Chapter 88: A person in a cage

After Lu Yao returned home, he took a hot bath to relieve his fatigue from work and relax his mind.

When he came out of the bathroom, the stove had already finished cooking the food and neatly placed it on the computer desk: a steamed egg, a cup of iced cola, a stack of salted and peppered french fries, and everlasting wine.

In addition to the pancake Lu Yao bought on his way back, dinner was ready.

Being able to eat something hot in the winter always improved one’s mood.

Lu Yao took a bite of a french fry, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

He gave a thumbs up to the cactus in the flowerpot next to him, “Not bad, your cooking skills have improved.”

The cactus bowed slightly with some pride, “It’s all thanks to your teachings, my lord. Your servant can only learn a small part of your wisdom…”

“Alright, enough.”

Lu Yao raised his hand to stop it.

The cactus immediately resumed its normal posture.

This cactus follower was good in every aspect, obedient, sensible, and meticulous in its work… but it had one flaw: it was too eager to flatter.

Occasionally hearing some praise was fine, but constant flattery made Lu Yao feel uncomfortable.

In this era, excessive flattery was equivalent to being criticized, and being criticized was equivalent to being whitewashed.

It was better to stop at an appropriate level.

While eating, Lu Yao focused on the pixel world in the simulator.

After resting for a few days, today he was going to launch a major operation and further explore the first level of the Black Abyss.

In the upper right corner, it displayed:

Population: 22,318 Faith: 21,545

Last time, the fanatical worship brought a large amount of faith, and Lu Yao’s ammunition depot was now well-stocked.

However, for the next instance, he had to be fully focused, keeping an eye on the scene at all times and occasionally performing dual operations – aside from manually controlling the Deep Sea Lord, he also had to pay attention to casting miracles. Every time he entered the Black Abyss, it was also a mental drain for Lu Yao.

After accumulating his energy for a few days and adjusting his state, he was ready to enter the second level for the second time.

The three-person team quickly assembled.

As Lu Yao used the key to open the golden gate, the game interface once again turned into the dark abyss world.

The words “Black Abyss – Level One” slowly appeared in the center.

Unlike last time, there were almost no ghouls around the entrance this time.

Occasionally, one or two ghouls would be awakened from the ground, but as soon as they saw the Blood Knights, they would immediately be frightened and burrow into the ground, hastily covering themselves with stones and mud.

Lu Yao noticed that after the Count of Withering was killed, the remaining ghouls in this area completely dispersed. They no longer acted together in an organized manner, and their aggressiveness and courage had diminished significantly.

Although they were level 40 monsters, when they encountered the Blood Knights, they would hurriedly dig graves and escape, completely lacking any intention to fight. They seemed more like creatures with self-awareness.

The three-person team continued to explore along the previous path.

They crossed the frost-covered area, which was where the Count of Withering had awakened. Now it was broken and silent, with only traces of battle and scattered rubble left.

The background music maintained its normal soothing rhythm.

There was one thing that annoyed Lu Yao in the abyss – there was no mini-map here, so he had to constantly try to find the way. His overhead perspective also had no advantage.

Lu Yao took out the “Mirror of Blazing Fire” from his inventory.

Today, when he entered the instance, his first goal was to conduct an experiment.

Lu Yao pondered. Since he possessed the “Aegir’s Fire,” a long-range meteor bombardment device, if he could fire it at the abyss and wash it with a meteor shower, wouldn’t it be much easier to defeat the boss in the instance?

This beautiful idea was quickly shattered.

Lu Yao tried to aim with the crosshair on the single lens of the mirror, but the entire crosshair appeared gray and could not be activated.

He felt somewhat disappointed.

However, after calming down, Lu Yao also understood.

The Black Abyss was essentially another fragmented world.

The “Aegir’s Fire” did not have the ability to strike across worlds… If it really could, perhaps this miracle could truly protect the Sea Walkers.

Just as he finished the experiment, the background music suddenly changed its rhythm and became more cheerful.

Something was happening!

Lu Yao shifted his attention back to the abyss map.

The three-person team arrived at a peculiar area. The wind blew here, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of ice, with frozen ice sculptures everywhere.

The three became alert as they entered this new scene.

Even the Blood Knight, who was at the forefront, slowed down his movement speed and became cautious of his surroundings.

A black cage appeared on the ice surface ahead.

It looked like a giant birdcage. The cage was surrounded by golden chains, firmly fixed to the ground, and inside was a snowman.

Is this the boss?

Lu Yao carefully observed the snowman in the cage.

The snowman looked normal, with a carrot for a nose and black buttons for eyes.

It wore a red velvet hat on its head and a red scarf around its neck. Its arms were two branches covered with red gloves, and the ends were a pair of red mittens.

Seeing the newcomers, the snowman inside the cage waved its branch arms enthusiastically, “Hello, strangers!”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone else. I warmly welcome you to the abyss.”

However, it was tightly bound by the golden chains and there was a black cage outside, as if it were a very dangerous prisoner.

Lu Yao double-clicked on the snowman’s head.

…

[Hero LV5] Snowman Jimmy

HP: 10/10

MP: 15/15

Damage: 0

Defense: 0

Speed: 2

[Undead]

Possesses the undead trait for unknown reasons, able to constantly resurrect.

[Curse of the Old God LV10]

Cursed by the Old God, subjected to a comprehensive seal.

[Caster]

Consumes less mana when casting spells.

[Zero-Degree Domain (Out of Control)]

When the ability is activated, targets within Jimmy’s field of vision will continuously suffer from low-temperature damage and have their speed reduced.

[Snowball LV5 (Out of Control)]

Creates snowballs to attack enemies, and being hit by a snowball has a certain chance of entering the “Frozen” state.

…

Lu Yao was a bit confused when he looked at the data panel.

Snowman Jimmy, whether it was in terms of level or abilities, was inferior to an ordinary monster outside.Judging from its location and treatment within the black abyss, it seemed even more dangerous than the Withered Count.

The snowman staggered to the edge of the cage, waving its arms.

“Are you from the outside?”

“……”

The copy squad was somewhat speechless in the face of the snowman.

However, Lu Yao noticed that a negative status of “Zero Degree Domain” appeared above the heads of the three Blood Knights. Their health points were continuously decreasing by zero, and their speed had also been reduced by 2 points.

The snowman continued on its own: “Further inside is the Tyrant’s territory, he is the ruler of the first layer of the abyss.”

“The Tyrant is very terrifying, you better not go any further.”

“May I ask, is there light outside?”

This was the first time Lu Yao had encountered a boss in the abyss that he could communicate with.

Under his command, Isabella asked: “Why are you locked up here?”

“I don’t know.”

The snowman gripped the cage with its branch-like arms: “I’ve been here for as long as I can remember, my past memories have been sealed. Can you talk to me for a while? Anything will do!”

“I haven’t spoken to anyone in a long time, the ghouls ignore me, the Count says I bring bad luck, the Tyrant calls me a waste…”

“Nice to meet you, I have a gift for you.”

The snowman’s two branch arms rummaged around in its body, seemingly unable to find any valuable items.

In the end, it pulled off its own red nose, touched it reluctantly a few times, and then handed it over, placing it on the ice outside.

Lu Yao moved his mouse over the snowman’s nose on the ice.

……

【Carrot】: A type of plant.

……

Lu Yao’s face twitched.

It really was an edible carrot.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep