1009 Collapse Fang Heng couldn’t help feeling puzzled. He had seen the stunned expression on Tang Mingyue’s face when she opened the stone box. In addition, this trial was a team mission, so the possibility of Tang Mingyue lying was basically ruled out. What the hell was this game trying to do? There were also those cave-dwelling monsters… What was with them? While Fang Heng was thinking, a game hint quickly appeared on his retina. [Hint: The player has completed the stage trial mission. The player team has obtained 24 hours of basic game time.] [Hint: The current stage of the team trial mission has changed, escape.] [Mission name: Escape] [Mission Description: During the exploration of the maze, strange changes have occurred. The maze has begun to collapse. Players, please escape immediately.] [Mission requirement: Escape from the maze.] [Remaining time for the trial: 24 hours (after the trial time ends, the trial will be deemed as a failure)] The cave was shaking more and more violently, and rocks of varying sizes kept falling from above. A yellow line that showed the way appeared on the retinas of the players. Wei Tao’s pupils constricted and he shouted, “It’s the game guide! Don’t worry about those monsters, retreat first!” When the players received the order, they immediately put away their weapons and fled according to the route pointed out by the game. Just as Fang Heng was about to leave, he suddenly saw Sandy standing rooted in the spot as if he had lost his soul. He didn’t move and was staring into the distance. “Sandy!” Fang Heng shouted from afar. Seeing that Sandy still had no reaction, Fang Heng immediately came to his side and grabbed his arm, “What are you standing there for? Run!” “Fang Heng!” Sandy only came back to his senses when Fang Heng grabbed him. He pointed at the pile of rubble not far away, “That, that stone box is an antique! It’s very valuable, so we have to take it away!” Fang Heng frowned and looked in the direction Sandy was pointing. As the large stone pillar exploded, the stone box had fallen into the pile of broken stones and was covered under the stones, only revealing a corner. That’s right! Previously, Tang Mingyue had been sure that there was nothing in the box. Could the real treasure be the box itself? “I’ll go get the box, you go first! Remember, stay by Mo Jiawei’s side!” Fang Heng shouted at Sandy and dashed toward the direction where the box was left. Crushed stones kept falling. Fang Heng dodged in advance thanks to his perception and rushed to the box, then punched the shrapnel on the ground with his fist. “Bang! Bang, bang!” The shrapnel was smashed by Fang Heng’s fist. He found it! Fang Heng dug out more than half of the box from the pile of stones and grabbed it with both hands, trying to pull it out of the pile of stones. It was so heavy! The moment he held it in his hand, Fang Heng could feel that the stone box was extremely heavy. Gritting his teeth, the veins on his neck bulged as he used almost all his strength to lift the box. Following this, the item disappeared and was put into his backpack. [Hint: You have obtained a stone box.] [Item: Stone box] [Description: A box made of stone. It is extremely heavy. It may be made of some special stone.] [Hint: This item will consume a lot of weight-bearing when stored in the backpack. The player will be punished with extra weight.] After taking a closer look, his original player weight-bearing had been immediately maxed-out after the box was thrown into the backpack. It also gave him the negative effect of a 40% reduction in movement speed. “Eh?” Why couldn’t he find anything strange in the game hint? Was it just an ordinary stone? No! Fang Heng immediately realized the problem. Sandy was a high-tier NPC whose art appreciation skills had already broken through the master level. He would not be wrong. Since Sandy insisted that this item was an antique, it was instead evident that there was something wrong with the box since its description showed nothing unusual… He had to take the box away first! Fang Heng raised his head and saw that the team of players had already fled far away. He had no choice but to brace himself and escape while enduring the punishment of a 40% movement speed reduction. Fang Heng transformed into his bat form and flew toward the exit at full speed, following the direction indicated by the game. … “Hurry up! Faster! The exit is up ahead!” After running for more than half an hour, Mikhael, who was leading the team, finally saw the sunlight shining in from outside the cave in the distance. As they ran, the cave behind them continued to collapse. The players could only run for their lives, afraid that they would be completely buried in the cave if they were even a second slower. The players ran out of the cave one by one and lay flat on the grass, looking at the blue sky and panting heavily. Blue sky, white clouds. Birds and insects were chirping. It felt so good to be alive. Thank god they could forcefully recover their vitality with medicine. Otherwise, most players would have been exhausted halfway. After such consumption, the vitality potions brought by the players were almost used up. At the end of the line, Tang Mingyue and a few players came out of the cave together. “Is everyone all out? Do a head count immediately!” Wei Tao had just given the order when he suddenly frowned. His eyes were searching for something in the crowd as he asked, “Where’s Fang Heng? Why don’t I see Fang Heng?” “He doesn’t seem to be out yet?” Everyone couldn’t help but look into the depths of the pitch-black cave. A black bat was flapping its wings as it flew out of the cave, looking like it was struggling. “Chi, chi…” When he was close to the cave’s exit, Fang Heng used teleportation to leap forward for a certain distance. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮 Hu! After leaving the cave and transforming into his human form again, Fang Heng let out a big sigh of relief. It had been too difficult! Even in his bat form, he still suffered the negative effect of having his movement speed reduced by 40%, and his flying ability was greatly reduced. Fortunately, his Vampire Bloodline’s level was not too bad, and his basic flying speed was not slow. Otherwise… Fang Heng opened his mouth and was about to say something when a loud boom came from the depths of the cave behind them. Looking back, the entrance to the cave had been completely blocked by huge rocks. Outside the entrance of the cave, the players who had just sat up to rest turned even paler. It really did collapse. If they had been just a step slower… The players felt lucky that they had escaped death. A game hint appeared on the players’ retina. [Hint: The player has completed the current stage of the team mission, escape. The player will be rewarded with an additional 5 hours.] [Hint: You have triggered the next stage of the mission, report.] [Mission name: Report] [Mission requirement: Please return to Hani City and report the details of your trip to the Empire’s Quartermaster.] [Remaining time for the trial: 28 hours and 19 minutes (the trial will be deemed as a failure after the trial time ends)] The game hint was as inexplicable as ever, and everyone looked at each other. The Empire’s Quartermaster? Was that a special NPC? Report to him? So, the issuer of the mission was the Empire? While everyone was resting, Wei Tao gathered the World Lords and deputy commanders for a short meeting.