Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

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Mayumi Haga closed her eyes and began to think about what to eat for dinner.

"Mayumi, are you really not going to the tavern?" Fuyun nudged her with his elbow. "Every time I go there, people ask me why I don't take you with me."

These people probably have ill intentions.

Mayumi Haga didn't have any objections to the lifestyle of the adventurers on this island. After all, adventurers always work on the edge of a knife, and they do need to vent their frustrations after such stressful work.

But she wasn't interested at all.

“No,” Mayumi Haga said. “I’ll go back and reorganize today’s information.”

I feel like the changes in the maze are getting weirder and weirder.

Main Text: Chapter 190 Nightmare (2K)

"The temperature in the depths of the maze is becoming increasingly chaotic, and according to calculations, the floor height on the same level is decreasing, and the area is also shrinking." Fuyun spread out the thick notebook containing the data recorded when entering the maze, pointed to several data analyses, and said with a gloomy expression.

This doesn't mean the maze gets smaller as it gets closer to the bottom... it means the maze is shrinking at a slow rate.

"The labyrinth will disappear?" Mayumi Haga couldn't understand.

In fact, both of them knew that the maze was, to a certain extent, "alive".

The ancient wizards' magic has not lost its power to this day. The two guardians, who knew little about magic, tried their best to find the runes that the wizards had inscribed in the labyrinth and copy them, but no reliable wizard could interpret them for them, so they did not understand their true meaning.

Mayumi Haga thought of the last wizard, Lania, who died young. If Lania were still alive, she could write to her for help instead of being stuck on this island, exploring the labyrinth for five years without any progress.

Yes, Mayumi Haga and Ukigumo have been staying on this island for nine years.

The fleeting clouds are actually ten years.

Ten years isn't much for a guardian, but few guardians stay in one place for six years. After all, their appearance doesn't change, and over time it becomes quite conspicuous.

Ten years have passed, and Mayumi Haga's cooking skills have improved by at least one level. She can now know what food is available on each floor of the maze with her eyes closed.

As for Fuyun, it probably means he's had countless girlfriends.

The adventurers exploring the dungeon have mostly changed. Even the female adventurers who were previously fond of Fuyun shook their heads and chose to break up with her after learning that Fuyun planned to conquer the dungeon to the death.

They all believed that with Fuyun's strength, he could go anywhere outside of Maze Island. But they were different.

Too much time has been spent on this island. A human life is only a hundred years long, and the golden decade has been wasted here with no gain. The original vigor has gradually been worn away.

Giving up was inevitable.

Some adventurers actually left after two or three years, and very few adventurers stayed for ten years. Yuna was the last old adventurer to leave.

She came to the island when she was a teenager, and now she is almost thirty.

Her life as an adventurer was far from easy; she was always on the edge of death, and looked more weathered than her peers. She was missing an eye and wore a black eyepatch to cover her empty eye socket, looking haggard.

Five years ago, she died deep within the labyrinth, her body pecked out by a monster that stole one of her eyes. A passing corpse collector failed to retrieve her eye and was resurrected, now half-blind.

"Floating Cloud, are you really not coming with me?" At the port, before boarding the ship, Yuna held Floating Cloud's hand tightly, her remaining eyes pleading. "Staying in the labyrinth won't end well. Come with me, I can take care of you."

Fuyun said helplessly, "I don't lack money, Yuna."

Yuna was stunned.

In his memory, Fuyun was indeed never short of money. As one of the best adventurers and one of the strongest people on the island, this mysterious Easterner never seemed to have ever been short of money.

"Do you really just enjoy the life of an adventurer...?" Yuna's tone was a little confused. "But..."

"Just assume I like it." Fu Yun smiled and gently withdrew his hand from Yuna's.

Yuna then realized that she didn't really understand Fuyun at all.

This adventurer who arrived at Labyrinth Island very early, this Easterner she admired, never told her anything about himself.

Yuna didn't know where Fuyun came from, nor how old he was. Fuyun hadn't been changed in the slightest by the maze for ten years.

Even Yuga Mayumi, who was standing next to Fuyun, remained unchanged.

These two people...

Yuna was still in a daze when Fuyun tossed her the bag of candy as a farewell gift. He patted her on the shoulder, smiled, and said goodbye, "Goodbye, Yuna."

Taking the bag, Yuna wanted to say something, but in the end, she just gripped the bag of candy tightly and mustered her courage to say, "Floating Clouds, if..."

"Hmm?" Fuyun waited for her next words.

“You’ll come looking for me when you leave here, right?” Yuna asked eagerly. “I’ll give you the address…”

"Of course not." Fuyun was full of apology, but refused quite decisively. "If I agree to everyone, there will be no way to continue the trip, so I will not make promises lightly."

“…You’re such an idiot,” Yuna cursed, but she wasn’t really angry.

Fuyun smiled and said, "You're not someone I've only just met."

Yuna left the island. Fuyun watched the direction the large ship had left in, stretched his body slightly, and then planned to go to the tavern for a few drinks.

As she drank her third butterbeer, the white-haired guardian junior pushed open the door, walked in, pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite her.

The two would study the changes in the maze in the tavern.

Because Fuyun usually spends his rest time at the tavern picking up girls, Yuga Mayumi has to come over whenever she wants to see her, and she's become quite familiar with the tavern owner.

The tavern owner was a taciturn old man with a white beard. When he saw Mayumi Haga walk in, he poured a glass of orange juice and handed it to her: "The usual."

Mayumi Haga didn't think there was anything wrong with her drinking orange juice at the bar, and neither did the owner, so it was as if there was no problem.

As for the other adventurers, what business is it of hers?

During her first year on Labyrinth Island, Mayumi Haga was mocked and provoked by other adventurers for drinking milk in a tavern. She didn't get angry; instead, at Ukigumo's urging, she had a drinking contest with the other adventurers, single-handedly drinking them all under the table in a drinking contest.

That day, Fuyun's laughter mingled with the sounds of adventurers vomiting after failing their challenges, attracting a large crowd of onlookers who cheered and jeering.

Since then, Mayumi Haga has become famous overnight, and no one would gossip about her drinking children's health drinks in the tavern.

While Fu Yun would drink everyone else under the table and then mock them, this white-haired guy always had a blank expression, which, combined with Fu Yun's blatant mockery, amplified the level of sarcasm.

What's more, no one can beat the two of them, which makes it even more humiliating.

Mayumi Haga didn't care about these outside opinions; she only cared about the labyrinth.

Fuyun frowned in distress: "It would be great if there were a wizard here... but the last wizard has already passed away, so how are we supposed to decipher these runes?"

"I haven't received a reply to the letter I sent to the Wizard Village." Mayumi Haga was also a little annoyed. She copied down the runes and sent them to the Wizard Village, thinking that although the villagers in the Wizard Village were not wizards, they should be able to help.

But it seems that even the people of Wizard Village don't know how to unravel the secrets of the maze.

We have no choice but to continue exploring the maze.

As usual, Mayumi Haga and Ukigumo planned to continue exploring the dungeon the next day.

This time, the maze became a nightmare that remains unforgettable to this day.

Main text: Chapter 191 I'll be fine (2k)

"Okay, that's all prepared." Before entering the maze, Fuyun would carefully check his supplies each time. Every time, Yuga Mayumi would exceed the preparation requirements, so Fuyun usually only needed to prepare his own things.

The two had developed a tacit understanding through years of working together, and with a slight nod, they prepared to set off.

Just then, a girl's clear voice came from behind:

"Aunt Fukumo! Sister Mayumi!"

A freckled girl with naturally curly brown hair ran all the way here, panting heavily, her backpack bulging as much as her chest.

This voluptuous young woman is Emma, ​​the only daughter of the bakery couple from ten years ago.

All I saw was her bright eyes as she leaned closer: "Can I come with you? We agreed on that last time!"

Mayumi Haga was unaware of this. She shifted her suspicious gaze to Fukumo, who seemed inexplicably guilty, and remained silent.

Unable to withstand the barrage of gazes from Yuga Mayumi, Fuyun immediately raised her hands in surrender: "It's me, this kid had her birthday recently..."

Actually, the bakery owner's health was deteriorating year by year. After a doctor's diagnosis, it was determined that she had been exposed to a chronic toxin in the maze, which was gradually eroding her life.

To cure it, you need to go to the floor where the poisoning occurred and find the root and stem of the poisonous plant to use as medicine.

Emma came for this very reason, and she had privately begged Fuyun many times before finally persuading him to agree.

As for why we didn't ask for Haga Mayumi...

Between a taciturn, white-haired older sister who always has a cold face and is quiet, and a kind aunt who always comes to patronize her business with a smile, it's easy to tell at a glance who is easier to talk to.

What Emma didn't know was that she succeeded even faster by asking Haga Mayumi for help.

After all, Mayumi Haga is much more soft-hearted than Fukumo; otherwise, she wouldn't have only realized at this point that she needed to take Emma into the maze, and had no choice but to agree.

Seeing Mayumi Haga nod, Fukumo and Emma laughed and high-fived: "Yay!"

Haga Mayumi: "..."

Oh well, let's just treat it as a walk.

Indeed, compared to the intensity of her and Fuyun's usual explorations, taking Emma through the maze was at most like taking a child for a walk.

However, even now, Emma still calls Senior Fuyun "Auntie," and she doesn't seem to have any other intentions towards Senior Fuyun...

Mayumi Haga breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that she was overthinking it, but Fu Yun's achievements over the years were truly outrageous. A couple of years ago, children on the island around Emma's age were all shouting, "I've liked Fu Yun for a long time!" and confessing their love to her. Some even clung to Fu Yun's arm from a young age, saying they wanted to marry her...

This was still a bit too advanced for Mayumi Haga.

Judging from Fuyun's reaction, she roughly understood why Senior Fuyun rarely stayed in one place for more than five years.

It's an absolute sin.

Fortunately, Emma wasn't one of those children, otherwise Mayumi Haga would have found this maze walk exceptionally difficult.

However, Mayumi Haga was so focused on observing whether Emma was looking at Fukumo with that adoring gaze that she didn't notice anything amiss until after she breathed a sigh of relief and shifted her attention...

Emma stared at her secretly.

This time, Fuyun became interested, raising her eyebrows to look at this one, then at that one.

Finally, he shook his head and sighed, "Sigh, Mayumi."

It's just like a piece of wood.

Yuga Mayumi was completely unaware of the gazes of the other two. After entering the maze, she and Senior Fukumo protected Emma in the middle, one in front and one behind.

Standing in front of the two to lead the way, Mayumi Haga had a thorough understanding of the terrain of the first level of the maze.

The first level of the maze is covered by plants, with tentacle plants hanging down from above. Their secretions are slightly toxic; although not fatal, they cause pain and itching when they come into contact with the plant, which is quite unbearable.

So she cleared the way ahead, using torches to lightly roast the tentacle plants, which would then retreat in fear of the high temperature and light, naturally revealing the path in the middle.

However, what's a little strange is that, which is usually enough to light a path with a torch, the plants now seem eager to approach after seeing the light. They only retreat obediently after being scorched by Mayumi Haga.

The difference isn't actually that obvious; someone who isn't familiar with the maze might not even notice the abnormalities of the tentacle plants.

But for Mayumi Haga, this subtle change was quite noticeable.

She whispered, "We need to get to the safe zone quickly."

He quickened his pace.

Emma, ​​who was behind, was visiting the maze for the first time, so it was normal that she didn't know about the changes in the maze. However, Fuyun, like Mayumi Haga, was a very observant person and immediately saw through Mayumi Haga's concerns.

She didn't say anything, but simply followed Mayumi Haga's rhythm, and then casually pulled the somewhat slow-witted Emma up with her as well.

Emma was easily lifted up and run by Aunt Fuyun, who was slightly shorter than her: "Huh? Huh!"

As expected of a top adventurer, his physique is so strong that he can run with ease while carrying a person, and his breathing is not disturbed at all.

However, upon arriving at the safe zone, Emma noticed the two men's grave expressions and decided that Mayumi Haga should escort Emma back first, while the matter of the plant roots should be left to Ukigumo.

"Why? Didn't you promise to take me with you?" Emma asked hurriedly. She came to this maze partly because her mother really needed the herbs, and partly because after living on this island for so long, she also wanted to become an adventurer and challenge the secret treasures at the bottom of the maze.

Therefore, she was very excited to have adventurers like Mayumi Haga and Ukigumo guide her through the basics.

She never expected that these two would want her to go back as soon as she arrived.

"Did something happen?" Emma wasn't one to fool around, and she asked seriously, "Is it because of the tentacle plant from earlier?"

"You could say that," Fuyun said sincerely. "This labyrinth is undergoing changes that we can't control. If this continues, we won't be able to protect your safety."

By the time they sensed something was wrong upon entering the deeper levels, it was too late. Out of caution, the two guardians would send ordinary people out first at the slightest sign of trouble.

The tentacle plants on the first basement level have become more aggressive, and below that is the second level, an area teeming with undead. There is still no effective way to control those undead, and their numbers are increasing.

Over the course of ten years, countless adventurers perished within its walls, resulting in a considerable number of undead.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, it would be better to send Emma away first.