Chapter 205

Truth be told, Qi Xing really did need to take a better look at this island now.

…Besides, for a modern person, being without a mobile phone isn't much different from being crippled.

"It seems I'll have to trouble you for a few more days on this island of yours."

Waving his hand to release the pressure suppressing the Island Master's aura, Qi Xing mused, "Anyway, first give me a place to make a phone call."

This was perfect.

The person she had feelings for was finally going to spend the night in her home (?), and in an instant, Xue Ning was so happy she was practically bursting with joy!

"Of course, of course!"

She clapped her hands happily, her face full of smiles, "We will definitely treat you well."

Qi Xing only had a very ominous premonition about this.

"No orgies, you hear me?"

"No problem." The Island Master nodded obediently.

"If you send a bunch of women to attack me, they will only meet a painful death."

"I wouldn't do such a wasteful thing." The Island Master shook her head.

Fine.

Qi Xing decided to take her word for it for now.

…Before leaving the labyrinth entrance, he turned back to take one last look, gazing at the spiral passage embedded in the mountainside that wound down into the ground.

A labyrinth.

They called this a labyrinth?

But Qi Xing hadn't seen any complex, crisscrossing paths inside, only a single, straight, silvery-white passage that peeled away disguises layer by layer.

Spiral, vortex, descent, passage, layer by layer, forcing you to strip away your self-concealment, to peel off the outer skin belonging to society, and to reveal your true nature in order to move forward.

What kind of labyrinth was this?

Before he entered the first time, Qi Xing had already been suspicious. The labyrinth he envisioned in his mind was no longer a structure.

And now, combined with the attributes of this chaotic █ island, he was even more certain:

…The shape of this labyrinth was simply a symbolic birth canal.

But at the end of the birth canal, was it a womb that nurtured life, or just another passage?

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…Half an hour later, on the top floor of the island's largest hotel,

a group of girls in bikinis surrounded Master Leipu, faces full of keen interest, as if they were examining a rare animal or watching a famous idol.

Qi Xing was only wearing a pair of swimming trunks, and his expression was really not very good.

He had just asked the Island Master for clothes, but she only gave him a pair of swimming trunks, saying with a sincere face, "The men on the island only wear this."

"Don't you have anything that looks like civilized clothing?"

Qi Xing tried to retort.

The Island Master smiled and replied, "Naked ties are also very popular recently, you know?"

Volume 5: Welcome to the █ █ █ Paradise! : 187: How many miles from █ █?

"Simply put, I did a preliminary exploration; my phone and wallet are gone, but there are no other issues."

"Overall, there has been some slight progress."

After shooing the bikini-clad girls out of the room, Qi Xing, despite wearing only swimming trunks, calmed down and called home.

Without a mobile phone, there was only one number he could remember; he was afraid the communication would definitely be eavesdropped on by the Island Master, so Qi Xing only vaguely described what happened, not mentioning the part about Sasa—but fortunately, in this regard, Elaine's brain never disappointed Qi Xing.

"I see, I think I understand."

After hearing only a few simple words from Qi Xing, Elaine immediately grasped the symbolic structure,

"As an attribute of an underground labyrinth, the imagery it carries is quite familiar. Considering the cultural background of the Earth Mother Goddess, it really can't help but make one think of the myth of 'Inanna's Descent into the Underworld'."

"However, Qi Xing, there is one point you actually misunderstood."

Saying this, Elaine changed the subject, adopting a tone of explaining academic theory,

"The word 'Labyrinth', in its traditional sense, originally only has one path; you cannot get lost."

…Huh?

This part involved linguistics and historical mythological knowledge. Although the call might be monitored, Elaine still decided to explain it briefly to him.

In modern context, "labyrinth" usually refers to the word "maze", which is a complex structure with forks that easily makes people get lost. It has multiple crossroads and dead ends, designed to trap people and test their intelligence and sense of direction. So sometimes the word "maze" is also translated as "confusing array".

However, in the tradition of ancient Greece, especially when related to mythology, a Labyrinth actually only has one path from beginning to end. It is not a puzzle structure, there is no choice to be made, and one cannot escape.

"A true Labyrinth has only one path. It is not a 'puzzle with many forks', but 'a passage that forces you to move constantly inward'—the person entering cannot get lost; what they need to face is themselves."

Elaine explained calmly over the phone,

"In some mystery cults of ancient Rome, such as the mystery cult of Mithra, if an apprentice wanted to obtain official membership, they had to be dosed with a large amount of █ hallucinogens—in ancient times, this was usually mushrooms, ayahuasca, or similar things—and then sent into the labyrinth."

"These drugged newcomers would be sent into the center of the labyrinth at sunset. Before dawn the next day, they had to find the exit. There are no forks in such a labyrinth, so as long as you keep moving forward, you will definitely be able to walk out."

"The problem lies in whether you can maintain the courage to keep moving forward while being entangled by hallucinations and constantly pursued by imagined terrifying things."

"This is the function of the labyrinth in classical mystery cults."

Hmm.

…If that was really the case, Qi Xing looked back on his experience in the first three layers of rooms in the labyrinth just now.

This kind of labyrinth without forks, with only layer-by-layer stripping and revealing, was indeed a similar form of expression.

"Hmm… Hmm?"

Thinking of this, suddenly, Qi Xing felt a bit strange,

"The initiation ceremony of the Mithra cult involves drugging someone and throwing them into the center of the labyrinth, letting them run out by themselves? Not letting them walk in and find the center?"

"But the labyrinth I encountered is the opposite; it requires walking towards the center."

If that was the case, what exactly would be in the center of the labyrinth?

Was it really just the [silver coin]?

And speaking of the labyrinth in ancient Greek mythology, there was another thing too famous for even Qi Xing not to know:

Legend had it that King Minos of Crete asked the craftsman Daedalus to build a great labyrinth to imprison the Minotaur in the center. Anyone who entered would get lost and be trapped inside, unable to get out.

It wasn't until later that the demigod hero Theseus, holding the ball of thread given by Princess Ariadne, walked into the center of the labyrinth and killed the Minotaur.

If the labyrinth of ancient Greek mythology was a single line without forks, why would people and monsters still be trapped inside?

What exactly was in the center of the labyrinth on this island?

…Although he could imagine to his heart's content, just blindly guessing didn't seem to have much meaning.

"Qi Xing, I feel like this incident requires a lot of mythological knowledge. I'm afraid it's not the type you are good at handling."

On the other end of the phone, one could hear Elaine's worried voice,

"Do you really not need us to come and help?"

But Qi Xing still shook his head: "This damn place is too eerie. If you come over, I'll actually be more worried; although Rin's power can be relied upon, putting the two highest combat powers together makes it easy to neglect one thing while attending to another."

"I'll get a mobile phone and keep in touch. I'll contact you as much as possible when I need knowledge. Don't worry about the rest."

Because Qi Xing was precisely at his boldest when he was alone, without any teammates by his side.

Just as Qi Xing hung up the phone, the Island Master Xue Ning walked into his large room with a smile, bringing two bikini-clad girls.

One was a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, similar to the other bikini-clad girls, her skin glowing with a healthy sheen. Her bikini was bright yellow, and her eyes held a naive yet slightly provocative curiosity, making no attempt to hide her strong interest in this Master Leipu.

The other bikini-clad girl followed slightly hesitantly behind her.

She was a girl with brown hair, fair skin, and eyes that held obvious defensiveness. Her bikini was dark blue, her hair was neat, medium-length straight hair, and there was a touch of cold aloofness between her brows, making her appear quieter than the former.

Although she didn't speak, her gaze was always fixed on Qi Xing, but it was a vigilant gaze.

"Master Leipu, although I very much wish to stay by your side, unfortunately, as the master of a city and a country, I really have many things I cannot step away from."

The Island Master Xue Ning smiled and said,

"I have already instructed these two girls to help you during your stay on the island—that said, you can actually make a move on whoever you want, and it doesn't matter what you want them to do. As long as it is what you, our guest, want, everyone will comply."

"Especially regarding █ companionship, this is one of their duties."

Yeah, yeah, sure.

Qi Xing was too lazy to complain about the █ concept on their island. He was more concerned about the [silver coin] and the labyrinth. Since the Island Master said she was very busy, Qi Xing simply asked directly: "There is one thing I must ask first: Did you put the [silver coin] in that labyrinth yourself?"

"That [silver coin] was already installed there by the Nazi during the Great War."

Xue Ning answered with a smile,

"I bought this island after the war. But that labyrinth was also created by The Society for the Preservation of Nazi Ancestral Heritage during the Great War."

After speaking, she bowed respectfully to Qi Xing and left the room.

…Qi Xing didn't completely believe the Island Master's words.

But if what she said was the truth, then even if Qi Xing tortured her to force her to take out the [silver coin], it probably wouldn't be useful and would actually be inappropriate.

Perhaps Xue Ning would even be happy to be tortured. Such a pervert, her thoughts were hard to predict.

As for the two newly arrived bikini-clad girls, Qi Xing really wanted to send them back immediately, but then again, in order to move around the island smoothly, there were some things Qi Xing really had to rely on them for.

…For example, a mobile phone.

"Is there a place on the island where I can buy a mobile phone?"

Speaking of this, Qi Xing was suddenly a bit puzzled and asked with slight doubt,

"On this island of yours, are communication and the internet normal?"

With an island that had such common sense issues, wouldn't communication and the internet be censored?

Unexpectedly, the blonde girl immediately saw through Qi Xing's thoughts and was directly amused: "Pfft, hahaha! Of course you can surf the internet normally. It's just that if the TV isn't connected to a signal cable, you can indeed only see the island's programs."

An island with a population of about 20,000 actually has its own TV programs? That's actually quite impressive.

"Master Leipu, as an outsider, you might regard this island as a strange place, but we are not poor people locked in walls and fooled by Lord [Count]."

The brown-haired girl also immediately followed up, her expression somewhat serious,

"We are all normal people, not lunatics, nor are we people who have been brainwashed and locked up by Lord [Count]. We chose to live here voluntarily."

It seems that the people on this island are indeed quite sensitive to the thoughts of outsiders and are very good at reading people.

Since that was the case, Qi Xing's mind turned, and he said straight to the point: "It's like this here, right? You can do █ with anyone; even if it's an outside tourist, someone you don't know at all, a guest you're meeting for the first time, as long as they invite you, you can do █ immediately."

The two bikini-clad girls nodded almost simultaneously. The blonde one even glanced at Qi Xing's swimming trunks, her eyes flashing, and she said expectantly, "We can do it now, too?"

"But people from the outside… could be anyone, right? In fact, most people are not handsome men or beautiful women, and there might even be…"

Qi Xing ignored the blonde girl's invitation, paused, and said as restrainedly as possible,

"I'm not saying I'm discriminating against anyone… but some guests who come here might really not be suitable for this kind of thing, and even… physiologically, it might make people very uncomfortable."

"Can you also accept doing █ with that kind of person?"

However, as soon as these words were spoken, the blonde girl couldn't help but laugh: "Who says anyone is not suitable for █? As long as you want it, everyone should have the right to do █, right? This has nothing to do with looks, and it doesn't even have anything to do with length!"

Speaking of this, she thought of something else and quickly added: "Oh, however, we also have the right to refuse overly extreme play, so don't worry about safety issues."

Uh.

For a moment, Qi Xing actually couldn't find a way to refute this.

"But, does it really not matter who it is?"

He rubbed his temples and tried to press on,

"For example, what if someone sleeps with your wife, or the child isn't yours, what then?"

"Hehe, there's even less need to worry about that."

The blonde girl waved her hand with a smile,

"Marriage and doing █ don't necessarily have a connection, right? Besides, thinking from a common-sense perspective, someone else can make your wife █ husband █ █ very comfortable, right? Isn't that a very good thing?"