They passed through half the labyrinth.
Everything in their path had been smashed to pieces.
Lu Mingfei looked back—the road behind them was one they had carved out with sheer force.
They kept moving forward.
This time, they arrived at a critical location.
An ancient, long-abandoned platform lay before them.
The paint was peeling from the walls, but a few faded characters could still be made out.
"Fushouling Station," with a date beside it—1977.
"This is the final checkpoint. Once we pass through, we've cleared the entire maze. After that, we'll meet the kid, then it's time for the kidnapping and ransom."
Ren Asakura flashed a cheerful smile.
As if her scheme had already succeeded.
Lu Mingfei remembered that in the future depicted by the Dragon Clan novels, this was the very place where he, aided by the cheat codes his younger brother gave him, beat the Kamaitachi Queen in Texas Hold'em—and finally met the King of Earth and Mountains, Fenrir, the embodiment of strength.
That child's intelligence was genuinely no more than that of a three-year-old.
He had no hostility toward any living being.
But his body… was far too massive.
Even with half of it sealed inside the rock wall…
The exposed portion alone was over 30 meters long.
And he constantly exuded the majesty of a Dragon King.
A single terrifying roar, combined with his overwhelming aura, could instantly shatter the hearts of any historical dragon-slaying hero.
This was the true power of a Dragon King.
From the distant, dark tunnel came a scraping sound—something dragging against the floor.
In the silence, that sound was painfully distinct.
Everyone turned toward the noise.
Bright incandescent lights suddenly illuminated the figure approaching them.
It wore a long, billowing black cloak. It looked vaguely humanoid—but wasn't human.
Lu Mingfei paused, then instantly understood who it was.
The Kamaitachi Queen.
The Gatekeeper.
And a crucial part of the rules within this alchemical labyrinth.
She was the dealer at the gambling table.
Anyone trapped in the maze had to beat the dealer in a game to leave.
If they lost, they'd remain here forever.
There was no death—only endless solitude and repetition.
Loneliness itself was the currency of this place.
The Kamaitachi Queen revealed her face from under the cloak.
Everyone recoiled in horror.
Even Lu Mingfei, mentally prepared, was momentarily stunned.
No amount of words could capture the grotesque nature of that face.
Nine heads twisted and swayed, each connected by a long, thin neck. Each head had a unique and horrifying appearance.
Beneath them was a bloated body with ugly, retracted wings still faintly visible.
"Welcome, everyone!"
"Hehehe!"
"New players! Time for a game!"
"Come, intruders—sit at my table!"
"If you want to leave, you have to beat me!"
Nine voices, each from a different head, each with its own tone and expression, echoed through the air.
She was like a full-blown schizophrenic entity.
Ren Asakura prepared to strike—anything in her way would be crushed head-on.
Seeing this, the dealer suddenly taunted her with a voice begging to be punched.
"Oh no, oh no! Don't tell me someone's too scared to even play a little game with me?"
"You chickening out? Hehehe, you're chickening out!"
"Little idiot, don't tell me you're not even qualified to bet against me!"
"Don't tell me someone's never even played poker before?"
The corners of everyone's mouths twitched uncontrollably.
The dealer was pretty much doomed—it was just a matter of how Ren Asakura would make his move.
As the gatekeeper, the dealer's duty was to use the rules of the alchemical labyrinth to block intruders.
And without a doubt, Ren Asakura and the others were the intruders.
The dealer's chosen method was the simplest: provocation.
And undeniably, that kind of provocation worked on Ren Asakura.
If it had been a direct contest of strength, Ren wouldn't even have acknowledged him.
If someone blocked his path, he'd simply kick them aside.
But a game—
a challenge made through a game was something else entirely.
It was the ultimate affront to someone who lived for fun.
The ultimate villain, one who denied the philosophy of a joyful life.
"Very well. You've succeeded in angering me," Ren said coldly. "You need to understand, the word game is one of the few sources of joy left for someone with the power of a sage. Since you dared to mock me through a game, then I'll defeat you in this game. This is about my identity as a gamer—I stake my dignity on this duel!"
Ren turned his body slightly, pointing his finger straight at the dealer. His gaze and expression were deadly serious—cold and unwavering.
"Very good, very good!"
Clapping echoed from beneath the black robe.
In truth, the rules of this alchemical labyrinth didn't grant the dealer this much intelligence at the beginning.
In the early stages, there were all kinds of game bugs you could exploit.
But as the game progressed and difficulty increased, the dealer evolved:
He could now scheme, disguise himself, speak, provoke.
That's how it was supposed to go—
But this group had already broken the rules all the way here.
Their rule violations had triggered nightmare-level difficulty right from the start.
This dealer could disguise himself, provoke, and—worst of all—was intelligent.
"Texas Hold'em, Golden Flower, Bullfight, Dice—I can play them all. Choose whatever you like!"
The dealer dragged over a gaming table and took his seat as the banker.
A deck of cards was placed beside his hand.
Everyone sat down.
Ren Asakura took the seat directly across from the banker.
A duel of kings.
Then Ren clapped his hands.
"Lu Mingfei, cue the BGM!"
Lu Mingfei pulled out his phone.
He cranked the volume to max.
Music blared.
A deep, booming bass shook the room—it was the theme song for Chow Yun-fat's arrival in God of Gamblers.
As the music swelled to its peak, Ren slowly ran a hand across his forehead.
His palm moved back—
and as if slicked with pomade, his messy hair began to sweep backward, slick and smooth.
There it was—
the legendary Aizen special: the Hair Gel Hand.
When Ren lowered his hand, his once-disheveled hair had transformed into a sleek, gleaming pompadour. Stylish beyond belief.
Lu Mingfei waved one hand—
a black cape appeared and draped itself over Ren's shoulders.
Then he respectfully handed over a fat cigar.
Ren caught it with one hand.
Lu Mingfei bent low, lit it with a lighter, fully taking on the role of a lackey.
Ren took a soft puff, exhaled a smoke ring.
The dealer was utterly dumbfounded.
Someone was actually flexing this hard in front of him?
The last time he'd seen something like this was in a movie about the God of Gambling.
Though stunned for a few seconds, the dealer—due to the rules—began distributing coins based on how lonely the opponent was.
But…
He couldn't see any loneliness in Ren Asakura.
To perceive Ren's loneliness, one would need to be on his level.
Clearly, the dealer was not.
Yet rules were rules—he still had to give something.
In the end, he pulled out an ancient gold coin and slid it across the table to Ren Asakura.
That coin, outside the labyrinth, would be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
But in the Dragon's Nest?
Worthless.
Because here, they were everywhere.
Value lies in rarity.
°°°
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