From cannon fodder villain to beloved heroine

"Shh—" Xu Lin'an suddenly put his index finger to his lips, signaling Yan Ruyu to be quiet.

He keenly caught a strange sound, like the sound of some kind of machine turning, which seemed particularly abrupt in the silent valley.

"What's that sound?" Yan Ruyu frowned slightly, listened intently, and also heard the strange sound.

Following the sound, the two carefully parted the dense bushes, and a sudden view opened up before them, causing them to gasp in surprise.

This is a huge underground cave, with countless sharp stone cones hanging from the ceiling, as if they might fall at any moment.

The ground was riddled with a complex network of trenches and traps, in which some unknown liquid churned and bubbled, emitting a nauseating stench.

The walls surrounding the cave are inlaid with all sorts of strange metal devices, shimmering with an eerie green light, like lurking beasts ready to launch a fatal attack at any moment.

"Is this definitely not the set of Tomb Raider?" Yan Ruyu quipped, a hint of dark humor tinged with the tense atmosphere.

Xu Lin'an's lips twitched. What kind of time is this to be making jokes?

The two held their breath and stepped into the area of ​​the mechanism. The stone slab under their feet sank slightly.

In an instant, countless arrows shot in from all directions, like a torrential downpour, emitting sharp whistling sounds as they pierced the air.

Yan Ruyu and Xu Lin'an reacted quickly, each using their lightness skills to dodge and weave through the rain of arrows.

The arrows grazed their clothes and struck the stone wall behind them with a crisp clanging sound.

In an instant, the cave was filled with smoke and dust, and flying rocks made it seem as if the end of the world had come.

"These traps are too numerous!" Yan Ruyu couldn't help but complain as she dodged.

"Wife, be careful!" Xu Lin'an grabbed Yan Ruyu and pulled her behind him.

An arrow grazed Xu Lin'an's arm, tearing his sleeve, and blood instantly seeped out.

"Hiss—" Xu Lin'an gasped, but did not make a sound. He simply gestured to Yan Ruyu to continue forward.

Yan Ruyu's gaze fell on Xu Lin'an's wound, her eyes sharpened, and she suddenly said, "Wait..."

Yan Ruyu's gaze was fixed on the holes from which the arrows had been shot, her eyes darting around rapidly as her brain worked at high speed.

These arrows were not random; the angle, number, and speed of each shot seemed to be related to the position of the stone slab they stepped on.

"Wait, I understand!" Yan Ruyu's eyes lit up, and a confident smile appeared on her lips.

“Look, three to the left, two to the right, then one to the left, step here!” she said, pointing to a few inconspicuous stone slabs on the ground with a confident tone.

Although Xu Lin'an didn't understand the mystery, he had absolute trust in Yan Ruyu and stepped on it without hesitation, following her instructions.

The miracle happened!

The dense rain of arrows abruptly ceased, and an eerie silence returned to the cave.

The air was filled with the smell of dust, and the faint sound of dripping water could be heard in the distance.

The metal devices that were flashing green light also stopped turning, like sleeping giants.

"My wife, you are so clever!" Xu Lin'an looked at Yan Ruyu with eyes full of admiration and love.

He gently took Yan Ruyu's hand, and the soft touch of her skin warmed his heart.

Yan Ruyu blushed slightly at his sudden action, her heart raced a little, and everything around her seemed to soften, leaving only the tenderness flowing between the two of them.

"Ahem, stop praising me and let's go. This place is weird." Yan Ruyu pretended to be calm and withdrew her hand to hide her shyness.

Xu Lin'an chuckled softly, gripped his sword tightly, and walked forward side by side with Yan Ruyu.

However, just as they were about to step out of the area controlled by the traps, a slight tremor suddenly came from the ground...

The ground shook more and more violently, as if some enormous thing was awakening.

Just as the two regained their footing, the air in front of them suddenly distorted, and a huge magic circle appeared out of thin air, emitting a blinding blue light, like a giant vortex that kept swallowing the surrounding light.

At the center of the magic circle, energy surged like boiling water, and the powerful pressure made it hard to breathe.

"What the hell is this?" Yan Ruyu couldn't help but swear. What was with this feeling of a game boss appearing?

She and Xu Lin'an exchanged a glance and tried to approach each other at the same time, but were suddenly thrown back by an invisible force, crashing into the stone wall with a muffled "bang".

The two scrambled to their feet, their hearts sinking.

The energy of this magic circle was so strong that it acted like an insurmountable barrier, firmly blocking their path.

The surrounding space began to distort and deform, and the light, like torn cloth, displayed eerie ripples, as if the whole world had become unreal.

Xu Lin'an frowned, his sharp gaze scanning every detail of the magic circle.

He concentrated intently, his mind racing, while silently asking, "System, any prompts?" "Ding—Special magic circle detected. Solution: Activate the array nodes in a specific order." The system's prompt rang out at the opportune moment.

Xu Lin'an quickly locked onto several nodes on the magic circle, and following the system prompts, placed his palms on them and infused them with internal energy.

The touched nodes began to emit a dazzling light, and the previously chaotic energy gradually stabilized.

As the last node was activated, the entire magic circle emitted a deafening roar, then transformed into countless points of light, slowly dissipating into the air as if it had never existed.

Clarity returned to the present, and the space returned to normal.

Xu Lin'an smiled victoriously, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

Yan Ruyu excitedly gave him a thumbs up, her pretty face full of admiration: "As expected of my man, you're really amazing!"

As soon as the two passed the location of the magic circle, the scene before them changed again.

A massive stone gate appeared before them, its surface covered with ancient runes. These runes, with their fluid lines, exuded an indescribable sense of mystery, as if telling an ancient story.

The stone gate emitted a dim, eerie light, giving people a sense of inexplicable oppression.

Yan Ruyu and Xu Lin'an looked at each other, wondering what these runes meant.

What secrets are hidden within?

The surrounding environment became even more sinister, with an eerie atmosphere permeating the air, as if countless eyes were secretly watching them.

“The runes on this door…” Yan Ruyu took a few steps forward, carefully examining the strange runes, trying to find some clues.