As Angel left Cicia’s Box and appeared in front of everyone, he wore an apologetic smile, "Sorry for keeping you waiting."
As soon as he spoke, Vay leaned forward, "It’s alright, we haven’t been waiting long."
"It’s been about half an hour; outside that’s not long, but inside Cicia’s Box, it’s probably been more than half a day," came the lazy voice of Dox.
Dox, who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground, stood up leisurely when he saw Angel appear, "Does your negotiation really take this long?"
Angel replied, "Actually, I didn’t stay in the Box that long. Cicia had suspended the time perception difference for quite a while."
Angel spoke frankly, and at least in Dox’s feeling, there was no deception in Angel’s words.
"Did she suspend the time perception difference because of your negotiation?" Dox asked curiously.
Angel did not hide it, "Sort of."
Dox squinted, speculating, "Could it be that you refined something unspeakable in Cicia’s Box?"
Angel: "???"
Dox, with an air of self-assurance, continued, "A woman enduring solitude for ten thousand years must need some appropriate relaxation and entertainment... Hey, hey, hey, what’s with those looks? Is there something wrong with what I said?"
No one answered Dox’s question. Instead, they all turned their heads slightly, trying to avoid the topic. Even the Black Earl "stared" at Dox for three seconds with unusual "gaze" — the fluttering of nostrils.
A risqué joke occasionally thrown around was one thing, but with Cicia’s Box right beside them, Dox dared to speak so boldly, indeed a brave soul. Whatever the case, Cicia is another ten-thousand-year-old monstrous being of unknown power... All they could hope for was that Cicia was not monitoring the outside world when Dox was speaking just now.
The unexpected silence was finally broken by the Black Earl, "A reminder, the fastest Traveling Merchants have already passed the Ghosteye Witch’s area and entered the Sewers."
Vay exclaimed, "How could they be so fast? Weren’t they entangled by the Ghosteye Witch?"
The Black Earl replied, "They encountered them and even alarmed those two Wizard-level Ghosteye Witches."
"However, those chasing after us are wearing gray masks, the Gray Merchants, who are very knowledgeable about the Underground Labyrinth. When they met obstacles, they didn’t move together but split apart."
"For instance, one uses illusion techniques, and another disrupts the Ghosteye Witches’ minds, staying outside to attract and avoid the Wizard-level Ghosteye Witches’ tracking."
"The others continue their advance."
"One team is very purposeful; they’re probably coming after us. They’ve already entered the Sewers. As long as they don’t take a wrong turn, they should not be far from the Other-dimensional Space."
Angel, rubbing his chin, contemplated, "It seems we should leave here as soon as possible."
"Let’s go. Anyway, we already have the tickets; we can talk on the way."
Upon finishing, Angel spread out his hand, and a glowing red symbol slowly rose, hovering mid-air.
Without saying much, Angel walked towards the end of the platform first.
This time, the Alchemy Golem did not block Angel, allowing him to smoothly step out of the platform, while the red glowing symbol floated from Angel’s palm to the front, illuminating the stairs below.
The once ethereal steps began to turn solid under the red glow.
However, if Angel stepped onto a new step, the previous solid step would slowly become ephemeral again.
Seeing Angel successfully onto the stairs, the others quickly followed.
Those illuminated by the red glow symbol smoothly passed the Alchemy Golem’s examination. Only Dox, when passing by the Alchemy Golem’s side, suddenly had a red light appear at his feet.
Dox reacted quickly, but the red light was even faster, transforming directly into a hand that grabbed Dox’s ankle. With a light pull, Dox lost his balance and tumbled towards the platform edge.
However, with everyone nearby, they naturally wouldn’t just watch Dox fall. A pale blue Hand of Magic grabbed Dox’s other ankle and pulled him upwards.
Dox was smoothly returned to the platform while the hand formed by the red light gradually disappeared. As the red light vanished, everyone heard a familiar cold snort.
Kaier: "It seems to be the one from Cicia’s Box..."
Angel: "No need for ’seems like,’ it is Cicia."
As soon as he finished speaking, on the other side, Dox got up from the ground, looking indignant, muttering under his breath, accusing Cicia of burning bridges after crossing.
However, Cicia did not respond to him.
The others exchanged glances, with a tacit understanding in their eyes. One can only say that Dox sometimes acts too casually, speaking without regard to boundaries, and being retaliated against was entirely predictable... This is probably the "freedom" Dox pursues; however, while you are free, others are affected by your freedom, even harmed—can this freedom really be considered freedom?
After ranting for a while, Dox finally stopped and prepared to step back onto the stairs.
However, this time the Alchemy Golem blocked him.
While Dox was puzzled, Vay whispered: "When you fell down just now, the ’ticket’ in your hand also dropped..."
Dox looked confused: "Isn’t the ticket supposed to stay with us? Your tickets are all floating in front of you, so why did mine fall?"
Vay hesitated for a moment: "Maybe, you were specially treated."
Upon hearing this, Dox got agitated again, shouting, "Why?"
The Black Earl, who hadn’t paid much attention to Dox, let out a cold snort: "You don’t know why you were targeted? This is the consequence of speaking without a filter. The rules of the Other-dimensional Space are not for you or me to dictate unless you have the power to break through this space, then you can do as you please. If not, then just follow the rules here."
After the Black Earl finished speaking, Angel also chimed in timely: "Now you only have two choices, either buy another ticket or temporarily come into my Exile Space, and I’ll release you after we leave."
Dox had already guessed why Cicia targeted him, but in front of everyone, he couldn’t save face, so he purposely acted furious. —From the fact that his complaints were only directed at the Alchemy Golem and never mentioned Cicia, it’s clear he was actually intimidated.
Now with Angel presenting him with two options, Dox didn’t want to waste everyone’s time. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath: "I’ll exchange for another ticket!"
Angel raised an eyebrow without commenting. Although he didn’t quite understand why Dox insisted on getting another ticket, it was Dox’s decision to make, and Angel wouldn’t stop him.
After some hesitation, Dox took out a finely crafted Knight’s Stiletto from his Spatial Artifact.
The stiletto bore some resemblance in appearance to Dox’s Red Sword, but it emitted far less energy. However, from Angel’s perspective as an Alchemist, this Knight’s Stiletto was excellently refined, almost universally applicable during apprenticeship. Also, due to its years of maintenance, it’s easier to handle than newly refined swords.