Chapter 102: The Great Hollow
After dealing with the not-so-interesting loot, Lin Ye took care of the little animal for a while before lying down on the bed, ready to end this long day.
The little snail had somehow crawled to his pillow, retracting its entire body into its shell as if coordinating with him.
Lin Ye opened the group chat and posted the new information about the maze's deeper layers into the group.
(535287/1000000)
"Thanks for the intel, boss."
"I've encountered those long corridors too, but I was afraid of running into a BOSS and didn't dare go in."
"I've killed surface-level BOSSes before, but the deeper layers feel somewhat dangerous."
"I tried it—entered the hall during the last few minutes, gave it my all but couldn't win, and barely managed to get teleported back to the Shelter."
"Details, please."
"What details? I couldn't even break through the BOSS's spiritual energy shield, got chased all over the place, and barely dragged it out until the countdown ended using my talent ability and spiritual energy items." "Actually, the red maze is relatively safe now. If you don't run around recklessly, you basically can't die. I think those who die daily are probably the ones challenging BOSSes and getting themselves killed."
"Yeah, I had a high-level friend whose name went dark during the last maze exploration. I thought it was an accident at the time, but now it seems like he might have wiped while fighting a BOSS."
"Those who drown are usually the ones who know how to swim. Trash collectors like me who only dare to pick up garbage won't have accidents."
"Right, it's unbelievable that a coward like Old Yu has survived this long."
Yu Feng: ...That's enough from you all.
"Old Yu, how do you sleep at night?"
Yu Feng: After awakening mental energy, I don't sleep much anymore. If I get too tired, I just take a short nap. You should try it—it could save you a lot of time.
"No thanks, there are no monsters around me anyway."
"I choose to sleep."
"Old Yu, what do you do if you're not sleeping?"
Yu Feng: ...Read group chats, browse the trading area, take photos, wait for nighttime activities.
"...That's really sad."
"It is a bit..."
"Moments of silence."
"Stay strong, big brother without a Shelter."
......
Closing the group chat, Lin Ye closed his eyes and ended this long day.
........................
[Please draw today's card]
"My turn! Draw card!"
This time the card showed a fox. As the card dissipated, a fox with vibrant red fur crouched in the center of the Shelter.
The fox walked elegantly to Lin Ye's front and jumped into his arms.
Its expression was too human-like, making Lin Ye hesitate for a moment before holding it in his arms.
The fox's fur was extremely smooth and soft, quite pleasant to touch.
"Hello?"
Lin Ye couldn't resist stroking it a few more times, and the fox showed a content expression on its face.
"Chirp chirp."
The fox narrowed its eyes and made gentle sounds.
"Oh? Then I'll lie down a bit longer."
Holding the fox, Lin Ye began his daily simulation.
[Please choose to start a new simulation task or enter the simulation base]
"Start a new simulation task."
........................
[Simulated D-Class personnel: Vincent]
[Acquired special skill: Inspiration]
[Inspiration]
[After using this skill, you can see all hidden information nearby (1/1)]
[Note: Are you sure you want to look?]
[Remaining simulation count: 10]
Lin Ye opened his eyes to find himself sitting on a hard chair in an interrogation room, with an overseer sitting across from him.
"Have you been to the Great Hollow?"
Without giving Lin Ye time to think, the overseer asked directly.
"I have been."
Lin Ye answered without the slightest hesitation.
Simultaneously, Lin Ye prepared to commit suicide.
He had long considered this situation—if the organization wanted, they could interrogate all D-Class personnel during specific time periods. Without the original person's memories, he could easily be exposed.
But the organization had never done this, possibly because the organization was larger and more complex than he imagined, or maybe other factors were at play.
'But if the organization does this, how will the system judge it? No D-Class personnel performing tasks so skills can't be activated? Or like now?'
The overseer casually stood up and left the interrogation room, but his acting was too forced—Lin Ye saw through his disguise immediately.
He was shocked, and also very nervous.
'Too bad, seems like I answered wrong.'
Lin Ye had no choice—with too little known information and needing to answer immediately, he could only take a random guess.
'Can only suicide and answer again, but I need to confirm the correct answer first and analyze how Vincent should have behaved.'
Vincent was a white male in his thirties, 185cm tall, with a robust build and quite good physical fitness.
'How should he have reacted? What is the Great Hollow? Why hasn't anyone come in to control me yet? Are they preparing?'
The spiritual energy concentration in the environment was ordinary. Lin Ye absorbed a trace of spiritual energy and prepared to use it to shred his heart.
But the siege he expected didn't come. Instead, a very ordinary overseer arrived.
The overseer put Lin Ye on the prisoner transport vehicle. He wasn't the first person onboard—two D-Class personnel in orange prison uniforms were already sitting inside.
One was a long-haired young man in his twenties, the other a bald, muscular man in his forties.
'What does this mean? That overseer definitely recognized me, otherwise he wouldn't have had that reaction, yet now he's acting like it's a normal mission.'
'Since it's a simulation task, why didn't the system teleport me directly to the prisoner transport vehicle?'
'That means if I hadn't answered that question, the simulation task wouldn't have started?'
'...Does the organization want me to perform some mission?'
'No, not necessarily the organization—the organization wouldn't need to play these petty games. It's likely personal action.'
'Some high-ranking organization member wants me to help complete some mission?'
'So the interrogation room dialogue likely happens daily—if I show any flaws, the mission will begin.'
Lin Ye sat across from the bald muscular man, rapidly absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy. This kind of "specifically assigned" mission would definitely be extremely difficult.
The other party was likely mid-to-high level in the organization. If it were a normal mission, they wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.
"You guys don't know where we're going yet, right?"
The bald muscular man Zorn suddenly spoke.
"You know?"
Danny's eyes flickered, his nerves tense.
"Heard of the Great Hollow?"
Zorn said with a fierce grin.
"Dammit! I knew it! When they sent me here, I had a bad feeling! I don't want to go down there again!"
Danny clutched his head, letting out painful low growls.
"You've been in there too?"
Zorn looked incredulous, then quickly turned to Lin Ye and asked:
"You haven't been in there too, have you?"
"Yeah."
Lin Ye answered briefly. Whether he'd been there or not didn't matter anymore—he was already here, and the mission wouldn't stop.
"Finished, I thought it was a routine edge reconnaissance mission... Three hollow survivors—definitely not a reconnaissance mission. We're likely going deep into the hollow. We're done for..."
The smile disappeared from Zorn's face, his teeth chattering as he became even more nervous than Danny.