Chapter 2316: Chapter 2317: The Similar Banquet Hall

The lights in the banquet hall gradually dimmed, leaving only the occasional flashes of lightning and thunder to allow everyone to barely see their surroundings. Feng Yuan found it puzzling, wondering what was going on with this sudden switch to a horror movie scene.

In any case, this doesn’t quite match the Mirror Maze.

"Hmm? Something’s not right!"

Sensing something, Feng Yuan turned around. Qi Chen and Dou Yanlan’s expressions were a bit strange, or rather, that smile which didn’t seem human made Feng Yuan realize something.

He casually summoned a small shield that condensed into a heavy sword, and Feng Yuan charged at them, swinging his weapon. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Qi Chen noticed the anomaly earlier; or perhaps, the moment people were separated, he sensed something unusual and felt a threat from Feng Yuan and Dou Yanlan.

Confident in his battle instincts, Qi Chen immediately ordered Ah Mu to strike. The black shadows reverted to their twisted forms and disappeared before Qi Chen’s eyes.

"What is going on here?"

Qi Chen looked around in confusion, unable to understand what the maze was trying to do, and why they suddenly became scattered.

Although Dou Yanlan didn’t possess Qi Chen’s battle instincts, her reaction was quick as well. The moment the phantom struck, she ordered Cotton to retaliate, while Xing Bo guarded her closely.

While Feng Yuan dealt with the two illusions, Xiao Ji hadn’t yet reacted. Even upon seeing the shadows disappear, it merely wondered why Feng Yuan suddenly attacked Qi Chen and his companions.

"Illusions and separating people? No, it’s the world inside the mirror?"

Realizing something, Feng Yuan looked at the corrupted food and dinnerware, comparing them to his memories. He found these rotten fruits and decayed tables somewhat different from what he initially saw, or rather, like things in a mirror undergoing left-right inversion.

"So that’s how it is. But how to proceed without using Space Series ultimate moves?"

Although Feng Yuan could use Space Series ultimate moves, as Agunas and others were still around, he didn’t want to do so. Not to mention it’s just a game; before understanding the person behind the scenes, violent destruction may not be a good choice.

"Perhaps starting with those things, rather than forcibly breaking the space."

Veronia, standing by, offered her suggestion. She hadn’t noticed the space transformation, but this wasn’t surprising. Considering they were in the Data Domain now, space changes would only be perceived by those constantly focused or Data Lineage Spirit Beasts, as such Divine Beasts are naturally prone to overlook them.

"Seems reasonable, albeit troublesome."

Scratching his head, Feng Yuan realized that the Mirror Maze might not be so easy to pass.

At least, it’s not as simple as walking through it to reach the end. It’s evident that understanding what’s happening is necessary to pass this stage.

Feng Yuan couldn’t help but worry about Qi Chen, wondering if he could find the exit.

As for Dou Yanlan, Feng Yuan wasn’t worried at all. Given her skills, finding the exit seemed effortless.

"Things that have changed over time seem to be this one."

Feng Yuan walked to a decayed table and picked up a moldy apple. As he did, cracks quickly spread across the mirror, and the entire space shattered like a broken mirror.

After the Mirror Space shattered, Feng Yuan and Xiao Ji returned to the initial banquet hall, appearing just as it did when they first arrived, as if the guests had disappeared all of a sudden.

"A key?"

Noticing the moldy apple he held had turned into a key, Feng Yuan speculated that maybe each of the three needed to acquire a key.

"How do they prevent tourists from missing the key issue?"

Veronia looked curiously at the key in Feng Yuan’s hand. At that moment, the space beside Feng Yuan shattered like a broken mirror, from which Dou Yanlan emerged holding a key. Upon seeing Feng Yuan, Dou Yanlan said,

"You have a key too?"

"Yeah, I wonder how Qi Chen is doing."

Shaking the antique key in his hand, Feng Yuan felt a bit troubled; Qi Chen doesn’t seem adept with this kind of situation.

"He should be fine. This time, the difficulty isn’t high, and there’s more than one key. If he didn’t get a key, he might not be able to come out."

Dou Yanlan had faith in Qi Chen, believing that he wasn’t as incapable as it seemed. Such small tricks shouldn’t stump him.

"Look."

Seeing Qi Chen appear too, Dou Yanlan smiled with relief and said, holding an ancient-looking key, Qi Chen looked bewildered, wondering what happened.

Seeing Qi Chen’s confused look, Feng Yuan commented irritably,

"You didn’t rely on battle instincts to figure it out, did you?"

"Huh? You’re here? Well, I did rely on battle instincts to spot the counterfeit, but why did the moldy apple turn into this? Do we need to use the key next?"

Qi Chen hadn’t fully recovered yet. His muddled response surprised Feng Yuan; Qi Chen didn’t use battle instincts to find things?

"How did you realize the apple was problematic?"

Feng Yuan curiously asked Qi Chen, who pondered for a moment and said,

"At that time, I noticed the apple’s changes seemed off. Other fruits were just shriveled, whereas the apple showed signs of mold, and once picked up, this happened..."

"Looks like I was overthinking it."

Sighing, Feng Yuan found that it was indeed this way. At the time, he noticed an extra moldy apple by comparing memories, but upon closer observation, one would find the apple differed from other items.

"Many solutions."

Dou Yanlan wasn’t surprised, having already noted the apple differed in many ways from other items, so she wasn’t worried Qi Chen would be unable to find the answer.

"Alright, let’s go and see what’s really happening here."

Sighing, Feng Yuan glanced around and said, even though the banquet hall reverted to its brightly lit state, Feng Yuan felt that the exit wasn’t that easy to find.

After circling the banquet hall, Feng Yuan found no door would open other than the passage they came from.

The storm raged outside the porthole; breaking it wasn’t viable. They wouldn’t fit through, and surely the designer wouldn’t plan the exit this way?

"Strange, where’s the path?"

Rubbing his chin, Feng Yuan inspected the surroundings in confusion, prompting Dou Yanlan to suggest

"This is the Mirror Maze; everything relates to the mirror. Could it require a reflection?"

"But there isn’t a single mirror here."

Confused, Qi Chen said while drawing out a silver platter, "I don’t know why, but even the tableware here doesn’t reflect."

Though the silver platter was polished, it appeared odd because it didn’t reflect the surroundings.

"Hmm... a mirror surface..."

Scanning the porthole, Feng Yuan pondered a possibility, as did Dou Yanlan. After a moment of silence, she said

"Could it be water?"

"Not sure. Xiao Ji, Fluffy Fire Wolfhound, you all step away from that area; let me try opening the window."

Slightly shaking his head, Feng Yuan wasn’t confident in this guess but thought trying wouldn’t harm anything.

As the porthole opened, rain blew into the cabin, and something unusual happened: despite the small porthole, the incoming rain rapidly soaked the floor and spread around.

In just a short moment, a shallow layer of water covered the banquet hall, reflecting its scene clearly.

A glowing ripple suddenly expanded from the center outward, causing Feng Yuan and the others to feel their feet give way, dropping into the water.

Once steady, Feng Yuan was surprised to find they were still standing in the banquet hall, but the windows seemed different. The tall stained-glass windows didn’t quite match those that would be used on a ship.

"Seems to differ from the previous banquet hall."

Though the tables and such were unchanged, some aspects of the banquet hall differed from before. Feng Yuan glanced downwards at the marble floor, polished enough to shine, yet like the tableware, didn’t reflect anything.

"Looks like a banquet hall of a building; there seems to be a door to check out."

Dou Yanlan surveyed the area and remarked, feeling an odd vibe, as if it weren’t so simple after all.

The opened door led to a balcony. Standing on the balcony, they witnessed the scene transforming into an ancient castle within deep mountains.

"Indeed, leveraging the Data Domain, they play quite artfully."

Sheltering behind the door and extending a hand to catch the rain, Feng Yuan couldn’t help but exclaim.