C10 Force Value

As the tree trunk hit the ground, it splintered into fragments instead of vanishing in a flash of white light, piquing Xie Yu's curiosity.

"This looks like a prop from the scene; there's definitely something here to investigate," Xie Yu mused, surveying the fallen treehouse.

The cubic treehouse, a deep brown, measured two meters in every dimension, resembling a sculpture at first glance. Its defined edges were so sharp they could easily slice through skin.

Xie Yu approached to inspect it, while Jing Zhe stood ready behind him, her right hand gripping a slender sword, her gaze intense and serious. She was poised to leap into action if anything amiss occurred, ensuring Xie Yu's safety.

This teammate proved to be quite useful; it wouldn't do to let him perish so easily.

Jing Zhe watched Xie Yu's back, nodding slightly in contemplation.

He's actually quite decent...

After circling the treehouse twice, Xie Yu suddenly crouched and began to pry at something. Jing Zhe leaned over for a closer look and discovered a concealed door in the perfectly square treehouse.

"This door is too well hidden; it won't budge without some force," Xie Yu grumbled. With a kitchen knife in hand, he wedged the blade into the crack, leveraging it to pry the door open.

The treehouse's secret door creaked under the knife's pressure, and soon there was a loud "thud" as it swung open.

Xie Yu stepped back to stand with Jing Zhe. If there was any danger inside the treehouse, having her nearby offered some protection.

But he suspected there was no real threat.

This magical dungeon seemed to favor eccentric NPCs. Even if creatures like the earlier puppets emerged, Jing Zhe's prowess would be more than enough to dispatch them swiftly.

"I'll handle this. Step back," Jing Zhe insisted, pulling Xie Yu behind her.

"Your level is too low. Just watch from the sidelines." Her moon-white garments billowed, her black hair and the Suifeng sword in her hand danced in the wind. Xie Yu gave her an appreciative once-over and nodded in agreement.

"I'll leave this one to you, huh? My level's still too low. I'll go buy some experience potions and grind a few more dungeons. Later on, I'll carry you to victory," Xie Yu said.

Jing Zhe gave him a dismissive glance, at a loss for words with such a character. Not one for conversation, she silently stepped forward.

The treehouse was entirely wooden, with a texture more akin to vines than regular lumber.

Jing Zhe first chopped off a branch from the scattered canopy nearby and tossed it inside. After waiting a moment with no sign of movement from within, she confidently entered.

In such a confined space, the likelihood of encountering any NPCs was slim, allowing Jing Zhe to relax somewhat.

The interior of the treehouse resembled a typical study, with books lining all four walls and the ceiling. However, these books were locked by the system, inaccessible to both Jing Zhe and Xie Yu.

With the books unopenable and thus rendered pointless, Xie Yu lost interest in further investigation upon entering. His attention was immediately drawn to the table at the center.

Atop the table sat a black and white steel box with a password emblazoned on it. Xie Yu glanced at it and was dumbfounded.

"You've got to be kidding... Do we really need to enter a password here?"

They had been navigating this instance for an hour, scarcely coming across any numbers, let alone a password. The complexity of this dungeon was becoming excessive.

Scratching his head, Xie Yu figured if the password was somewhere in Sun Square, it'd be best to start searching sooner rather than later.

Jing Zhe, too, furrowed her brow at the sight of the password-protected box. After a brief hesitation, she firmly grasped her thin sword and struck it down.

"You..." Xie Yu's hand shot out in an attempt to intervene, but in a flash of steel from Jing Zhe's blade, the box was cleaved in two with a decisive "crack."

"This..." Xie Yu's outstretched hand hung in the air as the box split open, revealing a key on the table.

"My dear lady, your force value seems to be a tad higher than the norm..." Xie Yu's mouth hung open, at a loss for words.

Indeed, the realm of the adept was beyond the grasp of a Level 3 novice like him.

The combat power of Hibernation Awakening was off the charts, so much so that it could effortlessly bypass the game's restrictions. It turned an item that was supposed to be decrypted into one that could be forcefully acquired, skipping over an untold number of steps and mission protocols.

"What's the purpose of this key?" Jing Zhe asked as she retrieved the key from the cleaved box and passed it to Xie Yu.

Her forte was combat, a classic example of a player who prioritized martial strength. Clearly, a key like this was meant for decryption, and it was best left in Xie Yu's hands.

Xie Yu accepted the key, visibly stunned by the shortcut. The missing steps left him momentarily clueless about the key's function.

He glanced down at the key—it was a dull yellow, just an ordinary brass key, the kind one wouldn't be surprised to find lying on the street.

"I think it's probably what we need to complete the level. The problem is, we haven't found the final door yet, so it seems to be of no use at the moment."

Xie Yu stowed the key in his bag, a personal item every player carried in the game, courtesy of the system. It was a service prop that didn't occupy any additional space.

"Copper Key: The crucial item for the final door."

The system thoughtfully provided some basic information about the key within the bag. Xie Yu realized that sometimes clues could be gleaned from the details offered by the bag's system.

"Let's move on. This place seems to be where the key was stored; there are no further clues here. The books are off-limits, and there's nothing else on the desk. It's clear the system doesn't want us to linger," he said. After securing the key, Xie Yu and Jing Zhe left the treehouse shoulder to shoulder. The two-meter cube, now keyless, seemed to wilt, losing its shine and resembling a piece of decaying wood.

Stepping out, both Xie Yu and Jing Zhe hesitated, a sigh escaping Xie Yu's inner thoughts.

He couldn't help but question the twisted sense of humor of the dungeon's mastermind. Why force a group of young girls into combat, only to transform them into grotesque, monstrous beings of flesh and blood? It almost seemed like the system was deliberately frustrating the players.

Two little girls, identical to the ones they'd seen before, stood at the center of Sun Square, facing them with expressionless faces, each clad in the same white dress adorned with apple patterns.

With the puppet dolls' true nature exposed, the dungeon's big boss seemed to have given up on any pretense. The girls' limbs were noticeably stiffer, turning them into the very image of classic marionettes.

"We have no choice. This time, we'll keep one and trace the puppet's strings, maybe we can flush out the scaredy-cat hiding behind the scenes!"

Xie Yu drew his Ring Blade and charged forward.