and cold determination.

Even after returning from the arduous battle against her own phantom, her eyes remained vigilant.

She cast a slightly impatient gaze on the Great Love Poet.

Before this newly arrived intern prison guard could speak.

"I will give you an evaluation after you have cleared the phantoms."

The warden knight's voice was cold and forceful, answering the question before the other party could ask it.

She was concise, her eyes leaving the face of the Great Love Poet, her gaze like she had finished scrutinizing an outsider.

"Thank you, Warden Melissa."

The Great Love Poet thanked her gently.

He had seen her name "Melissa" engraved on the warden's nameplate.

Although the other party seemed a little indifferent, she was a pragmatic type of warden and had no intention of making things difficult for them. She was already the most approachable person he had met in Heluo Prison so far.

Just as the Great Love Poet was about to end the conversation and turn to leave.

"Wait."

Warden Melissa suddenly said.

The Great Love Poet turned his head.

Not understanding why Warden Melissa had stopped him.

Melissa was silent for a moment, then slowly raised her eyes and looked directly at the Great Love Poet again.

"Where are your companions? Did you get separated from all of them when you came to this floor?"

Melissa's attitude was still full of distance, sitting in place, scrutinizing the Great Love Poet.

"I'm going to the exit transfer hall to reunite with them."

The Great Love Poet replied.

"You don't have much combat ability. You'll die easily if you're alone. If you accidentally run into the phantoms of other prison guards, they might attack you too. I'll clear the way for you and take you to the exit transfer hall."

Warden Melissa said, as she stood up with some fatigue, and then walked out of the office.

"Is your body really okay?"

Lan Qi felt that the warden had just experienced a desperate battle, and her flame of life was flickering.

"It doesn't matter. I have already cleared my own phantom from this floor. It's more than enough to deal with the phantoms of others."

Warden Melissa walked to the door, her voice devoid of any emotion, and then walked out of the warden's office.

"...Then I'll trouble you."

Lan Qi thanked her.

Although the warden should have won, it was obviously a pyrrhic victory. Just by moving slightly, the bloodstains on the white bandages on her body had begun to deepen, as if she had barely managed to save her life.

It was hard to imagine what kind of martial arts fanatic would fight their own phantom to the death here every day.

In the Great Demon Clan's trial [Hopeless Extinction Battle], generally only the most crazy and powerful demon martial arts fanatics would choose to fight to the death here and temper themselves.

The condition for obtaining the [Hopeless Mark] is to push the fighting spirit to the extreme, face an eighth-order phantom stronger than oneself, and defeat it on one's own.

Only by completing the sublimation of the extreme state in battle, surpassing the original self, is it possible to fight to the death and defeat the extreme phantom that is far stronger than oneself.

The three seventh-order wardens in the inner layer of Heluo are all rare talents of the Protos Empire. While holding important positions, they have probably also found a training ground that is most suitable for themselves.

The Great Love Poet followed Warden Melissa and left the office.

He now felt that the warden of the -5th floor was unexpectedly reliable.

Although on the surface she was a cold person, in reality she was quite caring for the intern prison guards.

Originally, Lan Qi had prepared to continue being a doctor in Heluo Prison, but now it seemed that this Warden Melissa was psychologically very healthy, completely different from Miss Serena, the warden of the -4th floor, and didn't need to talk to him about anything at all.

Lan Qi always responded to requests, but if there were no requests, he wouldn't offer help randomly.

Previously, after Hyperion woke up on the -4th floor and didn't see the warden, she was worried for a long time, fearing that Lan Qi would swindle the warden, and that the goddess would deduct merit from both of them.

Hyperion could rest assured this time.

Four updates today

(End of this chapter)