Chapter 1 Despair Cage

The Despair Cage was located beneath the giant pit at the heart of the Crystal Labyrinth.

This was a special space, situated between the main island and the reverse island of Jumo Island.

Time flowed in reverse on the main and reverse islands, but here, positive and negative coexisted, order and chaos flowed together.

For example, at this moment, standing at the bottom of the pit and looking up, one could see the sky of the main island... a blood moon entangled with purple mist hung in the sky. And the surrounding crystal pillars were faintly glowing, not completely pitch black.

*Boom boom boom—*

Suddenly, the sound of *yuebu* (moon walk) breaking through the air came from above.

A vigorous crimson figure darted through the air like a gust of wind, plunging downwards at high speed. Seconds later, the figure landed, shattering large swaths of crystal where its feet touched the ground.

At this moment, Feng Bujue was covered in blood, his eyes as cold as winter.

"You really did escape quickly..." Not long after, another tall figure slowly floated down from the air.

The one who came was none other than the "Executioner."

At this time, the Executioner was grabbing Honghu's hair with his right hand, holding him in the air. Honghu was not yet dead, but he had already lost the ability to resist, and could not even reach into his bag to get medicine...

As for Tianma Xingkong... he had not survived.

"Heh... or rather, I should say, your reaction was fast enough..." The Executioner said, stopping three meters above the ground, and with a casual toss, threw the dying Honghu to the ground, "To be able to avoid my sudden attack with such extreme movements... that really was beyond my expectations."

"Your style seems quite different from your strength..." Feng Bujue replied coldly, glancing at Honghu on the ground.

Brother Jue did not rush forward to save Honghu; he understood that the other party had thrown Honghu down most likely to lure him over...

"What? You want to say I'm despicable?" The Executioner sneered, "Heh... laughable, who says a strong person can't launch a sudden attack?"

"Hmm, makes sense." Feng Bujue actually agreed, "You better remember that sentence..."

"Feng... Bu... Jue!"

Suddenly, a roar sounded from behind Brother Jue.

The familiar voice carried boundless anger and hatred.

Feng Bujue immediately retreated a few steps to the side, glancing at the source of the sound... In a strange patch of shadow, he saw a huge crystal cage.

This "cage" was like a flattened, round rattan ball, woven from crystal, hollow throughout, and inside the cage was a monster with horns on its head.

"Samodiel?" Feng Bujue asked tentatively.

"Aaaah—" A roar was his response.

Before the roar faded, Samodiel suddenly leaped up, rushing towards the side of the cage. He stretched an arm out of the cage, brandishing his claws at Brother Jue, "I've been waiting for this day for a long time... you won't get away!"

"Oh? This is getting interesting." The Executioner floated in mid-air, watching them with an amused look, "Could it be..." He turned to look at Brother Jue, "...you're Feng Bujue?"

"Yes, and may I ask who you are?" Feng Bujue replied calmly.

"Executioner." The Executioner stroked his mustache and said with a proud tone, "I am the chief designer and maintenance personnel of Jumo Island." He smiled, "What do you think? My creation... has it left a deep impression on you?"

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue snorted disdainfully, "Showing off your skills in front of this master artist?" He put his hands in his pockets, took two steps with an affected air of nonchalance, "Since the age of eight, the only skill I've been striving to hone, the only thing I'm proud of, is my creative ability. In my opinion... the island you designed is like a graveyard of imagination."

Brother Jue looked at the Executioner with a provocative gaze and said slowly, "Preventing creatures who crave to hear sins from hearing sins; turning creatures who hope for eternal life into eternal driftwood; immersing creatures who yearn for beauty and purity in filthy swamps... this kind of trick... heh... it's obviously designed by a self-righteous sadist." He stroked his chin and said, "Also, those boring creatures are just mutated plants and animals, can't you think of anything better?"

"You bastard..." The flames in the Executioner's heart grew higher and higher, his face already full of anger. Feng Bujue's short words had successfully touched his sore spot.

"Although I haven't met the other prisoners on the island, I can roughly guess what they're like." Brother Jue's mockery was far from over, it had only just begun, "What other lousy ideas can you come up with? Putting a constantly growing giant into a small room? Making someone who loves sweets eat only mayonnaise every day?" He gently tapped his forehead with his finger, "In my opinion, if you want to create a truly impressive work, there's only one way... give yourself a prefrontal lobotomy."

"What do you think you are!" The Executioner shouted angrily, "An ignorant human... dares to criticize me..."

"Don't give me that 'qualification' crap." Feng Bujue interrupted him loudly, "Even within this universe, I've seen guys who are better than you... I wonder if you know a puppet named Billy, he's a hundred times better than you."

"What... did... you... say..." The Executioner's teeth were almost grinding to dust as he uttered these words, one by one, with uncontrollable rage.

"Hahahaha..." A burst of laughter came from the other side; it was Samodiel in the cage laughing, "Feng Bujue... looking at the entire universe, you probably won't find anyone more talented in mockery than you... hahahaha..."

"What is it?" Brother Jue remained calm, keenly sensing something from the reactions of the two (for the sake of smooth writing, let's call them people), "Between the Executioner and Billy... is there some kind of unspeakable past?"

"Hahaha... there's nothing unspeakable." Samodiel laughed in the cage, "It's something many people know..."

"Shut your mouth! Samodiel!" The Executioner shouted at the cage.

"Hmph... don't yell, you piece of trash..." Samodiel sneered, "This Despair Cage isn't your creation, but the creation of the Lord of Time, you're just a key-keeper..." He pressed his face against the cage, a pair of earthy yellow beast eyes revealing a tangible fierceness, "...you think you can order me around?"

The Executioner's face was twisted with shame and anger, but he couldn't really explode... because he knew that Samodiel was about to come out of that cage.

"Heh... hehehe..." Suddenly, the Executioner laughed, not a laugh of extreme anger, but a sinister laugh, "As a prisoner, your nature really hasn't changed at all..." He said, descending from the air, "And you..." He looked at Brother Jue, "A mere human, spouting nonsense in front of me..."

The Executioner stopped, shrugged, "Alright... no matter what you think of me, today, I'm just a spectator..." He raised a hand and pointed at Feng Bujue, "Feng Bujue, didn't you and your companions want to find a way to 'open the Despair Cage'? Hehehe..." He laughed a few more times, "I've already helped you open it."

Brother Jue's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

The Executioner continued, "The blood on you... the blood shed by that kid in the Saint Cloth, is the key to opening the cage."

*Crack—*

Before he finished speaking, the cage holding Samodiel made a very ominous sound, sounding like something hard cracking...

"He's a believer in the God of Truth, Thuleus..." The Executioner continued, "Hehe... the moment his blood... fell into this space, the seal was lifted."

*Crack crack...*

After the first sound, there was a chain reaction. In a few seconds, the crystal cage that had trapped Samodiel fell apart and shattered on the ground.

Obviously, after the seal loosened, it was just an ordinary cage... Samodiel's several impacts earlier were enough to cause cracks in the cage.

[Current Mission Complete]

[Main Mission Updated]

[Current Mission Complete]

[Main Mission Updated]

These continuous, repeated prompts indicated that Brother Jue had completed two missions at once. Opening the mission bar showed that, in addition to [Find a way to open the cage], a new mission [Release the seal on the Despair Cage] had appeared below, and the latter was considered completed almost as soon as it appeared.

"Tch..." Feng Bujue spat, "This mission is surprisingly simple..."

In fact, it wasn't simple at all...

If everything was normal, this Nightmare Scenario should have had another third of its progress to go. And the way to break the seal would have been different from what it was now.

First, the players had to find clues about the "seal" in this space. Then, they had to find a mechanism to return to the main island of Jumo Island. Next, they had to find several items and ask one of the NPCs about the two ways to leave Jumo Island (this could be skipped, because Brother Jue had already learned about it from Fuling). Finally, they had to return here and open the Despair Cage.

But due to Billy's intervention, the Executioner appeared here, disrupting the original plot...

"Hahahaha... hahahahaha..." The Executioner laughed almost maniacally, "If you two have grudges, settle them... no need to thank me... hahaha..."

"You released such an important prisoner without authorization... aren't you afraid the Lord of Time will hold you accountable?" Feng Bujue asked, looking at him.

"That's none of your business, you should worry about yourself first... haha..." The Executioner laughed, "Human, I'd like to see how long you can keep up that arrogant attitude."

*Bang, bang...*

As they spoke, Samodiel on the other side had stepped out of the cage, his huge hooves stamping on the crystal surface, making loud bangs. A pair of bat wings spread out behind him, stirring up a gust of wind.

At this moment, the new mission in Brother Jue's mission bar also clearly illustrated the severity of the situation: [Survive]