Chapter 253: Venom Injection
"Mr. Nicholas, where are we going?"
"Find a stone chamber with some special characters engraved on it. I guess there should be some special stone chambers that have no traps and where those dog-headed monsters won't appear..."
“…”
Ryan led the "Mountain Antelope Group" to search the corridor a stone chamber that might be a "safe house".
The reason why he suspected that there was a "safe house" in this maze was not because of his imagination, but because there were "hints" in the stone carvings on the walls of various places in this underground palace.
Although the stone carvings are scattered, the "smart brain" has recorded them all.
Then, like pieces of a puzzle, they are pieced together into a huge incomplete picture in the system!
…
"Trial", "Brave Man", "Inheritance", "Thor", "Chosen One"...
In the underground palace, these same yet fragmented words appear repeatedly in the carvings on the corridors and stone chamber walls.
This made Ryan realize that this was not just a temple underground palace, but more likely a "place of trial and inheritance", the trial place of the Pallas royal family of the ancient Monkle country!
Since it is a place of trial, the purpose of the existence of this underground palace is definitely not to kill all intruders, but to test something.
For example, observation, courage, wisdom, logical thinking ability...
Moreover, because of the corner of the incomplete picture automatically pieced together by the system, Ryan guessed the structure of this maze.
This is a very large underground project. Its overall shape feels a bit like a "magic cube" with countless grids!
It doesn't have to be a square "magic cube", it can also be other irregular shapes.
Those stone chambers are grids, and they move up, down, left and right according to a certain pattern.
Because it is large enough, people cannot notice the movement of these "grids".
Moreover, there are many means in this maze that are specifically designed to confuse people's perception. Maybe you heard or saw it, but your perception was still deceived.
For example, Ryan discovered that the black paint on the wall was actually a light-absorbing material, which was an obvious "visual deception"!
He has advanced to the third level of transcendence, and is a high-level transcendence with enhanced perception. However, in this dark corridor, he can only see things a few dozen meters away.
It can be imagined that other low-level extraordinary people can only see the few square meters illuminated by the fire.
Moreover, he had not paid attention to it before, but now after careful observation, he found more "clues" that confirmed his ideas.
In fact, many of the seams on the walls and palace lanterns in the corridors are not ordinary decorations, but "special reference objects" that exist specifically to confuse people's visual perception!
The two bricks appear to be the same size, length and width, but when actually measured, there is a slight error...
The distances between each lantern seem to be the same, but in fact, certain specific places are different...
This will make you think that you are walking in a straight line, but in fact, you may have inadvertently deviated in some places, or you may have been walking in an arc or even turned.
In this environment, visual perception deceives your "sense of direction".
It's not that the corridor is actually straight, but your eyes think you are walking in a straight line.
Of course, Ryan was able to come to this conclusion only because the intelligent computer analyzed and compared the precise data.
If it were him, even if he realized there was a problem, it would probably take dozens of times more effort if he wanted to measure it one by one using manpower.
This measured time is enough for those "dog-headed men" to attack countless times.
Knowing that this underground palace was the "place of trial and inheritance", Ryan began to think about the pictographic symbols on the rock walls.
In fact, it also records a certain pattern. After comparing the system, it has obtained the general meaning of some symbols, such as: pause, retreat, advance, up, down, falling rocks, quicksand, crossbow arrows, poison gas...
Ryan guessed that these were the clues to leave the maze and also the theoretical support for his search for the "safe house".
However, all of this is still speculation for now, and until we get out of this maze, all doubts are just assumptions.
Finding the solution requires a lot of clues (stone carvings) so that the system can complete the "magic cube puzzle".
But obviously, now is not the time to wander around in the maze.
…
Ryan had seen some obscure ancient records in the corridors and stone chambers along the way, but he didn't realize what they said before. But now that he encountered these monsters, he immediately understood.
In each stone chamber, more than 90% of the patterns and texts are engraved in the same way, but there are also a few differences.
This is a bit like the little game Ryan played in his previous life - "Find the Differences".
In this dim light, it is extremely difficult to tell the difference with the naked eye.
But Ryan, who possessed an "intelligent brain", didn't need to compare them one by one. With just a glance, the system quickly compared the different texts hidden in the same carvings.
This... probably tests the observation skills of the "brave man"?
【Death will come to the greedy intruder】
[Osiris, the messenger of the god of death, will quietly appear behind you...]
【Only in darkness can we see the bright stars. 】
[The world-destroying thunder has descended upon the world, and only the brave can face it all. 】
【……】
A lot of the content in these texts was ambiguous, and Ryan was not sure which one was the so-called "safe house".
However, because there were tens of thousands of people who entered the underground palace this time, many stone chambers and corridors were filled with corpses killed by monsters.
This also allowed him to directly rule out the stone chambers containing corpses and leave quickly.
Then, they finally encountered another wave of monster attacks. After one person died, they found a stone chamber that no one had ever set foot in.
There are no corpses here, but there are many golden utensils as burial objects!
"Wait. It seems like here..."
Ryan's eyes quickly swept around and landed on a line of text engraved on the wall of this stone chamber: [A place of refuge for the Thunder God, where the brave who are heading to the Hell Trial can find a respite.]
Captain Bart watched Ryan stop in this stone room and asked, "Mr. Nicholas, is this the place you are looking for?"
Ryan nodded, a gleam in his eyes, and said, "Not necessarily. But we can only try."
…
Since Ryan said to stop, everyone in the "Mountain Antelope Group" naturally had no objection.
Now that they know that there is a "real boss" in the team, they all naturally want to cling to him.
A group of people were holding muskets, standing back to back in pairs, aiming their guns at the darkness, looking nervous and alert.
Fortunately, they stayed there for nearly a quarter of an hour without encountering any danger.
Finally, everyone's anxious hearts gradually calmed down, and the feeling of being haunted by bad luck also faded.
"This stone chamber... doesn't seem to be dangerous?"
"It seems so. If there is such a dog-headed monster, it should have appeared long ago..."
"Shh, keep your voice down..."
“…”
The conversation was in low voices, but one could hear that the tension was easing.
Everyone was increasingly grateful that there was a "Dr. Nicholas" in the team who could understand the symbols of ancient civilization.
Otherwise, Bart felt that they would not have noticed any "tricks" in these stone chambers.
I'm afraid I'll be wandering around in the corridor like a headless fly.
If that happens, probably these dozen people will be killed by those monsters sooner or later.
Ryan was studying the murals on the wall carefully, and no one disturbed him.
Bart also tried to distinguish what was wrong with these almost identical stone chambers, but gave up immediately. It was not something that could be figured out in a short time.
Finally hearing Ryan's sigh, Bart asked, "Mr. Nicholas, are we... safe now?"
"It should be fine."
Ryan nodded.
Now it seems that his guess is correct, this is the "safe house". The content on the stone carvings suggests that this place is safe.
"call……"
Bart breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Ryan nod.
Not only him, but everyone in the "Mountain Antelope Regiment" felt the same. Their stiff fingers on the triggers of their rifles could finally relax.
…
After waiting for a while, no danger occurred and Ryan breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at the members of the "Mountain Antelope Group" who were staring at him nervously, waiting for him to speak, and said, "It is safe here for the time being. We may stay here for a while. Everyone can take a good rest..."
Bart and the others looked happy: "Okay."
The members of the "Mountain Antelope Regiment" put the wounded in the corner, unloaded their loads, and began to sort out the equipment that had been messed up in their haste. Eat, drink water, bandage...
The deadly sense of crisis that hung over their hearts could finally be relaxed for a moment, and everyone's thoughts drifted away with their gazes.
This stone chamber was about 20 to 30 square meters in size, and contained several golden coffins, some of which contained corpses or not, and no one dared to touch them.
But the gold objects and treasures around that looked like burial objects were shining with an alluring golden light under the light of the fire.
The young hunters became more and more envious when looking at the room full of gold artifacts, but they did not dare to speak.
After looking at each other, several old players nudged the blond young man next to them with their elbows. Then, the young player named Paul looked a little nervous, but he also stood up and spoke weakly.
He asked: "Um... Captain, can we collect the burial objects here?"
Four people have died so far, and they don't know if they can get out alive. But if they can survive this time, they still have to continue making money.
The scavengers risk their lives just to get rich overnight.
Team leader Bart naturally knew what the team members were thinking.
But he did not respond immediately. Instead, he turned to Ryan, who was studying the murals, and asked, "Mr. Nicholas, what do you think? Will it cause trouble if we collect these antiquities now?"
"It should be fine."
Ryan nodded, and naturally would not stop everyone from making a fortune, and said: "You can take the treasure, but it's best not to touch the coffin. Be careful, if there is something you don't understand, you'd better tell me."
"good!"
Hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy and they wanted to take action.
At this time, Bart glared at the anxious team members again, and everyone immediately realized something and looked a little embarrassed.
Bart spoke again and asked Ryan, "Mr. Nicholas, do you want to choose first..."
The strongest person in the hunting group has the right to choose the harvest first, this is the rule.
And if we talk about distribution according to work, no one would say anything if this "Dr. Nicholas" took away 80% of the treasures here.
But before Bart could finish his words, Ryan interrupted him, shook his head and said, "No, I'm not short of money. In comparison, these stone carvings interest me more. Of course, if you find something very strange, such as an ancient scroll, you can show it to me."
These yellow and white things are really useless to Ryan, the "Lord of Black Dragon City", except that they take up storage space.
For him now, making money is much easier and there are many ways to do it. There is no need to compete with a group of low-level extraordinary people for food.
“Ah, I see…”
Although it was an expected answer, Bart also felt a bit dizzy as if a pie had hit his head.
These burial objects before them were a huge fortune for them.
If I can really bring him out alive, this "gamble of life" will be worth it!
But the other party doesn't intend to share at all?
When Bart saw this "Dr. Nicholas" casually taking out a medicine that cost more than 100,000 yuan per bottle, he guessed that he was not an ordinary doctor.
Hearing this now, Bart has already realized that the person in front of him is probably a very important "big shot"!
He didn't say much, but said with a little excitement: "Then we won't be polite."
…
After a series of depressing losses, the "Mountain Antelope Regiment" finally reaped a great harvest.
This stone chamber is filled with various funerary objects, gold, jewelry...
The royal family of the ancient Monk Kingdom seemed to be particularly fond of gold products. Everywhere you looked was golden, including knives and forks, plates, candlesticks, kettles, wash basins...
There are also various colorful gemstones, rubies, sapphires, cat's eyes, jade, taaffeite, diamonds... They are inlaid on luxurious crowns, or on various necklaces and rings...
When the firelight shone, the entire stone chamber was reflected with bright light like a peacock spreading its tail.
In the entire "Mountain Antelope Group", only the group leader Bart has a storage ring with a space of only one-fifth of a cubic meter. But the various large and small gold objects in this stone room, piled up together, probably account for several cubic meters...
Ryan, who was studying the mural, was also attracted by the crisp sound of gold coins clattering beside him.
Turning around, I saw people busy putting handfuls of food into animal skin bags and carrying them on their shoulders...
We are all extraordinary people, so dozens of tons of property can probably be carried away by manpower.
But with all these bags, he almost had the words "I'm rich" written on his forehead. If he didn't tell anyone, he would probably have a fight with some malicious hunters in the tunnel.
Ryan smiled, then took out a few black rings and said to Bart, "Here are a few storage rings that I don't need. You can use them. Otherwise, if you really run into others and see you like this, it will probably cause trouble."
"Ah... storage ring?"
Bart looked at the ring that Ryan handed over, his eyes full of disbelief, and asked again: "Give it to us?"
While I was dazed, the ring was already handed to me.
Looking again, he found that the storage space of any ring was several times larger than the one on his hand.
The one I'm wearing on my hand costs over a million liso, so wouldn't these large-space storage rings be astronomically expensive?
Just give it away as soon as you say so?
Ryan nodded: "Yeah."
They were originally trophies obtained from killing people, so there was no point in keeping too much of them on you.
"Thank...thank you, Mr. Nicholas."
Bart didn't hesitate and took the storage ring with a sincere gratitude on his face.
He quietly collected the top-quality gemstones that he had just collected and intended to give to Ryan. The total value of the things he selected was not even comparable to that of a storage ring.
The hunting group received such a "generous gift". Sister Pasha and the other hunting members said sincerely: "Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Nicholas."
This is a huge fortune that is enough to change their lives.
If they could get out alive, they might be able to live the rest of their lives in peace with the money, without having to risk their lives hunting.
Ryan smiled and replied calmly: "You're welcome."
…
The members of the "Mountain Antelope Group" were busy sorting out the treasures in the stone chamber. After studying the Ryan sculpture in the stone chamber, they seemed a little bored.
At this time, he looked at the physical attribute panel displayed by the system.
In the column he named [Resistance to Dog-Head Paralysis Toxin], the value increased a lot.
This is because after being bitten by the "dog-headed man" and the venom injected into the body, the body's immune system was updated, raising the threshold of resistance to this toxin.
Then, without thinking too much, he took out the syringe and injected the paralyzing toxin that he had collected from the venom glands of the "Goblin" monster's corpse into his body.
The dosage is a little more than last time, but still within the range that the body can tolerate.
With a panel that monitors his body, he doesn't have to worry about being "poisoned." Even if other problems arise, he is a doctor and can handle them accurately at any time.
Injecting toxins is the fastest way to increase toxin resistance.
Of course, it was only because he had advanced to the level of [Voodoo Master] that he dared to play like this.
The extraordinary power awakened by this genetic potion allowed his immune system to adapt to the toxin in a very short period of time. With a few more injections, his resistance to the toxin would become higher and higher.
Doing this would give Ryan a better chance of saving his life in this underground palace.
Any poison has a dosage. It is foolish to talk about toxicity without considering the dosage.
Now the amount of toxin injected by one "dog-headed monster" does not have a fatal effect on him, but if there are many heads, or a sudden large amount, he will have to be on guard.
After his resistance to this [Dog-head Paralysis Toxin] increases, he can easily go through this maze.
After taking a dose of the toxin, my body felt that familiar numbness again...
