When Feng Bujue returned to the tunnel exit, the Silkworm Mother was nowhere to be seen, and Uncle Waste Chai was also missing.

Looking up, the silk webs they had cut earlier had already returned to their original state. Upon closer inspection, one could see that… the broken parts had been filled with fresh, lighter-colored new silk.

"What's going on…" Feng Bujue murmured, "Was he captured?" He glanced at the game menu. In the team bar, Uncle Waste Chai's status was still [Surviving]. "Or did he escape on his own…"

While pondering, Jue-ge began to examine the details of the surrounding environment. His gaze first landed on the corpse of the Knife Butterfly Queen, and he muttered, "It hasn't been moved at all…" Then, he raised his eyes to scan the nearby crystal pillars. "The damage to the crystal pillars is also consistent with when we left…"

"Hmm… it doesn't look like there was a fierce battle." Feng Bujue stroked his chin and said, "As expected, he was controlled…"

Suddenly, Jue-ge saw something again. He immediately took a few steps forward and squatted down. "This cigarette butt…" He picked up a cigarette butt from the ground and examined it closely. "This is undoubtedly left by Uncle Waste Chai. Assuming… he lit the cigarette as soon as we left, and then used words to stall the Boss, then… based on the degree of burning, the cigarette fell to the ground about two minutes later."

"But…" Feng Bujue put down the cigarette butt and stood up. "Honghu and the others were 'controlled' about five minutes after running. Could it be…" He looked up at the silk webs in the sky again. "...Could it be that this Boss's ability to 'remotely control' others with silk has a certain delay due to distance?"

"Hey! Are you okay?" At this moment, Tianma Xingkong's shout came.

Feng Bujue turned his head and saw that Little Ma-ge, Atobe, and Honghu were also running over.

"Aren't you guys going to rest a little longer?" Jue-ge asked calmly.

"How can a hero let someone in trouble wait?" Tianma Xingkong replied loudly.

It must be said, this guy is really amazing. He faced the crisis of his stamina value returning to zero a few minutes ago, and now he looks full of energy again.

"Haa… haa…" Atobe was the same as always, panting non-stop as soon as he stopped. "Compared to long-distance sprint runs, I'd rather fight!"

"Was Uncle Waste Chai captured?" Although Honghu's face was covered in sweat, he could barely maintain his normal state. His thinking ability was also unaffected, so he asked a more constructive question as soon as he opened his mouth. "You've already observed the scene, right? What's the conclusion?"

"He was probably taken away by the Boss." Feng Bujue shrugged. "Anyway, judging from the team bar, 'death' can be directly ruled out."

"Then the other 20% possibility is…" Honghu adjusted his glasses and asked tentatively, "...Uncle Waste Chai escaped from the Boss's control with his own strength, but his whereabouts are unknown?"

"Yes." Feng Bujue replied, "If it were someone else, this 20% probability would not exist, but Uncle Waste Chai… he might be able to do it."

"Hmm~ Hmm, that sunglasses guy is unfathomable." Tianma Xingkong nodded in a serious manner.

"Hoo… what should we do now?" Atobe finally caught his breath and said, "Go find him?"

"Of course." Tianma Xingkong immediately replied, "How can a righteous hero abandon his comrades?"

"First of all, I'm not a hero." Feng Bujue narrowed his eyes and continued, "Secondly, at least in the game, I definitely belong to the evil camp…" He licked his lips, "But… considering that the new main quest has not appeared, we seem to have nothing else to do besides looking for Uncle Waste Chai."

"Eh~" At this moment, Atobe seemed to have suddenly thought of something and interjected, "Do you think Uncle Waste Chai might have escaped back into the tunnel?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone instinctively turned their heads to look at the tunnel exit.

"You know… in an emergency, this is really possible." Honghu said.

"If that's the case, he shouldn't have escaped far." Feng Bujue said, and walked towards the tunnel. "Because that giant silkworm can't possibly chase in there. Uncle Waste Chai only needs to stay in a place closer to the exit, and come out after the Boss leaves."

[Warning, the front is filled with the energy of a defensive formation.]

Jue-ge had just walked to the tunnel exit and hadn't taken a step inside when the system prompt sounded.

"Okay… it seems we can rule out this hypothesis." Feng Bujue immediately turned back and told his teammates about the situation.

Everyone came over to try it out and heard the system prompt.

"This confirms our previous speculation." Feng Bujue said, "The previous main quest didn't mention 'obliteration', and this is the reason. If we haven't come out of the tunnel by the time the quest expires, the defensive formation will be activated, and then it will be a total annihilation ending…"

"Alright…" Honghu continued, "At least we've confirmed that Uncle Waste Chai is still in this crystal maze, and we've also confirmed… that we have no way back."

[Main Quest Updated]

[Side Quest Triggered]

Just as the four were discussing the next course of action, the quest prompt suddenly came, and it came in two at once.

They opened the game menu and looked at the quest bar. The new main and side quests were: [Arrive at the Cage of Despair] and [Rescue Uncle Waste Chai from the Silkworm Mother's Nest Before He Dies (Or Leaves the Script for Other Reasons)]

"Hey hey… this time the main quest doesn't have any restrictions at all…" Atobe said, "Not only does it not mention 'obliteration', it doesn't even give a 'time limit'?"

"Heh… it looks a lot easier, doesn't it." Feng Bujue said with a bitter smile, "But if you think about it carefully… this is a pit!"

"That's right, the time limit is not only a restriction, but also a reminder." Honghu continued, "We can infer the approximate distance between the quest objective and ourselves from the time limit given by the system, as well as the average time required to complete this quest." He paused for a second and swallowed his saliva, "And the current main quest is like there is no hint at all, just a simple sentence… This is much more difficult than the previous ones."

"Let's not study the main quest first." Tianma Xingkong interjected, "Rescuing a righteous comrade is the top priority!"

"Ah… you're right, let's consider the side quest first." Feng Bujue said weakly, "Now the system has told us about Uncle Waste Chai's situation. Judging from the quest content, he probably won't last long…"