Chapter 180: Demon King Tower Floor 2

Chapter 180: The Second Floor of the Demon King Tower

The night grew darker, and Meng Shu, utterly exhausted, was carried by Ling Qingjue to the bathroom for a quick wash. After returning to the bedroom, his head barely touched the pillow before he fell asleep.

Ling Qingjue sat by the bed, his breathing gradually steadying.

He hooked his finger across Meng Shu's cheek, the touch as light as an ant crawling.

Meng Shu showed no reaction, still deep in sleep.

Ling Qingjue brushed aside the stray strands of hair on his forehead, bent down, and placed a gentle kiss on Meng Shu's brow.

After Meng Shu’s class level had been restored, his stamina had increased considerably, making it quite difficult to exhaust him completely. Ling Qingjue had held nothing back, only managing to knock him unconscious just before midnight.

Ling Qingjue didn’t want Meng Shu to be awake when he left.

He couldn’t bear to go.

Only a few minutes remained before midnight. Knowing he could no longer stay, Ling Qingjue erased the bite marks on Meng Shu's body before leaving, leaving only the mark on the nape of his neck.

"I have to go," Ling Qingjue said hoarsely, almost to himself. "If you were awake, I wouldn't be able to leave again."

He was sure Meng Shu was sound asleep before he dared to say these things.

"We don't have much time. You need to come save me soon, or else..."

He paused, then forced out the words, "I'll be scared."

He took a deep breath, swallowed all his reluctance, tucked the blanket around Meng Shu, and gave him another kiss on the cheek. "I'm off. Goodnight."

The Demon King Tower appeared.

Once midnight passed, the clouds that had gathered in the sky dispersed.

Time flew by at an incredible speed. After waking up, Meng Shu was groggy. He rubbed his eyes and habitually called out, "Morning, Cat!"

No one answered him.

He slapped his forehead. Oh, right. Ling Qingjue should have entered the Demon King Tower!

Meng Shu scrambled up in panic, pulled back the curtains, and saw that outside, the sky was clear and the sun was blazing high.

The rainy spell had ended.

Ling Qingjue had slipped away quietly.

Meng Shu stared at the sky. The sunlight was almost blinding.

The system's voice echoed in his ears: "Warning! The Demon King Tower has appeared! Adventurers from around the world are invited to challenge the Demon King Tower!"

"Demon King Tower Location: Center of Moon Bay Magic Forest"

"Demon-level Dungeon: 「Demon King Cat Head」"

"Inside this dungeon, Territory is forbidden. 「Demon King Cat Head」 is immune to all mental attacks and all control-type skills."

"Current Demon King Tower Progress: Second Floor"

"Current people inside the Demon King Tower: 187,538"

Meng Shu had just woken up, and the system was already urging him to go attack the Demon King.

He went to wash his face first. The back of his neck ached faintly. On closer inspection, sure enough, Ling Qingjue hadn't healed the bite mark there again.

He put off the system's request for now and went to the basement to search for the treasures Ling Qingjue had left for him.

There was a pile of weird items; Meng Shu had no clue what most of them did. He picked a few and put them into his Inventory.

Since he was quite afraid of death, he brought a thousand bottles of health potions.

Given Meng Shu’s current attack power, there was no way he could break through Ling Qingjue’s defense.

He rummaged through the pile of legendary treasures and finally found the weapon he wanted in a corner—Calamity.

Since he couldn’t break through the defense, he'd have to trade blood for blood.

He could keep chugging potions, and Ling Qingjue's healing ability had been stripped away—he couldn't heal himself.

As long as he was shameless enough, Ling Qingjue would eventually wear out.

Meng Shu grabbed a huge stack of items, then dug around for a set of black armor and put it on, before finally accepting the system's invite. "Activate the teleportation array."

System: "Please pay one hundred yuan."

Meng Shu: "..."

They're charging money now?

He tried to haggle. "I’m Ling Qingjue’s master. Why should I have to pay to get into the Demon King Tower?"

System: "Do you have the adoption papers?"

"...No."

"Then please pay one hundred yuan."

Meng Shu reluctantly paid, and one hundred yuan was deducted from his account. "Where's this money going?"

System: "You don't have the clearance to know."

Soon Meng Shu found out where the money was going—his account balance was skyrocketing—tens of thousands every minute.

He stared in disbelief. Are there really that many suckers paying to challenge the Demon King Tower?

The Demon King Tower materialized out of thin air, floating in midair. It was a pitch-black giant tower, five floors tall.

Countless people crowded at the base of the tower. When Meng Shu landed, he was crushed in the crowd, nearly flattened into a pancake. He fought his way out of the crowd, found a spot with fewer people, and looked up at the Demon King Tower.

So many people!

Meng Shu strained on tiptoe, trying to see what was happening.

Are there really this many adventurers in the world?

"Meng Shu!" Jia Zhao appeared out of nowhere, grinning and patting his shoulder. "You're late!"

Meng Shu turned around, mumbling vaguely, "I slept too late yesterday..."

"What's that on your neck?" Jia Zhao leaned in to look. "Wow, whoever bit you has some good teeth—look at that perfect bite mark..."

Meng Shu covered his neck, his face flushed bright red. "Stop looking!"

Jia Zhao clicked his tongue twice and lifted his chin. "Look, a lot of people have come. They haven't officially started on the second floor yet; they're waiting for the vanguard to scout for intel."

Meng Shu asked, "Vanguard?"

Jia Zhao said, "The vanguard is a team specialized in reconnaissance, very good at fleeing for their lives. They're not responsible for conquering the Demon King Tower, but they go in first to learn the Demon King's stats. Of course, they demand a huge payment from the crowd."

Meng Shu suddenly understood. "No wonder so many people are gathered here—they're all waiting for the intel."

"Yeah, otherwise going in would be suicide." Jia Zhao shrugged. "With so many people here, at a hundred bucks a ticket, that's enough to make you rich."

The people around were ranting: "Damn, why does the Demon King Tower charge money?"

"Spending money makes you stronger, since it gives extra buffs!"

"Did the Demon King Tower ever charge money before?"

"Never heard of that!"

...

Meng Shu looked away guiltily. "Keep your voice down, I'm afraid we'll both get beaten up."

Jia Zhao leaned close to his ear and whispered introductions of the big shots present. "That old man over there, gleaming with gold, he's lived over a thousand years and has fought the Demon King six times."

"That woman with the long sword over there is a fierce one. They say she tears apart Evil Dragons with her bare hands, known as the Dragon Hunter."

"That child-like person over there specializes in explosion magic. I heard everywhere he goes gets blown up. Most of the time everyone hopes he won't act; he basically serves as a mascot."

After hearing introductions to several big shots, Meng Shu asked timidly, "What level am I?"

Jia Zhao looked at him with pity. "There, there, let's not talk about that."

Someone saved them in time with magic.

Jia Zhao's eyes lit up. "The vanguard is out!"

The crowd instantly pushed forward. The members of the vanguard looked battered and dusty, supporting each other as they got to their feet. "That Demon King Cat is incredibly tough!"

"On the second floor, we fought his clone. That clone's stats are ridiculously high, and it controls spatial power, allowing it to teleport freely within the tower—impossible to even land a hit on!"

"Is Demon King Cat's second floor really that hard to beat?"

Meng Shu, overhearing, couldn't resist correcting: "His name is Demon King Cat Head."

Missing one character, and Ling Qingjue would be angry!

No one cared about Meng Shu's objection.