...

The stadium arena, referee main office.

The chief referee was staring at a report in his hand, his brow furrowed.

"The dimensional portal showed chaotic fluctuations, stability below the expected value?"

Even though it was clearly written in black and white, he still needed to repeat it.

"Yes, according to the current fluctuation forecast, the final portal duration may end up being a day shorter than expected."

A bespectacled technician stood in front of the chief referee's desk.

"Shortened by a day, meaning there's less than half a day left now."

The chief referee's index finger lightly tapped the tabletop.

"Shall we just announce the end of the second round now?"

The deputy chief referee, standing on the other side, suggested.

"After all, the top 100 have basically been determined."

"The safety of the contestants is the most crucial. If they get trapped inside the instance, it would be troublesome."

Currently, the top 95 on the leaderboard have confirmed to have completed the collection task, allowing the remaining 5 to advance according to rank is reasonable.

"I know, you're right."

"Although it's a bit regrettable, let's do it this way."

The chief referee glanced at the numerous split screens and nodded.

This extra day was originally meant as a bonus for the contestants, allowing them to collect more crystals or otherworldly materials.

But now, it seems, this bonus is gone.

"There is one more thing to note."

After hearing this decision, the technician spoke again.

"If there are too many people passing through the dimensional portal, it will significantly affect its stability over time."

"This would further shorten its duration."

"So I suggest the referee team arrange a uniform time for all contestants to evacuate simultaneously."

For many years, scientists have been researching the otherworldly rift and dimensional portal, which are very similar things.

So the conclusion he provided can be considered almost 100% certain.

"Okay, I understand."

The chief referee nodded and looked at the deputy chief referee: "Communicate to each monitoring referee to contact their respective monitored contestant."

"Evacuate everyone uniformly within 15 minutes."

"If any contestant does not respond, report immediately to the team leader."

...

[Greetings, contestants Li Pu (Long Ren)]x2

In the valley, Li Pu and Long Ren had just walked out of the circular valley when the voice of their respective referee echoed from above.

[Due to sudden circumstances, instability fluctuations detected in the instance's dimensional portal]x2

[Expected closing time will be significantly advanced]x2

[Therefore, the referee team has decided to conclude this round of competition early]x2

[And pre-arranged for all contestants to evacuate uniformly in 15 minutes]x2

[Do not evacuate early unless in emergency situations]x2

[Failure to evacuate at the specified time may result in being trapped]x2

[Contestants will bear responsibility for the consequences]x2

[Received information, please reply]x2

"Received."x2

Li Pu and Long Ren exchanged glances, seeing the regret in each other's eyes.

Fifteen minutes was clearly not enough time for them to explore the valley.

This unexpected disruption made them lose interest at once.

A few minutes later, the voice echoed again from the light cluster.

[Greetings, contestants Li Pu (Long Ren)]x2

[It has been confirmed, evacuation time set for 15 minutes later]x2

[Countdown begins now, please take note]x2

[We will continuously remind you, please respond promptly then]x2

[Received, please reply]x2

"Received."x2

They answered again.

The notification had changed from "pre-arrangement" to "confirmed," indicating all contestants had been informed.

With so little time, they simply sat down to rest, waiting for the time to evacuate.

The 15 minutes passed quickly.

[Greetings, contestants Li Pu (Long Ren)]x2

[Countdown begins now, final 30 seconds]x2

[After the countdown ends, please crush the safety talisman to retreat promptly]x2

[29…]x2

[28…]x2

[5…][4…][3…][2…][1…]

As the countdown ended, the two crushed the light clusters in their hands simultaneously.

And then…

And then nothing happened.

"???"x2

They were both stunned.

The scene of crushing the light clusters they had seen with their own eyes, the person would turn into a beam of light and fly directly to the exit.

But now, why were they still standing here?!

"Hey..."

At this point, Long Ren patted Li Pu, signaling him to look up.

Whoosh...xN

They saw several evacuation beams of light streaking across the sky above the valley.

"Uh..."

Li Pu realized.

For some unknown reason, their light clusters failed.

This meant they couldn't evacuate using the light clusters.

Perhaps it's because of this strange valley, maybe its barrier blocked the effect of the light clusters.

"Quick, let's get out of here."

So he grabbed Long Ren and headed to the edge of the mountain wall.

Their situation was dire, if the light clusters failed, they would need to reach the dimensional portal to exit.

From the previous information given by the referee team, it seemed their time might be limited.

The only relief was that this was a level 1 zone, not far from the dimensional portal at the map center.

As long as they exited the valley and ran at full speed, they could reach it within a few minutes.

They should still have time then.

But the key now was to leave the valley first.

This valley was too eerie, better to spend as little time here as possible.

So he chose to escape by climbing the mountain wall.

Whether there's a barrier above the valley was uncertain.

Even if there was, they could still try the previous method.

That was to let the scarecrow lead the way, creating an opening in the barrier, and then quickly follow through.

[Scare!]

Bang!

But when the scarecrow climbed up first, it slammed into an unseen transparent barrier.

Li Pu then had it try other places, still unable to pass through like before.

Even the mountain walls were protected by barriers, experimentation showed that breaking through was impossible.

Finally, even digging a tunnel didn't work, barriers were below as well.

This meant they were completely sealed off.

"Is the exit the only place penetrable?"

Long Ren suggested a highly probable answer.

"Then let's go!"

Without further words, Li Pu hoisted him up and sprinted back the way they'd come.

Now it was a race against time, couldn't be too concerned.

The flowers, trees, and grasses all blurred into a green dragon in Long Ren's eyes, showing Li Pu's incredible speed.

The original 10-minute path was covered in barely a minute, and they reached the nearest fork.

"Oh no."

But as Li Pu stepped in, his expression changed.

"Why did you stop running?"

Long Ren, put down, was bewildered.

But surveying their surroundings, he was similarly astonished.

The forked path was no longer the same as they had come!

The original three-way fork had turned into a five-way fork.

The surrounding rocks, plants, and other details were completely different from before.

"A changing maze? What on earth is this thing!"

A chill ran down Long Ren's spine at the thought.

[Dragon Lady...]

The previous eerie murmur echoed again now.

"Oh dear, have we encountered ghosts?!"

Long Ren suddenly felt genuine fear.

"What are you thinking, there can't be ghosts in this world."

Li Pu rolled his eyes.

He was more concerned with how to leave this valley, this instance.

"Let's... go this way."

So, trusting his instincts, he pointed to one of the paths.

"Alright, let's go then."

"But there are no more protective talismans, we need to be extra careful."

Long Ren quickly suppressed his emotions and showed determination.

"Uh-huh."

Li Pu nodded.

[Scare!]

[Chomp chomp~]

[Dragon!]

The three summoned beasts seeing their summoner's stance, also perked up again.

...

...

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