Chapter 118: Digging and Digging

"Who knows how many bats are in there? And it's so damn dark, I can't see a single thing! Why isn't this place like the gravity room, filled with lights?"

Chen Bo deeply regretted discarding all his lighting sources; the sheer darkness now felt incredibly eerie.

"Wait! The gravity room lights—holy crap! I really am a genius, hahahahahaha!" Chen Bo suddenly let out a shout that gave everyone in the live stream a massive fright, making them think some life-threatening danger had occurred.

However, after countless viewers stared intently at the screen for several seconds without anything happening, they immediately felt they had been played by the streamer.

"Dammit! The streamer is way too naughty! Someone down there, drag him out! Let him learn why the flowers are so red!"

"Yes, boss! You guys below, hurry up! Didn't you hear the boss give the order? Why the hell are you still standing there? Drag this streamer away already!"

"Oh, oh! Right, two big brothers, how should we teach him a lesson? I have a subordinate who is quite an expert in this field, look..."

"Oh? I didn't realize our gang had such talent! Quick! Send him over. I want to meet him and see what he's really made of!"

"You guys have such great chemistry..."

"Hey, don't mess up the thread! Let me join in! Bosses, what do you need from me?"

"Ahem! So you're the subordinate who's an expert at this? Not bad, not bad! You’ve got a sturdy build! Truly impressive! Come, come, take the streamer away and show him why the flowers are so red!"

"Yes, sir! I'm on it!"

"Streamer, ahhh! [Various inhuman, tragic screams]"

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you taking the streamer's pants off? Holy crap! Why are you taking your own pants off too? What the hell? What is that in your hand? A vibrating... what?! Why are you holding that thing?"

"No way! He’s actually forcing the streamer's mouth open! Don't stick it in there! Not a deep throat—ah, it's too late!"

"What the hell is the point of this guy's vibrating toy? Dammit! You can't go through the back, streamer! Hiss! This visual is too painful to watch!"

*The streamer has enabled slow mode for all users!*

Chen Bo was covered in sweat; he was terrified that this group would keep coming up with increasingly outrageous scenarios. Looking at the chat, he couldn't help but feel as if he had something strange in his mouth, and a sudden chill ran down his spine—my god, this was terrifying!

"Hmph! You bunch of scumbags, to dare talk like that about your most handsome idol is unforgivable! Muted, all of you muted! What? Not happy? If you're not happy, come over here and fight me!" Chen Bo acted arrogant, secretly praising his own acting skills. "Too lazy to deal with you all; just stay quietly muted for the next ten minutes. I’ve got a brilliant idea now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Bo ran toward the gravity room. The gravity there was no longer enough to pose a threat to him. He looked at the oil lamps on the walls—which seemed to burn indefinitely—and a wicked grin spread across his face. He definitely wasn't up to any good.

Sure enough, Chen Bo thrust his long sword directly into the wall. *Huh? It's actually quite hard!*

The wall only showed a shallow notch, but that was better than nothing, which meant the lamps could be pried off! That was right; Chen Bo wanted to scavenge some oil lamps. Since these things seemed impossible to extinguish, he might as well put them to use. Since he lacked lighting, these lamps were perfect.

*I can't help it; when your IQ is this high, your ability to improvise is unmatched! Wahahahaha!*

With his "little universe" ignited, Chen Bo hacked away at the side of an oil lamp with his sword. After over a hundred strikes, the lamp finally loosened. Chen Bo reached out, grabbed a part that wasn't burning, and pulled with all his might. With a soft crack, bits of stone fell to the ground, and a lamp came free.

Chen Bo wasn't done yet. He stowed the lamp into his system inventory, and it suddenly went out! Frightened that it had broken, he quickly took it back out, and the damn thing flared to life again!

"What the hell? Are you messing with me?" Chen Bo almost threw it away, but he held back after a moment of thought. He put it back into the inventory, and it went dark again. This time, he ignored it and headed to the next lamp, repeating the process until he had five of them safely in his inventory. Five should be enough.

Satisfied, Chen Bo nodded, pulled out one lamp, and headed toward the cave. With his new, free light source, he could finally see the situation inside the tunnel. It looked no different from the terrain outside, and there wasn't a single bat in sight.

"What's going on? Are the bats not in this cave? Hahaha! I really am a genius; any cave I pick turns out to be the safest!" Despite his boastful words, he remained deeply vigilant.

As he ventured deeper, the stench grew stronger, making Chen Bo feel nauseous even with the damp cloth tied over his nose. Just as he pushed forward, he heard—or perhaps imagined—some "rustling" sounds.

*That's not right!* Usually, such sounds were made by animals moving through grass. Could there be a meadow in here? Chen Bo scanned the stone ground, which was devoid of even a single weed. It didn't seem like a place where grass could grow. But Chen Bo had to keep moving; otherwise, how would he ever find the system fragments?

He wandered into an complex area with various tunnels and lost his sense of direction, but the sound grew louder. It seemed to be coming from the right! Chen Bo frowned, gripping his sword tightly, and moved toward the right in total silence, his footsteps light and soundless. He was determined to see what kind of monster was making that racket.

When he finally reached the spot, the smell was almost enough to knock him unconscious. He poked his head into a small cave and peered inside—his skin immediately crawled!

Bats?

What bats?

Snakes!

It was nothing but snakes! At least several thousand of them!