The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?!-Chapter 1170 - 731: The Most Complex Mechanisms Require the Simplest Solutions (Part 2)

Chapter 1170: Chapter 731: The Most Complex Mechanisms Require the Simplest Solutions (Part 2)

"Kunxu Penghu has been activated."

The two invisible forces applied simultaneously, turning the water flow that had just been like a siege hammer into something akin to a shower head.

He floated upward with the help of buoyancy, then kicked back with his hooves, swimming forward in a frog-like motion.

Under these circumstances, he could even use "Buck Leap" to accelerate, moving at a speed countless times faster than his previous inchworm crawl.

"Just as they say, you have your Zhang Liang plan, I have my ladder to overcome the wall."

Liu Zheng thought smugly.

In theory, this second challenge is actually harder than the first one, but because he has the "Heart of the Ocean" and "Kun Absorption," two great underwater artifacts, the heavy water flow that was hindering his progress instead became an aid.

He swam and swam, and after who knows how long, Liu Zheng finally broke through the water flow.

"Whew~"

Feeling a sudden sense of weightlessness, he quickly switched his breathing to fast inhalation and slow exhalation.

With the help of "Peng Hu," Liu Zheng was able to float in mid-air, slowly observing everything around him.

He found himself in a massive cave, with countless stalactites like icicles hanging above, their tips emitting yellow-green or blue-green light, much like luminous pearls.

Beneath his feet was an endless silver water surface, completely still, as if lifeless.

A rope no thicker than a pinky crossed over the water’s surface, one end leading to the passageway he just exited, the other leading to a bronze gate.

The bronze gate was covered with gears of various sizes, some interlocking with each other, while others connected to nothing.

Liu Zheng stared at the bronze gate for a while, not finding anything resembling a keyhole.

"Is it possible that these gears are the key to opening the bronze gate?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

As he was pondering this, he suddenly, almost instinctively, licked his upper palate.

A strange taste, reminiscent of licking an iron railing in winter, but not quite the same.

"Hmm?"

The sensation was familiar, yet he couldn’t recall where he’d encountered it before.

Liu Zheng took a couple of deep breaths, but didn’t sense any peculiar smell, and the system didn’t alert him to any "poisoned" status.

That meant, if he was poisoned, it wasn’t caused by any extraordinary items or abilities.

So, the only explanation...

He looked down at the silver water surface, and fragments of textbook knowledge surfaced in his mind.

"So it’s mercury."

Liu Zheng suddenly realized.

Mercury, or quicksilver, is the liquid found in old thermometers.

This stuff can evaporate at room temperature, its gas is colorless and odorless, and inhaling too much can lead to a metallic taste in the mouth, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, fatigue, and body aches all over—a generally low-toxicity substance with very comprehensive symptoms.

Of course, discussing toxicity without considering the dosage is pointless.

Looking at this sea of mercury below, the mercury vapor in the air was likely already at a level where just one breath could cause poisoning, although his high constitution attribute was barely holding it off.

But if he lingered for too long, he might not be so fortunate.

With this thought, Liu Zheng quickly swung his tentacles, slowly flying towards the opposite side.

"Crack!"

Just as he was halfway across, an unusual noise came from above.

Looking up, Liu Zheng saw cracks forming in the stalactites, and the cracks were rapidly expanding.

"I knew it, damn it!"

He cursed.

Since this is an extraordinary world, how could the designers of the mechanism not consider the possibility of a tomb robber flying?

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The stalactites finally broke completely, crashing down toward Liu Zheng with a whooshing sound of rushing wind.

He quickly wielded the "Anger," the dragon scale blade ignited with fury fueled by the mechanism’s annoyance, smashing the stalactites to pieces.

But the momentum carried by the stalactites knocked him several meters down, his tongue nearly reaching the mercury sea.

And it wasn’t over yet. Stalactites from other areas also began breaking and, under some force, started targeting Liu Zheng.

"What the hell, guided attacks too?"

He hastily put on the "Eye of Secret Peeping," and sure enough, he saw white light threads connecting the stalactites to their roots.

"Damn it, haunting my every step. Is the tomb owner also from the Spider Clan?"

Liu Zheng silently vowed that once he escaped, he would find an excuse to beat up the Box Weaving Spider or Weaving Spider Lady to vent his frustration.

Leaving was an issue for later, though. Right now, he had to figure out how to deal with these stalactites.

Using brute force was clearly not an option. Even if he could shatter all the stalactites, he would still end up in the mercury sea.

But when it came to tools, he had already used up the few he had on hand suitable for this situation.

"Gotta take a gamble!"

Gritting his teeth, Liu Zheng smashed the bottle containing the "Shadow of Uncertainty."

If the random teleportation put him in a bad spot, he would immediately use the cosplay outfit.

The shadow, barely the size of a palm, swiftly expanded to envelop Liu Zheng completely. In the next second, it appeared between two gears of the bronze gate.

"Damn!"

The shadow merged into the shadows, while Liu Zheng grimaced, squeezing through the gaps in the gears.

Thank goodness the gears didn’t turn; otherwise, he would have ended up as "non-handcrafted minced meat."

And he had no desire whatsoever to find out if he could return to his former state after being turned into minced meat.

Holding tightly to a gear with one hand and clasping the dragon scale blade with the other, Liu Zheng faced those stalactites.

Fortunately, once he reached the bronze gate, the stalactites ceased their pursuit, returning to their original positions under the guidance of the light threads.

"Whew~"

Liu Zheng sighed with relief and turned his attention to studying the bronze gate before him.

After a few minutes of examination, he decided to give up.

After all, being a literature student, not particularly handy, and not that great at math, trying to unravel such a complex mechanism was too challenging for him.

Professional issues should be handled by professionals.

From the system space, Liu Zheng retrieved a silver-white toolbox, about the size of a briefcase, with a selfie of a penguin pasted on it.

"Name: Kawas’s Universal Toolbox (One-time Use)"

"Type: Tool"

"Quality: Excellent"

"Effect: Can be used in most situations requiring tools, ensuring success."

"Note: Captain, we need an airplane, but we don’t even have a single screw. It doesn’t matter; as long as we have Kawas, we’ll manage!"

"Can it be taken out of the instance: Yes"

He pressed the switch on the toolbox, but instead of opening as he had anticipated, it automatically assembled into a mechanical penguin.

"Hello, collector, Kawas No. 6 is pleased to meet you."

The mechanical penguin greeted him.

"Hello, Kawas No. 6. Can you come up here? I feel like my tentacle might break."

Liu Zheng said playfully squinting his eyes.

If he hadn’t reacted quickly, the mechanical penguin would have already fallen into the mercury sea.

Strangely, the toolbox wasn’t heavy, but as a mechanical penguin, it weighed a ton, easily a few hundred kilograms.

"No worries, though I’m a penguin, I can fly."

The mechanical penguin slipped free of his tentacle and then flapped its little wings, flying up.

"Surprised you, didn’t I?"

It winked at Liu Zheng playfully.

"Indeed, impressive, impressive."

He clapped his tentacle in applause cooperatively.

"Thank you, among all the collectors, you’re one of the more polite ones. Do you need my assistance, collector?"

The mechanical penguin inquired.

"Absolutely. Could you help me open this bronze gate, Mr. Kawas No. 6?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"A piece of cake."

The mechanical penguin gazed at the bronze gate for a while, then produced a wrench from somewhere.

"Clang!"

It lifted the wrench, fiercely striking a certain gear.

The immense force deformed the gear, and the wrench bent into a "U" shape.

"Done. Goodbye, collector."

The mechanical penguin waved a wing at Liu Zheng, then disassembled into a heap of parts, falling into the mercury sea.

And as it disassembled, the gears on the bronze gate started to turn.

Liu Zheng quickly jumped onto a separate gear to avoid being squished into minced meat.

After a noisy sound of mechanical operation, the bronze gate finally slowly opened inward.