Before Yin Xiu could even see what it was, he saw the red figure rush into the swamp, instantly transform into a monster, stomp the girl in the swamp down, and then bounce back.
"Brother, that's not your sister." Ya Ya returned to normal and happily hugged Yin Xiu's leg and rubbed against him.
Yin Xiu was startled and reached into his pocket, only to find that the coin prop was gone.
"You were able to get out on your own?" Yin Xiu glanced at the desolate swamp area, reached out and touched Ya Ya's head. Thanks to Ya Ya's appearance, he regained consciousness.
"No, someone used me to come out. Didn't it you, brother, use me?" Ya Ya looked at Yin Xiu in confusion. The conditions should only be set up so that only Yin Xiu could use them. This was strange.
"It might be related to my current environment; this place is strange." Yin Xiu couldn't figure out exactly where he was, so he just continued walking based on the current environment for the time being.
He reached out and touched Ya Ya, and Ya Ya immediately saw the black tentacles wrapped around Yin Xiu's arm.
The eyes above blinked and met Ya Ya's gaze.
"You! How did you become like this?!" Ya Ya stared at the tentacles in shock. After trembling for two seconds, her eyes suddenly lit up, and a sweet smile curved her face. "Hehe, you're even better this way. You can't turn me back into a tool now, can you?"
While laughing, Ya Ya pulled the tentacle on Yin Xiu's arm and tied it in a knot.
"Let me go!" The tiny tentacles became entangled, twisting and writhing around Yin Xiu's arm, trying to untangle themselves. The more they twisted, the more knotted they became, which amused Ya Ya.
On the chessboard, the obstructing pieces in front of Yin Xiu disappeared, and a small, bright red piece appeared next to him.
The dark figure opposite him stared at the chess pieces Ye Tianxuan had placed, his expression remaining largely unchanged. "It seems you've already learned how to use the chess pieces. Let's continue then."
"Before we begin, I'd like to ask one more question: the instance nodes were set up for Yin Xiu, but what if it's not Yin Xiu who goes in first?"
The shadowy figure remained silent, its tentacles moving as it tapped the table, where the word "Advance" appeared.
Ye Tianxuan stared at the chessboard, planning the remaining nodes and starting to think about the most convenient moves. After all, the entire chessboard was full of nodes targeting Yin Xiu. This time it was his sister, but what would it be next time?
Using Yin Xiu's pieces seems simple, but the person using the pieces must understand him, just as Ye Tianxuan had to know that Yin Xiu had a little girl prop.
Yin Xiu's past few years in the dungeon were uneventful, without any major ups and downs, and he knew even less about it before entering the dungeon.
He might be able to avoid it once or twice, but it's hard to say if it happens repeatedly.
The person controlling the chessboard must consider the situation and plan the movement of the pieces.
Under the watchful eye of the shadowy figure, Ye Tianxuan placed an auxiliary chess piece before Yin Xiu, but instead of Ya Ya, he placed a humanoid chess piece of Li Mo that he had just conjured.
With a clang, the scene appeared at the previous node where Yin Xiu was, and a gloomy orphanage appeared in front of Li Mo.
Li Mo looked down at himself. He had no idea why he was in such a place. He had just been squatting at the entrance of the kitchen when he was suddenly brought here by some force. But after entering, he sensed Yin Xiu's aura, as well as a part of him, which should be nearby.
"An orphanage? I remember it was a place related to Yin Xiu." Li Mo raised his eyes and stared at the dilapidated courtyard in front of him, then stepped inside.
The first thing he did upon entering was to destroy the orphanage, leaving it completely unrecognizable, to the point that even Yin Xiu might not recognize it if he passed by.
As Li Mo's humanoid chess piece appeared at the next node, the shadowy figure darkened, and its tentacles slowed down, as if it were on guard.
"This person is also a part of Yin Xiu's life, and can also become a chess piece." Ye Tianxuan smiled as he gazed at the monster opposite him. "It's your turn. Make your move."
With Li Mo scanning the map ahead, the situation at the next location will be clear. On Yin Xiu's side, there's the healing Ya Ya to keep him alert, plus his own combat strength, so there's no need to worry about anything happening.
Neither physical nor mental attacks will be effective.
The shadowy figure's gaze fell on the node where Yin Xiu was located, then raised the chess piece in its hand and slowly placed it on Limona's grid.
Ye Tianxuan stared at the few monster chess pieces that had fallen, a hint of a smile in his blue eyes. "Do you intend to kill him at that point?"
"He is the biggest obstacle." The shadowy figure stared at Li Mo, wary of Li Mo's presence. He was already annoyed by Li Mo and had deliberately kept him out, but he didn't expect that Ye Tianxuan would pull him in in this way.
To become a chess piece means that someone is very important to Yin Xiu, something monsters cannot comprehend.
"He must be eliminated." The monster's eyes turned fierce, and he placed several monster pieces onto Li Mo's square in succession.
Every time he makes a move, Ye Tianxuan's side will move forward by the same number of steps.
Ye Tianxuan's eyes lit up, and he nodded in agreement with the monster, "You're right. I also think he's very dangerous. Not killing him is not good for you at all. A few monster pieces are nothing to worry about.
Ye Tianxuan watched as the monster pieces he had placed landed at the node where Li Mo was. Then, when it was his turn, he pressed Yin Xiu's piece and moved it several spaces along another route before stopping at a nearby node.
The monster paused, staring at him. "Aren't you going this way?"
It pointed to the square where Li Mo was, and said, "We've already taken two or three steps, why would we suddenly change routes? And we've already left Li Mo here to scan the map, why aren't we going this way?"
Ye Tianxuan blinked innocently, "I didn't say I was going that way."
When playing games, flexibility is key. Who knows which path is full of dangers and monsters, and who would choose that path?
The monster's expression darkened, but it continued calmly, "Then proceed."
Ye Tianxuan smiled and nodded, then pushed Ya Ya's chess piece forward one step.
The monster pondered, watching Ya Ya wreak havoc in the previous map, which seemed to be a dungeon that Yin Xiu had once traversed. It wondered what kind of impact it would have, but while Yin Xiu was still slowly moving behind, Ya Ya had already smashed everything in that node to pieces, killing monsters when there were any and demolishing buildings when there weren't.
The monsters couldn't bear to let Yin Xiu reach the finish line smoothly on the path others had taken, so they placed several more monsters in the square where Ya Ya was to entangle her.
"Don't let this little girl's healing appearance fool you, she was originally a dungeon boss with formidable combat power. You'd better send out more monsters to stop her." As Ye Tianxuan spoke, he pressed Yin Xiu down, and just a second before heading towards Ya Ya's stall, Yin Xiu made another turn, using the extra steps to take another path.
There aren't many paths on a chessboard. Yin Xiu made a few moves, then turned twice, and was very close to the finish line.
The tentacles on the dark figure became agitated due to its fluctuating emotions. It stared at Ye Tianxuan, radiating anger, "Are all humans this cunning?"
"You know the word 'cunning,' so you must know it's used to describe people, right?" Ye Tianxuan casually moved Yin Xiu's chess pieces, his blue eyes reflecting the other's distorted expression. "You can try again and see if I can come up with any new tricks for you."
The shadowy figure surveyed the remaining moves on the chessboard. There were three squares left in a straight line, and Yin Xiu would inevitably face that square. Moreover, Li Mo and Ya Ya were on other squares, and there were no other pieces that could clear his space first.
"Then let me see." The shadowy figure stared menacingly at Ye Tianxuan, then lowered a shadowy figure to the square in front of Yin Xiu. It was impossible to tell what kind of monster it was.
The message "Please proceed" reappeared on Ye Tianxuan's side.
"Alright, alright." Ye Tianxuan nodded with a smile, then placed a chess piece on that square with a snap.
But it still wasn't Yin Xiu.