# Chapter 271: The Maze Abyss Connecting to Another Space
The giant Rubik's Cube was entirely another space. As soon as he stepped inside, pure blackness filled his vision, making it completely impossible to see. Xu Huo took two steps forward when suddenly his foot stepped into empty space, nearly causing him to fall.
"Careful, there's nothing ahead." He turned back to warn Yan Jiayu.
"The ground is moving." Yan Jiayu spoke in the darkness, but her voice suddenly sounded distant behind him.
Just as the two were wondering what was happening, two beams of light shone down from above, shining directly onto their faces.
Squinting, Xu Huo quickly adjusted to the intense light. He tilted his head slightly, only to discover that Yan Jiayu was now at least twenty meters away from him. Beneath her feet was no longer flat ground, but a round vertical pillar, just large enough for one person to stand on. However, as the light shone down, this cylinder began to shrink.
Xu Huo's feet were in the same situation. The cylinder that had been large enough for both feet shrank to the size of a fist in the blink of an eye, barely allowing him to balance on one foot!
Seeing that the cylinder was still shrinking, another light suddenly appeared ahead. Within the beam of light, a floating metal Rubik's Cube materialized. One corner of the tilted cube had been cut into a sizable flat surface. He leaped onto it.
As soon as he landed, the cube wobbled left and right under the disturbance, but quickly regained its balance. At that moment, a plush clown puppet appeared with a "pop" sound ahead. He waved his magic wand and said cheerfully, "Welcome to the Cube Maze! I am your question officer, 'Smiling Face.'"
"I know you have many questions, but I don't like answering them, so I'll only allow you to ask three questions, including those about the quiz game. You may begin now."
"What is the game method of the Cube Maze?" Xu Huo asked.
"Very simple." Smiling Face waved his wand in the air, and a similarly missing-corner plush cube appeared beside him. He tapped the cube with his magic wand and said, "Each cube pillar's effect only lasts three minutes. After three minutes pass, the cube will return to its original state within ten seconds—meaning the flat surface disappears and reverts to a sharp corner."
"But don't worry too much. Every thirty seconds, at least six cubes will appear in the illuminated areas. Whether you can grab one depends on you."
"Every ten minutes, I will ask a question. Guests standing on the illuminated cube pillars can compete to answer. A correct answer means you pass the quiz game smoothly. But if you fail, you will remain in this dark space forever."
"Of course, you cannot leave the cube area for more than thirty seconds at a time, or you will lose your eligibility to answer."
Smiling Face finished speaking and closed his mouth, apparently not intending to say more.
Xu Huo looked toward Yan Jiayu. She said, "Two more questions. You ask first."
Xu Huo turned back to the clown. "How many people can the Cube Maze accommodate at once for the quiz game?"
"Fifteen people." Smiling Face maintained his smile. "By the way, the current number is twelve."
"During the game, do all the cubes remain floating without falling?" Yan Jiayu followed up.
"Of course. Otherwise, why would it be called the Cube Maze?" After speaking, Smiling Face spun in place, exploded into festive fireworks, and disappeared into the darkness.
Moments later, five more beams of light shone down. Before the light had even reached the cubes, seven figures rushed out from the darkness, each charging toward these five cube pillars.
Two of the cube pillars were targeted by two people each. One pair was clearly partners; they tacitly chose to place one foot each on the pillar. The other pair was not so fortunate. Having already familiarized themselves with the rules in advance, one of them had his neck severed the moment they met, his body and head separated as they fell into the darkness. The other successfully occupied the cube pillar.
With one player dead and two sharing a cube, the remaining three should have been enough to split among the other three pillars. But unexpectedly, although one cube pillar was illuminated by light, its sharp corner did not transform into a flat surface. The confident player who leaped onto it couldn't maintain his balance on the pointed tip and slid smoothly down the cube's slope. He tried to hook onto the cube with his blade, but the cube's edges and surfaces seemed to offer no grip. His weapon struck without leaving a single mark.
"Ah!" The player fell from the cube in terror, but his scream was abruptly cut off as his body was swallowed by the darkness below.
"Isn't this just an abyss?" Yan Jiayu looked down.
The player who had killed to claim his cube pillar stroked the stubble on his chin and snorted with a laugh. "Naive. This is another space entirely. It can't be explained by cliffs or abysses. Falling off a cliff or into an abyss, you might still climb back up. Fall into another space—who knows what will happen."
"But if you have the leisure to worry about what's below, you'd be better off worrying about the companions in the darkness."
Yan Jiayu immediately looked around. "Are there still people around us?"
"Of course there are," the bearded player said. "The number of players in the Cube Maze isn't fixed. When someone dies, someone enters. Who knows how many have come in by now? Better be careful."
Xu Huo withdrew his gaze and instead focused on the movements around him.
Smiling Face had said there were currently twelve players. That meant, aside from the seven people standing in the light beams and the two who had died, if no new people had entered, at least three players were still in the darkness.
Those in the light could see and hear, but he couldn't sense any living presence in the darkness. Clearly, the darkness of the Cube Maze had the ability to block sight and sound.
The illuminated area would reveal at least six cube pillars, but not every illuminated cube would develop a flat surface. To answer Smiling Face's questions, one had to stand on a cube pillar. This meant that choosing a pointed cube not only prevented answering questions but also carried high risk, because another prerequisite for answering was being on an illuminated cube.
Although each cube pillar lasted three minutes, to answer questions one had to stand on a lit cube pillar. So even if the cube hadn't reached its recovery time, others might still snatch new cubes.
It was impossible to tell whether players in the darkness could see those in the light, but at least he could verify whether items were effective.
Xu Huo took out the Crimson Sword and casually slashed toward the darkness. To his surprise, the blade's light curtain disappeared the moment it touched the edge of the illuminated area—item properties couldn't take effect in the darkness.
Having confirmed this, he relaxed slightly and nodded to Yan Jiayu.
The first thirty seconds had passed. The seven lights that had originally shone all extinguished simultaneously. At the same time, six more lights appeared in different locations.
The players on the cube pillars all began to move. Xu Huo also turned toward the nearest cube pillar. As he rushed over, two other players also appeared under the light. Dodging a heavy hammer swung by one of them, he raised his sword to strike at the player on his left. However, his opponent blocked the attack with a forearm guard and spat a hidden dart at him!