Chapter 212: The Snake Lady
Black, foul-smelling water lightly covered the tangled roots.
The surface was murky, making it impossible to see what lay beneath.
There was no way to tell whether the black water was shallow or deep.
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
Occasionally, bubbles rose from beneath the surface.
Long, twisted shadows resembling snakes constantly moved through the depths.
Above them, huge spotted doves circled through the sky, occasionally glancing toward the elevator.
Shen Yu watched coldly.
Then, in a deep voice, he called out,
"Peppa."
"I’ve brought you some food."
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Suddenly, bubbles surged beneath the murky black water.
A massive snake’s body, as thick as a python, broke through the surface.
It rose upright and slowly swayed toward Shen Yu.
It was still the same grotesque creature.
A snake’s body.
A human head.
And that unnaturally pale face.
Peppa flicked her forked tongue before coiling herself behind the elevator entrance.
The spotted dove circling overhead suddenly flew away, apparently unwilling to remain nearby.
"Oh?"
"You really brought pork?"
Peppa’s eyes immediately brightened.
"Ha!"
"It’s a pig!"
"Only that creature could eat something like this."
"I never thought I’d have a chance to eat one myself."
The moment she noticed the pig in Shen Yu’s arms, the woman’s expression became delighted.
Her snake body immediately began circling inside the elevator, hovering in the air as she stared fixedly at the pig.
"Hahaha!"
The pig seemed terrified by the human-headed snake.
It desperately twisted and struggled in Shen Yu’s arms.
Shen Yu’s expression turned cold.
Without saying anything, he loosened his grip.
Plop!
The pig fell to the ground.
"Hoh!"
The poor little creature immediately scrambled forward.
It had barely run a few meters when—
Hiss!
Peppa’s mouth suddenly opened to an absolutely terrifying size.
In one motion—
She swallowed the entire pig.
"Ugh!"
After swallowing it, Peppa’s long snake body immediately swelled.
A distorted pig-shaped mass could be seen struggling beneath her scales.
It twisted.
It writhed.
It moved violently.
But after several minutes...
The struggling gradually stopped.
The pig was dead.
Burp.
Peppa let out a satisfied belch.
Her long body slowly sank into the black water until only her head remained above the surface.
Her pale face was filled with obvious enjoyment.
Ding!
[Peppa’s Favorability toward you +10.]
[Current Favorability: 25.]
Hearing the system notification, Shen Yu blinked.
He immediately spoke.
"I brought you food."
"As a reward, may I ask you a few questions?"
Burp.
"Ask away."
"Whether I answer or not depends on my mood."
Shen Yu didn’t waste any time.
"Do you know Lin Wan?"
Peppa’s expression changed slightly.
"Oh?"
"What’s your relationship with her?"
"That doesn’t concern you."
Her long snake body slowly swam across the surface of the black water.
After digesting the pig, countless round lumps suddenly appeared beneath Peppa’s scales.
Looking closely—
They were actually embryos.
Snake eggs.
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
He continued.
"Then let me ask another question."
"Were you originally an evolved creature?"
"Or did you become one later?"
Peppa gave a strange smile.
"Well..."
"When you finish your tasks, you’ll know."
Shen Yu frowned.
"You said that after I provided you with three nutritional supplements, you’d give me a reward."
"Is this it?"
As he spoke, Shen Yu suddenly reached beneath his clothes and pulled out the Scapegoat medal.
The moment Peppa saw the medal—
Her body immediately arched.
Her expression became strange.
She stared at Shen Yu.
Then at the medal.
"Oh?"
"You actually obtained an evolved-creature formation object."
"A sheep?"
"What a pitiful creature..."
Peppa’s expression became complicated, as though the medal had reminded her of something from the past.
"That’s right."
"As long as you help me supplement my nutrition three times..."
"I’ll give you my evolutionary derivative."
"Reproductive Snake Medal."
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
"What is the use of the medal?"
His questions came faster and faster.
Peppa swayed her tail, her face filled with an eerie smile.
"What do you think?"
"If you don’t tell me..."
Shen Yu rubbed his chin.
"I can guess."
"It should be able to release those mutation data, right?"
Peppa froze.
Then she laughed.
"Ho!"
"You’re quite the talent."
"All right, all right."
"If I keep talking to you, even the color of my underwear will be exposed."
"The pig today tasted really good."
"I don’t know how you managed to get it from the pigs..."
"But this thing is much more nutritious than milk."
"Go back."
"Next time, bring more food."
"Then we’ll talk again."
Puff!
Puff!
Puff!
Her body quickly sank into the black water.
Peppa’s expression became somewhat uninterested as she glanced at Shen Yu.
It was obvious that she no longer wanted to reveal anything.
Shen Yu pursed his lips.
"Last question."
Peppa’s voice drifted from beneath the water.
"Speak."
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.
"After entering the company, the values displayed on our bodies should correspond to our mutations, right?"
"The higher the mutation value, the more animal-like we become."
"And once we completely transform into animals..."
"We’ll be eaten by those so-called evolved creatures."
"This company claims that it’s hiring employees."
"But in reality..."
"It’s hiring ingredients."
"And when we become salespeople, aren’t we actually promoting ourselves?"
"That’s right."
Peppa’s voice came from the black water.
"Sales."
"Sales."
"The first step of promotion..."
"Is promoting yourself."
Shen Yu’s expression darkened.
"Then if salespeople are the food..."
"What does the director eat?"
Silence.
No answer came.
"Peppa?"
Still nothing.
The long snake body twisted beneath the surface before disappearing completely into the black water.
Beep!
[Evolution Food Company Dungeon]
[You have completed the task: Understanding the Truth of the Company.]
[Completion Progress: One Half.]
The dungeon notification echoed in Shen Yu’s ears.
He stood there for a moment.
Then he looked toward the elevator doors as they automatically began closing.
His gaze slowly shifted toward the Perfect Timeline.
Not yet.
It wasn’t time.
He still needed to wait.
Shen Yu’s fingers tightened slightly.
"Yang Hua..."
"Sorry."
"Please wait for me a little longer."
With a dark expression, he pressed the button for the sixth floor.
---
At the same time.
Inside the descending elevator—
"Captain."
"I’m saying..."
"How about we just don’t go to the lower floors?"
Mo Xian leaned against the corner of the elevator, his expression tense.
"I can see that everything below us is marked as Great Danger."
"And you saw it too, right?"
"Shen Yu and the others obviously obtained something on the lower floors."
"With that item, they can avoid being attacked by the black-spined wild boars at night."
"It must be an essential item."
Mo Xian clenched his fists.
"An adventure."
"Even if there’s Great Danger..."
"We still have to try to obtain it."
He was clearly trying to reassure himself.
Lang Lingxue’s eyes flickered.
Her gaze occasionally shifted toward Wen Lan.
To be honest—
At this moment, Wen Lan seemed to have more control over the team.
She stared at the elevator’s floor display.
There was no way to know whether Shen Yu and the others had gone to the first floor or the second.
So Wen Lan could only press the buttons for both floors.
Ding dong!
Second Floor.
The elevator doors opened.
The moment Mo Xian and the others looked outside—
Puff!
Puff!
Puff!
On the seemingly bottomless black water, a strange ball made from twelve nose-shaped lumps bounced across the surface like a rubber ball.
"Who?"
"Who?"
"Who?"
The twelve noses simultaneously inhaled.
The resulting suction caused the entire elevator to tremble.
The three people stared at the strange, twisted nose-ball.
They were immediately stunned.
"Damn!"
"What the hell is this?!"
Before Mo Xian could complain further—
The countless noses on the creature began twitching.
It seemed to have caught a scent.
The ball started vibrating.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
"Amazing..."
"Such a strong scent of cattle and horses!"
"The last time I smelled this..."
"The last time..."
"Ha!"
"What am I even saying?"
The nose-ball’s memory seemed extremely confused.
After babbling for a while, it suddenly flew toward the elevator entrance.
"Come!"
"Come!"
"Let me have a good smell!"
Whoosh!
A terrifying suction force erupted.
Everyone inside the elevator was instantly pulled toward the entrance.
Mo Xian’s expression changed.
"Don’t move!"
Wen Lan immediately grabbed the elevator entrance.
At the same time, Yan Cheng, who had already been dragged outside, struggled violently.
"I said..."
"Don’t move things in midair!"
Buzz!
The power of Word Spirit erupted.
The strange meatball slowly froze in midair.
But the twelve noses continued exhaling.
Only this time—
The suction was slightly slower.
"Who?"
"Who?"
"Who?"
The nose-ball visibly began curling inward.
It seemed to be preparing something.
Mo Xian’s expression changed.
"Not good!"
Bang!
Yan Cheng, who had already been dragged outside, suddenly trembled violently.
His head was already shattered and covered in blood.
The side effects of Word Spirit had reached their limit.
Then—
His head exploded.
Puff!
Puff!
Puff!
Blood mist scattered through the air.
Yan Cheng’s headless body crashed heavily into the black water.
"Damn!"
"Damn!"
"What the hell is this thing?!"
"How could it be on the second floor?!"
Mo Xian frantically pressed the elevator’s close-door button.
His hands tightly gripped the handrail.
"I can’t fight it!"
"This thing is impossible to fight!"
"And Shen Yu and the others definitely aren’t the ones who obtained the important item on this floor."
"Let’s go!"
"Quickly!"
"Go!"
Ding dong!
Finally, with the twelve-nosed creature temporarily suppressed by Word Spirit, the elevator doors quickly closed.
The elevator slowly descended toward the first floor.
Whoosh...
Whoosh...
Whoosh...
Silence returned to the elevator.
The three remaining people looked at one another.
Each of them could see a trace of fear in the other’s eyes.
"Captain..."
Lang Lingxue’s voice trembled.
She stared at Mo Xian.
"Great Danger."
"Still Great Danger."
"Then..."
"The first floor..."
"It’s probably not safe either."
Mo Xian’s expression darkened.
"What?"
"The first floor during the day is just the company’s main entrance."
"What could possibly be there at night?"
"I..."
"I don’t know."
Lang Lingxue swallowed.
"But the Great Danger indicator jumped so quickly."
"The first floor might be even..."
"Even more dangerous than the second floor."
Ding dong!
First Floor.
The elevator stopped.
The doors slowly opened.
As Lang Lingxue’s trembling voice faded, the three pairs of eyes turned toward the opening.
Their expressions instantly changed.
Shock.
Confusion.
Fear.
"A hall?"
The sunny reception hall from the daytime was nowhere to be seen.
Instead—
A gigantic bedroom appeared before them.
Why did they call it gigantic?
Because the moment they stepped out of the elevator, they saw a chair towering as high as a skyscraper.
Below the chair were children’s toys.
Small balls.
Toy cars.
Castles.
And even actual cars.
Every single object was enormous.
Some were the size of fortresses.
The three people stared upward.
Only then did they realize—
They had entered a giant’s world.
The open elevator doors behind them looked like nothing more than an old rat hole.
Mo Xian’s eyes widened.
"What..."
"Where the hell is this?"
"Is this still the entrance to Evolution Food Company?"
Compared with the enormous objects outside, the three of them were tiny.
Like mice.
So small that they could barely comprehend the world around them.
"So the first floor..."
"Is actually like this?"
Mo Xian’s expression became complicated.
"Could there be some secret hidden here?"
Wen Lan hesitated.
Then she carefully stepped out of the elevator.
The three of them stood beneath the enormous bedroom.
They looked upward.
Confusion filled their faces.
Then—
Suddenly!
A deafening sound erupted in their ears.
Like an air-raid siren.
Creak!
Creak!
The strange noise was so loud that their heads began aching.
All three instinctively covered their ears.
"What do you think?"
"Should we go?"
Mo Xian turned toward Wen Lan.
The two of them had only one objective.
Find out why Shen Yu and the others could avoid the black-spined wild boars.
Now, compared with the twelve-nosed monster on the second floor, this giant seemed somewhat more normal.
At least—
It appeared to be human.
Perhaps this was where Shen Yu and the others had obtained their items.
Wen Lan pursed her lips.
"Let’s go over and take a look."
The three quickly moved toward the giant bed.
Finally—
Their perspective shifted.
They saw the giant’s face lying on the bed.
Wen Lan’s face instantly turned pale.
She froze like a statue.
Mo Xian followed her gaze.
His voice faltered.
"A person?"
"What person?"
The enormous human body lying on the bed was dressed in pajamas.
A sleeping cap covered its head.
But strangely—
The head beneath the sleeping cap wasn’t human.
It was a gigantic black-brown triangular rat head.
A giant human body...
With the head of a rat.
Creak.
Creak.
The rat head, as enormous as a hot-air balloon, rested against the pillow.
Its long whiskers twitched like antennae.
Two enormous rat incisors protruded from its upper jaw.
They constantly rubbed against the teeth of its lower jaw.
Creak!
Creak!
The deafening sound continued.
Only then did the three realize—
The sound that had resembled an air-raid siren was actually the noise of this rat-person grinding its teeth in its sleep.
"Damn!"
Lang Lingxue’s face went pale.
"This guy makes that much noise just by grinding his teeth while sleeping?"
"What if we wake him up?"
"Would one slap from him crack the entire ground?"
She stared at the enormous rat-person in horror.
And suddenly—
She understood the true difficulty of the first dungeon mission.
At first, she had thought that as long as they escaped from the company’s first floor, that would count as escaping from Evolution Food Company.
But now...
She finally understood.
Escape?
Could they even get out of this rat-person’s attack range?
Before they could take two steps—
The giant rat’s whiskers suddenly twitched.
Creak.
Creak.
Its enormous eyelids slowly began to move.