Ahhhhh, high-altitude survival!

Chapter 171, The Ground Comes Alive

"We died so many times to get to this final checkpoint, how come she just walked right in? This is so unfair!"

"Exactly, there are now backdoors to get through missions?"

"Is it possible we're not doing the same mission? Can we beat Lin Shen?"

"You've got a good idea. If you were in that situation, now that you're here, even if it's not the same mission, wouldn't you try to take it?"

"Rob!"

"That settles it! Be careful, you idiot!"

The group started talking amongst themselves, and the more they talked, the more doubt and dissatisfaction appeared in their eyes. Their gazes towards Lin Yue and the others also became unfriendly.

Lin Yue remained calm, her hands hanging at her sides, her fingers deftly twirling the dagger in her hand. She stood there quietly, listening to their conversation without uttering a word of rebuttal. She knew very well that arguing with them now would be pointless; her immediate priority was to find a way out of this predicament.

Seeing this, Xiao Shu took half a step forward, lowered his voice slightly, and leaned closer to Lin Yue to ask, "Shall we go?" His eyes revealed a hint of urgency, clearly showing some impatience.

Before Lin Yue could speak, Xiao Bing shook his head, his voice equally low but filled with certainty: "We can't leave!"

Indeed, there was no way to leave. Although the hall was very spacious, there was no sign of a door as far as the eye could see.

In fact, while everyone was talking at once, Lin Yue had already quietly surveyed her surroundings. The entire hall was empty, except for the people lying around in disarray and several huge sculptures standing there.

The sculptures were all different in shape, each exuding an ancient and mysterious aura. One of the sculptures was carved with the appearance of a bird with a human face, which looked exactly like Jumang.

Lin Yue thought to herself, if there really is an island lord's decree, it's probably related to this statue.

But right now, the group was staring at them warily, ready to attack at the slightest move. Lin Yue hadn't yet come up with a suitable solution, so she remained silent, standing there quietly, her mind racing, trying to find a way out.

Fortunately, this stalemate did not last long. As the last person groggily woke up, all the statues seemed to be infused with some kind of life force, and began to emit a flickering, intermittent halo.

The halo flickered on and off, its rhythm completely erratic. At the same time, the ground seemed to come alive, slowly beginning to undulate.

At first, the wriggling was slow, like a giant python just awakening, lazily stretching its body. But in no time, apart from the motionless statues, the ground began to move faster and faster, pulling the people standing on it backward uncontrollably.

Lin Yue heard a strange sound behind her and instinctively turned around, only to be startled. The entire wall behind her had vanished, leaving only a dark, bottomless opening, like a dark abyss capable of swallowing everything, radiating a chilling aura.

The crowd was momentarily panicked, but having fought their way through battle, they quickly regained their composure, and their survival instincts drove them to flee for their lives.

The ground was like a treadmill conveyor belt, and a crazy one at that, with the speed increasing faster and faster. However, as long as you ran fast enough, you wouldn't be dragged into that dark hole so easily.

As expected of the Shadow Thief Clan, Xiao Bing and Xiao Shu, relying on their innate agility and speed, even running on this constantly accelerating ground, their figures were still as light as two swallows, and they seemed to have plenty of energy left.

As Lin Yue ran, she kept an eye on the speed of the floor. She saw that the speed was getting faster and faster and was about to get out of control. She secretly thought to herself that running like this was not a good idea.

After thinking for a moment, she simply unfolded the Sky Wings behind her. Then she grabbed Xiao Bing and Xiao Shu beside her, flapped her wings forcefully, and flew into the air with the two of them, their target being the bird-bodied, human-faced statue of Jumang.

One advantage of the Sky Wings is that they can be used immediately once deployed, unlike the Clouds they rode on before, which required an activation ceremony. Therefore, although they are somewhat lacking in terms of passenger capacity, they are perfect for this situation.

Xiao Bing and Xiao Shu understood Lin Yue's meaning, so they obediently clung tightly to her, waiting for her to carry them away.

Unexpectedly, just as the three of them landed on the statue and had not yet gained their footing, the entire statue of Jumang seemed to be tripped by something and staggered. Then, it began to move along with the crazy floor.

Although the speed was not fast, it was still moving closer and closer to the black hole.

How is this going?

Lin Yue was both surprised and suspicious, and she inwardly cried out in alarm. After glancing at the statue, she quickly used all her strength to lift Xiao Bing and Xiao Shu up.

The moment they separated from the statue, its movement abruptly ceased, and it stood firmly in place again, as if the strange movement had been merely an illusion. However, compared to the other statues, Jumang was now significantly closer to the black hole.

Lin Yue was puzzled. Could it be that people couldn't be brought into this statue? That would be troublesome!

At this moment, she was relying entirely on the Wings of the Sky and her own strength to hold onto the two people. Although the Shadow Thief Clan was agile, her stamina was being rapidly depleted by persisting like this for so long, which was not a sustainable solution.

Just then, seemingly inspired by Lin Yue's actions, He Feihong sprang into action. He scrambled and stumbled toward the nearest sculpture.

The sculpture depicted a human face and a snake's body, exuding a mysterious and majestic aura. He Feihong rushed over without hesitation and clung tightly to the sculpture. Surprisingly, the sculpture remained unmoved and stood firmly in place, seemingly unaffected by the raging ground.

Upon seeing this, Lin Yue's eyes lit up. It seemed that people could hang on this sculpture. Was the reason that the Jumang statue moved just now because the three of them couldn't squeeze in?

As she pondered this, her arms strained even more. Lin Yue didn't have time to think further; she quickly whispered a few words to Xiao Bing and Xiao Shu, telling them to get ready. Then, she took a deep breath, used all her strength, and like throwing sandbags, forcefully hurled the two towards the sculptures on either side of the Jumang statue.