Online Game: Crazy Skeleton-Chapter 714 - 653: Wishing Bead (Two in One) - Part 2

The handsome young man furrowed his brows slightly, "I hope this doesn’t complicate the plot for the dungeons that follow."

"Buddy, you’re overthinking this. We’re currently just at the pioneering stage of the elite dungeons. We can’t expect to succeed in one go; if we fail, we’ll just restart and kill the queen ant a few more times. Besides, this boss is known to drop Wishing Beads!"

Youtong put away the Wishing Bead, her eyes twinkling as she proposed, "We could specifically grind for the Wishing Bead. That’s a good idea, isn’t it?"

"You’re too naive. I bet this queen ant only dropped so many Wishing Beads because it was our first kill. It’ll probably be hard to come by afterward; the system won’t let us exploit this!"

Feeling somewhat defeated by this girl’s stubbornness, the youthful man laid out his observations of the hidden space. He didn’t find any area of particular interest, so he held his ground, "There’s nothing to keep us here. We should be moving – Big Smoke is still waiting for us in Cloud City!"

"Haha, we’ve started off on the right foot. Today’s dungeon run is going to be thrilling!"

Youtong followed closely behind the man, her giggles leaking out nonstop, like a cat who just nailed a bird.

"Thrilling? I reckon the expression on Big Smoke’s face is the most thrilling, especially when he learns that we each got a Wishing Bead. Heh, I can’t wait to see that!"

Chuckle, Gu Yue said, "I suggest we all show him our Wishing Beads, just to tease him a bit, you know, as his penalty for daring to abandon us."

"Little Yue, you’re ruthless! But I like this idea."

Strongly agreeing, Youtong nodded vigorously, disrupting her beautiful hair in the process.

...

A city constructed from cloud bricks stood solemnly on the surface, sturdy and imposing, betraying no hint of its inherent flimsiness as a cloud.

"What on earth are they doing? Why are they taking so long!"

Restless at the foot of the walls, Big Smoke paced back and forth, often glancing into the distance, hoping to catch sight of his teammates. He had been doing this for over half an hour. If he had been a smoker, the ground would have been littered with cigarette butts...

Big Smoke found unsealing the cloud fog straightforward, unlocking the golden treasure chest with the key and extracting the "Seal-Breaking Cloud Card" to cast it into the fog. The card then dissipated the mist, revealing Cloud City once again.

The issue was that those steps took less than a minute. The rest of the time was spent waiting—a fact that explained Big Smoke’s vexation.

"Could it be...did they get stuck in some kind of maze?"

Grimacing, Big Smoke muttered underneath his breath, "Women, they’re good at messing things up, yet incapable of seeing them through. Now look, they’re trapped! How are we supposed to complete the dungeon now? Might as well just abandon and restart!"

"Overturning Water, you really are a curse!"

Caught in his restive thoughts, Big Smoke spied the youthful man and his band of four appearing in his sight.

"Eh? You didn’t die?"

Big Smoke hurried to greet them, blurting out his surprise without a second thought.

"Can you not be so melodramatic? Honestly, can speaking nicely cause death?!"

Youtong rolled her eyes and shot back at him without hesitation.

"But you guys really took forever, didn’t even respond to my messages! I’ve been waiting so long that I nearly quit the dungeon!"

Big Smoke started his complaints; the grumbling never seemed to end.

"Hey, buddy, why does my bead seem a little off-color?"

Youtong chose to ignore Big Smoke, dangling the Wishing Bead, pretending to be dissatisfied.

"What? A bead?!"

Upon noticing the bead, Big Smoke’s countenance changed immediately. "The Wishing Bead?!"

"Buddy, check yours. My bubble feels smaller than yours. Hurry, hurry!"

Youtong winked at the man and gently tugged at his robe.

"Oh, you!"

Reading her interaction, the man pulled out an identical bead and held it next to hers. "They’re the same size, Youtong. You’re overthinking!" he chuckled.

"Two... Two of them?"

Smoky Specter felt like his mind had failed him. He stared dully at the two Wishing Beads, stammering as he spoke.

"Let me check mine, it’s the same size as yours, I guess these bubbles should all be the same. Look, Little Tong, even the color transformation is synchronized!"

Gu Yue delivered the final blow, pulling out another bubble. He arranged all the bubbles in a row, left and right, his tone full of novelty.

"..."

Smoky Specter almost felt his eyes pop out. He rushed up, teeth chattering. "Where did you get so many Wishing Beads from?"

"They were in the Ant Hole. We popped four at once. Sorry... we didn’t save any for you..."

Youtong blinked her eyes, sighed, and replied somewhat regretfully.

"Ant Hole?! Four Wishing Beads?!"

Smoky Specter felt heart-wrenching regret for the first time. At this moment, he was so regretful he felt like snapping the iron staff in his hand in two!

"Smoky Specter, Youtong is telling the truth. In the Ant Hole, there’s a golden boss. After defeating it, you will get a golden chest. These Wishing Beads were opened from within."

The Pretty Young Man continued, not mincing his words, not bothering to soften the blow.

Smoky Specter squatted down, clutching at his heart.

"Alright, alright, enough teasing. Smoky Specter didn’t get a Wishing Bead this round, but we’ll make it up to him next time. Let’s go, continue the dungeon. Wasting time isn’t our style."

Seeing that his comment had its intended effect, the Pretty Young Man chuckled, smoothed things over, and led the team into the grand Cloud City.

Su Ran understood that this city was the main attraction of the dungeon!

In Cloud City, they didn’t encounter a single guard. The place was empty.

"Give me an overview of this city, and tell me anything important about the dungeon."

Su Ran took a few quick strides to the Pretty Young Man’s side, eyeing the surroundings warily, fearing an unexpected event might occur.

"There is no need to be so cautious. There’s only the city keeper and his two brothers in this city. No city defenses, not even traps."

The Pretty Young Man quickly replied, "Past this corridor, the most lavishly decorated room straight ahead houses the city keeper. That’s our current destination, where we are going to get our task. Remember, do not enter the other two rooms; it will cause unnecessary trouble."

"Also, when the city keeper is talking, do not interrupt, or the task difficulty will increase. Bear this in mind."

Hearing the Pretty Young Man’s warning, Su Ran nodded. He knew that these were the learnings from the multiple dungeons the Pretty Young Man and the others had completed. He had to take them seriously. At this critical stage of the dungeon, he couldn’t afford to slip up!

"Let’s agree on this now, the next Wishing Bead is mine!"

Smoky Specter unwillingly interjected, still sore about not getting a bead this time.

"Alright, alright, as long as we get through this dungeon, you will definitely be included!"

The Pretty Young Man glared at Smoky Specter, telling everyone to be quiet.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The crimson wooden door opened in response. The Pretty Young Man didn’t rush in. Not until the city keeper inside uttered a deep ’Enter’. He then led the team into the room.

Su Ran was surprised to find that everything in the room was a fiery red color – the tables, chairs, walls painted with red paint. Even the city keeper sitting at the end of the room had red hair, red armor, red cloak, red gloves, even his pipe was blood-red.

Without a doubt, this guy was certainly in his year of misfortune! By Su Ran’s conservative estimate, his underwear must also be red!

"Are you... foreigners?"

The city keeper put his pipe on the table. Finding Su Ran and the others appearing there, he seemed astonished and sighed, "Since Cloud City was sealed, no outsiders have entered this place. Tens of thousands of years have passed, how sigh-inducing!"

Then, there was a long silence. Even the air in the room felt oppressive, causing everyone to have difficulty breathing, their faces turned pale.