Having cleared the last Cyber-Mancubus in the Scissors Hell, Slayer stood before the entrance to the next layer.

  The air here was thick with the scent of rust and blood. The surrounding walls were hung with massive, dripping shears, and dim red lights flickered overhead, creating an intensely oppressive sense of claustrophobia.

  At the end of the hall, the gate leading to the Third Layer was tightly shut.

  This was no ordinary door. It was a mechanism gate composed of nine massive basalt slabs. Each slab was carved with complex Eight Trigrams runes, connected by flowing paths of spiritual light.

  [System Prompt: High-Level Seal Detected.]

  [Unlock Condition: Solve the 'Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Chain Lock'.]

  Daoist Singularity stepped forward, looking at the door with a professional expression.

  "Big Hero, patience." Singularity pulled a compass and an abacus from his robe. "This is the Underworld's oldest security system. The password changes in real-time based on the daily hour, astrological signs, and the flow of ley lines. To open it, one must calculate the correct position of the 'Gate of Life'."

  Singularity began flicking the abacus beads, muttering incantations:

  "Year of Jiazi... Month of Bingyin... Qian Three Connected, Kun Six Severed... This layer is Metal element, the next is Wood element. Metal overcomes Wood, so rotate this slab left three times, then that one right half a turn..."

  As he calculated, he carefully manipulated the door.

  Grind—Grind—

  The stone slabs moved slowly, emitting a dull friction sound.

  One minute passed.

  Two minutes passed.

  Slayer stood behind him.

  He looked down at the floor beneath his feet. It was Black Basalt, three meters thick. Directly below was the Third Layer.

  He looked again at Singularity, who was operating with the delicate precision of a watchmaker.

  Slayer's finger tapped gently on the stock of his shotgun.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  This wasn't just boredom. It was an intolerable waste of Efficiency.

  Every second wasted here meant demons below were manufacturing slaughter. Every second, innocent souls were suffering.

  And they were here... playing puzzles?

  Slayer stepped forward.

  Singularity heard the footsteps and said without looking back: "Don't rush! I've calculated the first layer of the password! Just eight more! Give me about half an incense stick's time..."

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  Half an incense stick?

  Slayer's patience gauge dropped directly to zero.

  He didn't push Singularity aside.

  He simply turned and walked to the exact center of the hall.

  This was the structural center point of the Scissors Hell. According to his tactical visor scan, although the floor was thick, there were no annoying runic seals underneath this specific spot.

  Slayer holstered his shotgun on his back.

  From his dimensional pocket, he slowly pulled out the ultimate weapon—The BFG-9000.

  Green energy gathered in the chamber, emitting a heart-palpitating hum. The surrounding air began to distort, and static electricity made Singularity's hair stand on end.

  Singularity whipped his head around and saw that piercing green light.

  "Big... Big Hero?" Singularity dropped his abacus. "What are you doing? That's the floor! That's the load-bearing structure! There are still sixteen layers below!"

  Slayer ignored him.

  Through his visor, he looked at the floor beneath his feet as if looking at a thin layer of plastic wrap.

  If the door won't open, make a new one.

  Slayer pulled the trigger.

  BOOM————!!!

  This wasn't just an explosion. It was a localized earthquake.

  A massive sphere of green energy, radiating the aura of destruction, slammed directly into the black basalt floor.

  There was no chaotic spray of rubble.

  Because under that terrifying energy density, the rock at the contact point was instantly Vaporized.

  A circular hole, ten meters in diameter with edges smooth as a mirror, formed instantly.

  But that wasn't all.

  The BFG's energy sphere didn't stop. Carrying immense kinetic energy, it roared downward like a bunker-busting missile.

  Through the hole, Singularity clearly saw the scenes below:

  Layer 3 (Iron Tree Hell): Countless iron trees were caught in the energy wake, instantly snapping and melting.

  BOOM! Floor penetrated.

  Layer 4 (Mirror Hell): The sound of shattering mirrors resounded through the sky.

  BOOM! Floor penetrated.

  Layer 5 (Steamer Hell): Massive steamers were overturned, steam billowing.

  BOOM!

  A series of dull explosions echoed deep underground like firecrackers, getting further and further away until they became a faint echo.

  Slayer put away the BFG, the muzzle still emitting green smoke.

  He walked to the edge of this bottomless "Artificial Atrium" and looked down.

  Straight to the bottom.

  No mazes. No mechanisms. No passwords.

  Only a straight, transparent Fast Track filled with the aesthetics of violence.

  Singularity lay prone at the edge of the hole, staring into the abyss, completely dumbfounded. His abacus beads had rolled all over the floor, but he had no mood to pick them up.

  "This... this is the geological structure of the Underworld..." Singularity muttered, his voice trembling. "Did you just... turn the Underworld into a Shish Kebab?"

  Slayer offered no explanation.

  He rolled his neck.

  Then, under Singularity's despairing gaze, he took a step back, ran up, and jumped.

  Whoosh—!

  He was like a green cannonball, carrying a resolute momentum, diving into the abyss.

  No fancy moves, just pure Free Fall.

  "I never want to solve a puzzle again in my life." (Slayer's inner monologue.)

  Singularity watched the rapidly shrinking figure, then looked at the mechanism door that was still flashing "Please Enter Password."

  "..."

  Singularity sighed. He pulled a "Super Slow-Fall Talisman" from his backpack and swallowed an Instant Cardio-Relief Pill.

  "Wait for me! Big Hero! Although this is a shortcut, there's no air cushion buffer in the elevator shaft below!"

  Singularity closed his eyes and jumped down after him.

  "Process vs Result."

  For traditional cultivators, every level is a tribulation, every step must follow the rules.

  But for Slayer, the process doesn't matter.

  What matters is that he appears in front of the demons in the shortest possible time and tears them to shreds.

  "He is currently... Physically 'Descending' into Hell."

  At this moment, the demons "living and working in peace" on the lower layers suddenly realized the ceiling had collapsed.

  They looked up, but saw not the light of hope.

  But that green nightmare, falling from the sky.

  "Next chapter, Vertical Strike. Slayer's 'Airborne Trooper' moment."