Chapter 88 The Man in the Cage

 Lu Yao took a hot bath after returning home to relieve his work fatigue and relax his mood.

 When he came out of the bathroom, the food had been cooked over a small fire and placed neatly on the computer table: a steamed egg, a glass of iced Coke, a stack of French fries sprinkled with salt and pepper, and the eternal wine.

Coupled with the hand cakes Lu Yao bought when he came back, dinner is complete.

 Eating hot food in winter always puts people in a good mood.

Lu Yao ate a piece of French fries, which were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

 He gave a thumbs up to the cactus in the flowerpot next to him: "Not bad, my cooking skills have improved."

The cactus bowed slightly proudly: "It's all because of your good teachings, Lord God, that your servants can learn a trivial part from your wisdom..."

 “Okay, shut up.”

Lu Yao raised his hand to stop it.

Xiao Huo immediately returned to his normal cactus posture.

This cactus is otherwise good, obedient, sensible, and meticulous in its work...but it has one problem: it is too keen on flattering.

It's not bad to hear compliments occasionally, but it makes Lu Yao feel awkward to do so often.

In this era, licking someone is equal to being black, and being black is equal to whitewashing.

 Almost done.

 Everything should be done in moderation.

 While Lu Yao was eating, he paid attention to the pixel world in the simulator.

 After resting for a few days, he will launch a big operation today to explore the [Level 1 of the Black Abyss] again and advance the exploration progress of the first level.

  Displayed in the upper right corner.

 Population: 22,318 Faith: 21,545

Last time, fanatical worship brought a lot of faith, and Lu Yao's ammunition arsenal is now abundant.

However, when downloading the dungeon, he had to concentrate and keep an eye on the scene at all times. From time to time, he had to operate on two lines—in addition to manually operating the Deep Sea Lord, he also had to pay attention to performing miracles. Every time he entered the black abyss, it was a mental drain on Lu Yao.

 He recuperated for a few days and adjusted his condition to prepare for the second level.

 The three-man dungeon team quickly assembled.

As Lu Yao used the key to open the golden door, the game interface once again turned into a gray abyss world.

The words "Level 1 of the Black Abyss" slowly appeared in the center.

 Different from last time, there were almost no ghouls around the entrance this time.

Occasionally, one or two ghouls were awakened from the ground. As soon as they saw the three blood knights, they immediately burrowed into the ground in fear and hurriedly covered themselves with stones and soil to contain their bodies.

Lu Yao discovered that after Earl Wither was killed, the remaining ghouls in the area had completely dispersed. They no longer move together in an orderly manner, and are much less aggressive and courageous.

Obviously they are level 40 monsters, but when they encounter the Blood Knight, they basically dig graves and escape in a hurry, without any thought of confrontation. It seems more like he is self-aware.

 The trio continued to explore along the previous path.

They crossed the frost-covered area, which was once the place where Earl Blight woke up. Now it has become broken and silent, with only the traces of the battle and rubble everywhere.

 The background music maintains a normal soothing tone.

There was one thing in the abyss that made Lu Yao very unhappy. There was no mini-map here, so he had to keep trying to find the way. His bird's-eye view has no advantage.

Lu Yao called up [Fire Mirror] from the item bar.

 His first purpose of downloading a copy today is to conduct experiments.

 Lu Yao pondered. Now that we have a long-range meteorite bomber like [Egil's Fire], if we can fire into the abyss and wash our faces with meteorites, wouldn't it be much easier to defeat the boss in the dungeon?

This beautiful idea was quickly shattered.

Lu Yao tried to use the cross star on the monocular lens to aim and activate, but the entire cross star was gray and could not be activated.

 He was a little disappointed.

But after calming down, Lu Yao also figured it out.

 The essence of Black Abyss is another fragmented world.

　　【Egil's Fire】doesn't have the ability to strike across the world... If it can really do that, maybe this miracle can really protect the underwater walkers.

Just as he finished the experiment, the rhythm of the background music changed and the BGM became brisk.

 There is a situation!

Lu Yao returned his attention to the abyss map.

　　The trio of dungeons came to a strange area. The wind is blowing here, the ground is covered with thick ice, and there are condensed ice sculptures everywhere.

 The three of them came to this new scene and became obviously wary.

 Even the blood knight walking at the front has reduced his movement speed and is wary of his surroundings.

 A black cage appeared on the ice ahead.

It looks like a giant birdcage. The cage was surrounded by golden chains and firmly fixed to the ground. There was a snowman inside.

 This is the boss?

Lu Yao carefully observed the man in the cage.

 The snowman looks normal, with a carrot nose and black buttons for eyes.

It wears a red velvet hat on its head, a red scarf tied around its neck, and its arms are two branches with a pair of red gloves at the end.

Seeing people coming outside, the snowman in the cage waved his branch arms enthusiastically: "Hello, strangers!"

 “I haven’t seen anyone else for a long time. You are most welcome to the abyss.”

However, it was tightly tied with golden chains and had a black birdcage outside, as if it was a very dangerous prisoner.

Lu Yao double-clicked the snowman's head.

 …

  【Hero LV5】Snowman Jimmy

 Health: 10/10

 Mana: 15/15

  Damage: 0

 Defense: 0

 Speed: 2

  【Undead】

For unknown reasons, he possesses the property of immortality and can be resurrected continuously.

  【Curse of the Old God LV10】

 Cursed by the old gods and sealed in all directions.

  【Spellcaster】

  Consumption of less mana when casting spells.

  【Zero domain (out of control)】

 When the ability is turned on, targets within Jimmy's field of vision will continue to suffer cryogenic damage and have their speed reduced.

 【Snowball LV5 (out of control)】

 Create snowballs to attack enemies. If hit by snowballs, there is a certain probability of entering the [Freeze] state.

 …

This data panel made Lu Yao a little confused.

Jimmy the Snowman is not as good as an ordinary monster outside in terms of level and ability.

But judging from the location in the Black Abyss and the treatment of imprisonment, it seems to be more dangerous than the Earl of Wither.

The snowman staggered to the side of the cage and waved his arms.

 “Are you from outside?”

　　　…”

 The dungeon team was a little speechless when facing the snowman.

However, Lu Yao noticed that a negative state of [Zero Degree Field] appeared above the heads of the three blood knights. -0 health points and blood deductions kept appearing, and their speeds were also reduced by 2 points.

The snowman said to himself: "Go further inside and you will find the tyrant's territory. He is the leader of the first level of the abyss."

 “The tyrant is very terrible, you should not go any further.”

“Excuse me, is there any light outside?”

This was the first time Lu Yao encountered a boss in the abyss who could communicate.

 At his command, Isabel said: "Why are you locked up here?"

"I don't know either."

The snowman held onto the cage with his branch arms: "I have been here since I can remember, and the past memories have been sealed. Can you talk to me for a little longer? You can say whatever you want!"

“I haven’t spoken to anyone for a long time, the ghouls ignored me, the count said I was unlucky, and the tyrant called me a waste…”

 “This is the first time we meet, I’ll give you a gift.”

The snowman's two branches and arms touched his body, but he didn't seem to find any useful treasures.

Finally, it pulled off its red nose, touched it again and again with some reluctance, and finally handed it over with both hands and placed it on the ice outside.

Lu Yao placed the mouse on the nose of the snowman on the ice.

 …

  【Carrot】: a plant.

 …

Lu Yao’s face twitched.

 It’s really just a carrot for eating.

 (End of this chapter)